Gotta have goals

December has been a rather slack month. In terms of swim (what's that?), bike and run I have been very much in recovery, doing sessions as and when, with very little in the way of any structure. It's no coincidence that with the major race on the horizon being the DW, that's where my focus has mainly been. The really good news for Adam and I is that there is now a small group of us who are preparing for the DW and who can meet up to go for a paddle. Last Monday was one such paddle with Adam and I being joined by Rob, who is hoping to crew up with someone for the race in 2013. It was a perfect night for a paddle; not cold, beautifully clear and with very little traffic on the river, except for an unusually large amount of geese and swans. Normally my high powered Petzl headtorch and a rather eccentric  high pitched squeal is enough to get them out of the way. As the three of us paddled up to Kingston Bridge in Laances I found myself plunging into a group of Geese, one of which ended up bouncing off the front of the boat. Thankfully, the combined mass of 85kilos or so of boat and paddler didn't seem to do any lasting damage and it honked noisily away into the air. As Adam and Rob chatted I kept on with my 3 stroke pause drill to accentuate the catch and was slowing the stroke down again. On the way back after we had looped around Raven's Ait I was passed by a rowing four; I was completely distracted by them and there followed an almighty clang and the K1 came to a complete standstill instantly. I had run straight into a  floating mooring, but instead of it being a lightweight plastic ball it was a floating metal beer barrel. Oh s##t!! A quick check revealed that the boat didn't have a scratch on it, let alone a hole, but with two collisions in one paddle, it was time to get off the river before I hit something more substantial, like a bridge, pontoon, floating home, fisherman etc. Once January hits though, Ad and I are going to have to start getting some solid miles in the boat. Technique focus is still really important but we will also have to get those two hour paddles in. I will have to build up my tolerance to Ad's sense of humour, extreme flatulence and generally rubbish jokes.

So as I said, December's been slack. I have lost fitness but I have done just enough to make the decline relatively small. More importantly, I feel ready to get back into some good quality training and one of the things that's going to help me with that is the Marathon Talk podcast's, #Jantastic campaign. Basically, you sign up to do a certain number of runs each week (in my case 5) and you accrue points for meeting it and lose them if you don't. There's no prizes to be won, but as I found with the TriTalk's  October of Running Challenge, it's enough to make me take that first step out of the door, which is always the hardest one. This will give me the impetus that I need to start my preparation towards the Edinburgh Marathon in May and a sub 3.10 time. In order to give me a triathlon goal I have entered the Cotswold113 half ironman. Slap bang in the middle of the season it should give me the springboard that I need to work towards an end of season Ironman. My feeling is that if I can get down to sub 5 hours at Cotswold then that will give me the base I need to realistically go sub 11 on a long course. Both big asks, but you've gotta have goals.

Seeing how it should be done

I spent an hour yesterday sorting out my paddles. I was galvanised into action by Adam receiving his shiny new blades a couple of weeks ago and I realised that I had never set my blades up properly. I had been given some basic advice along the lines of  "You should be able to grip the top of the paddle when they are standing up, but make them shorter than that for marathon paddling" and "reduce the feather angle" (from what, to what I wasn't exactly sure) . So, I stripped them down and started to muck about with them. I had always felt that they were rather too short, almost stopping me from getting my hands high enough, particularly the lead hand and I believed that extending them would allow me to ensure that I got my hands placed on the paddle correctly and I ended up extending them by 30mm. In order to help my rotation I increased the feather to 60 degrees as I had them set to a very shallow angle. My paddles had a large plastic locknut which had jammed on very tightly, this being one of the reasons why I had never reset them, so a copious amount of WD40 and a hefty pair of mole grips got it off, to be replaced by a jubilee clip that will now let me adjust them more easily and allow me to break them down for transportation instead of the kids having to climb over them in the car. My Kynysa paddles had a grip on them which I had been told by more than one experienced paddler I should get rid of, so a couple of minutes hacking at them with a stanley knife removed that, then to be followed by the addition of electrical tape on the shaft to show my optimum hand position (then to be covered up with pogees; doh.) At least now I can make some quick changes to them and find out if it will help my technique.

With that in mind, Adam and I went out in a couple of club Laances with Bob and we were joined by Laurence and Lesley who will also be doing the DW next year. It was the first time in the two and a half years that I have been paddling that someone has paddled alongside me and coached me on my technique and it made such a difference getting some simultaneous feedback from Bob. The main point that came of it was that I was leaning forward too much and not getting my torso upright. My lower back was quite tight and interestingly Bob asked me if I had problems with my hamstrings. Yep, they're a mess, so that's something I need to continue to work on. I worked on the catch again, doing the 3 stroke pause drill Bob had shown us on the ergos and I even had a go at a one sided drill to develop the catch further. I was a bit wobbly for that one but if I can master it then it will help me be more attacking during the catch and pull.

My paddles felt a lot better. I just felt like I was gripping the water more and applying more force and impulse to the boat; my hands were higher, although I still tend to cross the centreline, particularly with my right hand.

Adam looked so much better and more confident and we both probably got more out of that one hour of paddling than doing another 20 on our own. Despite it being a very cold night, paddling with others and genuinely feeling that we had made some real progress meant we came off the water happy and quite excited about the next few months training. Bob's being a star and is keen to keep paddling with us which is fantastic and will only help and improve our chances of success.

Ergo Drills

It was raining stairods tonight so Adam and I took the soft option and spent an hour on the ergos. I felt somewhat better than on Wednesday night and seemed to be getting a bit more rotation and generally felt  I was producing more power (all relative for a weedy little runner). I spent most of the second half trying to get my recovery elbow and hand in the correct position ready to 'spear a fish near my feet', as Bob was prompting us to do. I was almost, almost enjoying it at one point.

Adam's focussing on the whole hip rotation thing and like my efforts on Wednesday he was struggling to get one side forward and the other side back and was getting pretty hacked off with it. At least it's something we can work on at home.

Going to spend this week running and we have a paddle planned on Wednesday evening. Then, Christmas.  :-)

Phil - Many thanks for your extremely kind offer, but not at the moment. London to Brighton however......

Best hip forward

On Wednesday night I headed off to the Royal for a coached session on the kayak ergos. For some time, the Captain of the club, Bob, had been in contact to try to arrange a few sessions whereby he could look at Adam's and my technique, and finally I managed to get away in time for a session. Bob is one of those talented swines with broad shoulders and narrow hips who is just a natural and talented paddler (with a lot of hard work thrown in as well, I'm sure). he came second this year in the four day race in a stupidly fast time so I felt pretty confident that he'd be able to iron out a few bumps in my technique. Also in the session were a couple of relative newbies who are planning to do the DW next year and Stephen, the club President.

I had this idea that Bob would take one look at me on the ergo, give me a big thumbs up and congratulate me on the magnificent self-coached style that I had developed. Not for the first time do I find myself typing 'how wrong was I?'

I know about hip rotation and thought that I was pretty good with this; it turns out I'm not. The first thing that we sorted out was the angle of my legs in order to ensure that when pressing against the footbar my leg would almost straighten, but not quite. I had not realised how critical this is to the stroke and my hip rotation. What I was able to do was get one side of my hip back but I was really struggling to get the other side of my hip forwards. It was to frustrate me for the whole hour, with me instead rocking my torso to compensate.

We moved onto the catch and spearing the paddle at the correct angle by my feet. I have always known that my recovery arm has not been doing the right thing, but unfortunately I didn't really know what the right thing was, but it turns out my main wrong-doing is that I was bringing that arm through the stroke too quickly. So Bob got us doing a drill whereby we delayed at this point to get our hands in the correct position before we started the catch. For the whole session I tried to get my hips and recovery arm in the correct position and got increasingly frustrated at my ineptitude; everything felt out of synchronisation. Bob was very patient and was kind enough to say that he felt I had made progress but I am not sure that he believed it. I know I didn't. I went for a run afterwards. That requires very little thinking on my part. :-)

I have a LOT to work on.

Adam and I will be paddling in the Frank Luzmore race in January; a 12.5 mile paddle from Elmbridge down to the Royal at Teddington. I am quietly confident that we will be last.

