Monday 14 December 2009

10mile run Wk 11 Monday 14th December

10miles at 7:30-8mpm said the schedule. Did 9.9 with Danny Mann at 7:45 and that was with traffic hold ups. First run since the marathon, legs hurt afterwards.
Was pleased with technique, especially to start with and tried to work on it all the way.
Route used: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3366879

Sunday 13 December 2009

Schedule for Weeks 11 and 12

Spoke to "The Coach" this afternoon and now have my schedule for the next two weeks, which takes us through Christmas. There might be some flexing to the following, depending upon how I'm coping, but the aim is:

Week 11
Monday - 10 miles at 7:30-8mpm
Tuesday - 5x 1k reps with 2.5minutes rest aiming at 3:45 for each km, Plus 2-2.5hr ride
Wednesday - a swim and an 8-10mile run aiming at 7:15 - 7:20mpm pace
Thursday - 2 hour ride (rockerstate ride if MTB operable)
Friday - 10x 400m run efforts aiming at 85s with 90sr.

Week 12
Monday - rest
Tuesday - 5x 1k reps with 2.5minutes rest aiming at 3:45 for each km, Plus 2-2.5hr ride
Wednesday - a swim and an 8-10mile run aiming at 7:15 - 7:20mpm pace
Christmas Eve - rest
Christmas Day - to be reviewed but 10x 400m targeting 85s on 90s rest or a bike session
Boxing Day - Groggy Doggy cross country run
Sunday - 2-3hrs harder than normal, working hard on all the hills.

Comrades - December Newsletter


Received both confirmation of my entry and the December Comrades newsletter.
I am one of 234 Brits entered in the race. Out of 61 countries represented, only South Africa has a larger number of entrants. With 21,221 entrants there are going to be an awful lot of Springboks.
Of the 21,221 entrants 5,775 of us are Comrades novices.

Week 10 - Rest Week

After a tough 3 weeks with 3 races and a recovery week has been earned. In fact a complete rest week has been earned. I'll be cycling in and out of work, but apart from that there will be nothing.
No running, no cycling and no swimming.
Best make the most of it. With little over 3.5 months to go now to Ironman Australia the next 2.5 months are going to be getting progressively harder and with short day light hours and the worst of the British Winter to train through, things are going to be interesting.

Luton Marathon, Sunday 6th December

Third successive Sunday race and it has rained heavily on route to car park and Race HQ. And for the third time it cleared before the race started. I was amazed at how quickly the route dried out. In the 8.75mile circuit. There was only one puddle. We were directed into a holding pen where we lined up according to our estimated finishes times, then walked out onto the road for the start. Smart move as this meant we weren't milling on the road and holding up traffic ahead of the start, but with the start being on traffic baring road there was no timing mat at the start, so I'm a little confused as to where the start line actually was. The race involved 3 circuits around a rounte that departed Lea Manor Recreation centre, cut round housing estate lanes and parks before running northbound alongside the A6 to Streetly where it was a rurual route to Leagrave to then cut alongside another park to complete the lap. We'd received a few comments about Luton being unsafe, but this route seemed fine. There had been 800 individual entries plus a further 200 Three person relay teams. The rain must have put a lot of people off as there were only 400-450 individual finishers. Just as well the numbers were down as the first 3 miles were narrow and technical with little opportunity to overtake. I used the conjested start as an opportunity to restrain myself and warm up before trying to settling into an 8mpm pace which I then held upto 20 miles. I slowed noticeably in miles 21 and 22 where a hill caused me to walk. I then walked again for a little bit at 23 miles and then up a hill within mile 24. Pleased to report that I ran from the final water station to the finish and posted a time of 3:42:59 (official gun time). I'm content with that it's only 3 minutes off my PB. I'd traveled down with JT and Philippa Rudd they posted times of 4:14:59 and 4:18:35 respectively, both 15+ minutes off their PBs. Does that mean my time was 10-15 minutes off a potential PB?

Saturday week 9

The day before the Luton marathon and just an easy swim to ensure I'm fully rested. Though not feeling well at work on the Friday and finding the swim hard work I'm no longer looking forward to the marathon.
Swim session comprised:
1200m as 200 f/s, 200 pull, 4x100 drill, 200 pull, 200f/s continuous
4x 200 on 3:20 (managing 3:05-3:15)
35 minutes starting 9:25pm , 44spl, but not feeling great

Wednesday wk 9 - steady run

Wanting to shake out the Norwich Half from the legs ahead of the forthcoming weekends Luton marathon, headed out for a steady 6 mile run. Was really pleased to maintain a steady 8mpm without particularly trying.
Now looking forward to the marathon.
Swam in the evening. Another good session covering 3.4km in 59mins comprising:
800m as 200 f/s 4x100 drill, 200f/s continuous
20x 100 as 10 pull on 1:45 (swimming 1:30 getting 15sr)
10 swim on 1:40 (swimming 1:25 getting 15sr)
16x 25 on 30s
200m warm down 50 fly drill, 50 b/c 100 f/s

City of Norwich Half Marathon

1:37 for a half marathon after the previous couple of days is fairly respectable. Was cold and wet before the start due to heavy rain. Warm during the race thanks to the sun coming out, but then cold again at the end waiting for friends to finish.
The trace on the right shows the mile splits, though I missed the 7 mile marker though I did catch the half way point.

90km Training Ride, wk 8, Saturday 28th Nov

Windy ride with Jonathan Briggs and Will Hall. Aim was 3 to 3.5 hrs at 18-18.5mph. Managed 90km in 3 hours 12 minutes, though the wind knocked the speed down a bit.

Ride stats: 55.3 miles (89km) at 17.3mph average, peak of 33. Average cadence 84rpm, max of 115

Then in the evening a 2 mile swim session. Felt pleased with 200m efforts repping on 3:15.
Warm up of 1,000m solo as 200 f/s, 200 pull, 200 drill, 200 pull, 200 f/s
Eight x 200m repeating on 3:15 (swimming them in 2:50-2:55)
Sixteen x 25m on 30 seconds
200m warm down
Total of 2 miles in 56 mins.

Brick session - Friday wk 8, 27th Nov

A repeat of the brick session of a couple of weeks earlier. Session involved a warm up on the turbo, 20mins hard on the turbo, 2 mile hard run, 10 minutes recovery on the turbo, 20 mins hard, 2 mile hard run and a warm down on the turbo. The different intensities of this session show themselves nicely in the heart rate trace.

Details of the session, as implemented on the Tacx Flow:

Recovery Ride Thursday wk8 November 26th

Easy recovery ride.

Wednesday 25 November 2009

Run Efforts, WK8 Wednesday 25th November


Comments from coach Joe on the diagram above:

"Ive just seen the diagram for the ru efforts its really good.
Just want to say that you need to run the 400s all in under 1.30.
1.35 is far to slow even in to the headwind. The first block of 4 was o.k but the first two in that set let you down.
The 800s were good which makes me think your holding too much back on the 400s. The last block of 400s wasnt bad its just that 1.35.
In general it was o.k.
Next time you do 400s try and aim for 85 and see how many you can make on that time and if you blow up don't worry just let me know afterwards.
Just think not to long left till the ironman and if you want that hawaii spot its going to hurt but i know you can do it. "

Swam in the evening at UEA in a 25m pool.
1000 warm up as 200 f/s, 200 pull, 200 f/s, 200 pull, 200 f/s
20x 100 as
4 as 50 drill, 50 swim on 1:50
4 as 25 fast, 75 steady, 1st length hard on 1st one, 2nd lenght hard on 2nd and so on. Rep 1:50.
4 as pull on 1:50
8 on 1:40. Was doing well upto this point, with the previous all sub 1:30, but only just managing that full stroke.
16x 25 on 30s. Managed sub 20s for nearly all of them.
200m warm down.
Total of 3600m in 63minutes.

