Failing to prepare …

Uffington White Horse in the distance – and this is as close I got to it in this year’s WHC

How (not) to prepare for a 90 mile sportive: first, make it only your third ride outside in nearly five months (✓); second, go to a wedding reception the evening before (✓); third, have a dodgy knee and ATs (✓). OK, ready to go.

The White Horse Challenge took place today (Sunday) – I think it was my 8th entry and 7th participation. It’s a really good local sportive – it’s about 90 miles (just under 150km) with climbing said to be about 1400m (c, 4600 feet) although my Garmin has typically measured it at about 25% more than that in climbing.

It takes in 4 White Horses in the area (chalk figures cut in the hillside) and is limited to about 600 entrants. The first time I rode it I took a bit over 6 hours – one of my big aims is to get under 5 hours but my best so far is 5:05.

This year was, clearly, not going to be very special for me. The Achilles Tendons are not right and my left knee is still dodgy after the marathon. More importantly, I’ve done just 20 miles on the bike and 6 hours on the turbo since the first week of January. I hoped that the cardio vascular benefits of the running might help but the muscle action is rather different so I went into it with very low expectations.

The day itself was dry but very cool and with a stiff breeze. It was probably a good year not to be in great cycling shape – I’d have hated to waste good form on a day with such difficult conditions.

I never felt perfectly comfortable on the bike – running does not help toughen the backside or strengthen the neck and shoulder muscles. Worse, although they both use the same leg muscles, they certainly use them differently.

I got past 80km (50miles) in a time that suggested I’d do something under 5:30 but at the top of one of the bigger hills the knee and ATs made it very clear that they didn’t think another 70km was a good idea. For once good sense prevailed and I decided to bail out – although the route I took back only saved me 30km (c. 20 miles) and took in another hill with a 17% gradient.

So, I did a total of 113km (70miles) 1250m of climbing (4100feet) in under 4:30, with a surprising 77 Strava achievements.

More importantly, my congratulations to everyone who completed the challenge.

I’m sad not to have finished the ride but think I made the right call. On a hard day for cycling, I had little to gain and potentially a lot to lose (or, more accurately, to damage). The current aim is to get the legs right – I’d hoped that cycling was a free hit with no real leg strain, but it appears that’s only true up to a point.

With so little cycle training, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised or disappointed – and there’s always next year. If the September/October 2020 marathon comes off, perhaps the early part of the year could be dedicated to a sub 5 hour White Horse Challenge …..