The good news is, my season has now started, it seems like a such a long time ago that I was racing. The bad news on the other hand, is that the season has started with a race that just went from bad to worse.
I had set myself the target of running a 1:21 at the MK half this year, and although ambitious, I felt relatively confident that I might just sneak under 1:22. The starter holding us for a lot longer than I thought meant that I started off needing to go to the toilet and hence the first 6 miles I spent a lot of time trying to decide if the cost of nipping behind a tree for a wee would be worth the time lost. I decided to give it a miss and carried on for a bit longer...I went through half way dead on target at 40:30 but I knew that I was slowing down a bit. For some reason, I never really felt that great, kind of tired. I think most of that may have been due to the fact that I did some hard work during the week and never really recovered properly and then promptly went out and did a 60 mile bike ride on the Saturday. The ride seemed okay for the first 30 miles but after turning round and realising it was headwind, I quickly lost interest and generally just felt lethargic. Still, I didn't think it would cause too much damage.
At mile 9 in the race, the real problems started, my feet really started to hurt - a lot. I had bought some new socks in the week and these were obviously not for me....I could feel the blisters starting to appear and by mile 11 it felt like someone was scraping the skin off the bottom of my feet. Cue, a final 2 mile run/walk strategy to finally cross the line in 1:30.....not great.
So, I have Fleet half in a couple of weeks time now. Hopefully, I'll be able to have a better day there.
At least the season has finally started...
Well, first things first, I am now a married man...so I suppose that is the end of my best racing days :)
Leading up to the wedding, I had a couple of races which I was going to do more for fun than anything else. As the wedding approached, so the training decreased and weight came on a bit. At the National Relay champs I was fully aware that our best chance of doing anything was just to concentrate on the bike section and see where we can get our team at the end of that...with none of us being 15-16 minute 5k runners, we were never going to be in contention after the bike. Still, we did have fun and I was pleased to see that I started the run (I was first out of the team of 4) at the same time as the pro outfit of Planet X that including an ex world champ. They quickly ran away from us, but it was good while it lasted.
A couple of weekends after that. we had the last in the Thames Turbo sprint series for the season. I was not in contention for an overall prize this season so I was not overly bothered with how well I was going to do. I was keen to have a good ride, but other than that, I knew I had not put the time in so shouldn't expect too much. My swim was a bit slower than normal but out on the bike, I actually felt quite good. I was riding well but then got caught by the lights for the maximum amount of time and on the way back into Hampton I had a bit of a nightmare with cars, buses and other competitors causing a bit of a tailback that I ended up getting stuck behind for a bit....all rather annoying, but I suppose it is to be expected on that course. One day I will get a perfect run on that course!
Out on the run, things didn't feel too bad, but I knew that I was just not really going as fast as I should be if I wanted a good time. Still, my time was not bad considering the recent training etc. I was pleased to see that I eventually finished 3rd in a pretty decent field, so not a bad day out really.
Whilst I was away on the honeymoon, I also decided that it would be for the best if I pulled out of the 70.3 World Champs as well. The cost of getting to Florida and the fact that I had not even booked anything yet, meant I would be spending a lot of money to put in a sub-par performance. The honeymoon was great, but I put on some weight and my gradual reduction in fitness over the past couple of months and the 6 weeks between then and the Worlds would have not been enough to get to a place of fitness which I felt would justify all the expense. Next year...
Ever since I finished my uneventful trip into the TT wilderness this season, what with the two punctures in my two main races, I have focusing all my attention on my last main race of the season. The Antwerp 70.3 is a half-ironman race with a 1.9k swim, 90k bike and then a nice little half marathon to finish things off.
