Race Report - East Leake Triathlon 1.19.22

Todays date was circled in big red pen on the calendar, and is one of the most important dates in my calendar. It is the first Triathlon of the 2011 season, and officially my Triathlon season kicks off here after waiting the best part of 8 months since my last one. The clocks went forward an hour overnight which meant that this mornings half five alarm, was in reality, a half four wake up call, but thankfully I managed an early night, so it wasn't too bad ! This time I packed the car the night before, and double checked it so I had more than enough time to get to East Leake in good time, which I did, again rocking up a good hour before my swim start time. East Leake is in Leicestershire, near to East Midlands airport and close to the village of Gotham - so - a Batman themed race report is in order !

Blam ! - Swim 10.56

As swims go, this was OK, the time includes a long run to transition so is there or thereabouts my best time for the 400m distance. I was started at around 9.09 with no delays, and immediately forgot all of my training and decided to thrash around uncontrollably and get my breathing all wrong. I was overtaken by two competitors and it felt really slow going, a ten minute swim time came as something of a surprise !

T1- Took my time, socks, cycle shoes, and full gloves because it was bloody cold !

Kapow ! - Cycle -41.18

Following the Duathlon, I was confident that I could go under last years cycle time of 48 mins, by how much though I wasn't sure. The cycle started with a slow spin out of East Leake where I was just trying to get some warmth back into my cold wet legs ! Within a mile I was warming up nicely though and managed to get down into the tri bars to get out of the wind. My legs felt good and I seemed to be making good time, passing a few people on the way to Kingston Upon Soar for the turnaround loop. On the way back to Gotham I started to get that treacle feeling again but this time dropped the gears and span it out. When I got to the Gotham bypass I knew that most of the hilly parts were done and that I had made very good progress. I arrived back into transition in 41 something and for the first time started harbouring thoughts for a sub 1.20 finish.

T2 - because I already had socks on this was quick and non fussy !

ZAP ! Run - 24.07

I couldn't set my garmin so therefore couldn't check my pace so decided to aim for 9 minutes laps which would see a run time of 27 mins which would be better than last years 28. I feel like I ran freely and within myself and as a result was able to finish strongly - 24.07 being my fastest split over a triathlon 5km.

In all, a good solid start to a season I am really looking forward to.

Race Report - Clumber Sprint Duathlon 1.23.50

A couple of weeks ago, I had a crack at doing a Duathlon for the first time in One Step Beyond’s Clumber Classic Sprint Duathlon held at Clumber Park near Worksop. It was a very cold morning, complete with that very fine drizzly rain that soaks you through (according to Peter Kay anyway !). This is how things went:

Run 5k – 26.12 (157th)

We were started in waves as there was also the Standard Distance race taking place at the same time, and I think that we were the third wave or so to go. I was in the Senior category and we were delayed by a good 15 minutes and had to try and keep warm and dry in the rain. At about 9.25 we were started and i decided to apply my 10k strategy – good steady starting pace for 2km – before speeding things up a little. Now, if like me , you thought that Clumber Park was flat, you will be surprised to learn that its a bit hilly !!! That being said, I’m starting to get used to ups and downs through various events and no longer find them overly tough. Once the initial couple of kilometres were over and we rounded for home, I did pick things up a bit and started overtaking a few people slowly but surely. At 26.12 not my fastest standalone 5km but not far off.

T1 – 1.21- Tried something new here – I put my bike shoes on in transition rather than leave them on the bike, and I think it was just as fast .

Bike – 20km – 41.43 (110th)

I raced my TT bike believing that the course was going to be flat and in the end this turned out to be the right choice. For the first 20 minutes of the bike I rode as fast as I think I ever had and was fluently overtaking many people whilst only really being overtaken by the fast boys in GB kit and the like. I was riding really quickly, thinking that I only had a 2.5k run afterward, so if I overcooked things I would manage. For the next ten minutes I continued to ride well, but once I was in the last five kilometres it was like riding with treacle on the tyres – I had completely wrecked my legs and slowed considerably allowing some competitors to retake their positions. I’m still happy with the bike time which is my best to date over the 20km distance and gives me some confidence that the coming season will see some further improvement.

T2 – 1.12 – Waddled around in my cycle shoes, legs like Jelly !

Run – 2.5k – 13.22
Legs wrecked, this was very hard work and I’m surprised that the time is close to the opening run pace. I just wanted this to end as quickly as possible for most of it, but as I got closer to the line my legs began to feel a little livelier, so maybe I just needed some distance to wake my legs a little.

End result 1.23.50 (128th out of 198) – My first Duathlon and although a enjoyable day out, I can’t see myself doing any more than one of these a year ! My next event is the first triathlon of the year at East Leake on 27th March.

