Mid Season Break

I am sure that I read somewhere that it is a good idea to have a bit of a break mid-season, especially if you are doing a whole bunch of hard races over the course of the triathlon season - I hope so anyway.

Last Thursday, on my occasional commute to work from Walton-on-Thames to the City something happened and the net result was that the next thing that I remember, I was in the back of an ambulance. I still don't know how I fell off, or what happened because I hit my head so hard that I broke my helmet and was subsequently concussed for a few minutes. Apparently, the lady behind me said that I just went over the handlebars, led on the ground for a bit and then got up and started to walk around - albeit, in a rather confused manner.

So...after a quick check up in the ambulance, during which I was sure they were going to send me on my way, I was told that I would be going here..


...and, there I stayed for the rest of the day. They kept me because I had hit my head and could not remember what happened at all - apparently, those are not good things.

Over the course of the day, it became quite obvious to me that my head was not the problem. I could feel my chest getting worse and worse, even through the co-codemol. I was pretty certain then that this was not going to be much fun.

So, one week on and I have yet to do any real exercise so you could say that the mid-season break is going very well indeed and I am being very diligent. The honest truth on the other hand is that I am going mad not being able to train when I want to. I have a very important race next weekend (this one) and I really want to nail it with my other two team mates. So, to be stuck in limbo not doing much before this is pretty miserable....I want to be out on the road or on the turbo having fun with pain.

Oh dear.....Windsor 2008

This weekend we had the first of the big domestic Olympic distances races which took us back to the lovely town of Windsor. I can say this now because the race is over, but I had all intentions of taking the overall prize for this race. It would have been my first major triathlon win in my career and I was pretty sure that I had a good chance of doing it, especially when I heard that the winner for the last two years was having to pull out due to an injury - the race was now wide open and I was pretty sure that I was fit enough to win it.

The swim took me a while to get into, but after about 400m, I was quickly making my way back up through all the white caps that had set off a bit too fast. At the 1000m mark, I had caught what I thought was the last two. I pulled away from one of these and swam back most of the way with the other one. In the end, I was pulled out of the water in what turned out to be 3rd position in my age group. My time was quite bad (24:12) but I assumed that was because of the current in the Thames, which was pretty strong on the day. What followed can only be a lesson to all who take part in this sport....

As I ran into T1 I believed whole heatedly that I was running down the correct aisle to locate my bike. I ran, and I ran, but still I could not see my bike. At this point, the panic set in and I started to scramble around bikes trying desperately to locate mine. In the end, I had to take a deep breath, look at my number and then try to find my bike. By now, some two extra minutes had passed by compared to what I was supposed to use in T1 and I was only too aware that the race had slipped through my fingers, and all because of such a stupid mistake. They always say that transition is the 4th discipline in triathlon - now I know why. Even after all the training, if you can't find your bike, you might as well have not bothered doing half the training.

Still, I tried to calm myself down and get on with the race but out on the bike I was just not really getting into it, mainly because I didn't feel that I was racing for anything anymore. I had wanted to do a 57-58 min bike split and I knew that I was more than capable of doing that, especially on the back of my recent TT performances. Still, the miles went by and I failed to really get into the ride. In the end, I got back to T2 in about 59 mins and got through T2 in good time to head out on the run.














I must confess, I do actually quite enjoy the run at Windsor, there are crowds pretty much the whole way round and my club, Thames Turbo, provides some very vocal support on the infamous Turbo Corner. My run speed was not exactly what I had hoped, but I had not really regained my interest in the race by this point. Alas, the 3 laps passed by and I came home in 2:07:20.



This is still more than 2 mins quicker than 2006 when I first did the race and my run time was 4 mins quicker yesterday than on that day, so things are getting better. I finally found to, to my surprise, that my time was enough to get me a 2nd place in my AG and also 3rd place overall - I didn't think that would be possible!

I know it sounds like I am grumbling about what most would see as a good result, but to me, it just doesn't make me that happy. I could have won the race, but I made a schoolboy error that cost me dearly. So far this season, I have beaten the winner and the chap in second place in other races, so to all intents, it seems that it could have been possible - there is always next year.

Surrey League 4up Team Time Trial Championships

This weekend it was time for something totally new in my world of racing. I had managed to get myself in a team of London Dynamo boys for the annual 4up team time trial champs for the Surrey League. The team was made of two time trialists and a couple of chaps who normally ride road races in the UK.

