Another pb

Another Kingston Phoenix 10 mile tt last night and my third tt pb within a month. I guess that I must be doing something right. 24:49,  so still quite a way from the sub 24 that I want, but I am getting there. The G10/42 course is quite rolling with a couple of the climbs at the end being the points where I have blown-up badly. Last night I felt a lot stronger on the climbs and I was able to maintain the tt position rather than having to get out of the saddle. I did have a problem early-on when I dropped the chain onto the small chainring and couldn't shift back and I had to brake for a car on the last roundabout, so there still might be some free time to take off yet. A pb's always a good thing, whatever.

By chance, a guest rider from another club turned up on an Argon 18 E-80 so I was able to look at it close-up and he even let me have a short spin on it. It was lush. I want one. I want one now.

Piccy from SCCU 50

Almost smiling with 10 miles to go.

A great day for British sport

Because I set a personal best time for a 25 mile time trial at the Bec 25. 1:04:45. Very pleased with that, beating last season's time by 2 minutes. Oh, and apparently some Scottish bloke won a tennis match.

Not often I am number 1

I received an e-mail earlier this week from the organiser of the SCCU 50mile time trial that I took part in a couple of weeks' ago and it turns out that I won the handicap! My prize? A whole £20. I am quite chuffed and I can put this towards my tt bike; it should buy about one eighth of a seat stay. I think this does actually qualify me as a professional athlete. ;-)  Unfortunately the only reason I won it was because when I last did this event I went over 3 miles off course, therefore I was always going to get a significant pb. Oh well, a win's a win.

My first week following Coach Cox's training plan has gone well, except for the swimming, which was laughable. Russell has scheduled me to do one swim session per week for the next month to get me back into it. Arrogantly, I have always thought that because swimming is so technique driven and my technique is pretty good, that I could jus pick it up again, no problem. I was truly rubbish. What technique I have has seeped out of my body over the last 18 months. The set that Russell wrote for me was quite gentle with only 1500m of swimming and with long rest intervals but I felt like I was swimming in soup. My 100m times I can barely think of without breaking into a cold sweat at how far I have fallen. At least there can only be improvement from now on. The only other error on my part was that I had organised a ride with some friends from work on Tuesday when the schedule stated I should be doing turbo intervals, so Tuesday became my longer ride, doing 44 hilly miles while my 'interval' session will be the Bec 25 mile tt tomorrow.

Talking of tts, I am starting the process of getting myself a tt bike. Planet-x had a great offer on their Stealth bike with Sram groupset, but the only problem was it was going to be pretty difficult to get to actually sit on one. I cannot spend a fortune on one and it will be really important that I get a good fit, so I am going to get a bike fit over the summer and then see what frames might suit me (long legs, short body, average height, therefore I seem to fall exactly between most manufcturers small and medium sized frames. Small if I want full on tt mode over short distances, medium if I want something more comfortable. Decisions decisions) The Planet-x does offer great value but if I am honest I would like something a bit rarer and at the moment, one of these is very tempting;

An Argon 18 E80. It's an aluminium frame, with internal cabling, hidden brakes and very aero. There are some good deals on complete bikes and framesets at the moment with a Shimano 105 groupset (I like Shimano) and with a set of Planet-x wheels like this one pictured, I think I would have a pretty fast bike to tt on (if it fits of course). Anyway, I 'll get the fit done and then take it from there.

2 up time trial

A warm and calm evening greeted us on Wednesday for the Phoenix 2 up tt, with me partnering Russell. The two of us are normally within 10-15 seconds of each other when doing a solo 10 so we seemed to be a good match, although we are very different. Russell is a good deal taller and bigger than I am and pushes a much larger gear, while I am more of a spinner. We decided to take turns of about a minute or more, rather than the much quicker turnover usually recommended. The less amount of swinging out into the traffic on the A24 we could do, the better.

I took the first turn and felt a bit guilty as I swung out about a third of the way up the first significant rise on the G42/10 course (no need to thank me Russell). Russell then took a really long turn on the front after that before handing back to me as we approached the turn at Beare Green. A nice rest for me as I tucked into Russ' slipstream, even having to dab the brakes now and again to avoid touching his back wheel. We crossed the line together in a time of 23:42, which is a good 40 seconds or so faster than my solo pb. It felt quite fartlekky, with a really hard effort followed by a good rest, just coasting. All good fun.

