IronEtape

That's a wrap

2011-10-27T22:28:00.000+01:00

It's been over 8 months since my last post! I've been logging my training and "micro-blogging" over on Dailymile instead. However, rather than leave the blog dangling mid-season I wanted to make a final post now that the season has come to a close. Back in January, I laid out my main goals for the season, which I have briefly reviewed below therefore.

Fred Whitton Challenge
This was an important early season sportive for me as I'd turned up last year with a knee injury that forced me to withdraw half way through. This year I arrived at the start line uninjured but also undercooked training-wise. We were also blessed with what many described as the worst conditions they'd ever had for the race. Torrential rain, strong winds, freezing cold and hailstones accompanied us at various points around the gruelling course. Despite this, I was actually feeling quite good and was still just about in one piece after negotiating Kirkstone, Honister, Newlands and Whinlatter passes.

It was the following section that I found to be perhaps the most gruelling, which was surprising as there are no major climbs and it is easy to dismiss when looking at the race profile. However, a series of ups and downs and a relentless wind coming from the coast really sapped the energy and I was very pleased to arrive at the 2nd and final feed stop. The biggest challenge was still to come however with the double whammy of Hardknott and Wrynose passes. You can feel the tension in the air as you approach this section, everyone seems lost in their own world mentally preparing and trying to ignore the imposing sight of the impossibly steep road ahead.

My legs had all but gone so I wasn't holding out much hope of making the climb. I began the first exceptionally steep section grinding out a ridiculously low cadence in my bottom 34x28 gear and surprisingly found myself in the middle section where it flattens just a little. On reaching the final few 33% slopes however my hamstrings gave up and began cramping. I was forced to stop and managed to get off the bike before the full-on cramp appeared. However, soon after remounting it went again and this time I wasn't so lucky and found myself strewn across the road with the bike still attached. Not quite the glorious ascent I'd pictured! Eventually, I managed to get on my way and hobbled home for a time of 8hr 18 mins. Very pleased to complete the ride and take care of unfinished business. I know on a better day I could go under the covered 8 hour mark however. Maybe, I'll return for another crack of the whip at some point.

La Marmotte
A few more training months in the bag and we were on our way to the Alps for a stay in Bourg D'Oisans. What fantastic cycling country this is. I really enjoyed my rides (and runs) here and particularly the event itself. 8000 riders lined up and I managed to be literally the last one to start. Wrapping up in the cold of the morning, I'd forgotten all about putting sunscreen on and so I was frantically trying (and failing) to rectify the situation before starting. In the end I accepted my fate and set off for ~10 hours in the blazing sunshine!

There are 4 big Cols in this ride and the first Col du Glandon gets less attention but is actually longer and harder than some of the others. I settled in to a steady rhythm and took in the scenery, The legs were feeling good and my confidence grew. Following the Glandon there's a lengthy section on less inspiring roads to reach the Telegraphe. This is probably the easiest climb on the ride and I felt awesome. I sat up tall, tapped out a good rhythm and overtook hundreds and hundreds of riders - one advantage of starting late!

Next up came the beautiful and imposing sight of the Galibier. Things were about to get serious. This is a tough climb, particularly coming straight after the Telegraph. It's amazing to look at the snake of riders below as you make your way to the top and realise just how far you have climbed. Towards the top of this climb was the first time I started to struggle to maintain a comfortable cadence and found myself looking for another gear. Glances down at my chainring confirmed I really was in bottom gear so I continued grinding to the top and grabbed a drink amongst the snow capped peaks.

The descent from the Galibier was initially technical like that from the Glandon, which involved lots of tight gripping on the brakes. However, then the roads opened up and the remainder of the descent back to Bourg D'Oisans was awesome. It was possible for the first time to really let go, build up some speed and fly down the mountain - a great feeling. The dark tunnels that I'd worried about were OK so long as you remembered to drop your sunglasses before entering them. Before long I was back in Bourg - just 21 hairpins to go.

The first few hairpins of Alpe D'Huex are the steepest but nothing too bad if you haven't cashed in all your chips earlier in the ride. I was pleased that my legs were still in reasonable shape and I was making good steady progress following the strategy of taking a drink and backing of slightly at each turn. I was again doing a fair amount of overtaking. It was great to be on this climb and I enjoyed ticking the turns off one by one. It wasn't long before I saw Em, my Sister and Brother-in-law up ahead. They'd be sat out ages clapping thousands of riders on their way passed. They were no doubt relieved to finally see me and gave me a good boost as I headed to the summit for a time of 10hrs 8mins and a Silver medal. Awesome ride, great event and highly recommended.

Ironman Distance Triathlon - The Outlaw
I was unsure at the start of the year whether it was realistic to do an Ironman this year given the arrival of a baby daughter in December. However, with her quickly learning to sleep for most of the night I came to the conclusion that a late season event would be possible. I was undecided between Challenge Henley and Ironman Wales in September but delayed the decision so long that life took over and work and family events were arranged on both of those dates. My only option therefore became a return to the Outlaw, 3 weeks after La Marmotte.

I entered very late in the day but was feeling confident about my swimming and cycling. My running however was seriously undercooked as I'd be planning to build the run volume after La Marmotte. I took the start line therefore feeling a bit of a fraud. I hadn't committed to and executed a training plan but rather felt like I was winging it. I think this taught me a few lessons about why I do these kind of events. It's not about just turning up and getting around but , to use the standard cliche, it really is about the journey. It's about the lifestyle changes, the self-discipline and commitment that's required throughout the year to allow you to take to the start. Race day is a celebration of these achievements. I felt like I turned up to the celebration without doing the work to merit it.

My family were out in force again with T-shirts tailor made by my Sister so I was determined to put these thoughts to one side and execute as good a race as I could. My performance in the 3 disciplines pretty much correlated with my relative preparation. My swim was a few minutes down on last year (but so was everyone elses). My bike was by far my strongest discipline and I shuffled through the run. Surprisingly, my time was only a few seconds slower than last year at 11hrs 54 mins. With more running miles in the bag however I'm pretty sure I could have gone a fair bit quicker.

Beachy Head Marathon
My final big event of the year was this cracking trail marathon in the South Downs. Em had entered this as here come back marathon following pregnancy (!) and entered me along with her. I, in turn, had bought my mate Bob an entry for his 40th birthday to return the favour for his present to me! Em had since decided to only do half of the course but I was committed despite a less than ideal build up during which a foot injury had robbed me off several key training sessions.

This course is both beautiful and very challenging with over 1000m of climbing., which starts immediately with a very steep climb on to the downs from Eastbourne. I'd learned from other trail runs earlier in the season that power walking steep hills is a better option than trying to run them. Power walking allows you to stay in zone so that you can take full advantage of the runnable sections in between steep climbs. My plan therefore was to walk the steepest sections and run at a steady pace otherwise. It felt a bit strange walking within the first minute but I think it was the right approach.

We were fortunate to have a bright, sunny day for the event and I took in the scenery, smiled and thanked marshals and supporters and tried to enjoy the event as much as possible. No pressure. (I wouldn't have said the same thing if Bob was in front of me ;)). The course was pretty much up and down throughout and some of the downs were harder on the legs and knees than the ups. Things held together reasonably well however and to the sound of bagpipes I was soon heading towards Cuckmere Haven and the start of the dreaded Seven Sisters. These are a series of seven very steep hills over the coastline back to Beachy Head. I've run bits of this coastline a few times before but this is the first time the wind was westerly, making for a stiff headwind. Ah well, all adds to the challenge.

The walk/run approach was again engaged and I made slow if steady progress towards the finish line. Even when suffering I couldn't help but be struck by the beauty of this coastline - it really is stunning. I finally crossed the finish line in 4hr 13mins, a time I was pretty pleased with given the severity of the course.

All in all, it's been an enjoyable and rewarding season. There's so many more events that are on my wishlist so I hope I have many more seasons to come.

Hell of the Ashdown 2011

2011-02-28T22:24:00.003Z

Before I start rambling, if you've found your way here looking for the results they can be found on the official web-site. I've also put a spreadsheet here if you want to obsess about your time and position at each of the checkpoints.

This was my second time at this tough early season sportive. Following 2 years of treacherous conditions the organisers had decided to delay the event from late January to late February - a wise choice in my opinion. It was nice to be able to ride with confidence and be able to look around rather than worriedly at the icy roads like last year. The forecast sunny day didn't quite live up to expectations but at least only the wind was icy cold!

The popularity of this event is amazing - this year 1200 entries sold out in 20 hours! To get a place you have to be on the ball and therefore it seems that the entries tend to be from more experienced cyclists. As such there were many serious looking cyclists at the start, which was again well organised with pre-arranged starting time slots and a well oiled registration process.

After being dropped off by Em, it wasn't long before I was on my way and hitting the first 1 in 4 climb of Cudham Test Hill. I passed one poor guy whose chain had snapped and was gutted for him that his ride seemed to be over before it had begun. My hopes of finding a group to work with didn't come to fruition and I rode pretty much alone over the initial climbs. I was feeling good however and soon found myself at the first feed in Hartfield. I was about 20 minutes quicker than last year - mostly due to the better road conditions. I'd not brought much nutrition with me and so I was a bit disappointed to remember that only bananas were on offer at this feed station. I could have really done with stocking up on a few energy bars. Energy drink was on offer however so I filled a bottle, turned down a cup of tea and was on my way.

It is soon after the feed station that the toughest climb of the ride appears in the shape of "The Wall", this is a toughy but I know it quite well now and quite enjoy it. Em hadn't managed to get to our planned meeting spot at the top of the climb so I rode on and recovered on the long descent into Groombridge.

The climbs continued and the fatigue grew so I was again pleased to reach the second feed for a breather looking out from Ide Hill. This time I found an energy bar but unfortunately the energy drink had run out and only Robinson's juice was left. I knew there was no more than an hours riding left however so wasn't too concerned at bonking.

I remember feeling very fatigued on this final section last year. The fatigue was still there this year but not to the same degree. I was pleased to overtake much more than I was overtaken on the final big climb of Star Hill. It's tempting to think the work is done at this point but there are still plenty of lumps to navigate in the final 7 miles or so. They perhaps wouldn't seem like much early in the ride but hit the spot at this stage! It was a relief therefore to reach the finish line, particularly as the downpour had just begun. My official time was 4hr 29mins, which was 235th from the 750 finishers. Not too bad given the nature of the field.

The ride is testing and just like last year I felt a long way off from my main cycling goal of the season - La Marmotte. As the ride was a month later than last year and La Marmotte is nearly a month earlier than the Etape was, I've also less time to rectify the situation. Fingers crossed my existing base will see me through.

Thanks again to Catford Cycling Club for organising a good event and particularly to the marshals who were excellent all around the course. Apart from slightly better stocked feed stations my only criticism is that the certificate printing was delayed at the end, which I wasn't too concerned about other than it meant I couldn't get my official time until the next day. I would also have preferred for the free hot drinks to be on offer at the end of the ride rather than (or as well as) during it. I guess this is difficult however as the hosting sports center cafe need to take their cut.

Hell In The Middle 2011

2011-02-14T22:21:00.002Z

"Happy 40th Birthday Fat Boy, here's your present"

This is how I was introduced to the world of Hellrunner - a trilogy of full-on trail runs with steep hills, mud, scrambling and water features including the "bog of doom". Thanks Bob - I think!

On Saturday I dutifully lined up at the start of the inaugural Hell in the Middle to "enjoy" my present and help Bob celebrate his own 40th. It's the kind of thing I would have rather have pulled a tooth out than do when I was younger - I detested cross-country running at school - but in my advancing years was really looking forward to. Strange thing this aging malarkey!

The atmosphere at the start was great with the usual stalls together with a couple of bands including a samba band who were adding some beat to the occasion. With all the competitors lined up at the start our attention was drawn to the adjoining hill where the "devil" appeared to a cloud of green smoke and then we were off.

This race was promised to be the hardest and hilliest hellrunner yet and judging by some of the forum comments it didn't disappoint! It wasn't long until the steep hills appeared and they were relentless. This GPS upload goes some way to showing that there wasn't a lot of flat on the course. It was pretty much all either up or down and the downs were often too steep to run down properly.

It was a brilliantly designed course though with a lot of variety including beautiful forest sections with light shimmering through the trees and water vapour rising from the damp floor, sections through streams, mud "walls" where nothing but scrambling would do and of course the water features. The first of these was a short bog section deep enough to come well above my waist (I'm 6'2"), which also featured submerged logs to make your footing difficult. Everyone was pulling everyone else over as they struggled to stay upright. Later in the run, there was a section where you could hear the music and see the banners in the distance, which made you feel you were coming in to the finish only to round the corner and see a sign reading "Welcome to the Bog of Doom". The final sting in the tail came with the finishing chute in sight only to find a cruel quarry that the route zig-zagged up and down taking you through the bog each time. It was a relief to finally make the finish line with my legs telling me they'd had to work very hard for a time of 1hr 48mins for the 11-mile course. This was enough to place me 269th out of 1764 finishers (top 15%).

This has to go down as one of the hardest runs I've ever done but was so much more fun than a road race. Brutal, punishing but highly recommended!

Marmotte Medal Times

2011-01-27T20:47:00.009Z

Unlike the Etape, the times for the Gold and Silver standards are published ahead of time for La Marmotte (the categories from the main web page and age groups from the race rules)

At first blush these times seem much more achievable than they were for the Etape. If I remember rightly, my time of 9hr 46min was around 1.5 hours outside the silver time! However, given the relative difficulty of the courses the silver time of 10:18 for my category seems almost achievable for La Marmotte.

I have been helped by moving up (down?) a category since the Etape but in reality what this probably means is that I'm totally underestimating the time it will take again (I estimated 8.5 hours on my Etape application form) and should start mentally preparing for 12 hours in the saddle!!

UPDATE: The medal times communicated in the entry confirmation are different to those on the web page. The table above reflects the former. (I wonder whether the difference is whether the Col du Glandon descent is neutralised or not for safety). The silver time for my category is therefore 11hr 6 mins.

La Marmotte Route

2011-01-26T20:47:00.008Z

By any standards, La Marmotte is one hell of a tough day out but it should also be exhilarating in equal measure. The scenery promises to be fantastic and the sense of achievement at (hopefully) completing it will be huge. The ride takes in the Col du Glandon, Col du Galibier (via Col du Telegraphe) and an Alpe d'Huez finish. All these climbs have been rated Hors Categorie ("beyond classification") in the Tour De France at some point. The total vertical ascent is in excess of 5000m.

Bike route 235469 - powered by Bikemap

I'm very pleased to have last year's Etape under my belt as this makes the event seem merely exceptionally challenging as opposed to crazy! For comparison, the Etape 2010 route took in two Category 1 climbs and finished on the Hors Categorie Col du Tourmalet with a total ascent in excess of 4000m. La Marmotte is definitely a step up therefore but hopefully one that's within reach. The profiles of the key climbs are shown below:

Col Du Glandon

24.12Km, average gradient 4.8%. More details >>

Col du Galibier

34.9Km, average gradient 5.5%. More details >>

Alpe D'Huez

13.2Km, average gradient 8.1%. More details >>

I know from the Etape that it's easy to get lulled in to a false sense of security looking at the average gradients. I'm under no illusion however that these are anything but very long, very hard climbs. I have lots of work to do over the next 5 months or so to get to the start line feeling confident but I'm looking forward to the event already!

2011 Goals

2011-01-25T01:05:00.002Z

With the arrival of a new baby daughter over the Christmas period, I've been waiting for things to settle down a bit before committing to any new goals for 2011. I think there are likely to be less events this year but I'd still like to have a few key events in the diary to keep me motivated. Things are still not fully settled but I do now have a few challenging goals for the year ahead that still seem achievable given the upheaval a new baby can bring.

Fred Whitton

I was very pleased to get an entry for the Fred Whitton Challenge again this year. Last year I turned up to the start line with a knee injury and shouldn't have cycled 60 yards never mind the 60 miles I managed before having to abort mission. Going that far was a stupid thing to do as I made the injury far worse and carried it for the rest of the season, which adversely affected my training and my ride on the Etape. I would like to turn up fighting fit this time around and finish the job.

La Marmotte

Following the Etape du Tour last year I felt drawn to the Alps and very nearly entered the Alpine leg of this year's Etape. However, given that it follows the same route as the latter stages of La Marmotte, I decided to go for the full monty and enter that. To be honest I'm still unsure whether I'll be able to put the training in to be ready for such a stiff test but I'm going to proceed on this basis and hope for the best.

Beachy Head Marathon

This is a really tough looking trail marathon held in October in the Sussex South Downs. I have entered it with my wife Em who has targeted this as her come back marathon following the birth of Holly. We've recently moved to the area and so I've run parts of the course, which looks great but very challenging. Not the easiest to choose for a come back run!

Triathlon

The UK Ironman market is really booming, I did the inaugural Outlaw triathlon last year and this year there are another two new entrants - Challenge Henley and Ironman Wales. These both look like they could be great events but I really don't feel able to commit to an Ironman at this point. They are both to be held in September however and aren't likely to fill up given the competition so if it looks plausible as the year progresses I may get tempted. Alternatively, I will likely focus on the Olympic distance and breaking the 2hr 30min mark - possibly at Bala in September.

Good luck with whatever you have planned for the year - I hope you have a good season

Vitruvian 2010 - Race Report

2010-09-06T14:15:00.004+01:00

The Vitruvian half-Iron distance triathlon has become a bit of a classic on the triathlon calendar. It has been voted best race of the year in the 220 triathlon awards for the last 3 years in succession and it's easy to see why; it is very well organised and supported, has a challenging but not extreme course and is in a location that is great for triathlon. With a reputation such as this, the 1000 places sell out almost immediately and so when entries opened late last year I decided that with such an iconic race literally down the road it would have been rude not to make a return visit this year.

Despite knowing what a great event this is, I'd found it difficult to lift myself in the run up to the event. My main season goals were the Etape and an Ironman and with those in the bag, I was finding it hard not to move in to off-season mode. However, I'd recovered well in the 4 weeks since the Outlaw Iron distance race and had kept my training ticking over. I was hopeful therefore of a good performance.

Last season I posted 5hrs 25mins and with the amount of training I've done this year, I'd have been disappointed not to knock a fair chunk off that time. Bob, I'd also be lying if I said that I didn't have your 5:07 PB in the back of my mind too. In a wildly optimistic moment, I'd also looked at what splits I'd need to break the coveted 5 hour mark but the day would have to go really well for that.

After a 4:30am breakfast I made my way to the start for about 6am. With my imminent entry in to the 40-something club, I'd been relegated to a different transition area from the younger guys. I remember overhearing a conversation last year between two guys from an older age group who were saying that you'd think the competition would get easier as you got older but the opposite actually seems to be true. The people who are just giving it a go have usually done so by now leaving a higher proportion of seasoned competitors in the older age groups. Those around me definitely didn't seem to be there just to get around.

Living in the area I know that wind can be an issue on this course, however, the main issue today was actually mist or probably more accurately fog. Looking out in to the lake there wasn't a chance of spotting the buoys, which made sighting on the swim very difficult. The only thing to do was to follow those around you and use the canoes that were marking the route as much as possible but I suspect I was doing a fair bit of zig-zagging. The course is a 2-lap affair, at 950m you have to exit the water and run 50m or so and dive back in. It's quite fun to do this and much better for the spectators. Among them were my parents who had made the journey to come and cheer me along with Em.

The mist was still thick for pretty much the entire bike course. There's always a tension on events such as these between cyclists and other road-users and the conditions didn't help. Some cyclists were overtaking without a glance and some motorists looked like they were trying to run cyclists off the road who were using it in a perfectly responsible way. I guess these tensions are unavoidable without closed road events, which can generate even more resentment.

I was using clip-on aero bars for the first time at this event. I'd noticed in previous races how easily riders were floating by in an aero position only to fade badly on the hills. For an undulating course such as this a road bike set up with clip on bars seemed to be a good compromise, allowing me to reduce my loses on the flats and descents while still capitalising on my Etape climbing legs. I felt strong on the bike and posted a time 12 minutes or so quicker than last year, so I guess the experiment was a success. Although I'm not sure how much of that advantage could actually be attributed to the aero bars.

Coming out of T2, I glanced at my watch to see 3:14. Things were going well, I needed to run a 1:46 half marathon to crack the magic 5 hour mark. This was 2 minutes quicker than my standalone PB in February but I'd put it a lot of work since then so I felt it was a genuine possibility. I was feeling good for the first 3K or so but then the dreaded hamstring cramp from last year returned. A full-on spasm made moving never mind running impossible. However, I knew from last year that this would subside so didn't panic too much. I'd gone through 6 gels and 2 bottles of high-5 on the bike so electrolytes shouldn't have been an issue. I think the major cause of cramping is simply fatigue - I'd pushed hard on the bike and was now paying the price.

Despite these issues I completed the first lap of the run in about 48 mins and I realised that sub 5 hours was definitely on the cards. I could feel myself slowing on the second lap and the sun was now out making things a little more difficult. However, as I came in to the last KM I knew it was in the bag.... but was it... 500m from home the hamstring went again. I looked at my watch nervously waiting for the cramp to subside. I hobbled off but spasm'ed again. Finally, I was able to start moving - thank god that didn't happen in the finishing chute. I crossed the line in 4:55 to the cheers of my fantastic supporters. Absolutely delighted to finish the season on a high, knock 30 minutes off last year's time and break the 5 hour barrier.

My splits

Swim: 36:39

T1: 3:25

Bike: 2:31:27

T2: 1:45

Run: 1:42:05

Total: 4:55:25

Etape 2011 - Early Rumours

2010-08-16T19:49:00.005+01:00

I guess we have a couple of months of the Tour and Etape rumour mill to look forward to. It will be interesting to see how accurate the early predictions turn out to be. Steephill.tv are predicting a rest day on Monday 18th July with two cracking alpine mountain stages on the following Thursday and Friday.

Thursday 21st: Pinerollo - Col du Lautaret with Mont-Cenis (HC), Télégraphe (1C), Galibier (HC)

Friday 22nd: Bourg d'Oisans - L'Alpe d'Huez with Grand Cucheron (2C), Glandon (HC), L'Alpe d'Huez (HC)

The latter looks a lot like the 6th stage of this years Dauphine Libere. So something that looks a little like this on Monday 18th July next year anyone?

Now that would be tempting although it does looks a little like a watered down La Marmotte..

