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Oulton Park Middle Distance Duathlon, on a really nice sunny day in March, the best weekend of the year so far. It was reasonably warm at c.10 degrees, with an easterly wind of
March 21, 2022
Oulton Park Middle Distance Duathlon
March 06, 2022
Retford Half Marathon 2022 race report
This is going to be a long one as I'm committing to tidying up some of the races that I've neglected to mention and that is covered at the bottom of this page.
This would be my second running of the Retford Half as the first was the last race before the pandemic saw a shut down of such events. Today I felt really good in the build up, having had a good training sessions and of course, I would be running in my Alphaflys which I was crazy keen to run in. The event is run out of Retford Oaks Academy and is put on by Retford Athletic Club. The course is mildly undulating but has some lovely arrow straight sections which allow for good pacing.
My previous PB was 1.38 and a half three years ago at Market Bosworth and whilst I felt that I was in good form and was in that ball park, I wasn't 100% confident of achieving it. My coach believed I could hold 7.26 minute mile efforts for 1.37.30 - we would see..
A 15 minute warm up was in order and then a change into the Alpha dizzles. It was a clear day, cold,some blue sky and a northerly breeze. I placed myself right in the middle of the scrum, about a third from the front, and was away by 10.10 am with start delayed by 10 minutes.
One we had done the roundabout bit within the grounds it was out onto the road, and then onto the path as the field set it's order. I was running far too fast and was well under the seven minute barrier before settling at a pace of around 7.00 minutes exactly for the first 3-4 miles. It was in these early miles that a Peugeot driver decided that they didn't like the road closures and tried to plough through the field. It was a dense part of the course as well and this could have been like skittles. That little drama over, I was back to my efforts and all was well including the water park that was Billy Button Lane. In fact I had expected a slowing of pace but that did not come and I got to the turnaround at mile 7 at the top of the course in good stead. I expected with a backwind to be quicker coming back but with tightening muscles and some undulations I found it more and more of a struggle. This carried on until mile 10 and then over a small bridge and the wheels then started to wobble.
At this stage I was already 4 minutes inside my 10 mile PB time but knew I was tiring badly. I was losing the occasional place and I had dropped below the 7.26's that my coach predicted. Mile 11 was slowest at 7.38, and then a gritted out 7.27's for the last 2 miles to cross the line in 1.34.45.
Clearly a massive PB and I'll be telling anyone that will listen about this all week !
Running ..
08.01.22 Essex Duathlon 10k run leg 43.35 - this was a chilly first week in January trip down to Debden Airfield to take part in a relay effort with Ian in a standard distance race whilst Dave attempted a qualification in the middle distance race. For my part, the first 10km round the airfield using my carbon X2's again. Post Xmas chub at 80kg, but a well controlled effort to put Ian in great shape for the bike and final run.
06.11.21 No Walk In The Park 21.19 Me and Dave went over to Chesterfield to do this event for the first time in 10 years. To be going back at nearly 49 years of age and putting in a fast time was amazing. Again carbon X2's used. Nothing left as I finished, lots and lots of local club runners there so 12th place finish of 47 pleasing.
31.10.21 Lincoln 10k 43.50 - This was my first Lincoln 10km in a few years and I had missed it. I had a pacers job for Dave in this one but I was terrible and lost him after a couple of miles. It was so wet and windy and I ran the entire thing in my rain top. The carbons performed really well and being measured in the first couple of miles meant that I was able to remain strong for the final 4. Possibly one of my better paced efforts.
26.09.21 LCW Nieuwport Half Marathon 1.43.35 - We were having a long weekend in Belgium and staying again at Middelkerke. Loved this race - it was part of a double bill I'd booked for the Long Course Weekend in Belgium - so this HM came the day after a 60 miles sportive where I'd been giving it the full beans in a largely solo effort. The HM was on a nice day with some wind and wound its way around Nieuwpoort and Middlekerke district. I tried to hold a steady 8 min mile pace but found I was OK to go slightly harder. Brill HM to do and an interesting course.