In other news...
My triathlon season next year is in a state of disarray. My main race for next year was going to be the Outlaw but I did not get an entry in on time. With Christmas fast approaching I had to make the choice of presents for the kids or getting my entry paid. I quite like my family, so the thought of ending up being divorced because we had no money left because I had decided to spend in on 12 hours of fun was not appealling. But what now? To be honest, I have not got a clue. Challenge Henley falls on a bad weekend, and Ironman Wales, while being a race I would really enjoy seems too far away. I even found myself straying onto the Tritalk double Ironman thread for a few minutes (that's your fault Wilson; thankfully, I came to my senses). At the moment, all I want to do is run, paddle and ride my bike to work. When I want to do more, I'll think about it some more.

The winter plan: part 2

I have been jotting down what my winter training is actually going to look like and this is what I have come up with so far.

Running. Following my really enjoyable run at Luton I want to build on that so in a fit of madness I went and entered the Edinburgh Marathon. It falls nicely at the end of May, meaning that I would have had a clear 7 weeks or so to get over the DW. I'm going to run 4 times per week, doing one long run up to 2 hours, a tempo run of about an hour and then whatever recovery or speed sessions I need to do. I don't think that this will be a problem as I am bloody loving running at the moment and I am extremely excited about Edinburgh. I will be aiming to get under 3.10 before having a crack at another marathon in the autumn. My immediate goal is the Tadworth 10 mile race on January 2nd.

Cycling. It's time to turbo. I did my first turbo session of the winter this evening and it was as rubbish as I feared, but thankfully I have all winter to improve my lactate threshold (lucky me!). Two of those per week and a road or mtb ride of about 2-3 hours at the weekend should see me right, plus a lot of commuting.  I've bought myself some mtb shoes and cleats which should arrive from Wiggle any day now (bday pressie from parents-  :-) so I might have to put my money where my mouth is and enter some mtb races. I will be rubbish but I am assured that they are fun. Hmmm.....

Kayaking. Adam and I are paddling again at the Royal and the aim will be 2 paddles per week. Up until Christmas it will be all K1 stuff in Laances. We've done a few already and so far all good, trying to slow down our stroke. We did a stroke counting drill which I nicked from swim training, trying to use as few strokes as possible to get to a distant landmark to try a glide the boat more and get our stroke higher. I have absolutely no idea if that's what we should do but it makes sense to me. It seems that the lads at the MPCC are kindly going to let us have the Mystere again to use for the DW, which we are extremely grateful for. We'll start up again in that proper in January, when we will start to think about the Waterside series. Yes, you read that right; the races that we swore we would never do again. I just think we need an interim goal between now and the DW and while the Watersides are not particularly DW specific, except being on the same course, they will give us something to train for. Also, with our level of ineptitude, completing them in their own right will be a considerable achievement.

GAME. ON.

The Luton Marathon, or....

how I finally learned to pace a long run correctly.   :-)

As this race drew closer and closer my confidence became a thinner and thinner veneer, but in many ways this was a good thing. Rather than me going out with the intention of smashing a big time, London 2008 and the last 7 miles of that run are still very fresh in my mind, so being conservative became all important. Get round in one piece at a low rpe and take whatever time was given to me. 3.30 or under was going to be nice, but not critical on what is generally considered a fairly slow course. I just wanted a positive experience. The day started well, travelling up to Luton with Simon and the thick fog gave way to blue skies and luke warm November sunshine; perfect running weather. A porridge and banana breakfast had been consumed and I had no aches or pains to worry about so I felt that everything was falling into place for a solid run. Simon and I placed ourselves in the 3.30 area and waited for the gun to go.

As soon as we started, Simon was off and ahead. I should state that he's a very good runner but had not done much specific marathon training in the lead up to Luton and there was a small temptation to go with him but right from the start it was important that I ran my own race. Luton is three laps, so while the first is slightly shorter, it meant that doing the maths was pretty easy; 3 laps, doing each lap at about 1.10 would see me home in 3.30. The lap is in three general parts. From the leisure centre at the start it winds out the back across a large playing field before hitting the 3-4 mile hilly section and then finally turning onto the main road which brings you back into the town centre. This bit is quite dull, eventually looping around another large playing field but the hilly country section was actually surprisingly pretty. As we went through the first couple of miles I could just see Simon pulling out ahead, already some 2 minutes up. I settled into a group and encountered the hills for the first time.

If I am honest, they really were not that bad but knowing I would be doing them three times I knocked it right back, conserving myself. I was really focussing on myself and quite simply, if I was breathing hard I was pushing too hard. In spite of this, I found myself passing a few runners who had gone out too hard early on and with only 6 miles or so done looked pretty tired. I came through the first lap and checked my watch to see 65:xx. If I am honest, I was a bit confused. I felt very, very comfortable but yet, hear I was, again going out faster than I had planned. I thought back to 2008 and I remember I was pushing harder than this, so I felt confident that I was on the right effort level and the right pace, but I made a mental note to slow up sooner rather than later if things looked like they were going to turn ugly. As I started the second lap I had a little wave of runners go past me who obviously had finished their warm up and were now going to push on. A wizened old runner went past with a painful yet economic gait, followed by another large bloke who went past me up the big hill. He was breathing hard as he went and I was impressed at the pace he had suddenly found but I felt confident that he probably would not stay away. On an open part of the course I could just see Simon up ahead, probably now some 3-4 minutes up on me and therefore running at around sub 3.10 pace. This was actually the lap where I had to exert the most self control. I was feeling very good and I wanted to start to pick up the pace, but for once I listened to the voice in my head and kept myself in check. If they were that much faster than me then I probably wasn't going to stay with them, and if they were not that much faster then they'll probably come back to me. Time would tell. The wind picked up a bit on the second lap and with the field strung out it was hard to shelter from it, but I found myself gradually pulling in those ahead of me, bit by bit. At 16 miles, towards the back end of the second lap there is a small narrow path that rises and it was here where I first started to feel some aching in my legs; nothing major but it made me keep a lid on it and not get too carried away.

So, I started the third lap and saw that my elapsed time was 2:11, so I had paced it exactly the same as the first. Woop woop me. I still felt really good and now I had another 8.5 miles or so to do and it was really important to me that I ran them well and didn't lose the mental game. Remember, the wall doesn't exist, it's only a badly paced run and I knew that I had paced it right. As the final lap started, I encountered more and more people who had blown up and were walking. Been there; done that; won't do it again. But also, there were other runners who were still running but their pace had slowed drastically, including wizened runner and the big bloke. As I ran around the first recreation ground I caught sight of Simon and I saw that I had almost halved the distance between us in the space of the second lap and I could see that I was catching him with every stride. I caught him at 20 miles as we approached the village of Streakley and the largest hill on the loop. This was where it started to hurt but I was still running at my goal pace whereas everyone else around me seemed to be slowing down and the fact I was overtaking people gave me the encouragement I needed to forget about my legs ('Fooosh my legs' as any Marathon Talk podcast listeners will be aware of) and to keep picking people off. At 24 miles I caught another runner. I had stupidly hit the stop button on my stopwatch at the end of lap 2 instead of the split button so I couldn't work out what sort of time I might be on for, so as he had a Garmin on I asked what finish time we were looking at. He said he thought we would finish in about 3.16. Crikey! While I was running much better than I could possibly have hoped for I really wanted to try to get under 3.15 and so upped my effort level. I felt like I was running quite fast but I had reached that point in a marathon of ever diminishing returns. My arms and legs were going as fast as possible but it didn't seem to be getting me anywhere. I ran into the finishing chute pretty spent and beginning to cramp up and saw 3.18.xx on the clock. Simon held on to finish in 3.23. A great run, on frankly, very little marathon training by him.

So, I am a very happy bunny. I feel that I paced it perfectly. On the day I do not feel I could have gone any faster or better and checking the results I worked out that I overtook 40 runners during laps 2 and 3. I am delighted to have finally laid the marathon ghost of London 2008 and knocked a very healthy 24 minutes from the time I set that day, but I am not satisfied, not by a long chalk. I now know that sub 3 is achievable. 18 minutes is still a lot of time to take off and I envisage that it will take me another 3 or 4 marathons to get there; but get there I will.

Cramping up at the end; ouchy!

I am pooped. I want to sleep most of the time so the next couple of weeks is going to be some rest time, but over the next 6 to 8 weeks I intend to get back into a boat and do some proper all over body conditioning. Running will continue after this week, but very gently along with commuting on the bike and a turbo session once a week. I am basically looking at it as active recovery with a strength and conditioning focus. Then onwards and upwards.

There is no such thing as 'The Wall'.....