For those of you who are not that familiar with things...it is basically this (picture is not actually us, although we did look pretty good all on TT bikes with disc wheels)



The idea is that you have a go at the front and block the wind for everyone else and let them rest, then you fall to the back of the group and slowly find yourself on the front again.

Anyway, we had a strong team and we'd be lying if we said we weren't going for the win. The Dynamos had won it the year before so there even more pride at stake.

We eventually set off, having done some practice runs along the road (and almost coming off a couple of times on corners) and quickly got into a good rythym. The roads were winding and undulating and it was pretty hard to remain as organised as we would have liked, i.e. right on the wheel in front - especially with your hands no where near your brakes!

We lost one of the team and decided that we would be best off going along with 3 of us (you only 3 of the 4 to get your time). The whole ride can only be described as brutal....I was not used to the ups and downs of racing like this and occasionally it became very hard when I missed the wheel to draft from.

Still, we eventually finished in 1:18:37 for the 57.3km course. We had managed to average just under 44kph around a course which is by no means flat. For me, it was one of the hardest rides I had ever done.

For our effort, we managed to pick up a pretty old trophy that has some very good names on it from previous years. I only managed to get a quick shot of it though befor e it went off for engraving - hopefully I'll get to have it in the house for part of the year.

25 Miles = 53:17

Last Sunday I had another go at a 25 mile TT...I had done one the week before and, even though I managed to finish second, the wind on the day meant that the times were never going to be that good. I also had the added problem on that day of a very slow puncture which meanth my carbon disc wheel was getting closer to the tarmac all the way to the finish. Anyway, I finished that one in 55:10 and, thanks to some other London Dynamo boys I was able to get 2nd prize and the Team prize for the day.

Last Sunday was on a course which is not really the fastest round this way, albeit, it is not bad. There are a few hills, but there are large sections where you can still get into a good rhythm. It started to rain on the way down as well, not really a good sign, especially as there are about 5 roundabouts to navigate.

8:05 rolled round though and it was time for me to set-off. I felt a lot better this time though and the bike felt good as well. I had lowered the seat a fraction and I reckon this made things a lot more comfortable, especially for someone who pretty much rides right on the front of the thing.



25 miles went past before I knew it though and, if what my watch was telling me was correct, I knew I had done a good time. At 45.5kph, I was hopefuly of just slipping under 53, but alas it was 53:17 on the line - enough for another 2nd place and this also maintains my run of podium finishes this season....as in, every race triathlon or biking race I have finished in the top 3.

Results

Write Up

Eton SuperSprints - 2008

Seems that all the races are coming thick and fast at the moment....I still have two 25 mile TT's for the next two weekends and then it is Windsor Triathlon again. This weekend though, it was time for the Eton SuperSprints which are held at Dorney Lake just outside London. The venue provides an almost perfect setting for racing, with calm water, flat good surfaces and no traffic. However, the popularity of these events (over 2500 people competing over two days at this one) mean that the bike leg can get especially busy.

Anyway, after the result in Lisbon I had pretty much done no training, apart form the odd easy ride whilst in Portugal so felt no where near as prepared as I would normally be for this one. I had probably also piled on a couple of pounds in my post European success, but I figured it was only a short race so hopefully things would be okay. This race was however also set to be the Club Champs race for Thames Turbo...as in the person with the fastest time over the two days would be crowned as the Thames Turbo Sprint Race Champ for the year. Having seen some of the times from Saturday, I knew that I would need to put in a good performance to be able to get close to it this year.

The swim is 400m and before the horn went off, I was pretty sure that I would be able to do a good time, even though I had not been in the water for a week, normally a bad sign. Anyway, the end result was rubbish...getting out in 5:43 was not that great, but at least I was near the leaders going on to the bike. I struggled to find my cord on my suit and this added some valuable seconds on to my T1.

The bike felt good though and I knew that I was lapping at a pretty decent pace, I was just not sure if it was actually going to be fast enough in the end - there had been a load of good times posted on the Saturday so I was mostly just trying to ride and beat those times. In the end, I came in with the second fastest split of the day, which I was pleased with.





When I started the run, my legs were not feeling that great, but as I had done at the Turbo race, I decided to just slowly try and increase my speed. Again, this seemed to work a lot better and by the end, I was putting in some of my fastest km's. The only problem is, they were just not fast enough really. My run time was much further down the leaderboard so I think I need to do some more work on it, especially so that I don't lose so much time at the start of the run leg.





