Henlow 10 - New P.B

Last Wednesday was the Henlow 10 incorporating the RAF 10 Mile Championships. My 10 mile P.B was on this course anyway so a fair comparison. Some say its not a fast course and that a good course would be at least a minute quicker. The conditions seemed good and although it was cold stood at the start I soon warmed up. I went through the first mile in 5:55 although it does have a quite large up hill section so not to bad really. I felt strong and pushed on throughout and my worst mile was 6:00 through 7 - 8 which also has a long up hill drag. I finished in 57:14 giving an average of 5:43 per mile so some of the miles must have been near to 5:30. A new p.b taking 43 seconds of my previous time. Now I can't say that I could of gone quicker (or I would have) but I am confident to say I could have held the pace up to half marathon which would have given me a sub 1:15 half which is championship qualifying time for the London Marathon. Happy with that but I do feel there is more to come yet. A week Wednesday and I start the Lincolnshire cross country league, should be fun. Not much else happening at this time of year.

House sale fell through

My house buyer has pulled out 3 weeks into the sale............................ar$eholes!!!

Preparing for winter

Ok so its been a month since my last post, what's happening? The week after the Vitruvian triathlon I went to the Isle of Man for the End to End Enduro mountain bike race. I borrowed a bike again this year, a carbon Specialized Epic. I got my first ride on it the day before the race, not ideal but luckily it was a perfect fit and I only had to adjust the seat height. It was a great bike to ride and if I had the money I would be easily tempted with one. Anyway the next day was race day, quite a sight seeing 1368 mountain bikers on the start line!!! As the race started I made my way through the field, being an ex road racer really helps. By the time we were about 6 miles in I was in the leading group containing no more than 25 riders. I climbed well on the first monster climb of the day and moved into the top 20. Over the top of the first hill and you get chance to pick up speed on the first decent despite it being very rocky and loose stones. I was progressing nicely until I got to one of the new sections of the course at Ballacraine farm where I had a crash on wet tree roots. No issues really just a bit of a commando roll across the floor and after picking up the bike I was on my way again. Things were going great until the climb up the pipeline where out of the blue my legs just went bang. I hadn't really felt fatigue coming on and was surprised how quick I blew. With about 10 miles still to go this wasn't good! I pushed on as best I could but was loosing lots of places now. I slipped down the field and ended up crossing the line in 59th. Happy enough with that, not sure if it will feature in next years race plans though?

After the race I had a sore throat and the next day I had a full blown cold. This dragged on for about 10 days so training really went down hill during this time. I am now training quite hard for the Henlow 10 mile road race. I did a 9.6 mile run on Wednesday in 1 hour 5 seconds, then a 12.5 mile run today in 1 hour 19 mins 57 seconds. Things are on target for a sub hour run if the weather is right on race day but how much under the hour I don't know?

I have also been getting ready for winter, been spending lots of money!!! I've bought a new bike as I felt it would be best with all the commuting I am doing, I have also bought some winter boots to try and combat the winter weather, last but not least I have also got some cross country running shoes. I plan to do the lincolnshire league this year but was advised that spikes are not ideal for all the courses. I noticed that a lot of off road shoes have a tread more suited to the likes of woodland trails but think they would clog up with mud to easily so I went for the adidas ones with more of a rugged tread pattern. That's all for now I think, only other news is my house is sold subject to contract, this is a worrying time as many sales fall through at this stage so fingers crossed it all works out. If all goes through then I will be on the move again, and it will be this side of Christmas due to various circumstances. Time will tell and i'll update more as I know myself.

Vitruvian Triathlon - Targets Smashed

I travelled down to Rutland water on the Friday afternoon as I was camping out this weekend with Anthea, Beth and the dog. We had booked for both Friday and Saturday so that I could have a more relaxed race weekend instead of the usual turn up after a mad dash to get there, do the race, pack up and drive home. It was very hot on the Friday and I was dripping with sweat by the time I had put the tent up with Anthea, Beth went off for a paddle in the lake and the dog was panting away until we got him a drink. After setting up the tent I drank 2 x 750ml bottles of high 5 to help re-hydrate, and then we took a slow walk down to the registration area although we were about an hour early. Despite being that early there was a lot of activity going on and a couple of trade stands to have a look at, I managed to escape without spending any money on shiny new toys. I met Marc Preece and Al Hadnett also waiting to register and after a quick catch up chat we managed to get registered. I also met Reg Swallow on my way out of the tent, then headed off to get a nice cup of tea and relax for a bit. After a brew, i popped back down to rack the bike so that I had finished for the night. As is usual with these events you end up running into other friends and what should be a ten minute job took 45 minutes as I popped over to see Sags, Julie and the girls on the way back to my tent.

