Watching the Wheels

The weeks and month have been flying by and although still not 100% I definately feel the injury gloom has well and truly lifted mostly down to shockwave therapy and a return to new structured training.

Overall the winter has been great for my training I’ve done a good solid 3 months of training coupled with not overly indulging over the Christmas period and I’ve come to end of Jan with higher fitness than I’ve had in the last 18 months. I feel stronger now than when I did Ironman UK and Ironman Wales in 2014 and the only thing is trying not to peak too soon or exhausting myself and losing focus.

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Running (Marathon Training)

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Did someone says Marathon training yep I’m IN!

The Manchester Marathon is on 10th April and my girlfriend Alison is doing this for MIND (Sponsorship Link). She was told she would never run any distance after various horse-related injuries so this is a major challenge and I’m supporting her both in preparations and training but am very proud of her taking on this event as she has only been running less that a full year.

With someone else to help with pace control/judgement my running has been building well for once in a controlled manner without the temptation to push faster miles.

I’ve been told by my physio just to keep the pace low and back off when it hurts but generally my achilles has just felt tight and I’ve only had the very odd day when I’ve been limping but mostly I have been walking normally. I have put a vast amount of the improvement down to the shockwave therapy in Nov. Before this I was struggling even with daily life and it is amazing to see the vast improvements, although like everyone I want more!

In November I focussed mainly on swimming and cycling and put in a couple of test runs of low mileage at end of the month and then in December I went back to doing weekly Parkruns then in January, based on physio advice I decided to push on with slower long runs. I’ve also been working on foam rolling and doing more core exercises and I do feel all of this combined is helping me to progress.

Nov – 9 miles ONLY
Dec – 20 miles (Weekly Park Runs)
Jan – 127 miles (Long Steady Run Weekly 10,12,14,16,18)

The stats show a massive increase in Jan but my body has been coping really well

The next running milestone comes on the 14th Feb when I run Bramley 20 mile. This will be my 4th year of running it but I will be happy to get through it with some light miles. The simple plan is to run to a specific heart rate limit which helps to avoid worrying about pace per mile as it just means looking at how my body is reacting to the demands.

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Cycling

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I’ve been really into the turbo training and power training and my plan was to break my session up into Speed, Strength, Endurance. I do find this combination works well for most sports and gives enough time for the body to recover. However indoors on a turbo I find the endurance sessions are extremely boring and I end up focusing more on the Speed, Strength which can be a little high on the intensity but is split up more into different intervals.

Having the power numbers/data (Normalised Power, Intensity Factors) helps me to avoid too much over training but when it’s early in the race season I think anything which gets you training cannot be too bad as long as your having lower volume weeks once in a while to balance out.

Setup wise for my turbo I have the essentials which is a Turbo (BKOOL), A Bike!, Speed/Cadence Sensor and I have my Rotor InPower and my heart rate monitor. Some of the Turbos now do power,speed and cadence themselves like BKOOL but I like to stick with my Rotor InPower as thats what I will be using when at events and it is one source for the data to keep it comparable.

Oh and another important piece of vital equipment in your PainCave is a fan and I dont’t mean someone who really thinks you’re the best cyclist 🙂 It gets hot and then hotter and you’ll never perform well without cool air. I learnt the hard-way on this!

Software wise for turbo I was using BKOOL App which is good for real world climbs but I’ve gradually moved more and more to Trainer Road. Each person will have a different choice but for me BKOOL is good for challenges but for training to power or heart rate you cannot beat Trainer Road once you’ve measured your FTP (Functional Threshold Power) everything is then based as % of this figure so the 1024+ sessions are available to everyone to stimulate improvements and it is only $99 a year.

Moving mainly to Trainer Road introduced me to “The Sufferfest” if you’re not aware these are mainly high intensity training videos and I have to say I’m very impressed. YES they are not easy but the combination of the race footage and well edited videos makes you want to work harder and it keeps you focussed on the sessions. Before January I was a 45min-1hr Max on turbo person but now with TR and Sufferfest I’m not dreading it as much and holding on to every minute.

Obviously anyone doing a Sufferfest video will know that in Feb each year they run a Tour which is 9 days of Turbo. Some days have double videos but put simply you ride a different stage (video or videos) each day. It is done for charity and is very much self ran event so you do as much or as little as you want but it is really about testing your own limits and of course SUFFERING is the key, in a good way of course.

My plan hasn’t been to do all stages due to my running event as it would be really silly but I’m at the end of Stage 7 today and I feel pretty good. I do think it has really broken my view of how often I can push a high effort level and what freedom a turbo setup gives you to pop in a quick 1hr session.

In the midst of all this indoor training I also managed to grab a winter cycling break in sunny Tenerife to climb the epic Mount Teide (2350m). This involved 3 days of back to back cycling  180 miles with around 20,000ft of climbing great for endurance building and my first cycling adventure.

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What’s Ahead

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With running I’m just taking it one run at a time but the plan is to see if I can make this Marathon as ultimately I have to do one off the bike at Ironman UK.

At present both look realistic targets so it really is week by week, month by month on the running front. I’ve backed off for the last 2 weeks on running so Bramley 20 will tell me how viable the Manchester Marathon is?

The focus is now very much on the cycling and keeping this going thru to the Tri Season starting.

Smile like you Mean it

Reality Check time!!

I’ve been letting this injury get to me and it has stopped me moving forward. A friend who follows my blog asked why I had stopped blogging and the truth is I don’t really know but I just felt it was a bit too much of the same thing and I think part of my zest for triathlon got lost focussing on trying to work around my injury and for the first time I was scared of failure.

