January - sick and tired, you been hanging on me....

This month has just been about building them hurting bombs and shedding Xmas weight gain. Just the one event this month and a toughie to boot - myself, and Ian from the Wheelers trike collaboration ventured up to Sheffield on Saturday the 8th to essentially take part in a 2-up run, entitle Round Sheffield Run.

The run was a stage race and you checked in and out of each stage, with a walk in between. If you ran everything it would be 15 miles, but our event was approximately 11.5 miles in total with a heck of a lot of climbing thrown in.  

9.45 was our start time on a boggy morning at Endcliffe Park. The organisation was well planned out, co registration and pre-match toilets no issue at all. A 10 minute warm up run ensued, and then we went to start early but they made sure to make us wait until 9.45 did come around - I can see why to be fair. 

There were something like 15 stages ranging from the shortest 0.4km to the longest which was 2.8km. That was the first one , leaving Endcliffe Park it would gently upward and was a good leg to start the event with. The second leg though was a real leg killer, lots of climb and that was the story of the day. Lots of undulations, some frankly scary steep muddy downhills, and some muddy climbs. It was great fun, but the stop starting, and the cold getting into the legs made sure that by the three quarter stage I had started to not think it was so much fun and longed to see Endcliffe Park again so that I could finish and have something warm to drink.

Great event though, finished 23rd pair which was respectable, and with both of us over 50 we surely were right up there in the old farts category.

First medal of the year -  done ! 

The remainder of this month will be long rides, and long runs, whilst watching sunrise and sunset get earlier and later. Get through these long days and March will be here sooner rather than later.

Week 12 of the Don Fink ' Be Iron Fit' complete as at time of writing with Ironman Lanzarote the focus in the medium term, swiftly followed by Roth and then to Tenby and Wales in September.

Finishing off 2022

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 ! 

ATW Christmas Half 1.39.21

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 :)

Yorkshire Marathon 2022

 16.10.22 Yorkshire Marathon  3.18.47

What can I say about my first standalone marathon ?  For years I'd tried getting into London, but have been rejected for 10 years now and as I'd have just done Zofingen, what better time would there be to just get one done ? 

I couldn't find a reasonable hotel so ended up Glamping for the evening which was only £40, and was like sleeping in a shed, but there was a heater and I could use the camp bed.

All of my previous marathon runs had been at the end of Ironmans, with my last two being 4.03 & 4.13. Today I reckoned I could trouble 3.20 following my pace at Great North, but to do that I would need to be going some. 

Park and ride was easy, and I had plenty of time to get ready and drop my bag. I lined up behind the 3.15 pacer and at 9.30 I was underway , I went off in hindsight a little too strong, but holding 7.10-7.15 seemed reasonable. I so loved the support and the course and the miles ticked by. At halfway I was ahead of the 3.15 pacer and had done 1.35 for the half, I tried then to hold on as long as possible, and then the headwind hit me from 15 ish, and for the next 5 miles or so I had slowed to 7.30-7.40 pace. At mile 22 my legs were a little fukt and my running robotic. I did hold on, losing a minute a mile, and just made it home within target - 3.18.47 in my first marathon - absolutely top day and memories that will last - you never forget your first.

25.09.22 Humber Bridge Half Marathon 1.46.07

This was my long slow run three weeks out from Yorkshire Marathon. It is an event that I've always wanted to do, having fancied doing hell on the humber in the now distant past. First things first, turn up at Hessle early and do the pre amble 8 miles into Hull & back before starting the half marathon - by lurking a few rows behind the 2hr pacer this time and not at the very back (I would have done , but knew the bridge was narrow so wanted a fair crack at being able to overtake.  Legs OK all the way through , ran to how I felt, but then ramped up the last 4 miles to marathon pace effort which worked my tired legs. 21.5 miles in the bag, and a Tshirt & medal combo again - nice one ! 

11.09.22 Great North Run 1.40.50   

This was just a week after Zofingen, and so legs not great and I mitigated this by agreeing to pace Dave to a 1.43 PB.  I had been sunburned in Zof, and then foolishly managed to get sunburned here on a really hot day. 

It was a straight marathon and I tried to pace it at 7.30-7.40 mile pace which would see Dave back within his target. With the pressure off, I felt really good, even with the amount of bodies on the course - the thing about Great North was that it is really congested !  With lots of zig zagging and spurts, it took it's toll and my pacee had had enough at 8 miles, meaning that I could open up just a little bit late on, which I did to finish in 1.40.  A solid run, and I really enjoyed the Great North despite the numbers ! Great event, won't wait 12 years next time.

