Bristol Half Marathon

A couple of weeks ago, I made my return to Bristol for the half marathon, a race that has now become the 2nd biggest half in the UK with some 16,000 entrants. The last time that I ran this race, I was fit but got injured on the course and ended up coming home a bit later than I had hoped, so I suppose you could say, I had some unfinished business on this course. The course is designed for a good time, especially with the new finish layout that involved going round the centre of Bristol with good crowd support - exactly the time that you need to have some support.

I had decided to make use of the Garmin GPS watch on this occasion and to set up the training partner feature and then try and run with the watch for the whole race. The watch had me set on a 1:20:30 pace, which, if I am totally honest, was extremely optimistic giving my current run fitness. Anyway, the watch and I started out well and we were ahead of schedule for a long time, at 10k we were about 40s up on the scheduled time, but there was no denying that I was starting to fade. Over the next 11k that 40s second advantage slowly eroded, to be honest, it very quickly eroded when my legs were giving up. Before I knew it, I was behind my pacemaker and he was 'virtually' running off into the distance.

At the end of the day, I came across the line (in agony) in 1:22:40 which sounds like a disaster compared to my target time. However, in all honesty, I was actually pretty pleased. I had not exactly done a whole lot of half training and my recent training for the Vitruvian was all just based on being able to run at a steady speed, rather than actually at speed. It is however almost 3 minutes slower than my PB which I set earlier this year....albeit, that race and that course could not have been more perfect on that day.

So, the winter campaign of learning to run again will start soon. The new job is proving to be a complete hindrance at the moment though and I am just not getting into any kind of decent training programme. Things should settle down soon though and I think I should be okay in the end.

Vitruvian - First Middle Distance

Swam well, cycled 35k well, punctured....twice. Gave up.

Thames Turbo Race 4

As with all Bank Holidays, I was yet again involved in another of the Thames Turbo sprint races. This was the last of the 2008 season and I felt confident that all I needed to do was to get round to secure myself a good placing in the overall series.

Things did not start off too well however, I was losing pace on the chap in front of me in the pool and was even eventually caught by the guy behind me. I am pretty sure that I was not swimming that slow on this occasion, it appears that I just happened to get sandwiched between a couple of faster people.

Out on the bike I was fully aware that there was going to be little to no chance of finally going under 30 minutes for the 21k ride. This time we had some roadworks on the course which meant that, on this occasion, we would need to get off our bikes and run around the works - running on a bike leg is not the most conducive to producing fast times. Anyway, today was not to be my day anyway, after about 5k of the ride I was sure that the back tire had totally deflated as I suddenly felt like I was a lot closer to the ground. I thought that the race was over so I slowed down, got off the bike and checked the tire. It was only then that I realised that it was in fact my saddle which had slipped a few inches. I quickly realised that I would still be able to ride, so jumped on and headed back off....I initially assumed I would need to stand for the rest of the ride, but gently returned to the seat and managed to ride the rest of the race in the BMX position with my knees almost touching my elbows on every revolution...not really the best position for riding anyway.

Out on the run I was most keen on just laying the demons of the London Triathlon to rest by actually having a decent run. I knew that I was not going to be super fast as I had done hardly any speed work, what with my first half Ironman this weekend, but I hoped to at least run consistently and faster than I had at London. I ended up feeling good all the way round and I even think that I started to speed up towards the end. In the end, the run time was the second fastest that I have done on that course but my overall time was only enough to secure me 4th place in the race. That was my lowest finishing position this year, but I would like to think that it was not that bad considering the time that I lost on the bike leg. It was enough to secure 2nd place in the Series so that was good.

London Triathlon 2008

I am not going to deny that the London Triathlon was one of the big races on calendar for this year, I had done the best training that I could manage in the time after my crash and I was kind of fit. I was not kidding myself though, I knew that I was not as fit as I could have been. The four weeks off from running had really taken their toll and getting back into the running had been slow and painful. The swimming and cycling were still going well at least, I just hoped that I would be able to blag the run I think.

Anyway, come race day and things got off to a good start. I had decided to move further across the dock at the start to avoid the melee as some 240 people headed off in the sub-230 race and this seemed to pay dividends. There was nowhere near as big commotion as the race kicked off and I quickly settled into my race plan of not starting off too hard, preferring rather to concentrate on quickly getting into a good efficient stroke. This all worked well and on the home straight of the swim I was taking positions back all the way in as the others tired. It actually felt quite good to come up behind swimmers and then just move past as they were not swimming as fast as me. I got out in just under 23 (I think it was a bit long) and was informed by my mum that I was currently in 11th - not bad going for me.