19.09.21 ABP Humber Coastal 10k 44.01 - Myself and Dave went over to Cleethorpes for a covid secure 10km. I didn't know what to expect but really enjoyed this one too. The first mile I remember running with a cadence and stride that I wished I could maintain. There is a middle section that twists and turns it's way around a holiday park and then back up the coast (including a short dune section ) to the finish. Fish and chips afterward but no ice cream !
Training Duathlons...
31.12.21 Woodhall Duathlon 1.03.50 - you can do these events however you like - so this one was easy pace run followed by tempo ride on the road bike. It's winter, so racing is pointless. 7 laps of running first , then two laps of the bike followed by a final run.
18.12.21 Woodhall Duathlon 56.32 - This time I hammered the runs as a speed session and then tempo on the road bike. Worked very well and then did another tempo hour afterward.
20.11.21 Woodhall Duathlon 59.55 - Easy first runs as I'm just coming back from calf strain, and then tempo road bike followed by a progressively faster last set of run laps .
Time trials...
01.01.22 Wheelers NYD TT 7.7m 15.06 - this was shortened to 6.36m and despite being in the middle of winter and an unhelpful 17mph SW wind, I was happy enough to hold 25.1mph for 3rd place and 16 secs off the win.
24.10.21 Matlock CC (Riber HC) 6.23 & Matlock CC (Bank Road HC) 3.35 - A truly stupid idea. The trike lads fought it out for the annual trophy but I had my calf injury this week so used by propel road bike to suffer up both climbs. The first was the Riber which was fuck hard all the way up and I was held up by horse riders. The second was the slightly better Bank Road climb whilst in itself a monster, did lend itself better to me.
February 07, 2022
Stop........ Ripper Time !!!
Last year, the Ripper didn't take place at all due to Covid, so I only had 2020 to compare to and that was just before lockdown number 1. That day, I finished my customary 30th ( I kid you not, I have 4 30th place finishes) in a time of 1.09.04. So, it had been a couple of years and I didn't know how it would compare - I have it in mind that despite training harder and more professionally than I ever had, that father time was kicking in and I am in a slow decline - I'm 50 next year, don't you know...
250 eager beavers ready for the 10.30am start along with me mate Scrappy, who's getting faster at a rate of naughts and starting to get uncomfortable close. I positioned myself around 30ish, figuring that was a good starter position and soon had the feeling of people coming past me. The first couple of miles 7.16 & 7.23 were fast as they always are and then bang, the wind really bit and it was a struggle especially in the wind and with the exposed climbs to keep the early momentum. In fact the wind was with us for the best part of the first 4 miles and it took until halfway to feel like I was in a groove. I knew I was running in slow motion but could see the guy in front was getting no further away so steadied myself to know I was going at race pace.
As I say, onward and upward, next stop is Retford Half Marathon in four weeks time.
November 05, 2021
It's story time with the Trikey Wheelers
Attempt 1 - April - Melton Olympic 10 - A cold and windy day on the A46 between Lowdham & East Stoke - on it's day, so we were told, it could be fast, but you have to hit it right. Today was not one of those days, and the three of us ground close times of 23.47 to 24.02 to be wildly short of the target mark. We would need to average 22.57 to take the comp record so you can see a three minute fail is a big gap.
Attempt 2 - June - Breckland CC 10 - One of our favourite courses, the A11 near Norwich, in fact we commented we should be club members as we'd ridden most of Breckland's championship events than the Lincolnshire ones. This was a better effort with Dave getting the 22.52 required, but both myself and Ian the other side of the line with 23.10 & 23.12. A long drive back for all of us with plenty to reflect upon with some lost seconds here and there.