.....only a badly paced run.

That will be my mantra tomorrow. :-)

I don't seem to have developed a cold so things are looking pretty good all considered. There has been some additions to the Winter plan which will involve a lot of getting wet. I'll fill you in next time.

See you on the other side....

November's finally arrived

Ad and I were out for a quick paddle and run last night, going out in a couple of Laances from the Royal. It was proper woolly hat and pogee cold, but we had neither. Adam did however have his new shiny paddles, Canoesport 4's. Very nice they are to. Westminster is now a certainty.

The Winter plan

I am on eggshells at the moment as I am definately fighting something off and I am fearful that this could really put the kybosh on my Luton Marathon run. I want it to either break so I stand a chance of getting rid before next weekend or to just magically dissolve away. It is very frustrating but with the run miles that I had put in recently it is not altogether unexpected as I was feeling quite run down and everyone and their mother at work has had a cold. I suppose the only good thing to come from it is that it will be another factor to force me to be conservative in my pace. Every cloud.......

I have finally finished building the mountain bike that I started last month. As expected, Mrs Wheezy blew a gasket when she saw the multitude of ebay and bike shop purchases but she calmed down eventually and my bruises have started to fade. It's a real mongrel of a bike with a mix of old and new equipment and at about £250 not too bad cost wise (best bargain was a set of Shimano SPD pedals for £10 and the frame for £15)  I just enjoyed tinkering and putting my own machine together and I'll be able to upgrade further as time goes by. I took it out for a little spin this afternoon along the bridle path to my parents' house and other than the need to tinker with the front mech, all was good.

My main reason for putting it together was to give me another opportunity to get on a bike over the winter and to get out outside when the weather is bad. I just need to mix my riding up; road, turbo, mtb, commuting. The more I do, the more likely that 5.30-40 IM bike split will be next year. There are quite a few off road duathlons in the winter months so they are the main races that I would like to have a go at as they just look like they've got a high grin factor.Add in a lot of bike commuting, the odd long ride and a paddle or two a week, then that basically constitutes the Winter Plan.

Off. To. Bed.

The magic bullet?

After a couple of really full run weeks I was pretty pooped by the time I got to this weekend. At some time in the weekend I was meant to fit in my last long run before the Luton Marathon, but as the weekend drew nearer I was getting more and more tired, grumpy and rough feeling; I just didn't want to do it. In the meantime Adam and I had arranged a paddle and I also arranged for us to meet Jamie and Jo at Elmbridge. We paddled the Mystere down there and then bimbled around the island. Jamie and Jo looked really good and pulled away from us easily. If they decide to do the DW next year then I'm sure they'll do really well. Adam and I did an hour but Adam was finding his position uncomfortable and we think that it's more of a core strength issue. Between now and Christmas it's just going to be a case of getting out on the water little and often and to hit the swiss ball. We are a lot further ahead when we compare ourselves to last year but we've got a long way to go also. Being mowed down by the Elmbridge club on our way back showed us how much more work we have to do on our technique.

After another busy weekend it got to Sunday night and I couldn't put it off any longer, so headed out for this run. It was a slow start running at 8.10 minute miles for the first 8 miles or so before picking it up to around 7.30 minute miles for the rest of the 18 miles. Two things stand out from this. One, proper hydration with nuun beforehand really helped.Even though I didn't take on any gels I did not bonk at all at the end of the run and I feel that ensuring I was properly hydrated with electrolytes ensured that I finished the run strongly. Two, my hamstrings are in a terrible state; they really began to protest and as I begin the taper over the next three weeks I am going to really focus on stretching and strengthening them as much as I can.

In terms of what pace / time to aim for I feel that 7.45 miles should be suitable, which would give a finish time of around 3.23. If I'm honest, this is slower than I would want but I need to keep my ego in check, finish the run strongly and use the experience to improve next time. Slowly slowly catchy monkey.

Tempo running is fun, but it hurts

Last week was a recovery week in my marathon buildup, with no major long run to have to get through, but I ended up putting more stress on my body and my lower legs in particular, than I intended. The weekend was packed with family and friend stuff, the culmination being a Medieval banquet for a friend's birthday. A flagon of mead is a rubbish pre-run drink. :-/

Anyway, early Saturday morning I had a spare 35 minutes so I went out for a run. It was meant to be a steady run, but as I was under pressure to get it done in time, I went out and smacked it pretty hard. Very hard. I was dying by the time I got back to the car, but I had enjoyed it so ticked it off as a run well done.
The next day, after the effects of the mead had worn off I went for a 20km marathon pace run. Again, I went too fast. I started off steady and built into it, but I kept building and with about 5km's to go I found myself pushing on pretty hard. I was really enjoying it. After the long 20 milers I have been doing recently where I have had to constantly keep myself in check and running at a pace that I don't think is doing me any favours biomechanically, I was enjoying the feeling of just letting myself run at a pace that was testing but I felt I was maintaining relatively comfortably. 19km's in 1hr25mins. :-)

The next morning I paid for my ill-discipline. My lower legs were more tight and sore than they had been for a long time. Stupidly, I didn't listen to my body and have a rest, but I decided to try and run instead, as I'm on holiday and have a bit of free time. Sitting on the sofa watching 'Homes under the hammer' isn't going to take me to a sub 11 IM time next year. So I ran, and then regretted it. My run was barely above a walk and at halfway my painful hobble did become a walk. More walking ensued as I gingerly turned for home. Instead of running on elastic and supple muscles and tendons I looked more like I was trying to sprint on stilts. Douglas Bader would have looked more fluid.

It had a positive effect however. That night I iced, stretched, rolled and heated my muscles into submission and finally ordered myself a new pair of trainers that I had been promising myself for the last week or so and by this morning things were much improved, with an easy 43 minute run, restoring my confidence a little in my own body.

Tomorrow will be some long intervals at marathon pace, so nothing too heroic. The lesson has been learnt. And ten on Friday it will be another long, slow, fat burning run in the hills. I might even get on the turbo.

Hilly running

I was meant to run 20 miles at the weekend but due to a dicky tummy I ended up doing 2 much shorter runs on each day; one a tempo effort for 45 minutes while the other was a slow, one hour plod. By Monday evening I felt a lot better so I left work and set out to do a route the Simon had shown me. My reason for picking it was twofold; firstly, it was a lot more pretty than my usual route, taking in Leatherhead, Fetcham, Bookham, Bocketts Farm, Nork and a few other places, all linked by trail paths. The other reason was that it was a considerably more hilly route than I was used to and I was hoping that this varied terrain would engage other muscles and maybe help to alleviate the battered feeling in my quads that I had during my last long run.

Once again, I started really slowly. Unfortunately, my heart rate monitor was playing silly beggers so I had to go by feel but it was very comfortable. The long climbs and descents were taken really steadily and I felt pretty strong and as I came onto the A24 for the last time at approximately 13 miles I began to push on above marathon pace. The gels at 90 and 120 minutes really helped again and I feel that a couple more in the race will help a lot. I did get tired and I could feel my heart rate increasing considerably but I felt a lot stronger than the last long run. It was hurting at the end, but I think I am starting to win the mental game and I pushed on, focusing on keeping a good leg turnover.

20 miles in 2.44, with a comfortable negative split. Not too bad, but over the next three weeks I am going to have to do some long marathon pace efforts in order to see what pace I should aim for. I'll be looking at doing 13-14 miles at 3.15 pace, take my HR data and see whether it looks sustainable, but at the moment my feeling is to be more conservative when it actually comes to the race. I still have 6 weeks.

So, how do you run long?

This is a question that's beginning to bug me, for the simple reason I am finding it quite hard. Although I have had a cold for 10 days or so I have managed to keep ticking over, either on the bike or doing a fairly low quality run. Before that however, I was running pretty well and was comfortably increasing the mileage, with two 16 mile runs, with negative splits in a shade over 2 hours. All was looking good.

On Sunday evening, I went out for my latest long run in preparation for the Luton Marathon. The plan was broadly similar as to my last long runs pre cold. I intended to run slowly for the first lap and a half of my route (13 miles) and then begin to increase the pace to around marathon effort. I also took along two high 5 gels in order to try them out and I would take them at 90 minutes and 2 hrs in. From the off, I felt uncomfortable, feeling the effects of the tempo run the day before (not ideal long run prep, I know but it had to be done). But, I knew that I would feel better as I warmed up and sure enough after 30 minutes I began feeling looser and settled into the run. 90 minutes came round and it was time to use the gel. I've always used gels in triathlons but never when running. In 2008 when training for the London Marathon I had forgone all use of gels and nutrition and when the wheels spectacularly started to fall off at 18 miles I knew then that looking at improving my nutrition was required. Anyway, I took the gel, grimacing as I knocked it back although it didn't react with my stomach. Over then next hour, two things happened, one good, one bad.