Powerman Zofingen 2022

This is the World Long Distance Champs and I would be in the 50-54 age group despite not actually being 50 until November.  I had been watching the event live on YouTube for the past few years, and had made a decision last year that as I was having a 2023 focused on Duathlon, that I would go for a place , and then build my season towards it. I started post Outlaw last year, with Standards at Oulton Park & Cowman, and used my Outlaw finish to qualify for Alsdorf Middle Distance Du (finishing 8th), and then this years Castle qualifiers at Cholmondeley & Howard. These last two being excellent prep as it turns out, as both have climbs and gravel/ trail paths on the runs and the bikes have decent amounts of climbing.

Getting there

I drove, Lincoln to Harwich (Hull is much closer but £200 more expensive), then from Hook Of Holland to Antwerp to drop Mrs off at a family reunion, and then off to Metz for an overnight stop. Metz to Zofingen the following morning. (It is worth noting that on the Monday after the event, I was able to drive from Zofingen back to Antwerp in a one-er @ 419 miles, so when I go again, I'll likely cut the Metz stop out. 

I arrived in Zofingen on the Friday morning, choosing to stay at the Partner Hotel which was a good logistical place to stay and was on the bike course. What it was though, was a third floor of a private medical building with clinics on each floor. I couldn't tell what was being done there, but I'm guessing Botox, Tits & Teeth wouldn't be far from the mark !  The room was nice, and the hotel seemed popular with other competitors. I had a tempo bike session that afternoon, and on the Saturday morning went for a jog, and a short tune up on the bike, before registering and meeting up with the British Team for photos. In the evening, we attended the pasta party which was free and in a turn up, was actually good !  Sunday, I set the alarm for very early even though it was a 9.02 start. 

I expected rain even though the forecast was for clear skies, and it didn't disappoint as it rained as I walked/ scooted down to transition. Then it cleared up and didn't appear again all day. Racking was easy , and those blue boxes, are ample for everything I needed to put in it. I had a good half an hour to watch the womens race unfold on the giant screen, before a half arsed, half professional looking warm up before heading to the mens 20-64 start which went off just 2 minutes after the male pro race. 

Run 1

Straight from the off, this course starts with a gentle climb which ramps up and steepens before continuing into gravel paths in a forest, concentration key here with cambers and cobbles to deal with. Going up the hill was steady, and I just kept thinking, take this like you would on a bike - it's not how you go up it, it's how you go over it that's important, and I was strong over the top so knew I'd pitched it about right.  I do need to work on downhill running though. Even though I held form, and didn't brake, I was still losing bags of time to those around me, only making up time on the flats. Second lap, almost carbon copy of the first, and I headed into transition 10th in AG, but minutes behind the medal contenders.  41.55.

Bike 

I'm usually reasonable on a bike and make up places. Here, I wouldn't be using my usual TT bike as it's single ring and 60T and I'm not Brian Fogarty ! I bought an entry level P2 from face book a few months back for undulating courses so had the luxury of a 53/39 with 11-23 on the back. Knowing that I cramped badly at Castle Howard, I would start the bike with two bottles of Ribena made up with ph1500 which I thought would do the job. In my top box was my feed trifle !  Bottom layer Jelly Babies, Middle layer Fig Rolls (McVities of course), with dessert on top in the shape of Powerbar Caramel all diced up.  I used a disc and a tri spoke, I had shallower wheels with me, but as wind was minimal and it was dry, I took the chance. 

So on to the bike in 10th, settled quickly, went to take first drink of the Ribena parked between my aero bars and nothing. Tried pulling the tube out, twisting it but to no avail, so had 87 miles of staring at something I couldn't use. Did have the one on the down tube so drank that and replaced it with a bottle of random energy drink at each feed.  There are three laps of this course, each has what I'd call two hard, long climbs, and a couple of long drags, there are wild descents, some switchbacks , and some technical turns. I knew my power, and stuck to it, making sure to cap the effort on the ups where I needed every one of those gears, and not chasing the watts on the descents.  It was quiet, not too much in the way of other competitors, and the traffic was respectful. Pretty uneventful bike, other than catching a L

uxemboug athlete for a good minute up the last of the six big uns. Holding same power when I passed him, he then decided, that he'd come back past me again. Only to blow up a short while later. Why do people do this ? You cannot magic up watts ! I would see him later on the run and to be fair we would strike up a bond ! 

