Cunning Plans

In some better news, I've started running again and from a 1 mile start, have managed to work my way up to nearly four miles in just a few weeks. To aid recovery, I've taken to walking a good way before I start into any sort of run and this seems to be working well. The plan is to reduce this walk week by week, to the point where I can just run straight from the house of an evening. The Percy Pud 10k has been entered as the comeback race on December 2nd, and I'll be posting my entry for the Stockport 10 the Sunday after shortly.

My cycling is getting back up to scratch thanks to the weekly club runs, and the plan is to continue this up until Xmas. Then during the Winter training rides in January, I intend to muller myself week in week out to ride with the fastest club ride.

Swimming is also going to plan with a club session every Wednesday resulting in c.1900m, but I need to double up by going to the pool at weekends really.

Despite spending so much time training, I've clearly still got too much time on my hands as I've spent a lot of time over the past few weeks pondering on what I would like to do over the next couple of years, and have come to the following conclusions :

- Once Lanza & Outlaw have been completed next year, I will solely concentrate on 70.3/middle distance races as they are easier to train for and I feel they are my best distance. These will also be flatter races because to be fair I'm no climber and I don't think I ever will be !

- Time trialling - I've decided to do a lot more of these as I enjoy them so much (except restricted gear which I won't be doing again in a hurry !)

- A big challenge ride - LEJOG or London to Paris - I really like the idea of this and will be working on sorting something out for possibly 2014.

There you have it, some cunning plans indeed.... I hope they come to fruition !

Enforced lay off...

So following my exploits at the Relays where I failed to get out on the run, I have had to take a back seat and try and let my calf repair.

There's some damage deep within the muscle and I'm hoping that its not going to keep me out of action for too long. I started to cycle the commute again this week, and also swam for 30 minutes on Wednesday evening with no reaction bar a little stiffness. The big test will come tomorrow I'm sure as I venture out with Lincoln Wheelers for a steady 40 mile ride.

Gutted to have had to cancel 3 races this month, but after 4 years of racing with little injury and little time off, maybe this is a break that I really needed and will do me good!

Plan to start running again with light jogging in a further three weeks as need to give things time to repair.
Until then.....

National Club Relays

Over before it began....

That is really my take on how this years Relay Championships went for me ! It was the third year in a row that I had competed in this event, and the second year in a row that I had teamed up with AJ, John and Mark - last years Horny Imps and this years newly named Imps return. In last years event we had finished in 4 hours and 9 minutes and had finished (albeit top) of the last page of results - this year we were a year older and a little faster so aimed to at least improve on last years rank.

Perfect conditions greeted us at Holme Pierrepont  (National Water Sports Centre and home of the Outlaw !) with little wind and overcast conditions. The previous days racing had seen a deluge and had nearly seen the event cancelled so we could count ourselves as very lucky ! We had plenty of time to get prepared, and the whole Lincoln Tri area was a very relaxed place to be with lots of catching up going on.....

At just after 10.00am we all pretty much on mass made our way down to the start and organised ourselves by trying best we could to pick the best stops to hand over our relay elastic band. At about 10.15 the first wave of swimmers were off and I made my way to the barrier to take my place and wait for John to come flying out of the swim for a handover.

Swim 11.49

I received the elastic band from John, turned on my heels, took a few strides and the pop ! Pain in the left calf, and I literally hobbled and plopped into the water. I was a mixture of angry and panicked on that first leg and as a result blew up very early on. I also drifted off course towards the centre of the lake which meant I got no draft and ended up zig zagging a bit to the bouy. Turned the bouy, settled down, made sure I didn't kick and swam well back to the transition to hand the band over to Mark - who could see there was summat wrong as a limped toward him !
In terms of the time it was OK all things considered and much better than last years diabolical 12.30 swim. I made my way back to the Lincoln Tri tent and as I did came across a physio tent who popped some ice on my leg and asked me to come back for a proper look after the bike leg.

Bike 23.54

I am absolutely made up with the bike leg considering the injury that I carried. I was able to sit and spin my way round, and also got into a comfortable position on the straights to avoid too much fidgeting.
The drawbacks were that I had to remain seated , I had to remain in lower gears than I am used to as any pressure bought on pain, and I wasn't able to stand and power out of the corners as I like to do - so that time astounded me and gives me great heart of what might be next year after recovery and a good winters preparation with the Wheelers as I make the step up to A group riding.

Run 
Joking right - not a prayer !

AJ ran my leg and then his leg like a trojan to bring the team home in 3 hours 52 mins - an improvement of 17 minutes over last year and 111th place on the day - comfotably away from the last page of results !

