LRRA Middlemarkers

You never really know how well you are doing until you have ridden in competition with those people that you raced last season and on a course that you have ridden before.

The LRRA Middlemarkers event, raced over 25 miles and using our Newton 25 course was an opportunity to do just that on what was a really wet and windy day.

HQ was at the Pavillion in Saxilby and as I got there early, I was able to scout out a dry place to the rear to set up the turbo and carry out my new 20 minute warm-up. That little warm up completed and with drizzle already in the air, I had enough time to get to the start for my 10.07 slot. Abused by clubmate starters, I was away shortly after.

The first section was into a headwind for approximately 4 miles or so, and I just concentrated on keeping a good cadence. It was tough but at least do-able and I managed to keep up an average above 24mph. Turn left at Newton Cross roads though and it was just a pig of a ride, climbing a little and then a bit more past the turning for South Clifton. I thought that I had seen headwind on the first leg but this section really did batter me to the point of the ride average being 22.9 at the Besthorpe turn.

Then, backwind, woosh ! I remember telling myself not to get to giddy as I was keeping a really sweet cadence and managing 27mph, and remembering that I would have this backwind section to finish later in the event. Thorney crossroads and 23.6mph ave. I worked really hard into the headwind sections again and got to the Besthorpe turn in much better shape at 23.5, helped by catching a clubmate at this point who was on his first lap.

OK, back on Sand Lane and hold on - where's that backwind gone from 20 minutes ago ?? It was now a side-back and the free speed I enjoyed earlier was now having to be clawed at. Didn't quite break 24mph in the end, but a PB 1.02.47, and more importantly, the Middlemarkers win ensured that once I had warmed up and got dry I had a smile on my face.

Lincoln 10k 2015 race report

I counted up how many years I'd been running this race on the way to the start and was surprised to find that today would make it raceday 7. Today, again, was a really nice spring day and perfect for running for a race.

Having not competed over the 10k distance since last summer I didn't have much of an idea how things would go today and I had been feeling that I was not quite there in terms of fitness. Still, I was excited, none the less, when I lined up in the sub 45 pen wearing my Lincoln &District Runners race vest for the 11am start.

New organisers for this year too - the mob who organise the Jane Tomlinson ones taking over. apart from the pathetic toileting arrangements which saw the removal of the stand up lorries that had been used in previous years, everything else ran like clockwork and was impressive.

Race itself then, busy first mile as expected, a few muppets started in the wrong pens, which doesn't help when you are being funnelled into a roundabout, but once past the 1km marker on Longdales Road, it gets easier and your lines are easier to pick out. Didn't feel that I had red lined at all in the first mile and was very pleased to see a solid 6.46 flash up on the Garmin.

Managed to consolidate this with two more sub 7 minute miles to reach the halfway point in good order. Then I saw a club mate a good 100m ahead, and the next two miles I had a bit of a carrot to chase to keep things interesting and to keep my mind off the effort I was putting in. Fourth mile sub 7, fifth mile which included catching and overtaking was the slowest of the day at 7.07.

The course had to be changed this year due to works taking place at the Castle, and this meant that an extra little loop had to be added to make the course 10k. As the looped around the Ermine estate, I kept thinking that the course must be long, but actually it was spot on.

That last mile was a straight effort along Nettleham Road and although it was long it was never boring as I was keeping pace with people that I thought would have comfortably beaten me.  Different finish this year as it was in the shadow of the Cathedral.

A nice medal, a rubbish T shirt, a PB, and a blister are mementos of my 7th Lincoln 10k.

VTTA North Midlands 18k

Not an 18k this year as the course needed to be shortened as there were roadworks at Blyth. This meant that this years edition would be a 6.53 mile effort which would finish on the entry to Blyth and would miss out the return miles on the A1.

Another change today would be the emergence of a tacx turbo this week which meant that I could warm up like a pro before the event - if only they knew I was making it up as I went along !!

