A gentlemen's TT

This week has been a bit of a washout. After returning from my long ride last Sunday I started to feel quite ropey and by the evening I felt so tired that I literally couldn't keep my eyes open at the dinner table so I ended up being in bed by 6 o' clock, thinking that would sort me out. It didn't. I ended up taking two days off work lying on the sofa watching rubbish daytime tv and sleeping. No head cold or sore throat but lots and lots or tiredness and my body fighting something off.

Needless to say nothing happened until yesterday when Simon and I were entered into the Redmond Cycling club's 2 up 'Gentlemen's time trial'. Another quirky event where one of the riders (me) has to be a veteran over 40 and they are towed around by the other rider. It meant that for 15 miles all I had to do was keep in Simon's slipstream and enjoy the ride, as much as I could with all the water being thrown up at me from his back wheel. Still, I had by far the better ride while Simon turned himself inside out while all I had to do was dab the brakes now and again to ensure I didn't clatter into him. I had elected not to use my tri bars on the Van Nic as I didn't think I would need them for drafting behind Simon and it was only after the event that I realised that this was probably my last tt on it. An Argon with my name on it is currently being built. :-)

I still don't feel right. I have just been to do an hour's swim and managed 40 ponderous minutes before calling it quits. The very gentle 20 minute run went much better with my Achilles not self destructing. I'm still doing my exercises and stretching on it and it feels quite strong, but then 20 minutes is hardly a marathon. I really want to get back running soon.

Watching an Ironman

A pretty standard week except for one notable exception. Two swims! Yes, I said TWO swims! Two slow and achy swims, but two swims nonetheless. The first was at Kingfisher Tri, with me using flippers for the first time in a long time and trying to perfect a drill called the 'broken arrow'. Apparently it helps with a high elbow in the recovery phase of the stroke. By the end of the session I had just about got it but the first half an hour saw me completely cocking it up with lots of over rotation and trying to breathe in while my face was underwater. The second swim was a Coach Cox set with 2x500 and 4x250 as the main set. The 500s were ok but I rapidly went downhill during the 250s mainly due to both feet cramping up. I could barely get out the pool at the end and cramped up again as I made my way to the shower. I don't think there can be a sight as unattractive sight in the world as a middle age man in budgie smugglers hobbling round the outside of a pool while almost every muscle in his legs refuses to work.

Last night I was watching the Ironman World Championships from Kona. I watched the swim and most of the bike before going to bed dreaming of trip to the Big Island, only to wake up eight hours later with it tipping down in greyand overcast Surrey. Simon and I had another steady three hour ride a la last week, taking it easy and having a chin wag. The only real effort was on the second half of Boxhill when a whipper snapper went past us. Anyway I got my head down and pushed on with him hanging onto my back wheel. I beat him to the top. He had a beard so I couldn't let him get ahead.

Sunday ride

A gorgeous morning today taking in the lanes around Newdigate, Betchworth and Dorking, finishing with a spin up Whitedown.

Idling over

Long time no blog. Sorry. Training has had to take a necessary back seat over the last month. I won't bore you with why but I have had the kind of month where I wish that I had the talent and time to be a pro athlete instead of my actual day job, which most of the time I love but has given me a fair few headaches.

The main casualty has been swimming which had started to click recently but as I can only get along to the pool in the evenings I just have not been able to get the sessions ticked off. Of the three disciplines this is the one that requires most planning and organisation to get to and the slightest spanner in the works tends to end up with me missing my session.

Running. I am actually running again which is a good thing. Only 40 minutes at the moment and it's only a controlled shuffle but it is a start. Once again, I seem to be getting back to running Again just as the race that I was going to work up to comes into view. The Bournemouth Marathon is next week and I withdrew a couple of weeks ago when walking downstairs was proving achy. I think I would like to work up to running a couple of half marathons over the winter which should give me a good balance of stamina and speed and get down to sub 1:25.

Cycling has been in tickover with quite a bit of commuting to and from work forming the bulk of my work. I have been getting back into Strava and enjoyed hitting some of the segments hard and the work that I have put in over the last six months has seen me achieve some top 10 positions in some quite big segments. It's a nice vindication of the work that I have put in and while it doesn't count for anything it's nice to see a little gold cup next to my name.

I have been paddling taking some kids on their BCU 1 star award and as a result I have paddled a tor for the first time. I even stayed upright and yesterday we took some tubs out and did some weir
shoots. A big wobble on the last drop but I just about kept it the right way up. It's the Liffey Descent today so maybe I need to give that a go in a year or two. ;-)
So things are in bit of transition at the moment as I head towards the off season.

