The Dambuster Triathlon

It was a return to Rutland Water today, to compete in only my second only Olympic distance Triathlon - the first being the same race this time last year - so, a good opportunity to test my fitness with Austria just around the corner.

Swim 33.47

This was very choppy this year and because of this I had trouble breathing in the first part of the swim out into the lake. Indeed, I was not enjoying myself and was a bit miserable in truth - it also felt like I took a lot longer than last year - however it was just 6 seconds slower , so not too bad I suppose.

T1 - 4.24

Last year I cocked up T2 by losing the bike and this year I cocked up T1 by losing my bike so at least I'm consistent ! After finding the bike, I struggled to get both the wetsuit off and the bike jacket on - by the time I left I was in a stinking mood !

Bike - 1.27.02

Onto the bike and out into the wind - very glad that I took the extra time to put the jacket on. The tri-bars that I'd recently installed were working a treat and I was going at a good pace. Before I knew it I was at the ripple, but this seemed a lot easier to tackle this year which shows the benefit of all those miles on the road. At this point I remember smiling for the first time and thinking that actually things were not going so badly after all. The remainder of the bike was sensibly paced and I ended up finishing this section 6 minutes faster than last year.

T2 - 1.12

Having got the whole bike losing episode out of the way earlier on, I was able to relax and pull off a really good transition.

Run - 46.45

Last years run time was 55.11 which I thought was fast, but today - possibly because I'd had two rest days - my run was super quick and I had no problems keeping a faster pace. The Dam section was fun, keeping an eye on my Lincoln Tri clubmates who were catching me up, and having the weather alternate between heavy shower and hot sun !

In total 2.53.10 and 14 minutes quicker than last year - now to tackle Austria - Game On !!

3 weeks to go..

3 weeks today , I shall be in Austria, taking part in my first Ironman. I have been training for this in earnest since New Years Day, however I suppose I really started training for it the moment I went out for my very first run of 2009, when I managed to get about halfway around the block !

Going back to this years training, I have been following a 30 week plan by Don Fink - and week 27 has just been completed. The peak distances in each of the disciplines have now been reached : 3km done in open water, 18.6 miles run and today by riding out to Melton Mowbray from Lincoln that was 82 miles done and dusted, which I rode on my own to recreate the conditions that I will face in Austria where I can be no less than 10 metres between the next rider.

Its the start of the taper period now and after this week the schedule starts to lighten considerably with the idea being that by the time I get to the start line in 3 weeks time I'll be fresh and ready to tackle the challenge before me.

Next weekend is my final race before Ironman - the Dambuster at Rutland Water - an event that I did last year and hopefully a useful last training race.

Blenheim Triathlon 2011

Lets get this out of the way early doors – this is the best Triathlon I have ever done – both in terms of the experience and the setting. Yes, it cost £68 to enter, but in my opinion, it was worth every penny !

Friday
Being from Lincoln, we decided to make our way down to Oxfordshire on the Friday evening and I found a very cheap Travelodge at Cherwell Valley services that only set me back £19. The room was a little ‘skeffy’ and the people above had a dog trotting about for most of the evening, but for the price what could I expect ? Besides if anyone asks, we stayed in Cherwell Valley which sounds like the Welsh countryside to anyone not local !!

The day
We only had a half hour drive from our idyllic country hideaway to get to Blenheim Palace so we arrived in plenty of time. There was ample parking and we had the added benefit of being parked right next to the ugliest old tree in the car park, which was useful when I forgot to take Heidi’s spectator pass to the entry point and had to run back to the car (this theme would continue later in the day !). We had a good walk around the expo, and even managed not to buy anything which is a first – however, I decided to save it for the Ironman expo so it will get spent either way ! I took the bike into the massive transition area and then made my way 400m or so down to the swim start for my 12.20 off time.

The race
The swim – A floating start and time to get used to the water – that’s a first ! I positioned myself in the middle and towards the back of the pack and before I knew it we were off. The swim didn’t seem to go on for very long and I felt I swam well the whole way round thinking I was on for a 15 min swim – in the end the clock read 17.03 which is still my quickest 750m open water swim to date, but felt it could have been quicker.