Bike 4.45 when I fancied I'd be about 4.30. Off the bike in 7th (I didn't know that at the time, I thought I was a lot lower down), but in good order, still had running legs and was looking forward to the 30km last run.

Run 2

The TV does this course no justice, it is a beast, with a stairway to heaven at the start of each lap. The first mile of each would be the hardest, with some respite on the shelf section (with stunning views), before climbing again in the forest until the 5km feed station then it was mostly downhill. On that first forest section , I again cramped badly and lost time as it was slow to ease off. After that brief walk, I knew my limits and the threshold for it to happen again, and kept moving for the rest of the second lap. I couldn't tell where I was in the field or the age group of anyone that came past me, just looking at their faces to guess who was around my advancing years !  At the top of the stairway to heaven was the team manager, who gave great support throughout my whole time in Switzerland.  Lap 2 I decided was a enjoy it and don't think about it lap, with a just keep moving mantra, and then I called the last lap the party lap, knowing that I wouldn't be seeing parts of the run again - I think I nearly cried with joy at the top of the second lap when I knew that the ascent was over for the day. Just the last 5km down to the finish, with a smile on my face / grimace / wind, and a finish time of 8.08 and 7th in AG.  6th pace as it transpired was just 18 seconds ahead, but of course I was completely oblivious of this - I wonder if he was.  

Later that evening, awards ceremony, more free pasta, a couple of beers. 

Reflections 

Great event, fabulously tough, I think it's the toughest thing I've ever done, the previous being Lanza. I know this is shorter, but those runs are a killer. Will I go back ? Yes, I think I will, I'm PQ for next year, and there's things I can improve on for sure. 

A bit of the old runaround

14.08.22 Newark Half Marathon 1.49.12

This was my 3 hour run as a peak before Zofingen. previously I had done this type of run at Holkham Half last year for Outlaw, and at Newtons Fraction for Barcelona. The premise is simple, do an hour easy beforehand, rock up to the half marathon at the back, start almost or dead last if you can get away with ity, and then continue your run to feel progressing slowly through the field. This worked wonders yesterday on what was day 3 of the heatwave. A nice run out to Balderton and back and then after squeezing in 8 miles in 1.08, a bit quicker for the half. I did start dead last of 590 runners, and kept a sensible pace early on. It was warm, and I knew I would need to be conservative with my efforts so no getting into racing. the alpha flys performed really well and apart from sore ankles after 15 miles or so, I managed to keep sub 8.30 pace all the way round. 5 water stations with bottles was a godsend !  At the end I still had 1.5 minutes left to do, so timed very well. Pleased to put away 21 miles in a key session.

30.07.22 Heckington 10  1.09.34

This one I really went for. A warm morning with not much breeze and an event that I had always wanted to do, but never got round to entering early enough. It takes place as the first event of the Heckington show and the first two laps are of the grass show track at the venue, from there, it's out onto quiet country road for two out and back loops. I didn't know what to expect, but did see that the first mile was sub 7 pace, so that's where I aimed to keep it. The early miles were easy feeling, but I was thankful for the draft from a LWAC runner into the breeze going back toward HQ first time round. Lap 2 was testier, and it bit from around 7.5 miles in. No cover this time into the wind, and my pace slipped and I lost a few places. I did, however, PB , and finish with sub 7 minute mile average. Perfect day out.

03.07.22 Ashbourne Half Marathon 1.54.41

In keeping with current tradition of finding hillier races, on the back of Eyam, came Ashbourne, which whilst not as severe as Eyam, was hillier than your average race, and being held in derbyshire, you should expect that ! 

I was running with Dave, who was doing his long run for Outlaw, and I myself, was doing a 15 mile run so of course,  did some beforehand, and then started right at the back. Before long, we had moved to the 2:15 pacer, and then found the 2:00 pacer. I stopped for a pee, then had to catch back up, and then eventually lost the pacer down a hill, and kept some good momentum to finish in 1hr 55 mins. 

Three excellent races all told ! 

Some Duathlons !

This weeks event was the St Neots Standard Distance Duathlon. We stayed over camoing near Huntingdon and got to the venue on a sunny day really early. Signing on was stress free, and as it was a European Qualifier, the park was busy with serious looking Duathletes quite quickly.  The runs would be 4 x 2.5km loop within the park and mostly good surface, and the bike would be an extended out and back to Ellington (27 miles in total). 

As I wasn't in the hunt for qualification, the pressure was off and I was able to concentrate on my own thing. That being said, I raced this hard and left it all out there...

