Southwell Triathlon 2014

It's been two years since my last visit to what is the fastest (read shortest) sprint triathlon locally. Indeed two years ago I managed to post 1.02.22 on the Southwell course and this years ambition was to break the hour - what could go wrong ????

Thursday, the organisers emailed to say that the course has had to be changed due to roadworks and lengthened - bugger !!!!!!

Oh well, this is how it went ....

Swim 8.59
10,9,8,7,6,5,4 breast stroker turns in front of me, 2, 1 and another, go !  suffice to say, a slower than usual first couple of lengths, lots of traffic, and then nothing ! Swam nice and hard all the way through, flopped out of the pool all salmon like just after 8 minutes, however there was an ickle run to T1 where I took a further 48 seconds...

Bike 29.24
Out on the bike course, just get in the shoes and then a nice early climb to get the average speed nice and low !  A few undulations later and it was onto the flat stuff all the way to Lowdham roundabout where I had managed to get the average above 22mph. (Target for the day had been 21mph). struggled a bit on the way back and didn't take a couple of the rises as well geared as I could have done. Happy overall with a 29 minute bike split though - and this time I only spent three minutes with the elastic band attached to the bike still - so I'm learning :-(

Run 22.58
So onto the run 2.28 ahead of my 2012 time and therefore would have been on for the hour, however I had to worry about a brand new run course which was the full 5k rather than the historical 4.3k passed off as 5k. This new emergency course was 70% on grass and was effectively four laps of a field with some out and back added on. The mile splits ticked by at 7.11/7.24/7.21 so I knew all the way through that it was going to be slightly slower than usual.

The end result being a 1.02.55 performance for the day :-)

Ironman Mallorca 70.3 2014 race report

Well, well, well - I didn't expect the race to be that much of a gem, but it was and what a surprise ! Great time had by all, and a tough but rewarding race completed for another 70.3 finish - this is how things unfolded .....

Pre-race - Having read a lot of race reports from previous years, I decided to stay away from Alcudia and located ourselves at the SportHotel (Villa Concha) in Port de Pollenca. A nice triathlon themed hotel that was just being completed which didn't let you keep your bike in the room and also charged 4 euros per hour to use the 25m pool. At least I wasn't surrounded by kids dive bombing though ! ( and I sneaked my bike in and out via the fire escape.)
We arrived on the Tuesday morning before the race, and rented a car, so had plenty of time to acclimatise to the Island. Heidi had kittens when we drove the bike course and she saw the switchback descent first hand. I promised to behave on them on race day :-) Registration was nice and easy, the expo was pleasant enough although the Pasta party ( now called a welcome party) rivalled only the now defunct Ironman Antwerp for shitness I'm afraid :-(

For those first 4 days all I wanted to do was race - I was ready.

Race day

Nice 8.50 start time for the 40-44 age group. This gave ample time to arrive nice and early, set the bike up and then have a nice amble through and watch the pro field in the water. I handed Heidi my wetsuit thinking that she would follow me down the long transition and we could swap bags. This was a big mistake - we got separated and I didn't see Heidi again until the run !!!!

Panicked and desperate I went up and down the path from the transition to the swim start hoping to be re-united with my wetsuit. At 8.40 reality struck home and I accepted that it was going to be a non wetsuit swim for me :-(

Swim - 40.35
There I was, all these people in black wetsuits, and in the middle of all this, me, in a bright red tri suit. Calf guards taken off and stuffed down the front of my suit to give me a 'package' and when we were set underway, it was all I could do to muster a walk into the sea. I got stopped and given a fresh swim cap, so a slow start in all, but when I did get finally into the water - what a great feeling. It was nice and cool and a very nice swim. My emergency goggles quickly let in water on one side, so it was a one eyed closed swim, albeit, sighting was excellent and the course easy to navigate. I reached the turn buoy at c.21minutes and knew then that the damage wasn't going to be too bad. My swim PB is 37 mins for a 1.9k swim, so I was delighted to see 40 mins on the clock when I exited the water.

T1 - 7.34
What a long transition - no really - longest in the world. A good 800m end to end I would say. Would have liked to have been quicker than 7 minutes, but I had some calf guards to retrieve from my crutch and then get on - this was no easy task !

