At last, the Margam park weekend had arrived!
Only living 15 minutes down the road, I had made use of the park for training at every available opportunity. This is a course I love for the challenges and the scenery.
The day started really warm and sunny, unlike the forecast of heavy showers. The climbs in Margam are really open so the sun beating down on us was the last thing we wanted. Fortunately the rain earlier on in the week hadn't made much of an impression on the hard ground so it was really firm, dry and fast.
Gridded third, I got a great start and Katie Thilthorpe led us steadily towards the first off-road climb. Caroline Goward took the lead onto the grass and the pace increased. As soon as we headed up the first climb my legs filled with lactic acid and my heart sank. I tried to ignore it and pushed on. I kept third place until the turn into the first decent where Teresa Jackson nipped in. My legs were feeling strong again so at the bottom of the decent I made every effort to stay with the lead group. The grass climb up to the decent with the padded tree spread the group out a lot more as everyone struggled with so much climbing straight off the blocks. I enjoyed the descent and pushed onto the river crossing.
With the long climb after the river I was sure I'd be able to keep a steady pace and not let the lead grow too big. I could see the girls all the way up and it wasn't until the plank across the bog and the sprint up the muddy bank that the distance grew. Ruth Mordaunt ran past me with her bike on her shoulders but I couldn't get my legs to move any faster. At the top of the bank I clunked my gears down as fast as possible to race down the fire track to the next grassy climb.
Staying in middle ring, I wasn't going to let Ruth take that third position off me. I rode up the climb as quickly as I could, without a thought of burning out. I was looking forward to the 2 km decent to start the second lap and fortunately I didn't have anyone too close in front on the descent so I was able to really enjoy it. I couldn't believe the speed the girls had ridden across the fields to the Start / Finish line.
I kept Ruth in my sights and rode hard. I gained on her a little sooner than I wanted to but feeling that she was slowing me down I overtook her on the climb back up to the padded tree. Knowing she was going at pace I could ride in granny ring to save my legs, so I dropped it down and my chain fell off!!
Glancing behind me, I had only seconds before Ruth came past me. I wasn't going to let Ruth take the third place from me again so I put the chain back on as quickly as my fumbling fingers would allow, jumped on my bike, stood up and churned up the hill. I overtook Ruth just before the decent and just hoped she couldn't keep up with me on the descent. I needed the descent for my heart rate to drop to a sustainable level after the sudden exertion needed to overtake Ruth again. I must have gained a good lead on the climb after the river crossing as I didn't see Ruth again until the end. My third lap was the quickest in my category but it wasn't fast enough to catch up with Teresa and Katie.
I was very proud to have finished third. My average heart rate was a high 175pbm with a maximum of 186bpm, I had no idea I could work that hard for 1hr 40 minutes!
Trek Marathon Series Round 3 - Margam Park (50km)
I made my way to the Park with the thought that I wanted to have the perfect weekend with two podiums. Little did I know at that point the Amy Hunt had entered with the same thought!
Gabriella Day had also entered and of course, Nadine Spearing.
After a short warm up, with 10 minutes to go, I made my way to the start line to discover that everyone else had already congregated. I tried to make my way forward without upsetting too many people by pushing in but I was still about 100 people back when the whistle went. I was gutted!
The first climb was no better than single track as the deer tracks made the ground very difficult to ride anywhere other than on the 1ft wide track. With everyone in single file and overtaking out of the question I had no choice other than to accept the pace. As soon as the track widened I sprinted past as many riders as I could to get to the loose rock single track climb. To my dismay, it was already congested when I got there and almost at a stand still with everyone having to walk! This was not the start I had thought I would have. (Next time, forget the warm up and line up early!)
Fortunately the men in front of me didn't waste time on the descent and I went at a comfortable pace to the next climb which had plenty of room for passing.
I passed lots of the other girls on the climb after the stream but I had no idea what position I was in so I just had to keep riding as hard as I could. It was a good feeling knowing that I only had to do two laps. I spared no thought of tiring as I ploughed up the climbs as I knew the pain I was feeling would go away when I was properly warmed up (normally about half an hour into the race!).
I knew I wouldn't catch Amy but I had beaten Nadine at the Dyfi Enduro so I knew there was hope. Having not raced Gaby before, I didn't know what to expect but I have since found out the she finished second in the Elite category at the Cyclo Cross British Championships in January! I kept passing as many people as I could on the climb only to be disappointed at the top to be in another queue!
Once again, I accepted the pace and waited patiently for the fire track. Then I clunked down as many gears as I could for the fire track descent.
Unfortunately everyone did the same so the entry to the long, technical rocky climb was once again on foot. All it takes is one person to spin out on a rock and everyone behind has to walk. The remainder of the climb (about 10 minutes) was a case of overtaking where possible and being patient where it wasn't. Obviously I was very frustrated but there was nothing I could do except try to make up for the lost time at every available opportunity.
I had been dreading the muddy, rutted decent as I came off there the year before. I managed to take completely the wrong line and ended up in a rut so deep and narrow that my cranks got stuck! I climbed out and continued down the descent without any further mishaps.
As I went through the start/finish post to start my second lap I heard that I was in fourth place. Pleased, but frustrated, at not knowing how much of a lead the girl in third had I aimed my sights at every girl in front of me. Glancing at their number boards as I went past I was disappointed to see they were all 100km riders.
I had no idea how far in front of me the top three girls were. I was feeling tired but comfortable enough to push on the climbs. The second lap went a lot smoother than the first.
The only climb that my rhythm was broken on was on the loose rocks where the man in front of me spun out on a rock. As I was on his back wheel, I had to stop too. Although my rhythm was constant I was too slow! I needed the focus of knowing how big a gap I had to close to motivate me to push harder.
My first lap was 1hr 27 which I was thrilled with but my 2nd lap was 1hr 34! My lap times are not normally so different so I can only think it's because I had accepted the gap was too big to close. My real disappointment came when I saw the results. Gabby had come in third with a four minute gap.
Every race I do I am learning new strategies. I now need to look forward and be determined enough to put them in place to get back on the podium.
Many thanks to Marin/Whyte Racing UK for my awesome bikes, to EAS Energy for their advice and supplements, to Elite Fitness for their training advice, to Dakine and Polar UK and to Rush Extreme Sports for their constant encouragement, technical assistance and for teaching me to ride down steep stuff without crashing!
Kate Betts is a Whyte Racing UK supported rider through Rush Extreme Sports in Porthcawl, South Wales. She's ranked number three in the women's masters and powers her Whyte 19 around every course she tackles.
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