The Swim,

After a cold night I woke and had 2 cups of tea, 2 toasted tea cakes and 1 tin of rice pudding for breakfast. I drank 1 x 500ml of high 5 4:1 slowly whilst in transition getting ready. The swim was very foggy and you couldn't see the first turn buoy. The first two waves went off and I entered the water ready to start but they announced a delay of 6 minutes. Finally we got away and the first lap despite the fog was uneventful, I didn't feel 100% and felt a little sick. I exited the water at the end of the first lap, ran round the barriers and dived in for the second lap. The next wave had just started and at the first turn I caught the back of that wave, I managed to work my way through and had no problems, I was even feeling better. I exited the water and crossed the timing mat in 32:47, a bit disappointing given my sub 30 swim at Antwerp. I have never had a fast swim at Rutland water, I don't know why?

The Bike,

I decided due to the cold I would put my socks for the run on before starting the bike in some hope it would help keep me slightly warmer on the bike. This would save some time in T2 though and to be honest I was happy with my first transition of 1:35. I ran out and jumped on the bike, quickly got my feet in the shoes and decided to just spin the legs up the short climb to the main road to get the blood flowing. Once on the main road I settled into a good but steady pace with the plan for an even split over the two laps. It was so cold on the bike and the fog was causing visual problems with water gathering on the lenses of my shades. The roads were very busy which surprised me at that time of day. I completed the first lap having passed loads of people yet not being overtaken myself. I decided to push harder on the second lap as I still felt strong and passed lots more people but got overtaken by 1 person. I tried to match him after I had dropped back about 15 meters but couldn't. I didn't let it worry me too much and thought I could maybe catch him on the run. As I entered T2 I knew I would have to stop for a wee but decided I would start running and stop on the course somewhere. I had completed the bike in 2:16:38 and for those who had voted on Sags's poll I had beaten his bike split by 2:30.

The Run,

I set off on the run extremely focused as I had made claims to a lot of people that I was going for a sub 1:25 half marathon. I have always ran 1:26 half's in triathlons but thought I could go faster based on my training and other races this year. I stopped after the first 800 meters at the same bush I had a wee on last year. After about 40 seconds I felt much relief and set off again. The first couple of km I was moving at a good pace but had cramp in both quads and a little bit of back ache. I thought the sub 1:25 was off but I pushed on hoping to either get as far as possible before I blew or that I could run it off. The result was I ran off all the aches and pains. I knew I was running well and it felt great, I was passing loads of people but never got passed by anyone. At the end of the first lap I saw Sags setting off on his run and wanted to catch him. This spurred me on and I kept pushing, just after we crossed the dam I could see Sags and as I caught him I asked him to run with me but he declined. As it turns out I was running an average of 6:15 per mile and after crossing the line found out I had ran a 1:22:16. I was chuffed to bits with my result, I had said I was targeting a sub 4:20 and finished with a 4:14:03 smashing my previous time of 4:22.

It was nice to be able to relax after the race without packing up and rushing home. I went to the Inter-Service presentation where we were told we had come second to the Army, watched Sags get his vets prize, then went to the main presentation to see Sags the trophy hunter collect another vets prize. What a great day for him, so pleased he pulled everything together at the right time.

So what's next? The same as last year, I have a week to recover before racing in the Manx End to End mountain bike enduro. I think I will then look for a sprint to finish off the tri season and possibly do the Dalby forest off road duathlon if I have time.

brass monkeys

Bit chilly this morning on the ride to work, had to break out some of the autumn gear, so on my ride to work this morning i had on the following,

1. Socks
2. Specialized shoes
3. sidi over socks
4. Dhb Knee warmers
5. Tri shorts
6. Base layer t shirt
7. Dhb Arm warmers
8. Short sleeve cycle top
9. Gore wind stopper gilet
10. Full finger running gloves (not good enough for the job today)

Was cold for the first 2 miles but warmed up except my fingers, I need some mid season (not winter/not summer) gloves if anyone can recommend some.

So I see Sags has a poll on his blog at the moment, I did laugh when I read it and it's very good fun. It will be interesting to see how the vote finishes and how accurate it is. I think Sags will be quicker on the bike to be honest as I haven't trained since Antwerp 70.3, just been commuting and I also had a big 11 day lay off this month while on holiday. Historically both of our bike times have always been very close so which ever way things swing on Saturday I think it will be close. Sags is swimming well too at the moment it would be great to see him put in a good swim split on the day.

My concern for Saturday will be the temperature when we start the bike leg, given this mornings experience it will be hard to know what to do for best. Do you waste time putting on a bit more clothing? or do you stick with the tri suit only and hope it warms up quickly? so many decisions to make.

So I will be camping at Rutland for the first time and plan to be there about 2pm on Friday so I can set up camp and have plenty of time to chill out instead of the usual rush around on race day.