Bike - 2.52.47
Out on the bike and my favourite part of the race. The first stretch was homeward bound from Alcudia back along the waterfront to Port de Pollenca. It was fast and felt so good, I hoped the rest of the course could be so fast, however we were soon at the base of the climb - a 7.7km effort, with switchbacks and an average of maybe 5-6% - nothing difficult but a very long slog and a real test for my non climbing legs. In truth, I felt comfortable the whole way up taking more places than I lost overall, I was relieved to finally make the garage at Lluc which signalled the start of the descent. A look down at the clock saw my average had fallen to 15.6 mph for the ride - now was the time to bump up that average on the wild and very fast switchbacks. It was mental and so much fun winding down the mountain, having to really concentrate on not only my riding but the erratic riding of some of my fellow competitors. One along the bottom, some of the roads were a bit shocking, however the main road sections were seriously speedy. After 56 miles of smiles I headed back into Transition with an overall average repaired at 19 mph.

T2
3 minutes summat including a pee stop - it takes me longer than that at home !

Run
Without the wind cooling me down, it was quickly apparent that it was a hot hot day in Alcudia. The announcer shouted 37 degrees, and the Farmacia signs showed 35.5 but surely not that hot ???
My first mile was also hot (for me) at 7.20 which didn't tally up with how I was feeling. My running was uncomfortable and I had developed yet another blister on my left foot which made cornering painful. I walked the aid stations and made sure I stuck a couple of sponges under my tri suit like epaulettes to try and cool things down. This worked a treat and I found myself livening up by the end of the first lap and throughout the second lap things continued to improve. I slowed on the final lap, but then I think that was more about knowing I was going to be a good way under 6 hours and not really caring how far.

One last diversion onto the beach and a finish of 5.41.16 along with my first top half finish in a European Ironman event. :-)  Let's hope Outlaw Half goes so well.....

Epworth Triathlon

It's only a week out from Ironman Mallorca 70.3 for me, but some last minute sprint action was on the cards today as some sort of reward for all the long distance stuff I've been putting myself through. I really like sprint Tri's but don't really get to do enough of them in my opinion.

Today was a nice May day with a morning temperature of 10 degrees and a 10mph SW wind. My swim start was a mega early 8.24 so I had to leave Lincoln at about 6.30 just to get there in time to register and rack my stuff - this is how the race went :

Swim 8.47 
This was a 20m pool and as such I had to swim 20 lengths instead of the standard 16. The pool was nice enough if a little on the warm side and the traffic for a sprint swim was quiet. I was happy with the time which included getting out of the pool and getting 30m to transition.

T1 0.43
This was my fastest T1 ever I think - no messing about, no gloves, no tops, shoes held on the bike with an elastic band - job done !

Bike 33.51
Settled down quickly, got into the shoes, and then went into time trial mode. The course is basically a square with four 3 mile stretches, the 4th being a bit undulating. I had trouble with my gears slipping and also I found out late in the bike that my elastic band was still attached to both the shoe and the frame - not that I think the latter had much bearing on proceedings ! I rolled back into T2 with a time of 33.51 where I had hoped for a 32 minute effort.

T2 0.28
Basically dumped the bike and went for a jog ! My quickest T2 to date as well !

Run 20.23
Not as bad feeling as last weeks 2nd run, but not the most comfortable either. I was on my own for much of this run which was eerily quiet! The run took me out of transition onto the main road and then down through a housing estate and out into the country. I had forgotten my race shoes so had to do the run in my old running shoes that I now use as casual trainers. This didn't seem to matter as I registered a 6.46 opening first mile. The course then went out into the fields and on single paths. It was nice to do a bit off cross country albeit the time slowed with a 7.10 2nd mile. The 3rd mile was fields until we came up a short sharp rise back into Epworth - I couldn't tell you what the third mile was as it never came up ! I would estimate the course at c.4.8k so a 20.23 run split was an OK finale to a very enjoyable event.

A time of 1.04.12 for my first crack at this course and only 4 minutes off the win ! Next up...... that 70.3 !

Lincoln Wheelers Summer League

29.04.14  Bassingham 10m TT - 24.08

Two days after the Stockton Duathlon came the first of the Summer 10 events at my cycling club - Lincoln Wheelers. There are 13 events that make up the series and its my aim to complete at least 10 of them.  The first of the events took place at Bassingham on an OK evening weather wise with an Easterly 6 mph breeze.

It was a course that I had reservations about as I don't particular like either the layout or the road surface, but at a shortened distance of 9.64miles I was happy to give it a go and chalk off one of the required 9 races.

I got there nice and aerly and was rewarded by being rider no.1 for the course and the guinea pig for the evening. The course is a one loop affair with some hairpins and some left turns.