The problem for me coming in to this race was two fold, I did not really have the endurance in the legs to ride that hard for that long as all of my efforts this season had been focused on delivering a very high level of power for about an hour. To now go for more than twice as long, was going to be hard. I had also only really been averaging about 10-15k a week, and that was probably split between 2 or 3 runs. So, no long runs since I did the MK half marathon way earlier in the year. So, I decided to just try and keep on top of the swimming, pretty much junk the cycling for a month and drastically increase my run mileage. I enlisted the help of Bill Black to help with some form of running plan and he basically just set me four runs to do every week, with one of those being an increasingly longer run. So, a week before the race, all the running was going great, I was back to being able to easily knock out sub 40 10k's, even as part of the long run, albeit, I was slowing towards the ends of these with the lack of endurance. Still, a lot of the speed was back. So, everything looked about as good as it could really.
For some reason, I always foolishly assume that racing on the continent is going to take place under blue skies and sunshine. Antwerp last weekend was doing all it could to oppose that viewpoint. Due to the fact I only arrived late on the Saturday, I had to register and make my way to the swim start on the Sunday. Me, being the ever organised did this super early.....problem with this was that it meant that I had to stand around in the pouring rain for about 2 hours. Not really the best start to a race.
Finally though, we were off. I was in a wave for my AG and I quickly realised that there wasn't going to be the normal bunch of people quickly escaping off the front. In fact, on this occasion, I was very near the front and it all seemed to be going well, perhaps me deciding to kick in this race had made a big difference. Anyway, I followed round some other chap from my AG and we got out the water in 25:45....I had to take two glances at the watch, I was expecting to be out in about 28. The course must be short I thought. Wetsuit off, helmet on though and on the way out I passed one of my mates who is a really good swimmer. It then dawned on me that perhaps I had just done a pretty good swim.
So, off on the bike and straight away, I could feel some pain up the inside of my thigh, like a bit of a cramp. I have had this before though and can normally just ride through it and it goes away. Eventually, it did subside and by now I was heading out of Antwerp on the wet, but super flat roads. This was exactly what I had been hoping for. There were quite a few railway tracks to navigate (by going across the mates they lay down) but generally, things were going well. The only problem was the annoying headwind for about the first 30k. I basically ended up getting a bit excited about all the people I was catching and I think that (as you'll see later on) I pushed too hard in this section. It was only when I got to about 50k that I realised that things were not great with the legs, especially as I still had a half marathon to run. Coming back into town, I dropped off the pace a bit to try and conserve the legs and I tried to make sure that I finished off all the nutrition I had on the bike. I eventually got back to T2 with the fastest bike time for all the non-pros...result. The only problem now was that my legs were not in the mood to run.
I started off well though and saw that after about 3k, I was averaging over 15kph (my target was 15kph) so all good. At the first aid station, I tried to take some water on and this is when it all started to go wrong. The inside of my thighs cramped again and I had to stop to stretch it out for a bit. I carried on again, but the pain was still there a bit. This is basically how the next 80 minutes of running panned out for me. I would run for about 5k, stop with the horrible cramp and then get going again. Every time I started again though, it was slower than I had been running....my pace was really dropping off and I could see that at least a few of the people in my AG had come back past me. I knew I had to finish in about the top 6 or 7 to get a spot for the World Champs in Florida so I just tried to grin and bear it. The last couple of k's were very horrible. My legs were shattered and I just couldn't wait to finish.
Finally, I crossed the line in 4:10. I didn't know for ages where I had finished but when I went to the slot allocation ceremony in the evening I saw that I had in fact managed 5th. I was pretty sure that this should be okay and low and behold, they had 5 slots for my AG. So, I paid my money and that's it...Paula and I will be off to Florida in November for a short holiday and the 70.3 World Champs.
I was going to see if I could make it all the way through this season without doing one Olympic triathlon but when Paula found out that Bedford was not full, and knowing that it is a fast course, I found myself drawn to getting my application in. The rationale was that it would probably be good to get back into the triathlon mindset after a couple of months of just trying to ride my bike...albeit, those episodes were not that successful due to a mysterious puncture phenomenon.
Anyway, Bedford, for the first time this year, was going to also be a World Championship qualifier so the field was pretty strong and full of names that I have seen on my travels before. It was nice to not have that added pressure of trying to secure a spot as well, I was just there to have a good race and have some fun.