Tired....but not from the training !

This week I am moving house and have spent what feels like every living minute painting and decorating the new house.

I have managed so far to keep going with the Don Fink plan on which I think I'm on week 13 or 14 at present and now in the build phase.

This weekend (after the move is completed I hope) I am looking forwards to pulling on the Lincoln Tri colours for the first time this year at the Clumber Sprint Duathlon - http://www.onestepbeyond.org.uk/clumber-park-duathlon.php - this will be my first Duathlon and I decided to do the shorter Sprint distance of 5k run - 20k bike - 3k run to see how I go. the club do a monthly Duathlon so if I like it , I might pop along for a couple later in the year.

One of the consequences of the move is that my broadband will be out of action until sometime late in March - but when I get back on I'll update with how the Duathlon went.

Ironman training in progress !

And so the knuckle down training has started for my Ironman adventure at the start of July, by following Don Fink's 'Be IronFit' book which has three plans in it all based on a 30 week training plan.

There's 'just get round', intermediate , and a faster one which I can't remember ( which is likely that I looked at the volumes and then sellotaped that section shut ! )

I'm loosely following a large proportion of 'just get round' and using some of the intermediate programme and so far its working reasonably well. I have just finished week 10 which means that the initial base phase is completed and that we have now moved on to the build phase.

To give some idea of the volumes so far, the longest swim has been 45 mins, longest bike 2hrs 30 mins and longest run 1 hr 30 mins. These volumes are now increasing slightly and I will be expected to regularly swim 1 hr slots and run to about 2 hours.

The good thing is that already I feel ready to race shorter tri's but have to wait until 27th March - still though, there is the Duathlon to look forward to in a couple of weeks and that should give me the fix that I think I need !

Race Report - No Walk In The Park 5k - 25.35

Over the past couple of days it has been bloody windy to the point where it wakes you up in the middle of the night. I could hear it again this morning as my alarm went off at 5 something and I was left with a choice - stay in bed or travel the forty miles or so to Chesterfield for a windswept and wet 5k.

N'ah, the bed was always gonna lose !

The No Walk in The Park 5k takes place around the grounds of the Chesterfield Cricket Club within Queens Park in the centre of Chesterfield. In fact to navigate all you have to do is head for the Crooked Spire and you'll stumble across the Cricket Club in no time !

I did this race in February last year and posted a personal best time of 27.08 and can remember that I found it very hard going as it was my first attempt at running without an ipod. today with the wind and rain I just wanted to hit 26 mins as I've also got one eye the standings of the UK Netrunner Grand prix which I'm currently top of league two. A good result today would give me some extra points and help me keep my place for a few more weeks before being inevitably replaced !

All the details of this race can be found here : http://northderbyshirerc.jimdo.com/our-races/no-walk-in-the-park-5k

So, down to race time ! For this race I had a new plan being run balls out for the first lap, and then keep going for as long as possible. At 9.30 a marshall sounded a klaxon and we were away, and Plan A was put into action and the first lap went by in a flash. This was good news because I didn't have a Plan B !!!!!

The rain was really winding me up, but on laps two and three around the park I just stuck at it and started overtaking the odd person here and there. By the last lap, I really was knackered and it was a case of bearing with it. There was one runner that I stayed about fifteen metres behind for the last two laps as I just could not catch her. All too quickly the finish line approached, and I was chuffed to get across in well under 26 minutes which meant further Grand Prix points for me !

I totally recommend the monthly No Walk 5k, because at £3 its an absolute bargain !

For me, that was my last run race for a while, as my next event will be the Clumber Park Duathlon at the start of next month, followed by the East Leake Triathlon at the end of it !

Race Report - Bolsover Castle 10k - 54.36

After last weeks excursion to Stratford, it was back to a good old fashioned 10k distance for me today.

This race was originally scheduled to take place in Mid-December, but due to the country having a snow panic, it was postponed until today. The previous years race had been extended to an 11k event, so that Bolsover Castle could be integrated into the route and used as the finish. This, however, was too much change for some runners, so a shortened 10k was devised with a finish outside of the Castle walls.

We arrived at Bolsover this morning earlier than expected which gave me more than ample time to do some of the 'professional looking' warming up that we all do (in some shape or form!) - in the grounds of the Castle. The organisers, North Derbyshire Running Club , always put on a decent event and often think outside of the box. With the start being moved a kilometre down the road, the marshalls took it in turns to lead groups down to the start. First to go was the sub 40 runners, then the sub 50's, then my lot - the sub 60's !