My start time was 1.39 and by 1.20 I had finished my warm up and was ready to get to the start. I knew that the first section would be headwind and that the second and third sections would be cross head and cross respectively.

Initially then, my tempo was good but I felt a bit leggy still (it was my second race in a week) as I grimaced my way through the first section never really settling down. When I turned onto London Road I felt I got a lot more speed for my efforts and although it undulated upward I rode my best section of the course.

The final section had one draggy climb on it and I was glad to get over that one - and then all I had down to the finish under the bridge for a time of 16.04 on the day and average of 24.4mph.

Next up for me is the Middlemarkers event on the 29th :)

CC Breckland 10m

Last year, my first time trial of the season was this race on the same course where I posted 25.06 and finished 30/54 finishers. The things that have changed for this year were a winter or turbo training where I could, a new black skinsuit, and a decision not to wear compression socks and shave my legs. I was hoping for an improvement as I rocked up to the village hall at Scoulton for signing on and collection of my number 49 !

It was a surprise mild spell and the temperature had hit a barmy 15 degrees. There was also a siff breeze of 15mph whic meant that the first stretch would be a stinker of a headwind !

I warmed up well and made my way around to the start. The warm up felt good and I practiced keeping a cadence of around 100 rpm ( I just wish I could maintain this during the actual race! ).

I was ready then, as I was sent on my way at 2.49pm, however, my enthusiasm initially wilted against the headwind and my speeds looked to just drop and drop. I doubted that I had done any worthwhile winter work during that first stretch, but things improved with some side winds as I got further toward the Watton turnaround. At the turn, my Garmin registered 22.5 but this was with a 20 second delay as I had started it early. The return leg was a joy to ride and in parts I was topping 30mph and posting a negative split. My cadence was good and I was never really red-lining. Still, I didn't quite manage a sub 24, but at 24.20 a more than respectable finish.

Official results are not yet out, but I estimate a finish this year of c.28/65 so a nice improvement over last year :)

Cliff Pratt Cyclocross Spring League

18.03.14 ROUND 3

Third and final race of this series for me as the fourth race falls the day before the Middlemarkers and I figure that I need to be as fresh for that as I possibly can be.

So, third round and a bit drier than last week. Had less air in the tyres this week as thought it would be wetter, and I think I could have gotten away with more. The race itself followed last weeks albeit the course was better this week with an extra up and down in it.

I worked hard and managed to manoeuvre myself up a few places. Guys that lapped me in week one failed to do so by a far margin this week, so I either must have improved.

A satisfying end to the series and may well be back for the autumn series. 26/36

11.03.14 ROUND 2

One week on and a second go at the course at the 'Elvis' Costello stadium in Hull.

There had been rain during the day, not heavy but enough to muddy up last weeks tracks. The course was much the same as the previous weeks with slight variance here and there where the organisers felt a change needed to be made.

My actual race was a start at the back again affair and then steadily attempt to make progress through the field. It was more slippy and my first few laps were tentative - until I started to learn my lines so to speak.

A 28/39 finish for the second in the series with just a final race to negotiate this coming Wednesday.

04.03.14 ROUND 1

OK, this is a first ! It's a cross race, but it's held in mid-week and it's floodlit - what's not to like ?? Put on by the City Road Club Hull, this event is a series of four races held on Wednesday evenings (and a Saturday) at the Costello Athletics Stadium at Hull.

Some Wheelers got together, and went over for some fun... this is how the first one went...

7.45 at the line, and positioned to the rear, starter starts us off and immediate crash, which I manage to dodge from my position , however, a lot of people are held up early on ! There is nothing on the first lap which has me in danger of coming off, and everything bar the boards section is rideable. It has been dry and there is a lot of grass on the course. I'm told that it will muddy up nicely in coming weeks though !

From here it was a case of riding at a good tempo, avoiding riders riding into each other, and picking people off where I could. It was an enjoyable 53 mins or so, and round one ended with a 33/48 finish. .

I can only do rounds two and three and will update this thread as and when :)