The good was that the two gels kept my energy levels up and I didn't feel the usual bonk that became a familiar feature of my long runs in 2008. The bad was the feeling that my quads had been attacked with hammers. 16 miles I can run and feel relatively fresh but even though I started really slowly, I would describe those last couple of miles as genuinely painful. It wasn't my ITB playing up; it was purely muscular. My leg turnover was good and I felt good aerobically but I was finding it harder and harder to run fluently.

I am hoping that it's a hydration issue; I didn't take any fluids during the run although I was well hydrated beforehand. If it's not, then I'm in trouble.

Hodge - Maybe ;-)

Stalled training

As I came out of the tri season I was looking forward to getting my teeth stuck into some big run miles in the lead up to the Luton Marathon, but unfortunately, injury and illness have put paid to that. The injury came, not during a gnarly tempo run or a blistering swim set, but instead during a rather stupid dance move that no 40 year old should attempt. I woke up the next morning to find an enormous purple bruise running almost 9 inches along the path of my now over-extended hip flexor. It was painful to walk and with a very busy family weekend in store it seemed sensible to take the entire weekend off; the first time that's happened in a very long time. The following week I was able to get on the bike to and from work, doing a few 80 minute rides on the way home along my Boxhill route, but as the week wore on I started to feel more and more lethargic and by Friday I had a full-on cold. Que another weekend off and more vitally, another long run not in the bag. Grrrrrr.......

By this Monday I was feeling a lot better so went for a gentle 30 minute run. I felt great. Then, 20 minutes later, I felt rubbish. Grrrrrr...... Another day off yesterday although I did a gentle and short commute to work and back. I am now almost over my bug and hopefully I will be able to plod for a long slow run on Sunday, hopefully around 18 miles or so.

While all this has been going on Adam did his first half marathon on Sunday, completing the New Forest run. A brilliant effort from Boy Wonder. The other thing that has been keeping me amused has been my decision to build my own mountain bike to do some off road cycling over the winter. The idea was that I would build myself a fleabay special, but so far I have managed to spend a King's ransom. When Mrs Wheezy sees the credit card bill I am going to be in one whole heap of trouble.......

Hilly 12

I needed last week's rest week. I was pooped. During the week I commuted on the bike every day but took it very easy. The long route home from work that I had enjoyed so much when training for the Forestman seemed particularly difficult and I weaved and wheezed my way up Boxhill before descending back home. My long run was cut back to 67 minutes and most of it was laborious, my muscles and joints not enjoying being forced to run so early on a Saturday morning.

On Sunday I did my last time trial of the season. It was an unusual one in that it involved hills rather than the usual blast up and down a dual carriageway. The roads were quite greasy so the first couple of miles that involved a descent down to the bottom of Boxhill were a bit tentative and throw in game birds in the middle of the road and D of E walkers with their heads buried in maps and not where they were going it made for a couple of heart stopping moments. As I climbed Boxhill I got into a pretty good rhythm and started to reel in the 4 competitors ahead of me and by the time I had gone over the top there was only one other rider in front of me on the road. I followed her down the next descent, not wanting to overtake on such a tricky bit of road before pushing on up the last climb. At the top at the finish the usual dry heaves came up (muesli taste; nice) before a slow few hundred metres back to the car park. Being a new course to me it was always going to be a pb, but it was a bit gutting being beaten into second place by 1 second. Next year.

In other news....
Ad and I are trying to get a boat sorted and we have not had much luck, having an offer on a decent looking boat accepted and then turned down. Grrrr.... Ad's Bonkers busy at work at the moment so we have not been out in the last couple of weeks but I had a really nice paddle with Dad on Sunday night, his first paddle in a K2. I always said I would never get back into a Discovery; I was lying. ;-) It was a bit windy but we took it steady and had no major wobbles. All good.

Trying to pace it right.

My summer running campaign came to an end last week and I am delighted how it has invigorated my running. I have started doing some long runs in preparation for the Luton Marathon in November. The last 2 weekends I have gone out and run for 16 miles, but the main difference to my long runs in the past is that I have run to heart rate. The first 9-10 miles I have capped my HR at 140, which is well at the bottom end of zone 2. I find it hard to do this as I find that my run form seems stilted but there's no doubt that it will help me improve my endurance. Over the last 4-5 miles I then allow my HR to drift out to 150-55 which gives me a comfortable negative split. I am intending to try to negative split in the race as I think this will force me to control myself at the start when I am likely to get carried away. The upshot of this was that both runs were at approximately 3.10 pace which is significantly faster than I thought I would achieve. Early days though. let's see how those 20 milers go, eh?

Swimming has hit the rocks, as has cycling, mainly due to the summer holidays. Seven weeks off is great but actually I find it a lot harder to train then, as our family routine is completely thrown up in the air, which of course is fantastic. Now that I am back at work I can start commuting to work on the bike again which was so effective for me in the run up to the Forestman.

Race wise, I have my last TT of the season on Sunday and then the Cabbage Patch 10 in October where ideally I would like to comfortably get under 65 minutes. Let's see...

In other news...

Adam and I are in the process of buying a boat, but I'm not sure whether it's going to happen or not. Fingers crossed we'll have our own K2 to train in the winter.

Accident Prone

I have really been enjoying my running over the last month. I started at the beginning of July with the intention of running everyday until the end of August and not surprisingly, I have not managed that, but, I have averaged over 5 runs per week for the last 6 weeks and more importantly, I have remained injury free and incorporated sessions that I have not been able to do, regularly, for the last 3 to 4 years. I enjoy running fast, interval sessions, fartlek, hill reps and to do these regularly and be able to run again the next day has been a massive boost to my confidence. My recent Bushy park run and my long run a few days ago both indicate that things are progressing in the right direction.

I am treating paddling at the moment as a weekly core session. I have been out in the Blenheim three times now. The first two times were very uncomfortable, with me working really hard to stay the right way up and often, only just doing so. last night Ad and I were out again. It was still very hard work but there was a small but perceptible improvement, which meant that there were fewer support strokes and slightly longer periods of smooth running and gliding of the boat. Once the sun had gone down and my horizon was more difficult to pick out, it became tense, but I am pleased that after a couple of hours that I can see some progress.

Cycling in the past three weeks has been predominantly based in the turbo dungeon doing  one long interval session and one short set a week. I have a couple of short time trials in the pipeline but I am still struggling to get something sorted over the winter to give me something to train for. I am hoping that their might be some winter cyclesportives to enter.

 Some three weeks ago I did a 2 hour ride complete with a one hour TT effort at threshold and just after I finished the effort at the foot of Boxhill, something went into my right eye. I rubbed it, it was sore, but other than a bit of irritation it was fine. On inspection at home, I had a mark on my eye that I took to be a cut, but it was not hurting so I forgot about it. Fast forward 2 weeks and my eye started to weep pretty badly, so I took myself off to my GP, who promptly took one look at it and stated that I still had something in my eye and I needed to go to casualty to have it removed.  :-(  On arrival at A and E the nurse started using terms like "..scraping my eyeball to clean it." Que grown man going weak at the knees and wanting to cry.
"Would you like your wife in here to hold your hand?"
"No, I'll be fine." While my bottom lip quivered.

After applying some anaesthetic eye drops and having a poke around with a cotton swab, with the offending particle still steadfastly refusing to budge, the nurse called over the doctor who then started unwrapping a needle. Oh, bloody hell! As ever, the thought of it was worse than the actuality and the insect body,  which is what it turned out to be, came off quite easily. I thought I might have got a sticker for my bravery. Wheezy junior always does.

Today I did a 3 hour hilly ride with Simon and felt strong throughout. As we entered Leatherhead at  the end of the ride my front wheel slipped from underneath me when it caught the grass verge on a cycle path. I landed heavily on my right hip and elbow and banged up my Ultegra shifter. I was hacked off, annoyed and feeling thoroughly sorry for myself as I pedalled gently into Leatherhead town centre. Literally two minutes after throwing myself on the floor I saw a patient from Headley Court being helped out of a car into a wheelchair, which rather put my very minor scrapes into perspective.

