About Me
- Ashleigh Moffatt
- It all happened to me when I jumped on the seat and became one with my bike. Nothing else around you matters at that time as you are in a world of your own. I share a passion for cycling and encourage you to join me on my journey in 2012, riding in colours of BMC. its going to be a very exciting year!!
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Thursday, 26 July 2012
An update of what I have been doing and whats been happening!!
Hey,
I haven’t uploaded my blog in a while, which I do apologise for. I have been doing a few different things this season, including different training which has involved less racing. Therefore I would like to share with you what has been going on and explain why we (my coach Johann Wykerd and I) have decided to take this step this year.
This year I got a little older and got promoted to the U23 category. Going into U23 from Junior is quite a big jump, as many that have experienced this step up will agree with me. You are no longer riding with riders 1 year older or younger then you, but with riders that are 3-4years older and have a bit more experience then you.
I experienced this big jump into U23 on the first few cross-country races I did. One goes from doing 3 laps as a junior to 5 laps as a U23 and sometimes Pro-elite. This is quite a challenge on the rider not only physically but mentally as well. Due to one being used to riding 3 laps that takes ± 1h15 to adding an extra 2 laps and 30minutes onto the time, and so you need that extra strength and endurance to sustain your energy for that extra period of time.
I personally experienced this need of endurance on the first few cross-country races I did. Where I would feel pretty good for the first 3 laps and would slowly fade on the next 2 laps. As I didn’t have that endurance to keep the same pace throughout the entire race.
So realizing what I needed to do and what weaknesses needed to be worked on. I had to change the plan of action going forward as well as the training, this involved taking a few steps back and analyzing what had to be done. This included more strength work and endurance training, but with doing strength training (gym work) meant I couldn’t race as while. Making it quite a hard decision to make, so I made the decision to go off the racing scene for a while and do what was needed too as well as thinking about the future (next year). Due to different training that involved more strength work makes one muscles heavy slow moving (as you using the slow twitching muscles), so when racing you need ones muscles to work faster (using the fast twitching muscles). This therefore resulted in not doing races and explains why I wasn’t racing these last few months.
After doing about a month of strength training I decided to see how everything was working out and go do a race (the Howick Lizzard Classic).
I was excited to race again and see if the training was paying off, of course I was also excited to see everyone else at the race and catch up. So I went off to Howick to do the race all buzzed up and ready to roll, little did I know that what I was told about not being able to race was going to hit me. About 5km into the race I had no legs at all, they were turning but I felt like I couldn’t get going (going fast). I won’t lie it wasn’t much fun to ride that whole race with such heavy legs but it was good for me as I understood what was being meant by ‘doing strength work and not racing’ and it was a learning path in this experience.
I didn’t give up and decided to do another race, the Sardine Classic. This time the race went better I could feel my legs were heavy but they could go more than they were going in the previous race. I could also feel that the strength work was working as I felt a lot stronger when it came to using my arms, especially in the single track and having to push myself and the bike over the rocks and into the corners. So with doing these two races I realized what I was doing was correct and I was going in the right direction and I had to see for myself that the plan was working. As well as answering the question about strength training and racing.
I did do one more race the Saffire MTB Classic, but this was more for the experience and to have a bit of fun. As I raced the race on the back of a tandem with my beloved coach Johann Wykerd. This was defiantly a huge experience and a very different way of racing for me. For example the back person on the tandem has no control what so ever and for me I couldn’t see anything in front of me (being so short) except the colour orange on the back of Johann. I must admit it was challenging and fun at the same time, especially when putting so much trust and faith in the front person. I couldn’t have asked for a better person to sit on the front steering than Johann. There were some serious adrenaline pumping moments, especially when in the single track as I had no idea if an obstacle or corner was approaching. At times I just wanted to close my eyes and hope for the best as we flew down the track, whizzing past the treesJ. But of course with all my faith and trust in my amazing coach we made it to the end alive haha J. It was a great experienced and I thoroughly enjoyed it, thank you Johann Wykerd.
xxx
Worlds View XCO Nationals #4
This was quite a big race for me, as it will be my first cross-country (xco) race since the change of training. As well as to see what I was doing was working and that I was going in the right direction.
A great course designed by Kim Philips which included a figure of eight, so that one (rider) passes the tech/feeding zone twice in 1 lap. Therefore making it much more spectator friendly to all supports and feeders (knowing where each athlete lies).The track was a fast course with some short uphill bursts, especially the amarok technical climb that seriously got the heart rate going. There was lots of single track I would say at least 85-90% of the track, this was awesome!
We started the race off with a short quick start loop to separate the bunch before we hit the single track, as all the women were together: Elite, U23, Junior and youth. I enter the first bit of single track 4th and managed to get into 3rd by the time we passed the first tech/feed point with Sam standers leading and Nedene Cahill lying in 2nd. It was a great race the women put up a nice fight for the top spots! I ended up 3d Pro-elite and 1st U23 women, I was truly happy with my result and I knew I was heading in the right direction with what I was doing and that the training was coming together .
I would like to say a huge thank you to all the supporters out there, it means more then you know to the rider. So thank you to all the support out on the track, it was a pleasure having you there!
Xxx
Training Camp and KZN XCO Championships
Building up to KZN (Provincial) XCO Championships, we had a ‘life in motion’ training camp. The theme of the camp was ‘race prep’ which was great, as many athletes need to know what we doing not only the day before the race but the days building up to the race. And what better way to learn about this at a wonderful camp and then finishing off camp with KZN champs, where we could apply what we had learnt.