Outlaw Triathlon 2010 - Race Report

2010-08-11T18:21:00.005+01:00

Last weekend the time had finally arrived to make my way to Nottingham to take part in my first Ironman-distance triathlon - the inaugural Outlaw. It had been well over a year since I first committed myself to this challenge and at the time it seemed near impossible given my then level of fitness. I was very happy therefore to make the start line feeling that I'd done enough to have a realistic chance of finishing and even to be feeling that a sub-13 hour time was a possibility if I had a good day.

On arriving at the Holme Pierrepont venue on the Saturday, I was immediately struck with what a great job the organisers had done putting this event together. Race registration, the race briefing and both transitions were in the same location (in contrast to many races I read about) and the camp site was literally a few minutes walk away. The atmosphere was already building with the open water swim event and nervous anticipation was in the air. I was sure that this was going to be a great event.

Em and I were joined on the camp site by my sister and brother-in-law who had come for the full weekend. My parents and nephew joined the next day to form my support team - "Team Blob". My sister had even made T-shirts for everyone, which were fantastic even if they did sport the two most embarrassing pictures of me she could find. It was brilliant to have their support on the day and I felt really lucky to have such a supportive family. I couldn't let them down so the pressure was now really on to do myself justice!

The 6am start made for a very early rise to allow breakfast at 3:30am. By 5:30am I was adding my nutrition and bottles to my bike (which had been left in the transition area over night) adding the last few bits and pieces to my swim-bike and bike-run transition bags and donning the wet-suit. The waiting was over - it was time to find out if I had what it takes to become an ironman.

The Swim

There were close to 900 entrants for the race, 743 of which made it to the start line and everyone of us would start at the same time. All the triathlons I've done previously have been waved starts so this was my first experience of a mass swim start. The atmosphere was great with impromptu chanting and applause followed by the hooter - we were off.

Now I've taken a few knocks before on open-water swim starts but nothing like this. There were swimmers everywhere trying to find a bit of water and lots of jostling. My goggle strap was flicked off the back of my head, my watch kicked off (never to be seen again) and I took a number of punches and kicks. At one stage I was trapped between two swimmers and was punched 3 times in the jaw on consecutive strokes. By the time things started to settle down a bit I felt like I'd had the shit beaten out of me but it was strangely great fun. The other difficulty was the weed, which was very thick in places and literally stopped my stroking arm dead. Despite these issues I established a good strong rhythm for most of the swim and posted a 1:08 PB over the 2.4 mile distance. A good, solid start.

The Bike

The transition tent had semi-private changing areas for male and female athletes and I'd decided therefore to do a full change in T1 to my bib-shorts and cycling top. This slowed me down a little but it wasn't long before I was out on to the bike course. I took on a lot of water and settled into an easy rhythm. There were a few quotes I'd kept in mind for the bike:

"The number 1 statement after a well-paced Ironman is - I could have gone quicker on the bike", Gordo Byrn, Endurance Corner

"The bike leg for a first time Ironman should be the easiest 100+ miles you've rode all year", tritalk forum

My plan therefore was to take the bike steady to make sure I had enough in the tank for the marathon. I knew from my reccie's that the 3-lap bike course was not massively hilly but was not flat either, there were several short, sharp hills and longer drags. It was also very exposed and the wind had been an issue. I had planned therefore for an average speed of 16 to 16.5mph to give me a sub-7 hour bike. However, on the day the wind conditions were more favourable and I felt strong after peaking for the Etape and then tapering. I was able therefore to maintain a higher average speed while not feeling that I was taking myself out of zone.

My average speed was around 19.2mph when I first checked and I decided not to back off. By 60 miles however I was feeling some fatigue and wondering if I'd made the right choice. At 100 miles the computer showed 5hrs 14 mins - a PB over this distance (helped by the excellent volunteers who handed full bottles out as we raced by at 20mph) rather than the easiest of the year. Oooops. By the end of the bike my average speed had remained 19.2mph but the fatigue had set in and I began to wonder how the hell I was going to run a marathon. I chastised myself for making the typical rookie mistake as I rolled back to the transition area to the cheers from Team Blob.

The Run

Another full change and I was out on the run wondering how big a price I was going to pay. I stopped at a portaloo to relieve myself within the first mile and quickly tensed my hamstrings to see how they were doing. The right one immediately spasmed and I was locked in a pose with my head against one wall, spasming leg against the other while trying to direct my pee. Thank god no-one walked in to the unlocked portaloo at that point.

I wasn't feeling good in the first few miles of the run as along with the hamstring issue, I also felt a bit sick and developed a stitch. I'd eaten 7 large Nakd bars for nutrition on the bike, which give a good carb hit with the added advantage of being natural but they probably laid a bit too heavy on my stomach. I think I'd go for more gels if I had the choice again. Thankfully, however things began to improve.

The feed stations on the 3-lap run were regularly placed with a maximum of 1.7 miles between them. My plan therefore was to run between each one and stop/walk for a few seconds at each to make sure I took on fluid and nutrition when my stomach would allow. This allowed me to mentally beak the run down and target just the next feed station.

Soon after the turn of the first lap, I saw my mate Bob who was probably 5 minutes or so behind. He'd had a storming 56 minute swim but I'd overtaken him on the final lap of the bike. He was looking quite strong and I wondered if he was going to have his revenge on the run. This was no time to be thinking of racing however, I needed to pace myself. "Just get to the next feed station".

As the lap was completed, I could see other competitors finishing and I had to shut out dreams of taking the finishing chute rather than starting another lap "Just get to the next feed station". I began to count them down, just 3 to go, just 2, just 1 and I was on the home straight. Em jogged the last few hundred metres with me and told me how proud she was. The crowds cheered as I entered the finishing chute and my family were in the stand cheering away. I held my arms in the air and took the finishing tape to the sound of "YOU ARE AN OUTLAW!" and to the sight of the clock reading 11:53! I'd done it, I was an ironman.

A huge thankyou to my family for being awesome supporters and to my sister for the fantastic T-shirts. Special thanks to my wife Em who has put up with a lot during this journey. Although she laughed when I first said I was going to do an Ironman, she has been right behind me when she realised I was serious. As an amateur athlete herself, it's been particularly difficult for her to see me ramping up my training as she has had to scale hers down for other reasons (we are expecting our first child in January). I suspect payback time might come soon!

The Event

This was genuinely a great event and comes highly recommended. The organisers had put a lot of thought in to making the whole experience as streamlined as possible for competitors and spectators alike. Having both transitions in the same area gave a real focus for supporters and it was great to have their help as I hauled myself around the run. They also laid on free buses out to the bike course. The local community also seemed to really get behind the event, there was great support throughout the bike and run course. Being the first running there were inevitable minor teething troubles (the live sms updates didn't work, there weren't enough loos on the run course, the race briefing room was too small and the weeds were an issue on the swim), however all of these are easily solved and I'm sure this event is set to become a real favourite on the triathlon calendar.

My Splits

Swim: 1:08:24

Bike: 5:50:00

Run: 4:41:41

T1: 0:07:11

T2: 0:05:57

Overall: 11:53:17

It's Race Weekend

2010-08-07T09:46:00.002+01:00

I'm about to head to Nottingham to register for the Outlaw Iron distance triathlon and the nerves and excitement are kicking in in equal measure.

Barring any last minute disasters it looks like I'll be making it to the start line with a realistic chance of finishing and this in itself feels like an achievement at the moment. Despite a few injury setbacks the training has gone pretty well - I've averaged close to 10 hrs per week during the 30-week training programme. Way less than a competitive Ironman athlete but enough I hope to get me round in a respectable time and to enjoy the experience. I guess I'll find out tomorrow! My weight loss has also gone well, this morning I was 188 pounds from a high of 225 pounds early last year. A few pounds higher than the 185 pounds I'd targeted as my race weight but low enough to not be too much of a limiter.

Good luck to my fellow Outlaws. I leave you with one of the many motivational videos I've been firing up this morning!

Cadging a lift on the broom wagon

2010-07-30T09:35:00.002+01:00

Quite funny to see a few riders here attaching themselves to the tail end of the broom wagon on the Tourmalet, nice move!

And in contrast here are the leaders about to demolish the Tourmalet in not much more than an hour!

Etape 2010 Report - Soulor to Tourmalet Summit

2010-07-27T00:27:00.003+01:00

This is the 3rd post in a 3 post series (First part, Second part)

The descent from the Soulor was fantastic. There were fewer riders around and I was slightly more confident so was letting the bike go a little more. Only a little though, I still have a lot more confidence to build up on descents such as this no matter how many times I told myself to trust my machine, relax and let it roll.

The descent finished in Argeles-Gazost and it seemed like the entire town had turned into an Etape feed stop. The town square was full of riders and volunteers handing out gels, cakes, bananas and water. There was also a number of locals out to support the race as there had been all along the route. It was a great atmosphere. Although my lead over the broom wagon was now close to 1.5 hours I didn't hang around too long however. I wanted to get to that final climb.

The Tourmalet climb is officially 19Km starting at Luz-Saint-Sauveur however from the final feed there was about the same distance again of steady climbing to get to this point. I tried to focus on allowing the legs to recover from the Soulor and hooked up with a small group. This group contained one of the relatively few women who take part and the encouragement she got from the supporters was amazing. "La Femme", "Madame", "Allez, allez, allez".

We soon passed the timing mats for the Tourmalet and the final climb had begun. I checked in with my body and it gave me a thumbs up. The legs seemed to have recovered well, the knee had settled down and I was feeling as good as could be expected when starting a gruelling 19km climb after 100+ mountainous miles. My plan was to ride this all the way with one scheduled stop at the final water station at Super-Bareges. This was 8km from the summit so I began counting down the first 11km and rationed my water intake accordingly. I was feeling confident.

It was great to be on such a mythical climb and I tried to take in the atmosphere. There was already signs of carnage however with riders at the side of the road humped over their bikes or lying at the side of the road in the shade. Within a few kilometres the thumbs up I'd had earlier from my body became a thumbs down as my feet started to hurt. I developed soreness on the balls of both feet where the pressure is applied to the cleat. I pushed on to Bareges, still 11Km from the summit and saw riders stopping. The foot pain had now worsened and spread and I was getting desperate for some relief but there was no way I was stopping on this climb particularly given the forced stop on the Marie-Blanque. I pushed on and finally rolled in to Super-Bareges where I flicked off my shoes and massaged my feet to bring them back to life. With my bottles filled, I was ready for the final big push.

I'm not quite sure when the summit first came in to view but its pretty imposing when it does. It looks so close but there is a wall of rock in the way and a series of punishing hairpins that can be seen snaking up the mountain with increasingly steep gradients. I'd been climbing steadily to this point but the adrenalin from the sight of the summit resulted in a subconscious increase in effort. The speed went up a fraction but the perceived level of effort a whole lot more. "Dial it back, keep in zone". I noticed more riders pushing now and at times I actually felt like I was going quickly at around 6mph!

All the way up the climb supporters had been standing ready to throw cold water on overheating riders. I decided to take them up on their kind offer but quickly regretted it - it was freezing and came as a real jolt. At least it took my mind off those punishing final bends for a while.

Encouragement could now be heard from the sidelines and there was one English lady who was genuinely motivating with her supportive tones. "Just a few hundred meters, you're nearly there", came from another direction. "Just 100 metres, round the corner and you're there" and then the sound of beeps as riders crossed the finish line. A half-hearted and exhausted pump of the fist and I joined them to become an Etape 2010 finisher in 9hrs 46mins. Delighted!

Early frustrations on the Marie-Blanque aside the day was a great experience and one that I feel lucky to have had. It takes a lot of effort (and luck) to even get to the start line for an event such as this but it was worth it. Would I do it again? I certainly wouldn't rule it out, the connection with the Tour does give this event something special. However, I suspect my ambitions may lay elsewhere next year. Although I said I probably wouldn't do any more major European sportives immediately following the event, there are two words that I don't seem to be able to get out of my head now - La Marmotte. We'll see...

Etape 2010 Report - Marie-Blanque to Soulor Summit

2010-07-26T23:28:00.005+01:00

This is the second post in a 3-part series (first post, third post).

The descent from the Marie-Blanque was fun and I was letting the bike go as much as possible. However, I was concentrating hard as I was aware that with thousands of riders swarming down the mountain with widely varying descending abilities (mine towards the bottom end!) that a wrong move from me or someone around me could spell disaster. I frequently checked over my shoulders to make sure I knew what was around me but even then the occasional rider came flying by taking me by surprise.

As the road flattened a little the disadvantages of large numbers of riders experienced earlier became a real advantage as it was easy to find a group to ride with. I loved hooking up with a peloton and flying along at a pace that I could only dream of riding alone with the same level of effort.

Em had let me know she'd found a spot to view in Asson at the bottom of the valley but I saw her late and was in the middle of a group so couldn't stop.

I found out later that she'd had an eventful time. Shortly before my arrival, a guy literally somersaulted out of the peloton after presumably hitting the central reservation and landed right at her feet as the bike skidded by with sparks flying. He was in a bad way - unconscious, bleeding from the mouth and gasping. Em helped with first aid the best she could and thankfully the air ambulance arrived within 10 minutes. She'd love to know that he was okay so if anyone has any information please let us know. I heard from another source that there had sadly been 3 casualties on the ride; 1 who left the road on a hairpin bend and 2 others from exhaustion. These stories really put things in to perspective.

As the roads were closed until the event had passed through Em also got a view of the broom wagon, which turned out to be an articulated lorry for the bikes followed by a series of coaches for the riders, 2 of which were already full before we'd got to the Soulor!

The official climb to the Soulor started soon afterwards through a pretty section of road with beautiful fresh streams that made you want to dive in and imposing views of the mountains ahead. It was a gradual climb to the feed stop at Ferrieres, which was far less frantic than the previous one. I got my route card out to see that I now had an hour on the broom wagon, which was a relief. As I was looking, a French speaking marshal told me (as far as I could make out) to put the card away as the route was clear - you're going up there and pointed to the peak above. This was going to be a tough climb!

The quoted average gradient of 4.9% for the Soulor is a bit misleading and can lead you into a false sense of security. This average includes the gradual 10Km to get to Ferrieres but its here that the climb really begins and is an unrelenting 12Km that was more challenging than expected. It's a great climb though with some lovely views and the field had thinned enough now to ensure that there was no worries of bottlenecks.

However, it was here that the already tender knee really threatened to give out. I adjusted my position and started taking pressure off the left leg but decided that the right leg didn't have a chance of going the distance if I carried on doing that. I pushed on and thankfully the knee hovered on the edge but held together. I reached the water station relieved and with legs that knew they had to work hard to get up that climb. Now it was time to recover as best I could ready for the giant ahead...

Etape 2010 Report - Start to Marie-Blanque Summit

2010-07-26T15:14:00.004+01:00

This is the first post in a 3-part series (second post, third post)

Unusually for me I was up like a shot when the alarm went off at 4:30am. A huge bowl of Alpen, a quick shower and change and we headed into the dark to make the journey to Pau. On arrival, we saw lots of riders on the outskirts of the town and we decided that it was best for Em to drop me here so I could ride to the start with the others. It was the blind leading the blind as we tried to find the only designated route to our start pens. Eventually I found the right route and made it to my pen albeit not until 6:30am. This was later than I'd hoped and meant that I was quite far to the back with closer to 7000 rather than 4000 riders in front of me. It was quite a nervy atmosphere, there were several attempts at conversation but mostly people were quiet, contemplating the day ahead (and probably wondering if the people next to them spoke the same language!).

Eventually there was movement ahead and to a chorus of pedal clip sounds we were off. The pent up energy and enthusiasm had clearly got the better of some as they sprinted away taking crazy risks in the process. A woman came from behind and plunged into an impossible gap, locking bars with riders on both sides. I've no idea how everyone managed to stay upright. Thankfully things began to settle down and I tried to settle into a rhythm.

I had a number of quotes rolling around my head that I'd read or heard on the lead up to the event:

"You should get to the Marie-Blanque, having done basically nothing", CycleFilm Recon DVD

"On the climbs back off to what feels like a manageable pace and then dial it back another 5%", BikeRadar Forum

My plan therefore was to ride within myself and take it steady - I didn't want to blow up early and ruin the ride. I was forced to take it a little steadier than I'd wanted however through some of the early villages as bottlenecks forced the peloton to slow down and in one case stop. Perhaps not a bad thing, I thought to myself.

The ride profile is dominated by the big mountains and therefore it's easy to dismiss the rest as flat. I was struck early on how this wasn't the case at all. There were plenty of rolling hills to contend with and a category 4 climb, which would be notable on a typical UK ride. I noticed riders breathing heavily on this one and wondered how they could possibly hope to finish if they were already in the red. I learnt afterwards than nearly a third of riders didn't finish so I guess there's the answer!

My knee injury had been a major concern in the lead up to the event and before even reaching the foot of the Marie-Blanque it had become tender. This was a real worry as all the work was yet to come. I was excited to reach the climb though and put these worries out of my mind. "Here's where the fun begins - this is what it's all about".

I settled into a good rhythm on the climb and was feeling good. All the climbs in France have signs marking each Km with a few statistics: distance to summit, altitude, gradient of the next Km. I was ticking these off nicely looking forward to the steep last few Km and summiting my first col. However, the further I went up the mountain the narrower and more crowded the road got. Some riders had dismounted and were pushing on the right, ambulances and mechanics were pushing up the left and I had all on to avoid contact with other wheels and to stay upright at 4mph! "Get that fucking car off the road", came the increasingly infuriated shouts from behind. Eventually, the ride came to a dead stop as the road ahead became a sea of riders pushing their bikes. It was incredibly disappointing to have to dismount. I felt robbed. I'd come all this way to climb mountains like this and enjoy the scenery and instead I felt like I'd found the cycling equivalent of a busy M25 in London. We pushed for over 2Km until finally being able to mount again to finish the final few hundred metres.

The feed station was just over the summit and was packed with equally frustrated riders and all social niceties had disappeared. If getting here felt like a busy M25, this felt like I'd reached the shops on the first day of the sales. "A victim of its own success?", "Wouldn't it be better to just come and cycle the cols with your own group?" were some of the thoughts going through my mind.

On top of this the delays here and getting over the start line meant I only had 25 minutes on the broom wagon. One mechanical and the ride would likely be over for me. Needless to say my impressions of the Etape weren't great at this point. However, I then left the feed station and started the descent proper with an amazing panoramic view of the Pyrenees ahead. My frustrations were soon forgotten and I got on with enjoying the ride....

Etape Result

2010-07-19T08:20:00.003+01:00

Well what a day that was. Really very hard work but so rewarding to reach the summit of the Tourmalet. I finally crossed the finish line in 9hrs 46mins after a 2hr 1 min final climb.

It was a longer and harder day than I had anticipated (I'd hopelessly optimistically estimated 8hr 30mins on my entry form) but all the more rewarding to pull it off.

I'm now on holiday without Internet but will post a full report on my return. A big congratulations to all those who finished, top effort!!

So here goes..

2010-07-17T20:39:00.002+01:00

Well I'm finally in the South of France ready and rearing to go. Em and I set off from Sussex at around 10am on Friday and finally made it to our hotel in Lourdes about 27 hours later following a night in a tent at the motorway services! Another 5 hours and we'd made the trip to Pau, registered, queued (for 2 hours!) for a Mavic bike tune up and were back in the hotel. I feel like I've already completed an endurance event!

I now have a belly full of pasta and other goodies, the bike is ready with number in place, the bib number is attached to my shirt and all clothing, bottles, gels and energy bars are laid out ready to go. The alarm will go off at 4:45am and all that will be left is to drive to Pau and start pedalling. Can't wait now.

The Pyrenees have yet to reveal themselves as they were shrouded in cloud today. However, the forecast is great for tomorrow (if hot!) and I'll have plenty of time to acquaint myself then.

To all my fellow Etapists - have a great ride. Bon courage!

Etape Kit: Saddle and Shorts

2010-07-09T13:23:00.004+01:00

I'm not really a kit freak and tend to make do with whatever I've got until I really need to replace something. However, after my long ride ripped my behind to shreds a few weeks ago I decided I really needed to do something about it before the Etape. Yes, it's a risk to change things this close to the event but the alternative was a guaranteed painful experience. At least this way I'd have a chance of being able to enjoy the ride in more comfort.

I've been riding a Selle Italia SLR XP since I bought the bike about 3 years ago and although in theory this is a good saddle, I've never really got on with it. Numbness can appear within 45 minutes sometimes and I'm not talking about sit bone soreness but rather soft tissue numbness (including the most sensitive parts!). I also bought some good quality Pearl Izumi shorts at the same time that have now become quite baggy and were no doubt contributing to the problem.

I looked into Specialized's BG range of saddles that have an anatomical cut-out designed to reduce soft tissue numbness. They also come in 3 different widths and after sitting on one of their memory foam devices at the local bike shop, it seemed I (like most people) needed a 143mm width saddle. This was considerably wider than my current saddle and I think where most of the problems were coming from. My weight wasn't being taken by my sit bones but rather the intervening soft tissue.

Just before the 1066 Ride at the weekend I visited in-gear in Uckfield, who have sample saddles from Specialized and Fizik that they allow you to use for a week to see if you like them before buying. Fantastic! My local bike shop wouldn't let me touch one before buying. I took them up on their offer and tried a Specialized Romin, which proved to be a big improvement. No significant soft tissue numbness and none of those (unpleasant!) tingles in the most sensitive areas. However, there was some soreness noticeable quite quickly, enough to force me to adjust position and stand for a while to ease it off. In the end therefore, I went for a Specialized Alias which has similar anatomical cut-outs but has a little more padding that I might be thankful for on longer rides. It's a bit heavier and doesn't look as sexy but comfort in the overriding concern.

As for the shorts, I decided in the end that if I was going to update I might as well go for what (according to many reviews) appear to be among the best. So despite the hefty price tag I plumped for a pair of Assos F1 Uno S5 bib shorts, which seemed to perform well on the 1066 Ride.

I have my fingers firmly crossed that the Alias/Assos combination will mean that I can focus my energy on getting me up those mountains on the 18th rather than relieving saddle pain and numbness.

Now on to other kit - I still don't own a gilet, arm warmers or a proper cycling jersey for that matter. Oh and I've just noticed my helmet has a crack in it. This is an expensive game!

1066 Ride 2010

2010-07-05T07:47:00.004+01:00

Having missed a fair few long rides with the knee injury and with only 2 weeks left to the big day, I wanted to try my hand at a final sportive at the weekend. This was a bit of a test for the knee (and my fitness), I wanted to have the confidence that I could get around a tough 100-mile sportive before making the journey to take on a much tougher one in France. We were visiting the in-laws in Sussex and I rather rudely buggered off for most of Sunday to take part in the inaugural 1066 Ride.