This blog was never written to be about getting lot’s of followers or an attempt at self importance it was a way to help me reflect and process any negative thoughts with a view to help when I felt weak or low to see what I can achieve and how it made me feel at the time. Outside of this it is about trying to inspire others who are looking to make similar lifestyle adjustments or just venture into a new sport.

Triathlon isn’t a 1 discipline sport so just because I cannot put my focus into running doesn’t mean I shouldn’t keep focus on improving my Swimming and Cycling and ensuring I get myself down to a better weight for events in 2016. Being unable to run is an easy excuse but bottom line it is yet another excuse not to be accountable to myself. I know all too well about these excuse and should no much better by now!

I do feel however I’ve turned a corner this month and I’m back to myself – focussed, positive and even more determined than ever to get back to my best.

Angels of the Silences

It’s been nearly 3 months since my last blog post from Outlaw Half.

The outside world has felt very disconnected due to a lack of WiFi after moving house. Equally I’ve been finding it quite difficult dealing with my Achilles injury and the lack of any consistency when feeling symptoms or real progress when resting so I decided that boring my family, friends and partner with this was enough whining for a grown man.

So what has happen over the past 2-3 months?

I’ve managed to achieve some firsts which prior to now would have stopped me in my tracks. I had my first DNF at Titan Brecons, my first DNS at Ironman UK (My A Race) followed by a last place in an AquaBike event after a puncture but I’ve realised a few things and I believe I’ve grown as a person/athlete over this period.

I think once Ironman UK was decided and out the way I realised I was putting way too much pressure on myself to recover for a specific date without anything saying it was a valid target. This meant everything was geared towards getting ready for this date and it just made things worse. Every time I ran a mile and it went okay I was thinking best get to 5 or 10 miles and so it went on!. After the Titan DNF I just accepted that it wasn’t going to happen.

Taking a step back I see it is so easy to let Ironman or whichever challenge define my self-worth but it should not be my everything especially with such a loving family. I think to some extend I’m still trying to prove something to myself and I’m not sure if that will ever change. I’m rightly or wrongly driven by challenges and I’m driven to better myself but saying that it now doesn’t have to be about one specific event or point in time it is about doing things I enjoy.

I’m such a very lucky person this wasn’t my first Ironman and I’ve done so much this year already to be proud of, I have helped mentor and give advice to friends about triathlon and help them to achieve goals. I’ve helped my supportive girlfriend Alison do her first 10k and Half Marathon which makes me so very proud. I’ve help my children do 5k Walk/Runs at Park Run. Outside of all of these I’ve also helped inspire a few people via my blog or email to move forward with some fitness goals for themselves.

So how is the injury now?

Well the Achilles still isn’t good but it has improved through better management. I’ve been focussing on foam rolling, stretching and flexibility, all the things we always say we should do more of but never do. I’ve really been focussed on doing these 10-15 minutes everyday and this has really help reduce the heel pain.

I’ve had a referral to a specialist and this has confirmed that I have inflammation at the point my Achilles enters my heel (Above). I was told to see if management alone would help it and return to running. This has mainly been positive since the 30th July I’ve ran more miles than I could have hope for but each time I’ve had a slight pain/tightness the first few miles and been sore next day and needed to rest for 2-3 days.

The next appointment is the 9th September and I’m hopeful that they will give me a steroid injection to see if this helps reduce the inflammation.

What’s next for 2016?

Ironman UK entries open on the 2nd September so never says never …….

Everything I do I do it for you (Outlaw Half)

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Build Up

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The last month has been a real low point in my 2015 season. As one of my key races for 2015 is approaching I have had to accept that my Achilles and getting it looked at and on the road to recovery is more important than any one event and that this wasn’t going to be the season that my good winter training paid the dividend I want.

I have start seeing a Physio since the first week of May after an ultrasound scan at London Marathon confirmed I had retrocalcaneal bursitis. This was a starting point in my mind and drawing a firm line under my silly “ignorance is bliss” attitude and a new start at taking this injury more seriously. I had now promised myself and many of my friends and family that I would do as little running and would only run if I was pain free. This is much easier said than done but in-fact I’ve stuck to it pretty well and through gritted teeth I’ve only done 3 runs events in May leading up to Outlaw Half.

• 2nd May – Pirate DIY Triathlon (3.7 miles off the Bike) 35:28
• 10th May – Cotswold Classic Sprint Tri (2.7 miles of the Bike): 21:33
• 26th May – Back Marked at Slinn Allstars (6.0 miles) : 58:23

So the 5 weeks leading into outlaw I had done only 12.4 miles on my legs……… not good preparation for a 13.1 mile of the bike run is it? But that said I wasn’t feeling too bad and the Physio was happy things were progressing well.

However on the flip side not being able to run has it advantages my focus has been on Swim and Bike. I’ve been able to put the time into getting some hilly bike miles in with the TT bike and have been working hard at open water swimming so I always felt going into Outlaw Half that I could do well on the Swim and Bike legs before holding on for the run.

Outlaw Half is an event I booked almost a full year ago. Now it is almost like you’re planning the next season before the current season starts which is getting a little bit too much if I’m honest. This is even more apparent if you’re looking any early season events May/early June. I had always heard good things about Outlaw and the organiser OneStepBeyond and many of my fellow Pirates are big fans of these events.

The venue hosting the event was Nottingham Water Sports Centre. We arrived on Saturday and travelled over to collect my number  and check out the expo. The venue was hosting the Nottingham Triathlon; the venue is pretty immense and the man-made rowing lake is quite an impressive view. Registration was easy and very straightforward and we headed over to look at expo and chatted with a few of the other Pirates racing tomorrow. The race briefing I decided to go to was at 12:30 this went through everything pretty well and it was good to see them show pictures of junctions and be clear on the signs which would be used. It felt pretty strange having so little to do post race day. At IM branded events I usually have all the transition the day before to sort out. I’m still in two minds what I prefer as both have advantages/disadvantages.