So to sum up my final blog entry before the race I am going to say that wheel choice is still unknown, clothing choice is still unknown, weather forecast looks ok and if all goes to plan and I get everything right on the day I am going to target a sub 4:20. There you go I've laid it on the line now for all to see, best I pull my finger out now and try and live up to that bold claim.

usual question - disc or 50 rear

So its only just over a week to the Vitruvian triathlon so I need to start thinking about wheel choice. The question i am asking myself is does the extra weight of the disc balance out over the advantage it will give, specifically thinking about pulling it up the ripple on the second lap? I am not sure so will have to have a think. I am swaying towards the cosmic carbons front and rear but as a strong cyclist could I drag the disc up the ripple on the second lap, and if so will I lose any time compaired with that gained on the rest of the course. I'm not really fired up for the vit at the moment as unlike Sags my swimming has taken a real hit. I had 12 days out of the pool whilst on leave and since then it would appear that my swim fitness has packed its bags and left for the year. Also during that 12 day period I only ran 3 times, and cycled twice. It was nice to have a break and spend some time with Anthea and Beth, we went to Germany and Belgium camping, followed by a few days in the Isle of Man at my mum and dads. Whilst over there I did get roped into a mountain bike race using my sisters spare bike. Now that was a hard day at the office. It was 85% single track with loads of tree roots and extremely technical, something i struggled with to be honest and the cadence/gearing needed for this course was crazy. To give you an idea of the difficulty of the course it was 3 laps of a 6 mile circuit and it took me 2 hours 40 minutes to finish!!! On the last climb my legs went with just 1/2 a mile to go and I lost a place dropping down to 10th. As a result of such failure I gave the bike to my dad to take home for me and I ran home to punish myself for not being good enough. I hope i perform better in the Isle of Man End to End enduro race the week after the Vit but the course is less technical with more open fire tracks etc with a chance to get the power down.

I qualified for Clearwater!!!!!! but i'm not going :-(

Sunday saw me take part in the Antwerp 70.3 triathlon and world championship qualifier. When I entered the event back in December I stated my intention was to qualify for Clearwater. Mission accomplished!!! So why am I not going? Well I went to the slot allocation ceremony as i've never been close at the full Ironman distance but seen as I was 8th in my age group in Antwerp and there was 4 slots available I thought I had a very good chance. I was offered the 3rd of the 4 slots and felt quite emotional as I didn't take it. At the end of the day it all boils down to cost. The truth is racing in Spain last month and then in Belgium at the weekend on top of all the other costs for this years season means I simply can't afford it. When I entered we planned to go on holiday as a family if I qualified but that was last year. Everything changed this year when Anthea got in the police and I got a posting. Beth went off to boarding school and we moved in to married quarters and put our house on the market which left us paying a mortgage on an empty house and rent on another along with Beths school fees!!! It is such a shame but that's life. If I took the slot it was 270 euros on the night to pay the entry and even if I went on my own I reckon I would of been at least another grand for travel and accommodation in the states plus any spends on food etc. So enough of my moaning and sulking how was the race?

The swim was in a lake and I have to admit its the most beat up i've been in a swim since Ironman South Africa. I didn't ever find any room in the water despite it being started in waves as we were only 3 minutes apart so we were catching slower swimmers from earlier waves before half way. I exited the water on 28 mins but crossed the timing mat on 29:16. A good swim and I was pleased with that. The run to transition and out the other side was long but there were no dramas and I got on the bike and started to get into a good rhythm on the bike. After about 3km you go under the river through a huge tunnel (as big as the tyne tunnel for those who have driven through that) a really fast decent and a nice climb back out. The disc wheel sounded awesome in the tunnel :-) The bike course is fairly straight forward for the first 30 km with a few tram lines to cross. The back of the course you do 2 laps of and its quite technical with some very tight corners. I was feeling good on the bike and fueling well, making up lots of places but getting very angry by the amount of blatant drafting going on. You would get overtaken so sit up for a couple of seconds to let the gap get draft legal and then a train of riders would come past leaving you with a line of 8-10 riders to go back past. Occasionally you would see groups of 30 + riders and wonder where the race officials are and if they are paying any attention. As you come back into town you spend the last 5k or so on cobbles which really take it out of you after the previous 85k. I clocked a 2:19:56 on the bike. Into transition the legs felt ok and after putting on the socks and trainers I left transition. This is the only point in which my race didn't go to plan, about 500 meters into the run 1 of my 2 gels I was planning to fuel with fell out of my belt. I wasn't stopping for it which left me with 1 gel as the fuel stations were giving out power bar gels which I hate. So 1 gel and 21k of running left me with no choice. I was to take the gel on the 10k mark and that's what I did, the only other thing I took on was a couple of mouth fulls of water. The pace I was running was good until 17k when I slowed a little. As I hit 20k I did a time check and realised if I gunned it I could go sub 4:20 which was my objective, I turned up the cobbled street towards the square and onto the finish line carpet crossing the line in 4:19:23 with a half marathon time of 1:26:26. All in a great day, chuffed to bits with the time, the position of 64th overall (including the elites) and the fact I qualified for Clearwater!!!!!!!!! Happy days.