1º AgitÁgueda Granfondo

 Korraldati esimene AgitÁgueda Granfondo, kus olime Filipega ka reklaamnäod. 

Loomulikult panin end jaanuaris juba kirja pikimale distantsile, kui rajad avaldati, siis mõtlesin küll, et ohoh keskmine distants on ikka oluliselt kergem ronimise poole pealt kui pikk. Eriti kui avaldati, et ajalimiit on 6h, siis mõtlesin, et ohoh pole aega vaateid ja pilte küll teha ja joogipunktides tuleb ka kiiresti tegutseda. 

Oodata oli kuuma suvepäeva ja nii ka oli. Laupäeval väiksel ringil tundusid jalad super mõnusad ja siis pühapäeval stardipoole pedaalides oli hoiatus juba jalad, tuleb raske päev, ei teagi mis täpselt valesti läks, aga raske oli algusest ja krambid tulid kiiresti, kuigi jook-söök oli koguaeg õigeaegne. Peatusin igas joogipunktis et enda kaks joogipudelit täita, kokku oli neid neli.

Ah ja kokku oli 132 km 2400m+ ametlik aeg 5h09:38

keskmine temp 30kraadi, maks 38. 

Eks sellistel sõitudel ei teagi kus naiste osas asetsen, pikimal (22km) tõusul tundus, et üks naine läks mööda, aga läks nii kergelt ja kiirelt, et mul jäi kahtlus, aga hiljem piltidelt ikka sain aru, et oli tema. Ehk üldkokkuvõttes olin naistes 2, enda vanuseklassi võitsin ja meestega koos üldis olin 84 (164 lõpetajast).

Et mul alates stardist, või noh tegelt juba enne, ei olnud hea tunne, oli ahvatlus väiksemale ringile keerata suur, aga siiski mõtlesin, et kannatan ära. Kuigi plaan oli veeta mõnus võistluspäev kohalikel teedel, siis oli ikka paras kannatamine ja peale poolt juba ka laskumistel ei saanud lõdvestuda, kuna jalad oleks kohe krampi tõmmanud. Aga noh on ka päevi selliseid.

Hetkel peaksime Filipega igaaastasel ViladoCondePenedeGeresExtreme´il olema, aga sel korral jäeti ära, selle otsuse nad tegid paar päeva enne, kuna siin on piisavalt kuum ja peamine põhjus oli, et põhjas oli mitmeid suuri metsatulekahjusid. 

Olge tublid ja aitäh kaasaelamast!

P.s sel aastal mind xco eestikatel ei olnudki. Eks suur osa sellest on olnud mu vaimsel olukorral, kuna füüsilisel kehal on probleem. Eks ma mingi hetk kui valmis ja ise ka rohkem teadlik kõigest annan ka teile blogilugejatele asjadest aru. 

The first AgitÁgueda Granfondo was organized, and Filipe and I were also the faces of the event.

Of course, I signed up for the longest distance already in January. When the routes were published, I thought, "Oh wow, the medium distance is much easier in terms of climbing than the long one." Especially when they announced that the time limit was 6 hours, I thought, "Oh boy, no time for views or photos, and I’ll have to move fast at the feed zones."

A hot summer day was expected, and that’s exactly what we got. On Saturday’s short ride, my legs felt great, but when pedaling toward the start line on Sunday, my legs already gave me a warning—it was going to be a hard day. I’m not even sure what exactly went wrong, but it was tough from the beginning, and cramps hit early, even though I stayed on top of drinking and eating. I stopped at every feed zone to refill my two bottles—there were four feed zones in total.

Oh, and the total was 132 km with 2400 m of climbing. Official time: 5h09:38.
Average temperature: 30°C, max: 38°C.

On rides like this, I never really know how I rank among the women. On the longest climb (22 km), it seemed like one woman passed me, but she went by so easily and quickly that I wasn’t sure. Later, when I saw the photos, I realized it was indeed her.
So in the end, I finished 2nd among women, won my age group, and placed 84th overall out of 164 finishers.

Since I wasn’t feeling good from the start—or honestly, even before the start—it was very tempting to switch to the shorter loop. But I told myself to just endure it. Although my plan was to enjoy a nice race day on local roads, it turned into a real sufferfest. After halfway, I couldn’t even relax on the descents anymore because my legs would’ve cramped up immediately. But hey, there are days like this.

At the moment, Filipe and I were supposed to be at the annual Vila do Conde – Peneda-Gerês Extreme, but this time it was canceled. They made the decision a few days before because it’s been very hot here, and the main reason was several large wildfires in the north.

Take care, and thanks for cheering me on!

P.S. I didn’t participate in XCO Nationals this year. A big part of that is due to my mental state, because my physical body is struggling. At some point, when I’m ready and more aware of everything myself, I’ll explain it to you blog readers too.