I'd been building up the miles and the intensity slowly and last week PB'ed my 25-mile TT circuit and rode a century in training. I was quietly confident of being able to get around therefore. After the first 30-40 miles my confidence was at a high, I'd breezed the first section, flying up any climbs that we came across. My average speed told me that I was going to get Gold standard by a distance at this rate. Soon after, the course direction changed however as did the level of my confidence! The wind assist we'd had to that point became obvious as it became a head wind and the relentless short, sharp climbs began. The easy Gold became a battle to save Silver!

Around the half way mark my worst fears were realised as the sharp knee pain returned. Oh sh*t! I felt my Etape dream slipping away. I backed off and took it easy for a while and it seemed to help. However, 10 miles or so later another twinge. I was a very nervous man for the 3rd quarter of the ride but thankfully it settled down and I was able to finish more strongly. A good job too as the organisers had thrown in a nice 20% climb at the 90-mile mark. I (and the knee) came through that OK and my confidence was on a high again.

I finished in 6:31:47, which gave me a silver classification and placed me 17th out of 127 starters (13.4%) and 107 finishers (15.9%). So the test was passed but I don't think with flying colours given the near collapse half way through. Nevertheless, a pass is a pass and Pau here we come. Woo hoo!

Thanks to SRS for a well organised event. The course was well designed, lulling you into a false sense of security before pummelling you with a barrage of body shots. It was excellently way-marked as well and with 4 good feed stops and free food at the end, you can't go wrong.

Dambuster Triathlon 2010

2010-06-27T21:40:00.004+01:00

Last weekend I took part in my first triathlon for over 8 months and the only one I'll be doing before the Outlaw on August 8th. It was an Olympic distance event, so not ideal build up for an Ironman (a half-Ironman would have been better) but I wanted to take part in an event nonetheless to blow away some of the cobwebs (quite literally in the case of my wetsuit!).

The event HQ was thankfully just down the road at Rutland Water given the early start. I arrived around 6am to rack my bike and prepare the transition area. I love the nervous energy pre-race, everyone has their own ritual of preparing the bike and laying out kit and equipment for the two transitions.

I was a bit put out to have been moved up an age category before my time as the BTF rules are to take your age at the end of the year. This meant that I was in the 3rd wave off and the first swimmers were already finishing by the time I was wading in the water and boy was it cold. I took a few strokes to try and acclimatise and then convinced myself it would be okay once we started. It was the head that was cold, the body was toasty. Oh come on, everyone does it...

The gun went off and I quickly discovered I wasn't okay. The cold literally took my breath away every time I put my head under water and I couldn't get swimming. I took a few strokes, stopped, repeated and then eventually resorted to breaststroke. My slowness also meant I was right in the thick of the carnage as someone swam over me, my watch got kicked off twice and I couldn't find an inch of space. It must have been 5 minutes before I acclimatised, found some clear water and got into a rhythm. Not a great start!

It was good to see that my support team had arrived as I exited the water and trotted off to transition to the sound of encouraging cheers trying to unzip the wetsuit as I went. I was hopelessly slow in transition, getting the wetsuit off and my bike tops on. You can really lose a lot of time in transitions, I was about 4 minutes slower over the two transitions than the winners. That's the equivalent of a lot of training effort gone!

I'd cycled the bike leg a few times in the build up to the race and the knee injury had just about held of as I gradually built the pace. I kept my fingers crossed that I'd be able to put in a decent effort. I had my usual experience of being passed on the flats and descents by those with aero bars but able to make up ground on some when we hit the hills. I really must get a more aero position for these shorter events. I came into transition with the average speed having just fallen below 20mph for the 26.1m course, which was quite pleasing given the hills on the course and the injury worries.

Another slow transition and I was out on the run. I'd had cramp issues on the run in last year's triathlons but I felt stronger this time around. I'd done a number of brick (bike/run) sessions, which I think helped a lot. The issue this time was the stomach cramps that made me feel like I needed to nip off behind a bush! Maybe this made me run more quickly as I finished the run strongly and carried on running to the portaloo! I posted a 41:31 run split, which I was delighted with. The course is a slightly short 9.7Km but even so that would give me around a 43min 10k at the end of a triathlon, which is a bit of a breakthrough for me.

My overall time was 2hr 34mins, which is about 13 minutes quicker than last year. Quite pleasing as I've not been training for this distance. Sub 2hr 30mins is definitely in reach - a goal for next year maybe.

Hats off the Pacesetter events for another excellent event. It's a great location for triathlon and they create a great atmosphere. Thanks to my sister and brother-in-law for making the journey to come and support with Em - much appreciated. They might even have caught the triathlon bug and be racing themselves next year!

Etape Elimination Times and Feed Stops

2010-06-15T14:35:00.014+01:00

Following on from Stuart's post, I did a little more digging in to the Etape details and timing that have now been published. I've included below an image that marks the feed stations (in green), liquid stations (in blue) and elimination points (in red).

EDIT: the final liquid station is at 173Km part way up the Tourmalet rather than at the summit as previously shown. There is also a final feed station at La Mongie just over the summit.

An extra 7Km has been added to the route since the initial announcement, which as far as I can make out is all taken account of in the run out of Pau.

The programme suggests that the last rider will be over the start line by 7:30am, 30 minutes after the official start. So using this worse case scenario I've calculated the required average speed at each of the elimination points and at each summit:

Note that this is total elapsed time i.e. including any breaks, so the actual required speed will need to be bigger to account for this. Chances are it will take less than 30 minutes to get over the start line though, which will offset some of the additional time.

On paper, it all sounds reasonable enough however I know only too well from last year's Tour of the Peak that on a tough course in tough conditions it's all too easy for average speeds to drop to this sort of level. Assuming that the body is one piece though I think the broom wagon can be forgotten about and we can all look forward to just enjoying the day.

"Big Day" Training

2010-06-13T20:03:00.002+01:00

One of the issues with training for an Ironman is that is difficult to do a race simulation workout given the distances involved without disrupting your ongoing training. One of the solutions to this issue supported by Joe Friel and others is the so called "Big Day" training session.

The Big Day involves lengthy sessions in each of the three disciplines with a substantial break between them to allow nutrition and hydration and to reduce the post-workout recovery. These workouts also give an insight into the psychology of the actual big day. This concept isn't universally agreed upon, see for example the comments in John Sutton's post but I decided that I would give it a go in my build towards the Outlaw. My plan is to do two sessions:

Big Day 1

3k swim

90 min break

52 mile bike on the Outlaw course. One of the 3 loops of the bike course

90 min break

8 mile run on the Outlaw course. Again, one of the 3 loops of the run course.

Big Day 2

4k swim

90 min break

82 mile bike. 2 laps of the Outlaw course

90 min break

16 mile run. 2 laps of the Outlaw course

I did the first of these sessions today (the second I plan to do in 3 weeks time). It didn't go entirely to plan, I ended up with a much longer break between swim and bike and much shorter break between bike and run. However, it turned out to be a really useful session and I don't feel that the recovery should require anything other than my usual Monday rest day. I suspect I may not be saying the same thing after the second instalment!

And the best outcome of the day.. my knee seemed to hold up. I'm hopeful about the Etape again. Woo hoo.

Number's Up

2010-06-10T11:10:00.002+01:00

My Etape bib number has finally appeared (from here):

6920

Pretty exciting to get this, it makes it all seem a lot closer. Not too bad a number either - at least there are a few thousand in between me and the broom wagon!

However, my excitement is tinged with a feeling that my Number might be up in another sense with regard to the Etape. I managed an easy 40 mile ride at the weekend with the knee holding up and was hopeful that I'd have a steady road to recovery allowing me to at least get to the start line in Pau with a reasonable chance of beating the broom wagon to the finish. However, an hours turbo at what I'd describe as upper-steady intensity on Tuesday burst my bubble. The sharp pain returned at the end of the ride despite my 3 times a day ibuprofen fix. This is definitely a knee ligament issue. My ITB was also very tight but that's feeling much better now after the foam roller work (which was initially excruciating).

My feeling is that I could probably nurse the knee back to a state that I could complete a steady 112 miles on an undulating course in the next 8 weeks and as my running and swimming aren't affected this would mean I'd still have a shot at the Ironman. However, a mountainous 110 miles in around 5 weeks seems a bit unlikely at the moment. It's already been that length of time since the injury first appeared and progress has been slow.

My concern is that I could make the same mistake as at the Fred Whitton. If I start the Etape there's no way I'll stop if the knee starts to hurt and this would likely mean a demoralising slow down and trip home in the Broom Wagon. It would also likely mean that I'd have scuppered any chance of the Ironman 3 weeks later. It would be absolutely gutting but it may be I have to sacrifice the Etape to give me a chance at one of my two main goals for the season.

I've already been to both the physio and doctor but its been of little benefit. Any tips on things to try so that I can make the Pau start line would be gratefully received!

Dambuster bike leg

2010-06-03T20:57:00.004+01:00

With the Dragon ride off, my next event - the local Dambuster triathlon - was already on the horizon. I decided today to see if I could get round the 25-mile bike leg and so with Ibuprofen gel liberally applied to the knee I set off fully expecting to be free wheeling back in a few minutes. I took things very steadily and dropped the gears right down at the sight of any hill. It worked! The knee didn't feel comfortable but was pain free.

My pedestrian pace meant I was about 15 minutes slower than this time last year. Not exactly an ideal place to be just over 6 weeks away from the Etape and 9 weeks away from an Ironman but I've never been happier to complete a 20-odd mile ride! I've now decided to make friends with Ibuprofen and take the doctor's advice of 400mg 3 times a day for a week. I'm also regularly icing the knee using a gel pack from Decathlon that has been really useful.

This site does not support embedded trip maps. View the trip here instead.

Training progress

2010-06-01T22:50:00.004+01:00

It's been nice to read about the great progress been made by my fellow bloggers such as Andrew, Karen and Stuart (despite recent niggles) in their build up to the Etape. Although not so great to hear about Rich's recent accident who I hope can recover in time to start the event. Unfortunately, I have to add to the negative news as my injury continues to plague my build up. It's now been well over a month since my last quality bike session and my bike fitness is undoubtedly fading fast.

The graph shows the impact the injury has had on my overall training volume since week 25 when the injury first surfaced. It is now consistently beneath the "Just Finish" volume in Don Fink's Ironman training plans.

I'm keeping in mind Joe Friel's advice that it's not necessarily total training volume that correlates with success but the quality of your key training sessions. But even so, although I have been quite consistent with my swim and run sessions, I have now missed my key long bike session for 4 or 5 weeks. There's also little sign of things improving despite plentiful stretching and foam roller work.

My plan is to continue with the swim, run and core fitness/flexibility sessions and keep trying the bike in the hope that I can recover in time to make the start line in Pau and Nottingham. Of course then the key question is whether I will have retained/built enough fitness to also make the finish line.

I've been looking into Cortisone injections as a last resort but am unsure whether that's a route I want to go down. These events are my main sporting goals for the year but I have to keep in my mind that they are still sub-goals to the overriding goal of lifelong health, fitness and adventure. I'd prefer therefore to address the route cause of the issues if possible. Fingers crossed it won't come to needing injections and I'll be able to start building the biking up again soon. One things for sure though, the Dragon ride this weekend is definitely out.

Chatsworth 10K

2010-05-23T21:59:00.003+01:00

Any attempts to persuade my sister to enter events over the years have, with the exception of a couple of home town 10K runs, usually been met with a stern NO! Imagine my surprise therefore when I discovered she'd entered a 10K running race this weekend. I had to go and lend my support.

The race took part in the grounds of Chatsworth House in the Peak District. This is a stunning estate particularly on a glorious day such as today and with the sight of the steep hills to be negotiated early in the run, it was clear she hadn't chosen an easy race to get her off the mark.

It was nice to be watching an event for a change, particularly in today's heat. So after Michael Vaughan had got them under way, we spectators went and paddled in the river with the dogs.

It wasn't long before the leaders were back in sight and I was struck by just how fluid they looked. They glided along, making it all look effortless. This 'elite' bunch quickly dropped off however and some of the people only a few minutes back wouldn't have looked out of place in the middle of the pack. The frontrunners seemed to be able to apply long, forceful strides in a graceful way without the pounding that was often evident further down the field.

My sister finished with a big smile on her face in 58:11, which was just outside the top half. A big personal best and a great time considering the heat and hills. Congratulations big sis!

AllSport GPS

2010-05-21T22:22:00.002+01:00

I've recently been trialling AllSport GPS from Trimble. This is an application that allows tracking of your walks/runs/bikes on your smartphone of choice. I've downloaded it to my Blackberry Bold and have found it to work pretty well. As I don't own a dedicated device such as a Garmin and normally take my phone with me on bikes and runs, this is a much more cost effective solution for tracking my workouts. I have found it particularly useful for tracking my runs, which are usually cross-country with the dog. The key features are copied below:

Phone application:

Map your route using GPS to see where you are and where you have been
Accurately record time, speed, distance traveled and calories burned
View a weekly log of all your workouts
Upload data wirelessly to the web for analysis
View speed and elevation graphs
Download routes, maps and training programs wirelessly to your phone

Trimble Outdoors web site:

Analyze and compare your trips with statistics, maps and graphs
See your training history and trip totals in the fitness calendar
Share your trips online with friends and family
Browse trips shared by other users and leading national magazines
Plan new trips and send them wirelessly to your phone

The only real issue I've had to date is an occasional unreliability with uploading a trip to the web-site. At times multiple re-tries have been required but it has got there in the end. It is also sometimes a little slow to initialise the GPS at the start of a trip. All in all though I've been impressed enough to be seriously considering paying the one-off fee of £15.95 once the trial has expired.

An example trip is embedded below, click on Trip Details below for full details of the statistics collected.

This site does not support embedded trip maps. View the trip here instead.

Dragon Ride: ITB or not ITB

2010-05-20T21:46:00.003+01:00

After a little more time thinking about my injury I've convinced myself that it's not a knee injury at all but rather an Iliotibial Band (ITB) injury. I think the previous diagnosis of an LCL inury was, if anything, a secondary problem. The physio had to work hard to find any sign of soreness in my knee ligaments and ITB fits much more naturally with the symptoms.

This is more usually associated with running although it is also a common cycling injury. I developed a similar issue on my other leg a few years ago through running. The symptoms are very similar; the pain appears after a repeatable amount of time and then disappears almost immediately after stopping, it appears on the outside of the knee but can spread to beneath the knee cap (where the tendon attaches to the tibia) and can produce the sharp pain I felt during the Fred Whitton ride. I'm also pre-disposed to this injury being bow-legged and having one leg shorter than the other. Hmm... sounds attractive!

I'm now regularly using a foam roller to try and stretch out the ITB and have experimented with a home made PattStrap. Things are improving slowly but I still haven't managed more than 30 minutes of easy riding without the first signs of symptoms. Strangely, my running hasn't been affected very much.

Last time around I ended up having to take 3 weeks completely off before building up again. Very bad timing in this critical training period for the Ironman and Etape. I hope the foam roller work will help with the recovery this time but I think its still very unlikely that I'll be ready for a mountainous 112 miles in South Wales in 16 days time. I may need to wait another year to slay the Dragon.

Phew - Nothing Serious

2010-05-11T10:54:00.003+01:00

Following last weekends aborted Fred Whitton Challenge, I was keen to get my knee checked out sooner rather than later. I paid a visit to the excellent Rutland Physiotherapy clinic this morning therefore who not only looked at my knee but also the bio-mechanics of my riding position.

I was very relieved to hear that the physio felt I hadn't caused any serious damage. It turns out that I have an inflamed lateral collateral ligament, which should clear up relatively quickly with the usual rest and ice treatment. Thankfully the cruciate ligaments seem fine so hopefully the injury won't scupper my Etape plans and possibly not even the Dragon ride in 3.5 weeks.

So with a knee feeling the benefits of ultrasound treatment, taping to reduce the load on the ligament and some recommendations of cleat and saddle position I left feeling a lot more hopeful than I was feeling on Sunday evening.

I need to build up the riding slowly and stop when feeling any discomfort. It might be time to put the training tyre on my race bike and hook it up to the turbo trainer for a few weeks so I know that I can stop when necessary.

FWC = DNF

2010-05-09T21:36:00.002+01:00

A camping holiday in the Lake District today culminated in the Fred Whitton Challenge. A cold but bright start in stunning scenery promised to make for my best day on the bike to date. It turned out to be my most disappointing.

I knew within 10 minutes that it wasn't a question of if but when I'd be dropping out. I'd developed a knee problem towards the end of the Rutland Sportive 2 weeks ago and although I had no symptoms in midweek runs and turbo sessions, my ride last weekend was cut short by a re-occurrence. I decided to lay off the bike all week and keep my fingers crossed. Midway up Hawkshead hill - the first climb of the day - the knee felt as bad as it had done 2 weeks ago.

I knew I should have dropped out there and then but, perhaps stupidly, pressed on. Just Kirkstone pass and then I'll stop, I told myself. Just the descent... Just Matterdale Pass... By the summit of Matterdale the knee was firmly telling me that enough was enough. I made the SOS call to Em and rolled on.

Group after group went by, kick after kick to hook on to the back failed in sharp, excruciating knee pain. I got to Keswick and felt a fraud for accepting the applause of spectators, expecting to have my feet up in a few minutes time. I stopped multiple times but no sign of my rescue lift. I tried to remove my race number and rolled on. There were no grannies with shopping in their baskets but if there had have been they'd have overtaken me.

I got to Honister pass, the hardest climb to date with long stretches of steep gradients. Surprisingly they were a nice relief - the knee felt marginally better when I was out of the saddle navigating 25% gradients than on the flat. There was a nasty crash on the descent - two riders had collided and looked in very bad shape. I felt lucky to only have a dodgy knee.

I made the first feed station, which was well stocked with sandwiches as well as the usual sweet stuff. There was no phone service however so I had no choice but to roll on. Newlands Pass was another tough climb and I adopted my now familiar technique. Out of the saddle with brief periods in the saddle pushing with only my right leg. At about the half way point and shortly before Whinlatter Pass, I hooked up with Em and finally decided that I couldn't jeopardise my main goals any further and loaded the bike in to the car. Totally gutted.

The injury feels like it could be difficult to shake off and has real potential for scuppering the Etape. I intend to visit a physio to see if they can help. On the positive side, I discovered what a stunning place to ride the Lake District is. With the exception of a dual carriageway section in to Keswick, the route was fantastic. Plenty of challenging climbs mixed in with flatter sections. I also feel that its within my capability with two working knees. There is however the rather large unknown of Hardknott/Wrynose pass, which is one of the most crazy stretches of road I've ever seen and was scary enough to drive!

Congratulations to all those who took part and completed the ride. I definitely plan to make a return trip when fit to join the finishers club.

Compact or triple crankset?

2010-04-27T23:02:00.003+01:00

In 2007 I was living in New York and went to a talk by Cervelo at SBR in Manhattan. I was in the market for a bike to allow rides around Central Park and into New Jersey with the New York cycle club. I didn't really need anything fancy but I was sold on the Cervelo Soloist Carbon and with the pound/dollar exchange rate at a now unimaginable 2.2, it felt like it was half price. I took a deep breath and handed over my credit card.

I later learned that the bike was supplied with a standard race set up i.e. a double chainset with 53 tooth and 39 tooth chainwheels on the front and a 12t-23t cassette on the back. When I started dabbling in hilly sportives I soon learned that this was not an ideal set up. The 2009 Discover Rutland sportive drove this point home and soon after I changed to a 12t-27t cassette. This lowered the effective wheel size of my bottom gear from 45" to 38", which helped a lot in subsequent hilly sportives such as the 2009 Tour of the Peak and 2010 Hell of the Ashdown. However, with my 2010 Etape plans I felt that I needed a little more from my gears and was left with a choice to change to either a compact (50t-34t) or triple (53t-39t-30t) chainset.

In the end I decided to go for the compact and had it installed just before the 2010 Cheshire Cat sportive and the fiendishly steep ascent of Mow Cop. This decision was made largely due to simplicity. I was fairly confident that the surrounding components (front mech, rear mech, shifters etc.) would support swapping a compact in for a double but was less confident that this would be the case for a triple and that I might need to go further trouble and expense.

I've now done a few rides on the new set-up including two century rides and my conclusion at this point is that I wish I'd have gone down the triple route. There are two main reasons for this:

1) Lowest gear; I still don't feel like I have many gears in reserve to bail me out for example on the Tourmalet at the end of the Etape or Hardknott Pass on the Fred Whitton. My bottom gear was well used on the Discover Rutland sportive last weekend, which doesn't have as steep climbs as the Fred Whitton or as long climbs as the Etape. Moving to a compact took the effective wheel size of my bottom gear down to 33", a triple would have reduced this another 4" to 29". That's insurance I'd quite like to have for times of need.

2) Gear changes; I was able to negotiate quite a variety of terrain with my old 39t chainwheel and could quite happily complete whole rides without changing to the big ring or doing so only occasionally when wanting to put the foot down on flats or descents. I'm finding I have to change far from frequently between the big and small rings now, which makes for harder work. This can be a particular problem for me on long rides as I tend to develop Ulnar nerve induced numbness in my fingers. It also adds mechanical risk; my chain came off 3 times on the last sportive when changing in both directions. It might be argued that this is a set-up problem but the additional risk remains. Using a triple would allow me to retain the 39t chainwheel for the majority of work, the 52t ring for speedier work and still have the 30t ring for insurance. Having 3 chainwheels adds additional mechanical risk too of course but less so if the requirement to switch between them is reduced.

This conclusion may be a little one-sided as I've never ridden a triple and so have no personal experience to draw on for comparison. The only issues I've heard of however are non-issues for me; a small amount of additional weight and a loss of street cred. It's all pretty academic for me at this point as I'll be running the compact now its bought and installed but I thought I'd share my experiences in case they may be of use to others making a similar choice.

Discover Rutland CiCLE Tour 2010

2010-04-25T22:53:00.002+01:00

Twelve months ago I entered the 50-mile version of this event with barely enough miles in the legs to be confident of completing that. Deciding en-route at the split point of the 50 and 100 mile routes to go long with no fuel or idea what I'd let myself in for does not rank as one of my wisest decisions. As the flat start became an increasing barrage of short and sharp hills, more and more of my muscles began cramping forcing me to call Em for a lift home at around 85 miles! Although I did 35 miles more than planned that day, I still felt I had unfinished business on the course and yesterday was my chance to settle the score. Em had also decided to see what improvement she had made over the last 12 months on the 50-mile route.