My first DNF then technically, and an end to any immediate race plans. I will continue to swim and hopefully bike but running is out of the question - will check with the physio this week to confirm what I can and can't do ! Til next time .....

Ironman UK 2012 - race report

On Sunday 22nd July I competed in my second Ironman distance Triathlon at Ironman UK held in and around Bolton in Lancashire. I had been training hard over the past 7-8 months and was ready to go by the time we left lincoln on the Friday for the trip over to Bolton - this was is how my weekend went......

Pre-amble

Our journey took a little over 2 hours and we arrived at our hotel for the weekend in the early afternoon. Our digs of choice for the weekend was the Novotel @ South Manchester. The Receptionist made some reservation changes to keep our room away from the wedding function room which was very much appreciated. Hotel was OK as far as hotels with woodchip effect plaster walls go, but it was clean and best of all quiet !
Later in the afternoon, we made our way over to the Reebok Stadium to register and collect my race pack , transition bags, and importantly yet another Ironman goody bag - this time a mid size rucksack - to add to my collection that the missus refers to as 'hoarding' - tut !(Clearly you can never have enough IM bags !)
We stayed for the race briefing which was enjoyable - and then stayed longer for the Pasta party which was better than expected. In fact the whole weekend was beginning to feel more polished than I had thought, as I had some pre-conceptions of Bolton being a bit on the grim side ! Got back to the hotel feeling more positive and managed a decent nights sleep.

Saturday was spent packing the various transition bags with kit that I would need at differing stages of the race. Amongst things I forgot to pack were socks for both the run and the bike ! We would spend the rest of the day dropping bags and bike off at T1 (Pennington Flash) & at T2 (a school near Rivington). We also popped into Bolton to see the finish arch being erected and to convince Heidi that there was more to Bolton than a Greggs and a Cash Converters ! (In fact there were two Greggs so there !!!).
Planned on getting no sleep at all, but fell asleep during Casino Royale, so got a bonus 5 hours sleep !

Raceday


Got up at silly o clock and had a couple of porridge pots and a coffee to wake me up. Spent a good few minutes applying more layers of Riemanns P20 sun lotion. I then managed to completely cock up putting on the race number tattoo, when I forgot to remove the backing paper because I'm a tit !! After a bit more messing around checking stuff that clearly didn't need to be checked, we got in the car and made the shortish journey over to Pennington Flash where we turned up very early at c.4.40 am !  Pump the tyres, spend 20 minutes chasing around T1 to find a marshall with a marker pen to number me up. Finally with half an hour to go to the start I headed back to the car to get the wetsuit on to make my way down to the start.

Swim
Must have faffed around a little too long as I managed to get quite far back in the field waiting to get into the water, and I could see that there was no way the race was going to start on time, In fact, I think it was ten minutes late going off as people were still piling in and then having to swim over to the floating start area. I positioned myself towards the middle and eventually we were set on our way.
Lots of biff first off as people found their way to their natural positions in the swim, and lots of athletes aimlessly swimming across each other heading for who knows what. The swim was a triangular two lap affair, with big bright orange buoys marking each turn - so how these numpties were managing to zig zag so badly god only knows ! For my own efforts I felt really good and paced the first straight well. I began to drift out to the left of the field on the return leg back to the start and promised myself that I wouldn't go so wide on the next lap. Halfway done in c.41minutes as we exited the water for a short run section (more of a mudslide in truth as the ground was bogged by the time I got there !). Second lap, not gonna go wide, oops gone wide, not just wide but very wide. Took the opportunity to have a pee with no one else clearly around me and then doubly concentrated on keeping my line on the straight and narrow on the last couple of legs. Had some more biff with some more directionally challenged numpties, but all ok in the end. Exited the water in 1.28.43 for a new IM swim PB of a whole 31 seconds ! Seriously though, happy with swim, felt it was an honest distance, not sure it was as long as some have said (Garmins showing 2.90/99 miles). Felt good running up the long stretch to T1 and all going to plan.

T1
Seemed to take an age here with some of it taken up using the loo, some of it trying to dodge bodies and find a place to change, but mostly because I dally a bit. At 8.54 though, an improvement again over Austria, so getting better ?