Even with the feeling of dread of the course that filled me I soon settled down into a steady rhythm and once down on the main road began to mellow a little and enjoy the ride. Even the surfuce on the main road didn't wind me up and I managed to navigate the drag up to Aubourn well enough. The bends from Aubourn back to Bassingham seemed to go on forever, however with a 24.08 finishing time I was happy enough overall !

Stockton Duathlon

Today was a return to attempting to qualify for GB, but this time for next years European Champs - so a nice early season trip up to Stockton in the North East was in order.

This was the second year that Stockton had hosted a Duathlon and the entire of the waterfront was closed for the event as the local council had done a great job of throwing their weight behind the event.

We stayed in a 'Lenny' overnight, and with an 11.00am start time and free parking in Stockton we were able to get to the venue nice and early and there were no warnings for late racking for me today.

It was windy (13mph) and a bit chilly with a threat of rain in the air, so when I did rack my bike I did so with shoes on the floor but under an upturned tri box to keep them dry. I know that I should have them on the bike but I just didn't trust the blinkin' weather !  Following that, there was a bit of warming up before a race briefing and then it was straight out onto the main road for the start !

I tried to judge where I should start and think I got it just about right as I didn't hold anybody up as we were set under way. I remember thinking that I was going very slowly but looked down at my watch to see 6.20 at one point late on in the first mile, so not so slow- no wonder that it felt like such hard work!  we were soon at and over the bridge and making our way back across the other side of the River Tees. It felt like back wind here and I really had to dig in to keep consistent. The third mile was really difficult as we had a further bridge to negotiate and I felt done in when I got to transition with a time of 22.05.

I messed around in T1 (0.57) and should have been 20 seconds quicker but was pleased to be out on the bike course for some bike action. This was my part of the race and I loved the feeling of just smashing the bike ! The course was a long one - 25km - however did not suit me as there were so many roundabouts and dead turns to negotiate ! The three laps came and went, and I was only overtaken the once which was pleasing. There was plenty of headwind on the bike today and with that, my time must have suffered and I came back into T2 with a time of 38.26. T2 was quicker (0.44) and then it was time for the second run.....

OMFG ! Where were my legs - having a real go on the bike had meant that I had destroyed them and I was glad that it was only 2.3km for the second run. It was all I could do to put one foot in front of the other over the two bridges and I was so, so glad to negotiate the second and put in a strong finish in the last 200m or so.

That was it, the whole event over in 1.13.06 and I wait now to see if that has got me any closer to qualifying. It felt like an improvement over Clumber but until I see the results I will not know.

Sleaford Wheelers Charity 10

Last year I had three truly bad rides - an aborted 12 hr attempt, a 2hr.23 50 miler, and a 27.22 on the Sleaford Wheelers Charity 10.  So, this year has a sub text of banishing those particular demons during the course of this year, so.....

1st up - the C10/10 Sleaford Wheelers Charity 10 !

Held every year in support of Cancer Research UK, this popular charity 10 miler attracts over 100 entrants and raises over £1,000 for Charity. The course is a single carriageway out and back and last year saw a horrible crosswind either way which did nothing but hinder me. This year also saw a crosswind and at 13mph I thought it was going to be case of deja vu as I lined up as no.46 and waited for my start slot. There were a couple of wheelers coming in who gave accounts of ' consistent' & 'better on the way back !'.

As soon as the clock said 2.46pm, I found out what the course was like - all over the place. The start was down a bit of a ramp and I enjoyed a fast one, however it soon slants up a bit and the speed slowed a lot. There were bits where I felt a backwind assistance, and then others where I had a cross headwind - strange !  I turned the roundabout in good order though and felt like I was riding well. My aim was to beat last years performance and an average of more than 22.18mph would achieve this - and as I was averaging over 24 at the turn I felt good.

The return leg also felt like a backwind at time and I was only really slowed by the profile of the road being a bit draggy in places. I experienced some headwind parts but still had an average of over 24mph going into the last mile. One short drag later and it was all out for a near 3 minute improvement on last year at 24.23 !

One demon was truly exorcised today, and now just two more to go !

Lincoln Parkrun - new PB

OK, I've given it away in the title !

Guess who's gone under 21 minutes for the very first time ?

Yep, its me ! A first lap of 6.35 followed by 6.43 & 6.48 ensured good time made to finish in 20.52 and record a 40 second PB !  It helped to be racing a buddy as this helped me forget about pace and the like and I just ran !

Parkrun no.24 completed ! Over 'n' out ;-)