Anyway, a slightly slower transition that I wanted saw me lose a place or two before getting out on the bike, but I was now confident that I would be able to quickly make my way back through the field. This is where the problems started though. As I tried to do up the strap on my shoe, whilst pedalling away, I pulled the strap through it's hole and I was now in a position where I could not do it up. whatever I tried. At this point, I even thought about stopping but in the end decided to make do. Cycling with only one shoe done up is not to be recommended though, it really saps your ability to use the up stroke on the rotation. So, I battled on like this for the rest of the course and ended up in a tussle with someone I I would not normally expect to be with. In the end, we cycled a lot of the course in close contact, but, after last time, I ensured that I could never be construed to be in a drafting position....this does involve using the brakes and freewheeling at times.







You can see the offending strap here....just flapping in the wind!


Still, in from the bike and I was in a decent place to start out on the run. However, for some reason, after the problems on the bike and then, and I still don't know why, as soon as I started the run, I just lost interest in the race altogether. I was not bothered who came past me and decided to pretty much just jog round the rest of the course. I tried occasionally to lift the pace, but the reality was that that I just couldn't be bothered. I am not sure if this was simply a case of not having the run fitness, or what it was really. Anyway, in the end I coasted around the run in a pretty dismal time, some two and a half minutes slower than last year, eventually coming home in just under 2:05 and finishing up 11th.







So, bad day in the office for the London Triathlon. I only have two races left for this season now. One of those is the Thames Turbo Sprint race on the Bank Holiday and then I have the Vitruvian on the first weekend of September. The Vitruvian will be my first visit to the world of middle distance with a 1900m swim, 85k bike and 1/2 mara to round things off. I am planning on just trying to enjoy it as much as possible.

The National Club Relay Championships

Some of you may recall that last year I travelled north to Nottingham for the Club Relay National Champs where the Thames Turbo team that I was in managed to get 4th place. Last weekend, the Thames Turbo masses headed back up north for another go at the relays, which, for those of you who aren't aware, involves a triathlon, but not in the normal sense. Teams are comprised of 4 athletes, which each one having to do all three disciplines. The difference here is that you get to have quite a long rest at various points of the race as all four do the swim in turn, followed by the bike in turn and then the run at the end. In the end, the 500m swim, 15k bike and 5k run takes over 3 hours for everyone to complete.

After last year's performance it was decided that our best chance of getting a medal at these National Champs would be to enter our strongest team in the mixed competition. So, I was in with two very fast ladies and James...who I only just beat in the club's sprint race champs. So, on paper, we had a good team.

It was decided that I would set off on the first swim, the notoriously rough swim (see photo below), and try to get us in a good spot for the next 3 people to carry on. The swim start was pretty frantic with arms and feet all over the place, but after a 200m or so, I was in a good area and could concentrate on trying to get out of the water as quick as possible. Personally, I did not enjoy the swim at all though, I just could not get into a good rhythm and kept on feeling that I was going a lot slower than normal - still, it was only 500m, so I was not gonna be losing that much time for the team.
Once I had swum, I tagged the next person and off they went for their 500m dash..


Once we had all been round, it was time for the last swimmer to tag the first cyclist, in this case me....(You can see me in this shot)

I had figured that we were in about 10th place so we had a lot of work to do on the bike to get us in to contention for this one. By the end of the first lap, I had clawed back a few places and then I kept on going to get some more back. By the time that we had all managed to finish the bike, we had managed to sneak our way all the way up to second place!

Out on the run, things were pretty tough. With a tailwind down one side of the rowing lake and then a stiff headwind coming back for the last 2.5km. My time was not great and I had let the leader get a bit further ahead but I was hopeful that my team mates would be able to pull them back.In the end, it got close, but not close enough - we came second by about 40s to a team from Manchester. We had managed to put a significant amount of time in to the 3rd place team however.

copyright david spencer/us2design 2008

So, at the end of the 3 hours and 19mins of racing, this was my first National Championship medal!




Just for fun, well not fun really, I did the whole thing again for the men's team. The second time round, I am pretty sure that I swam and biked faster, but the run was not that nice the second time round. The men's team did manage to finish 12th, which, considering the standard of the competition, is not that bad. We had been up to 7th spot at one point during the race as well.

All of this was followed by a night out in Nottingham with all the other Turbos. Going to a cheesy club after all that racing is very interesting....my legs were sore and was very grateful for the VIP pass which allowed us access to a quieter area (with seats)....think I am getting old. Don't get me wrong though, I did spend about 20mins in the techno room!

