Owtway oddessy

One of the toughest Marathon MTB races is over for another year and i believe it was the best one yet. A quick update on my week before i give you a race report.

Tuesday night the family and i went to the MTB critt under Burke rd bridge. After a few crashes on the early laps due to my adjusted riding style caused by the shoulder ligament injury, i was able to work into a handy lead to take out the $100 up for grabs in A grade. I am looking forward to a full series of these races around Christmas as Mitchell loves riding the trails down there also.

Thursday i saw the Knee specialist. He was a bit surprised by the MIR scan as it showed that i have completely snapped my Anterior Cushier Ligament in my right knee. This gives me 2 options, leave it and no longer run or do any sport or activity's that involve twisting or sudden turning. The other is a complete knee reconstruction involving about 8 weeks rehab. I took the complete knee reconstruction. It is booked for the 14th of April just after the Australian 24 Hour Solo Championships.

Back to the Owtway Odyssey. It was an early start as i had to register before the start. They had giving me No.13, just what i needed to settle pre race nerves. It was a fast start again as we rolled out of town and then began climbing. One thing i won't forget was looking back down from the top to see riders snaking there way along the road we had just blown our lungs apart coming up. I came into the first drink station in 7th place feeling better than in previous years. The next loop took allot out of me. This was fun flowing single track but with the shoulder injury i found i had to really focus on what i was doing just to hold a wheel. As we started the last loop it showed as we started to climb and i just rode a solid tempo to get me to the finish. In the end i managed 9th place which i was happy with considering the lead up. I will be back next year hoping for a top 5 finish.