Camp was fantastic!!!! I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I’m positive that many that joined us on the camp will agree with me! We not only learnt about race prep and the importance of the sport we have chosen, but also finding ourselves and where our strengths and weaknesses lie.
We had the pleasure of having Allegra Wykerd come and chat to us about nutrition and how important it is in our daily lives, especially when needing the right amount energy for riding. As well as showing us the correct foods to eat to not only to sustain the energy needed when training and riding so much but to have a healthy and well balanced diet too. It was a awesome talk and a great deal of it was taking in, as it didn’t only inform us what we were doing was wrong or right but directed us in the right path, as well as it wasn’t just a nutritionist point of view but it came from an athlete’s perspective too.
We also had the privilege of meeting Robert F, who is a personal trainer. He came to show us the benefits of stretching and strength training in the base phase of one’s training/riding. This is very critical in any sport, especially stretching when it comes to cyclists as we tend to make muscles tight and therefore shortening them. It was very interesting to see when doing the exercises and stretches what parts of the body/muscles are stronger than others. A big thank you to Rob for taking your time and showings us some exercises and stretches.
And of course we had the famous Charles Roberts come and chat to us about the future and the present of cycling, especially in KZN. This was extremely interesting to see how much interest the province and nation has in cycling and to see that it is becoming a fast growing sport. As well as to see how much support we have (as riders) from outsiders means a lot when one wants to make cycling a career choice. It was great to see how well Pietermaritzburg is doing as a cycling hot spot, to see all the events that are coming to this little town. Not only do we get the advantage of riding some fantastic trails that are all relatively near each other (Cascades, Cedra, Howick, Karkloof, and Giba Gorge) and knowing they are world class areas but we having the most amazing talent in the KZN cycling, ranging from little’s to the top pros. I think we are very fortunate to have such wonderful facilities right on our door step.
Race Day!!
We were having such a great time at camp that before we knew it it was race day! Excitement filled the atmosphere as every athlete prepared for action and to see some tremendous racing.
This weekend at the KZN XCO Champs riders experienced a different system being introduced, where certain categories were combined with other categories making it more competitive as there are more riders out on the track at once. For example the age categories nippers, sprogs and sub-junior’s were put together (both male and female) making it more of a challenge to race and it pushes the rider as he/she compete against both genders and riders older or younger than them. I was quite intrigued to try out this new system as it involved my age group as well, as Youth, Junior, U23 and Elite women were put together, it also applied to the men. It was going to be some exciting racing both in the women’s race and men’s. I was keen to race with the other age groups as it will push not only me but other riders as well. It will prepare us for having bigger competition in the future and teaching us to fight it out to the end. As we not just racing against our own categories with little competition but racing against other riders we don’t normally race against. Therefore making sure we race/ride to the best of our ability as athletes, either making sure the younger riders don’t catch us or that we try and catch the riders ahead of us.
There was some great racing done by all the athletes and big congratulations to all that competed in the race! The new system really worked well and I thoroughly enjoyed and I’m sure the other athletes will agree. A big thank you to Nick Floros for making such a fantastic course for us to race on, it was a fun course will many switch backs both downhill and uphill. The perfect track for a 26inch bike (hint: the BMC Fourstroke 01J), it was a fast course where one could see their competitors throughout the entire race, which was pretty coolJ.
Well done to the riders!!!!
Xxx
South African XCO Championships (Mankele)
This last weekend the South African XCO (cross-country) Championships took place in Nelspruit at a wonderful place called Mankele.
I was excited to see everyone back on the racing scene again and catch up with the all the athletes. I’ve heard that Mankele is a great venue to hold a cycling race and I haven’t been there before, so I was pretty keen to check out the course and venue. We of course had fantastic accommodation at Misty Valley Lodge, it might have been a bit further away from the race venue but it was worth it!
It was a cool course testing each riders abilities, both climbing and technically. The course was about 5.5km with 120m ascent with some fun bridges, drop-offs and tight corners in the single track. The two drop-offs along the xco course added some exciting action during the races. The terrain of the track was quite loose and sandy, which meant one (rider) had to stay focused throughout the race. It was good as it tested each riders skills as the course changed with each rider riding it.
It was great to see how many competitors and athletes showed up for the championships, making it a bigger field in each age group for the riders to battle it out. It’s fantastic to see so many more people riding and wanting to take part in the sport. There was a top field in the women’s race making it quite a buzz of excitement for the riders and the spectators.
I had a truly great race over the weekend coming in 2nd U23 and 5th overall; I felt great on the bike and was in a positive mind set throughout the race. I stuck out my tongue and gave a big smile every time I came through the tech/feed zone to start the next lap and trust me you cannot fake a smile if you are not happy and in a positive mind setJ. That shift of mind set truly helps you have good time on the race and enjoy the race, even if you do have pain in your legs you are able to bypass that pain and carry on. Well done to all the riders that raced on the weekend downhill and cross-country, it was great weekend of racing. Thank you to all the support out there it really does make a difference to the rider when racingJ. A big congratulations to all my BMC-SA Teammates some fantastic racing by all, getting quite a few podiums. Good luck to Candice Neethling in her journey a head, we are so proud of you and will be supporting you all the way!!
Until next time.
Thanx for reading.
Xxx
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