T1 – Transitigeddon !!!!! Where to start – firstly, there is a mostly uphill 400m swim exit before you even get to transition, then when I got there I thought I’d pulled off a textbook transition only to find at the mount line that I’d forgotten to put on my race number, so it was dump the bike and dodge my way back up my bike aisle to retrieve it – this must have cost me nearly a minute all told – D’OH !! 5.09 in total and my slowest ever !
Bike – This was more like it – closed internal roads stretching around the stunning Blenheim estate, some ups, some downs and lots of bends making it ideal bike racing. There were that many racing at the same time that it was impossible not to draft at some point ! the first lap took 13.15, the second 13.20, but by the third lap my legs were beginning to cook and I was happy to pull into to T2 having posted a 40.26 split which was 277th out of 1831 finishers on the day. Two things that I am pleased I did – chose my TT bike over the normal roadie, because although technical in places, it was manageable and a lot faster, and then having the water bottle on it – it was absolutely baking on the bike and I could have been a real state by the time of the run if I hadn’t !

T2 – No worries this time – pretty much smoothly done , again size of the Transition area meant 1.41, but this was fast in comparison to the majority of the field.

Run – Straight out of transition, and straight up a bloody steep ramp which bridged over the bike course ! The route took you out around the lake for a two circuit run which had both uphills and downhills. Once out on the course, it was apparent just how warm it was and I had to settle for a pace slightly slower than I ran at Woodhall last weekend. Because of the roasting temperature, I took on a little water at each aid station, and just enjoyed running in such great surroundings. At 29.04 not a bad time for a 5.4km run in such conditions and an overall time of 1.33.21 was good enough to be 436th out of 1831 on the day and good enough to be in the top quarter of the field.

Do I recommend Blenheim ? Am I going back there next year ? A resounding ‘Yes’ on both counts.

Race Report - Woodhall Spa Triathlon 1.21.37

I returned to what I like to call ‘the home of triathlon’ today and competed in the Woodhall Spa Sprint triathlon.

2 years ago, I popped along as a spectator to this event having read a blog online and eager to learn more about Triathlon – I can honestly recommend this strategy as it put to bed any fears about taking the plunge as the sport is full of normal people of differing shapes and sizes and not the muscle heads that I had previously thought dominated the scene.

Last year I entered as a competitor and was really pleased with a solid showing of 1.31.28, this year, however, following some improvement seen from the start of the season, I wanted to beat 1 hour and 24 minutes in line with the goals that I set at the start of the year.

This is how events unfolded :

Swim 9.38
It was overcast and windy as the Met Office had quite rightly predicted, but in the 33 metre outdoor pool at Woodhall it was absolutely bloody lovely – honestly, I could have lounged in that pool all day it was that nice, but there was some racing to do instead so I had to get down to the nitty gritty. I was in wave 29 scheduled for 8.56 am, but with a slight 6 min delay we were off shortly after nine. I know not to hammer the first couple of lengths, so I duly ignored that thought and absolutely attempted to hammer the first few lengths. By halfway I was beginning to blow and my bi-lateral breathing had been replaced with the two stroke gasping that I tend to use in open water swimming. Still though, I had not been overtaken and in fact completed a stealth overtaking move of my very own – I’m betting the chap could not even see the flailing man in black inching past him. I did calm down a bit later in the swim to be fair and found myself smiling as I left the pool with a sub ten pool swim for the first time ever !

T1 – 1.40
Took my time, easy does it and all that, made sure I rode with socks on, so took a little longer than I normally would.

Bike – 46.16
I have a lovely new set of Planet X deep rimmed carbon wheels which I bought back in April, but again because of strong winds I bottled out of using them and spent some of yesterday afternoon changing back to the standard spoked version – this is a real shame because apart from a few turns, the Woodhall course is ideal for them. After I had dallied around a bit at the mount line, I eventually got myself clipped in to the pedals and away I went. Strong winds were apparent from the off and I just hoped that it would turn out to be a mostly cross wind as I struggle in headwinds. For the first part of the course it certainly was and I found that I could keep a decent speed in spite of the battering I was getting. The course profile shows a steady elevation for the first half of the course, but in my opinion although this is true, it is made up mostly of deceptive flats and there are no climbs at all on this course. I rode well during the middle part of the course overtaking some earlier starters without being overtaken myself. I was also pleased because by this part of a ride I’m usually starting to feel heavy legged, but in this race they were holding up really well. As we turned towards Horsington though, the wind became a strong gusty headwind, so I buried my head and just kept spinning the best I could. Eventually I could see the welcome sight of the marshalls on the Stixwould Lane junction which meant I was almost back in transition. 46 min ride then compared to 52 last year – can’t be too unhappy with that now can I ?

T2 1.10 – Took my time again and dallied with changing the swim watch for my Garmin, acutely aware that if I was more business like I could save a lot of time in transitions.