Planning Transition gets easier the more you do it. First time I was so very stressed now I’ve got a routine (still room to improve) and know what works for me and what doesn’t. I pre-loaded my cycling jersey or jacket with my solid food and a few sweets (I try to stick to solid food on bike) then follow up with gels on the run as this seems to work well for me. As the weather was forecast for heavy rain we bought a small box so I could use for my transition stuff. So I was prepared and everything boxed in reverse order.

T1 – Cycling Shoes (Talc inside), Race Belt and Number, Cycling Jacket, Cycling Gloves, Cycling Shorts, Small Towel, Red Bull

T2 – Run Shoes (Talc inside), Run Top,  Running Belt (Pre-packed with 5 gels), Red Bull

On longer distances I accept that for me a trisuit alone just isn’t enough padding so I take the 45 seconds it takes to put another pair of cycling shorts on top this works well for me and I feel comfortable on the bike rather than in pain. I’ve found Red Bull gets me in a good place so I have half a can in T1 and T2.

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Race Day

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Race day had come and along came the weather as predicted, it was very windy and wet. We had planned to arrive at 5am so we didn’t have to rush. In the morning I just had to pump my tyres I went for 105psi as it was wet and this helps with grip. By the time we arrived at the venue it was 5:20 and it took about 25 mins to walk from parking with bikes and kit to transition (As a future thing I guess this could have been mentioned in the briefing). Alison my girlfriend couldn’t enter Transition so we said our goodbyes as my swim wave was first at 6:30am.

Once in transition I chatted with Stanners (another pirate) and then sorted out my kit, checked my bike and got my swim stuff on ready for the off. I did a bit off faffing and almost got into the swim with my spare trainers still on 🙂

Swim (36 mins 20 secs)

I’m quite experienced now at open water swimming but it is very easy to still let events get ahead of you and for your mind to start racing. My final practice swim on Thursday morning had resulted in Swim google issues where I was taking water in so this made me a little apprehensive before I had even started. The swim is split into waves of around 300 each then split into 2 groups sub 40 and over 40. This is a great way to organise it and I wish more events would adopt similar approaches as it helps everyone to have a fair and safe swim.

I got in on the left with sub 40 and went right over to the left again I prefer to be on the edge and would rather swim a little extra 50-100m and stay out of the pack. The water was very murky from the silt of 300 other swimmers. I got a few practice lengths in and the water felt pretty cold on my face.

The next 5 mins disappeared quickly and the race starter counted us down and we were off. The next 200m didn’t feel good the bubbles of others legs and seeing frantic arms to my left was daunting but I do what I always do which is keep swimming straight lines and try to relax. All in all this worked and I start to build into the race. It’s difficult at any point in a swim to know where you are. To me I was right in the mix of it but in-fact I was probably around 20 people the whole time and never in much of a pack other than what I perceived.

The outlaw half course and set-up is good for beginners. It is 900m out then 100m across and 900m so by the time of the first turn you would expect the 300 in the wave to be grouped very well in terms of pace order so in theory I thought if you keep your pace into the turns then you should be okay. This worked fine and for both turns didn’t cause any issue however just after turn two I got my finger caught on a rowing buoy/marker which has a metal anchor point and it didn’t feel nice in between my fingers.

After the turn in the last 900m I thought I can go for it now but my goggles within seconds started to get water in, I had to stop to put them back on properly. Once swimming again my sighting wasn’t good I seemed to have abandoned any sense of direction and was swimming left and right (Yeah it was me!) but then I got caught behind someone who I couldn’t shake and for the final 300m I was blocked in.

Out of the water thou in just over 35 mins is a great feeling and within a minute of what I had hoped for so pretty good as last year I kept swimming extra distance.

T1 Swim to Bike (5 mins 12secs)

This went pretty well; wetsuit off and drank Red Bull, shoes and cycling jacket on then helmet and gloves. Double check I have everything and I’m off. Probably took about 60-90 seconds longer than I would have wanted but the time above includes running out of T1 to the mount line.

Bike (2 hours 47 mins 48 secs)

This is where I wanted to do well. I’ve invested heavily both in terms of my TT Bike and in terms of my training on the Bike this year and this is what would tell me if it was going well. I had in my head a target of a 20mph average and was prepared to work hard to get this.

Setting off on the bike it was good fun the weather as expected was windy and wet but I felt I was making good progress and set a target to get to the first feed station (21 miles) in the hour.

The hour done and I was doing very well. At the top of Oxton Bank I was on a 22.5mph average and was really finding it going very well and I felt in control. The next 15 miles seems to be going well and I was holding this average well but after 35 miles things turned for the worse as the weather got worse and the wind picked up. I kept working hard but the last 20 miles I was struggling to get any speed.

The bike finished and given the conditions I’m over the moon with my performance.

T2 (4 mins 24 secs)

Into T2 to cheers from Alison and the other crowd who really embraced supporting the Pirates. Cycling jacket off and switch to run kit. Run shoes on and I’m off. The Marshall in Transition says “run number?” damn where is it? Turn to run back but it is under my run shirt. In the haste I rip my number but it’s okay time only 1 side so time to crack on. See Q (Pirate SA), Jo (Mrs SA) and Jordy cheering me out of T2. Great people and always so enthusiastic .