Anyway, my time of 54:42 for the race was enough to give me the 3rd fastest time of the day and the 4th fastest out of the 2500 racers over the weekend. The best bit was that I just managed to get the Club Champ honours as well...by a mere 9 seconds from last year's winner. I won my AG as well and this got me £50 in vouchers...which Paula used.

Thames Turbo - Race 2 - 2008

This is a bit of an old post as this actually happened before the Euros...

On the second Bank Holiday of this year we had the second of the Thames Turbo series of races. Having come second for the last three of these races, I was again disappointed to see that one of the previous winners was on the start sheet....unfortunately a chap who is a fair bit faster than me. So, I was fighting it out for second place and beyond for this one.

The swim was a pretty standard affair and I was pleased (to some extent) to be out the water in about 6 minutes as this means that the 426m is taking me the same time now as it did last year when I was doing about 3 times as much swim training.

Out on the bike we had some perfect conditions for some fast times but I was quickly scuppered when I got caught at the traffic lights for the full 20 seconds. Anyway, the rest of the ride went okay, apart from the fact that the saddle moved a bit and it just was not the same after that as it felt like I was sliding off all the time.






I decided to start the run off slower than normal this time and see if I could then build my pace over the 5k. This definitely seemed to help anyway and as I was soon knocking out some good km's and knew that I was on for a PB on the run, and probably the whole race as well. In the end, I did my first ever sub 19min run (it is 5.2km), not only just either, it was 18:39.

copyright david spencer/us2design 2008

copyright david spencer/us2design 2008

copyright david spencer/us2design 2008

In the end, I managed to just sneak under 56 minutes for the first time in this event, some 40 seconds quicker than my previous best at this race. Only problem is, I now want to get a 54...

European Age Group Triathlon Champs - Lisbon

Last year's 4th place at the Europeans in Copenhagen and the subsequent realisation that I had only lost out on a medal by 20 or so seconds, my main aim was to go back to the Europeans and get myself a medal. This year they took place in Lisbon and the course seemed to be quite well suited to my style of racing. I arrived in Lisbon on the back of a few good results this season, so I knew that I was fit, I just hoped that the distance of the race would not come as too much of a shock - I had only really done some shorter distance stuff this season.

Anyway, my 30-34 age group was much bigger than last year, with over 120 athletes racing, so I knew from the start that I was going to need to push hard, especially against the large contingent of local Portugese athletes who probably had more experience of the course.

When we eventually got underway, I was instantly reminded of how tough the swim starts can be. With 120 athletes all swimming at pretty much the same pace, you can't help but get the odd mouthful of salty water and the odd kick etc. The turns at each of the buoys were also pretty frantic with arms and legs going everywhere. For the last 500m, I managed to find a pack who I could have swam faster than, but I decided to hang in behind them to get the draft and then hopefully save some energy for the bike and run. I was out the water in 20:44 and was pretty pleased with that as I think that I was pretty much in the second pack, albeit, I had lost over 2 minutes to the leaders.







Before I had left the UK, I had done some research on the bike course for this race and I was pleased to have seen that the course was pretty much flat the whole way round. However, having now done the course, I can confirm that is not the case. Yes, a lot of the course is pretty flat, but I never realised that there would be an energy sapping long climb at the turn point for each of the two laps. Going up, I was struggling in a small gear...the upside though was that I was able to come back down the other side doing over 75kph...quite scary on the wet roads. Overall, the course was good and I did enjoy the bike section. I worked damn hard to reel in all of my wave and eventually caught last year's gold medal winner after about 20k. He held on for about 10k and then on the last stretch, I managed to pull away. This now meant that I came back into T2 in the gold medal position, with the fastest bike split for everyone who raced that day, including all the other age groups. (1:06:42 for the 45k course).





The problem, and the lesson that I will never learn, with going all out on the bike is that your legs tend to feel a bit worse for wear when you start the run. This is pretty much the tale of my triathlon career, but, in my defense, it has worked quite well at times. But, in Lisbon, it was pretty bad, probably made worse by the small number of brick sessions that I had done this season. I started off slow, got a bit faster and then slowed back down again to come home in a bit under 39 minutes for the 10k. The eventual winner had come past me at 3k and from then on, it was just a case of trying to hold on and hoping that no one else in my age group came past me. Alas, at the end of the day it all went well and I managed to hold on to second by the skin of my teeth...a mere 4 seconds I think.


















At the time, you are never sure if you have actually done it as there is no one at the finish to confirm where you have come. So, what followed the finish was a long ol wait to see if I had finished where I thought I had. Finally, just before the awards ceremony, I managed to get my hands on a set of results and it was true, I had the silver!