Failure at The Hill

My complete failure to start The Hill has got me thinking. I can do races in the heat. I am, however, totally unprepared physically and mentally for the wind. Andrei Nana writes that people don't complete races because they fail to prepare.I had a plan but that meant getting lap eight for the first treat to boost me. I panicked and failed to use any of mental tricks that helped on previous races.  Physically I was fine, I just fell apart mentally. I am WEAK!

Training for the heat is easy. Bin bags. But how do you train for being battered from side to side and thrown off your feet and not being able to breath?The wind knocked me over so much that I really did not want to continue after two hours. This shocked many people around me at the race, but not as much as it shocked me. It was not that I was wet or cold. Richard Fish lent me loads of gear that kept me protected from the elements. Cold and rain I don't mind. But the wind not only knocks me over but also makes it difficult to breath. I don't understand how anyone else lasted so long. Even Lindley did more laps than me!)

I admit that I have lost a some of the fitness since Spartathlon and gain quite a bit of weight. Maybe more than I care to admit. I kidded myself I needed that as ballast, but seriously if an extra seven kilos wasn't enough to keep on my feet I doubt more would useful...

I wonder if it was merely that?  Or do I need to get stronger? For instance tyre dragging or using the weighted jacket more. Or training with a mask on to simulate the lack of breath.

I can either spend time working out how to cope with these conditions or just not do races that involve them. That would me not doing The Hill again. This conclusion is very bad as I hate admitting defeat. Perhaps I have a new obsession to replace Spartathlon? Or should I just forget about the Hill and any other race?

Some serious thinking is needed. Maybe not only about the types of races I enter or whether I should be doing them in the first place. What purpose do the serve in the greater scheme of things? Can I justify doing them?

Still the weekend was not a complete waste of time as I got to assist on the race...collecting up and laying out glow sticks with Dave Fawkner and Drew Sheffield. I was helping Mark Cockbain, Richard Weremiuk and Richard Fish in the camper van, making teas and preparing food.

I also got todo a bit of baby sitting with the adorable Max Cockbain.

Catching up Claire Shelly and meeting some of the Mud Crew guys and the others on the race. I do recall getting spectacularly drunk on the Saturday, but most of that was a blur. I am sure I offended a few people, coz I usually do and please take this as an apology from my sober self for my drunken self.