Run (2 hours 21 mins 40 secs)

This is where it all goes south! I’m determined to try my hardest and not make excuses head down and focussing on getting to that off bike magically 15 minutes target (that’s when everything feels great isn’t it?!). Getting lots of support being a pirate and doing my best arghhh! I’m sure it is annoying for some but it keeps me going and makes a few people smile at the very least.

Feeling okay so far and heading out on the first loop as I go out at first feed station decided to go for to toilet only to realise I’ve done my usual T2 trick of leaving my cycling shorts on :-(, I drop my shorts at the feed station so I can run without them.

After this I get into the running and I’m doing pretty well. I manage to run to the turn point on the back route I see Alison giving me great support and the other pirate runners and give them “arghhh” and “Go Pirate” On route back I see the pirate support section (SA,Mrs SA, Jordi) and we have some great banter in-fact I remember a well timed exchange of shhh 1-2-3 Argghhh which I don’t know were it came from but it definitely made everyone laugh and boosted my spirits, I doubt we could do it that perfectly if we had planned it 🙂

After doing around 9:30 minutes miles the run started to get tough now my heel was feeling tight but I was pushing on. I got to the top of the swim and as we turned the wind hit me hard and I was struggling against it. This resulted in me walking but I started running past the finish line and the support built again so I got back into it. I was keeping around 11minute miles run then walking.

I saw Alison at start of second lap and it really gave me a boost. Then she popped up again on the out leg and I said I would see her at the finish which was nice to start thinking about.

The second lap was more of the same but encouraged by being close to finishing but I had to walk at times on the out but kept pushing it when seeing support and it encouraged me to keep going. The support was just great and really does make a big difference.

I got run/walking with a guy called Darren; felt a little guilty he was on lap 1 whilst I was finishing but we kept pushing each other and chatted about triathlon we split up after the feed station at back of the swim as it wasn’t going to be nice when I was finishing and he was starting lap 2.

Even with the wind I started running, I knew that my day was almost over. I love that moment running down the finishing shoot and everyone cheering it is hard to describe or put into words but it still makes me want more each and every-time and hopefully along the way it inspires someone to give it a go. The commentator was loving Pirates all day so after running to high 5 my girlfriend Alison I went to the opposite side to show my appreciation. He did an awesome job just like each and every competitor, marshal, supporter or volunteer.

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Overall (5 hours 55 Mins 47 sec)

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In summary this is a great event whether you’re thinking about moving up to the Half distance or looking to get a personal best. The course is measured almost perfectly for the distances so it is a true reflection. The weather cannot be planned but the course is very fast and is well signposted and marshalled so the focus is primarily on completing the 3 disciplines back to back with no surprise twists. The swim is split up nicely into waves which ultimately makes it much less of a battle and you can focus just on swimming.

The venue provides ample parking for both competitors and spectators, the feed stations are well organised and the run route is very well organised so spectators can get to multiple points to support and can at the very minimum see a competitor 4 times.

The Medal is a great addition to the collection and I think the Finishers T-Shirt is one of the best I own couple that with a lower entry cost (Think almost £60-70 cheaper than Wimbleball 70.3) and you start to see why it is such a popular event.

For me it is a mixed results. 5:55:37 is a great time but saying that I’m running about 20+ mins off plan a fair amount of that is due to lack of training and injury. In theory though I should be very happy! The bike shows I’m building well and my swim is back to standards of 2013 and continues to get better in the lead up to Ironman UK.

I’m not sure where this leaves me…. it’s 2 days after the event and I can barely put weight on my left foot. This is due to the bursitis and is worse than it has ever been before post even with icing. I’m at the point now of considering if this season is a step too far, maybe I need to accept that my body just isn’t in a state to do this. I’m not expecting it to be easy but I’m worried I may do longer term damage. Physio will have to guide me over the next 4-5 weeks and I will need to be honest with myself. It’s such a difficult choice but running pain-free seems a lifetime ago already!

Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)

So it’s the weekend I’ve been excited about since back in October. In ideal circumstances I would hit the London Marathon feeling in top running form but once again injury has held me back. Although this hasn’t had too much impact on the shorter distances 5k, 5 miles, 10k as I had good times at both Highworth 5 and Corsham 10k, it has really blocked my ability to do long runs.

The London marathon experience is hard to put into words as it is such a whirlwind. The expo is on a scale you just don’t expect and the temptation to buy and race in new kit or use new nutrition products must be really difficult for first time marathon runners. Race preparations where fairly subdued as at the expo I managed to see a PhysioPlan stand where they offered to do an ultrasound scan of my Achilles to identify what was going on. Up until this point I’d really just had people saying it could be x and y so this was going to finally tell me. Sadly the verdict was that I had retrocalcalneal bursitis; this isn’t the Achilles tendon but a sack of fluid which sits behind it to lubricate the gap between the heel bone. The scanned showed this was severely inflamed and was turning slowly to bone. I was told if I kept running on this and didn’t let it heal I would eventually have a lump of extra bone. The physio asked if I was running and offered if I bought some Rock Tape to tape up my heel which would help reduce the impact. In hindsight I should have taken this information and decided that it wasn’t worth any risks but I wanted to finish this event. My girlfriend Alison made me promise I would take it serious but in all honestly having the scan and having it confirmed so clearly told me 100% that I couldn’t keep going on running and that for the next 6-8 weeks I need to be focussed on getting this issue resolved for the longer term benefit. Most of my race stuff was packed and ready so we took the Cable Cars from Excel over to the O2 Arena to go to an Italian and by time we got back I was fairly tired and wasn’t long before I was asleep.