London-Surrey Cycle Classic

A few blurry pics, taken at the roundabout where Reigate Road meets the A24.

The lead group.

The peleton catching fast.

A couple of back markers trying to get back in contact. It was staggering to see how conjested it all got with all the support vehicles. I've seen it on the tv when watching the TdF and Giro in the past, but up close and personal to it, it's quite a shock. Looking forward to next year even more now.

Wheezy 1 - Blenhiem 0

So last night was my first foray with a proper, tippy boat; a very beaten up old Blenhiem that was barely held together with duck tape. I didn't go in, but it was a damn close run thing. My splash support strokes got a lot of practice and I had to concentrate REALLY hard, doing no more than a few minutes before having to stop because I had caught my paddle or over-rotated. After 40 minutes of paddling very slowly up to Sunbury and back I was in a muck sweat, through fear rather than exhaustion. Adam was perfectly happy in the hobby and wanted to go on, but I knew that my luck and skill were about to run out, so we decided to do another 20 minutes in our old Mystere; the first time that we had been in a boat together since getting out the Discovery at Marlow during the DW. No wobbles, no dramas; nice to be back. :-)

In other news...

Kingston Phoenix Club 10 this afternoon and a new pb by 22 seconds, despite it not feeling like it at the time and saw ( I think) the Sky team bimbling along the A24, doing a recce for the Olympic warm up race tomorrow. I'm going to be cycling ver to Leatherhead, do a run and catch the race as it heads towards Boxhill and see if I can catch a picture of Cav etc. Good times.

A bit of paddling in a Stiletto

Adam and I have started the process of getting back into a boat, concentrating on K1 stuff. We have both been paddling a hobby, which after a few wobbles initially, has proved pretty stable. Yesterday, I was invited out in a Stiletto with a dad from the kids' school, Oli, who is a very experienced paddler. He has done the DW himself and when he found out that I had done it in the past, he kindly offered to take me out in a tippier boat. I wasn't looking forward to it; the name 'Stiletto' highlighting the relative instability of this boat (wobble factor 2/3) and I was very confident that I was going to take a swim or two.

It was a very strange experience. Firstly, at no time did I feel unstable; Oli, unfortunately did. I was in the back and Oli being a taller, bigger bloke folded himself up in the front as it was a club boat and I didn't want to break it. The boat was also A LOT lighter than anything that I have paddled in before, being easily lifted in and out the water by us with one hand. As we pushed off Oli started putting support strokes down straight away and sculling the top of the water and a couldn't understand why. I had the benefit of feeling very stable but with Oli in a new position, for him, in the boat and I presume not being able to see me and in the lowest volume part of the boat he was finding it hard to relax. We bimbled round the island for 5 minutes and the situation wasn't improving so I offered to go in the front. A quick boat change to the stiletto Oli had set up for him in the back, a quick seat adjustment for me in the front and we were off again. This time it was better. I was able to just keep stroking away while Oli gradually put down less and less support strokes, although the wind was getting up and did give us a few wobbles to contend with now and again. By the end, we were having a few runs of 5 to 6 minutes where we were really giving it some beans. *big grin*

All good fun, but I need to work on my own stability. The club has a beaten up old Blenheim which I will attempt to master before the water starts getting cold.

Life in the old dog yet.

The last 3 weeks have seen my training numbers fall away somewhat. A fantastic family holiday in Spain, that saw me get out for 4 runs, between 30 and 40 minutes and in the pool every day. No real structured stuff at all, just trying to avoid being de-bagged by wheezy junior. The problem is that my relaxed attitude carried on into the following week as well. However, I kept the #summerrunning campaign going, although I only managed 2 bike sessions. A great 2 hour ride with a 1 hour tt effort in the middle and a bimbling and terribly unstructured turbo set. Grrr.....

Anyway, the culmination of last week was a 5km tt run at the Bushy park run. Since the Forestman I have put together my most consistent run training in a very long time and I wanted to see where I stood despite only a few speed and interval sessions. It was a particularly busy morning with over 700 starters, so I placed myself in the middle and waited for the off. These can be really tricky to pace right, especially if you're not quite sure what your fitness state is, with it being a very fine line between pacing it perfectly or blowing up horribly in the last kilometer, so I decided to start a bit more conservatively and work my way through the field. 

I had a great run. I haven't enjoyed myself like that in a long time, picking people off as I got my heart rate up and those in front started to tail off. I even managed to out-sprint another chap in the last 200 metres; I don't think I've done that since 1988! I was realistically expecting something in the region of 20.30-21.00, so to see 19.06 on my watch brought a very big smile to my face. Still a long way to go but very happy. Even more happy when I found out I had come 24th and second in my age group, something that I really was not expecting.  

While my running plan up to Christmas is nicely in place, I need to look at an event that will get me out on my bike, now that the TT season seems to be drying up. Autumn Cyclesportive? Audax? Not sure what, but I need something. Answers on a postcard please.

A bit of a rambling post.

I have learnt something new over the past week. I need to race more often. It's a simple fact that I spend a lot of time training without having a goal in mind and therefore the training that I do is often unfocussed and lacks direction and this week has been a case in point. While I have a vague idea that I will be probably be doing a late season half and an olympic event, because I haven't actually committed to it my training has suffered and while I have got out the door every day to do something (at least I am being consistent), the sessions have been made up at the last minute with no overall plan. This is something that I need to work on if I am to see the gains that I want to see.

The aim then, is to get me to a point in 12 months time where I can attempt a fast IM race and therefore I have been looking at which event I would like to do. The race I would love to do is Ironman Switzerland and when registration opened I went to have a look. The timing of it is perfect, falling in mid-July; the cost is not. Unfortunately, feeding and clothing my children has to take precedense over my hobby and even I balked at the cost of this event. IM Lanzarote and France are both events that have also caught my eye and they are considered much tougher events than IMCH but they just do not fall at the right time for me. The other race that I'd love to do is the Norseman. Even in the IM world it is completely unique but it is not sub 11 territory (at least, not for me) So, while a large European Ironman race is a dream, at the moment, it seems that it will have to remain just that. One day....

So, an IM next summer? I would think at the moment it will boil down to either The Outlaw or Challenge Henley. But they are both over a year away, so what am I going to do in the meantime? One word; race. In particular, half marathons and marathons in order to build up my run legs and do the Park runs a lot more regularly to gauge speed and fitness. I am going to try to get a VLM place through work again as my main goal over the winter and spring. My other main goal is to figure out a way to get my IM bike split down but I will initially do this by just continuing to be consistent and doing lots of Z1 /2 work over the winter. Core and conditioning work will consist of sitting in a K1, preparing to tackle the DW with Adam again. We had our first paddle last night with Jo; just a gentle pootle about to get the feel for a boat again but my main focus is going to be tri. I intend to be Ad's wingman and not the other way round. ;-)

My summer running campaign is going well. I have missed one day but other than that all is good and I am really excited about getting a road race or two under my belt in the near future.

Summer Running

Back in the saddle last week with a solid 13 hours of training and thankfully, I seem to be pretty much fully recovered from my Forestman exertions. It was finished off with a really enjoyable ride around the Surrey Hills with some of the peeps from Tritalk (thanks, again, for organising it Phil). 75 miles completed with some hard efforts up Coombe and Crocknorth but I was able to get towed most of the way round. ;-)

I had been chatting to Phil during the ride about getting my run legs sorted in preparation for a future IM race. I have almost become scared of running too often, feeling like my legs are made of glass and that I must constantly be vigilant in case I bring on an injury that curtails my training significantly. Once again, I think it's a state of mind that I have allowed myself to develop and I need to have a lot more confidence. The fact is, my 'run' legs have not been injured for well over 6 months, so what's holding me back? Simple answer; me!

Phil had 2 suggestions based on his experience. Firstly, go out and run every day and build up my run volume gradually. The second idea was to enter an ultra marathon!

Well, the first point is one that I am going to attempt and should be well within my grasp. I intend to run every day between now and August 31st which is a total of  53 days from when I started at the weekend. I will run primarily by feel; if I need to run short and slow then I Will do so; if I can do 3 hours, then I will. I also intend to ensure that it's not all one paced and get some speed work going on. Some of my runs will also be brick efforts off the bike, both long and short.