Tuesday 24 November 2009

3x 10minute efforts on Turbo - Wk 8 Tuesday 24th November

Todays session comprised a bike effort session on the turbo trainer. The third session doing the 3x 10minutes at 10mile TT pace.
As the last two times that I've done this session I've built each effort harder than the previous, this time I aimed to do all at the same intensity. And of course the intensity I selected was that of the third and final effort from the previous two occurances of this session.
For the efforts I was maintaining over 300watts (equivalent of 27.9mph in a 53x15 gear). Total session took 65minutes with a warm up, 5minutes recovery between efforts and a 10 minute warm down.
I've now learned to take a towel into the garage with me for these sessions. I need it to mop up the sweat.
Helping me through the session this week was Story of The Clash with a bit of Tom Jones on the warm down and in the kitchen after the session whilst I had home made lamb jalfrezi from the freezer.
Swimming tomorrow morning seeing as I failed to make it this morning, and run efforts later in the day.

Monday 23 November 2009

Chelmsford 10k, Sunday November 22nd (wk 7)

This 10k race was intended as a test of where I am with my training. The hope was that after a few weeks of speed work I'd prove to myself that I was making progress and was indeed becoming a better athlete.
The 40 minute 10k barrier has long been a goal and my PB of 41:15 was set 4 years ago. My coach was confident that I'd get a PB and stood a good chance of a sub 40.
In hind sight the 1ks on Thursday should have been a prediction of how the race would go yesterday. It was similarly windy with a twisty and slightly undulating course. For a 10k it was surprisingly, and confusingly, marked out in miles rather than kilmeters.
My time was 42:28.
Not even close to what we wanted. I'd have settled for sub 42, but didn't even get that.
For sub 40 I needed sub 4 minutes per kilometer (sub 6:26mpm) and for a pb sub 4:07 (6:38mpm).
There was a good turn out and a fair amount of josselling at the start.
Managed 6:35 for the first mile, so that 40min was already off the cards, but PB was still there.
6:37 for the second mile and the PB is still possible. The 40 is going to be hard and I'm already feeling the effects of my exertions.
7:04 for the third. Oh dear. That's my mile pace of my half marathon PB and to do a sub 90 minute half I need to be doing 6:52.
6:56 for the fourth. Well, at least I've sped up from the third.
6:56 for the fifth. Some consistency.
6:57 for the sixth leaving 1:22 for the final 0.22 of a mile.
Average heart rate was 160bpm, max of 167bpm and didn't feel that I could have given anymore on the day.
42:28 I know is an okay time. I can remember back to a time when I was aiming for 1hour for 10k, but I can't help but be a little disappointed. As we learn more from our mistakes than our successes hopefully this will be a learning point. Should I reset expectations more accurately? Was the wind such a factor? Had a tapered right? Had I trained too hard earlier in the week? Had blood doning taken more out of me than expected? Was I too tired? Was I dehydrated? Was I just not focused? Do I need more 10k race experience? Was my pacing slack?
We'll find out over the next couple of weeks with a half marathon and a full marathon coming up.

Tapering
Since the efforts on Thursday the only training I'd done was an hour swim on saturday in a 50m Sportspark pool:
1200m warm up as 200 f/s, 200 drill-swim, 200 pull, 200 drill-swim, 200 pull, 200 f/s
4x 100 on 1:40
400m with 30s rest
4x 100 on 1:35
400m with 30s rest
4x 100 on 1:40 (had planned on 1:30, but wasn't quick enough)
200m warm down

Thursday 19 November 2009

Windy 1km efforts

Not sure if I found today's 4x 1k efforts particularly hard due to the efforts of the last couple of days, blood doning on Tuesday, 20mph head winds or a combination of the lot.

The aim was to do the 1km efforts at 3:50 and then have 2.5min rest between each of them. Times were 3:53.6, 4:05.5, 3:56.2, 3:51.5. The second and fourth were into the wind. Thought I was going to have to stop on the last one.

Raising awareness of prostate cancer - http://uk.movember.com/mospace/374624

Wednesday 18 November 2009

Bike Turbo session Wed 18th November wk 7

Today's training involved a bike effort session on the turbo trainer. For the uninitiated that's a stationary device that enables a bike to be ridden without actually going any where.
The Tacx Flow that I have allows for variable resistance and provides stats on what you are doing.
Since I had a hard run yesterday and gave blood I was cautious about not over doing it. But felt good so went with it.
The session involved a 15 minute warm up. 10 minutes at a cadence of 90-95rpm and 280+ watts. 5 mins recovery. 10 mins at 95-100rpm and 290+ watts. 5 mins recovery. 10 mins at 100+ rpm and 300+ watts. Then 15 minutes warm down.

Numbers from the turbo:
Session duration of 1:10:02 cobering 25.8 miles, well rear wheel anyway. Takes the total on the turbo to 2,093.8 miles. Max speed this evening of 31.3mph and an average of 22.1mph.
Legs turned over 6,515 times with a max of 113rpm and an average of 93rpm.
The session used up 884kCal and my max power output was 346watts and the average was 220watts.
Throughout this my average heatt rate was 123bpm and my max was 155bpm

Being stationary in the garage for over an hour is a bit boring so helpinge through the session was Depeche Mode 101.

Raising awareness of prostate cancer - http://uk.movember.com/mospace/374624

Tuesday 17 November 2009

Wk7 Tuesday 17th November

Had a good day today.

Made it to UEA Sportspark for an early morning swim. Had set myself a session of 600m warm up including 400m of drill-swim, 10x 200 on 3:20, 16x 25 on 30 and 200m warm down.
Found Oli Milk in the lane next to me when I arrived and he was doing 8x 200 on 3:15. His presence helped me to doing all 10 in under 3 mins and 7 of them in under or on 2:55.
Oli then joined me for the 25s and his presence on my heals helped me to 20s for each of them.
There was another Oli in the lane the other side. Young Oli Rix from Norwich Canoe Club - another ex swimmer that knows the value of swimming for paddling. After the session I spotted him inHis GB track suit. Well if you've got it flaunt it.

Run efforts of lunchtime saw Lynn Emmett and I doing 10x 400m efforts on Whitlingham Lane. Was really pleased with how consistant they were: 1:32.9, 1:31.9, 1:29.8, 1:30.1, 1:29.5, 1:32.2, 1:27.7, 1:31.2, 1:28.5, 1:27.3

Gave blood after work. Received a present from the NHS as thanks for my 25th donation. A nice little label pin, though I was hoping for chocolate when I saw the box. Figure I'm allowed some this evening, so now on a mission to find some.

Raising awareness of prostate cancer - http://uk.movember.com/mospace/374624

Sent from my iPhone

Monday 16 November 2009

Sunday wk 6 - Norfolk Nips Audax

Schedule said Norfolk Nips Audax. However that was on the Saturday not the Sunday. I do feel sorry for the guys who did do it on the right day. As we'd missed it, and because Will Hall and Jonathan Briggs were also after a ride we did our own 100k audax. Well, okay it was 99k.
My legs felt heavy. The didn't want to turn round at 90+rpm, nor did they want to work hard enough to get my pulse up to 75%. I hadn't been set any targets in either regard, but after the previous weeks ride I was a bit disappointed with how I'd ridden. Though guess I should be too disappointed with 17mph average over 3:45 when feeling tired.

wk6 Saturday Brick sessions

Glad this was another turbo based session as it was throwing it down. Glad I wasn't out on the bike in it, though did have to venture out on a couple of runs in it.
Session involved:
20 minute warm up on the turbo.
20 minutes hard on the turbo at a pace sustainable for 30-35minutes. Was hoping to do 260watts, but it proved hard to maintain 250watts. In fact it was hard to maintain a cadence of 90bpm (cadence is the rate that the legs are turning over at). Guess the turbo thursday was too hard and I hadn't flushed it out on the friday - active recovery can be better than rest.
After the hard bike I then had to go out for a 2mile run at faster than 7mpm pace.
10minute recovery back on the turbo
20 minutes hard on the turbo for a second time
2 mile run at 7mpm for a second time
Then a 20-30minute recovery ride on the bike. Schedule said to do this out on the road. I opted for the turbo.

wk6 Friday - Rest

wk 6 Thursday - Turbo session

A hard turbo session to work on some bike speed.
I really enjoyed it. Produced a lot of sweat. It was hard, but the satisfaction made it enjoyable. The aim was 3x 10minutes with each at 10M TT pace. I aimed to maintain 280watts then on the final one got carried away. I have a really nice trace and some big numbers from the turbo to share with you. But not now, still playing catch up on my blog.

wk 6 Thursday - Tempo Run

Same variant as the 8 mile tempo run of a couple of weeks back. Same route. Mile warm up. Mile warm down. This time I was joined by Christian Trotter, Phil Smith, Lynn Emmett and David Archer. We all ran out together, but only Lynn and I ran the whole course whilst the others ran shorter versions of our route.
I'm sure we ran quicker than two weeks earlier - I need to get the traces analysed and up here.

wk6 Wednesday - easy ride

or not so easy as I went out on the single speed

wk6 Tuesday Swim and Run

Early morning UEA swim. 25m session on a tuesday and none of the usual 50m morning culprits.
At lunchtime it was a repeat of the 5x 1 mile efforts. I had company from Danny Mann, Phil Smith and Paul French. Phil and I were sporting a weeks worth of Movember growth and got a bit competitve on the third effort.
The aim was to do the miles at a consistent pace of 6:20 - 6:25 with a 2.5minute rest between each. The first two were bang on target at 6:22 and 6:24, but the competitive third one was 6:15 then four and five were 6:40 and 6:32. The others only did 4 of them, so again I was nervous about pushing on my penultimate effort against others doing their final effort.