Bananaman Team Triathlon 2008

It doesn't seem that long ago that we were at the Bananaman in 2007 when our Thames Turbo/Sigma Sport team kept the long standing record alive winning the Team Time Trial (TTT). This weekend we went back to defend the record with myself being the only constant in the team that romped home to a 5 minute win last year. If I am honest, I was pretty nervous going into the event this year, I knew that I was riding pretty well, but having only swam about 4k and ran less than 10k in the last month, I knew that this was going to be tough. I had visions of me not being able to maintain a good pace on the run and subsequently watching another team fly by to take the crown.

In the nick of time, we all managed to get our kit all sorted out, well, as organised as we could...this looks a mess...but it seemded to be okay in the end.



I think that I was rushing around all the way to the start, especially after having got to the water without my goggles and having to go back and get them. Anyway, the wind was howling on the day and this made for some interesting swim conditions out on the rowing lake. On the way out, it was more akin to a sea swim with waves coming at you, at least this meant the way back in for the two lap race was a lot nicer. My swim was totally pants though...never got in to it at all and just hoped that I was not making that much of idiot of myself. At the end of lap 1, I was pleased to see one of my team mates, I now knew that I was at least not that far off.



Round the second time and it was time for my favourite section.



The wind on the bike was certainly going to make things interesting. On the way out, we were struggling to hold a good speed and being on the front of the train certainly made life pretty hard. Coming back the other way was loads of fun however, 65kph on a narrow smooth road with the wind behind you.












We were not the first team out on the bikes, but we soon made it clear that we were the fastest team out there. We passed the winning team in style and then went on put a pretty sizeable margin between us and the chasers. This was exactly what I wanted, basically to not get caught up in some running race with another team...I knew my running legs were not what they were and that the run was not going to be much fun.

On the first of the 3 lap run we all knew that this would be the first glimpse we would have of how far ahead we were. I was so pleased when we turned at the far end and ran for quite a while before we saw anyone else - I was quite sure now that we had done enough to be able win.














The run was not much fun, but I made it round. Thanks especially to Guy and Roger for blocking the wind on the way out and then the helpful hand on the back on a few occasions. Also, thanks for not pushing me past the crowds :)

In the end, we won by 5 over 5 minutes again....another good day in the office and back to the podium days at least.

National Team Time Trial Championships

From the moment I realised how bad my injuries were from falling off my bike, I had been worrying about being able to take part in the National Team Time Trial Champs (TTT). I had signed up with two other chaps from London Dynamo, and I desperately did not want to let them down....plus, I was desperate myself to have a crack at this. I had a strong team and we all knew that we're going to go fast....just how fast we ended up going was not quite in my comprehension.

We arrived at our dingy hotel on the dual carriageway and headed straight out on the bikes to give the course the once over. It took about one second to realise that, if the wind stayed like this, we were gonna be going pretty fast on the first stretch. Coming back the other way was not much fun, but overall, the course looked good and not bad for a time trialist, compared the scrapped route which would have been better suited to people who race in road races.

On the day of the race, the rain was beating down and the wind was still just as strong as the day before. So, come 10 we set out on one of the fastest and scariest pieces of cycling that I have ever been involved with. On the downhill sections to the first turn we were topping out at over 70kph and all within a whisker of the wheel in front of you as you desperately need to stay in the drafting zone to maximise your rest while you are not on the front of the steam train. Once we hit the turn point though, everything changed, the uphills seemed to be longer than I remembered and the wind was just making everything pretty grim. If I am honest, there were a couple of points on the uphills where I almost asked the other two to ease off a bit. I just had to keep on reminding myself that this was the Nationals and pain is just part and parcel of what I had signed up for. Thankfully, it was not that long before we turned again and headed back down with the wind behind us. As always, this 'easier' bit seemed to be over in no time and the last slog was always going to be the hardest, what with 10 miles of hard labour into the wind. The legs were now on fire and the number of times I was having to totally bury myself to get back on the wheel was getting too much. Still, the road flattened out a bit with about 5 miles to go, but we were all now totally killing ourselves to get over that line as quick as possible.

Having the finish line in sight was a totally amazing feeling, one last moment of agony and I knew that the pain would stop. We crossed the line, covered in snot and soaked through in a remarkable 52:41 for the 42.5km course. I was just totally amazed, we had managed to average over 48kph for race....we knew we had done a good time but with the calibre of rider racing on the day, we had no clue as to where this would put us amongst the field. When we got to the hall we could see that we were in 3rd place at the time with another 3 teams to go up on the board. I could already see that we had beaten some top competition but some of the best teams were still to come in. In the end, one of them punctured, we beat another and one more came in as the winners. We had been knocked into 4th place...worst of all, this was by a mere 2 seconds and we were only 37 seconds behind the overall winners.



A good day in the office though...the HR graph below shows just how hard the ride was...



Write up is here

Results are here

This does however end my run of podium finishes for the season. But, to be honest, this is the hardest that I have raced all season, so I am not that disappointed really.