Being a keen listener of the Marathon Talk podcasts I was really interested in the Comrades Ultra marathon and the idea of having a go at one really appeals; I'm not entirely sure that I can get to a state where my legs are bomb proof enough to run for 56 miles from London to Brighton, but my self imposed summer running challenge will at least kick start the process and get me running properly again.

Three days in and all good do far.....

A week in Recovery and beyond

It was a strange week, last week. The preceeding two months had seen me completing more hours of training than ever before and I had seen real gains as a result, particularly in the swim and bike, so to spend a week doing very little in terms of training was hard to do. The Forestman went exactly as I had expected it to but that didn't stop me being a little bit dissapointed with the last 5 hours of it, though. However, what brought me back down to earth was the reaction from friends and family that knew about the race. Gradually, over the week people found out, the word spread and I got more and more attention. I have to say, it was nice. :-)  There would be the usual glazed look as I explained the distances in each event; yes, completed one after the other; no, I didn't stop for a rest; yes, it hurt.

It didn't stop me struggling though. I went into work on monday and I was soooo tired, although not particularly sore. I ate and I ate and I ate some more. And I drank, constantly. I enjoyed that too! I had read a lot about people having post-event blues but other than the 'could do better' feeling, I have not had them at all and I have been itching to get back into some structured training, which has now, thankfully, begun.

But, I do want to do a lot better. I have learnt an awful lot from doing the Forestman and I have been genuinely surprised at the gains I made in a modest amount of time and it's shown me that I believe I can get a pretty fast Ironman knocked out; but talk is cheap. I need to put in the consistent hard work over the next year to achieve that and the last 8 weeks has taught me that it is possible for me to fit that in around work and family life. Not easy, but possible. Simon seems keen to do the Big Woody at the end of the season. I have decided that this is not for me. I am going to keep training, do a couple of Olympics and target an end of season HIM with a view to nailing that sub 5 hour time and then work towards an IM next year. I'd love to go abroad (IM Switzerland would be ideal if finances allow) but if not I would think that next year's Outlaw would be the race of choice.

I have always thought about what would be a perfect IM race for me and in light of the Forestman I have revised what I believe I can achieve. So, here goes;

Swim - Sub 1 Hour (Have done that at the Forestman but would like to get down to 57-58 mins)

Bike - Sub 6 (ideally 5.45). A tough one and if I am honest, I'm not entirely sure how to go about this. The long Forestman rides have really helped my speed endurance but I think I am going to need to keep the volume consistently high and introduce some really high quality sessions. Maybe I need to get out and ride in a faster group to push myself more?

Run. Sub 4 (ideally 3.50) I know I can do this but I have to keep my run volume consistent (3-4 runs per week), stay injury free and have quality sessions in there. I am plodding too much and not running regularly enough. I am considering getting a gait analysis done. It's obvious that I am very weak in certain muscle groups and this is causing me to get injured too often so I need to develop better strength and flexibility.

So basically, that leaves me wanting to complete an Ironman that starts with a 10. Yikes.

The Forestman Triathlon 2011

While I have been competing in triathlons for a number of years now, having a go at an iron distance race had always been a large goal. Lack of consistency in my approach and a smattering of injuries in the last couple of years had prevented me from making the comittment but at the end of last year I made the decision to enter the Forestman, as I knew that if I entered an event then I would usually find my way to the start line somehow. I got sidetracked, again, with Adam and I entering the DW but I looked at it as good core and conditioning and the running I was doing seemed to help, but bike work and swimming was sporadic. Once the DW was out the way, it left me with approximately 8 weeks or so to get into some sort of shape and over those weeks I was comfortably averaging 11-12 hours per week (peaking at 15 hours 3 weeks out). Swimming and cycling suddenly clicked, but at the expense of any proper run volume. As the race approached it was obvious that it was going to be about getting to T2 and then get to the end as best as I could. A target time was out the window; it was just going to be about finishing and learning.

Pre-race

Simon had entered the event with me so we decided to share a tent at Sandy Balls. It's a great venue, but our pitch was sandwiched between a particulary noisy family, a set of bins and the children's playground; not exactly perfect A race preparation. We got the tent up and headed off to lunch and the race briefing where we caught up with a few TT'ers. The briefing given by Richard was thorough and good humoured and after sorting out all the pre-race stuff we racked our bikes and drove the bike route again. At 7pm it was heads down but I didn't drop off until gone 11pm, listening to the family next door arguing as they put the kids to bed. I ended up waking at 2.15am and dozed until the alarm went off at 3.15 and had a breakfast that consisted of a banana, bowl of cereal and a power bar and began sipping on weak energy drink. We got our own back as we noisily packed the tent and got ready to board the shuttle bus for Ellingham Lake.

At Ellingham we had a final check of kit (tyres were still inflated; always a good sign!) and then got the wettie on ready for the off, which was to be slightly delayed due to some mist. A chaplain said a blessing on the lakeside which got the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end and brought a significant lump to my throat and then we waddled into the water, ready to go.

Swim 66.30 (including T1)

It's funny, I just felt so much more comfortable during this swim than any other OW swim that I've done before. In the past I have trained exclusively in the pool and only done the odd OW session to familiarise myself, whereas in the build up to the Forestman I actually trained properly in OW and it showed. I loved every minute of it. My sighting was great, so much so that I and a small group on the first lap seemed to be the only people at the time to do a full lap, with most of the rest of the field cutting off a corner. There was quite a bit of biff at the start but it really didn't bother me this time, the only real problem being leaky goggles due to getting a kick at the end of lap 1, which was easliy sorted. Simon and I started together and about 400 metres in I saw his distictive white goggles next to me; I was not to see him again until T2.

The mist made everything very atmospheric and monchrome and I was reminded me of Robert Capa's Omaha Beach photographs; it's weird how the mind works at times. I had made a conscious decision to find feet as often as possible, but I ensured that I kept my own sighting going and on the second lap I got into a group of 6 and I was right in the middle getting a great tow and we were all swimming straight, which meant I was not constantly worried about being swum over. At the end of the second lap I could see that we were not taking the same line as we had before but the safety guys in the kayaks were not making us change course so I followed on and had a strong last lap. As I was helped up the ramp I checked my watch and saw the numbers change from 59.59 to 1.00. To say I was happy would be an understatement as I was looking at a time of between 70 and 80 minutes. The day had started really well. 

I went into the change tent and realised that there were not any screens to get changed behind and my towel was the size of a small beer mat, so I ended up getting stripped off in the corner while the marshalls tittered behind me. I had trouble getting my cycle jersey on over wet skin but after a bit of thrashing I had it over me, picked up my bike and made it to the mount line.

On the climb at the top of Ornamental Drive

Bike 6.10

For me, the last 8 weeks had been all about the bike and I really wanted to put in a solid bike leg in the race. During HIM races I usually do something around 2.55-3.00 hours, so at IM intensity I was expecting to target something in the region of 6.30-40. It really helped having recce'd the course a few weeks before and the course very much suited me, with fairly rolling terrain. I took the first 25 minutes or so really easily, spinning out of Ellingham and letting my heart rate settle down before I started to take fluids on board. I had my own bottle of PSP and a bottle of nuun which I planned to consume on the first lap before switching to mule bars and water for the second lap and a half and then for the last hour going onto the Infinite energy drink from the aid stations. It turned out that while I was getting the energy on board in solid form, I was not taking enough liquid on, which would come back to bite me eight hours later. For most of the first lap I was with another chap on a full TT set up and we were swapping places but on any climb I would end up going past as he mashed up the hills, which looked quite painful to me. On every climb I would take the opportunity to spin and at no point did I feel that I was pushing too hard.

In the main, the bike was quite a lonely affair; the fast guys were well off the front and I only had a few people go past me. Slacko caught me at the end of the second lap and I could see that he had taken a nasty looking tumble. I asked him about it as he went past but he was travelling so fast that his words were whipped away by the wind. After that, I was on my own.

The third lap got a little tougher due to the wind picking up so I consciously kept in the small chainring for longer periods. I didn't feel that I particularly needed to but I was mindful of the fact I had a long run ahead of me and that I needed to not over exert myself. At Ornamental drive I overtook a couple of guys who had gone past me some 70 miles before and it was obvious that at least one of them had blown up quite badly. The final run-in was really good and I felt that I had paced it well. I saw 6.08 ish on the cycle computer as I turned in Sandy balls. faster than planned but in terms of RPE I felt I had hit it bang on. Woop woop me!