The swim all took place on a very narrow stretch of water and whenever you set some 100 odd blokes off in one direction, there is gonna be a few bangs and bashes. For the first 100m, I was convinced that the person next to me was just trying to swim into me...who knows, he may have thought the same. I eventually found some clear water and settled into a rhythm that I thought would get me out in a decent time. I slowly made my way through some of the tiring swimmers but was annoyed that I was not able to get back in touch with a group of about 10 swimmers in front of me. Still, all in all, not bad....I was out and now it was time for 40k of pretty much flat roads.
The bike course turned out to be my dream course. I was flying past loads of F people (guys in my age group) and I was constantly looking at the Garmin to see that the average speed was creeping up nicely. It was not long before I had it over 40 and then it finally seemed to settle down a bit around the 42.5kph mark....I felt comfortable at that speed and that things were all going well.
However, at just over 30k, I heard that horrible noise which I have come to associate with me racing. The sound of a tire blowing. It was me.... I thought that I might be able to get out of this one though as I had brought some sealant that I was hopeful of just being able to spray in the tub and then ride off again. Alas, the hole was too big and the sealant just ended up all over the place and the tub remained in it's deflated state....another race down the pan I thought. However, not long after I had started walking, a mate of mine came past....he had been having a bit of a nightmare on the race with no energy in his legs. He proceeded to do the most magnanimous thing I have ever seen in a triathlon....he gave me his bike - it was almost like being a pro cyclist. Low and behold, it fitted well and he even had the right pedals on for my shoes. I was back in the race. I eventually got back to transition having lost about 6 minutes with the puncture, in 1:04. The next part was where I was most interested to see how I would perform as my 'proper' run training had only really been going on for two weeks.
Over the course of those two weeks, I had gone from about 8-10k a week of running to about 40k and a lot of that a good pace. Within the training, I had started to feel a lot lighter on the feet and I was vaguely confident that some of my running ability was coming back. It was not all there, but we were on the way. Out on the run in Bedford, I felt pretty good. A quick look at the average speed for the first lap and it was all looking good, what with the Garmin saying 15.5kph. Over the course of the next two laps, I only dropped another 0.1kph, so pretty steady running all the way round. I actually recorded my fastest ever triathlon run I think of 37:15. The problem with the Garmin though is that it lets you know why that is the case...the run was short by about 300m. Still, even if you add on that time, this is still one of my best ever runs.
So, although I punctured and came a lot further down than I had hoped, it was nice to see that I would have been right up there had I not had to stop etc. I now on my last week of hard running before I start to taper off a bit in preparation for my main triathlon for this year - Antwerp 70.3. I am hopeful of a slot for the 70.3 World Champs....but I reckon I need to knock out a 1:23 half to be in line for that.
I think I also found the cause for all the punctures thanks to Bedford. Some damage on the carbon disc wheel (I think) had been causing some small flints of the fibre to be piercing the side wall of the tire. I have done a little repair job on the wheel now, so here's hoping.
Last Sunday, I competed in my third Bananaman triathlon for the Turbos and yet again I arrived with a sense of fear that this year's team would be the first to lose the Turbo winning streak in this event, I think we have won the event ever since it started about 6 or so years ago. You can't just do well, you have to win.
This year's run up to the event was frought with problems, what with one of the team dropping out with an injury with a couple of weeks to go and another getting very ill with only a few days to go. However, a lot of emails and organising later and we had a good team, especially for the bike section where we normally manage to kill the race off.
My main worry this year was that Andy was not the fastest of swimmers and hence we would have to try and minimise our losses in the water as much as possible. We made countless plans all aimed at pulling Andy round etc but as soon as the horn went off, it was clear that these were the best laid plan of mice and men. I could not see where Andy was, let alone Tim. Still, we were off and I was quite relaxed as I knew that there was no point in hammering out the swim. However, I soon managed to work myself into the lead of the main pack, about 3 or 4 had snuck away, but then it was me with about 100 people behind me. I thought I would just see how slow I could swim without anyone coming past me. It was quite surprising just how easy I could make it people would still just prefer to sit on the leader's feet in the draft. Anyway, I did the 800 in about 11:45, so not bad, but certainly not as quick as I can go.
