Norwich 100

Today, I got up extremely mega early to make the 106 mile journey by car to Norwich to take part in the Norwich 100 mile bike ride put on by the British Heart Foundation as a charity fundraiser.
It was a baking hot day from the off, and I made sure that I covered myself with 'never fail' P20 sun lotion!
I found Norwich Cathedral easily enough, but cut my last toilet stop a little fine, so started 5 minutes later than my allotted start time of 7.15am.

The ride can be summed up in three parts :

0-43 miles - Part of the largest peleton I have ever ridden with. It was impossible to ride on my own, and to be fair there was a fair bit of giddyness on the part of my some of my fellow competitors, so the pace was kept strong at 17.9mph average. The heat didn't seem to be affecting me, and I felt good. There were no real climbs of note, just some pesky rises to negotiate every now and then. I rode with Great Yarmouth CC for most part 'the dappies' as I called them (they were sponsored by dap).

43-71 miles - At 43 miles we pulled into the halfway compulsory 30 minute stop which was annoying as I was riding well. Once I had served this 'time penalty' it was back onto the road, where I ended up in a tit for tat overtaking exchange with some Texans for 10 miles, and the caught up with another group of dappies which I settled into. At about 69 miles, I started taking turns at the front, but by 71 I had accidentally pulled away from the front of the gang and disappeared up the road. This section took in Norfolks seaside resorts and Cromer looked really inviting !

71-100 miles - I managed to spend at least 60% of my time down on the tri bars and each time I did, the speed ramped up and the average overall had a good boost. I took it in turns with another rider as we formed a two man attack, making sure we overtook the shorter route riders who had merged onto the course. I still felt really good as we arrived back into the Cathedral grounds.

Overall ride time 5.29.32 excluding the 30 minute stop - so very very pleased with that, and to get my second century ride in for the year. Next up is Woodhall Tri next Sunday........

Southwell Triathlon

Booooom !!! 1.02.22 !!!

After riding 66 miles in total yesterday, I didn't honestly think that I would be quite fit enough today to put in a performance that I would be happy with, but against the odds I managed to pull a bit of a rabbit out of a hat - this is how it happened :

Swim - 9.53.... Got in the pool for my start time of 9.42 and whilst I waited the minute before setting off, two breaststrokers managed to turn in front of me and that made for a slower than usual first 8 lengths, I suppose though that the slower pace put paid to my usual giddiness at swim starts so may have benefited me. The second 8 lengths were swam at a sensible pace concentrating on quality of stroke and breathing. Hauled myself out of the pool gracelessly in 9.01 and it was 9.53 when I went over the timing mat and into T1. Had I not had traffic in the first half of the swim, it could have been a PB swim, but hopefully that will come together at Woodhall.

T1 - 1.07...A first attempt at a sockless transition and using the elastic band trick - both have worked well and this saved 45 seconds from my Lincoln Triathlon time a few weeks ago, so more than happy !

Bike - 30.24....There was a headwind all the way to Lowdham roundabout and I just got my head down and drilled it as fast as I could knowing there would be a back wind on the way back !  Round the roundabout I went, and then wow, a great little strectch of road, an assisting wind and holding 27mph comfortably !
Legs felt a little tired going up the rolling sections on the way back to Southwell , but in the end pleased to get back into T2 in a time that was 4 minutes quicker than last years.

T2 - 0.48...great little transition, helped by no socks and a healthy portion of talcum powder !

Run - 20.10...My first sockless run, and hell it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be, in fact I could almost not tell at all. I thought that when I hit the slope for the first time my legs might give up the ghost, but no - I felt really strong and attacked it all the way up. In fact my running held up really well and I was again pleased to improve by nearly three minutes on last years time !

In all then, a fantastic day at Southwell, and a great weekend overall !

Lincoln Grand Prix Sportive

I took part in the Lincoln Grand Prix Sportive for the second year running today which was supposed to be a training exercise with Southwell Triathlon to tackle tomorrow morning......the plan was simple...draft my way round 56 miles, not ride too hard and make sure my legs were in good working order at the end...how could such a plan fail... impossible ????

Well for a start there were roadworks which meant that the course was lengthened by 8 miles to 63 miles - good start !