With the start literally down the road, we couldn't have asked for an easier journey to an event. Registration went smoothly and we were soon at the start with the energy bar and gel we'd been provided with stuffed into my bulging tri bag. Hmm, maybe I overcompensated on the fuel front! I set off just before the 8:45am cut-off for the 100-miler, which meant for a lonely first 10 miles as most riders were already down the road. The first group of 5 or so riders I saw were actually coming in my direction! It turns out we'd all missed an arrow, which resulted in an extra 6 miles and 20-odd minutes in my case. The plus side was I'd found a good group to work with.

This ride can really lull you in to a false sense of security, the first 30 miles or so are relatively flat but then the hills begin to appear with increasing frequency. Well I guess we were warned by the course description:

"The 100 mile challenge covers terrain typical of Rutland and East Leicestershire; steep, short climbs that come thick and fast on quiet lanes through picturesque villages. The course is deliberately designed to get harder as it progresses, so don't be fooled by the relatively easy start out of Oakham."

Following the second feed I recognised the point at which the wheels came off last year. A steep, narrow downhill on which I'd managed to do a somersault with the bike still clipped to my feet (thankfully on to a soft lawn!) followed by a steep climb when the cramps started to appear. This year I managed to avoid the somersault and the cramps but still felt weak on the climb. The group I was riding with had already reduced to two but was now down to one as the other guy danced up the hill dropping me in the process. All a bit demoralising as I didn't feel I'd made a huge amount of progress since last year.

As the ride progressed I found a second wind however - a stark contrast to last year. I'd been steadily catching the guy who dropped me earlier in the ride and around the 85 mile mark we came up to the steep hill that was the final nail in the coffin for me last year. This time around I felt pretty good and managed to get my own back by passing him - very satisfying!

This high point of the ride was soon followed by my lowest point. I'd been counting down the miles to the final feed where I intended to take on more fuel and fill my empty water bottles. The distance came and went and I was back out on to a long country lane at which point I had a bit of a sense of humour failure. I desperately popped a gel and cycled on another 3 or 4 miles before finally reaching the final feed station. Amazing what a psychological impact little things like this can have.

My impromptu riding partner caught me at the feed station and we finished the last 13 miles fairly strongly. This gave me a total time of 6:27:52 for the 106 miles and placed me 87th out of the 237 finishers. A fair bit further down the order than at the Cheshire Cat but the 20-odd minute detour didn't help in this regard. Em had texted "I loved it!". It turns out she had felt much better than last year and was the 8th lady home in the 50-miler.

While it was great to get another century under the belt, I was left feeling less rather than more confident about the Fred Whitton in 2 weeks. Judging by this ride my biggest weakness on the bike is the steeper climbs. I seem to struggle more than others of a similar pace when the gradient really kicks up but am relatively ok on more sensible gradients. I guess this is good news for the Etape but bad news for the Fred Whitton, which has a number of sections with crazy gradients. I guess I just have to see how it goes and try and hang in there. I intend to try and pace myself very carefully but the chances of an uninterrupted ride up Hardknott Pass approach zero!

Paris Marathon 2010

2010-04-14T22:27:00.004+01:00

I took some pain killers. Not exactly big news but I never take pain killers unless really necessary. Last Sunday afternoon however I popped a few pills as I hobbled around Paris sightseeing and contemplating that exercise is supposed to be good for you!

The day started well with blue skies as Em, Em's friend Rach (who have run a number of marathons together) and I exited the Metro at the Arc de Triomphe. The scale of the event was clear to see as thousands of people milled around trying to find their way. We eventually found the street that the bag drop was situated on and by the time we had navigated around the fenced off areas, queued to drop the bag (why didn't they provide us with stickers to speed things up?) and then for the portaloos we'd already used up our hour window to prepare for the start. A swift jog back to the Champs-Elysees as close to our 3:45 to 4:00 zone as possible found us joining the crowds as they were already shuffling forward. Not the most relaxed of starts but we were there, the atmosphere was great and the thronging masses spanning down the Champs-Elysees were a sight to see.

The race included a number of pacers. Given my recent 20-mile run, my estimated finish time was about 3:46 to 3:47 going by standard formula. My plan was therefore to try and keep the 3:45 pacer in my sights. I discovered very quickly however that a big marathon like this is not an event to be too worried about precise pacing. I found it near impossible to get in to my own rhythm given the crowds and the 3:45 pacer was soon way down the road. I decided quite early not to worry too much about this, to go with the flow and enjoy the beautiful Paris sights along the way.

About 8 or 9 miles in I noticed two familiar faces up ahead. I'd gone ahead of Em and Rach in the early stages but they'd done a much better job of navigating the crowds than me and were now ahead. We hooked up and ran together until around the half way point when we lost each other at one of the busy water stations. The first half had gone well; plenty of sights to see, plenty of support including firemen on ladders protruding across the street, lots of bands and a good atmosphere. I felt OK but probably not as good as at the Ashby-20 even though there'd been less hills and I'd been going 10 or 20 seconds a mile slower.

My main memory of the next 5-miles or so is a long section going up and down underpasses as we skirted the Seine. We eventually surfaced and passed the Eiffel Tower around 18-19 miles. I was still feeling good and popped my second gel around 20-miles. It didn't help however as things started to get very tough, very quickly. I'd had a few passing twinges along the way but all of a sudden my right quad felt terrible and I was worried I was doing exactly what I was worried about and causing lasting damage that would jeopardise my Etape and Ironman plans. Added to this both my feet were blisters and hurt generally due to the impact. Was I really doing this for fun? What the hell was I doing? The mental battle had well and truly begun. If I'd have been on a training run, I'd have probably stopped but there was bugger all chance I was going to do that 20-odd miles in to a Marathon.

The graph shows how much my pace dropped off in the last 6-miles. The increasing numbers equal increasing pain! This was the case even though I'd gone a fair bit slower leading up to this point than I was capable of going by recent races. This doesn't seem to matter in my limited experience of long distance running. The impact of running for that long gets you regardless.

Needless to say I was very relieved to see a large "Arrive" sign and the sight of the Arc de Triomphe. I crossed the line with an official time of 3:52:32. A few minutes slower than the formula predicted time but given the crowds and the large wall I hit pretty pleasing nonetheless and enough to put me in the top 40% of finishers. Em and Rach finished together a few minutes later and we eventually found each after the huge bottleneck to leave the finish area. Em had had a storming run finishing in 3:54:59, nearly 15 minutes quicker than her previous best and placing her in the top 20% of women.

There is no doubt that the Paris Marathon is a great event and I'm very pleased to have experienced a big city marathon with a great atmosphere. There is however a price to pay for this scale and atmosphere - it's very difficult to run your own race. I found it impossible to get into my own pace and rhythm for most of the race, which became very frustrating in the latter stages when survival became the name of the game.

As for marathons generally I can't help feeling that they are really not a sensible way to treat your body. They are brutal on your joints and muscles as evidenced by the multitude of people barely able to navigate stairs the next day. I certainly didn't feel I treated my body with respect but rather battered it in to near submission. I don't think my marathon career will be very lengthy therefore. One more on the August 8th when nicely warmed up by the swim and bike (!) and I suspect that might be my lot.

Cheshire Cat 2010 Results

2010-03-30T17:26:00.004+01:00

The results have now been posted for this year's Cheshire Cat sportive and can be found here (or at least could at the time of writing).

The Finish Time is quoted as actual riding time i.e. not including time taken at the feed stops. My time therefore was 5:57:47 - great to squeeze under 6 hours. This placed me 144th out of the verified finishers.

With 2700 entrants that's nearly the top 5%, Wow!

But hang on, only 1683 entered the 100-mile version. Still, that's the top 9%.

But hang on, only 1291 actually started. Make that the top 11%

But hang on, only 892 were verified finishers. Some didn't finish, others probably did the shorter route others probably had myriad other reasons for not crossing all the timing mats. Make that the top 16%

But hang on, taking into account my leisurely 23 minutes gobbling lovely Chatwins cakes at the feed stations and my placing drops to 163rd. Make that the top 18%

But hang on, this is not a race so all this is irrelevant!

Whatever the analysis, I'm quite encouraged by this result. I will however be keeping in mind a conversation I had at the finish with a veteran of 10 Etapes who remarked that the Etape makes this ride look like a Sunday School ride. Lots of work to be done yet!

Cheshire Cat 2010

2010-03-29T13:13:00.003+01:00

The organisers bill this sportive as the season opener and while there are a number of sportives earlier in the year, this is the first larger scale event with a capacity 2700 entrants this year.

Em and Eye had stayed in Macclesfield with relatives the night before and were woke up an hour earlier than expected as the clock change had been accounted for twice, once by us and again by the phone! Given our hosts didn't get in until the early hours, I doubt we were the most welcome of guests when the alarm went off. Sorry Andrew and Farida!

It's a good job however as by the time we'd made our way to Crewe, registered and queued up for the start it was 9:30am - later than we'd hoped to start. It was shaping up to be a nice day with blue skies and a bit of sun. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits and I was looking forward to my first century of the year (and 3rd ever). Em had decided to stick to the 45-mile option.

We rolled out of the start and away from the shelter of the stadium I immediately noticed the wind, which proved to feature quite heavily later in the ride. I also noticed that my cycle computer was tripping in and out meaning that I never really knew my time and distance throughout the ride. I must do a better check of my bike before starting!

The first section went quickly and it wasn't long before Mow Cop was on the horizon. I'd heard a lot about this climb leading up to the event with reports of gradients of 30+% at the steepest section. The pace slowed as we approached and everyone steeled themselves. I'd finally got round to installing a compact chainset ahead of this ride and as I'd made it up Winnat's Pass in last year's Tour of the Peak ride on a double, I was fairly confident about making it up without putting a foot down and claiming my "killer mile" medal.

The gradient reared up and as I wondered how much stepper it could get, the steepest section by the pub came into view. It looked like a brick wall! There were a few riders sneaking a quick breather before attempting it but I wanted to do the whole climb without stopping so rode on, keeping as much as I could in the tank. The road sign read 25% gradient (which I think was probably about right) and I was out of the saddle punching up the hill in as straight a line as possible. The road was packed with riders and one to my right gave up the ghost and veered sharply into my path missing my front wheel by a whisker. I wouldn't have liked to have failed the climb by being taken off by another rider! There were plenty of riders walking and weaving but I managed to navigate my way past and to a hoard of riders stopped at the top of this section. I snook through the gaps to carry on and was surprised to see the road rear up again round the next corner. I passed the supporting kids who were having fun ripping in to the walkers and made the real summit. I began the descent feeling pretty pleased as I'd found the climb quite a bit easier than Winnat's - probably mostly due to the compact.

My mental image of this ride had been one of Mow Cop and a couple of other smaller climbs in the early sections followed by 60-70 miles of flat. I was surprised therefore to find quite a number of testing climbs in the next 20 miles or so. The first third of the ride was definitely harder than I had anticipated. I was feeling good on the climbs however and hoped I wouldn't pay the price for them later as the ride finished flat. I'll need to take it easier on the early climbs in the Etape however.

There were huge queues for energy drink at the first feed so I decided I'd make do and stuck to the flapjacks, bananas and Viennese whirls. I noticed a definite drop in temperature when back on the road and a definite increase in wind speed. I tried my best to hook up with other riders to share the wind.

Just before the second feed station, I was witness to bad side of sportive riding. At a busy junction a group of riders were swarming all over a car and a few cut right in front of it. The driver slammed the brakes on and I only just managed to avoid a collision behind. The driver was understandably livid. It's all too easy to get caught up in an event and forget other road users. The sausage rolls at the second feed went down well however and I quickly forgot my near miss.

The wind was very evident in the third section. I managed to get in some good groups and at one stage I was in a group of around 12 riding in a well ordered double-file group - a much better way to cut through the wind! I didn't escape it totally however and had to do plenty of slogging. After leaving the third feed station, there were far fewer riders around and I thought I was in for a lonely last 25 miles. I managed to hook up with a few riders here and there. With about 10 miles to go a rider came storming past me and I decided that looked like a good ride home. I grabbed his wheel and was pleased to finish strongly with him in a time of 6hrs 20mins.

This was a very well organised event, it seems that KiloToGo are improving event by event. While a big event like this inevitably results in longer queues, they were manageable. The feed stations were good and despite my initial reservations the route turned out to be just the thing for this time of year. My only real criticism is that it would be good to get full results on the web-site earlier. They're still not available and as it is all automated I'm sure they could be made so almost immediately. Also, it would be nice to have some mileage markers along the way for plonkers like me who don't check their computers are working ahead of time.

Ashby 20 Race Report

2010-03-21T21:31:00.002Z

Today was the Ashby 20 mile run, which Em and me had entered as a final build up race for the Paris Marathon in 3 weeks time. Following, my nephew Joe's great performance at the Brighton half marathon I'd also persuaded him to join us as well.

We woke to a beautiful spring day and were looking forward to a nice run in the sun. However on the drive to Ashby we hit a wall of fog, which was all a bit disappointing. Thankfully the fog cleared during the race and we had near perfect conditions for most of the run.

There was plenty of parking at the leisure centre HQ where you could either leave a bag to be collected or have it transported to the finish. This worked like clockwork for us. However, after depositing your bag there was a 10 minute walk to the start area and briefing. It was possible therefore to be outside for 30 minutes or so in your race gear before starting. It was nippy this morning but manageable. I wouldn't have liked to have done that on a colder or wetter day however. This was the only minor gripe I had with the organisation, which was otherwise thoroughly excellent.

The course was roughly a mile out, 2 loops of 9 miles and a mile back. It wasn't long before we were in our rhythm and on the first lap. There were 4 drink stations on each lap with numerous friendly and encouraging marshals giving bottled water, jelly babies, chocolate and gels. We soon discovered that this was far from a flat course. Nothing too steep but plenty energy sapping undulations. I was feeling good however and happily moving along at under 8.5 mile pace.

The first lap went relatively quickly and we were back in Packington to be greeted by a crowd of locals who really seemed to get behind the race - encouragement was to be found throughout the course. I crossed the 13 mile mark only about a minute slower than my pace in the Brighton half marathon, which was quite pleasing given the hills and 2 loo stops! By this time however I'd developed some blisters on my feet that were causing some difficulty. I least now I have a better idea of where to Compeed ahead of the marathon.

The miles seemed to go a lot slower in the latter parts of the race but I felt like I was maintaining my pace. From a cardiovascular and muscular perspective I was still feeling pretty good. The knees were starting to complain however along with those damn blisters! The last 800m or so were within a park and the sound of the tannoy was very welcome. I crossed the line with a time of 2:50:03, which I was pleased with and almost exactly the time predicted by the runners world calculator given my recent half marathon result! My pace had also dropped off gradually giving me an average pace of 8.5 minute miles and placing me comfortably in the top half. The winning time was nearly an hour quicker - unbelievable!

The finish was well stocked with water, high-5 and an Aldi goodie bag, which together with the sweatshirt made for very good value for money. I waited for Em and Joe to finish who appeared together after hooking up with about a mile to go. Joe put in a sneaky sprint to finish one second ahead of Em in 2:58:41

The race bills itself as the premier pre-London marathon race and was voted as one of the 12 best races in the country by readers of Runner's World. It was easy to see why on the day and it definitely comes recommended. Word must be spreading as 1000 places sold out for the first time this year.

Puncheur Sportive 2010

2010-03-08T08:52:00.004Z

We awoke in the Ashdown Forest to brilliant blue skies and bright sunshine. It looked like a perfect day for our second Sportive of the year - a 69-mile trek around Sussex countryside with a summit finish on the most famous climb in the south-east - Ditchling Beacon.

The deep frost on the car however showed it had been a very cold night and with the temperature reading -2.5 we set out for the start. This was only a little warmer than at the Hell of the Ashdown, which had been treacherous. Maybe not such a perfect day for it after all! By the time we reached the start the temperature had rose slightly to -1 however, positively balmy!

From the ride description it would be easy to dismiss most of the ride as mere preparation for the final push up the Beacon but knowing the area I knew this would be a mistake, there is plenty of energy sapping stuff along the way making this ride a challenge. This is also shown by the standards; inside 4hrs, 4.5hrs and 5hrs for Gold, Silver and Bronze respectively. The course had also been cleverly designed with the half way point around the inlaws place and so Em decided that she would jump out at that point as she's not managed to get on the bike since our last Sportive in late January.

By the time we arrived, registered and prepared our bikes it was near to the 9am cut-off for starting and most of the riders had already gone. My hopes of getting in a good group to shelter from the biting cold wind were pretty much gone. Ah, well. We dipped our dippers and were off!

The early roads were clear however it wasn't long before we found ourselves on the back lanes and the ice appeared. I feared that this was to be Hell of the Ashdown part Deux at times as there were 4 or 5 times where we were back to sheepishly navigating ice patches unclipped. On the worse section my luck ran out and without warning I hit the deck at about 6 or 7 mph. I was lucky to escape with just a bit of road rash and a sore knee. Despite the fall the conditions were nothing like as bad as the Hell of the Ashdown however.

The course was very clearly marked with orange arrows at each junction and an orange marker immediately following each junction to confirm you were going in the right direction. Despite this I managed to make a wrong turn. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise however as when I got back to the route I hooked up with a group of 3 riders who were going a good pace. It didn't last long though as one of the guys had a blow-out. I'm not sure of the etiquette in situations like this. All three were clearly together and stopped together. I wasn't sure whether to wait as well as I'd rode with them for a few miles and felt guilty cadging a ride and then cycling off when they were in trouble. I decided it would be a bit strange to wait for total strangers based on a few minutes of shared riding so headed on my way.

The feed stop was stocked by the excellent Infinity Foods and I stopped briefly to fill my bottles and to grab a piece of their flapjack, which was to die for. My average speed to this point was about 15.6mph and I felt like I'd had to work quite hard for that. It was looking like a bronze was on the cards but I'd be outside the silver time.

I went through a bit of a rough patch about 50-55 miles and was concerned to be struggling already. Another gel - my 3rd of the day - seemed to help and I was able to re-establish my rhythm. I'd bought a tri bag for this ride, which was a great help in giving access to my gels and energy bars. I definitely need to think more carefully about stocking this properly and getting my fuelling right.

By 60-miles, the imposing South Downs were in sight and I was drawn to contemplating the climb ahead. This gave me some insight in to the psychology of the Etape. Approaching a climb with increasingly fatigued legs, wondering whether you still have enough in the tank. On this ride however the sting in the tail was only around 1Km at 10% with a maximum of 12%. On the Etape, we'll have ridden nearly 50% more miles including two major Cols and will have to tackle a climb 19 times longer. This just seemed silly but was tomorrow's challenge. Today, my average speed had risen to 15.9mph and I started to wonder whether I might sneak a silver.

I popped my 4th gel and settled in for the final climb. I remember cycling the Beacon being seen to be a good challenge as a standalone climb when I lived in Brighton a few years back. It was nice to be back doing it again after 68 miles and over 4 hours of riding. The legs were certainly not up to punching up the hill but they held together enough for a steady grind and I reached the top with a rolling time of 4hr 26mins. While the flapjack would have been worth losing silver, I hoped I hadn't taken 4 mins to eat it. Sure enough I dipped my dipper and saw 4hrs 28mins and Silver on the printout, which placed me in the top 25% of riders. Delighted!

I'd definitely recommend giving this ride a go. It was very well organised ride with excellent waymarkers, an excellent foodstop from Infinity Foods who also put on muesli at the start and pasta at the finish. Don't be tricked in to thinking this is an easy ride though. While there are plenty sportives that are more challenging, I found this plenty challenging enough!

February Stats

2010-02-28T23:31:00.002Z

Another month gone already so here is my training summary:

Swim

Time: 6hr 14min

Distance: 18.5Km

Sessions: 8

Bike

Time: 13hr 6min

Road Miles: 88 miles

Sessions: 12

Run

Time: 14hr 5min

Distance: 136Km

Sessions: 12

Total time: 33hrs 25min

The total volume is 35mins behind target, which is accounted for by swapping tomorrow's rest day for today as it was Em's birthday (and the League cup final!). In that respect things have pretty much gone to plan and I'm pleased to have a much more solid running month than January as I build up to the Paris marathon. However, the bike volume has been going in the wrong direction and I've only managed to get out on the road 3 times. This is starting to get worrying for the Etape but I'm not panicking just yet. I have two sportives in March starting with the Puncheur next weekend and the weather just has to start getting better soon so I hope to be able to build up the road miles.

Etape Bib Number Questionnaire

2010-02-23T22:05:00.002Z

I received an e-mail from Cyclemundo this morning asking me to fill in a questionnaire, the answers to which will dictate my bib number. One of the questions is "Please add all information that would justify a preferred bib number? Tell us more about your inner motivation". Looks like we have to make a pitch for a decent position at the start. It all feels a bit uncomfortable, I think I'd prefer a lottery!

Anyone else been asked to fill something like this in?

Sussex Beacon Half Marathon 2010

2010-02-22T10:07:00.003Z

This was the 3rd time that I've entered this race. I never made it to the start line in 2008 and turned up totally unprepared in 2009 stumbling around in 2hrs 03mins. Although, my winter running training has been significantly disrupted due to injury I hoped to give a better account of myself as we arrived in Brighton on Sunday.

I was running with Em and my 19 year old nephew Joe, who did the race in 2008 when I was reduced to being a spectator. The banter between the two of us had been growing over the last few weeks adding a bit of spice to the occasion.

The weather forecast had been variable over the preceding week from bright sunshine to gusty, cold conditions with lashing rain. As we lined up at the start with the other 8000 who had entered, the threatening clouds opened and the lashing rain appeared. Wet, wind and cold was going to be the order of the day but at least the worst of it was at the start and end.

It took 4 or 5 minutes to get to the start line after the gun as we all shuffled forward. It was much more crowded than last time I entered, which made for difficult and slow going as everyone dodged around each other. This was particularly problematic for the first few miles through the town centre. I only had one "crash" though as a guy darted quickly to the left, nearly took me out and then glared at me like I was the devil. Joe did a better job at navigating the masses than me and stole a lead of a hundred meters or so. I tried hard to keep his bobbing blond hair in my sights. I'd already lost track of Em by this point.