Seals and Dunes - wk5 Sunday run

The choice was a hard efforts session or a 10mile tempo run. However I'd already made plans to join the Norwich Road Runners at Winterton for a beach run, so I adapted the tempo run to fit that social run. It was a gorgeous morning. Running on the beach was tough. Soft sand, groins and then some seals to dodge. Was sureal running towards a rock groin to then have the rocks start moving. That groin wasn't all rocks, some were seals. They do blend in rather well.
Having run out along the beach the run back was through the dunes. Paths through dunes aren't straight and they aren't flat. Trying to maintain a pace there is just as tough, perhaps tougher than running a pace on the beach.
Was really pleased with how I went.
Cafe at the end was really nice. I did get confused with the menu. I couldn't work out what food I was going to get if I ordered mermaid ball, tennis ball or any of the other items. Colin Browning needed to point out that it was a menu for beach toys not food.

wk5 Saturday Ride - 7th November 2009

A rest day on the Friday at the end of 5 days recovery and we're back into the swing of training.
A 3.5 hour ride aiming at 17.5-18mph average and an average heart rate of 75% of HRM. Met Will Hall at UEA and together went on a 62mile route to Cringleford. Was easy getting the heart rate up and holding it there. Probably averaged 80%. Aim wasn't to keep at a steady 75%, going up to 85% was permitted it was the average that was important.

wk5 Thursday

An early morning easy run. Legs still hurt a bit, though it is nice to be out on them again.

Wk5 Wed Turbo session

A recovery turbo session to get the blood flowing through the legs to flush out some lactate from Sunday.

3rd November

Legs still hurt - but in a nice way. Managed to cycle in. Walking home on Monday wasn't fun.

2nd November

My legs hurt

Comrades - Yippee I'm in

Have been successful and got one of the 5,000 places for Comrades Novices. 60k earlier in the day will be good experience for running 89k in South Africa next May. There will be 20,000 of us in Pietermatizburg to participate in the 85th Comrades Marathon. I'm quite excited.

Marriotts Way Ultra - Sunday 1st November

39 miles up and down the disused railway line that is Marriotts Way.
Immensly satisfying to complete it. I actually enjoyed it whilst doing it too even though it was raining and blowing a gale. A tree line dissused railway was probably the best place to be running in such conditions.

wk 4 Thursday - Taper

A few days taper now ahead of an ultra marathon on Sunday. Beer Festival in the evening and a day off work on the Friday.

Wednesday Wk4, Swim, Run and Ride

Following a rest day on the Tuesday, up for an early morning swim at UEA. I linked in the Mike and Tom on 20 x 100m efforts. Simon Edye and Karl Sherry were there too. The aim was to do 8x 100 on 1:35, 6 on 1:30 4 on 1:25 and 2 on 1:20. I managed to stick with it upto and into the 6 on 1:30 but was dropped when we got to 1:25.
Lunchtime was an 8 mile tempo run, which I adapted to a 6 mile tempo run with a mile warm up and mile warm down. Danny Mann provided company, pacing and encouragement.
A recovery turbo session in the evening.

(as you can see I'm playing catch up with my blog and will add the traces etc later).

Monday 26 October 2009

Week 4 Run Efforts Monday 26th October

The clocks went back an hour yesterday making it brighter this morning, though it will be darker much sooner this afternoon. It's going to be a bit of a shock.
Making the most of the daylight I went out at lunchtime for my scheduled effort session. I was joined by David Archer and Danny Mann. Both work for Aviva and Danny is another TA Member, though he is a member of the original TA, the Terratorial Army, as opposed to Tri-Anglia. Danny is also a bit quick, looks every inch the runner, and was credited with a stage win in the RNR in 2008. He spent the warm up and warm down trying to talk me into entering Marathon des Sables. The answer to that, in one word, "no". Not for 2010 anyway.
The efforts. 3 x 400m aiming at 85-90s with 60 seconds rest, 2 x 800m aiming at 3:05 - 3:10 with 90 seconds rest and 1 x 1200m aiming at 4:45-4:50.
My times were: 400s = 1:27.7, 1:31.6, 1:27.5, 800s = 3:04.7, 3:06.4, 1200 = 4:50.0

Completion of a recovery Week

On Saturday I had a choice between a swim or an easy bike ride. It was wet and a little windy. When the offer came up of lunch in Holt and a trip to a private members club for a swim I took that option. "Private Members" club sounds very grand. I'm refering to Green's Gym. It's a nice enough 3 lane 25m swimming pool. The changing room is better than UEA and the lockers much better but whilst the water in the pool has a nice feel and you get a good purchase and swim well I still prefer the UEA pool. Certainly a good chance of getting an undisturbed swim at Greens.

Sunday the choice was rest or either an easy run or ride. I decided on rest. Went across to Yarmouth to watch the Yarmouth 10k where I knew a far few of the runners. Some who I knew were entered and some that I didn't. My photos are on Facebook.

Friday 23 October 2009

Swim then Rest wk3 Friday 23rd October

Yippee I managed to get out of bed and upto UEA for a morning swim. Allowed myself the luxury of driving as I was still put off about venturing into the cold and dark on my bike. Downside of which is that I then couldn't go straight to work, but had to go home to drop the car off.
Cut the swim a bit short doing 2km in 37mins. Set comprised:
Warm up: 300m freestyle, 300m pull, 400m drill (as 100m catch up, 100m zip-up, 100m fists, 100m cross over).
Main set: 4x 100m on 1:45 (swam first in 1:25 the remainders sub 1:30) then straight into 6x 50m on 50seconds.
By "on" I mean "repeating on". That involves starting the second effort "on" the time gap. For example my second 100m started 1 minute 45 seconds after the first one, so as I did it in 1:25 I got 20 seconds rest. For the later ones when i was nearer 1:30 I only got 15 seconds rest.
Warm down: 300m which I did as 100m fly drill (1 arm fly alternating arms each 25m), 100m back crawl and 100m freestyle.

In work and just enjoyed a bacon butty. Granary roll with a bit of brown sauce. My reward.

Rest Day wk3 Thursday 22nd October

A rest day though I ran into the office seeing as I'd left clothes and bike there the previous evening. Running up the hill into work was hard work. Legs were stiff and sore. Glad I didn't have to do anything else the rest of the day.
I did get an entry in for March's Ballbuster Duathlon and also had a bit of a look at the course for the upcoming Luton Marathon. I was born quite close to the course, 6-8 miles or something so plotted the route I ran a couple of times as a teenager. Back then that route seemed to be miles and miles long and seemed to take forever. Turns out it was only 2 miles.