Bike
This is more like it ! Straight down into the aero bars and passing lots of people on the stretch up to the loop.    Tried not too push it too hard, and kept myself occupied by counting the people that I passed, also remembering to net off the people that took me. After a good solid 16 miles , got to the bottom of the Sheep House Lane climb to start the first of three 31 mile loops which would complete the bike section. Took the first climb nice and easy and before I knew it I was already tear arsing down the descent at over 40 mph !! I knew there was a tightish left at the bottom from watching last years race so took a good line to make sure I didn't end up leaving the road and landing in the low level reservoir. The support in Belton was amazing when I got there and the good weather bringing out the crowds. I did feel a bit sick on the bike during the first loop, but reasoned that it must have been some dodgy flash water still left in my system.
First loop completed and back round for my second crack at Sheep House  ! I noticed that the sun was properly out by now and it was getting very warm. I sweated my way up the climb the second time and wished that there was more cloud cover. Great support again out on the bike course, and although baking, felt a little better as the Flash water seemed to have finally gone from my system. I was also still riding well, although the results show a drop from the first lap and continued to pass people. The 3rd lap again started with another trip up SHL which was a complete horrible slow grind from bottom to top as my legs were screaming every time I got out of the saddle. I was so pleased to get to the top I really was ! It was far too hot and I was cooking at this point on the bike. I lost a minute when the chain fell off the ring but that was the height of any event on the whole bike course. The support didn't die down all day and 'colt alley' was a joy to ride towards the end of each lap. I rolled into T2 in 6.40.39 which I was delighted with. (Austria had been 6.37 on smoother roads and with 600m less climbing !). I even managed a trot through transition once a helper had taken my bike..

T2 - because of my cleats on my shoes, did a penquin waddle in the sports hall, grabbed my bag and did a quick change. What made up the rest of the time of 4.25 was waiting for a portaloo before deciding to give up waiting and get myself out onto the run.

Run
It was very hot, but I still ran a very fast first mile knowing that my PB and potential aim of sub 12.30 was definately on ! Mile 2 slowed me down a bit but I was still going well albeit aware that something was not quite right. Walked through the first aid station and grabbed a portaloo, in which it became really clear that my hydration was in a bad place. I took some more water and then got on with my marathon best I could. The run route into Bolton takes you along a river via a tow path and it was on this section with no shade that I really began to suffer. I started taking 20s walk breaks to see if that helped, but these became longer and longer and by the time I got to mile six I was done. I had no energy and was subjected to walking up a long climb to get onto the New Chorley Road. My nutrition going wrong is something I hadn't experienced before and I didn't know how to put it right. I made sure I took long walk breaks, and was selective about what I took from the aid stations, even trying ritz crackers. I could see that I was not alone, there were lots of people around me suffering in their own way with the heat and doing the best they could to get on with it. First time that I saw Heidi I fessed up that it was going to be a long day and that I was sorry. At this point I still had three loops of the run course left to do which is around 18 miles. I needed a plan and I needed one quickly cos the walking was getting stupidly long.
I decided on a walk run cone counting strategy in a genius attempt of trying to fool myself into getting going again.........and it worked ! Right, walk two cones (approx 20m), run 10 cones (approx 100m!).
This strategy got me through a further one and a half laps before I bumped into a great bloke called Paul from TriTalk who had a knackered Achilles but was still aiming to finish best he could. Between us we cone counted the rest of the Marathon, albeit going from a 2-10 strategy to a 4-7 shuffle but the most important thing was that we got there and I had really good company on those last two laps ! It didn't matter that we were counting the cones aloud as we passed them, or that we lost count in the confusion - we got the job done ! 5.14.03 for the run.



13.36.44 for my second Ironman, and though it didn't go to plan, I was proud of the way I stuck at it and ground out a result. I finished in the top half of all finishers so at least I did meet one of my goals for the day in the end. Oh, and WOW, Bolton, what a surprise ! I expected it to be a bit low key and grim, but it was a brilliant venue with brilliant spectators - I have been buzzing for days afterward.

What's next ? I'm booked for Ironman Lanzarote in May of next year (that will be interesting with the Sun and all that heat again) and then Outlaw at Nottingham in June. Right now, I'm not planning any IM's past those dates.

For the rest of the year, apart from the odd Tri, I'll be mostly trying to improve my run speed and having a go at a few more time trials !

Been busy......

Well, its now just over two weeks until this years big event. I've completed 28 weeks of Don Finks 'Be Ironfit' training plan and complete full or near full distances during the last few peak weeks. The next two weeks training are going to be taper weeks which will see a reduction in the volumes so that I erm reach race day in tip top condition..........hopefully !

Training has gone well in all, although I've had a few niggles along the way which I've had to manage. This year has been much easier physically, as I came into the plan already running 10m races and therefore run fit, and also cycle fit from Sunday morning club runs. What has been tough has been the mental side of things where it has been harder this year to keep motivated - whether or not this has anything to do with the gloomy weather I don't know. I have made the decision that for Ironman Lanzarote next May, I won't be using the whole 30 week plan and will just use the last ten weeks - that should help keep the old motivation up !