I met my friends at Registration at 8.30 and it literally took seconds to sign in, receive my freebies and then get the days timing chip -  a far cry from last years meltdown which took the good part of an hour ! At around 9.00 we were ready to head off onto the course in the cold sunshine ! From the off, there was a lot of people getting a bit giddy and as a result I found we were being swept along at a faster pace than I suspected we were going to be riding at. We were however, meeting lots of people and gaining some draft along the way, so not all bad. The first hour came and went very quickly as we made good progress and once past Bardney we found that the inclines didn't cause us too much problems either. I did make the mistake of stopping for a pee break and then having to chase down the pack over the next four miles - this did not help things and I could feel my legs creaking by the time I had finished my effort and got back to the group.

We reached halfway in good time - 1.53 something - and yes, they had the same rocky road as at Rutland and I filled my boots again thank you very muchly ! 

The second half of the race was a lot tougher, due to the work done in the first half, and also because we caught a Wheelers group - this was bad news as I could no longer spend long periods drafting and felt that I should do some work - so do some work I did and put in some good long stretches off the front. This again did not help the old legs, but hey ho, I was enjoying setting the pace and testing the other guys. 

There was just one climb of note at Scampton which I just nailed as fast as I could, and then it was straight into Lincoln for the famous Michaelgate cobbled climb ! Last year, I had to get off and walk the last part of the hill, but not this year, I gave it everything and was loving the applause and cheering from the spectators at the side of the road up the climb and rode it right to the top!

Overall time for the day - 4.06 - not bad for what was to be a training ride when we first set off , and 70th of 261 finishers on the day. Now where did I put that Ibuprofen cream ???

Rutland CICLE Sportive Sportive 100m

Last year I went to Ironman having ridden a maximum distance of 82 miles in training - which was something that I wanted to put right for this year. This sportive takes place in and around Rutland - the same area that I raced at Dambuster triathlon- so I knew that it would be good ideal hilly training for me.
I arrived early for registration having noted the pigs ear of registration that the organisers made at last years Lincoln Grand Prix - but I shouldn't have bothered as it was seamless in and out to collect my race number for the bike and before I knew it I had ridden under the start arch and was on my way ! How quick was that !
The weather forecast had said the day before that the outlook was dry all day, so I was looking forward for a dry ride - how wrong was I ???
One we had started, it stayed dry for at least the first couple of miles and then it started to spit a little, then it started to drizzle and then it just rained.....and rained....and rained....oh and it was windy too.
I enjoyed the first 40 miles or so because I was riding well, and hopping inbetween some groups from time to time as well as riding on my own. I liked having the choice and felt like I was making progress. At about 40 miles the groups had fractured according to different paces and once I had stopped to put my rain jacket on, that was it, I rode solely on my own with the odd exchange of conversation should I pass or be passed.
The route was lumpy with a couple of long drags and a few short sharp hills, but nothing that I couldn't negotiate with a bit of hard work.
Halfway round I knew the time was going to be on the slow side, but made sure to break the ride down into half hour segments, and aiming to add 8 miles for each of these.
I didn't stop very long at the aid stations and this was just to cram as much rocky road into my mouth as I could !
I passed the last of these at about 86 miles and knew that I was going to get round under my revised target of 7 hours ( 6.15 being the target I set out with !!!)
6.53.56 it took me in total and I worked out that I finished 62nd out of 203 finishers, so I figure not as bad a performance on the day as I had told myself.

Lincoln Wheelers 75'' Restricted Gear Time Trial

This past Tuesday gone, I had another opportunity to ride a time trial with Lincoln Wheelers and ride the same 7.7 mile course that I rode my first time trial on back on Boxing Day.
On that occasion I rode 21.41 or thereabouts, but did have the use of all of my gears. This ride was a little different as I was restricted to only being able to use one gear, which was about the halfway through my top set of gears.
.....and boy was it hard !
I managed to scream my way around the course and totally fry my legs in a time of 20.17 - a PB from Boxing Day so happy with that, but this short sharp stuff really hurts my legs and Thursdays long run was painful.
That being said I do enjoy time trialling so will return for some more later in the year !