Out of town and on to the sea front I'd expected the crowds to be thinning out but it remained crowded throughout the race. Things got easier but there was dodging to be done pretty much all the way to the end. The route had changed this year due to weather damage closing the undercliff walkway beyond the Marina. We therefore headed east to the Marina before turning for a long stretch along the sea front to Hove. I'd expected Joe to start quickly and fade in the later stages so I pegged him at around 100 meters and tried to settle into a rhythm through the crowds and wind.

I don't know if the mile markers had blown away, not been put out or I'd just missed them but I didn't see any for most of the race. I guess it was about 7 miles that we turned in Hove and made our way back to the Marina. It was nice to feel the wind behind our backs and I was still feeling good. Joe seemed to be flagging a little ahead and so I stepped up the speed a little and a mile or so later I was on his tail. I made a couple of attempts to sneak past in the next couple of miles but Joe showed me he still had his eyes open and plenty left in the tank as he quickly pushed ahead again.

Past the wreckage of the burned down West Pier (which I find strangely beautiful) and past the Palace Pier. I guess we must have been 10 miles, which had been Joe's longest training run. I thought he might be struggling by now therefore and I tried to drop him. He easily went with me and a bit later put in his own push. I thought for a while he was going to drop me but I managed to hold on to the back of him.

Inside the final mile and I started to hear Joe breathing more heavily. I put in another push and felt myself creep ahead and with my best attempt at a sprint finish managed to hold him to the line. We both really enjoyed our mini-race and passed loads of runners in the last few miles in our attempts to drop each other. Joe's only been running consistently for a while and I was impressed that he held his speed right to the end. If he keeps running I'm braced for a complete spanking sometime soon!

I finished in 1:48:56, which was 30 seconds or so quicker than my time at Seaford last year. Joe finished in 1:49:12, a stonking 14 minutes quicker than 2008. Em finished in 1:53:31, 3 minutes quicker than Seaford. So a round of PB's, pretty pleasing given the conditions and congestion delays. We didn't contemplate this for too long as the heavens really opened and with our bananas (disappointed that's all there was at the finish) and foil wraps we shuffled off to the car for our warm flask that Em's Mum had thankfully thought to prepare for us.

Swimming Golf

2010-02-10T23:45:00.003Z

I've invested a fair amount of effort in the past in to lengthening my swimming stroke. This has mostly been influenced by the Total Immersion technique, whose focus on reducing resistive force (i.e. drag) rather than (or as well as) increasing propulsive force strikes a chord with me.

The number of strokes I take per 25m length is now typically around 15, which I'm quite satisfied with. However I'm not so satisfied with my speed, which hasn't really improved. I can comfortably swim long distances at 30 seconds a length or slightly under, which is a pace I'd be quite happy with for the Outlaw triathlon. However, as I'm spending a few hours a week in the pool I'd like to feel that I was making some progress.

One of the things I've decided to pay more attention to therefore is my golf score. This involves counting the number of strokes taken over 50m and adding that to the number of seconds taken. This allows not only the stroke rate to be taken into account but also the effectiveness of the stroke. There's no sense in increasing stroke length if most of your time is spent gliding and slowing down. Conversely, too high a stroke rate means you don't get the full benefit of all the effort that has been put in.

My first experiments showed that my score was typically in the mid-80's with 81 being my best. Not very impressive - well above par!

This was achieved by maintaining my 15 strokes per length - increasing the stroke count seemed to increase my score. I now plan to experiment further and see whether I can reduce the score by lowering my stroke count further.

Race Weight

2010-02-10T22:19:00.005Z

Sitting here with a bottle of Leffe and bag of crisps (albeit wholemeal Sunbites!), it seems easy to make commitments about my weight. I've been reluctant to do so up until now as I wanted a period to adjust to my new weight after losing a fair few pounds last year in reaching my 196 pound target. I've been hovering around 194-196 pounds for 3 months or so now but am still carrying a fair amount of dead weight.

I was interested to read Joe Friel's piece on Climbing like a Tour Rider via Andrew's blog. He uses a metric of pounds/inches to give an indication of climbing potential. So at 196 pounds and 74 inches I'm currently 196/74=2.65. He notes that those with a result closer to 2.0 have particularly good potential as climbers. This would equate to 148 pounds for me - ridiculous! However the upper-end of his scale is 2.5, which equates to 185 pounds for me. This seems like a realistic weight given the unwanted baggage I'm currently carrying. I've decided therefore that this would be a good target weight for my two "A races" - the Etape and Outlaw triathlon. I hope to naturally lose more weight as I increase the training load but I will probably also have to start being a bit more careful with my eating/drinking too.

Now pass me the Leffe, I'm sure I can squeeze another glass out of that bottle.

Progress?

2010-02-06T17:25:00.002Z

We're staying with family in Derbyshire this weekend and one of the rides I like to do is a shortish loop out into the Peak District which includes two good climbs that are quite long in 2.3 and 3.2 miles. They both have a gradient that allows a good rhythm to be established rather than being short and steep as some of the other hills in the area. I started the ride this morning and wasn't feeling particularly strong on some of the initial bumpy stuff, which was a bit demoralising as I'd hoped to be seeing some signs of improvement by now. I felt no better than last time I did the ride 6 weeks or so ago.

Things got better as I warmed up and I felt better on the 2.3 mile climb. This leads to a great descent that demands top gear and pushing the speed into the 40's. A few miles after comes the second climb, which I love. Challenging but manageable and rising to the top of the hills. The fog put paid to any views today though. About two-thirds through the climb the gradient increases a little and I felt the need to change down but knew I was already in bottom gear. I then did something that I commonly do when needing another gear on a climb - look down at my gears just in case some miracle had occurred and a few extra gears have appeared. Usually I just confirm to myself that I really am in bottom gear already but today I looked to find I was still in the big (52t) ring! What a great feeling. I'd done the climb feeling the same as I had done previously on the 39t ring and was still going pretty strongly. I was so excited that I left in the big ring for the rest of the ride, navigating the last two smaller climbs in the big ring as well!

Maybe the training is having an effect after all. Phew!

January Stats

2010-02-04T23:12:00.003Z

Several other posts (Simon, Karen, Stuart) detailing January stats prompted me to calculate my own, which I thought I'd share:

Swim

Sessions: 8

Time: 6hr 55mins

Distance: 20.25Km

Bike

Sessions: 14

Time: 18hr 05mins

Road miles: 118

Run

Sessions: 6

Time: 4hr 35mins

Distance: 50Km

Total time: 29hr 35mins

I'm fairly pleased with the swim and bike stats but the run has been behind plan. I didn't run at all until the 15th and since then I've not been getting enough runs in due to my niggling ankle injury. I hope to be able to have a more solid running month in February.

My weight has held pretty steady in January and the extreme spike in my post-Christmas fat percentage reading has thankfully now corrected itself - it took all of January though!

Hell of the Ashdown 2010

2010-02-02T08:28:00.003Z

A lot of one-liners regarding hell and ice come to mind but I'm sure they've been well used already given the time of year of this event so I'll spare you!

Em and me were staying at Em's folks place in the Ashdown Forest the night before and the crystal clear winter sky was beautiful but also worrying - the temperature was going to be low the next morning. A glimpse out of the window confirmed our fears, the morning frost was very deep and it looked cooold, the kind of day I wouldn't have dreamt of getting the bike out if it wasn't that we'd entered an event.

Despite the event title the route barely brushes through the Ashdown Forest at around the half-way point, which meant we had a 45 minute drive to the start. The last minute rush wasn't helped by not being able to get in to the car. The door had frozen shut! A kettle of hot water and some strong tugging finally did the trick and we were off - with the temperature reading -5! We looked at each other in a "this is bonkers" kind of way.

Registration and the start were well organised and we lined up on time for our 9:05 start. It wasn't long before the hills came, within a mile we hit Cudham Test Hill which is quite short but rears up to a 1 in 4 gradient. Punching up this out of the saddle certainly warmed me up. Soon after came Toy's Hill, which is a longer but less steep climb. I got in to a nice rhythm up here and was feeling strong, passing quite a few riders. Soon after I found myself in a good group going at a snappy but manageable pace. Things were going well, I even found time to look around at the beautiful frosty scenery.

We passed a few riders who had punctured and just as I was thinking to myself "I've been lucky, I haven't punctured in any of the events I've done" the dreaded PSST, PSST, PSST sound appeared. I've never been the quickest at changing inner tubes and I soon discovered that sub-zero temperatures really don't help. It took me ages to get the tyre off! I was thinking to myself how awful it would be to be fumbling around like this on the Etape as the broom wagon approaches. What a way for it to end. I must get better at fixing punctures! A new inner tube, a CO2 cannister and what seemed like an eternity later I was back on the road.

I'm not sure when the ice appeared but it soon became the dominant feature of the event. On some of the lanes it was absolutely treacherous. Metres long stretches covering the entire width of the road and up to 3 inches deep. Time after time the road became a sea of riders pushing or very gingerly moving forward. I couldn't help but chuckle when we got to a stretch of road that had been closed to cars due to icy conditions. Right next to the Road Closed sign was another sign telling riders to carry on! The conditions made for very slow progress and I was pleased to reach the first feed stop in Hartfield. It was at around 27 miles and had taken me well over 2 hours to get there!

I was now in familiar territory and knew that the hardest climb of the day was around the corner, which I've done a few times in training. I approached egging myself on, saying "The Wall" to myself in a Gladiators TV show sort of way (I can't believe I just admitted that!). This is quite a challenging climb but knowing what's coming really helped and I was able to navigate it without too much trouble. It was the only time on the ride that I actually felt like taking layers off though!

Following this climb there was mercifully a long stretch in which the ice wasn't a problem. This included the "Col de Groombridge", which I felt reasonably strong on. The ice soon re-appeared however and progress again slowed. The 2.5 mile long Bayley's Hill was notable for two reasons. Firstly some of the specatators had written on the road in chalk Tour de France style, which was quite a nice touch. Secondly, the stretches of ice which brought me to a standstill. Climbing at this stage was hard enough but doing so when the back wheel is spinning was doubly so. By the top of this hill I was willing the miles away and desperate for the second feed stop at Ide Hill to appear.

After stuffing myself with bananas and Mule bars I set off for the final leg. Only one more notable climb to go - Star Hill. I was struggling by now though and even small inclines were taking their toll. With the legs gone, I settled in for a final grind. 5 or 6 riders came by me panting but still able to push up the hill. This was very different to me, I wasn't heavy breathing but my legs had nothing left to give. It's this lack of stamina that's my limiter at the moment, which is a bit of a worry. I clearly need to improve this but I do think I can get more out of the strength I have with better gearing. Frequently I was at a much lower cadence than others going at a similar pace on the hills and I had no gears left. I'm not strong enough to push a 39/27 on a long hilly route, which means I have to hit the legs too hard. This takes its toll as the ride progresses. The postive note was that this wasn't a complete blow up. I was able to hang on to the back of one of the riders who passed me at the top of the hill and finish the last 4 or 5 miles fairly strongly. My overall time was 5hrs 19mins, which at least put me in the top half of the 514 finishers of the 110k route.

All in all, this is a challenging ride with some testing climbs and a lot of bumpy stuff in between. However, I doubt its anything like as challenging as the Fred Whitton or Etape. The fact I found it so tough is worrying therefore and I started to wonder whether I've bitten off more than I can chew with those events. However, it's still early in the year, I'm still in my base training phase and I have time to ready myself. I feel like I have a lot of work to do!

A final note on the organisation. There's been a few words of discontent aimed at the organisers. While there is a question as to whether the event should have been cancelled or an alternative route used, I for one am pleased it went ahead. It was great to get a ride like this in early in the year. Once the decision to go ahead had been made I don't think the organisation could be faulted. It was well marshalled and there were people warning riders at the majority of the most dangerous sections. As a result, I didn't see or hear of any major incidents. So thanks for a great event and being brave enough to allow riders to take responsibility for their own decisions rather than being scared off by our growing blame culture.

Training Targets and "Failure"

2010-01-25T23:17:00.004Z

I'm now two weeks in to my training plan and on the whole things have gone pretty well. I've trained consistently and have managed to start running again albeit gingerly on the still dodgy ankle. I was pleased to be able to put in a 8-9 mile cross country run today with only a few twinges of pain, which is a bit of a relief given I have a half-marathon in less than 4 weeks.

Last week included two 2.5km swims, 1 short run, 1 transition run, 2 turbos and a 2-hour ride. I moved house at the weekend so the only way I could get the latter in was to set off before sunrise on Saturday so I could be back before all our very much appreciated helpers arrived. I'd planned a run on Sunday but decided instead to swap my rest day from today to Sunday to recover from a day of lugging heavy furniture around and so I could run with Em today. Total training time was therefore 6 hours 10 minutes against a 7 hour target. All in all, a pretty solid committed week especially given the house move. Nevertheless I had to fight a feeling of failure today as I didn't hit the 7 hour mark.

This really is silly and something I have to put in perspective. As Em pointed out the only difference between a run on Sunday evening and this morning is in my mind. Well it also makes a mess of my graphs on the training spreadsheet! My focus has to be on getting the key training sessions in each week (long swim, bike, run and a transition run) and using the target volumes as a guide not a dictate.

This week will be way off target in the other direction given the extra run today and my first event of the year - Hell of the Ashdown - which will result in more time on the bike. I'm really looking forward to this one. My in-laws live in the area so I've cycled some of the the lanes before and have done one or two of the climbs including "The Wall". It will blow any cobwebs away that's for sure!

Etape 2010 Route - 3D Fly Through

2010-01-20T15:52:00.006Z

Inspired by the Fred Whitton 3D fly through in my previous post, I thought I'd put one together for the Etape route. The easiest way to do it was to create a Tour in Google Earth and embed that within the blog. Unfortunately the route line or markers indicating the start of the 3 main climbs don't appear in this version but I think you can just about make things out. Watch out for the tree lined valleys, which mark the start of the Col de Marie-Blanque and Col du Soulor. Also watch out for motion sickness! Thanks to Velo Peloton for the original KML file.

Fred Whitton Route

2010-01-19T23:10:00.003Z

I was delighted to discover that I'd got a place in the Fred Whitton challenge in May. This seems like a cracking event and a beautiful 112-mile route over all the major Lake District passes. I must admit however to feeling a bit nervous. This looks like one brute of a route and an order of magnitude harder than anything I've done before. The gradient hits 25% in a number of different places and a very scary 33% on Hardknott Pass with 100 miles in the legs! Some of the key climbs are described here and copied below. One things for sure, my 39x27 gearing won't cut it here - I'm going to need every bit of help I can get from my gears. I think a triple is going to be the order of the day and something that I also expect to be grateful for on the Tourmalet in July!

Pass (click for profile)	Summit reached at	Length (km)	Height gain (m)	Average gradient
Kirkstone Pass (from Windermere)	23km	5	394	7.9% (max of 25%)
Honister Pass (from Seatoller)	73km	3	243	7.9% (max of 25%)
Newlands Pass (from Buttermere)	82km	2	210	11.6% (max of 25%)
Whinlatter Pass (from Braithwaite)	94km	4	228	5.7% (max of 25%)
Hardknott Pass (from Brotherilkeld)	154km	2	299	15% (max of 33%)
Wrynose Pass (from Cockley Beck)	159km	3	172	5.7% (max of 25%)

I came across the following animation of the route (initially via Simon Lewis' blog). I think this is great but it doesn't seem to do many of the climbs justice. Hardknott Pass is unmistakable however!

I think you need to do some training..

2010-01-14T08:51:00.001Z

Funny video, ring any bells triathletes?

http://chuckiev.blogspot.com/2010/01/slowtwitch-movie.html

Etape route on the indoor trainer

2010-01-10T21:45:00.003Z

I came across this video previewing Tacx's Etape 2010 for their Fortius VR trainers. This would be great to get familiar with the route, apparently the footage advances in line with the effort you put in on the trainer. For a second I thought it might even warrant an upgrade from my bottom of the range CycelOps turbo. Then I saw the £600+ price tag! Hmm.. I think I'll stick to using my imagination!

Some images from the film are linked below:

And so it begins..

2010-01-10T16:09:00.004Z

So, here we go! With 27 weeks to go until the Etape and 30 weeks until the Ironman, my training plan begins tomorrow - with a rest day! Gawd bless you Don Fink. The truth is I'm deviating more and more from his plan, I've now decided to ditch one of the build up triathlons (I now plan to just do a half-Ironman at week 20) and to do about half as much swimming as recommended to allow for more cycling and running. I've also decided that my training should peak a few weeks earlier - to allow tapering for the Etape.

The graph looks a little different now therefore and will no doubt change again at some point over the next 30 weeks. One thing for sure however is that the targets will have a distinctly positive gradient, which at the moment seems almost laughable. It's been hard to get much training in lately hasn't it?! I've just about managed to average 5 hours a week over the last 5 weeks but at times its felt like the gods have been against me. Closed swimming pools, icy roads and limited access to the turbo. This has led to some risk taking getting my sessions in. I don't want to repeat getting caught cycling in a snow cloud in the Peak District that's for sure!

Thankfully however I've safely navigated the 10-week "maintenance" phase although I don't feel I've maintained my running fitness due to my persistent ankle niggle, which has meant no running since Christmas morning. I'd hoped 2.5 weeks off it all together would put it right once and for all and it'd feel at full strength by now. I was just about building up the confidence to get the running shoes out on Tuesday when some over-exuberant stamping to get the snow off my shoes made me realise it's by no means there yet. I'd prefer to leave it another week or so rather than continue prolonging the recovery but on the other hand it may now be at the stage where I need to build up its strength through activity. I'll probably put a short session in next week to see how it goes - the first of many deviations from the plan!

A productive sick day - yearly training volumes!

2010-01-06T17:29:00.005Z

For the first time in a long time, I spent the day in bed yesterday with a stomach bug. Thankfully, it was a short lived affair and I was well enough today for a steady turbo with only a few waves of stomach cramp. The most I could bring myself to do through the fever and dashes to the toilet (too much information, sorry!) was play around with my training log.

I realised that I've logged my training for 3 years now and after the concern about my obsessive nature had passed I thought it might be interesting to see how the training volume had changed over that time. There are a few weeks missing here and there but given I couldn't be bothered to log anything the chances are I couldn't be bothered to do much training either so it should be pretty accurate.

The first thing I noted from this that is that the numbers are loooow going by most of the recommendations I've seen. For example, in the Triathlete's Training Bible the recommended annual training volumes for an Olympic distance, half-Ironman and Ironman triathlon are 400-600, 500-700 and 600-1200 hours respectively. Blimey, I shouldn't even be attempting a Sprint distance given my woeful training history. I'd expect recommendations for sportives and marathons also tend to be high.

The second thing I noted, however is that it's perfectly possible to achieve realistic goals even with such restricted training volumes. For example, with around half as much training as the above recommendations I was able to do my first Olympic and Half-Ironman triathlons in 2008 and 2009 respectively in respectable (for me) times. I also completed my first Marathon in 2008 with what I'm sure would be classed as nowhere near enough training.

I'll be keeping this in mind if other commitments and the inevitable injuries keep me from doing as much training as I'd like this year!

Medical Certificates - Ouch!

2010-01-04T12:52:00.002Z

A new year expense I could definitely do without - extortionate fees for medical certificates! I'm just getting round to sorting this out for both the Etape and Paris Marathon and as requested took the form in to the doctor this lunch time to be met by a rather smug receptionist informing me that there'd be a charge for this - of 95 quid!

Now I expected to have to pay a few bob but 95 quid to repeat the standard tests that they did when I joined the doctor a few months back seems a bit on the high side. It's nearly double the marathon entry fee! Surely they can just look at the data they have and stamp the form.

Anyway, if anyone knows of any more cost-effective (and legal!) ways to sort this out, they'd be gratefully received.

2009 Goals

2009-12-28T22:51:00.002Z

With the year fast drawing to a close I thought it would be a good opportunity to revisit the health and fitness goals I set myself at the start of the year. I'd hoped this would provide a bit of a boost to counter balance the slump resulting from the reduced training volume and drastically increased food and booze intake! I set myself the following 4 goals:

1. Stabilise weight under 200 pounds
I'm happy to be able to give this one a tick. I went under 200 pounds towards the end of September and have remained there for the rest of the year. Before the current 4-day binge I was hovering around 194-196 pounds.

2. Complete a century bike ride
I was guilty of not treating this one with enough respect at the start of the year and attempted the Rutland Sportive in April without anything approaching adequate preparation. I learnt from this lesson and only attempted the short polkadot in June before completing the Brighton 100 and Tour of the Peak in September/October. Another tick.

3. Complete a Half-Ironman
I was way too late starting my preparation for this and only started concerted triathlon training in May a few weeks before the Dambuster Olympic distance event. After stumbling around this I managed to just about do enough training to get myself to the finish line of the Vitruvian in September and escape with another tick.

4. Touch my nose on the floor in a seated stretch
This may sound like a strange one but I wanted something measurable as an indication of my general flexibility. I did start a daily stretching routine in June but my flexibility was still pathetic and the closest I could get my nose to the floor was 12cm. I also felt like I was doing myself more harm than good as I developed what felt like a mild hamstring pull. I stopped doing the exercsies therefore and so have a big fat cross in this box. I still feel this is a big weakness of mine and would like to build in more flexibility work next year.

All in all, not a bad return for the year and I feel I've laid a decent foundation for building up to next years goals. I just need to keep those niggly injuries at bay.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the festive season and whatever you have planned for 2010.

Fred Whitton Entry

2009-12-14T22:56:00.002Z

No need to wait up until midnight to download a Fred Whitton entry form this year. They've changed the process to allow 5 days from Jan 4th to Jan 8th to download and post the entry. The 1000 entries will then be chosen at random. I don't know how over-subscribed the event is and hence what the odds are but at least they don't cash your cheque if you're not successful. Fair enough I guess. If you're desperate for an entry you can also commit to raise at least £250 for one of their charities. More here: http://www.fredwhittonchallenge.org.uk/enter.html

I think I'll get an entry in to the lottery and consider the four seasons option if I don't get in. I wonder if there's room for a splinter "event" for all the non-successful entrants?!

Outlaw Triathlon Run Recce

2009-12-12T18:49:00.002Z

With the recent announcement of the Outlaw triathlon run course I'd been looking for an opportunity to go and take a look for myself. This morning therefore we took the relatively short journey up the road to the national water sports centre at Holme Pierrepont in Nottingham. I thought it would be useful to take a few movies as a reminder and for those who can't see the course for themselves. A bit of an amateurish job but here it is nonetheless. Enjoy!