Wednesday 21 October 2009

Wet and Windy wk3 Wednesday 21st October

Autumn is finally here. I might still be sleeping under my summer duvet but outside it was wet and windy. The single speed winter bike came out for the first time since March.
The schedule today asked for a 12-16 mile run depending upon how I felt. It does seem rather a long way to run in the middle of a recovery week, but I'm not going to argue and at least there wasn't a target pace set.
To fit the run in around work I opted to do the run as my means of getting home. I worked through lunch so as to be able to sneak off a little earlier and started running at 16:50. Was hoping to be able to get the run in before it got dark, but with the days being well and truely drawn in ahead of the end of British Summer Time at the weekend I wasn't too optimistic. It was also drizzling.
I'd plotted a route that google maps reckoned was 17 miles, but that was sending me off route at times because it didn't know of a couple of foot paths but also because it wanted me to run down the Newmarket road passed the slip road down to the Eaton lights that I wanted to head down and continue to a roundabout, turn round it come back up the Newmarket road and then take Colney Road to then get into Eaton. Route turned out to be 14.2miles and took just over 2 hours. As you can see from the profile included on the heart rate trace it wasn't flat. Something like 256m (840ft) of uphill. Legs felt heavy most of the day before the run. Felt good for the first mile or so but still heavy and then whinged a little for the rest of the run.
I was well prepared though for the conditions. I used again the Innov8 bum bag with horizontal drinks system, Ron Hill lycra shorts, Ron Hill long sleeve top, Ron Hill gilet, Ron Hill reflective vest and Pretzl head torch with rear light all sourced from Cotsworld Outdoor and sold to me by Andy Bolden (Roo). On my feet I had a pair of Saucony Grid Rides with foxriver socks that Pete Johnson of the Runners Centre sold me. As the drizzle had become rain there was a lot of standing and flowing water on the roads. I got wet. My main observations were 1) when it's raining hard and when your breath is condensing you actually see better in the dark without the head torch but people can't see you so well 2) without the headtorch you don't see the branches blown into the smaller roads and 3) either with or without the headtorch its amazing how many puddles your feet find.

Recovery Turbo wk3 Tuesday 20th October

Wasn't able to get out for a ride at lunchtime due to the second day of a First Aid at Work Refresher course. Pleased to say I passed with flying colours even though I was a bit slow in calling the dumby an ambulance in one part of the assessment and nearly fainting during the severe bleeds bit. The instructor was talking rather graphically about severed major arteries, the volume of blood loss and the amount of time you'd survive. I was imagining it was me rapidly lossing blood and started to feel a little uncomfortable. I tried to get my mind onto other more pleasent thoughts. To get myself as far away from the class room as possible I imagined myself snowboarding in the alpes. Almost worked but I'd taken the ruptured artery with me and the snow was rapidly going red and figured that was far to far from medical assistance. Then tried to put my mind into a focused bike session with my head down and working hard, but biking on the roads is probably the most high risk thing I do and the place I'm most likely to suffer a serious injury and that made me very queesy. I had to admit to it before slumping in my seat. I was encouraged down to the floor and feet were put up on a chair - the proper way to treat for shock.
Anyway I ramble on and that was actually Monday rather than Tuesday.
Tuesday evening after the course I did a one hour recovery ride on the turbo trainer. Lots of high cadence, 100rpm in the small chain ring alternating the gradient and the rear sprockets. Legs felt a little heavy but not too bad.

Week 2 Review

A harder week on the bike and the second hard week of the first 3 week block. The two rides over the weekend certainly took a lot out of the legs and come the transition run (t-run) after the bike ride on Sunday I was certainly spent.
On the Monday morning I found I'd put another kilo of weight on. 77.4kg really isn't great. Race weight out to be 73 or less. 75kg for my height 174cm (5ft 9) gives me a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 which in straight medical terms is over weight. Tuesday morning the weight was at 76.8kg so some of that could have been the large curry Sunday evening.
Had a good massage from Becky Schofield Monday evening. She didn't find any knots in my legs until she got to the last bit, my left calf.

Sunday 18 October 2009

3hr ride with 2x 10mins wk2 Sunday 18th October

Last session of a two week build period and I was beginning to feel tired. No one to help me along on this occasion. No one to hide behind from the wind.
The aim was 3 hours steady at 17-18mph containing two 10minute periods at 85%HRM 40minutes apart. Followed by a 2-3 mile steady run.
I chose a route that took me from Trowse down to Hempnell on the Stoke Road, so not the flatest, then down through Hempnell Green and Aldburgh to Homersfield to do the 10minute effort from Homersfield to Flixton. The effort was hard work. My legs were protesting and just wouldn't work hard enough to get my heart rate up to 85% of Heart Rate Max (HRM). I could get to 81%. Had expected it to take 10mins to get to Flixton but it only took 5. The full 10minute effort took me all the way to Bungay. Rather than doing a loop I opted for an out and back, so did 20minutes of the 40minutes between efforts riding from Bungay to Beccles. That road isn't flat. It's the first half of the Bungay Marathon that is famous for it's undulations. Not sure how smart it was to do that road twice as part of the 40 minutes between the two efforts, but the road from Bungay to Homersfield is really good for a 10minute turn of speed. Good road surface, straight road and not much traffic.
I now had a headwind for the return effort and legs were really hurting. Again couldn't get the pulse to 85%. Only positive was that I was gaining on a scotter that was ahead of me and the most inroads I made into the gap came when I had trees protecting me from the wind.
At the end of the effort and the second hour I was averaging 17.6mph, but I was pretty much spent. By the time I'd got back to Hempnell it had dropped to 17.2mph though managed to get it back to 17.3mph by the time I got back to Trowse.
I'm pleased with that.
Then straight out for a 2.2mile loop round Whitlingham Lane, The Street and Whitlingham Hall. It was nice to be off the bike, but running wasn't what I wanted to be doing, though I'm pleased to find I was running at 8:04mpm pace even with the hill up to the Hall. Managed to overtake someone that was on a bike, though admittedly they were only 4 or 5 years old.
Feel I've earned the curry I'm now heading out for, plus the rest day tomorrow and massage tomorrow evening.

Saturday 17 October 2009

Steady 3 hour ride, Wk2 Saturday 17th October

Jonathan Briggs and Will Hall helped with the ride and route today. A nice route up to Cley from Weston Longville along the coast to Weybourne before heading back. 51 miles in under 3 hours at an average speed of just under 18mph. Steady - not easy, but not too hard either, though some of the lumps stung the legs a little.
As we headed back from the coast we passed Simon Edye, Glen Nelson, Mick Powell and Graham Bainger in a group going the other way fighting against the wind. Guess they were doing the normal 9:30am Tri-Anglia ride from UEA Sportspark.

Thursday 15 October 2009

Long Efforts Thursday wk 2 15th October

5x 1mile efforts with 2:30 rest in between was on the cards today. Ran from the office with Lynn Emmett and Christian Trotter, both fellow Tri-Anglia members down to Whitlingham Lane. A nice 1.25mile warm up. We did odd efforts running East down Whitlingham Lane from the Trowse End to the Lake and even efforts back. Christian and Lynn joined me for the first 4 and helped spur me along. The fifth I did on my own had a 5minute rest then jogged the 2.25 miles back to the office.
Splits were: 6:18.2, 6:21.7, 6:28.0, 6:42.1, 6:35.8
A bit too quick on the first couple, though they did feel comfortable. Slowed on the third. On the fourth I let Christian pull away from me because I figured he was putting in more of an effort in because it was his last. He probably put in a 6:30- 6:35 mile. The last was hard to get myself going. Things were no longer flowing. At least it was quicker than the 4th.
Must learn to go slower on the first one, to ensure that they remain more consistent next time.

Easy Bike Wednesday wk2

Schedule included getting up for an early morning swim and an easy 45-60 minute bike ride at lunchtime to include 2-3 30second sprints.
I failed to get up for the swim. In fact thanks to a headache and unfocused vision I failed to get out of bed until gone 12 noon. So didn't do the swim, didn't go into work and didn't get to do a lunchtime ride.
Come the evening I felt a whole load better and was joined by Angie Thorp for 62minute recovery turbo session. Used the BRR-03 recovery session from the Tacx website for use with the Tacx flow turbo.
Used the Fuerte Bici Time Trial bike (known as Dawn). Now seem to have the bars in a position that doesn't cause back ache, but then again wasn't really putting any power down whilst in the aero position. Just now need to get the seat straight (seat post isn't straight) and want to get a second bottle cage mount onto the frame. Horizontal dropouts and toe overlap I'm never going to be able to fix.