Target for Bolton is simple - work hard, keep calm and try and go faster in each discipline - overall target is to beat last years time of 12.51 - with going sub 12.30 being the goal for the day !

I'll next update with how I got on...

Ironman UK 70.3 race report

The toughest Triathlon that I have ever completed - a beautiful torture if I can describe it as such. On Sunday, I managed to complete the half ironman at Wimbleball  - described as the hardest 70.3 in the world by some bloke who knows more than I do - this is my report.....

Pre-race
Arrived in Somerset on Friday and made our way straight to the lake to register. Local Rotary Mafia mugged us for a tenner for parking, however, it didn't seem muddy and I thought that the tales of mudbaths in previous years were exaggerated. Registration was quick, expo looked a bit like a bad village fate ! Drove from the lake an hour to get to our lodgings at Cullompton in Devon - saw the town and realised I'd forgotten my banjo and rocking chair...

Day before.. 
Wet and very windy, we made our way back to the lake, this time going via Haddon Hill and getting to see some of the lumps I'd be riding up - not bad, but I'm in a car, might be a bit tougher on the bike. We were making good time as well, but as soon as we got near the lake... traffic chaos and an hour queue to get in.... complete mudbath causing this, as well as the Mafia getting their money with menaces ! Racked the bike in Glastonburyesque transition area and told not to cover my pride and joy because it was too windy. Went to pre race briefing and had to listen to the rain peeing down all over my baby. Listened to the meat of the briefing before legging it toward the end to ensure a quick getaway. Some were held up two hours leaving the car park....organisers...party....brewery ?

Raceday
Weather did a complete U-ey, and it was calm and almost sunny as we headed down to the lake. The pros and the young uns went off at a delayed 7.15 (that brewery again and even longer delays for car parking) . The 40+ fogies made our way into the water for a 7.30 start. No klaxon, no gun, everyone just started swimming so I sheeped up and cracked on with it. I couldn't see the first buoy so generally tried to swim in the same direction as everybody else. I didn't start too fast and tried to keep a good technique. There was little biff over than a clash of hands occasionally, and I managed to narrowly avoid breaststroking kick to the face, just the shoulder as we made our way around the first buoy. The remainder of the swim went well, the markers were easy to see , I felt confident as I got out of the water of a 35min swim, casual glance of the watch... 42 something WTF ???? and the swim was a little short apparently.. 


T1 - 7.58 - A bit of a dizzy run up the hill into transition tent, all of us looking like wipeout contestants ! Grabbed bag, sat down and then took my time, hoping my senses would return. Out into the mud, doing a penguin waddle in the bike shoes trying not to get mud in the cleats ! Not a bad time considering....


Bike
Straight out of transition, and run the bike past people falling over at the mount line. Climb the first rise in the small ring, and then change up for the flatter section that follows, then further hill, no probs, will just change down into small ring again.......oops that didn't work..damn LBS had supposedly fixed that last week.. OK so now lets see if I can kick it down...worked but scared too do this too many times so decided to ride the first half of the course in the big ring, then heel kick it down into the small ring for the hillier second half of the course - this worked fine initially, but there were still climbs on the first half that I could have done with taking   a little easier ! Enjoyed the first half of the course and got some good aero speed down in the bars. Thought the first climb was coming up at the bottom of the first long descent and changed down only to find that it was a fair few miles before it started - bad error and should have driven the course, but it was what it was ! First time up 'pylon hill' not too bad, and didn't seem too long. Made my way round the second half of the course OK, with the toughest climb being the rolling 14% job on the way to Haddon Hill. Got about 5 miles from the end of the first lap when Phil Graves came tear arseing past at the fastest speed I have seen anyone on a bike. It was a further 15 minutes and then some before 2nd place blokey came past. First lap done in about 1.48, and now time to really put the hammer down on the 2nd lap....yeah right..... to be fair, the speed remained similar, but those climbs became like treacle as I ground my way up them for the 2nd time with plenty of people choosing to walk them, and me swearing my way up ! Happy to get back into transition in a bike time of 3.37 - the hardest, hilliest ride of my life ! 


T2 - 3.55 - Seemed a lot longer than that, and included a lavvy stop, so can't beat myself up too much....