2010 Training Plan

2009-12-07T18:39:00.004Z

With the 2009 events completed my focus has now shifted on to the training plan necessary for next years events. I'm using the training plan recommended in Don Fink's BeIronFit book as a basis with a few variances, the most notable being the inclusion of a spring marathon. This is a 30-week plan with three main phases:

Base - 10 weeks

All training at aerobic/endurance/zone 2 intensity
2 swims per week focussing on technique
1 long bike, 2 short bikes
1 long run, 2 short runs, 1 transition run (straight after a short ride)

Build - 10 weeks

Continued focus on zone 2 with some high intensity intervals
2 swims per week (one less than the official plan)
1 long bike, 3 short bikes
1 long run, 2 short runs, 2 transition runs (one after the long ride)

Peak - 10 weeks

Additional high intensity work
Same sessions as the build phase

Given the 8th August date for the Outlaw this gives a start date of the 11th January. Leading up to this is a maintenance phase in which the training will be designed to ensure I don't lose any gains made this year and that my body and injuries are sufficiently recovered to support the work ahead. The training volume then builds consistently. Fink describes three different plans - Just Finish, Intermediate and Competitive. My main goal is to Just Finish but I'd like to be as Competitive as time and my body will allow. My intention therefore is to get as close to the Competitive plan as possible but settle for the volumes of the Just Finish program if necessary. In other words my weekly training volume needs to be within the range shown in the graph. OK, I've been outside the range up until now but at least on the up side!

There are a few things to note about this plan:

Periodisation; The graph shows that the training volume is periodically scaled back to allow for recovery. This scaling back is far less pronounced than I've seen in other plans for example in Joe Friel's Going Long. Depending on how my body is holding up therefore, I may scale the training back more than is recommended by Fink (so long as I stay within the range in the graph).
Tapering; The only tapering built in to the plan is for the two triathlon races building up to the event (one Olympic distance and one half-ironman). These can be seen in the two large dips in the graph. I intend to treat most other events as part of the training without any tapering.
Marathon; I don't know how my body will react to the marathon in April. I intend to keep the volume up following this but shift the focus on to bike training to allow recovery from the run.
Etape; This is very much an "A" race for me. It occurs just as the training volume peaks in this plan. I want to make sure that I'm relatively fresh for the event so will ensure that any high intensity work is removed in the preceding week.

I suspect it will be laughable to look back on this plan as the year develops and life takes over but at least I have something structured to try and stick to. We'll see how things progress!

Mince Pie 10-miler

2009-12-06T22:19:00.002Z

Today was the Mince Pie Ten mile run organised by the Seaford Striders. I'd been in two minds about whether to take part in the race due to a recent ankle injury and my doubts were doubled given the weather leading up to the event. Torrential rain was sure to make the already muddy cross country course even more so - not ideal when nursing an ankle injury. I decided to put my trust in my new trail shoes and with the sun beginning to shin, set off with as many of the 317 entrants that had braved the morning rain to make their way to the course.

My plan was to treat the event as my long run for the week and as such keep the intensity within my "endurance" zone. I've persevered with my heart rate monitor and have settled on a heart rate of 150 as the upper limit of this zone when running (135 when cycling). This would also be a test of my discipline in not going all out in an event. I'll need to do the same in the Paris Marathon next year to minimise recovery time.

The plan went well for a few miles but the fierce winds on the exposed south downs together with some steep hills meant it was impossible to keep my heart rate in this zone without slowing to a near walk. I did however quickly bring my heart rate back within zone as soon as possible following these brief interludes. This resulted in an average heart rate for the event of 148 and an overall time of 1:28:10. This placed me 107th out of 317 entrants and 247 finishers. A pretty pleasing result given that I had more in the tank. Em also had a good run finishing 119th a minute or so back.

All in all, a good event to round off the year taking in some pretty countryside and sea views. It was also fun to stomp through deep puddles and mud. I'm just very pleased that I'd invested in the trail shoes - I wouldn't have liked to have been navigating the course in my standard trainers.

More Etape Recon

2009-12-06T22:17:00.002Z

A sneak preview of Col du Soulor. Doesn't seem as tough as Marie Blanque to me..

Running Issues

2009-12-01T21:35:00.002Z

If there's one thing that's most likely to scupper my Ironman goal its my proneness to injury when running. It's so frustrating. Every time I feel like I'm getting to the stage where I can improve my running , something falls apart. A few weeks ago I had another such episode. I'd been carefully building up my running volume, bought some excellent Roclite 315 trail shoes to reduce slipping and sliding on the off -road runs that are necessary for combining with dog walking and was beginning to feel good running. Then when stretching following a run, I put my foot on the floor and twang - a sharp pain in my ankle.

This seemingly innocuous event resulted in no running for the best part of 3 weeks. It's still far from OK now 4 weeks on. It's particularly frustrating as Em and me have entered the 10-mile mince pie race in Sussex at the weekend. I know the sensible thing is not to take part but as I'll be there with Em anyway and I managed to amble around an 8-mile cross country run at the weekend I know I'm not going to be able to resist giving it a go.

I hope I don't wind up putting myself out of action for the long term as the plan for running over the next few weeks is to build up the frequency of my runs. For the Ironman training plan, I want to be in a position to reliably do 4 runs a week without my body falling apart; 1 long run, 2 short runs and 1 transition run (short run straight off the bike). I'd like to be doing all 4 of these as soon as possible even if that means the duration of each is reduced in the short term. This will hopefully give me a good foundation on which to build the volume next year.

Running really can beat you up but I do enjoy it when my body holds together. I'm determined to overcome the niggles and not lot them derail the plans.

Weight update - November 09

2009-11-30T17:14:00.003Z

A pretty uneventful month with regard to my weight, which I'm very pleased about. It's nice to see things stabilising around my initial target weight. The fat percentage has been a bit less stable, I was pleased to see this continue to reduce as my weight stayed the same but the recent up-tick has pretty much reversed any gains.

I take a rolling average of the last 5 readings to smooth the graph but there is still some pretty wild variations in the fat % readings. Hydration, alcohol intake and wind direction no doubt all contribute.

I continue to find the reaction to my weight loss among friends and family interesting. It's clear that it has far from met with universal approval. A few of the comments that have been thrown my way, usually accompanied with some form of poking or squeezing: "You're a shadow of the man you once was", "You're too thin, it doesn't suit you", "you should start eating more and put some weight on" and "Have you lost weight?". For the last one imagine a facial expression and tone of voice of someone asking if you've farted when you've let rip after a curry the night before. All this and I still have no trouble pinching an inch or 3!

Now I'm willing to accept that I looked better fatter, I've seen people lose weight in the past and look gaunt for a while. I'm also willing to accept that people naturally tend to react against change and take time to adjust. However, I can't help feeling there's something deeper at work here. Many of these comments have come from people who themselves are overweight and may have tried and failed to lose weight. I think in some cases there is a subconscious desire for others to suffer the same fate. It reminds a bit of stopping smoking when I was a teenager, there were no shortage of people offering me fags. Again I think there was a subconscious desire at work to keep me in the same hole as they were in.

Then again, I'm probably overly sensitive and over analysing. The important thing is that I feel much more comfortable at the weight I am. I hope that it is no longer putting my health at risk and I'm certain that it's a very good move to increase my chances of completing my sporting challenges next year.

Is heart rate zone training too risky for the amateur athlete?

2009-11-23T12:47:00.002Z

It's been a while since I've regularly used a heart rate monitor for training. The last time round I was at University following a structured training programme for rowing (which I still miss, must get back out on the water at some stage). To complete next year's challenges, introducing a similar level of structure to my training seemed like a good move and with Em's old monitor laying around unused I thought I'd reintroduce myself to an old friend.

A common approach is to train in zones that are expressed as a percentage of your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR). The first step therefore is to calculate your MHR, a commonly used formula for this (presumably derived using statistical regression) is 220-
your age. So going by this formula my MHR is 181 bpm.

Armed with this number and some basic zones I strapped up and dutifully monitored my heart rate. I quickly became a bit suspicious however. I found that when cycling at a steady pace I could drop out the bottom of a training zone into a recovery zone on the flat when my legs were certainly not agreeing. Conversely, when running my heart rate was in zone after a few steps and out the top of the zone within a few more. It's no surprise that the zones are sport-specific and seemingly highly so in my case. However, I wasn't sure about the zones generally and so decided to investigate a bit further.

On the turbo I went through a standard MHR test by warming up for 15-mins and then incrementally increasing the effort every minute until I couldn't increase it any further. I performed a similar test when out running. In both cases my heart rate was at 170bpm. I dare say that I could have squeezed a beat or two more out but I was deeply in the red. According to the formula therefore I have the MHR of a 50 year old. Humph. To make myself feel better I measured my Resting Heart Rate, which has always been naturally quite low. This came in at 33 bpm. My heart seems to be way off in the tails of the statistical distribution and the standard formulae are therefore likely to be pretty inaccurate.

I was lead to wondering how often these formulae actually work. There seems to be a real danger of many amateur athletes using such formulae with standard training zones and forcing ourselves to train in entirely the wrong zone. This problem is exacerbated by the lack of consistency in what the right training zones are. Here are just two examples of suggested zones for aerobic/endurance cycling workouts:

According to Successful Sportives endurance rides should be done at 35-45bpm under MHR, which gives a zone of 125-135 bpm in my case. Any higher would be "Mixed Muscle" and reduce the benefits.

According to Be Iron Fit these rides should be done in Zone 2, which is defined at 75% to 85% of MHR which gives a zone of 128-145 bpm in my case. Using the more accurate Working Heart Rate( (MHR-RHR)*zone+RHR), this becomes 136-149 bpm. Any lower and I'd be in a recovery zone.

So following one approach would, according to the other, mean I spent the entire training session in the wrong zone. Additionally, given that these zones are derived at using similar statistical techniques as the wildly inaccurate (for me) MHR calculation, I have absolutely no faith in them either. Maybe I'll just leave the monitor in the box and continue to rely on perceived exertion, at least that way the chest strap won't rub on me moobs.

2010 Event Plan

2009-11-04T22:32:00.004Z

I've been having a few problems putting together an event plan for next year. Things seemed pretty clear until April but with many events taking place around June and July and the need to build up to my two different "A" races it got a little more tricky later in the year. After speaking with Em however we've now settled on the following provisional plan:

January

Hell of the Ashdown sportive; tough 110k winter sportive to blow away the holiday season cobwebs. Amazingly popular, it sold out in 36 hours this year!

February

Sussex Beacon Half Marathon; to provide a focus for the winter running training and a good build up to the Paris Marathon. I turned up to this completely unprepared last year and was injured the year before. Hoping for third time lucky!

March

Puncheur Sportive; really like the look of this 69-mile sportive. No crazy hills but a fast, challenging ride with a great summit finish up Ditchling Beacon.
Dronfield 10k; traditional home town running event. Again, I usually turn up to this with hardly any training under my belt. Hope to do better this year!
Cheshire Cat; was in two minds about this one given the changes to the course as I was a bit worried that the easier course this year wouldn't be ideal for the Etape build up. However, I'm sure it will be hard enough and ideal for Em's first Century so it's in the diary!

April

Paris Marathon; one of my big 3 events. 40,000 competitors sharing the Paris streets - should be fantastic! I intend to treat this as a long training run however rather than go all out for a good time. I need to recover as quickly as possible so as not to disrupt the training too much.
Rutland Sportive; I'd like to give this tough 100-miler another go next year (assuming it runs again) as it was a bit of a disaster last year when I decided to do the 100 rather than 50 en-route with no preparation or food!

May

Fred Whitton; very difficult to get a place but I'd like to give this toughest of UK sportives a go. May take the Four Seasons option if I don't get a place in the main event. Should be a confidence booster if I can get round although the converse is also true!
Little Beaver Triathlon; Olympic distance event at Belvior castle to start the Outlaw build up

June

Bala Middle Distance Triathlon; well regarded half-Ironman event. This is quite a tough, hilly course so will be good to get under the belt ahead of the full distance event.
Flatout in the Fens; flat and fast Ironman distance (112-mile) sportive. I suspect the Outlaw bike course will be similar so this will be ideal preparation.

July

L'Etape du Tour; the big one! I hope I'll be well enough prepared given the above.

August

Outlaw Triathlon; the other big one! My first Ironman distance event and the first time it has been staged. There's a real buzz around this event though, it should be a great one.

There are lots of compromises in this plan. I'd also wanted to do the Polkadot and Dragon Ride sportives but they were on the same day and the week before Bala so I'll probably have to drop both. It's a start anyway, I dare say there'll be changes as the year progresses!

Etape DVD Preview

2009-11-02T18:17:00.002Z

A little taster from Cyclefilm - the Tourmalet looked hard, hard, hard from what I could see!

The Outlaw triathlon it is!

2009-10-29T17:22:00.002Z

After deciding on a full distance triathlon for 2010, the next question was which one. Easier said than done! There were three main options

The official branded Ironman series of events around the world including IMUK
The challenge series of events around the world. I had a particular eye on Challenge Barcelona in October
A home grown UK event such as ForestMan or the The Big Woody

However, when the Outlaw Triathlon was announced in July this immediately jumped to the top of my list. It was about half the cost of Ironman or Challenge events, staged down the road in Nottingham (cheaper still) and organised by the same crowd who put on excellent events at the Dambuster and Vitruvian triathlons this year.

The only question was did the timing fit with the Etape. As it turned out, it was 3 weeks after. A bit too close for comfort but timing I hoped would work well. I'd be going to the Outlaw on the back of peaking for the Etape, which would hopefully make the bike leg at least seem easy! Getting off the bike as fresh as possible is critical for success at this distance so being conditioned for a bigger bike test sounds like a good plan.

With entries opening today the debate was over. The credit card was out (again - ouch!) and I was in! So on August 8th I'll be "going long" in Nottingham (why do I feel like putting an Oooer after that?!)

Col de Marie Blanque preview

2009-10-27T12:38:00.002Z

A Cyclefilm preview of the first climb of the Etape, which also features in the Spanish sportive Quebrantahuesos. Looks like it has a serious sting in the tail at the end!

How do UK sportives compare to the Etape?

2009-10-26T13:38:00.004Z

Saturday's Tour of the Peak pushed me to my limit. I naturally started to wonder therefore how that challenge would compare to the Etape and how much work I have to do over the next 8 to 9 months! The basic statistics aren't enormously different:

Tour of the Peak: 97 miles, approx. 3500m ascent. More >>
Etape: 110 miles, approx. 4500m ascent. More >>

So no question that the Etape is a step up but on these basic statistics only a few steps rather than a whole staircase. However, I'm under no illusions that the basic statistics tell the whole story. I've read a lot about the challenge of UK sportives bearing no comparison to their European counterparts. The two main differences to me seem to be:

Long climbs; even the longest UK climbs are short in comparison to those on the Etape. Lots of short, sharp climbs aren't likely to prepare you for the long, relentless climbs of the Pyrenees. The advice I've read is to mix 1-2 hour periods at the limit in to your training e.g. by doing 25+ mile time trials. It doesn't really matter if these are hilly so long as you are putting in a consistent hard effort. In my more optimistic moments I hope that this type of climbing might suit me better. I much prefer to get into a rhythm I can hold rather than consistent ups and downs.
Heat; Saturday proved that it's definitely possible to practice cycling in tough conditions in the UK. I'm sure the wind and cold can be a real issue in the mountains as well. However, I think the main challenge will more likely be the heat. This seemed to cause all sorts of problems on Ventoux last year. I'm not sure how to prepare for stifling heat however apart from being aware of the issue and ready to significantly up your fluid and electrolyte intake on the day.

While there are definite differences, there's no doubt in my mind that UK sportives are an important part of the preparation and I intend to do as many as possible next year. The Dragon Ride in particular is on my radar as the closet the UK has to offer to a European sportive. One of the biggest things for me is just being in a riding position for that length of time and the more practice I get at that the better.

Tour of the Peak - What a Day!

2009-10-25T22:06:00.004Z

Yesterday, I took part in the inaugural Tour of the Peak sportive, a tough Peak District challenge covering 97 miles with 3500m of climbing including 3 of the big name climbs in the area, the Cat and Fiddle, Winnat's Pass and Holme Moss.

It was held on the last day of British Summer Time, but it was anything but summery - what a day! Truly awful conditions including thick fog, rain and genuinely gale force winds in places.

In the best of conditions this would have been my most challenging day on a bike to date but the conditions took it to another level. I needed every bit of determination I could muster to get myself to the finish line - in over 8.5 hours!

There were a number of accidents on the treacherous roads, I saw three requiring ambulance attention before reaching the first feed station. This made my already sheepish descents even more so - staying in one piece was the number one priority.

As for the main advertised climbs (there were many more, some of which harder in my opinion); the Cat and Fiddle is an enjoyable climb with a manageable gradient but the wind, rain and thick fog made it more challenging! Winnat's Pass is very steep and took me to within an whisker of submission but I was delighted to get to the top without stopping. Holme Moss is a tough climb, I'd done it once before and found it challenging but achievable, the wind however changed everything. It was unbelievable! I was out of the saddle at 3mph for most of it trying hard not to get blown off the bike. I was so close to giving up and pushing but got myself to the final bend where the gradient levels off. I then saw everyone ahead dismounting, I couldn't understand why as the battle was won by then. I got to the same spot and realised why. Totally exposed on the top of the hill, the wind was incredibly strong. It was literally impossible to stay on the bike. One guys bike was actually in the air!

All in all, a very challenging day out. I don't think I can honestly say that it was enjoyable but it's certainly very satisfying to look back on and remember the challenges that were overcome, including a bonk at around 70 miles. There were a number of moments where I fought genuine doubts about my ability to finish, to complete a climb or even my sanity for taking part but I kept going despite them all and for events like the Etape and Ironman being able to do that is a large part of the battle.

Weight update - October 09

2009-10-25T21:09:00.008Z

In last months update I expressed a concern about loss of lean body mass and I'd also started to feel like I was looking a little gaunt - partly prompted by a few comments like "you've lost weight, you're looking ermm.. thin" followed by a swift change of subject.

I decided the goal for this month therefore was to stabilise my weight around my initial target of 14st. I think I need a period now to "settle in" to my new weight despite the fact that its clear I'm still carrying a fair bit of fat around my belly.

Now the concerning up-tick in the fat percentage seems to have corrected itself, so far so good.

The plan is to hold things steady for the rest of the year before another assault on the fat as I build up the training next year. I still feel that I have more than I'd like to carry up the Tourmalet!

Etape 2010 Route

2009-10-15T09:27:00.008+01:00

After much speculation, the route of the 2010 Tour de France was announced yesterday. It turns out that the Pau -> Tourmalet prediction for the Etape was pretty accurate. The result is a 174Km brute of a stage with around 4500m of climbing finishing at the summit of the mythical Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees. The event will be held on Sunday 18th July with the pros covering the same ground 4 days later.

There are 3 challenging climbs to contend with:

Col de Marie-Blanque
9.5Km at an average gradient of 7.5%. More >>

Col du Soulor
22Km at an average gradient of 4.9%. More >>

Col du Tourmalet
19Km at an average gradient of 7.4%. More >>

All in all, this looks like one hell of a ride! I must admit to shuffling a little at the cost of entering and wondering whether one of the other big (and much cheaper) European sportives would be a better option but some things just have to be done. I hope that when looking back at the experience the cost will seem insignificant.

Maiden Century

2009-09-29T19:31:00.009+01:00

On Saturday I took part in the Brighton 100 sportive, which I'd entered in the hope that it would be a good route for my maiden century i.e. challenging but not extreme. It took a while to find out! The route on the website was very sparse and a request to the organisers for a more detailed route didn't get much joy. In fact, the route was not given out until we were literally on the start line! In their defence this was the first running of the event and with the Labour conference in town I imagine the route discussions went to the wire.

I'm pleased to say however that the final route was great, taking in some lovely Sussex countryside, great sea views and a dash through Brighton, Lewes and Eastbourne. There were a few relatively challenging hills most notably Beachy head at around 35 miles and Devil's Dyke at around 95 miles but also good stretches of relatively flat road during which a good rhythm could be established. In short, the route turned out to be a great choice for my first century.

The 100-mile ride bike was due to set off at 7am, which meant a 5:45am alarm clock to give us a fighting chance of getting to the start on time. We just about managed it only to be a little frustrated to find that the event didn't get under way until around 7:15am. With the sun shining and the day shaping up to be beautiful any frustration quickly subsided however.

I finally got going around 10mins after the first wave and with a real mix of abilities at the event, found myself overtaking a lot in the first 10 miles or so. I was hoping to find a group to ride with but it wasn't until around 25 miles until I hooked up with 3 riders who I rode with on and off until the halfway point at Eastbourne. Unusually (I think), there was a compulsory 30 minutes stop here. I imagine this is to help persuade the relevant authorities and insurance companies that this is a sportive and not a race. It was a good opportunity to have a feed anyway.

Following the stop I didn't see another rider for what must have been 10-15 miles and rode alone for much of the second half of the ride. At around 80 miles I hooked up with another rider and was pleased that I was able to share the lead and push over 20mph on the flat. I'd never ridden more than about 80 miles before so I was pleased that the legs were holding up. I wasn't able to hold the pace however when we hit Devil's Dyke towards the end when the fatigue finally began to show. Luckily the last 5 miles following the climb were down hill and I crossed the line with a ride time of 5hrs 55mins not including the compulsory stop.

Em also had a good ride in the 50-miler feeling so good that she threw in an additional climb up Ditchling Beacon at around 35 miles! Seems like she might find her way to the Tour of the Peak after all!

All in all, this was a great event with a range of abilities taking part, from the rusty mountain biker in fancy dress to serious roadies. On the day it was well organised, well marshalled and very well signed. With perfect weather and even a Jazz band to welcome us home I couldn't have asked for more. They were expecting 800 riders for both the 100 and 50 mile routes and I'm sure this event will grow in popularity as word spreads.

Weight update - September 09

2009-09-23T21:02:00.006+01:00

A bit late with the weight update this month due to holiday, which I'm relieved to say didn't have much effect despite eating and drinking way too much for a week. It was a pretty active holiday however so I guess it all evened out.

The graph shows that I'm now within a whisker of my 14st target weight and that I've continued to lose fat. The fat percentage is closing in on 18%, which is still pretty high. I don't know how accurate my bio-electrical impedance scales are so I'm not going to get too hung up on the specific number so long as its heading in the right direction.

Since starting to track my fat percentage, I've lost around 24 pounds at an average rate of around 1 pound a week. This seems like a steady, sustainable rate at which to shed fat but the figures show that only 14 pounds were actually fat with the remaining 10 pounds lean body mass. I may have lost a bit more hair in these 6-months but surely not 10 pounds worth!

