.jpg)
This year has been an epic one with some real highlights but also the feeling that I might have spread myself a little too thinly at times and sailed close to the edge a few times with the mix of training and racing.
Ending the year with a few runs and a Duathlon with plenty to look forward to in 2023 once I've knuckled down to a good honest winter of training !
This would be a last event of the season ,and a ride and run. It is 30 odd miles from home to Holme Pierrepoint, and I thought it would be a good idea to get up early, freeze my knackers off, ride the A46 DC, and then some snowy trails to get to HPP for signing on at 9.30am - it worked a treat though.
The race itself went well. I had dressed about right for the conditions and decided to run at a good tempo effort for the first couple of miles. What I found was that I eased into a kind of sweetspot effort, and the four laps of the lake wouldn't be an issue. I didn't race anyone for 12 miles and was in good order, then I started to worry about beating 1:40 as I had sussed it was on, and the last mile or so was done in to the red which wrecked what was a good idea beforehand. In honesty, I would have still beaten the time but you never know out there. Sub 1:40 is good form to finish with given the ride across beforehand and the cold conditions.
Gainsborough & Morton 10k 43.07
After that lovely holiday and a couple of weeks rested, I was just getting back into it but had this trike team engagement to honour. Whilst I knew I would be off colour, I was at least fit, so played it by ear, had a solid first mile, and tried to keep that pace the whole way round. It was a lovely 10km and on roads that I'd raced in the week night time trial series. 43.07 better than I thought I would go to be fair.
Lincoln 10K 42.18
This came and went in October and was the last event I did when I was a sprightly 49 years old. I had decided that I would go all out even though it was only two weeks since my Marathon in York. I started well enough, but because of the aforementioned race, did not quite have it top end, and then when suffering into the headwind in the last 1.5 miles , had not built up enough of a buffer and finished adrift of my all time best of 42.04 by just 14 seconds. It will come, but for now my 10k PB remains in tact. 42.18 on the day respectful, but I reckon on a brighter day and prepared there is a low 41 in me. That was it, time for a 2 week hiatus from running and a holiday to Madeira to fit in.
Oulton Park Autumn Duathlon 1.57.07
This is fast becoming my go to Duathlon, as within a year, I've been back three times, this time supposedly with Ian & Dave, but Dave was out early on, and Ian couldn't make it on the day. With my training buddies out of commission, the pressure was off and I was able to just relax and as a result put in a really useful Duathlon performance , coming third in my age group.
First run felt good as I eased in and found my position - 6:50 average pacing was a good return, the bike leg was my best performance there averaging nearly 24mph (23.9) for the 9 laps, and finding myself going up the climbs reasonably well, and then on the second run, dropping off just 10 seconds per mile on average - 7:00 exactly. Third place - happy :)