Attempt 3 - July - The F11/10 course on the Tring bypass. Early morning event, fast course with a gift hill in the middle, very fast and where we had been within 10 seconds last year. We were bang up for this, weather was good, traffic was light, Gaz was with us and were a four man attack team. The organiser knew before we had started that we were odds on to do it, even arranging for a group photo afterward. Four very solid rides and riding back to the HQ we were sure from our man maths that we had sneaked it by two seconds. We had the photo, we signed the record forms and then next day found out that we'd missed it by 4 seconds. We were very quiet in our group chat for a good few days after that. Would it ever fall and would we be chasing it into our 70's !
Attempt 4 - September - Last chance saloon - Back on the A46 course where we had started the year for a last roll of the dice. The weather gods had been nice to us and the wind was light and in the right direction. Early riders coming back told me it was fast but I didn't quite believe it. Boy, was it !! Although not feeling particularly quick, both myself and Ian put away c.22.30 rides, giving Dave almost a minute leeway. Did he need it ? Nah, the watt monster mullered the club record posting an insanely quick 21.47. After 3 attempts this year already, and a further 5 spread across 2019-2020, we had taken nearly 2 minutes off. It goes to show that you do need some luck in this game , and after some dollops of bad, we finally hit a fast course on a fast day. Good times 🙂
Other attempts - Just to show the other side of record chasing we had other misses during the year - firstly, we tried to improve our 30 record which we already hold, but pre-Dave joining the team. In May we went down to F30 course which had too many roundabouts and a particularly bad ride from me to get anywhere near, then in the second attempt on the Breckland course in August, we pushed it so close, failing by just three seconds overall. Dave had lost his chain and without that we'd have done it. That's that luck I was talking about.
Talking about luck, we had the idea to ride the Breckland 100 in July. Ian had put away a 4.28 the previous month for the club record and all of us thought we could take it. Nice early morning start, clear roads & nice weather. Four times up and down the A11, 25 mile laps each on a course we knew well ! We could regularly see each other and knew we were each ahead of schedule. At 73 miles I turned the Snetterton turn for the penultimate time and then joined the carriageway to find it closed by the police as a DPD driver (on a clear day, had somehow rear ended a rider). I was soon joined by Dave and then Ian , and that was that - event abandoned. That was some effort by the team, but sometimes it goes like that, nothing we could do.
So what's next ? Next year definitely the 30, some more tandem action , maybe another crack at the 100.
See you next year 🙂
October 16, 2021
Last chance saloon - Calfman Duathlon
The Cowman event has four options , catering for everything from sprint distance to long distance. I was entered into the Calfman qualifier, 10k run around Emberton Country Park, 40k on the bike out on open road, and then another 5k lap of the park to finish. I can say that even they were slightly long, I have the 1st run at 6.37 miles and 2nd at 3.20. The event was easy to find after a night in a travelodge on the M1, and conditions for the day reasonable for the time of year. Racked early, last minute pee, and then off to the start....
Run 1 = 47.42
The run was a mix of terrains which I liked. I wasn't sure which type of shoe to wear so hedged my bets, starting in my usual Brooks but having some light trail shoes available for the second run. After an initial run on tarmac path, there was a grassy off road section and then back on tarmac which felt a bit slippy underfoot. Some more grass and then some field paths with some climbs and then a nice long descent back into the park. Lap one dispatched , and second one put away in a disciplined manner. In good form at the end of the first run and on to the bike.
Bike 1.05.58
After 51 secs in transition, I was making my way out of the park, slowly as it's not race friendly. A two footed stop and then out onto the main road - now we're cooking. Not at all like Oulton Park, just plenty of undulating A roads , a couple of stingers, but nothing my single ring 60T set up couldn't handle. I aimed for 230-240 watts and mostly could keep that. My position was more disciplined this week, only sitting up on the climbs or when I was in traffic at the end of lap one. I counted the people I passed on the second lap, and then set myself the target of not being overtaken by that number on the second run. Back into transition via on my god what was that - hop up onto a path and avoid the man with the Alsatian !!
Run 23.56
Whatever happens, I am really enjoying the Duathlons and will be working hard over winter to have a better year next year.