I'm sure any weight loss will always result in some lean tissue loss but this seems like an awful lot, which is a bit of a concern. I'm not really sure what to do about it however as I'm training regularly and am certainly not crash dieting. Perhaps I need to build in strength training and ensure I'm taking on adequate protein. On the other hand, my athletic performance doesn't seem to have suffered so any muscle mass I have lost may not be critical to my swim/bike/run performance and it might therefore be a good thing to lose more excess baggage. For now I'll carry on as I am, at least I'm losing more fat than lean tissue. August picture to the left, September to the right.

Paris Here We Come

2009-09-19T21:43:00.003+01:00

A lot of advice I've read about training for a summer Ironman recommends against a Spring marathon as the required taper and recovery time can be too disruptive. So with my eye on the inaugural Outlaw in early August 2010 a big City spring marathon is probably not the best of plans. Nevertheless, Em and me have gone ahead and entered the Paris Marathon. It will be my 2nd marathon after Amsterdam last year and Em's 6th who's also done New York, London and Washington DC (twice).

My main goal is to complete the Ironman so even if this preparation is not optimal I hope to be able to recover and build sufficiently in the 17 weeks between the 2 events. I also think it will be a great event! It is one of the oldest and largest big city marathons with an entry limit of 40,000 for 2010. It also doesn't require the same hassle to actually get a place as London does! Better get that hotel booked quickly though.

So, all being well see you in April Paris!

Middle of the pack

2009-09-09T22:27:00.002+01:00

The only real aim I had for the Vit (I can use the in-crowd term now I've done it ;)) was to get to the finish line in a respectable time. Although going under 6 hours was my publicly stated cut-off for this, with the training going reasonably well I'd secretly harboured hopes of sub 5hrs 30mins. So with mission accomplished and body recovering, I thought I'd take a closer look at where that put me in comparison to others. I think the kindest way to describe the results is middle of the pack!

There were 1000 entries for the race, which sold out months in advance so I was surprised to find that there were only 785 finishers - that's a huge 215 people with a DNS/DNF!

My results were as follows:

Overall: 414 (52.7%)
Swim: 466 (59.4%)
Bike: 313 (39.9%)
Run: 500 (63.7%)

I was expecting a poor run result given the cramp issues and for the bike to be my best leg but I was disappointed at the swim result. This was my strongest discipline at Dambuster but I've lost ground given these results. Looking back over the last few months, I've been pretty lazy with the swim. I've typically done just 1 steady 1900m swim a week and have not put any real effort in to improve my technique or speed but have just kept things ticking over. I'm going to put a bit more effort into improving my technique over the winter therefore and have my eye on a couple of gadgets to help measure my stroke (http://www.swimsmooth.com/wetronome.html, http://www.activeplanet.co.uk/scindex.php).

It's also clear that running (and particularly running off the bike) is a big weakness so I'm planning some concerted running training over the winter. Em and me have an eye on the Paris Marathon next spring and I intend to build in weekly brick sessions as soon as I start Ironman specific training.

Even with improvements I don't expect to be anything but middle of the pack. There are a lot of serious amateur triathletes out there and for me it will always be primarily for my well-being rather than race results. It's nice to improve at whatever you do however and so useful to have a better view of where to focus effort.

Vitruvian Race Report

2009-09-06T18:39:00.007+01:00

An old rowing friend used to say when arranging an outing, "see you at the water at O'dark thirty". Well yesterday it would have been "see you at the water at O'dark minus thirty", because sunrise was pretty much our cue for making our way to the water to begin the days festivities.

I'd had a fairly relaxed preparation, having registered the night before and so with bike racked, wet-suit on and everything in its place. I made my way to the race briefing and soon after was wading in to the surprisingly warm(ish) water to start my first middle distance event, the Vitruvian Triathlon. Just a 1900m swim, 52 mile bike and half-marathon run ahead of me.

It was a deep water start and I tried to find a bit of space to give me at least a few seconds to get going before the jostling began. As I was thinking to myself "I can't see a damn thing through these goggles with that sun.." the gun went off.. I had a fairly clear run at the first buoy but I found myself really struggling for breath for the first few minutes. I don't know if it was the cold finally seeping in, setting off too fast or just getting over-excited but I almost resorted to breaststroke for a while to calm myself down. Luckily the moment passed and I was able to get in a reasonable rhythm.

The first lap passed without incident and I exited the water, jogged a few metres and then dove back in for lap two. Maybe I should have waded a bit first as I found myself tangled in some pretty grim pond weed. As I exited the second lap I found Em there helping pull people out of the water. She'd volunteered to help marshal so was also there at O'dark -30! I jogged up to transition and saw 37 mins on my watch. A good steady, controlled start.

I'd expected it to be still pretty cold at this time in the morning and so I'd brought a long-sleeve top to wear on the bike. It didn't feel too bad in transition though so I set off with just one layer and quickly regretted it as I got out on to the course and in to the wind. It wouldn't be long before I warmed up though.

As I hit the "Rutland Ripple", the tritalk.co.uk supporters were out in force wearing Ponchos, drinking tequila (!) and giving it large. I saw a race photographer on the side of the road shaking his head saying "I don't know who is crazier you or that lot!". The support was also fantastic at the end of the first bike lap and with the fuelling still pretty much on plan I threw my empty bottle, hit the back of the net and grabbed another. Then back out into the wind and on to lap two.

I was pleased to be still going strong on lap two and as at Dambuster noticed a lot of people with aero bars go by me on the flats only for me to pick them off again on the hills. I think I could be a good few minutes quicker by clipping on some aero bars. My pace was pretty much identical to my last training ride on the course however and I was pleased to finish the bike in 2hr 43 mins, still feeling pretty good. This also meant that I'd beat my mate Bob's bike split when he did the race a few years ago, OK he might beat me easily overall but I was happy to have some fodder for the banter over the curry later that evening!

That was as good as it what was going to get though as then the wheels came off! In transition a wasp decided it quite liked the smell of the gel I'd spilled on my arm and started attacking me as I fumbled around trying to get out on the run. I set off with a wasp still hanging out of my forearm, I got the bugger but it had the last laugh!

The first few minutes of the run were always going to be key for me - was I going to cramp like in the last few races or be OK like in the last few brick training sessions where I'd upped my electrolyte intake? It didn't take long to find out! 1Km into the run after the first incline, the quads turned into clenched fists. I decided it was better to try and stretch them out sooner rather than later but as I did so, the hamstrings went into spasm as well. I was back where I was at the finish of Dambuster a few months ago with a dual quad/hamstring cramp except this time I still had 20Km to go. Oh bollocks, this was going to be a long day!

I shuffled on until the right hamstring finally gave out on the dam and this time it meant it! I've always thought that there's no way I would end up a DNF in a race like this, I'd walk, crawl or do whatever to get to the finish line but I literally couldn't move without the hamstring going into a full spasm and I seriously started to think that this was it, I was going to be out. Gutted, absolutely gutted.

After a few minutes though, it subsided enough to allow me to stretch it out - no spasm. I walked, then jogged - no spasm. I was away again, I wasn't going fast but at least I was going!

The spasms held off until the end of the first lap - just as I was about to get back to the crowds and the tannoy. Oh no - not now! And here is number 369 with a perfect example of full-leg spasm. I had another stretch and cautiously rounded the turn and with relief began my second lap - I'd escaped.

I probably felt better on the second lap than the first, enough even to look at my watch to see what my likely finish time was. I realised that I was still in with a shout for going under 5hr 30mins. Pretty respectable, for a first timer. With the hamstrings still feeling precariously poised on the edge of spasm, I redoubled my efforts to maintain a steady pace.

I was into the last quarter of the run and with my Nuun gone, I was now stopping at the drink stations to take on water and high-5. Back to the dam, over the dam - I was going to make it! I soon saw a sign that told me I had about a mile to go and my watch told me I had 15 minutes to do it in to go under 5hr 30mins. Surely, I was going to do this... Cramp, stop, stretch.. shuffle. I saw Bob and Joe with their kids who cheered me on and ran with me for a while. I just about managed to hold off the cramp!

Then I was on the home stretch. Em was there to cheer me on and genuinely looked surprised, she didn't know whether I had another lap to do or not. Seems the organisers thought the same as they tried to steer me back on to the course. No way! Get me to that finish line - chocolate frogs await!

Surprisingly, I hung on for a 1hr 58min run and was over the line with an official time of 5:24:49.

All in all, it was a great event. Well organised, well supported and excellent atmosphere. I'm very pleased that I took part and delighted that I managed to drag myself to the finish line. Thanks to all the organisers, volunteers and supporters.

My only disappointment is to again collapse on the run. I would love to finish a race strongly. Never mind, there's always next year and then I'll hopefully have some better brick training under my belt.

Fuelling the Vitruvian

2009-09-03T22:32:00.004+01:00

I've now finalised my fuelling/hydration strategy for the Vitruvian, which has changed a bit since my first stab a few weeks ago. Since that post I repeated my experiment of measuring my weight before and after a ride at race pace and calculating the shortfall in water intake. This time around I lost no weight when drinking 750ml for a 20 mile ride. I now think therefore that 3 bottles for the 52 mile ride will be fine.

One of the other big issues is staving off cramp on the run. While I'm willing to accept that the most likely reason for this has been lack of training (!), its onset has often not felt purely due to fatigue. I've experimented with using Nuun tablets therefore to try and ensure I'm adequately replacing electrolytes. I've had a few promising bricks since with no sign of the cramps I've suffered in the past.

Nuun tablets contain no energy so in training I've been using High-5 sports drink (which is the sponsor for the race) and PowerBar gels that worked well for me at a recent half marathon.

So to summarise my plan for the race:

Drink

Sip on High-5 drink leading up to start.
1 bottle of Nuun, 1 bottle of High-5 on the bike. Drink all of latter (and half of former) on first bike lap
Replace High-5 bottle at bike drinks station after 1st lap. I'm reliably informed that you can drop an empty bottle and pick up a full 750ml bottle (no chance of getting the old one back tho!)
Ensure all 3 bottles drank by end of 2nd lap of bike
570ml bottle with Nuun for the run, which I'll leave full at transition. This is all I drank at the recent half marathon, which worked OK. If I need more during the run, I'll use the feed stations.

Food

1 gel 15 minutes before start
1 gel on each lap of the bike. I've lost enough weight to squeeze into an old pair of tri-shorts that have a gel pocket on the side of the leg that should work for both bike and run
1 gel on each lap of the run
Eat if required from the feed stations on the run

All taper training sessions completed. Just a 5-min ride tomorrow to check all is in order after the gear service and then bring it on!

Vitruvian Here I Come

2009-08-29T18:27:00.003+01:00

One week to go to my first half-Ironman distance event next weekend and apart from a light session in each discipline next week, I've now done all the training I'm going to. So, Vitruvian I'm coming, ready or not!

I completed my (pretty random) training programme this morning with a brick session on the course, 1 lap of the bike and 1 lap of the run. While I felt a lot better than I did at the Dam buster triathlon a few months ago and was very pleased not to cramp on the run I certainly didn't feel fresh and only half way through!

That being said, compared to recent triathlons I feel relatively well prepared. I've had plenty of practice on the cycle course, built up my run distance nicely including an encouraging half-marathon, have been consistent in swimming the distance every week and have even thrown in a few bricks. Not a build-up to pull up any trees but I hope good enough to get me to the finish line in a respectable time (for me).

South Coast Half Marathon - Race Report

2009-08-17T14:25:00.004+01:00

On Sunday Em and me took part in the South Coast Half Marathon in Seaford, which I entered primarily as training for the Vitruvian in early September.

This was only my second such event, the first being at Brighton in February this year. I'd initially decided not to run back then due to lack of training however went along anyway to support Em. I stupidly let the adrenaline of race day get the better of me and pulled the trainers out. I managed to escape with only minor injuries and a slow 2hrs 5mins.

Now a bit better prepared, I was hopeful of beating this time despite the fact that I hadn't tapered and trained on all 4 days leading up to the event. I was also feeling decidedly worse for wear following copious amounts of champagne at a wedding do the night before.

The race start was a bit delayed due to some last minute difficulties with the course. I'm not quite sure what the problem was but it turned out that the course was changed to miss out the section through town and run exclusively on the sea front. I wasn't too disappointed about this as this also meant missing out on the advertised steep hill!

The course consisted of 4 laps of and out and back loop. I'd been here last year for the triathlon sister event and remembered the looped run and bike legs being a bit demoralising. I much prefer a course with fewer laps but the timing of this event worked well for us so we decided to give it another go. My plan was to go steadily, I didn't want to do myself any mischiefs and disrupt my training for my higher priority events.

After a mile or so I'd managed to run off the hangover and the Nuun tablets I had in my bottle seemed to doing a good job of keeping me hydrated. I got into a nice steady rhythm and ticked off the first 2 laps without much trouble. Towards the end of the second lap, I passed a guy who we'd chatted to at the start and was trying to beat his 1:46 PB. For a moment, I thought I must have been going quicker than expected but a minute or so from the turn I heard someone shout out 55 minutes - he must have been having a bad day!

I really started to flag after about 2.5 laps and thought that I was in for a demoralising shuffle for much of the second half of the race. Thankfully, Em had bought a couple of gels and I remembered I had one in my pocket. It hit the spot almost immediately and I was quickly able to get my rhythm back. It really highlighted to me the importance of getting the nutrition right on race day.

I was still feeling strong on the final lap and was reeling in a fair few people including some who had passed me earlier. I even managed a sprint finish and was pleased to cross the line in a time of 1:49:32. I was particulalry pleased to "negative split" the race, going faster in the second 10k that the first. I was less pleased to discover later that this time placed me in the bottom 40% of male finishers (118th from 195) but all in all I couldn't complain. Em also had a good day finishing with a 1:56 PB and 44th out of 116 female finishers.

Weight update - August 09

2009-08-17T13:18:00.007+01:00

It's mid-month and time for another snapshot of my weight. I'm sure readers of this blog will have been waiting with bated breath ;)

It's been a good month, the weight has continued to come off steadily and according to my scales this is mostly due to dropping fat rather than lean body mass as the graph below shows.
I'm now hovering at about the weight I was at just before the about-turn in early 2008 when the combination of an injury and an indulgent, extended work trip was enough to tip the balance to a year long pattern of weight gain. It's taken about 6 months to reverse that 1.5 stone gain and I'm determined this time for the line to continue its journey south!

The images (July to the left and August to the right) show that the belly is beginning to disappear although the mighty moobs are still refusing to yield.

I'm now at about 14st 8 and it's clear that even when I've hit 14st I'll still be carrying a lot of excess baggage. This remains my target for the year though and I'll see whether I feel I can carry the remainder up some rather large French mountains next year.

I've not really made any dramatic changes to lose this weight. I've not banished anything from my diet or given up drinking but I think a combination of relatively small things has done the trick.

Training load; I calculated my average weekly training volume over the period I was gaining weight and more recently when I've been losing weight and was surprised that they weren't massively different. About 3.75 hrs for weight gain and 4.75 hrs for weight loss. Nevertheless, this increase has probably helped.
Eating when hungry; I've made a real effort to only eat if I'm genuinely hungry. It's easy to adopt other peoples snacking habits. Previously, if anyone was having a few nibbles around me I'd always dip in just because they were there. I've tried to stop this and only dip in if I'm hungry.
Moderation in the evenings; I was already pretty good at eating healthily during the day but would over-indulge in the evenings. If I have a drink now (which to be honest I still do most evenings!) it is usually just one small red wine or Hooegaarden and not automatically accompanied by cheese for the former or nuts for the latter!

Small things done consistently are definitely the key rather than large and unsustainable changes. I need to keep at the forefront of my mind though that this is equally true for weight gain!

Drinking on the Run

2009-08-09T23:06:00.004+01:00

My attempts to drink while running in an event usually involve picking up a plastic cup at a drink station and continuing to shuffle along while throwing half down my top and choking on the other half. Most of the time I just don't bother trying therefore. For longer distance events however this is just not an option.

I'd originally planned to try and take on drink at each drink station on the Vitruvian even if this involved stopping for a while each time. I wasn't really comfortable with this strategy and so on the last few training runs I've experimented with carrying my water with me.

I first tried one of the those bottles that wraps around your hand but found it difficult to use. Not only did I have to pull the top with my teeth but I couldn't squeeze liquid out and so had to suck it out instead. This usually left me out of breath - not ideal.

On a trip to Advanced Performance in Peterborough the other day, I saw a different style of bottle that I thought would work very well. These were contoured to be held on a run, didn't require a top to be pulled off before taking a drink and, crucially for me, put out a lot of liquid easily when squeezed.

On the few training runs I've done with this bottle, there has definitely been a marked improvement in my drinking. I can now squeeze and gulp in a single breath meaning my breathing isn't too disrupted.

My plan is now to use this bottle on the Vitruvian. It holds about 570ml, so 3 of these would get me close to the amount I'd originally planned to take on during the run (1.8l). I can leave it full in transition and fill twice on the course. This will also allow me to drink slowly and consistently throughout the run.

Injury!

2009-08-09T22:14:00.004+01:00

I'm prepared for setbacks due to injury and illness over the course of my training for these events but it's a bit disappointing for the first instance to be at a time when I'm trying to put in some big training weeks ahead of Vitruvian.

I head a great training weekend planned in the Peak District this weekend when visiting family and friends. First up was a 50+ mile hilly bike ride that acted both as a recce for the Tour of the Peak route and a good training run for Vitruvian. Starting at Ladybower reservoir I headed North on the road through Bradfield to Upper Midhope, which has some pretty nasty climbs that don't even warrant a mention in the route description! Then on to Holmfirth and to the Holme Moss climb, which wasn't as challenging as expected - relatively long but not massively steep. Then on to Glossop and back to Ladybower over the Snake Pass. The ride went well - so far, so good.

The next day Em and me had planned a 12 mile trail run that I'd found on this excellent site. I'd been looking forward to this and started out down the rocky first section feeling good. Then a couple of miles in I found myself laid flat on my face after tripping on a rock. The scrapes and swelling on my arm, leg and hand I could have coped with but as I fell my knee was hit by another rock at the side. I discovered a few minutes later that this has resulted in a nasty twist, which for a while I could barely walk on.

My thoughts immediately turned to the Vitruvian in a few weeks, this is my only chance of ticking off a half-ironman this year and I really want to be fit for it. The knee's settled down a bit since so fingers crossed that this isn't just the pain-killing effect of red wine! I don't hold out much hope for the South Coast Half Marathon next weekend one way or the other.

Vitruvian Hydration Strategy

2009-08-04T13:10:00.005+01:00

I think the best way to describe my hydration strategy in the events I've done is random, which almost certainly equates to completely inadequate. With my first half-ironman race fast approaching I've decided therefore that I need to put a bit of effort in to getting this right and hence giving me a fighting chance of getting to the finish.

I started this process last night by measuring my weight before and after a 1.5hr bike ride done at approximately race pace. The theory is that if I'm taking on enough liquid my weight should be roughly the same before and after the ride. Weight loss would indicate that I need to drink more.

I set my watch to beep every 10 mins and took on 3 mouthfuls of water every beep (which is quite a bit more that I usually drink) this resulted in me drinking about 900ml on the ride. Even with this increased dosage I still lost 1 pound of weight (with my sweaty top still on - so in reality it could have been more).

1 litre of water weights about 1Kg or 2.2pounds and therefore a pound of weight loss equates to 1/2.2 litres of water or roughly 450ml. I should therefore have actually been drinking 1350ml on a 1.5hr ride in these conditions. I've clearly been drinking way too little - probably only about half of what I should in general.

I expect the bike leg at Vitruvian to take me around 3hrs and there is a feed station at the half way point. My plan therefore is to take on 2x750ml bottles on each (1.5hr) lap of the bike. To compensate for sweat loss during the swim I also need to take a drink at T1, which together with the "left over" 150ml from each lap of the bike will hopefully be enough to take me to the run relatively well hydrated.

The run is 2 laps of an out and back course, which has a drink station at each turn point and 2 more in the middle of the course. You therefore go through 12 potential drink stops out on the course. An optimistic run time for me is probably 2hrs and therefore I could potentially drink 6 times an hour. If I assume that my sweat loss on the run is roughly equivalent to that on the bike (1350ml /1.5hr or 900ml/hr) I'd need to take on 150ml at every drink station. I don't know what volume the little plastic cups are but I wouldn't have thought 150ml is too far off the mark. A reasonable strategy would therefore seem to be to take on one cup at every opportunity. I have real difficulty drinking when I run but I think I would lose less time if I stopped briefly if necessary rather than push on dehydrated. Whether I can summon the discipline to do that in a race though is another matter!

Anyway this seems like a reasonable starting point for a hydration strategy, the next step is to build in a nutrition strategy and decide which liquid to drink.

Running Footprints

2009-07-26T22:32:00.012+01:00

While on a weekend camping trip at Whitby in the North Yorkshire Moors, I took advantage of the fantastic sandy beaches to look at the footprints I leave while running barefoot. Despite the funny looks from all the families enjoying the sun, I'm glad I did as it turned out to be quite a revealing exercise.

I'd previously been prescribed running shoes for over-pronation by a running shop but I've been questioning this recently as I have high-arches, tend to land on the side of my foot when running and am naturally bow-legged.

The diagram to the far left from forwardarch.com shows the prints expected for different types of pronation. The image to the immediate left is a (not very good) example of my print.

To my untrained eye, I could see no evidence of over-pronation in my footprints. In fact, many looked much more like the prints of an under-pronator. This is a bit frustrating as I've just laid out for another pair of Brooks Adrenaline shows that are designed for over-pronation! I now think that I need a well-cushioned neutral shoe instead.

The other thing that stood out is the deep toe imprints that were always present. This suggests that, despite my best attempts not to, I am still pushing off with my toes using considerable force. This is a major cause of shin splints and is likely to be a strong contributor to my ongoing issues.

Many of the prints had little if any depth to the rear (e.g. far left), which made me realise that the attempts I've been making to land midfoot have been counter-productive. I think what I've actually been doing is landing on my forefoot, which brings me on to my toes and causes the shin splints.

I tried to run as I used to before trying to move to midfoot striking (immediate left), which seemed to give a light imprint on the rear of the foot with less deep toe imprints. This suggests that I wasn't heel-striking anyway and so didn't need to come further forward on the foot. I need to return to landing further back on the foot to take the pressure off the toes and hence shins.