Back into the change tent, with more gsnerking from the lady marshalls as I got naked  (I did warn them and apologise beforehand), before heading out past the finish chute, onto the run. As I headed out I got a shout from Simon who was just coming into T2, some 15 minutes behind.

Run 5.18 (ouch; including T2)
Ok, I am a runner, so I keep telling myself and anyone else that'll listen. despite lack of run training in the last 8 weeks, I geniunely felt that I should be able to muddle my way around a 4.30 marathon; maybe 5 to 5.5hours as the absolute worse case scenario. So after my really pleasing bike and swim, I was suddenly staring down the barrel of a potential 11.45 ish IM debut. Oh, how wrong could I be.

I had a terrible run, in fact, very little running was involved. Now the more experienced triathletes that may be reading this would say, 'You hit the bike too hard and paid for it on the run.' I genuinely don't think that was the case. The two things that made me come unstuck were the heat (but more specifically, not preparing myself for the heat) and not enough run volume in training. I really do not belive that had I been 15 or 30 minutes slower on the bike that it would have prepared me any better for the run. The point is, and it's a very important point that I forgot, is that 26 miles is a really long way and even a run walk strategy can be hard work; factor in the terrain and the run surface involved in this race and it was always going to end in tears.

I got onto the main loop ok, but then it all started to unravel pretty quickly. The slightest rise, let alone hill would see me grinding to a fairly rapid halt. The loop was basically in two parts; a hillier shady bit (which I could run more of) or a flatter, exposed section, which I could not. It was really disconcerting to find myself with my heart rate going through the roof while running along a flat section. Gradually, the walks got longer and the 'runs' got shorter and I was taking longer and longer to get going at each aid station. I would put 2 cups of water over my head, drink a cup and take about half a cup of infinite. Each time I would try to get running again but my stomach was having none of it and I would have to walk out the aid station for 5 minutes or so in order to let things settle down. I could feel myself overheating on the exposed section and longed to be back into the shade to get some respite.

While all this was going on and I was caught up in my own little world of misery there were a few things that were keeping me going. Simon was going great and it was obvious that he was going to pass me and it was great to see him, have a high five and encourage each other. He caught me at exactly half way and proceeded to put another 20 minutes over me; top bombing from the fella. The support at the aid stations and from the spectators was amazing and some really stick out; the Serpie guy with a hooter and the chaps from the Tri club who were marshalling the aid station where you collected your bands at the end of each lap. Top fellas, but there were so many people out there, encouraging, clapping, cheering. It was very humbling to be honest.

The really low point came as I came in to collect my second band. I had two of the three bands which of course seems like a long way into the run and as I came into the aid station I saw the mile marker that said I still had 12 miles to go. I definetley had a bit of a wobbly bottom lip moment, took the band and walked away onto my final lap trying to console myself with the fact that I was now heading towards my blue and final band.

I don't remember too much about the final lap but my one abiding memory from the day is the lady at the middle aid station. I don't know if I am reading more into this than I should be, but I went through that aid station 7 times and I am fairly certain that every single time it was her who handed me my water and infinite and asked if I was ok and I started to get a sense that she was looking out for me, which only now, a few days later, can I truly appreciate.  On the last visit where we turned for home I was bent double as I poured water over my head and she asked if I wanted to sit down in the shade, but I felt that if I did that then that would be me out of the event. I knew I was not feeling great but I also knew I wasn't far from the finish so I politely said no and walked on. The medical cover was excellent and all the marshalls were doing a fabulous job, but if she's reading this then there's a  massive thank youfrom me.

I had started the run with a guy called Tom, we had had a little chat right at the start and all the way through we had been passing each other but as we went into the last 5 km's he pulled out ahead and I saw him walking up the steep hill to the last aid station. I think he ended up finishing some 10 minutes ahead of me, which I guess shows how much further I was slowing down at the time. I finally got onto the road, past the pub, past the pom pom girls (thanks for the jelly baby and sympathy Mrs M) and then into the finish chute. I don't remember what I said to Richard as I crossed the line and shook his hand but again, there wasn't much emotion at the time except just being glad that I could stop putting one foot in front of the other and sit down.

Afterwards.

The next couple of hours were not pretty. Every other finisher around me was tucking heartily into the excellent food that was laid on. I put a single spoonful of rice on a plate which stayed there and ate half an apple, which I promptly brought straight back up. Simon went and got me more water from the med tent and an energy block chewy thing which took me a while to get through and I had a few crisps to try to get some salt back into me. I didn't appreciate how dehydrated I had become and it took me a good 36 hours to rebalance. I had a shower and slowy I bagean to feel better and realise what I had achieved. Simon's wife and kids had come down to watch him finish but they had to get straight back, so we drove back and swapped stories about our race, which was a great way to finish the day. I got home and I drank almost 2 pints of ice cold milk and demolished a quiche. It was, simply, heaven.

So the plan was to finish, which I did. But what now? Well, it's confirmed a couple of things. Firstly, I know that somewhere inside me there is a half decent IM race waiting to be run but it's a case of me stringing everything together and getting everything right at the same time and it comes back to consistency, again. Secondly, I have to get my running legs back and get some long runs in and prepare mentally to do 26 miles at the end of an IM. On reflection, I lost the mental battle to keep running when I could probably have done so. And lastly, the rules of the 7 p's. I need to prepare for the conditions better. I suffered in the heat on Sunday but it need not have been like that, so with some better consideration of clothing, equipment and nutrition then I reckon I can nail one.

A few days to go

Slap bang in the middle of taper time and as usual I'm getting itchy feet. My 'taper madness' has mainly manifested itself in raiding the fridge, although I've tried to keep it to relatively healthy choices (almost). I find I tend to eat too much when I get stressed and the last couple of weeks at work and with family, have added to that; throw an impending Ironman race into the mix and it can start to get ugly. Taper madness also usually entails me heading to the shops for last minute 'essential supplies'. To be fair, I did buy gels and 2 new tubes which are essential. The tri top I bought? Not so much. But you can never have too much lycra, right?

Taper training has been much of the same as the last 8 weeks, keeping the intensity up but cutting back on the volume. At the weekend, Simon and I did our last OW swim at Heron Lake. 3km steady, although I upped the rpe a little over the last 2 laps. It was a comfortable, if unspectacular swim with much better sighting that last time. We did a long ride the day after, although it was only 2.15 hrs. We headed off on the hilly route that took in Effingham, Ranmoor, Cranleigh and Dorking, skipping out Boxhill. I felt strong and was not working hard. I think I probably fell into the trap of letting the ride be a little aimless and therefore didn't enjoy it as much. Both Simon and I had punctures which was annoying, but hopefully that's my visit from the puncture fairy for the week. *fingers crossed* I had a really encouraging run yesterday. A shade under 70 minutes, clipping along, low rpe, no twinges; fantastically boring!

I've had some interesting comments from people as I have gradually let the cat out of the bag about the race. A friend from work came in today from being on maternity leave. 'You've lost weight, in fact you look gaunt.'  There was me thinking I looked rugged and athletic. :-/ Adam was giving me a grilling about what time I thought I would be doing it in. I genuinely don't know. I have purposely not timed myself when doing the OW swims, just ensuring that I get a sense of effort level and stroke rate. I have timed a couple of my long rides but again I have really tried to ignore the cycle computer and disengage myself from the outside, instead trying to focus on within, how I feel, what my effort level's like and how tired I am feeling. I have developed a pretty good sense for that now and I have confidence that I know enough to keep things under control.

The run is a completely different kettle of fish. As I have said before, that would normally be the bit that I would have most confidence in, but this is a long way from anything that I have ever done before. Under 'normal circumstances', I would like to think that I could knock out a 4 hour marathon relatively comfortably, but, having 112 bike miles and 2.4 miles of swimming already in my body is not normal. I think I could be run / walking for anything up to 6 hours or so, although I hope not. During my training runs I have tried to get into the habit of 'micro-chunking'. Looking no more than a few feet ahead and running to that point. Geez, it's boring, but it may be a strategy I can use when it gets tough to try to keep my legs turning over running, as opposed to walking. Talking of turn over, I have also tried to run with a shorter stride but keeping the cadence relatively high. When the wheels fall off, as they will surely do, it'll be a run / walk strategy, trying to ensure that I keep the walk breaks small and manageable. That's the plan; just gotta do the race.