Bonk and Honk

So it was the Hilly 12 yesterday, a quirky time trial that takes in a climb over Boxhill and tot Hill at the back with a few fast and bumpy descents. Neither Simon or Stuart were able to do this so I knew I was in with a chance of a club win and I was sent off as the scratch rider in the handicap as a result. I used it as a training session by spinning over to the start for 50 minutes or so. The day before had been Little Wheezy's eighth birthday so I had spent all day on Saturday eating rubbish and I tried to compensate by having a bowl of cereal and some High5 energy drink as I made my way over. Despite the poor preparation I felt good and confident of a fast ride. From the start it's a fast, narrow and bumpy descent down Lodgebottom Road which has a high grin factor and I enjoyed overtaking a load of cyclists as I barrelled down the hill. It was a double left turn to begin the climb up the zig zag of Boxhill and straight away I didn't feel right, not having the power in my legs that I had felt the week before when training with Simon. I got into a rhythm, again overtaking quite a few people up the climb, although no one in the tt. I always hate the bit from the cafe at the top with its false flat before the descent down Headley so I worked hard across there knowing the descent was only a couple of minutes away, as my legs started to feel more and more weak. The descent was fast and fun and I hoped it would allow me to recover for the final climb up Mill Way. I had ridden it just 45 minutes before, spinning up easily but this was completely different. I was now well and truly into bonk territory with my legs completely spent and I felt truly awful over the last mile. Another unique part of this event is that the very end climb called Tot Hill is timed independently to find the club hill climb champion. As I hit the bottom I gave it everything I had but that was not very much to be honest. I wobbled over the line and felt my stomach begin to revolt and I ended up dumping my bike in the middle of the road while I puked into the bushes. I can confirm that High5 tastes EXACTlY the same coming back up as it does going down. The upshot of all this? Well, I won the Hilly 12 (beaten by most of the Kingston Wheelers but they're a different breed) and won the Phoenix hill climb by 2 seconds. And I've learnt that scotch eggs, mini Cornish pasties and pickled onions should never be used for race prep fuelling.

Feeling good.

I was meant to head out on a 3 hour ride on Sunday but I just felt absolutely wiped out with too many late nights catching up with me and with the rain teeming down I decided to take another day off. I was so glad I did as Coach Cox had scheduled in an optional long ride on the Bank Holiday Monday instead, so with an early start to meet Simon and James, a clubmate of his, I got an early night and felt a lot better for it. We did our lumpy 3 hour ride with the only deviation seeing us heading out to Newlands Corner to do that climb which I have not done in a while. We 3-upped down the main road before heading left and up to Newlands. This was the first time in over two years that I was able to stick with Simon and go past him on a hill which is indicative ( I hope) of how my fitness and ME has improved over the last couple of months. I was really pleased with how I was going and I felt even better on the ascent of Coombe Bottom with it's nasty last 30 metres. Boxhill was even better. I was not pushing it particularly but just kept a really solid cadence and big-ringed it up the hill, passing dozens of other riders as I went, with Simon glued to my back wheel. It felt really, really good. At the top James had to leave us so Simon and I did a recce of the Hilly 12 time trial which I'll be riding next week. Can't wait.

Final 10 of the year

You would think that being a teacher and on holiday that I would have a lot of time for training, but it just never seems to work out that way with something continually cropping up and my days often having no real structure like normal. Usually my commute ride home via Boxhill is a solid 60 to 90 minute session that I can tick off but finding that time during a holiday day seems difficult. That said, it's about spending a lot of decent time with my children so if I am more lax with my training at this time then I cannot say that I mind. I suppose on top of that my latest injury to my achilles has stopped me running completely and that's always the discipline that is most easy for the time crunched triathlete to train in. No faffing about with kit or getting to a pool; just stick on your pumps and get out the door and 40 minutes later you're done.

Saturday afternoon was the last 10 of the year where I was hoping to maybe duck under 24 minutes but with a strong 25-30mph gusting southerly it was never going to happen. Again, a major mojo dip as I spun over to the start. I don't know what it is but I just don't get up for it when I am warming up. It's not until I have a number on my back that I seem to mentally switch and get my race face on. Anyway, 25:00 which in the conditions I was pleased with, even though I was beaten by Russ, my two-up partner by 1 measly second.  

Coach Cox had been prescribing me one swim session per week but I have been going back to Kingfisher Tri to get a second swim in per week. With no running happening at the moment and my Achilles injury being unlikely to let me to for the foreseeable future it seems that I need to be burning the calories elsewhere. All my swimming equipment has decided to give up the ghost so a mammoth wiggle order has been put in for a winter of pool work.

So my racing schedule for the next month or so is my last three time trials of the season; two 25s and the hilly 12.

August 15th!!

This is Embrunman race day.

One year to go.

Ironman UK

So while I was away on holiday, the Ironman UK race was taking part in sunny Bolton. It's an event that usually attracts a lot of the Tritalk crowd and in particular I wanted to try to follow Lee's progress during the race. Unfortunately it was not to be with my phone conking out as soon as we arrived and due to a technical hitch, no way of charging it until the following Wednesday. I spent most of that Sunday, mentally ticking off where Lee should have probably go to on the course and hoping that his race was progressing as planned. It turns out that it had and then some.


I had been following Lee's progress on his blog for a couple of years and I  had given him some of my thoughts on how to go about it but I have to say that his approach was far superior to my rather haphazard approach to the Forestman and his dedication to his 30 week plan really paid dividends. I had told him that if he beat my Forestman time then I would double my sponsorship for his charity and needless to say that is precisely what I will now have to do. Can't say that I mind. :-)

Lee's written a great blog about his race here.