Backing myself

Another good week's training with a solid 10 hours in the bag. Cycling is improving well while running continues to be a bit of a struggle, because the cycling's going well I guess. The culmination was yesterday's SCCU 50 mile time trial, which was my first 50 tt in two years. With the windy conditions and a long run in my legs from the day before I took it fairly steady, only really pushing hard over the last 8 miles or so. 2:19:03 plus a couple of minutes going off course was a very solid, if unspectacular result with me being some 6 minutes or so behind Simon. Me on a road bike with clip-ons and him on a full Cervelo P3 tt rig; I'll take that. To be fair, Simon is in the last block of training for the Outlaw and he's been looking quite tired and in need of his taper, so while it was also a pb for him I think that he's got a lot more in the tank when he's rested.

So the news is this. I have gone and got myself a coach. Let's go back a stage or two.

Anyone who has shown the remotest interest in this blog, (Mum, Dad and errrrr..) will have realised from my ramblings that the thing most lacking in what I do is the C word. No, not cake, my life most definitely does not lack cake, but my training does lack consistency. Every week I am out doing something to keep the cake from hitting my middle too hard but with little regard for an overall plan. I do make plans but they are quite short term, usually some race in the next few months where I end up over-cooking it too soon, get injured and  then beat myself up over not reaching a fairly modest target. The cycle then repeats itself.  I know about periodisation, training blocks, specificity, tapering, drills, race simulation etc but I seem unable to put all this different stuff into practise and make it work for me, so the time has come to ask for help.

So what do I hope a coach can do for me? Well I know what he's not going to do and that's turn me into a pro, Kona qualifier or age group winner. My expectations are a good deal more realistic and limited than that. But what I think a coach can do is help to give me some focus and get me enjoying my training, get me trying new things and ultimately progressing towards a better me. Hmm, that sounds pretty deep and very pretentious but it's heartfelt. I seem to operate best when I pick a big target and work towards it. I like targets and I like to work towards a biggie and then nail it, like I did with Ad and Jamie in the DW. Embrunman is a biggie. Running a sub-3 marathon is a biggie. Combining them together seems virtually impossible for me at the moment and so I am waving the white flag and admitting that I need some help to get there.

So I've spent the last month or so looking at coaches who I could use, and again, readers of this blog will not be surprised that I picked Russell Cox. Russell was a regular poster on the TriTalk forum and he was always ready to give constructive advice to those who asked. His website has been a mine of useful information and has given me a lot to think about and when I was training for the Forestman two years ago; it was one of his Ironman schedules that I used as a basis for my training. His blog tends to be remarkably candid, despite him being an Ironman Kona qualifier himself he has not shied away from describing the downs, as well as ups, of his own training. He's also a data and numbers man. I am not. Percieved effort, feel, all that stuff is my modus operandi and therefore a little bit more of a scientific approach could well increase my training efficacy. Ulitimately, I am paying Russell to rustle me up some plans (see what I did there?) and as such I am investing in myself; backing myself to be better and do better while I have the chance. The very fact I am paying for this means that I will put more effort into following the structure that he's laid out for me. If this doesn't work then I probably will only have myself to blame.

Cycling; lots of.

I have had two solid weeks of training, just getting back into the habit of running and cycling. Most of the running has been pretty steady and achy. Yesterday was different; an interval session while waiting for Wheezy Junior to finish a tennis lesson which was a 1 mile warm up followed by 6 x 3 minutes hard. I felt pretty rugged towards the end and was trying to focus more on running tall rather than fast, running from the hips. It was my first interval session since I got injured back in February and it showed. I binned today's steady run in favour of a rest from running but it was a faster than planned commute into work as I got into a race with another commuter. Pathetic I know but after going past him I found him latched onto my wheel so I ended ripping my legs off while he sat up behind me, although he dropped off as soon as we went up a rise about a mile later. The n this evening it was a steady long commute over Boxhill and home. I almost felt the warmth of the sun on my face.

I had a good ride out with Simon on Sunday with another 50 miler taking in a few new roads. I was pleased that I was able to stay with him, most of the time and even got the jump on him on the last bend at the top of Boxhill although he flicked past me within a few wheel lengths while my quads twitched like a bag of rabbits with myxomatosis. Still, some improvement which is all good. I have the SCCU 50 mile tt on Sunday. Unless I have a mechanical I should be guaranteed a pb as the last time I did this event I went 4 miles off course. So I 'd better read the course map a lot more closely between now and Sunday.

Got a plan in the pipeline and I will reveal all next post. No, it's not a new tt bike but hopefully it will have even more benefits than that.

100 miles.....

Well, almost. 98 actually and over 2 rides on Sunday and this evening. Basically the same hilly route taking in Combe Bottom (gyick gsnerk) and Crocknorth with a Boxhill aperitif. Sunday's ride was on smashed legs attempting to dodge the millions of people who were also out at 6.30am. What IS wrong with these people? Happy that I managed to burn a couple of them off my back wheel. Went out on the same loop with a couple of mates from work. It was a lot slower but good fun, good weather and good company. Also managed to burn a couple more off my wheel on the way back home. Something's happening. I seem to be getting competitive again and it feels good.