It was on to the bikes now and I knew that I would be okay here. I had hardly kicked in the swim so my legs felt nice and fresh. Tim's chain slipped as we exited T2 but we were soon all back together and then it was time to get the speed up. The ride was pretty good, averaging about 40kph into the wind and 50kph on the way back. As always, it's a bit hectic on the narrow roads with lots of shouting at the other competitors as we try and avoid having a massive pile up.
The run was the section that I feared the most...basically, I was only 1 week into my proper run training in preperation for Antwerp at the start of August (I have all but packed in cycling as I concentrate on getting my run fitness up to where it needs to be). I left T2 ahead of the others as I assumed that they would catch me up quickly and then we could try and settle into a nice easy pace. We went past some Turbo supporters who told me that we were 2 minutes up on the competition. That was quite a gap, but we still needed to work hard on the run if we were going to maintain that gap. For some reason, my running just felt quite easy and relaxed. I was able to maintain the pace of our team and evn push a bit harder when Andy, the strongest runner, tried to up the speed. I had a little look at the Garmin at one point and it said we were averaging about 16kph...I thought that there must be some mistake, but when I looked at Tim's at the end, it was true, we had been knocking out 3:45-3:50km's for the 7.5km - not bad going at all, especially considering how relaxed I felt.
Anyway, we eventually stormed home with another Turbo victory (thankfully) and the final results show that we managed to beat the second team by a good 5 minutes. All in all, it was a good day in the office and most importantly, i was pleased to have not punctured for once.....although, this season would dictate that they only occur during my A races.
Raced well for 50km, averaging 30mph and with 10k to go, I punctured. Another wasted journey/training/time..
According to the race calendar for this year, last weekend was supposed see me try my first ever 50 mile TT. However, thanks to the puncture at the Nationals and the fact that I felt I didn't have a good time for this season for 25 miles, I decided to ditch the 50 and do another 25.
The start sheet released before the race looked good to me as Prebble and Golla were on there and they had both pushed me into second place at a couple of earlier TT's when I had felt that I was not riding great. I was therefore looking forward to seeing how I would go against them now that I was a bit fitter. With the problems that have plagued me in recent races, what the puncture at Crystal Palace and then the Nationals and then then I went the wrong way in a mid-week two-up this week, I was however going to be most pleased just to make it round without any mishap.
Well, things did not go totally to plan. As I stood on the start line in perfect conditions, I turned on the Garmin and the battery was flat. Now that was annoying...I use that to see how I am going against a predetermined time. I had set it up to ride just shy of 52 minutes, which I felt was achievable on the day. Now, without the Garmin and no other means of knowing how fast I was going, I would need to just ride on feel....something I had not done for a while.
The race went okay in the end, I made it round and managed to do a new PB of 53:09....unfortunately, only shaving 7 seconds off the previous PB. I think that I did miss having the feedback from the watch as my legs were not too sore when I finished and I think that, in hindsight, I perhaps could have pushed a bit harder. I eventually came 2nd (Prebble punctured) and I was 46 seconds down on Golla. The good thing to take away is that he did me for over a minute in our previous encounter, albeit, he had raced a hard 10 the day before the 25.
So, that is it for my season of 25 mile TT's. I think I have done okay this season, generally finishing on the podium in every one that I entered. The annoying thing is conditions and a puncture have conspired against me to get a time that I feel I am capable of. I have been getting coached for the past couple of months by Rich Simmonds and I know full well that my ability to generate power has increased over time, hence my times should improve. When I got to the start of the National 25, I knew at that point that I was as fit as I had been for a long time. Alas, that was not to be.
We have the National TTT on Sunday so that should be an interesting ride. We are certainly not considered to be medal contenders so it would be great to see if we can surprise some people there. Last year, when the field was not as strong, we were 4th by a few seconds. We're all stronger this season though, so here's hoping.
