This was never going to be a stellar performance as I had not lifted finger in terms of training all week long. On Sunday I thought I was coming down with some form throat infection, and after 45 minutes of swim training on Monday, I got out as I knew I was not doing myself any favours. The rest of the week was then just filled with Colvonia and Strepsils in an attempt to budge it. By the time Saturday rolled round, I thought I was feeling a lot better so decided it would be worth it to travel to the race and see how I did - the annoying thing was, conditions were not far from ideal.
Within a few minutes of setting off, I was aware that the throat had not totally cured as heavy breathing was slightly restricted. Still, was able to get up to speed and did not feel too bad for the first 20 odd k. I had caught my two minute man who a decent rider, so thought I must be doing okay. As we turned at the far end though and started to work harder in to the headwind, I felt a bit worse and instantly knew it was going to be a case of just hanging on really.
Once we turned at the other end, I had a look behind to see that the chap I had caught for two minutes had not really dropped back much in the subsequent 10k's - I must have ridden like a right wally for that segment. Still, back with the wind behind us and the 56x11 in full use, I was able to open the gap up again.
I eventually crossed the line in 54:05 which is a bit slower than the 53:09 I did last year on that course, but all things considered, not too bad really...still nigh on 45kph for the ride and I still haven't really done any high end work on the turbo yet. So, although I don't think I am as fast as I was at this time last year, I do think I have much more solid base which we can now work on adding the speed to. Hopefully things will all come together initially at the end of May/Early June for the National 10, 25 and 50 and then hopefully that will carry through nicely to Antwerp.
The throat appears to have cleared now anyway, so back to full training now.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Redmon CC - 25 - 2nd - 55:39
Raced in the Redmon 25 on Sunday. Quite a windy day and had ridden 70k the day before so not too displeased to come home in 55:39. I was second on the day, but second by quite a margin. Was good to be back doing 25's though - feels like the perfect distance for a really hard effort.
Have my next one in a couple of weeks, so let's hope we can have some sun and no wind - is it too much to ask for?
Have my next one in a couple of weeks, so let's hope we can have some sun and no wind - is it too much to ask for?
Thames Turbo Sprint - Race 1
I think I am now in to my fifth year of doing this race, it was the first triathlon I did some years ago. For the past couple of years, I have placed near the top so I was keen to get 2010's triathlon career off to a good start.The promise of the some warm weather did not prove to be too correct, but at least it was not as freezing cold as last year - never a good idea when you get out of heated pool and then head out in to the elements in a wet trisuit.
The swim for me went okay on this one, I quickly managed to get quite close to the person in front of me and then decided to not try and get past. She was going at a fairly decent pace, so I assume it would be better to save some energy and sit on her feet for the last 100m or so. My swim time for the 436m was 6:02, so about the same as normal. My transition on the other hand was an embarrassment to the triathlon community. It just seemed to take so long, mainly as I fumbled my way around trying to pull some cycling shoes on. I think that from now on I will have to revert to the shoes in the pedals and having these attached to the bike.
The bike section at these races has been a bit of a nemesis for me in recent years. I can't recall the last time I had what I would call a good run. On this occasion, I was stopped at the lights for the full time that it took to change and then had to contend with some incredibly slow moving traffic behind a competitor who was just strolling along on his mountain bike. There was also the brief stop at the roundabout, so all in all, not a good run really and it was almost impossible to get in to a decent rhythm.
My running of recent has been a little lackluster as I have struggled to find the top end speed that is needed for races like this. The problems with the blisters from MK and Fleet had also meant that I was pretty much sidelined from running for a while. Still, I don't think that I ran that bad, well, in terms of way it felt anyway. The time was far from ideal but I know why this is and I am certain I can improve on this. On this occasion I did 20:31 and I have previously run an 18:37 I think. So, a lot to get me back to those results, but I have at least started to do some brick sessions now and will be working on some speed in the coming months.
In the end, I was 6th, so not too bad, but far from my best....even for this time of the year.