October 14, 2021
European Qualifier Duathlons - Oulton Park Standard
My best opportunity I felt beforehand was the Oulton Park event, where a shorter run each time and standard bike on super smooth tarmac would suit me better on paper. The Cowman was a complete unknown, with a mix of terrains, and the bike course on open roads would make it a lottery. Time would tell..
3rd October - Oulton Park Duathlon
Bugger ! It was also National Champs which meant that it had double prestige and everyone looked so bloomin quick as they were warming up in the car park. It had been cloudy and there had been some rain, so me and Scrappy spent most of the warm up keeping dry. Eventually we had to move and get ourselves sorted - not a bad event to get to, and the logistics worked well on the day.
Run 38.15 (8.6k)
We lined up across the start line on the race circuit and we had the width of the circuit to use as we set off. Very quickly despite a quick first mile I could see the leaders stretching off into the distance. I set myself a strong pace but was slow up both short climbs on the course as knee pain kicked in. 6.39/7.17/7.00/7.13/7.33 for a 7.07 mile average - and in good nick for the bike after a 1.24 transition.
Bike 1.02.09
Bike leg stacked up well on the day. With Scrappy no
t too far behind , and Andy Mosley from the Wheelers a lap ahead, this made me honest. Everyone was fast, and it was an effort to concentrate on position as it was also windy. I had a head to head with Andy for multiple laps, and had no problem counting the laps which got to 9 in total. The only difference on each lap was how disciplined I was on the climbs and on some occasions - not very.
Run (4.3k) 18.43
After a 1.17 transition I was out again on the track and really feeling this single last lap. It seemed to go on forever, and this time I was really slow up the climbs. Losing places I took earlier in the lap. In fact, little did I know, but I lost qualification places in the last mile or so - there was just nothing I could do about it ! Overall, a little slower than the first effort, but on the rivet halfway round that last lap. 71st on the day, and 14th in 45-49, but, in the 50-54 age group, 7th, last qualifying place agonisingly close at 44 seconds - aarrgh!
September 06, 2021
London Duathlon Race Report
This past Sunday, we ventured down to that there London to take part in my first standard distance Duathlon which took place entirely within the grounds of Richmond Park. Travelling down the night before, we stayed in a Premier Inn in Richmond which was just a couple of miles from the race HQ, and to ensure a swift get away after the event, booked parking in Sheen Gate Car Park on the north side of the park. Racking is easy for a Duathlon, being just a dump of race shoes and helmet, and much easier than that of a Triathlon. Arriving in transition just 30 minutes before start time, that was plenty enough time to rack up, visit for a pee and do some pre race exercises, albeit warm up running was a little limited.
Run 1 (6.23 miles) 46.14
The great unknown and very daunting. Yes , I'd run so many 10k's in my life, but how would I fare as a first run. I had to clear my mind of thinking about what was to follow and almost treat it as a standalone run with a brick on the end and that seemed to work. I had fantasies of pacing between 7.00 and 7.15 minute miles pre race, but as the first 3.5k's are a gradual climb, looking at my watch went out of the window and I paced it with a perceived effort of around my lactate threshold, figuring that I did not want to be getting on the bike with lactate filled legs. It paid off, as the first miles went by at 7.25 & 7.58. Once over the top, the third mile was quick at 6.59, and then it was comfortable holding 7.25-7.30ish for the remainder. I did notice just how hot it was getting though, it seemed that today was the start of a short September heatwave. Happy with a 46 minute 10k given the course.
Bike - 26.8 miles - 1:14:00
Run 2 - 3.01 miles - 22.29
Off the bike then, longer T2 due to having further ground to cover than in T1, I put on the racing flats and headed out determined to carry the same pace as the first run but unsure of if I could. First mile is that same gradual climb and then turns off left up another climb, then its better all the way to the finish. My heart rate suggested otherwise, but I was OK and never in trouble - second run going much better than anticipated coming in at 7.52/7.10 & 7.21 - job done 2.25.37 overall and 58th out of 1196. This old boy will take that as a first outing !
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