I have a couple of ideas for blowing a stupid amount of cash on triathlon related nomenclature but I need to tell Mrs W when it's the right time. When she's asleep?

Onwards.

Buying some time

With it being half term I have been able to get out most days for a ride or a run. Running is hard work at the moment as I am carrying a few extra pounds and I just feel generally sluggish but I'm just aiming to get out 3 times per week at the moment. On Thursday I bimbled round Oxshott and Malden Rushett for an hour and by the end I was shuffling with a little more style.

To be fair, I had battered myself to bits the night before at the latest Phoenix 10 mile time trial and I had cycled over to the start and back giving me a solid 35 miles. I was wearing a tt helmet for the first time and that, combined with newly laid tarmac replacing the Somme-esque lumps and bumps that used to be on that section of the A24 gave me a quite respectable 25:13. The most remarkable thing about wearing a tt lid, other than the fact I look a complete twonk, is how hot my ears got. I still need to work on getting more aero on the bike (hard to do on one designed for sportive riding) so maybe as few cockpit tweaks might help me get a few more seconds. I paced it pretty well, feeling good until 7 miles but the penultimate hill at 9 miles always catches me out. I just never seem to hit it right and slowed far too much. Friday saw me head out for another 45 miles with Simon. He was taking it easy as he's got the Outlaw Half IM tomorrow; I was in bits just trying to keep up.

Ultimately, I just need to ride my bike a lot more and drop this weight so with that in mind and the thought of Embrunman I am going to make a concerted effort to start getting my long Sunday ride going again. Tomorrow's a 5.30am start to fit it in. I had forgotten what they were like.

O.M.G.

I've spent the last 6 years or so reading and listening about the exploits of friends and triathlon aquantances racing in far flung destinations. Phil at Ironman Switzerland and New Zealand, Matt going to Kona, Slacko at Ironman Austria and attempting to qualify for Kona; the list goes on. I really enjoy reading about these events and the Tritalk forum is full of tales from guys n' gals heading off to every destination imaginable, usually fairly exotic, warm and fast.  It's now Simon's turn, as in 6 weeks' time he will be taking part in the Alpe D' Huez triathlon. I am very jealous.

It's been an ambition of mine for quite some time to join them and a couple of years ago I was looking at the Norseman as a potential event (still well and truly on my bucket list by the way). However a race like that requires a not inconsiderable amount of spare cash and spare time, two things that have been in short supply in the wheezy household. Until now. :-)

Yes, I could jet off on my own but as this is merely a hobby of mine, leaving the wife and kids at home while I went off and had a holiday and a race on my own would be about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit, so the race or at least the immediate area needs to be family friendly, somewhere where we could all have a good couple of weeks' holiday before or after the event. It also needs to be in the school holidays, which actually rules out quite a few of the European Ironman branded events like Lanza, France etc. But most importantly, the event needs to scare me. I need something that will ensure that I am getting out there, getting the training done. Ultimately that's been my downfall with my triathlon so far this year with the age group qualification from the Dambuster; it just hasn't grabbed me, made me frightened, made me commit. The DW frightens me still, despite three starts, running a sub-3 marathon frightens me and is still tantilisingly out of reach but for whatever reason, the goal of AG qualification has not floated my boat. So, what's out there that would give me a good kick up the backside and get me tri training?

Norseman; Would absolutely LOVE to do this race but a support crew is needed. Another layer of stress and complexity and I don't want Sue to have to do the supporting. One day, but not now.

Ironman Switzerland; Looks fab, heartbreak hill looks immense, big crowds, great venue, sells out in a heartbeat but I would need a third mortgage to race it. With proper training would be a good pb course.

Embrunman. First heard about it properly about a year ago on the IMtalk podcast. OMG. Ironman distance race with a climb of the Col d' Izoard, an absolute monster of an alpine climb on the bike course, regularly seen on LeTour plus quite  a few other lumps en route so it's obviously not a fast course; no pbs here. Now that scares me; it looks genuinely epic. The perfect destination for a family holiday to boot and it's half the price of an mdot race.The clincher is though that Sue thinks it's a pretty good idea too. We are game on.

Words of caution. It's 15 months away. That's a long time. Can I keep motivated and injury free for that long? This race, like the DW, is not the type of event where I could just rock up and bimble my way around  It simply looks too hard and too unforgiving. But bloody hell, I'm looking forward to giving it a go.