The swim for me went okay on this one, I quickly managed to get quite close to the person in front of me and then decided to not try and get past. She was going at a fairly decent pace, so I assume it would be better to save some energy and sit on her feet for the last 100m or so. My swim time for the 436m was 6:02, so about the same as normal. My transition on the other hand was an embarrassment to the triathlon community. It just seemed to take so long, mainly as I fumbled my way around trying to pull some cycling shoes on. I think that from now on I will have to revert to the shoes in the pedals and having these attached to the bike.
The bike section at these races has been a bit of a nemesis for me in recent years. I can't recall the last time I had what I would call a good run. On this occasion, I was stopped at the lights for the full time that it took to change and then had to contend with some incredibly slow moving traffic behind a competitor who was just strolling along on his mountain bike. There was also the brief stop at the roundabout, so all in all, not a good run really and it was almost impossible to get in to a decent rhythm.
My running of recent has been a little lackluster as I have struggled to find the top end speed that is needed for races like this. The problems with the blisters from MK and Fleet had also meant that I was pretty much sidelined from running for a while. Still, I don't think that I ran that bad, well, in terms of way it felt anyway. The time was far from ideal but I know why this is and I am certain I can improve on this. On this occasion I did 20:31 and I have previously run an 18:37 I think. So, a lot to get me back to those results, but I have at least started to do some brick sessions now and will be working on some speed in the coming months.In the end, I was 6th, so not too bad, but far from my best....even for this time of the year.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Maidenhead Hilly 30 (H29/18) - DNF
Last year, my mate Paul and I raced this event as a two up and won quite comfortably. This year, I decided I would have a crack on my own over this testing course round the back lanes of Marlow. I had set my virtual partner up to give me the course record and this meant that I would need to average just over 41kh for the course - this didn't seem too bad, but the hills can really kill the average speed on these rides.
Just doing a little warm up on the turbo...
Things started ok and I felt quite strong but the biggest problem that was giving me concerns was the sheer state of the roads round there. I felt like I was bumping around all over the place and missing potholes became a bit of an art form, what with the frequency and depth of them.
After the first up hill section of the course, I glanced at the watch to see that I was currently riding at the required speed...this was good news as I now had a long section of general downhill where I could try and increase the average speed as much as possible to limit the damage that would be done in the last 2 mile climb to the finish. Things started to not feel quite right on the bike though...I slowly realised that the front wheel had some form of slow puncture. I started to try and work out how fast it was going down and whether or not I would be able to make it to the finish, but after another couple of miles I decided to bite the bullet and get off. At this point I was averaging 43.3kph and still had some downhill section to go...it was not to be though.
The problem now was that I was stranded out on the course with no easy means of making my way back to the car. I worked out there must have been another 8 or so miles of riding to do, that was going to take a long time. Thankfully, some cycling fan in a Transit van came to my rescue. The bike had to go in the back along with some rubbish, but at least I was en route to the village hall again. My glamorous arrival back at the village hall even made it on the web... "while London Dynamo’s Richard Legge arrived at the finish in the back of a rubbish collectors van after suffering a similar problem"
http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/uk-time-trial-round-up-tejvan-pettinger-wins-30-mile-hilly-25628
Just doing a little warm up on the turbo...
Things started ok and I felt quite strong but the biggest problem that was giving me concerns was the sheer state of the roads round there. I felt like I was bumping around all over the place and missing potholes became a bit of an art form, what with the frequency and depth of them.
After the first up hill section of the course, I glanced at the watch to see that I was currently riding at the required speed...this was good news as I now had a long section of general downhill where I could try and increase the average speed as much as possible to limit the damage that would be done in the last 2 mile climb to the finish. Things started to not feel quite right on the bike though...I slowly realised that the front wheel had some form of slow puncture. I started to try and work out how fast it was going down and whether or not I would be able to make it to the finish, but after another couple of miles I decided to bite the bullet and get off. At this point I was averaging 43.3kph and still had some downhill section to go...it was not to be though.