David Lloyd Lincoln Triathlon

Today saw me start my fourth season of triathlon with a very short trip to the David Lloyd Health Club at Burton Waters near Lincoln for my very first attempt at my local triathlon.

This event is normally held in July which has meant that I have been unable in previous years to enter it, but alas no excuses this year, and I duly rocked up to registration very early, to make sure that I got the unfamiliar lay out well scouted !

After catching up with friends from Lincoln Tri, I was all set to go, and made my way to poolside for my 9.02 start time - this was my race :

Swim 9.00

This year I've been spending Wednesday evenings at the club sessions in an attempt to finally nail the swim discipline. My swim is very much a work in progress at the moment, but I thought I could maybe sneak under the nine minute mark today - that was until two things happened !! First, I went off like a train for the first two lengths with no technique or breathing, and then as I had completed my 16 lengths, managed to get my footing all wrong on the wet floor and went sprawling ! Apart from the fall, and the first two lengths though, I was pleased with the rest of the swim and delighted to be bang on 9 minutes.

T1 - 1.48

I'm not quite sure what I was doing or thinking in T1, but managed to take an age in T1 putting on socks and kit that I possibly did not need ! As the weather warms, I will be looking to improve on this big time.

Bike - 43.36

My cycling speed has come on leaps and bounds since I've been riding with Lincoln Wheelers and my recent time trial results have looked promising. Todays bike course was 14.78 miles with a bugger of a hill thrown in at Burton, which I had made sure to practice a couple of times recently. Today, I had no problems with it as I attacked it from the off ! I knew that when I got to the top, bar a couple of mild undulations, then the rest of the course was flat. I managed to hold a good pace all the way around, and then benefitted from a good backwind on the A57 to get back into transition with an avarage speed of 20.4mph.

T2 - 1.03 - Bit disappointed to be over the minute, but this will improve when I learn the 'elastic band' trick !

Run 21.58

My PB for 5km stands at 22.25 from Conkers Parkrun in February, and I wanted to be around that time today on what I thought was going to be a slightly short course, however I ran very well and had a 6.56 first mile pace. I kept going with a 7.07 second mile as I slotted myself nicely onto the shoulder of another competitor - we then traded positions in a fast final mile on a true 5k course for an unofficial distance PB of 21.58 - delighted, obviously.

My best triathlon performance to date, and beat my goals into the bargain - a really good day ! 

MK Codebreaker Sportive 100km

It was this past Bank Holiday Monday (9/4) that I made the two hour trip down to Milton Keynes for Race Timing Systems 100 kilometre Sportive around Milton Keynes.

I did this event last year in preparation for my Ironman, and really enjoyed it. I remember it being a decent sunny day in parts and very busy - I also managed to average above 16mph and recorded a time of 3.51.39 and it was that time that I was aiming to beat as I arrived at the Tattenhoe Sports Pavillion H.Q.

The weather was cold and wet, and as I pulled up I could see that there were a lot of entrants that had made the decision to stay in bed - this meant that I was one of just 68 that actually turned up to complete the event.

Once I had registered and collected my free gillet, I was set on my way 9.07. Within the first mile, I was grateful that I had decided to wear my waterproof jacket because the rain was really heavy. I also noticed just how quiet it was as there was nobody overtaking me as there had been last year and I also felt that I was riding faster. The first 10km came and went, and before I knew it I turned right, and into the hardest climb of the day - Great Brickhill ! Now, last year, I struggled up this multi layered climb, but to be honest, this year, it was a lot kinder and the recent Grimpeur ride has really helped with my climbing.

Newton Blossomville marked about halfway on the course and as I rode through there I reflected on just how well I thought I had ridden the first half of the loop in what were apalling conditions - however, I soon turned into a headwind, and the second half of the course became a painful slog as the cold bit through my legs and the rain never stopped. I didn't let up with the effort though and all the way round beleived that I could sneak under last years time.

It was not to be though as firstly 3.51 came and went, and then the 4 hr time flashed by. One last push later though, and I was over the line in 4.01.39 - exactly 10 mins slower than last year.

In all then, I rode better but one the day the condions had me. I plan to return next year for another bite !