Inflexibility

2009-07-20T23:27:00.005+01:00

I've never been the most flexible of people. My lack of flexibility was brought home at a Boxing Day party last year when someone suggested we play the "Weetabix box" game. This involves placing a Weetabix box on the a stool in the middle of a circle of people and taking it in turns to pick the box up with your mouth without putting your hands on the floor. Sounds easy enough doesn't it? Well then the stool is removed - OK not so bad. Then a bit of box is progressively torn away and as soon as you're not able to pick the box up you're out. Couple my competitive nature, a week of sloth and opponents who could pick up a sheet of paper from the floor and all of a sudden its a recipe for disaster! With the box getting lower my hamstring decided it didn't want to play any more and with a bone grinding crunch I was out of the game. It's still not right now, 7 months later!

Anyway I think this lack of flexibility, particularly in my hips and hamstrings is one of the contributing factors to my injury proneness. I've decided therefore to try and stretch daily to see if this helps. I've dug out a few past favourite stretches from Callanetics and am going through them most mornings for 10-15 minutes.

I wanted to have a measurable target and goal and so chose a stretch in which you have your legs spread to the side and bend forwards bringing your nose closer to the floor. Now I realise this is not a challenge for some people (for example my smug sister who was one of the people who could happily pick the Weetabix box up when it had turned into a sheet of flat card) but for me getting my nose anywhere near the floor is a major challenge. I measured where I was at a few weeks ago and was astonished to find my nose was 38cm away from the floor. Truly geriatric! This was first thing in the morning but even so. I've set myself the goal therefore of being able to touch my nose on the floor. I suspect this might prove to be harder for me than the Etape or Ironman!

Weight update

2009-07-14T22:47:00.011+01:00

One month after my initial weight post, the camera has been out again for another snapshot. According to my log, the weight has continued to come off slowly and steadily:

According to this I've lost 5-6 pounds over the last month, which is quite pleasing particularly as I've had dual indulgences of a wedding and honeymoon. However, according to my fat % scales this translates to only 2 pounds of actual fat lost, which is not so pleasing (particularly as it suggests I'm losing lean body mass). This is the effect on my body (July to the left and June to the right):

It does appear that there's been some weight reduction although this is probably mostly due to slightly improved tone and standing with better posture. On the whole though, so far so good.

Running False Dawn!

2009-07-14T22:41:00.002+01:00

Well I've just come back down with a bump after my most recent run. I've finished with a dodgy knee, shins sore enough to warrant getting the bag of frozen peas out and blisters on the side of my feet. Not good for a relatively short 40 min run!

Despite using the same focusses as my last promising run, the niggles are back with a vengeance. Its so frustrating as I really want to up my running training and from a cardiovascular and muscular perspective I'm ready to go but I'm being severely hampered by some seemingly poxy little niggles. I guess I need to accept my body is just not ready to up the running volume. My shin was still a little sore before starting tonight's run, I really should have listened and kept off it until it fully cleared up. How many times do I make the same mistakes?!

Swimming the Ironman distance

2009-07-12T19:22:00.003+01:00

While on holiday in France, I took advantage of the excellent nearby 50m pool and plenty of time to attempt the Ironman swimming distance for the first time. I find the lengths of the swim section of triathlons the least daunting of the 3 disciplines but 3.8Km is still a significant challenge. This equates to 152 lengths in a standard 25m pool or 76 in a 50m pool.

I was pleased to do this for the first time in a 50m as I think it's psychologically easier - counting to 150+ lengths just feels longer. I'd done 100+ lengths a handful of times previously with 116 being the previous longest so I was quietly confident that I could go the distance. I think reading Total Immersion some time ago has really helped my swimming and I was doing what I could to make this swim as efficient and easy as possible by remembering to:

Reach out with your arm as though you're trying to touch something in front of you - make your "vessel" as long as possible
Press the buoy; push down on your chest area to help buoyancy and reduce drag
Power comes from the core; your arms are like a lever holding the water, twisting the hips pulls you past this lever point
Swim like a fish; swim on your side, try and face each wall as you swim

I was pleased with the results, the only danger was a threatening shoulder tightness after about 2.5K but that quickly subsided. I finished the distance still feeling ok and with legs (which I use as little as possible when swimming) strong enough to feel like it was not out of the question to get on a bike for a long ride.

The next day I had significant tightness in my neck and upper back however, which I think was caused by holding tension there rather than the efforts of the swim itself. If I can work on keeping this area relaxed throughout I hope to be able to make the swim relatively comfortable saving myself for the bigger challenges ahead.

Running Epiphany

2009-07-12T18:35:00.004+01:00

Ok maybe epiphany is too strong a word but "sudden realisation" just didn't make quite as good a post title!

I've had a few ups and downs since starting my running technique experiments. Immediately following my last post I had a terrible run - shin splints after a few steps, a mild groin pull and a general crappy feeling throughout. I put that down to the 30+ degree temperatures and wrote it off. I've had a few much more promising runs since then but despite waiting for soreness in my shin to disappear before running again, I was soon aware of it again and felt that I was exacerbating the problem rather than feeling a pre-existing condition.

When assessing the damage after a run I suddenly realised what I think is a major cause of the problem. I've known for some time that I tend to land on the outside edge of my feet, which causes me major problems with blisters. I wrote this off years ago as being the result of my natural bow-leggedness and something that I could do nothing about. I'd been working with this unchallenged hypothesis ever since.

I'd been worried that doing anything about this issue would only cause stress elsewhere and just shift the problem. After actually thinking about it though, I now think that this is rubbish. I don't land like this while walking so why when running? It's just poor technique rather than inherent bio-mechanics. Twisting my ankle to land this way stresses the shin muscle in exactly the right place to cause the shin splints I've been experiencing and also twists my knee out which has probably contributed to a knee niggle that occasionally appears. This has to be (one of) the answers to the problem.

I've been on a run today focussing on the following:

Engage lower abs to bring pelvis into alignment
Short stride length
Midfoot striking
Landing on the heart rather than the side of the foot

Despite adding a few miles to my normal distance (8m from 6m), it's the best I've felt on a run for some time. The niggles haven't completely gone away of course but I feel like I'm on the right track and am more confident of being able to get to a stage where I can run injury free.

Etape du Tour 2009 - Annecy Lake Loop

2009-07-12T17:09:00.012+01:00

First things first, this is not a post about the real Etape 2009 (for that see e.g. [1 ], [2]) but the closest I'm going to get to it this year. A 40Km time trial stage around Annecy, which Em and me did while holidaying in the area. Well only around 150Km and some monster climbs to add and I'll be ready for the real thing!

The plan was to follow the individual time trial stage 18 which pretty much circumnavigates beautiful Lake Annecy. (Picture below copied from official site)

We started the ride by picking up the cycle path from Annecy, expecting to move on to the road after a few hundred metres. It turned out however that the path ran the entire west side of the lake (and beyond) and was great! Two lanes in good condition, places in which the traffic gave way to the bikes and even a dedicated tunnel through the mountain! I'd definitely recommend avoiding the busy road and taking the cycle path if you do this route until the left turn at the D909A (you need to keep an eye out for a roundabout to make this turn sightly to the left of the path). There are a few places you need to slow down and check for traffic but if you're not all out for speed the views and traffic avoidance are worth it.

The road to Talloires is very nice winding around the lake shore. As you leave Talloires you hit the only climb of the ride, which makes you work but is not too challenging. The right turn on to the D169 to Bluffy is easily missed (or was by us!) as it comes as the climb apparently finishes, the road bears left and you head down hill. This is wishful thinking however as the real route adds another 3Km or so climbing. The view from here is great and shows the amazing turquoise colours of the perfectly clear lake below.

The ride finishes through some pretty lakeside villages before heading back to Annecy. A very enjoyable leisure ride if you're in the area and want some time off the many climbs, as described in this excellent summary. I had in mind climbing Le Semnoz the same afternoon as the lake loop but driving it made me think again! Its a gruelling, relentless 11-12 mile climb that made me realise just what's in store on the real Etape!

Chi Running

2009-07-01T12:31:00.009+01:00

When I was living in New York I went to a talk at the SBR triathlon shop by Terry Laughlin who developed the Total Immersion swimming technique (which I intend to post on separately at some point), Terry was sharing the stand with Danny Dryer who developed Chi Running. Both these approaches resonate with me having a focus on technique and bio-efficiency together with a philosophy of "fitness is something that happens to you while you are practicisng good technique." I was sold enough to buy his book but it quickly became another one buried in the bookcase.

However, I have become increasingly disheartned by a never ending list of running niggles and injuries - ITB syndrome, shin splints, hamstring pulls, knee problems - you name it. I started to dread running, waiting for the long list of niggles to appear. I just wasn't enjoying it. I reached a point therefore where I needed to either give up running (and hence my ironman goal) or really put some effort in to understanding where these niggles come from. Over the last few weeks the Chi Running book has come off the bookshelf and I'm trying to adjust my technique to achieve its claim of "effortless, injury-free running"

I had my running analysed last year in a running shop and was prescribed a Brooks Adrenaline GTS which is a supportive shoe and helps for mild over-pronation. It's a nice shoe and probably helps but I'm convinced that the issues run much deeper than the choice of shoe - I need to overhaul my technique. As an ex-rower and snooker player, I'm used to focussing on fine details of technique. Its strange how this focus is not usually seen as necessary for running probably because its such a natural thing. I think this is why there are so many running injuries, in the book Danny estimates that 65% of runners develop at least one injury a year.

I'm still working through the book but my summary of the important aspects to date are:

Posture and core stability
In the talk Danny took us through an exercise which demonstrated this point. If you stand up as you normally do and get someone to push down on your shoulders, most people will be relatively easy to push down. Now lengthen your spine ensure your pelvis is neutral and supporting your frame and that your head, hips and ankles are aligned. When done correctly, the same push on the shoulders won't have the same effect and the force is supported by your frame without requiring significant muscular effort. This is the stability that is required for running.

Lean
Make gravity your friend. With a stable posture, lean forward from the ankles. You will naturally have a forward momentum that makes moving forward all the easier.

Lift the feet
Rather than think of pushing off from the ground (which uses the quads) think instead of lifting the foot off the floor (which employs the hamstring more). Think of keeping the knees down and heels up so that you are lifting the feet off the floor behind you. A visualisation is of rolling down the road inside a wheel (with your head slightly ahead of your feet).

Relax
Keep everything as loose and relaxed as possible. Particularly the lower leg for shin splints. I think I have been crunching my toes and pushing off with them which engages the shin muscle and causes shin splints.

It's early days - I've only done 2 runs focussing on this stuff - but I'm definitely encouraged and have already noticed some differences. The focus on making running as efficient as possible allowing me to train more due to reduced injury is exactly what I need to try and turn this weakness into a strength. The focus of taking the work away from the quads is also perfect for triathlon. After 112 miles on the bike, they'll need all the help they can get to have any chance of navigating the marathon.

Dambuster Race Report

2009-06-21T15:22:00.001+01:00

Great race and location, good atmosphere, average performance, poor confidence booster!

Registration
Registration for the event opened on the previous evening, which gave us a chance to go to the course and have a final recce. The conditions were great for the windsurfers who were picking up some real speed but not so great for triathlon. Thankfully, the swim course at least was pretty sheltered from the worst of the wind. I looked over at the start of the run course and remembered the inclines at the start and end of the run, not quite a dead flat run after all despite my previous post.

On seeing the queues at registration the next (very early!) morning, I was pleased to be already registered but with racking the bike, sorting the transition area out and toilet queues I was still very rushed at the start and was busily pulling my wetsuit on as the race briefing began at 6:35am. Soon after I was in the water for a 6:50am "deep water" start.

Swim
The buoys were easy to see for the first section of the swim but on a left hand turn to the main drag, it was hard to work out amongst the flailing arms. I pretty much guessed for what must have been 500m. I got in to a reasonable rhythm but with random intervals between sighting. I was a bit disappointed to find myself weaving a bit as I've been working on evening out my stroke in the pool.

There was a nice landing for the swim with no rocks or pebbles to negotiate and I trotted into transition glancing down at my watch to see around 29mins. I was a bit disappointed with this as I was a few minutes quicker in a lake swim last year and felt my pool swimming had improved. I was speaking with a mate afterwards however who is a strong swimmer and was also a few minutes off pace so maybe the swim was choppier than I realised.

A very relaxed transition prompted a marshal to tell me to "hurry up, fast as you can, it's supposed to be a race you know!", ok fair enough I could have pulled my socks on a bit quicker!

Bike
On the bike the conditions were as expected with a head wind down the first section. Yesterday's wind hadn't subsided as much as I'd hoped so it was pretty slow going. It was then a left turn and on to the "Rutland Ripple" section. The photographer had kindly positioned himself on the steepest section of the middle hill so I tried to pose the best I could. Seeing the pictures afterward confirmed my failure!

The left turn onto the A47 produced a tail wind as expected and I was able to build the speed up. I discovered the night before that my front mech was seized so I had to fix it in the smaller chainring. I needed the big ring down this section though so probably lost a bit of time.

I'd been trying hard to take on energy drink as much as possible as I often don't drink nearly enough and I also took on a gel on the long drag following the left turn after Ketton. I've collapsed pretty badly on the run at my previous Olympic distance events last year and wanted to make sure I didn't run out of fuel.

Back on the A606 and the head wind returned making for a gruelling end to the ride. I was again a bit disappointed to see 1:24:00 on the clock, which is a few minutes slower than I'd been doing in training. The wind was pretty strong though and I really saw the advantage of aero bars as a few came past me tucked down into the wind but I was able to pick them off again once back on an incline.

Run
A slightly less relaxed transition took me on to the run. I was finding the adjustment tough and really felt the inclines at the start of the run. In last years races my quads had started to get crampy after 5-10 minutes of running but they felt ok initially. It wasn't long though before the tell tale signs appeared and I went into shuffling survival mode.

I had barely started my first lap on the Dam when my mate Bob came in the other direction finishing his second and last. A taunt about selling me one of his wristbands (marking a lap complete) was met with a stiff middle finger as I was just hanging in at that point.

I have a real problem taking on fluid during the run and I refused any until the last half a lap. Sure enough I choked rather than drank and put myself out of breath. I wished I hadn't bothered!

On the inclines on the final section I began to feel cramp in my hamstring as well so it was full on survival mode for the last few hundred metres. Those inclines on the route I remembered as dead flat felt like mountains as I stumbled towards the line.

Finish
Literally as I crossed the line the hamstring spasmed and as I straightened my leg the quad followed suit just as the race photographer had a lens pointed at me. My triumphant picture was likely to be me in a dual quad/hamstring spasm!

Over the line in about 2:47, about 7 minutes off the pace I was at Windsor last year which probably had a harder swim and run but easier bike. Not especially impressive!

Bob had finished with a storming sub 40-minute run and was over the line about 22 minutes ahead of me. We started triathlon together in 2003 with a few sprints when I was comfortably ahead of him. I quickly stopped however only to start dabbling again last year. His consistent effort throughout means that he's streets ahead of me now.

We all waited for Em to finish and started to worry as the time clocked on. The women started 30 mins after our wave but they would have already been out 3.5 hours by this time. Had something gone wrong? As it turns out they had been delayed another 20 mins at the start and Em came home feeling good throughout her race, finishing in 3:14

Reflections
It's amazing how quickly you forget the suffering! As I struggled through the run, I felt a million miles away from being in a condition to even think about the Ironman and in a few moments of weakness I began to plan how I could gracefully retreat from the goal I set myself. 10 minutes after finishing however I was again planning how to surmount this huge challenge. It may seem impassable from where I am today but that's what makes it a good challenge. I really am pushing myself way out of my comfort zone! I have a half-ironman distance scheduled for early September (twice today's race!) getting myself to a level where I can complete that will be challenge enough in the short term.

Weight Loss (or lack thereof)

2009-06-14T14:07:00.000+01:00

Warning: Look away now if you're squeamish!

I'm not really sure why I feel the need to post about my weight. Maybe I feel a public declaration will help motivate me to lose weight. Maybe if by some miracle I manage to get my weight under control the story could provide some small inspiration for others.

Whatever the reason, this post is intended as a statement of where things stand currently and the intention is to post updates on my progress. Weight loss is not the main goal of entering these events but it is an important side effect for me.

I've been logging my weight since August 07 and this data clearly shows my abject failure in hitting and maintaining my target weight of 14st, as shown below:

While not quite at the heady heights of 16st+ at the moment, I'm a long way from where I want to be. I've recently started logging fat %, which I'm going to use as another key indicator. I'm currently hovering around 22.5% to 23%, which is a long way from the 14-17% range considered right for fitness and dangerously close to the dreaded obese zone. This is what that level of fat looks like on a 6'2" male:

I'm clearly going to be paying a big price for carrying this baggage in the events I do. It also makes me even more injury prone when running and is probably not doing wonders for my health either. Throwing myself into training just doesn't seem to have the same effect as it once did in helping with weight loss so I think I am going to have to adjust my diet as well as upping the training load. I don't want to get obsessed however and have none of the things I like, what's the point in that? I want to enjoy myself. So here's to finding a happy balance, I'll let you know how it goes.

Dambuster Bike Course

2009-06-13T18:17:00.001+01:00

Only 1 week to go until my first triathlon of the season, Dambuster on June 20th. I've moved to the area recently so this is a local race for me and given that my wave starts at 6:50am, I'm glad I can pretty much roll out of bed and on to the course!

I haven't done the race before but have done a recce run (which is dead flat) and recce rides. The route is shown below:

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/oakham/40960878"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Dambuster Tri Bike&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-kingdom/oakham"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in Oakham, United Kingdom&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

The ride has a few hills but nothing like those in sportives. As you leave Whitwell there is downhill and flat until you turn on to the A6003. This road has 3 consecutive up and downs, which make for relatively slow going. The middle hill is marginally the most difficult having a slightly steeper section. Don't worry putting the effort in over these hills as there aren't any significant hills after turning on to the A47 until leaving the A6121 after Ketton.

In around 80% of the rides I've done on the course the wind is in your favour down the A47 and up to Ketton. You'll see a concrete factory in the distance on this road which marks the end of this section. A left-hand turn takes you on to a gradual climb back to the A606, the gradient is significant but manageable.

Once back on the A606 there are two inclines out of Empingham and Whitwell. This section should in theory be relatively easy but you often have to pay back for the help you've had down the A47 as the wind turns to a head wind. I often find the end of the ride the most gruelling. I'll need to make sure I don't hit the quads too hard ahead of the run even if it is flat.

Polkadot 2009

2009-06-13T14:20:00.000+01:00

This blog didn't exist at the time of the Polkadot sportive on June 7th, 2009 but I wanted to make a belated post nonetheless.

After dinner at my cousins in Macclesfield the night before enjoying the company of some seasoned riders who were also taking part (and will be doing the Etape again this year), I let exuberance get the better of me and think about doing the 100-mile route. This was despite the fact that the previous weekend I'd done a Recce on the middle 50-miles from Crowdecote after which my legs were pretty shot and knowing deep down that I just wasn't ready for such a tough ride.

At the start, feeling the wind and seeing the dark clouds the exuberance quickly subsided and I decided to see how things were looking at the first feed at Crowdecote - just before the decision point. Turning left would take me home early, turning right would add on the recce ride, which was challenging enough alone.

The ride itself was actually the Spud Riley course, which normally is run by the same organisers later in the year. They decided to only run 1 race this year however and so it was the Spud Riley course on the date of the polkadot. The start was well organised and we lined up for a 8:14 start feeling ill prepared not just due to lack of training but an overly optimistic kit bag given the likely weather - no shoe covers, no tights.

Our group started slowly, a pace I was happy to go with as I still had half an eye on the 100-mile route. Within a few miles the climbs started and then never stopped! Apart from a few mile stretch after passing over the cat and fiddle, it was pretty slow going. I'd recently changed by cassette to give me a 39x27 lowest gear from a 39x23 but I hit bottom gear pretty quickly. I was envious to see others spin up the hills in lower gears as I was having to work relatively hard in places when I wanted to save my legs for later. I resolved then that I had to change my chainset to either a compact or a triple before attempting another sportive. That decision was solidified when I hit the final hill before the feed station, which was a bit of a battle.

In retrospect the hill was perfectly placed as it took enough out of the legs to make me make the right decision and go for the 54-mile route. So after a well stocked and well organised feed and a push off from one of the organisers, I made my way to the decision point and turned left. I immediately felt like I'd taken the cop out route as the road was deserted and I had to fight the strong urge to turn around and go long. I'd been here before a few months back on the Rutland sportive, when I actually did turn around and do the long route. When I began cramping up as the hills got steeper, had to resort to pushing and finally called for a lift at about 85 miles, it was clear that was the wrong decision! That experience fresh in mind, I resisted the urge to turn around and continued on the short route and happily navigated up the final two climbs to complete the 54-mile route in a slow 4hrs 25mins. Nevertheless, it was satisfying to finish knowing I had more in the tank rather than with an SOS.

My riding (and life!) partner Em also battled on and completed the short route and with the weather turning, I was delighted I'd not gone for the long route. I had a bit of cold, lashing rain towards the end of the ride but got away lightly compared to the people who did the 100-mile route who had a torturous experience as others have documented [1], [2]

All in all, this was a good experience with excellent, friendly and helpful organisers. It's definitely in my diary for 2010 and this time it will be the 100-mile route regardless of the weather!

Lessons learned:

Kit; make sure you go to an event with clothing and kit for all weathers. It was 23 degrees when I did the recce ride and like the middle of winter the following weekend. I need waterproof shoe covers and maybe be a more waterproof jacket.
Gearing; 39x23 at Rutland was impossible, 39x27 at Polkadot was achievable but not ideal. I definitley need to go to at least 34x27 (i.e. a compact) but will this be enough for l'etape?
Fueling; take some sandwiches along with you. A bit of savoury will go down well after bucket loads of sweet stuff. I also need to plan when to take on gels etc during the ride, my fuelling is pretty random at the moment.
Punctures; I didn't get a puncture but saw many who did. I currently take 1 spare tube and CO2 cannister. I think I need to take at least 2 but probably 3, don't want a big event to be spolied by punctures. My new larger saddle bag should be big enough for this.
Bike fit; I haven't been fit to my bike with cycling shoes on. I'm convinced my saddle needs moving further forward. I think I naturally creep forward on the saddle to avoid stress on my inner thighs which puts me on a narrower part of the saddle and results in numbness quite quickly. Maybe I just need a new, more comfortable saddle however.