Replies.
Hodge; All good mate. :-)

There are worse commutes in the world

Half way up Boxhill with the sun actually shining.

Pearson 150km Sportive

I've had a nice couple of weeks. Work stress has tailed off drastically as well as stuff at home so all of a sudden I have got more time on my hands than I have had in a long time. Early last week Jamie and I met up for another condor paddle which went really well. A paddle up and around the island at Elmbridge a couple of times and back through the Desborough Cut. A solid hour of  K2 paddling which we both walked away from without doing any damage to ourselves. It felt pretty darn good. :-)

Sunday was a bit more challenging. Simon had been given a couple of entries to the Pearson Sportive and asked me along. 150 kilometres of bike miles on some patchy commuting and a couple of 10 mile time trials? Oh go on then. Last time we did a sportive together Simon had basically dragged me round 90 miles while I was slumped over my handlebars trying to keep at least near his back wheel and while I knew that it would be difficult I also knew I was a lot fitter than I was that day.

It didn't start too well. We cycled the 6 miles from Simon's house to the start at the Royal Marsden Hospital, for whom the ride was raising funds for. Unfortunately we didn't make it out of the car park before Simon had a puncture. At least we were able to repair it before our timing chips were dibbed. I then realised I had left my drinks bottle in my car so I ended up stopping at a local co-op to get water and food to last me until the first aid station at halfway. Then 10 minutes later we had our heads down following a group through Banstead and descended a long hill to reach a junction at the bottom which then didn't an arrow to follow. Doh. We had taken a wrong turn so now we had to turn around and climb the hill to retrace our route. Oh well, lesson learnt. Keep a better look out for the arrows at junctions and don't rely on others. About one hour later as we made our way towards East Sussex Simon suffered another puncture, so he replaced it only to find his new tube had a faulty valve. By this time I think he was ready to throw his bike into the nearest hedge as he had now used all his spares and was starting on mine, which were patched up as well. So another 20 minutes while we sorted it. At least it was getting a bit warmer and the roads were good, so we ended up passing people that we had already past 3 or 4 times before.

I felt really very good. I was keeping a pretty good cadence and was able to take turns on the front as we basically 2-upped our way over Ditchling Beacon and into Brighton as it started to try to rain and the temperature dropped. Brighton was the only real downside to this whole event as the route takes the riders into the centre of town and along the beachfront before heading out again towards Devils Dyke. It just meant that we encountered a lot of stop-starting at traffic lights which I think would have been better avoided by missing out the town centre entirely. Nay bother, a quick break at the first aid station where I gorged myself on flapjacks, cakes and bananas before heading north and home.

More 2-upping back home, feeling comfortable but as we approached the second aid station at 75 miles I could feel my legs tightening and my energy levels dipping. I felt briefly better after the quick stop at Rusper but I soon emptied again 5 miles later and from that moment on it was pretty tough. Thank the lord for compact gearing as I just spent the next couple of hours spinning up the rises and freewheeling down the hills. Simon was really strong all day and while I was able to keep up on the flats and do my share on the front as soon as the road kicked up he was gone and would be waiting for me at the top and by the end of the ride he was still looking very fresh.

 As we rolled into the finish we had over 100 miles on the clock and with the extra cycling to and from Simon's house we completed 110 miles. A solid day's riding in anyone's book. I was really pleased with how it went and up to 80 miles was feeling pretty strong so I have to be pleased with that. With a few more miles in the bank maybe I can challenge my 10 and 25 mile tt times after all. I would recommend this event to do. It was well signposted and was a very pretty route and was not too busy, although we crossed paths with at least another 2 sportive events on the day. All in all, a grand day out.

Taking my time

I've been out of a routine for some time, except for wake up, go to work, come back from work, do a bit more work then go to bed. I've done bits here and there but not with any regularity as you can probably tell. I was meant to do the second Phoenix 10 mile tt last night but everything conspired against me, the most important of which was not having a bike. It's gone in for a service and it's turned out that it has needed a pretty major overhaul. I must have put some miles in on it at some point, but not lately.

I am running again, slowly and comfortably. I'm taking my time and ensuring that I do not muck my back up again by sticking to soft ground which is a lot easier now the sun's out and it's not constantly tipping down. The need to run a good marathon is burning brightly so I've entered the Bournemouth Marathon in October. I have 20 odd weeks so it's going to be a gradual build for 4-6 weeks before launching into a marathon schedule to build for a <3.10 marathon.

I just have not been able to get on the river in the last 2 weeks but hopefully over the weekend I can get back in a laance and meet up with the improvers' group at the Royal. Jamie and I are still threatening to go and race a Hasler if we can both get a weekend pass at the same time.