The morning came around and after a bowl of porridge I had some toast and a rasher of bacon (or two, yum!) I felt pretty good. I decided I would just run how I could on the day and would keep moving forward. Transport to the start was really easy and the scale of this race starts to come into perspective with the volumes of people. Once in the Blue start at Blackheath I met up with others from my running club Slinn Allstars; not much chat but everyone was in good spirits and most importantly the weather was on the chilly side. The time seemed to pass by so quickly and before long we had put our bags on the trucks (London finishes on The Mall) and had entered the starting pen. A good atmosphere in the pens chatting with people all looking ahead to the 26.2 miles to cover.

I was excited as we set off. The run itself is a bit of a blur; everything seemed to happened all at once but it actually played out over 4 hours plus. The crowds, wow, it was 3 deep at the non tourist places and any iconic section Tower Bridge/Tower Hill was 5 deep. I love the big city feeling and the way families get kids to get involved with high fives and enjoying the experience (I’m sure it must encourage them). I think supporters at this event have a tough task; my poor girlfriend Alison was rushing around trying to get to a spot to get a glimpse of me and support me but given the crowds and transport chaos during the day it was more difficult than running. The Slinn Allstars bring a coach of supporters who seemed to appear almost everywhere on the course. I saw Allstars at Miles 12, 14, 17, 20, 22, 25 it was amazing support and helped really keep my spirits up and keep me pushing. I also got support from the Swindon Striders at Mile 10.5 which was a nice feeling. Respect and Kudos to everyone who comes out and support; I can’t thank you all enough as it really does help more than you can know. The running side of things went fairly well; I was on good pace at half way 1hr 56 mins 21 seconds this was perfect pace and I felt pretty good although I was starting to feel my heel getting tight. I ran well up to about 15 miles but then the lack of long distance running and injury caught up. At 18 I had to walk a little but better than previous marathons I embraced the crowd and got back into it. By 21 miles I knew that I was touch and go for beating my marathon PB (4:17:30) but that would mean no more walking and I would need to keep up a steady pace (10:30 per mile) This seemed hard but as I started to get the miles dropping 5,4,3 it became easier and as I was now passing iconic sights like Tower Hill and could see the London Eye and Big Ben the crowds just pulled me along and I felt amazing in the last 5k.

As I turned the corner at London Bridge I knew I was about 1km away from the finish with time about 4:12 on my watch I knew I had to get moving so I pushed the pace and then pushed it again…….. I was going past people and was getting closer as the signs were appearing (400m to go). I was now on the Mall/Buckingham Palace. A quick check of my watch said 4:15:12 and in the last 150m I really don’t think I’ve ever pushed as hard. I went past nearly 50 people in the last 100m as I was sprinting like I would a 5km race. My legs held up to it after initially suggesting they would cramp. I crossed the finish line in a time of 4:16:48…….. a new marathon PB by only 42 seconds!  Medal in hand and wow what a medal for such an occasion. After a little change into warmer clothes it was time to meet up with my amazing supporter & girlfriend. It was good to find her in good mood considering the hectic day and we decided to head off as we had to drive back home.  En-route to the train we got a nice cup of tea and chatted with people. Again this is part of the experience to me is interacting with others in a shared activity. I feel very proud to have done the London Marathon and would put it down as one of my favourites.

In September I have the opportunity to run the Berlin Marathon this will be another big city Marathon. I’m hoping to hit that in top form. So what next? Well I still have Outlaw Half and Ironman triathlon events and, as I just cannot bring myself to pull out, I will be doing them as best as my running body allows on the day. Between now and then I will be having physio appointments and will be strict with myself about not running when I’m feeling discomfort.

Working on a Dream

What a few weeks! My last post was back in March and the days and weeks just seems to be flying past. A combination of events and house moving preparation means I’ve just had little or no time for my blog. So I’m hoping to do a quick overview of what’s been happening with my training and preparation for the new season before we get into the serious events in May (Outlaw Half), June (Titan Half), July (Ironman UK).

Tri Bars and Cycling Training (TT Riding)

March/April has been really good for me in my quest to ride Ironman on a tri bike instead of a road bike. I’ve set a 29 miles route with little hills (only 650ft) for my time-trial training. It has really pushed my bike training to a different level along with my confidence to handle my bike properly on the tri bars along with keeping a high and controlled cadence. The additional of 30mm riser spacers has increased my comfort. So I’ve knocked a massive 8-10 mins off a 30 mile route in 1 month; pretty good going for someone who couldn’t get on with clip on tri bars at all. My Personal Record for 25 miles (40k) now stands at 1:06:56 (22.3mph). When I bought my Cervelo P3 I was hoping it would make me faster but never dreamed that with good training this would be possible. I’ve also become a bit of a data geek as I bought a D-Fly unit for my di2 gears and have been using http://www.di2stats.com to help me understand my gear to cadence efficiency. It has helped me to identify I tend to shift to higher gears too quickly when my cadence is still low and then come back down the gears. I don’t think this data is a daily thing to analyse but the unit cost around £50 quid and it is already helping me to understand more about my cycling technique and the simple improvements I can make.

March/April Events

The events seem to have flown by: White Half Half, Good Friday Tri, Compton 20 miles, Cotswold Spring Classic (63 mile cycling). It’s hard to really say what I enjoyed most. I just enjoy events and being around others who enjoy these sports as much as myself. In terms of my events the Compton 20 is always a highlight; it is a tough trail run – 2000ft of elevation up, up and then further up but a combination of great weather and good company is always a good mix and the feed stations are always a big hit. I found this sign at the school hosting the event and couldn’t agree more with them!. Even with the running events my achilles now seems to be holding up rather better than expected if I go through the process of resting the day after a hard run and using ice to reduce swelling it doesn’t seem to be any worse but is still a constant cause for concern which would be nice to have resolved. Acupuncture was helping but I couldn’t pin down the guy doing it to regular appointments so perhaps I will look elsewhere to see if I can get it resolved.