Run 22.53
No water on the bike meant that I had to stop at the water table at the start of the run and have a cup ! Once I had necked that I was away, running at a slow pace I thought, but my garmin was telling me it was very fast. Out on the main road, the adrenaline wore off and I decided to pace myself a little above my Lincoln 10k pace which I figured I could hold. I was then overtaken by the only person to overtake me all day and promptly chased after him – so much for sensible pacing ! Again, the adrenaline wore off very quickly and I returned to my previous pace. Apart from the occasional feeling of stitch, the run felt good and more importantly so did my knee !!
Over the line then in 22 mins and a 1.21 overall, a 10 minute improvement on last year and Top 35% of the field – a great improvement on my bottom five finish in my first tri in August 2009 !

Next week is the Blenheim Sprint triathlon and I’ll log in again shortly after...

So , about them goals from the start of the year....

Back at the start of the year, I set myself some goals that I wanted to achieve in 2011 :-

- Lose 6kg

- Train more socially

- Achieve 1.25 at East Leake, 1.16 at Southwell, 1.24 at Woodhall and finally 2.59 at Dambuster in June.

- Listen to my body and stop when it tells me to !

- Finish my first Ironman inside 14 hours.

This is how I have done so far......

- I have lost 11 kg's !

- I did 1.19 at East Leake and 1.09 at Southwell - both well ahead of target ! However, Woodhall is in 2 weeks and 1.24 could be a big ask, but Dambuster is do- able !

- I did join 2 local cycling club rides , but didn't get on too well with them to be honest - the first one I punctured twice in the first 8 miles and had to exit, and in the second one managed to fall off after some wild riding from the fella in front - since that time I have mostly ridden on my own, all kind of 'One Man Wolfpack' !!!

- I have listened to my body and have been very careful, for example I will not kill myself on the bike to impress fellow riders if my legs still hurt from that weeks long run !

For my Ironman adventure, it is now only a little over six weeks away, and so far my longest run has been 16 miles, longest ride 63 miles, and longest swims 2400m.

Over the coming weeks, the run will peak at between 19-20 miles, the rides will peak at 6 hours, and I will do five laps of the lake meaning 4km. In all then, training going well, and time rapidly disappearing !

Lincoln Grand Prix Sportive 56m - 3.21.50

Following the enjoyable day out that I had in Milton Keynes back at the start of last month, I tried my hand at a second cycle sportive , this time the Lincoln Grand Prix sportive held the day before the famous Lincoln GP cycle race.

There were two distances on offer – a 56 mile route or a 93 mile route – I picked the 55 mile route as this tied in nicely with my training plan, and was a little gentler on my legs as well in a week where I have completed both a triathlon and a half marathon length training run.

The weather was set to be appalling for the event day, with thunder storms expected and a solid spell of rain lasting for most of the day – it certainly was shaping up to be a gloomy day. Taking the anticipated bad weather into account, I decided to use my yellow Carrera training bike again rather than get my newer and much lighter carbon racing bike wet ! ( The weather although threatening rain most of the day remained dry in the end up until the very last 20 minutes !).
I arrived at the start area at Bishop Grossteste College very, very early and was surprised to see that it was already busy – indeed in my time of registering and then queuing again for the timing chip, the whole room became rammed with people and it became very apparent that the organisers had maybe underestimated the sheer numbers of people. When I left to get my bike out of the car, there was a massive queue just to get registered which snaked out of the building.
So, from there it took a little over fifteen minutes to get the bike ready, attach my number to the handlebars and arrange my pockets etc. At a little over 8.15, I passed by a marshall who scanned my timing chip and I was out on the course heading through the top half of Lincoln, to exit the city on the east side heading towards Cherry Willingham. I think I was again a little over excited at the start and found that I was cycling very quickly through the city, however once out of the centre and onto the country roads the adrenaline had subsided and I began to ride sensibly.

The 56 mile route broke down into three distinct parts from the information on the organisers web page – the first section was a flatish 16 miles, the second section had all of the elevations and too lasted 16 miles, and the third section was the home leg which looked faster with an overall downhill profile before rising sharply as you re-entered Lincoln, finishing with steep clims back into the Castle area to finish.

The plan was to ride on my own to re-create the conditions I will face in Austria, and to not benefit from the slipstream of other riders with an aim to average 16.5mph. Phase one of this was completed, as I rode at a good pace for the first hour as we made our way though Short Ferry on our way towards Gautby before turning North for the second hillier leg.

Now, the second leg looked very hilly on the profile graph on the website – the truth is that I didn’t really notice any hills as such, just some slow ascents and overall found it undulating at worst. At about halfway through this section, and 26 miles overall, there was a refreshments stop serving coffee and the like, and I popped in momentarily to top up my water bottle. Once back on the road, there was just another 6 miles or so to negotiate before we reached the highest point on the course which was at Sixhills. Again, this landmark was reached ahead of schedule and from there it was pretty much all downhill. I rode with a couple of blokes for a short while, and then traded places back and forth with another chap until we reached Faldingworth and then finally Welton.

