Robinsonada Łódzka - 98km race

I am really glad I participated in MTS, it gave me nice boost, I've gained some experience and I was pretty sure I will finish 98km race in less than 4 hours. After all, Robinsonada Łódzka were organized on my turf. I know our forests and roads, so it should be a smooth sail through familiar grounds.

Well, apparently it wasn't.

But let's start from the beginning - I mentioned previously my front tire has started acting up. The race was set for the beginning of September, so I had over one month to resolve this issue. Basically, my tire couldn't hold air, no amount of sealant or fresh tape could help. I showed my rim in the bike shop, but they said everything should be fine. I discussed this issue with my coach and some other people. Then I decided that I will put a tube inside and figure out later what's really going on.

I punctured it really quickly during some training ride. My coach raised some concerns about that, because it was... 4th, maybe 5th tube I have punctured since I have started regular trainings. Only once I had to change tube in the rear wheel. The regularity of these events made me transition to tubeless system, but as you can see, I still had some problems. Maybe because we did whole conversion all by ourselves (my parnter always helps with, it's two person job and I'm not going to visit bike shop every time I need to change a tape). But rear wheel was holding up really nice (and it was the first wheel which recevied tubeless treatment).

I'm not pro, I don'f fight for every millisecond, so I don't mind having suboptimal setup, so off I went on Sunday morning full of confidence...

Physically I was well-prepared, no issue with that, but apparently my main problems were in my head. There were a couple of things which drained me mentally. They might sound like minor issues, but added together were hindering my performance quite significantly..

1. Granite bottle cage

I have only to places for bottle cages and it's not enough for my needs. Camelbak I own is too large and it blocks my rear pockets (and I have really short arms). I decided to buy Granite bottle cage with straps used by mountain bikers. I could have either mounted in on the fork or on the frame. I chose the latter as I thought it would be easier to reach for it. Well, not exactly. Apparently it's actually easier to grab something from the fork rather than between the legs. The position is less awkward, but I couldn't know that back then. But the biggest issue was that I was constantly poking water bottle with my right knee and it felt off three times.

2. Sand

I hate sand. I would rather ride through mud and more mud and loose gravel than sand. Unfortunately, łódzkie is quite sandy, so it is expected to ride on the sandy roads. The problem was that many times I realized too late I will have to go through sand and thus my speed was too low to manage through it smoothly. My balance wasn't always great as well. I think all these things require just more practice.

3. Flat tire

Last 5km were hard. I didn't know what's going on, I couldn't speed up, everything felt just wrong. I was madly mouth-washing to gain energy. After reaching finish line and getting something to eat I noticed my front tire is completely inflated and it became obvious why I was struggling. I was really pissed off and I bought a new tire, because I ran out of options.

Guess what?

It solved all the issues. New tire gets on the rim smoothly, it perfectly holds air and until this day there's nothing wrong with it. After some time I have changed rear tire as well, because it was just a little bit less worn off than the front one.

4. Muscle tension and back pain

During my first race I experienced some tension and back pain, but it was nothing out of ordinary (for me). I should have devoted some time to stretching. But during this race, tension and pain were more pronounced and I have started wondering if I should visit my fitter again, because maybe my position has changed, but since it wasn't that bad, I decided to do that at the beginning of 2025 and resort to stretching for now (which generally speaking helps).

5. Boredom

Contrary to the first race in Tarnowskie Góry, this one unfortunately partially consisted of asphalt roads. At one point we had to ride for at least 5 kilometers on asphalt through generic landscape. We didn't even encounter wild dogs. For some reason I couldn't stand this part. It was hot, there were no other riders around and I had an impression that I move 5km/h. Maybe I was more tired than I thought. Nevertheless, I was bored and I think it had a negative impact on me.

I finished race in 4 hours, 31 minutes and 20 seconds meaning I got third place in women's category. That's pretty awesome, but I felt beaten anyway. I should have done it in less than 4 hours, but it is what it is. At that time I planned one or two more races, so there was still space to practice more and test my performace.