Tuesday 13 October 2009

Short Run Efforts Wk 2 Tues 13th Oct

Rest day yesterday. Legs needed that after Sundays run. They were still heavy today when I went out for eight 400m efforts. I was joined today by Mike Kemp who ran the Loch Ness Marathon just over a week ago and thanks to him chasing I got a good split for the fourth effort. I needed the first three as a warm up.
Times were: 1:33, 1:36, 1:35,1:30, 1:32, 1:32, 1:35, 1:28.

Week 1 Review

Legs are tired. Volume down and weight has gone up a kilo. It's nice having a bit more rest and have enjoyed having evenings free for other things (social mainly). Have had 3 runs during the week were I've performed better than expected.

Long Run Wk1 Sun 10th Oct

The schedule said 12-16 miles at 7:45 - 8:15 mpm and managed to clock 16.2miles in 2:06:21. That works out at 7:48mpm.
Used the run to test my "Innovate hydration system" ahead of the Marriotts Way Ultra on 1st November. The innovate system is a bladder within a bumbag with a tube that reaches to the mouth. It worked fairly well, feeling a bit hot round the hips to start with, but it doesn't bounce and isn't uncomfortable . Took a little while to work out how best to attach the tube when running and not drinking and ended up tucking it into the waist band.
Over all pleased with the run. Didn't think I was going to manage that performance.

Long Ride Wk1 Sat 9th Oct

A 3 hour ride with two 10minute efforts was on the cards and with the help of Jonathan Briggs, Jonathan Tyrrell and Will Hall it was successfully completed.
Twice we saw Gary and Jack Wootton riding in a group heading the other way. Suspect they were doing a similar route to us.
We also saw and stopped and chatted with Steve and Isla Rush. They were out with the North Norfolk Wheelers. With riding to the start and then home again they were going to clock 72miles. That's Isla's longest ride. Very impressinve for a 10 year old.

Friday 9 October 2009

Runners Update 9th Oct

This week was the start of my Ironman Australia training. The first week of 25. Seems to have gone pretty well so far. A swim Monday, a run Tuesday, a ride yesterday and a run today. Tomorrows a rest so should be okay in doing that too. A lot less volume than I'm used to but the intensity is there and that I'm not used to.

Whilst I'm just starting out on the journey to my next Ironman this Saturday sees the climax of the year for the Worlds best Elites and Age Groupers at the World Ironman Championships in Kona, Hawaii. Whilst we have no one from the HO Runners in attendance (I did so want to go, sorry), we do have two local representatives. Simon Edye from Tri-Anglia and the man behind Ronaldo Ice Cream off Dereham Road qualified in the Men's 55-59 Age Group. More significantly Chrissie Wellington from Bury St. Edmunds is defending her Ladies World title that she has won each of the last two years. Chrissie remains unbeaten at Ironman distance and took 15minutes off the previous Ladies World Record at Roth in July. A truly awesome performance and a great Ambassador for Sport and the Country, in fact she has been short listed for The Times Sportswomen of the Year, so if you agree with me you can vote at: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/related_reports/sportswomen_of_the_year/article6858437.ece#

Thursday 8 October 2009

9.3miles in 67:30

Thats 7:14mpm or 8.3mph. The aim was 8-10 miles at 7-7:30mpm.

Did the run in my new Newtons:
iPhone proof

Proof from the iphone of the distance and speed:
iphone proof

Rest day tomorrow. Should be able to do that.

Wednesday 7 October 2009

"Adventure is worthwhile in itself" - Wk1 Wed


Today's training schedule had two things on it. The first was a choice between swimming or laying in bed. I'd prepared everything the night before to be able to jump out of bed and get on the bike up to the UEA pool, but then as I lay in bed the day looked dark and wet so I stayed cosy and dry.

More success with the second item though and I was joined by Jonathan Tyrrell (JT) for that one. Our lunchtime ride was to include two 10 minute efforts at 85-90% of maximum heart rate. We were supposed to do a 10min warm up, the first effort, have 10min recover, do the second 10min effort, have a second recovery and then ride out the rest of the hour. We used our usual 16.3mile route out through Mulbarton and timed the efforts so as to avoid junctions. That meant that the warm up was more than 10 minutes and the warm down and ride back to work less than the 20 minutes.

We did the session correctly as you can see from the graph of my heart rate throughout the session. A low average for the warm up, middle recovery and warm down. Plus a nice high average during the two efforts. They were hard. Quote from JT of "Chilli would love this session".

Oh and the opening quote was from Amelia Earhart.

Tuesday 6 October 2009

Week 1 Tuesday - Run Efforts

First set of run efforts was on the cards today. Between 6 and 8 400m efforts aiming at doing them all at a consistant 85 seconds with one minutes rest in between.
I jogged the mile or so from Surrey St down to Whitlingham lane where I did some heel flick and knee lift drills before some stretches to ensure I was fully warmed up. I was using a make shift 400m course between the Ski Club and the Canoe Club. A running track would have been better, but make do with what you can. The pavement was littered with conker shells and leaves and the road, whilst quiet and clearer felt slick and slippery under foot. I used a bit of both.
My times were 92.6, 93.0, 89.5, 90.5, 93.3 and 91.4. So not quite the 85second target, but my course did have a slight rise in it and might be over distance. Plus my coach (Joe) might also be about to discovery that I'm not as quick as he thinks. I'll have my heart rate trace to share later the average was 145bpm max of 188bpm - my HR max is 182 so that means I was giving over 100% (assuming the monitor was reading right).
How come I only did 6? The aim was to be consistant. The fifth was definately harder and was the slowest so put everything into the final one.

Update with Details
Have now downloaded the heart rate trace and lap times. Didn't get a clean trace particularly not on the first and third efforts. Was suspicous about that 188 reading. Also got a funny trace at the start of the warm up which is reading too high.

400m Course (415m)

Monday 5 October 2009

Day 1 of 175 (and a bit more)

It's started. An optional swim. Didn't feel like getting up this morning so opted for "second chance Monday" and swam in the public session at UEA at 7.30pm. Created my own set of 400m warm, 800m alternatining each 200m between kick and pull, 800m alt 50m drill 50m swim, 16x 25m (1 length) sprints on 30seconds (2nd starts 30seconds after the first so faster you swim the more rest you get) and then 100m backcrawl warm down. 2,500m in 45minutes.
Tomorrow isn't going to be quite so easy.

Sunday 4 October 2009

Tomorrow it starts

Tomorrow is the first day of the 25 weeks to Ironman Australia following the schedule being set by Sports Science Undergraduate and Cat 1 Road Racer Joe Skipper. For me, I'm going to learn how to have a coach. For Joe he gets to prove he can improve the performance of a fairly average Ironman. And having been enchanted and inspired by the film "Julie and Julie" I'm going to blog the journey of the next few months.
I hope it's satisfying. I hope it's successful and I hope you enjoy it with me.

Saturday 3 October 2009

Training Schedule for weeks 1-3

Have now received the schedule for the first 3 weeks of 25 to get to Ironman Oz. There'll be a few more weeks after that to get to Comrades.

This is what I'll be doing over the next few weeks:




Friday 2 October 2009

Runners update 1st October (for w/s 5/10/09)

Breaking news at time of writing our weekly update is that London Marathon applicants are finding rejection letters on their door steps as the get home this evening. I'm hoping that some are also finding confirmation letters, but I've only heard from two people so far and they've both had rejection letters, though one is now boasting the ownership of a nice new red jacket.

If you haven't gotten in to London don't fret there are other options. I believe Brighton is now full (though spots might open up due some people being successful in getting into London) there is the Bungay Marathon locally. There is the Sheffield Half on the same day as London. For those that can travel there is the Boston Marathon on the 19th April (a Monday). And for inspiration on other overseas marathon's it's worth having a look at www.209events.com

I tried to run round UEA lake yesterday and was stopped on the bit running up the East side of the lake before turning right onto the decked pathway. It looks like they are in the process of making this a proper pathway, or perhaps just a hard core pathway. It will certainly be an improvement on the twisty man worn muddy root prone trail that was there. A fair amount of progress has been made since JT and I ran this route 2 weeks ago so hopefully it won't take them long to complete, but in the interim be warned that you might have to make detours if you are running in that area for the next couple of weeks.