By this point my legs felt tired, but I knew that there was only about 7 or so miles left until the finish. I also started to have some pain in the front of my foot which seemed to ease when I took the foot out of the pedals and stretched my toes a little. Finally, I made my way back into the city, down Yarborough Hill and up the very steep Carline Road. The very last stretch saw a climb of the very wet and slippery 1 in 6 gradient Michealgate climb before getting a marshall to swipe my timing chip again to signify the end of the event. The organisers then directed us back to race HQ for some free soup and sandwiches ............................ .....mmmm....lovely ! Taking into account the water stop, and the time spent at roundabouts and traffic lights, the actual time taken was pleasing and the average was nearer to 17mph ! Out of 152 starters at this distance, my time was 59th quickest, so a pleasing turn out all round !

Race report - Southwell Triathlon 1.09.38

This was the second time that I had attempted the Southwell course as in September 2009 I did the Essendex Last Minute Triathlon which is essentially the same course and same triathlon organised by the same people.

Having lost now somewhere in the region of 13 kilos since I returned from Honeymoon in October, I was quietly hoping to do much better than the 1.22.41 that I managed in the previous Southwell race. To do this I would need to better a 11.54 swim time, a 40.55 ride and a 27.32 run - this then is how it went :

Swim 10.24

I like to wear those calf supports that you occasionally see runners and triathletes wearing but could not for the life of me find out whether you put these on before the pool or in one of the transitions. In the end I had to post on the Lincoln Tri forum to ask the question and the consensus was that it would do no harm to swim in them – so I did in the end, and it was the right thing to do because they were not detrimental to the swim and dried out very quickly. I was very lucky today as my lane was reasonably clear and the poor chap in the lane next to me had a line of four breaststrokers to deal with !! My 16 lengths came and went without any fanfare and I even managed to overtake someone (with another swimmer coming in the opposite direction ! – it was like a very slow version of chicken !!!) I glanced at my watch as I gracelessly flopped out of the pool and saw 9: something, so was really pleased with that. Once I had run out of the pool area and over the timing mat the swim time had increased to 10.24.

T1 – Takes a bit longer nowadays due to the putting on of socks and the bike shoes, but worth it overall because T2 suddenly becomes a lot quicker (or so I thought !!). T1 + T2 time in 2009 = 2.17, today it was 2.22 - so actually a little bit slower - but I'll persevere with is for the time being as I believe that having socks on for the bike gives me a faster bike split.

Bike 34.14

My bike times have been tumbling nicely this year and this is in part due to being able to use my time trial bike for events where as last year I was saving that bike for Antwerp. I have also bought some carbon wheels for the bike from Planet X, but did not use these today as it was ever so slightly windy and to be honest, having nor ridden with them yet, I am not confident enough to use them yet. So I rode my TT bike with the standard wheels that it came with.
The first part of the Southwell bike course is up and down, which I struggled with until I had got some bike speed into my legs. By the time I got to Thurgarton though, they were nicely warmed up and I set off the roadside speed trap at 30 mph ! – indeed, all the way down to the Lowdham roundabout turnaround point I rode really well, but as soon as I turned back for Southwell I understood why – there was a bloody great headwind which made the return trip extremely difficult. I persevered against the wind and eventually found my way back into transition – a good 6.5 minutes quicker than my last attempt. It is interesting to note that I did had not been overtaken by anyone at this stage of the triathlon – which is unheard off !!

T2 - Not a lot to do here as it was mostly done in T1 !

Run 22.38

There are some things in life so horrible that you completely block them out of your memory ! This would be the ‘Southwell Slope’ which is a 400m incline at the start of the run leg – OK, I admit it, I suppose its not that bad once you are running up it, but when you see it initially and you are still crackered from the bike, it does look a bit of a tall order.
The run leg at Southwell then is two laps of out and back, which is up the slope, round some quiet lanes, turn around a cone, and then back down the slope, then to the finishing arch. My run started far too fast, because of adrenaline no doubt, and by the time I tackled the slope for the first time I was already beginning to blow a bit so sensibly decided to reign my excitement in a bit. Once I had managed to get up to the top of the slope for the first time I felt a lot better and my breathing regulated. From here on in, I ran a steady pace and then gained some time by going back down the slope very quickly. Before I knew it the run was nearly over, and I managed another one of my rare sprint finishes. The aim at the start of the year was to do this event in less than 1.16, so to achieve a 1.09 finish means that I am over the moon. This also meant that I finished in the top half of the field for the first time in Triathlon.