This year isn’t just about me now; my girlfriend Alison has taken to cycling really well and had set herself the challenge of the Cotswold Spring Classic back in November. This is a 100km (63 mile) cycling event with some tough climbing in Wiltshire so isn’t easy but she has been training well especially during the winter months building leg strength with short hill climbing reps and endurance with longer rides. On Easter Monday the weather was great and it was lovely to be out on the bikes and spending time together. We met up with loads of the Slinn Allstars and 2 fellow Pirates, Red Stripe (Zoe) and Duda (Frank) who then joined us for the second half which was really nice as we chatted about everything and nothing and the miles disappeared! That’s what is great about sportive events; they are not competitive and are open to everyone and is a nice way to build cycling fitness. The hills came and went and each time Alison seemed to be getting stronger and more determined. After the last hill she flew by me at the top and myself and Duda had to work hard to catch her. The watch time was around 4hr 50 mins when we finished which was under Alison’s target and most importantly she really enjoyed the event and no broom wagon was ever seen!

Open Water

Wow is it really that time of year already!!! With my first open water tri on the 10th May getting into depths of Lake 32 is important. Thursday 16th at 6a.m was my first experience of the lake since last year. I’ll be honest I nearly bottled it as I went in and my feet were freezing (I mean I was bouncing up and down with cold!!) but after a few hard and frank words with myself I got in and my body started to adjust. This year I didn’t feel nervous at all and had no panics when in the water and swam really well (hopefully sign of a good season to come). I love the open water I’m not a good pool swimmer as I don’t turn well and waste time but in the lake I feel at ease swimming between buoys and I do feel lucky to have the fitness to get out in such a relaxing and scenic environment.

General Ramblings

So it’s taper time now for the marathon….. I would really like to say sub 4 hours but I’m just not sure what the day will have in store for me. The plan is to run to a heart rate of 155 early until mile 12 at least and then try to increase. Hopefully this approach to keeping my body stress low during the early part will pay benefits when I hit mile 20-26.2 which is generally where the marathon gets interesting. This will be my 11th Marathon so i know what to expect and although I’ve not done all the mileage training I would have liked I would say I’m in better shape than I’ve been for a marathon since my first in 2012. My Marathon PB is 4:17:30 so I don’t know why I keep pushing for 4 as I would be more than happy getting a new Marathon PB! Let’s see what happens next weekend…….

TAPER TIME 

Hopelessly Addicted

My running plans seem to be on vacation……. my Achilles just doesn’t want to join me on this 2015 journey and I’ve got to accept that I cannot have high running volumes; I just need to run when my body feels good.

I’ve been making some good progress on my other goals which is to learn to ride using my tri bars. I’m quite dedicated once I get going on something but getting started usually takes a deadline or the fear of time getting away from me.

In my mind the best way to improve on the bike and force me to get onto the tri bars is to put in shorter events which will force me to push harder and to try to train on the bike as I would for running with a combination of speed, hills and endurance training with measurable targets. Bike training for me usually is very unstructured and in previous years has just involved doing long hilly routes and building to that 100 mile mark.

Castle Combe Chilly Dualthon 

My first shorter event, the Castle Combe Chilly Duathlon came on 22nd of Feb and the conditions were pretty awful; very cold and extremely windy so not the best day for a Tri Bike and 50mm wheels. This was my first ever dualthon and seemed a world apart from triathlon in terms of the volume of kit needed in T1 and T2. The events consisted of a 2 mile run around the perimeter of the race circuit followed by 5 laps on the bike and another 2 mile run to the finish.

I think I could get into enjoying these short bike events. They really are good fun and outside of the wind it was a great experience to really have an exact set distance to push and to go past people. Each lap my target was to get past people and keep moving forward. Given the conditions I didn’t feel confidence on the tri bars so chose to stay off them.

So a successful first event with my Cervelo P3 and a good bike split of 19.5mph followed by a good off-bike run.

Bath Half Marathon

I did this event back in 2012 but the draw this time was that my girlfriend Alison lives in Bath so it made sense to do this. The atmosphere at these big city events cannot help but inspire people to want to run and with more than 12,000 runners Bath didn’t disappoint yet again.

The support from the city is very impressive; children out with parents giving high fives and sweets. In terms of my run I went out pretty hard and did well for the first 6 miles but after this my Achilles started to pull and I decided to back off. I  finished in a good time of 1hr 56 mins but a world away from my form in 2014 so plenty of ground to make up on the running in the next 2-3 months.

General Stuff

So outside of the events I’ve had some really good confidence boosters. I did a 40k time trial on my Cervelo P3 in a time of 1hr 13 mins with an average speed of 20.5mph. This was my proper ride on the tri bars and although my left arm wasn’t happy it went better than I ever expected.  After a week out of running I also did a 5k Park Run and did my best time for 14 months of 23mins 11 secs.

Outside of my training my girlfriend Alison seems to have gotten the bug for running. She has now done 3 Park Runs and has 3 personal bests in 3 weeks but most importantly she is really enjoying the structure of training and the ability to visit places and run scenic routes. She is doing her first 10k this weekend so she is very excited about this unexpected goal but long-term she is hoping she can do a half marathon.

For me the focus is on getting my Achilles better so I won’t be over pushing the running this month. Instead I’ll be focussing on the TT riding and seeing if I can keep improving.

Every Heartbeat

Each year the Bramley 20/10 event seems to come around quicker. I enjoy the start of my events as it is feedback on the winter training and any efforts I’ve put into weight-loss over the winter period.I already do feel much stronger this year but as mentioned i have missed blocks of training due to both virus and injury so these long events are usually when it catches up, at present I have nothing but a feeling to go on and no stats to back it up.