Run 1 - 43.50 (6.32 miles)

Started midway back, and as first little loop was on grass just to sort us out, I was steady with it, still fast, but steady. One onto the paths, it was a nice run around the park, some tight turns but a really good course and the multiple laps suited me. 6.55 average pace, OK with that.

Bike 1.12.35  (27 miles)

Out on the Trinity, slight headwind up to Ellington, a couple of drags and a couple of short sharp climbs where the 60 really ground out. Probably 240 watts to the turn and 215-220 back, did take my foot off again ! 

Run 2 -21.35  (2.98 miles) - nice and hot now, and legs burned from the leg shockers. Couldn't match earlier pace , held something within 20 seconds though. Finished 31st @ 2.19 - good result for me in a stacked field.

Castle Howard Middle Duathlon 

This one was a camping overnight affair going solo. Good night sleep despite an airbed that lost air, and all ready to go for the early start.

Run 1 - 48.33 - (6.23 miles) - Wow, the run here was tough, plenty of grass, climb, insane downhill, off road, pretty much anything an estate could throw at a person. Alpha Dizzles performed well - decision made to take them to Switzerland. 

Bike - 2.56.57 - 56 miles - again, it's North Yorkshire what did I expect, good first lap, caught the people I knew, eased off again second lap (this is becoming a habit), as knew I would need to run ! 

Run 2 - 55.05 - (6.23 miles).

Ouch - second run not as fresh as the first, and within a mile or so, summat new - I completely cramped up a climb, and had to walk it off - lost two minutes, otherwise , a slow and agonising fall back through the field.  12th overall, really good test, and an honest Duathlon ! 

 

Cholmondeley Castle Middle Distance Duathlon race report

This race was a qualifier for the 2023 European Middle Distance Duathlon Champs for which I luckily pre- qualified for at this years event in Alsdorf. I had two mates, Dave & Ian at the event, DAve looking to qualify, and Ian testing himself at the distance for the first time. The weather was reasonable, no rain, and breezy I'd say.  After a pasta party at the oddly named pesto at Cabbage Hall the night before, we were to meet up bright and breezy ahead of a 9am start for the event. Castle Race Series operate differently to most other organisers, sign on was same morning and was a slick operation of moving the athletes through zones. At 9am we were ready ! 

Run 1 - 6.53 miles - 47.29 

I wore the Alphaflys as I plan to use them in Zofingen and I have been over thinking shoe choice for a while. This event simulates a lot of the climb and tracks that I'll run over there and today the Alphaflys performed well. The race started in grass, before heading onto concrete paths, before climbing up and around the picture perfect castle in Woodland, before heading back over the lawn and back around for another lap. In total 419 feet of climb in the 10k and I ran it to RPE, respecting the difficulty of the course. 

Bike - 39.19 - 1.52.46

New TT bike in it's first event, bought from Facebook Market place with a 53/39 option, which means my TT bike can remain single ring for super fast flat TT courses. The course for this Duathlon is held on quiet Cheshire roads and is a ride of two halves. It is also two laps and 39 miles in total.  The first half of each lap is relatively flat and fast whilst the second half has all of the climb, about three leg burners that are not overly long, but are to be paced, especially as they have to be tackled a second time and after that, you need to be in a condition to race. 1864 ft of climb in total. No idea of watts, so RPE again. All felt OK, I guessed the position and it wasn't uncomfortable. I encountered three horses and had to slow to 5mph, which is the right thing to do, and stopped at a right turn. There's work to do, but as a starter that was a competent first outing.

Run 2 - 6.43 miles - 49.28

Second run is fast becoming an obsession of finding a pace and effort that is as close to the first run as possible. After the climb on the bike there was always going to be some fatique in the legs but still, the aim was to get as close to the first run pace as possible. First lap OK, I had feared that the run up and around the Castle would be a step too far, but I held that together well (for me), and then knew that I had just a Parkrun left to complete.  At this point the overall winner came tearing past, underlining the gulf in class between the very top, and your average Duathlete.  Last lap, tried not to lose any positions which I didn't, and finished strongly for an 8th place on the day. Pleased with the two runs, and the performance of the shoe, and I suppose the bike leg, but like I said, it does need more work. 

What of Dave and Ian ? Ian smashed a great time for 14th on his debut, and Dave 24th and more importantly should at time of writing bagged a qualifying spot for next year.  The next qualifying race is Castle Howard Duathlon in late July.