The problem now was that I was stranded out on the course with no easy means of making my way back to the car. I worked out there must have been another 8 or so miles of riding to do, that was going to take a long time. Thankfully, some cycling fan in a Transit van came to my rescue. The bike had to go in the back along with some rubbish, but at least I was en route to the village hall again. My glamorous arrival back at the village hall even made it on the web... "while London Dynamo’s Richard Legge arrived at the finish in the back of a rubbish collectors van after suffering a similar problem"
http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/uk-time-trial-round-up-tejvan-pettinger-wins-30-mile-hilly-25628
Sotonia 10 (P613/10) 20:44 - 10th
For me to be able to even get on the start sheet for the National 10 mile Championships this year, I was going to need to get a better time than the only other one I, unfortunately recorded on a cold windy day back in December last year. So, in terms of getting a PB, the Sotonia 10 should have been a bit of a walk in the park really...the course was much nicer than the last one and, on the day, the weather was not bad either. The wind had picked up, but at least the predicted rain had not arrived.
I have done very little in the way of preparation for short bursts like this, so I was quite aware before the start that this was not going to be a very well managed race in terms of pacing etc. It was the first time on the TT bike this year and I just don't really have any kind of markers in terms of how well I am riding at the moment. All I know is that the watts I am putting out on the turbo are a bit lower than they were this time last year.
Anyway, once the race got going I just decided that i would see how hard I could go for the whole ride. The good thing was, the course started with a bit of a downhill and then we were directed on to a nice piece of dual carriageway with the wind behind us. Those first 5 miles were a real pleasure as I cruised along in 56x11 or 12 but eventually hit some bad luck as I got to the roundabout for the turn. As much as I tried to convince myself there was a way to do it, it became apparent I was going to have to stop....so annoying. Anyway, it was only for a few seconds and I was back on my way again. Still, the whole slowing, stopping and getting going again costs dearly, especially in such a short race. Back out on the other side of the dual carriageway and I was met with the ugly side of that nice tailwind I had enjoyed all the way out. I just tried to get as aero as possible and just grind the gears out for the next 4 miles. It was not pleasant at all, but catching a couple of the riders in front of me made for a nice distraction.
I eventually made it over the line in 20:44. In terms of the National Champs, this is job done as a time of 20:44 should ensure that I get my slot in the National 10 this year. Having looked at last year's result, I felt quite confident that a time like that would put me quite far up the leaderboard. Alas, not today....everyone seems to have cottoned on to the fact that this is the fastest course in the South and on a good day, this is where a lot of people come to get their times for the National 10. In the end, I finished 10th but there were a good bunch of quality riders above me and I beat some of my peers who I would normally place close to etc. All in all....job done.
I have done very little in the way of preparation for short bursts like this, so I was quite aware before the start that this was not going to be a very well managed race in terms of pacing etc. It was the first time on the TT bike this year and I just don't really have any kind of markers in terms of how well I am riding at the moment. All I know is that the watts I am putting out on the turbo are a bit lower than they were this time last year.
Anyway, once the race got going I just decided that i would see how hard I could go for the whole ride. The good thing was, the course started with a bit of a downhill and then we were directed on to a nice piece of dual carriageway with the wind behind us. Those first 5 miles were a real pleasure as I cruised along in 56x11 or 12 but eventually hit some bad luck as I got to the roundabout for the turn. As much as I tried to convince myself there was a way to do it, it became apparent I was going to have to stop....so annoying. Anyway, it was only for a few seconds and I was back on my way again. Still, the whole slowing, stopping and getting going again costs dearly, especially in such a short race. Back out on the other side of the dual carriageway and I was met with the ugly side of that nice tailwind I had enjoyed all the way out. I just tried to get as aero as possible and just grind the gears out for the next 4 miles. It was not pleasant at all, but catching a couple of the riders in front of me made for a nice distraction.
I eventually made it over the line in 20:44. In terms of the National Champs, this is job done as a time of 20:44 should ensure that I get my slot in the National 10 this year. Having looked at last year's result, I felt quite confident that a time like that would put me quite far up the leaderboard. Alas, not today....everyone seems to have cottoned on to the fact that this is the fastest course in the South and on a good day, this is where a lot of people come to get their times for the National 10. In the end, I finished 10th but there were a good bunch of quality riders above me and I beat some of my peers who I would normally place close to etc. All in all....job done.
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