Another IMUK blog comes from another member of the Tritalk community, Dave Rowe. Again, it's a wonderful read, even though he is a pirate. ;-) It's encouraging to read about a couple of Ironman athletes where the wheels don't fall off and it proves that with the correct training, pacing and nutrition that it can be done.

In other news..

Yep, mullered my Achilles. I did a lot of stretching yesterday and tried a gentle run as it didn't feel too bad but I only managed 5 minutes before turning round and coming home . Thanks to Phil to pointing me in the direction of the Alfredson protocol which will become a focus over the next few weeks in place of running while I continue to bike and swim.

Onwards

Holibobs

Last week was a much needed family holiday to Cornwall. I was in two minds about how much training I was going to try to squeeze in and the decision was eventually made for me with my right Achilles reacting badly to a gentle run just before going.  So the plan of putting in a few runs along sun drenched Cornish beaches were scuppered as was the idea of taking my wettie and doing a few open water kilometres when the bottom literally fell out of my wetsuit. I found the most enormous tear in it and it was time to pension it off. So I had a whole week off doing nothing except a few stretches, lots of frisbee throwing and some endurance pastie eating. Pretty good.

The Achilles continues to be problematic. I had a very comfortable and gentle 30 minutes' running yesterday and felt great but it was a different story when I woke up this morning as it was stupidly tight and tender. More stretching and then a hour's ride before breakfast; it was good to be back on the bike again. I have my last 10 mile tt on Saturday and then a couple of 25 tts which I would like to round off the season with a pb if possible before I get down to some hard work over the winter. TheBournemouth  Marathon looks doubtful unless I can shake this injury off soon.

In the words of Nenah Cherry.....

7 seconds away.

It was another evening 10 last night and once again, as I set out on the ride over to the start on the other side of Dorking, my heart was not really in it. A strong evening wind was going to make slow times likely, but just like last time as I pedalled over the temperature dropped slightly and so did the strength of the wind And my mojo picked up. There's nothing quite like pining a number on your back to make you increase your work rate. I was hoping to take a few more seconds off my current pb set 2 weeks ago and I set out harder than last time, intending to commit much earlier to a faster pace. At the turn around I was working hard but still felt in control except for the copious amounts of snot and mucus pouring out of my head. I had a few guys to chase in front and used them to focus on, over the last couple of miles.

It turns out it must have been a pretty fast night as I recorded a time of of 24:07, a pb of over 40 seconds!kaboooom. It seems that the hard work I have been putting in on the bike over the last 3 months is really starting to pay off and a sub 24 time is now well within my reach, although there is only 1 club 10 left to do it. I might have to enter a few more and try to find a faster course.

A fly in the ointment has been I have pulled my lower right calf. An easy 45 minute run on Tuesday became a 15 minute achy shuffle and a  15 minute walk. No major damage done but once again I have neglected my strength, core and stretching work and this is the result. Hopefully I can do a very gentle run tomorrow and another swim tonight. Onwards.

School's out

I have spent the last week sitting on the sofa, drinking coffee, watching Le Tour, doing a bit of diy and doing a bit of training. And the sun has been shining while all that's been going on, so at the moment it's all pretty good.

Monday was a scheduled rest day but I had already arranged to go for a ride with Lee as he was doing one of his last long rides before IMUK and he fancied seeing the Surrey lanes and climbing Boxhill. Coach Cox was ok with that, so Monday was a lumpy 91 miles in 6 hours. Lee had the disadvantage of having done his last long 3 hour run the day before, so the heat and the hills began to take their toll on him towards the end, but he looked really strong for most of the day and I'm sure that he'll have a great time in three weeks. I have to say that I felt pretty good too even though I had done the Kingston to Worthing time trial the day before, a 45 mile point to point race and apprently the only one on its kind left. It's pretty much a blat down the A24 which is an honest, rolling course. I was last man off and had a good ride and worked my way through most of the field in front of me. The only fly in the ointment was losing my bearings in the last 2 miles.

On Worthing Pier

I thought that I had gone off when in fact I had not and another club member, Jake went past as I was stopped checking my position. My delay cost me second place overall and I was once again, just over 2 minutes behind Simon although I was pleased to be one of three riders to duck under 2 hours. Overall, very pleased. We ended up having a picnic on the beach with the kids who had come down too and went onto the pier to play the penny arcades. Lots of fun.

Running's still hard and achy. Russell has got me doing some longer intervals at the moment and a weekly long run. I don't know if the heat's having more effect than I had realised but it's just not fluid yet and feels quite laboured.  Swimming is still a bit of comedy splashing about and trying to remember to count the correct number of lengths which I am finding quite hard to do at the moment. One of the problems of a mamil I guess. :-/ Tomorrow I am attempting a couple of laps of Heron lake with Simon before he heads off to do the Alpe d' Huez Triathlon next week. If I can do a lap without being dragged out by the safety boat then I'll be doing well.

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.