I've got a coach. A sports science undergraduate has asked if he can coach me through to my next Ironman. He's confident that he can help improve my time, so we'll see. The 25 week schedule starts Monday. Looks like I'll be doing less volume but far more quality (efforts). I'll be working in blocks of 3 weeks with the third week being recovery as before, but this time round it will be a run focused week with some biking, then a bike focused week with some running then a recovery week. Idea being to balance out the loading on the legs from biking and running so as to get the most gain from both. Fortunately the swimming is easier to fit in around these. The upshot is that I won't have a regular weekly routine which should be good

Been lent the "Lore of Running" by Tim Noakes. It's a hefty tone but well written and comprehensive. There are various models in there that I've scanned, but the intro gives the impression that the South African author Tim Noakes is about to disprove them. One model predicts running performance from VO2 max, which would put me at a 1:24 half marathon and a 2:56 marathon. I'd love to do those times so hope he'll tell me how to achieve them, but as graph a few pages on shows the PBs of various distance for Seb Coe plotted against those for Halle Gabrielselassie I suspect that when I read the narative I'll find out why the model shouldn't be taken as gospel. I have started reading the chapter about preparing for Ultramarathons and being South African he has a strong focus on Comrades. Afraid you guys might get fed up hearing about Comrades.

A Months Holiday

Lovely.

Following the Ironman I've had a month off from proper training and notionally a month away from racing. I say notionally as I still helped Iain Dawson round Waveney2 triathlon to a 10th place finish, some might say riding tandem with him gives him an advantage against the other 120+ able bodied participants. There was also the Round Norfolk Relay where Team Tri-Anglia got a club record.

But apart from that I've only ridden or run for fun, yes the Diss 15 was fun, and I've not done any swimming.

Monday however is 25 weeks from Ironman Australia so the rest period is coming to an end and I'll start building for the next challenge.

Monday 31 August 2009

Ironman Canada

What a great day and what a great event. Made really special by the 4,500 strong Iron Crew who help you through the day and the thousands upon thousands of spectators cheering loudly all the day the atmosphere in the finish chute and the mile leading into it was awesome.
We had a beutiful day for the race. Clear skies to start with but what I took to be a heat haze later in the day was actually smoke from an out of control forest fire a couple of hours away.
The swim start was very well behaved and considerate. I had no trouble with conjestion.
A very fast t1 where the hellers pulled the wetsuit off me.
Tailwind for the first 50k of the bike made for a fast opening section despite conserving energy. Richter pace was nice but the headwind with the rollers was a real leg sapper. The support was unbelievable on the climb up to Yellow Lake and the road a complete chalk mural.
In t2 I really didn't want to head out for the run. My feet hurt and my legs spent. My first three miles were pedestrian at best and an unwilling pedestrian at that. Things did get better and I then jogged between aid stations all the way to the 18 mile marker. I had some company up to that point but from there it was a solitary battle to keep going I'd jog 1200 steps and walk 200. Oh, and I was allowing myself to walk up hills so it was a relief in find an incline.
But once into the final mile the cheering from the spectators helped me to run all the way to the finish line and I completed in 43 seconds over the 12 hour mark.

Saturday 29 August 2009

Canada Day 11 - Saturday 29th August

The day when Warriers become Worriers.
The day when you have to rack your bike, your bike bag and your run bag.
The day when nerves abound, if you let them. It is the day when you can get in some great mental preparation and calm yourself to enjoy your big day or play the next day.
If you're not interested in triathlon final race prep the rest of this blog item isn't going to be of use to you as I'm going to talk through the contents of my race bags. This is mainly for my benefit as a mental check for this race but also for future ones.
If you are a novice then please feel free to use this info as a guide, though work out what you need yourself. If you are a seasoned triathlete, please don't mock what i'm doing, but feel free to read and have a chortle to yourself.
Okay. There are 5, yes 5, race bags. There is the Bike bag which contains what you want to put on for the Bike stage when you come out of the Swim. There is the Run bag which contains what you want to put on for the Run when you have finished the Bike. There is then the Dry Clothes bag which will contain what you want at the finish. There are then the two optional special needs bags; one for the Bike and one for the Run.
The Run Bag and the Bike Bag get racked along with the bike on the Saturday. Depending upon the race you may or may not get access to theses bags on race day morning. You will get access your bike (though you won't get to ride it) on Race Day Morning before the start to check tyre presures and to put bottles and nutrition onto the bike.
The Dry Clothes bags and the two optional Special Needs Bags will be handed in on Race Day morning before the Start.
Fairly simple eh? I'll now talk through the contents of my bags for tomorrow. I don't wear glasses or contacts so personally don't have to worry about that - though what I've seen normally is a table near the swim exit where glasses can be left.

DRY CLOTHES BAG
This is the bag that you are going to hand in once you've put your wetsuit on come race day morning. You're going to travel to transition in some dry clothes with your wetsuit, goggles, heart rate monitor, nose clip in this bag. I travel down with my tri-shorts on under my dry clothes with my timing chip already attached to my ankle.
When I get to transition I'll put on some water proof sun screen. Riessman P20 is pretty good. It's supposed to last 10 hours and can tolerate a wetsuit and water, so will last to the end of the bike and ought to get to the end of the run, but having got sunburnt on the run in Nice I'll be putting on more sunscreen in t2.
The clothes I travel to transition will go into this bag for wearing after the race.
Also in this bag I'll have powder to make up some recovery drinks. I normally have 2. Science in Sports Rego is my recovery drink of choice. I'll also have boxers, a towel and some compression socks to aid in recovery. If I know for definate that there is a shower then I'll also take shower gel. For tomorrow, insect repellent is also going in. When I wander down in the morning I'll also have a track pump with me. Jennie Child will be with us and I'm hoping she'll take away the track pump. At other races the track pump has gone into my dry clothes bag.
The knack is to have everything you need and nothing that you don't need.
Oh and I'll have a set of bike lights with me as I figure I'll need to ride back to the campsite while Jen drives all the bags back.
Bike Bag
This is the bag you will find when you get into t1. In mine I've got my cycle shoes with sockes already opened inside the shoes. I've got my cycle helmet, cycle clothes and sun glasses. There is also my cycle jersey with nutrition in the pockets and a race number pined to the back. I've got a full length zip on my jersey which means I can put it on without pulling it over my head as that means I don't lose anything from the pockets. In my left rear pocket I've got three energy bars with protein. In the middle pocket I've got 3 normal energy bars and my little emergency bag containing toilet paper and $20. In the right hand pocket I've got 3 sachets of powder for 3 refills of my water bottles, plus I've a bag containing 6 salt stick tablets and an opened packet of Dextro Energy tablets.
These goodies supplement the two bottles of energy drink that is on my bottle. Tomorrow I'm using Tauk Pink Grapefruit. I also like and get on with SiS Go and have found the Infinite drink with protein excellent on the bike. The drink being provided on the course is Gatorade that I'm not familiar with. Normally you get PowerBar drink that I really don't like the taste of (nor does it seem to work for me), hence the need to carry all the stuff myself. I could put it onto the bike, but I like to keep the bike clutter free.
As well as the water I plan to take from the aid stations I'll also have the odd half banana and I'm tempted to add my usual turkey sandwich into this bag in the morning.
It is possible for me to put extra food into the Bike special needs bag which I'll be able to pick up at 75miles. I'm not planning on using this.
Having put on my cycle gear, the wetsuit, cap, goggles and nose clip will go into this bag for later collection.

Run Bag
At the end of the bike section I'll head into t2, park the bike and pick up my Run Bag. I'll empty the contents onto the floor next to a chair and as I take off my cycle top, cycle shoes, cycle gloves, cycle socks and helmet they will go into the empty bag.
I'll then put on tri-top with some goodies in the back pocket, a hat, running socks and running shoes. There is a race number already pined to the front of my top and the goodie bag contains some more salt sticks, another packet of Dextro tablets, an energy gel (which I don't expect to use, it's a get out of jail card) some more toilet paper (just in case) and another emergency $20 bill.
There is also a spare pair of shorts in this bag just in case (so this is the only item that is possibly surpless to requirements). There will be "sun cream girls" in t2 so I don't need to bring my own sun screen top up.
Then it's out onto the run.
I'm not planning to use my Run Special Needs Bag either. I had been considering putting a spare pair of trainers into it just in case my trainers got sodden (based on the experience in Nice) but I'm going to endeavour to keep my feet dry this time.