At this point in the year I always cannot help but think to myself how far 20 miles actually is!! Feels A long way that’s for sure.

This year many of the new marathon runners from my running club were attempting this in the build-up to spring marathons so the Red Army Slinn Allstars were out in force again hopefully a great experience for them all going into the next few months of training.

Bramley is a well established event now and this is my 4th year at the 20 miles distance. Last year was a PB effort of 2:59:32 which I didn’t expect to get anywhere near today.  The 20 mile event is 2 laps of the 10 mile course and is rural with hills at miles 6 and 7.5. Sadly that means also at miles 16 and 17.5 (ouch!).

The morning couldn’t have started worse my friend Stephen Turtle had to pull out of the event last-minute as wasn’t feeling great usually myself and Stephen run together but this time he has improved much more and was going for a 2:45-2:50 time so a shame he couldn’t run but he will be back stronger than ever I’m sure of that.

To make preparations even worse than this I got a bad migraine about 20 mins before leaving, this is now my third in a short period of time so something I’m going to have to get checked out in future. This affects my vision starting as a distant blur and get’s bigger and bigger the more I try to focus. After drinking loads of electrolytes and coffee I started to feel better but not a good sign prior to any race let alone a long 20 mile run.

After arriving at Bramley I went to get ready – trusty calf guards on, ibuprofen gel on my ankle and running kit sorted. My plan was to run to Heart Rate and not pace in a race I was happy to be Zone2/3 so had set a top marker of 160bpm. So if my HR was seen above 160bpm I had to back off and let it drop. I would also take energy gels every 3 miles as this does seem to work for me in previous events.

So it’s 10:30a.m and BANG we are off, takes about 2 mins to get over the start line.

My Achilles is tight to start but with loads of 10 and 20 mile runners around and the atmosphere is good and I can just settle into it and then start working to my plan. I was quite surprised at the pace I could maintain at a 150-160 HR and the miles went by fairly quickly but was still early days.

• Mile 1 – 8:49 (Average HR: 140 Max HR: 150)
• Mile 2 – 8:44 (Average HR: 157 Max HR: 164)
• Mile 3 – 8:29 (Average HR: 159 Max HR: 163)
• Mile 4 – 8:40 (Average HR: 161 Max HR: 164)
• Mile 5 – 8:48 (Average HR: 161 Max HR: 164)
• Mile 6 – 8:48 (Average HR: 160 Max HR: 169)
• Mile 7 – 9:04 (Average HR: 161 Max HR: 168)
• Mile 8 – 8:52 (Average HR: 160 Max HR: 165)
• Mile 9 – 8:42 (Average HR: 161 Max HR: 167)
• Mile 10 – 8:56 (Average HR: 159 Max HR: 163)

So first 10 Miles done 1:27:52 with Average HR not going above 161 – Looking Good but was starting to feel quite tired.

• Mile 11 – 8:46 (Average HR: 160 Max HR: 165)
• Mile 12 – 9:16 (Average HR: 161 Max HR: 169)
• Mile 13 – 9:54 (Average HR: 155 Max HR: 168) – Stretched Achilles
• Mile 14 – 9:20 (Average HR: 158 Max HR: 162)
• Mile 15 – 9:31 (Average HR: 158 Max HR: 167)
• Mile 16 – 9:29 (Average HR: 159 Max HR: 174)
• Mile 17 – 9:44 (Average HR: 163 Max HR: 170)
• Mile 18 – 10:05 (Average HR: 156 Max HR: 170)
• Mile 19 – 9:30 (Average HR: 161 Max HR: 174)
• Mile 20 – 9:12 (Average HR: 164 Max HR: 174)

So I did it 3:03:43 for 20.12 miles Average Pace was 9:07 per mile with Average HR of 159bpm. The Second 10 Miles taking over 7 mins longer at 1:35:51 but again Average HR was well controlled until finishing mile.

Sadly no Medal this year instead an ashtray/mini plate but I’m very please anyway this time is only 4 mins above my PB and my second fastest ever 20 mile event but in many ways this is my best long distance event as I controlled the race. In 2014 I walked quite a bit on the second lap at hills but ran faster first lap so in essence this is a much better run as I ran it all.

So what does this mean? It means I will keep training to heart rate and hopefully will have a sub 4hr Marathon in the spring to talk about!

When You Say Nothing At All

Been a long time since I last wrote anything mainly a combination between not much going on and also that thing called Life seem to have got in the way as buying a new house with my girlfriend Alison.

After the training volume of November I thought I would keep going in December but illness put pay to any thoughts of exercise. After a 30 mile light bike ride with my girlfriend Alison on 13th December I was totally exhausted this illness ended up lasting for over 6 weeks and too be honest I still don’t feel 100%, I still have a cough. During this period I didn’t have any energy and only had the odd day feeling human. This lasted right through until the 19th January and I don’t think I’ve been this ill in at least 5 years.

In reality this total break is properly a push in right direction it has forced me to REST and to focus on what my goals are for 2015 and what I’m going to do differently to ensure I hit these. In 2014 I trained mainly to improve my running and by June (8 month of full on training) I was struggling to stay focussed and was really tired. Hopefully starting training now will help to ensure I’m focussed and strong in July for my A race (Ironman UK).

So with 2015 firmly under way I’ve taken the massive decision to invest in a proper Time Trail/Triathlon bike. I’m never going to be the fastest and I’m never going to break any records but I know a TT bike will help to improve my times and I’m ready to accept the “All the kit no idea comments” whilst I get up to seem but the truth is I don’t really care I’ve only got this life and I love triathlon and want to give this year a real proper go.

