The Manresa 3h endurance race, a true FMM classic, was held yesterday.
After more than ten years without participating, I returned to enjoy this intense and explosive type of BTT.
We participated in teams of 3 in the mixed modality (although later we were in the category of veterans 40) Jordi, David and me.
For those of you who don’t know how it works, it’s about cycling the maximum number of laps, through a technical circuit of about 2.7 km for 3 hours, the three participants, taking turns once every lap is completed.
We decided to start with David, who is the fastest. The first lap is the worst. Everyone goes to the maximum and after the starting line at 50 m there is a narrow passage where the most difficult thing is trying not to fall. Once David’s first lap was completed, it was my turn. I went out with a lot of enthusiasm, with some concern so as not to hurt myself, since it is a circuit with many “S”, turns, some complicated descents … And after 100 m while going down some stairs, my chain comes off! Fortunately, I put it back in 30”… Let’s go!!! All is fine! I jumped a step and went up a hill followed by “S” and more “S”, great fun, but I’m out of practice and my aim was to go as fast as possible. Then came a straight bit with some descents and more curves, but I gained speed and went faster. I was there with some other athletes, but without bothering one another. I was very focused (it’s easy to lose focus and fall to the ground). The second part of the circuit was still uphill and downhill, not to mention some very tight turns. The last part was the most fun for me; I had to be careful because it was a sandy area, and it slipped a lot, but it was full of very “entertaining pumps”. Here the heart rate dropped a bit, but at the end I took a straight path to the top to get there as soon as possible so that my partner could take over. Then I saw my children, who had arrived and began to encourage me by running by my side.
Now I had about 17 minutes to rest, drink water, eat something, until I went out again and David took over from me again.
Time was up and I had to go out again. Second round! My concern was not to run into any obstacles… and I came out “at full speed”! This time I didn’t go down the stairs. I took a ramp as an alternative and it worked better for me. On this lap I was already more agile, more familiar with the circuit. I did the first half faster, at a very high heart rate, but that’s what it is about. It’s less than 10′ per lap so you have to go as far as you can. When I went up the hill in the second half of the circuit, my family was there, cheering me on. It is always the best motivation and makes you pedal even faster. I was overtaken by a girl who I didn’t want to let go and when we entered the “pumps” area, I wanted to go so fast, that my wheel skidded and I fell on the ground! I immediately got up and “go”! That is what happens in a circuit like this and you lack some practice… Second round finished.
I like this 3 hour race, doing it as a team, helping each other, commenting on the laps, talking to each other. It’s fun!
The third lap was already better, without any obstacles and with more and more agility, since I was getting to know the circuit better, although my heart rate was really high and my legs were painful but, above all, I was enjoying myself a lot.
Here we had already been cycling for 1 and a half hours, so I still had 3 more laps to run.
We went around the laps with the same dynamics and more or less with the same time, without any fright from anyone in the team.
When I finished the fifth lap, I looked at the time and there were 25′ left to complete the 3h, so I would have to run one more lap, since Jordi and David took about 16′ to complete theirs.
The last lap was already the sixth one and considering the time that was left, mine was supposed to be the last one, and Jordi who was after me was no longer running (that was a theory, of course). But I took this last lap with great enthusiasm. The 3 hours had already passed and my family and friends continued to cheer me on throughout the circuit. I really enjoyed it, even if my legs were already starting to get soft. The last few meters I was racing at full speed, as I was fighting a young boy who I had been pedalling with for half a circuit, and I gave it all because I had him right behind me, and also because I thought I would be the last in my team to go around. That resulted in a bad trick for my teammate as there were still 20″ left to the 3 hours and he had to go out to run a final lap! I felt bad for him because he thought that he had already finished… Well, one more anecdote to tell.
We’ll be back next year!!!