So that's it.
After that little lot I'll get to the finish to a medal, t-shirt and my dry clothes bag for a couple of regos and I'll chill out in the athletes village eating and drinking what's available whilst waiting for team mates to arrive.
All I have to do now is rack that little lot and chill out.

Friday 28 August 2009

Canada Day 10 - Friday 28th September

All registered now. Got a tag on my wrist, a timing chip for my ankle, run bag, bike bag, dry clothes bag, run special needs bag, bike special needs bag, swim cap, number for run shirt, number for bike jersey and sticker numbers for all the bags, lid and the bike.
I'm feeling remarkable calm.
At the expo sat around listening to the interview with 7 of the pros. That was light hearted and fun. The interviewer was trying to get them to be bitchy between them to get some rivalry going but they just weren't bitting and were joking about avoiding his bait.
Good expo here. Not so much a triathlon trade fair like Nice or Zurich, this one is just one massive Ironman Canada shop. Did I buy some gear? Maybe.
The highlight of the day though was the 8am Underpants Run for the local charity. 300+ runners in trainers and underpants (ladies were expected to wear tops), the aim not to look cool but to look very uncool have a laugh and raise some money.
Pics on facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=135463&id=602602194&l=8a5121f756

Canada Day 9 - Thursday 27th August


Ironman Canada opened today. Registartion opened. Expo opened. We hired a convertible muscle car and buggered off for the day.
With a 5 litre Mustang we cruised round the bike course. Took in the Tinhorn Creek vineyard and headed up to Apex mountain for lunch (though had to wait til we got back to Penticton before we could eat).
Idea behind today was to get away from it all and forget Ironman for a bit. Ironman's like doing a exam. If you didn't pay attention in class then no matter how much cramming you do last minute it just isn't going to help. Best thing you can do is be well rested and relaxed. In that regards mission accomplished.
However I've had terrible terrible trouble with some kind of allegy last night and today. Eyes have been watering to the point where I can't see. Nostrals burning to the point where breathing hurts. Yesterday I restrained from the antihystermines as they raise by pulse. Today I don't care, if going slower means I finish then I'm popping pills. Normally despise taking medication but sometimes it's silly not to.
This evening (though I missed it due to suffering) Isla did the Ironkids and bagged a medal. Steve and Jen also did the 5k fun run (the winner did 15mins!!).
Tomorrow morning Steve, Jen, Isla and I are doing the fundraising Underpants Run. $10 buys you a pair of charity underpants and entry into the 2k fun run. Subaru are then matching the money raised. Should be fun. Then we register and the nerves kick in.
Oh, and whilst out today we might, just might have helped Isla use her chalk:

Thursday 27 August 2009

Canada Day 8 - Wednesday 26th August

It's beginning to dawn on me how big Ironman Canada is.
Yes I knew there were 2,500 competitors. I hadn't appreciated that there was going to be 4,500 marshalls and helpers. There'll then be spectators on top of that.
Ever been to Hollywood and seen the Walk of Fame? They've got the same here for the winners for each of the 26 Ironman Canada's so far.
The local radio station has become Radio Ironman Canada. The local mall is in on the act with a display of previous Ironman Canada finishers shirts and medals plus they've named their summer sale the "Ironman Sale". The radio station is telling motorists and locals to keep an eye out for the increased number of runners and cyclists that are going to be about upto and after race day, plus they are asking us to wear bright clothes to make it easy for the motorists to see us.
Most Ironman events have a pasta party on the Friday night. Forget that here. We've got a Street Party. Down town Penticton is being closed off to make one massive street party with three separate stages and they've got the biggest local rock and folk bands in to perform. They've even got commemorative t-shirts for the Street Party!
Should be good.

Wednesday 26 August 2009

Canada Day 7 - Bear? Where?

Took Steve Rush for a little 40 mile ride to explore more parts of the Ironman bike course but also to explore some more off route roads. Lovely little route with some great scenary. Okay we missed the turning for McCleans Creak Road on the first pass.
Out on White Lake Road, Steve reccons he heard Rattlers. He asked if I had heard them, but as I wasn't sure what to listen to I hadn't picked up on them. At a later point when waiting for Steve to catch up I heard what could have been crickets, or what might also have been a rattler. Whilst waiting for Steve to arrive to give me audio confirmation on nature I waved to a car as it passed. She stopped and with a very white face hung out of the window. "What are you stood around for".
"I'm waiting for my buddy to catch up".
"There's a bear in that wood! Only a little bear but still a bear".
When Steve caught up I made good progress til we came to a golf course. At which point I figured a walking golfer was far easier prey than an 20mph cyclist.
We didn't see the bear, but we did spot a coyote who was happy to watch us whilst we were moving, but as soon as I pulled up he disappeared. Guess he feared I was going to shoot him and he would be right though only with my camera.



Tuesday 25 August 2009

Dreams

Yesterday I was feeling excited for Sunday's Ironman, though the realisation struck that it's now only a matter of days way.
Last night I dreamt that rather then being in Canada I'd ended up in Norway and was blagging gear to do a double Norseman with additional point challenges thrown in.

Canada Day 6

Easy, domestic day today. 3 hours were spent driving to and back from Kelowna airport. We needed to drop Steve & Jennie's hire car off and add Jennie to the insurance on my hire car. Well, we don't need 2 cars between us whilst we are here in Penticton.
We did spend some time in Peachland for lunch and ice creams. Peachland is pretty idylic down by the lakeside. Suspect we may head back at some point. Though there are some pretty idylic spots nearer to Penticton to also explore.
Before heading out to Kelowna we visited the bike shop and the running shop in central Penticton. Wandering between the two we stumbled upon a Budget car hire place with a couple of convertible Mustangs. Bit extravagent perhaps but we're planning on hiring one (maybe both) to recee the bike course. How cool will it be to drive the 180k course in a 5litre muscle car. With the top down we should be able to get some photos that aren't taken through a bug splattered windscreen. $120CAN for a day is about £70 which doesn't seem too bad an expense. It's certainly a lot cheaper than $450CAN I was quoted for a 15minute helicopter trip.
We've now been joined by Stewart Ingram who is staying in Steve, Jennie and Isla's trailer. Melvin and Maria are now also in town with their RV at another site.
Tomorrow I'm planning for another explore on the bike.

Monday 24 August 2009

Canada Day 5

Yesterday I spent 8 hours on a road junction getting the Canadian's to drive on the left hand side of the road. They seemed to be able to do it, so perhaps we should convince them to always drive on the left.
I had volunteered to help out at the Apple Triathlon in Kelowna after hearing a plea for assistance on the local radio. My job was to marshall a junction on the bike course which really meant marshall the traffic around the bike course. It twas a t-junction with the riders having half the road (one lane) on the main road with both directions of the traffic sharing the other lane, but also helping those turning in and out of the side road across the stream of traffic.
I have earned event t-shirts easier, more fun ways, though this way it only cost me petrol and I got fed.
More examples of Canadian's being friendly. One chap came out of his house to lend me a camp chair for the day and others kept asking me if I'd like water. I drank two litres as it was without needing to accept anything from them.
As well as the competitors and locals I saw no end of Magpies and some Osprey.
Had a one hour out and back run along the disused railway line that goes through the campsite and along the shore of Skaha Lake - a lake side Marriots way if you like. It really is pretty. Sandy though so will be checking that there is no sand left in my trainers before Sunday.
Steve, Jennie and Isla are now on the campsite. So even more company for me now.
Oh, and I don't think I impressed the campsite security guard by leaving at 5am. Will have to be nice to him ahead of next Sunday's race.