I want to target a time for Ironman and I’m prepared to not only train but to invest in things which will help me and moving to a TT bike will make a major impact. So after lot’s of deliberation I went back to my first bike choice which is a Cervelo P3. The main reason for this bike was that I’m not the most flexible in the hip area and the ability to adjust a Cervelo and the non cut-off seat-post is a perfect fit and let’s be honest it is a damn fine bike too :-).

I guess the next few months will tell if this is a good decision but a few turbo session and a 30 mile ride have made me think it will work if I put the training in. First up event-wise for the new bike is the Castle Combe chilly duathlon – 2 mile run, 10 mile bike, 2 mile run on 22nd Feb so should be very good to give it a blast.

Missing out on most of Jan means my running especially distance isn’t where I would have liked. This year I have decided to run to heart rate this means for endurance runs keeping my heart rate in zone 2 this appears to be working quite well and in theory coupled with some structured interval work should help me improve and stay relatively injury free.

Sadly on subject of injuries I seem to have one at moment I have a pain in my Achilles/heel and even after resting hasn’t gone so this is something I need to keep a close watch on as I cannot have it getting worse and affecting my season.

The 2015 event season for me actually started on Sunday 1st Feb with my second visit to the Longleat 10km. If you like your 10km events hilly this is the event for you with 3 tough hills at 1k, 5k and 7k all long and steep so you really have to put the work in. I’m a glutton for punishment as I really enjoy the challenge of this kind of event and it is great meeting up with friends again (Stephen,Steph,John, Me).

My time this year was 54 mins it was a different slightly harder route than last year when I did 51 mins but generally a successful return to race events for 2015 and plenty to build on and very happy with my hill work but worried about the Achilles/heel.

So here’s to 2015 let’s see what it has in store for me some highs, some low but overall lets SMASH this thing!

Possibility Days

“And the worst part of a good day
Is knowing it’s slipping away
That’s one more possibility day
That is gone”

Counting Crows (Adam Duritz) – Possibility Days

So its been an eventful winter month. I went into November knowing that my weight had increased and that I wasn’t being as cautious with my eating. Too many treats, too many drinks and I didn’t want to continue that trend going into December so something needed to change before Christmas comes along.

To most people this wouldn’t be such an issue but for me I just see RED RED RED and start to think I might end up putting all the weight back on and not being able to do the things I have now come to enjoy and love.

Being logical and thinking about it properly the reason isn’t all down to my eating it is also that until late October I was recovering from a tendon injury which started way back in July and has reduced my ability to exercise substantially and combined with being in off-season.

Alan Butler a runner from Swindon Striders invited me to do a challenge called Runvember. You get the idea basically you run every day in November, Alan was planning to do 15 miles per day, 450 miles (WOW!). I decided I would do this with a more sensible target of 180 miles. I knew running everyday wasn’t an option and I would miss days when I had the kids but the challenge was to push boundaries, get uncomfortable and embrace the winter conditions that came my way.

November and the prospect of running often gave each day a renewed focus and I was very determined. I just embraced it and I was enjoying clocking up the mileage.

By Day 20 however I had missed 3 days (18 miles) and was 13 miles down from target and it was looking difficult as I knew only 9 of the remaining 10 days I could run. I knew this was going to be tough as meant 8 miles a day for the next 9 days.

Good Job I had booked in to do the Tronium Bath Hilly Half on Sunday 23rd November this was billed as a hilly trail running and it didn’t disappoint. I was surprised at just how tough it is on the ankles to run through mud. I ran it with Stephen Turtle/Dwain Delit we all enjoyed getting covered in mud and I posted a PW (Personal Worst) Half Marathon time of 2hrs 26mins. But 13.1 miles done meant I was now getting into that deficit slowly.

The final week of Runvember had arrived I was now still 11 miles down on target and with 7 days that meant a weekly mileage of 53 miles was going to be needed to finish my challenge. I didn’t make this easy for myself  as Day 1 (Mon) was difficult to find anytime so I ended up at the gym on a treadmill doing 3.5 miles (pure torture!). Tuesday was the coldest day of the year so far and with my car in the garage it was a great opportunity to get some extra miles in. A morning start with 4.5 mile from garage back home followed by a collection run of 4.5 miles! BANG 9 Miles done. I then decided I would still run my usual 6 miles in the evening but pushed on for 7.2 miles so a daily total of 16.2 miles, I was feeling tired but strong. After this I was really in the zone pushing on day by day 5 (Wed) 6 (Thurs) 10.5 (Fri) then 9.11 (Sat). Sunday came and I only needed a 2.67 mile run to complete my 180 mile target :-).

This was a very strange day my motivation to run seemed to disappear all in one go and it was a chore just getting out the door and the day was disappearing very fast but eventually at 6:30pm I got out and ran 4.67 miles to hit a final week of 55 miles.

The stats tell 1 story running 26 days out of 30. 182 miles ran in those days (7 miles a day) – I was just way too stubborn to drop miles for missed days! However the stats won’t show is the huge support and encouragement from others.

What have I learnt from this whole experience? Everyone can list many excuses not to run but even on my most tired or busy day I always felt better afterwards no matter the conditions (treadmills excluded).

So pop your trainers on, pick somewhere nice and don’t worry about pace, time or what anyone else thinks just enjoy the feeling and embrace it.

This Blog post wouldn’t be complete without a mention for the LEGEND that is Alan Butler (in-picture) he set out to do 450 miles over 30 days which is crazy enough but ended up doing over 680 miles to put that into perspective that is over 22.5 miles every day in November – just hard to comprehend Total RESPECT.