Run
Straight out of transition, and immediately apparent that I'm just running up and down around a lumpy field and not the nice flat tarmac I'm used too. This is hard, but also a good challenge and the first mile was dispatched in 7.50 something - maybe this will be quick I got to thinking and then promptly took that back as I hit 'concrete mountain' which seemed to up and up for ever and not the final 10 metres that they show on TV. Legs recovered enough for the downhill, and then really enjoyed the flat part across the dam with its stunning scenery ! Plenty of tough trail type running followed all of it either up or down, but I seemed to be coping with it and my recent injury didn't flare up. Walked the aid stations eventually as the first couple ended with me pouring cups of water down me but not in me.


Began to feel tired of all the climbing on the second lap and was not pleasant swallowing so many flies down by the lakes edge. By the third time up concrete mountain, I was the only one running it albeit as a very camp,slow motion, Peter Kay way to Amarillo kind of way ! 2.00 almost bob on for the run, and a finishing time of 6.32 for the whole thing....mid table mediocrity and my best WTC event finish so far... the mission completed and plenty of practice for Bolton in five weeks time.


In all.... yep, the pre race queuing, delays and the like are annoying, how much of that is down to the restrictions of the venue, and how much the organisers I can't say. The course is tough but also fantastic. Last night I went to bed saying I wouldn't want to do Wimbleball again. This morning though different story......

Woodhall Spa Triathlon

I know it as the 'home of Triathlon' and others may disagree with that, but this for me was where it all started in 2009 and this Triathlon holds a special place in my heart.... and its always sunny !..............

Apart from today it would seem, as from the moment I got up I could hear the pitter patter of rain on the conservatory roof, and the forecast confirmed that it would be a blanket of rain for the entire day ! Still, onwards and upwards, and I loaded up the car nice and early to make my way to the venue - Jubilee Park at Woodhall Spa. After negotiating a diversion, I arrived plenty early but found that the usual car parks were already full, which meant a trip to the overflow car park located on the run route. Once registered and in receipt of another fab technical t-shirt I returned to the car to get my bike and other bits - this was a good walk and I used it as a warm up as I was getting very cold and very wet - in fact it was a relief to get in the pool when the start time came around a short half hour later, as the heated outdoor pool had steam coming off the surface and it was a beautiful warm temperature!

I could have sat there all day, but all too soon, I was being counted down and I was off !

Swim 8.39
Unlike at Southwell, there was no traffic as I pushed away from the wall for the first time and I was able to enjoy a smooth first couple of lengths. It was fast though, and the inevitable slow down came over the next few lengths, until my breathing and stroke rate settled down. I really enjoy the swim here and todays time of 8.39 was nearly a minute better than my personal best set in last years race.

T1 1.29
I have been getting precious about slow transitions like this one recently, but today being wet, cold, and muddy meant that some time and care had to be taken - so I'll not beat myself up!

Bike 42.34
I've invested some cash in a silly pointy helmet, and whilst its not the most comfortable of things to wear - especially when it was bending down both my ears, it certainly feels more aerodynamic, and as a result I really felt that I was flying, even though the race conditions were treacherous and there were big pools of standing water everywhere. I was flying past people, and riding quicker than I have ever ridden, and really enjoying it ! I did wonder if I was overcooking things, but thought nah, just crack on!  Once the first half of the course is done (which includes the long deceptive inclines), there is a really fast second half and today with a little backwind I was holding 30mph in parts quite comfortably ! I arrived back in T2 in 42.34 which was over four minutes faster than last year - booooom !!! Maybe there was something in that little pointy hat....

T2 1.08
OK could have sharpened that up a bit but couldn't feel my feet, they were numb from the cold!

Run 20.40
So, couldn't feel my feet, calf guards heavy with water, and reduced speed in training due to my niggling bum injury - got to say as I headed out onto the run course I wasn't holding much hope for the run, but I just kept working as hard as I could and as I got my legs working, I somehow managed to get my legs working enough to knock out a 6.47 first mile ! The second mile came and went in 7.07 and I knew that I was in for a good time if I could keep it up ! We were soon back onto the footpath that runs along the main road and the last mile was spent dodging the huge puddles that had formed (I don't know why though cos I was wet enough in any case !) and attempting to overtake the chap in front. I kept up my 100% record of losing every sprint finish I've ever attempted, but overjoyed to cross the finish line in 1.14.31 and inside my target of 1.15 that I had set myself.

A good days work then in terrible conditions and a personal best finishing of 61st place to boot ! This meant that I finished 5th in my age group over the 3 races that make up the Midlands Triathlon Series.

That was my last Sprint Tri of the season (I think), as in two weeks time I head for Wimbleball in Exmoor to compete in the UK Ironman 70.3 race - I can't wait !