Sunday 23 August 2009

Canada Day 4


After a second warm day yesterday we ended up with a cold night. Not too cold, but cold enough that a single bed sheet just wasn't enough.
Went for a 40 miles ride today around the "Green Mountain Road Loop". Did it in an anti-clockwise direction which meant a number of left turns across traffic, but as most of the roads were quiet this wasnt' a problem. By doing the loop this way I got to ride along what will be the final part of the Ironman bike course, plus I got to take in some other scenary. Found the shack pictured above on my ride.
Route and profile of which were:



Nice little route - lots more pictures taken which can be found on facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=135463&id=602602194&l=8a5121f756
Today's ones are a little clearer and not taken through a dirty windscreen.

Tomorrow I'm marshalling an Olympic Triathlon and then having a run in the evening.

Friday 21 August 2009

Canada Day 3

Third day and been busy. So so very nice to sleep in a bed rather than a car or plane seat. The air con in the caravan worked well and it was definately cool when I hit the sack. Up early cooked porridge, put a load of things onto http://www.tri-anglia.co.uk/ (might be away from the day job but can never escape the hobby job).

Went into Penticton this morning. Specifically to the Bike Barn (http://www.bikebarn.ca/), a liquor store and grocers.

When putting the bike together last night the headset was loose. The headset locking screw wasn't connecting with the locking nut. Bike isn't safe to ride without this. I feared that the locking nut had slipped down inside the steerer. That wasn't the case. What had happened was that I'd threaded the top couple of turns on the locking nut so the screw wasn't engaging and wasn't long enough to reach beyond the threaded part of the locking nut. They looked for a longer screw and we ended up going with a slightly narrower spacer. They also gave me some advice on some warm up ride and run routes, told me where the local running store is and also, most helpfully told me where the Ironman Expo and sign on will be - will be needing that knowledge next Thursday.

Liquor store visit was to get some local wine because the supermarket yesterday didn't sell alcohol. So I've picked up four bottles of local wine - one is champagne for after the race. Was recommended the Copper Moon and was taken by the Rigmarole Red. I've attached a pick below:
In case you can't make out the label, it reads:

"Why is it always such a RIGMAROLE to simply find a great drinking RED? The puzzling complexity of terrior, oak ageing, vintages and those ridiculous descriptors is just too much. Save that mental energy for wondering how the zebra managed to mate with the giraffe to make ... the Gibra"

The marketteers got to me on this occasion.

The grocers (supermaket) was to pick up a cork screw and the bits I forgot yesterday.

I like the supermarket, most things come in big vats which you just laddle into carrier bags - porridge oats, dried cranberries, sugar, pasta and rice etc.

I'm liking Canadian's as well they are friendly and helpful. The supermarket staff have already started to recognise me, the bike shop was helpful and a lady on the campsite came over and chatted. It is really that obvious I'm here for the Ironman? I had no branding on and the bike was hidden. Turns out the lady on the campsite is here for 3 weeks to acclimitise for this her first Ironman - she lives in the rain forest that is Northern BC.

Right, best go. I need to ring a man about marshalling a triathlon tomorrow or Sunday then I'm off for a spin on my bike now that it's working properly.

Canada August 2009 Day1+2

Another holiday. Another adventure. Another opportunity to write loads in my blog.
This time the destination is Penticton in British Columbia, Canada. Again the mission is an Ironman Triathlon. Whilst the mode of transportation changes I am again the advance party from team Tri-Anglia.
Yesterday morning involved the usual holiday routine, and I say usual because millions do the same. Get up, drive to Gatwick (or heathrow) leave car in long term car park, check in and board a plane. Don't see much point in talking about normal. The only exception was that the flight touched ground in Glasgow between Gatwick an Calgary. Just as well really as it would have only been 7% full, did mean that my bags being on first were last off.
Then for a long 680km drive from Calgary to Penticton that took from 8pm last night to 12 noon today. I'd not been organised enough to book accomodation so made use of rest areas to get a couple of hours in a few places.
It did mean that I had a few sureal hours driving through the Rockies in pitch dark through road works with confused conversations with a construction worker. It also meant that I was moving at dawn, well my body did think that 4am was noon. Seeing the day come up whilst driving through the mountains was special. You start by only being able to see what the headlights fall on. The rest is blackness. But that blackness starts to change and it changes in patches. Some of the black becomes slightly off black and you can now distinguish the outlines of the fir trees. Then you start being able to pick out the outlines of the mountains and some white peaks start to be clear. Then you realise you are seeing more and more detail though still in shades of gray. The sky then turns blue whilst everything else remains in greyscale. Then, almost as if the water that is washing in the colour at the top of the picture is running down the canvas the rest of the world transforms from limited hughes into full glorious technicolour.
The roads were remarkably clear.
Afraid I couldn't resist stopping in Armstrong for fuel and breakfast. Then as I arrived in Penticton too early to check in I recceed the bike course.
All pictures so far on facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=135463&id=602602194&l=8a5121f756
Whilst listening to the radio in the car discovered that there is an ITU event this weekend in the area with supporting disabled, junior and age group events. They were promoting the event to spectators but also asking for volunteers. I figure an Apple Triathlon Marshalls t-shirt has some credibility in t-shirt poker. http://www.appletriathlon.com/
Oh, and it was hot here today. As hot as home in the UK I believe. 29-31C I was being told by the hire car. Nice on the bike which is mostly through vineyards (more than you can shake a stick at) hopefully it will cool a little before race day run.

Saturday 15 August 2009

3rd :-)

Helped Iain round to a classification Bronze medal. A great course with se technical corners for a tandem.

It's been a while

Sorry

Been remiss

Over taken with events.

Lots of excuses but none really cut it.

Did l'Etape du Tour with Chilli. He has put a good report on his blog at: http://giant-pygmy.com/?p=196

Been putting lots of reports from my fellow Tri-Anglia members onto www.tri-anglia.co.uk, working on their club kit section, helping VC Norwich with their new club kit design, managing the T-A RNR team and changed employer.

Have now entered Ironman Australia for next March. They are celebrating their 25th Annivsary so should be a good one. I'm hoping to get one of the 5,000 newbie entries for Comrades next year when that opens up. The Ironman should be a nice warm up. As too should be the first Brighton Marathon on 18th April. Gonna be doing a lot of running this winter.

Off to Canada on Wednesday for the Ironman on the 30th in Penticton.

This afternoon though I'm racing for GB. Well, I'm acting as a guide to Iain Dawson who has been selected to represent GB at an Invitational International Paratriathlon. Race Venue is Hyde Park and it's billed as the biggest Paratriathlon yet to be held in Europe. 300m swim in the serpentine leading Iain. 10k bike with me on the front of the tandem and then run Iain round the 3.2k run course. Starts at 16:30 and we'll be done in time for tea. Iain's GB kit has arrived, I'll have to wait for mine as the supply of mediums has run out. I'm allowed to fly Tri-Anglia colours, so should be some good publicity for the club.

Friday 17 July 2009

New Bars

Here's the proof of the crack in my old carbon handlebars:


Apologies for the quality of the photo.

And these are the new ones all ready to go:

Tuesday 14 July 2009

That was close :-(

Having not ridden my race bike since unpacking it after Nice and wanting to check it out before packing it again this evening, so I rode it into work this morning.
Well, I say into work. I got as far as the county hall roundabout. Did a track stand waiting for the traffic to pass then as I pulled on the bars to accelerate onto the round about my handlebars broke. I'd pulled the right shifter so hard the bars just next to it fractured.
So pleased that they didn't break on the Ironman or next Monday on l'Etape. The thought of them breaking whilst descending a mountain at 30-40+mph doesn't bear thinking about.
I quickly changed plans on the roundabout and threw a complete circuit to head home to change bikes - wasn't helped by the driver that decided to overtake me on the roundabout. We had a touching of wheels. That was too close for comfort.
Now in the market for a replacement set of bars, which I could really do with today as my bike has to be packed by Thursday evening.

Swimming with JT

He he. :-)
Missed my swim yesterday morning, due to working late on CBTs Sunday evening ahead of a course and exam yesterday, which incidently I passed. So having missed the swim yesterday morning went for second chance Monday and shared a lane with JT. We're now both on wk18 of 24 of the schedule taking us up to Ironman Canada and Ironman Louisville. It was fun to be doing the same session as JT, though we had both put our own twists on the session. He'd opted to miss out the Individual Medleys.