The hard stuff's done.

I didn't get the volume of training in this week that I had planned as more important family and work stuff took priority but I was able to get the most important sessions done this week. A couple of swims and yesterday's at Heron Lake saw me complete 4km and emerge from the water pretty fresh which was a massive confidence boost. Also managed to get my sighting sorted, (except for the bit where I swam into a buoy)Open water swimming, enjoyable? Who'd of thunk it? 

Not as much cycling done as I wanted but Simon and I paired up for a 2up TT on Wednesday. The weather was atrocious with the heavens opening literally as we pushed off. I was really heavy legged at the start again but we managed a long 25, which in the circumstances was pretty good. The only other rides of mote was my 2 long Sunday rides last week and today.  4 of us went out last week and the plan was for me to have a recovery ride of around 50-60 miles. It became, unintentionally,  a 70 mile fartlek ride. Simon had had a long run the day before so he was suffering for most of it, but I felt really good. Another member of the group, John, was a very strong rider but it was really good for me to be pulled along by him and to also take some extended turns on the front and sprint hard up hills. Lots. Of. Fun. Today was my last long ride before the race and we headed off the Ditchling Beacon again. We left early to try to beat the weather and for the first hour it was lovely, but once again, the clouds gathered, the temperature dropped and the light drizzle started. I am feeling really good about the bike at the moment. It's always been my particularly weak discipline but I think that in these long rides I have managed to learn to pace them really well. Once again today, my 92nd mile was as strong as my first and as long as I can do that on race day then I'll be pleased with that.

The worrying thing is my running, my supposedly strongest discipline. Lack of volume has meant that when I have run long, like I did on Monday it was very uncomfortable. I did 1.45 before I had to stop and walk. Once again, my foot began to ache and became painful, forcing me to stop and walk / run the rest of the way home. Having said that, that's what I'm going to do on race day and I can't do much about it now anyway. Which ever way you dice it, it's going to hurt.

Two weeks to go. Time to taper and not eat too much.

Key Sessions

I managed to get my key sessions done this weekend but the extra bits that I had planned were scrapped. On Friday I arrived home from work after taking my now customary long route home via Boxhill, only to arrive and I just felt completely wiped out again. I then spent the next 24 hours with a scratchy throat which I know is usually the first sign that I'm trying to fight something off. I woke the next day feeling lethargic and very tired despite a solid 9 hours sleep, still with itchy eyes and throat, so instead of the 50 miler I had planned I took to the sofa, played with little wheezy and had some down time. By the evening, following an industrial amount of Vitamin C I was feeling a bit better so did  a gentle hour on the turbo just to spin my legs out and then in bed by 9.30.

The next morning was to be the first of my key sessions for the weekend; my first open water swim since the Little Woody, last year. Many triathletes prefer open water training and racing to a pool; I don't. I am not sure what it is, whether it's the cold, the sighting, the wetsuit or the smell of ducks##t, but give me a chlorine pool, a blue line to follow and a load of old ladies in frilly hats clogging the lanes anytime. I went to Heron lake with Simon and the plane was to do a longer swim of around 3 kms. I have to say I actually enjoyed it for a change. The first 20 minutes were not good; it all just felt so alien again and as usual my stroke disintegrated as I thought about all the negatives, but gradually it started to come back. I think the thing that really clicked was achieving a good body rotation which I began to really think about. In the past I have got really tired or weary towards the end of the HIM swims I have done and thinking about it now it's like I was fighting the wetsuit because I was not rolling enough to allow my arm to recover and get a high elbow. As soon as I did this everything just felt....better. On the first two laps Simon and I had been swapping at the front and I got some really good drafting practice on his feet. The third lap was my best. I got my sighting right and my RPE felt pretty low. It was a very encouraging session.

The day after was to be our next key session, a long bike on the Forestman bike course with a run off. Thankfully I woke up feeling pretty good, despite spending 10 hours on my feet after the swim, at London Zoo with my 2 favourite girls. (Useless fact of the day; the collective noun for a group of Otters is a romp).
We found a place to park up near Sandy Balls, where T2 will be on race day, and headed off with a map and directions. The first lap was done at a pretty slow average speed because we had to keep checking our position and we took a couple of wrong turns, so it was really nice to stick the instructions away for lap 2 and just get our heads down. It was a very pretty course with a good mix of technical stuff, long open roads across the plains and on the A35 and pretty wooded roads but it drizzled on us all day and by the end we were quite cold and wet through. The course itself is not hilly at all, with only 2 short, sharp climbs to negotiate and the vast majority of it was spent on the tri-bars. Simon has found long bike rides hard in the past but he was looking much stronger yesterday. Usually, on the rolling hills I have the slight edge while he can climb much better than me when the gradient gets sharper but he's developed a lot more ME so he was pulling at the front really effectively. We were out for 6 hours of which 5hrs 40 was actually moving, the other 20 minutes were spent asking other people (who were also lost) where we thought we were. We ere both very cold and wet when we arrived back so scrapped the run recce in favour of getting back home. With 95 miles on the clock we had done enough.

The really good thing is that I feel relatively fresh today. I had a tinker with my bike position this week and raised my saddle by 3 mm's and it feels like it's made quite a difference. My hamstrings have been very tight and this has been compounded by spending a lot of time in a TT position but by opening my hip angle it's taken quite a lot of pressure off them. I am so pleased that I bought my Euros last year; a long 6 hour ride does not feel long at all.

Trials and Tribulations

After the 100 mile bike at the weekend I spent the early part of the week suffering for it with my body finding it hard to cope with the training stress. In the last 4 weeks I had only had 2 days off and this had rather caught up with me as I was not recovering enough. So I took a rest day on Monday with Tuesday being a bike to work with my longer route taken home, spinning gently up Boxhill to try to flush out my legs ready for a swim set in the evening to determine my critical swim speed. After a steady warm up I did the 400m effort in 6.34 but I had paced it badly, going through 200 in 3.12. After more steady swimming I then did the follow up 200tt and was really struggling, finishing that in 3.24, well down on pace. Putting those numbers into the Swimsmooth calculator that gave a 100m pace of 1.35/100 which I knew wasn't right and after some helpful advice from Tritalk I readjusted it to 1.41, which I know was more likely. Apparently, the CSS maths doesn't work if the 200 is slower than the 200 splits of the 400tt.

The next day I tried a gentle run at lunchtime and I got through it but it was a real struggle and I could tell that I was not firing on all cylinders. Everything ached, my calves were really sore again and I just felt generally beat up. So, the perfect opportunity to go out and batter myself at the Phoenix evening 10 on the G10/42 TT course then? Doh.... I probably should have knocked it on the head but hey, it's only 10 miles. ;-) Within the first 30 seconds I knew it was going to be ugly. As you join the A24 there's a very small rise and normally I can get my head down and pull up it in a relatively large gear (for me) but straight away I found myself snicking down through the gears with my legs burning brightly. uuugh. I actually had a better second half, I presume because I had warmed up a bit but I was not surprised to see a new, slowest time in what were not too bad conditions (27.12).

Last night I got back into the pool and did a 3km swim as;
10x100 as 25 full stroke, 25 finger drag, 25 full stroke, 25 catch up.
10x100 on 2 minutes at css pace (1.39, 40,40,41,40,40,40,40,42,42,) really tough but just about held it together.
1000m straight focusing on body roll and catch.
I felt much better and refreshed and hopefully over my 48 hour dip.

A busy few days are planned. A bike commute home tonight then tomorrow I need to fit in a 50 miler, preferably with a run off. Sunday I'm aiming to get to a lake to do a long swim in the wettie and then on Monday Simon and I are heading off to recce the Forestman bike and run course, so hopefully that will be another 100 miles with a 10 mile or so run off.

Replies
Cheers Hodge. I am very much just looking to get round, learn from the experience and then build on it. My aim is to work towards having a go at another IM next year but I will want to really do it justice and achieve a time. I know what I would like to aim for (not saying publicly though  ;-) but I will need to be consistent , which, unfortunately, is my weakness. Having said that, I've learnt a lot in the last 6 weeks and feel that I CAN do it. Also means that the DW will need a bit of a rethink. I just don't think it's possible to do both well. Oh, and I STILL want to do a sub 5 half IM; that's probably the thing that I will be working on over the rest of the season.