Well, with our marshall at the front holding up a sub 60 placard, it appeared that we looked to be on some runners march or something !! -

'' What Do We Want ??''

- '' Medals for all finishers !!''

'' When Do We Want It ???''

- ''NOW !!''

It did make me and a few others giggle though ! Anyway, back to the race, and at 10.30 we were underway !

Now the race tactic I have developed over recent races is to take the first couple of km's nice and easy and see how things feel during the middle part. Today though, I found that it was hard not to run faster and as a consequence after 2km, it felt harder than usual although the time was pretty good. At this point we were out of Bolsover and into the countryside which was a bit grimmer than I remembered. Also, different to how I recalled things, there were more undulations than I remembered - still what goes up must come down and it was up to me to pace them properly.

At 5km I ran through at 27.50, which meant that I would need to pick things up a little if I was going to get anywhere near my PB of 55.06. Two things kept me going here - a tussle I was having with a Lincoln Wellington runner, and how long I could keep on someones shoulder without them turning around a smacking me !

The first tussle I eventually won as I think there was one up too many on the course, and the second eventually dropped behind - mind you, I have got to say, I was very comfortable there and might be a tactic I employ again! There was a longer climb at 6km or so that I thankfully did not have to walk up like last time , and from then on was reasonable flat to the finish.

At about 8km we turned back towards Bolsover and straight into a head wind. I also calculated that a PB was not really going to happen given the course and the conditions. I reached 9km in 50.17 and just ran as fast as I could trying to get below 56mins. I spent the last kilometre running with a really nice bloke and we pushed each other faster and faster - as I turned the last corner I just sprant for the line and was astounded to see that I had run 54.36 - a 4.20something last kilometre( it could be though that the last kilometre was measured shorter - this seems to be the case on a lot of runs I've noticed to give the effect of a 'fast' course when in reality the preceding kilometres are measured 20m longer to complete the illusion.) So there we are, an unlikely PB pulled out of the hat !

With my base training period in full swing for Ironman, my attention is turned next to a Duathlon in March, and then other than Triathlons, the next running event will be the Lincoln 10k in early April - a flat course where I'll attempt to improve again.

Race Report - Not The Roman IX - 12km - 1.07.57

First race of 2011 today and it was slightly longer than my regular ones coming in at 12km, or 7.46 miles in old money.

The plan today was to treat this run out as just another training run, aim to run around 10min/mile pacing and use the time as part of my weekly Don Fink Ironman training plan, which I am finally working to.

I found out about this race through UKnetrunner , which is an online running club which I joined in December and entered it was one of the club's handicap events. The race was also being held in Stratford Upon Avon which is a great place to visit too.

The race HQ was at the NFU mutual offices on Tiddington Lane and we soon found ourselves at registration to pick up our race numbers and timing chips. I thought that this process would be long winded, but to the credit to the guys at Stratford AC, they had everything sorted and it was a quick in and out job. This meant that there was bags of time left before the start, so a few trots up and down to warm up, and a walk back to the car followed by strategically timed portaloo stops was the order of the morning before we made our way up a narrow lane for the start.

The course was a basic anti-clockwise loop, on country roads and country lanes, undulating with one advertised challenging climb. Dead on 11 o clock then, we were off !

Continuing with my recent strategy and remembering that I was supposed to be taking it easy in any case, I ran the first couple of kilometres in 11.30 minutes, I was also being overtaken a lot as the field started to take shape. This didn't bother me too much as all I was concentrating on was my pace and knew things would pick up later in the race. The countryside that we were going through was fantastic and this first part of the race was very pleasant. By the third kilometre though I'd made my mind up that this was going to be more than a training run and started to lift the pace a little. The course began to look familiar at around this time as it dawned on me that this run was following the same course that was used for the Warwickshire Triathlon in 2009. We then saw the 'challenging hill' to our right which looked steep and long, but remembering it from the Triathlon, I knew that it looked far worse than it actually was and this was the case thankfully.

We got to halfway in just under 35 minutes, but this was in part due to the undulating first half of the course. What followed was glorious flatness which meant that the kilometre times started to get better and better ! At 10km, I ran through at just under 57mins which was not far off my previous personal best ! I wanted to go faster over the last two kilometres, but was stiffening up and found it difficult going. I found some improvement in the last 400m, and then in the last 50m, got involved in a sprint finish over the line, which I think I edged, but not totally sure !! I came home in just under 1.08 which was far better than I thought I'd manage at the start of the day.

In all then, delighted with the run, really enjoyed the surroundings on a windy day, and came back with a new personal best (over a new distance !!).

Next week its the re-arranged Bolsover 10k, and today has renewed the enthusiasm !