|
| |
Katrina HairNotes by Kenneth MacDonald
Katrina has risen very quickly to the top of Scottish cycling. When she joined Johnstone Wheelers with her then boyfriend George, I told her just to get to the back of the bunch and watch. 20 miles later Katrina and George asked to be allowed to take spells; after another 15 miles only I could keep up with them! That first run showed us all what potential Katrina had.
 Her first season was a roller-coaster, from asthma attacks to attacking off the front of the bunch. Her first real season showed her dominating road-racing in Scotland, her second season saw her do the same in England.
Last season, she dominated in Road-Racing and Time Trialling and continues to improve in each discipline. She has represented Scotland abroad and at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and will be trying her hand at Pursuiting on the track next season. There can be little doubt that she will excel in this as well. Katrina is not only a natural athlete but shows complete dedication and believes in training hard to reach her goals. She is an inspiration to not only women competitors but to all competitors in Cycle Sport.
She has a long and distinguished career ahead of her; Johnstone Wheelers will be in support of her all the way.
(Pursuiting is a contest over 3 Kilometres with two riders starting on opposite sides of the track (a velodrome) and chasing each other. The winner is the one who catches the other or clocks the faster time over a set distance.)
Katrina scored another success, winning the European Masters Road Race Championships, as she tells below -
"I won the European Masters Road Race Championships on Friday (25th July), Cat.1, aged 30-39, and yes I am that old, and by only two weeks I may add!!!!!!!
 "It took place on the Isle of Man alongside the Men's Masters Championships and Women Cat.2. All week there has been racing in the Isle of Man culminating in the European Championships on the Friday.
"The race was over 1 lap of the famous TT circuit, roughly 40 miles. The course consists of a few steep short climbs round the island, but mainly flat or rolling, until Ramsay when it climbs for 5 miles up a 'mountain', i.e. pretty steep (and long) then descends just as steeply into Douglas and the finish. My race encompassed the Masters Men 45-59 and the cat.1 women. I managed to get into the break with the men at one of the steep climbs before Ramsay and worked with them to keep a gap and was away until the finish."
Summary of 2004
All in all it’s been a pretty good year for me. I’m in the lucky position that the results I’ve been getting seem to improve with each year that passes!
The year started off very slowly, and I mean very slowly. I don’t generally go on training camps. I brave the winter in Scotland and try to train around the ice and occasional snow. Inevitably, I get a cold every year around March and this year was no exception. The only difference was that I stupidly went out riding before I was fully recovered and it took me most of a month to get back to training. Oops!
My main aim of the year was always the track nationals in October so my coach (Graeme Herd) was keeping me ‘low key’ until then. In other words I was going like a donkey at the beginning...
I quite fancied getting some good results at the British National 10 and 25 mile time trials but did not have the legs in May/June and ended up 4th in both of them. Mind you, I did get both Scottish titles.
I was going pretty well by the end of June and went to the National Road Race Champs in Wales and was involved in a crash.
I was flying in July but there were no suitable competitions. I did a 22:22 for 10 miles on the Westferry at this point, which would have been a Scottish record except that it was a confined club event! I also did my pursuit time for the Commonwealth Games short-list which eased any pressure (not that I bother much about pressure, too laid back for worrying about such things!).
In August I really wanted to beat my pursuit record at the Scottish Track Champs but due to the gale force winds I had no chance even though I’m much stronger this year. I got the title back, which was good.
After this it was all track training. I was at the track every week and most weekends. There was almost impeccable timing in my training peak as I achieved gold at the World Masters Pursuit Champs with a record time and gold in the Scratch Race a few weeks later at the Track British National Champs. But, I totally ripped myself apart in the Scratch Race and didn’t recover for the pursuit (which was two days later and should have been no problem), in which I got a really disappointing time compared to what I had been getting in training. I came second but it was really the time I was interested in. At least now I know that I’ll ride well for a few weeks in a peak then I literally blow up and fall apart. I do not, as with some, gradually slow down before another build up. I seem to fall off a cliff and need a week to recover. Always learning!
So, to summarise. I had a very good year where I was supposed to (thanks to Graeme) and the rest was good training. And, all of it was very enjoyable and great fun. And that is definitely the main thing!
|
|
Our sponsors:
