Cyclotour du Leman 180km - 27th May

Riding time - 4:52

Elapsed time - 5:06

So my brother had signed up to this a while ago and asked me if I wanted to do it, I had 'ummed and ahhed', and without much in the way of money, a weekend foray to Switzerland didn’t seem like the best of ideas. However, after an extremely generous offer from my brother to pay my entry and accommodation, I didn't take much convincing - I booked a flight on air miles and was on my way to Geneva.

The forecast for Sunday during the week had suggested thunderstorms, and as I stepped onto the plane in England, flying away from perfectly good weather in the high 20s a small part of me began to question whether my decision to go would be a wise one.

After a hassle free trip with my Tri London emblazoned Amphibia bag, I arrived in Geneva and made the 40 min train journey to Lausanne, where the event was to start and end. I dropped my stuff off in the hotel and heading off to Bussigny with my brother to register. After catching the final few moments of the penultimate stage of the Giro, I began to feel more up for the event.

I collected my bike (borrowed from my brother’s friend) and set it up as best I could. It was slightly large for me, but a titanium frame with carbon forks and campag chorus groupset was still certainly better than I am used to. We went out for a meal, and a couple of beers, I had steak with vegetable, everyone else ordered pasta as recommended by official event briefing literature.

The route....

After about 6 hours sleep, we were up at 5am for breakfast. Sugar free red-bull, some ‘energy-milk’???, some salami, and a handful of strawberries. Having not ridden 180km before my brother was a little nervous, but I told him he need not be – his only previous sportive experience being a 120km sportive in Davos, in the rain with 2600m+ of ascent – compared with that this would be easy! We rolled down to the start about 4km away and waited in the pen to be let off in groups of 25-30. There were about 4-6 of us that knew each other and the plan was to vaguely stick together. With a supposed 2,500 riders almost all in the same race jersey, this seemed unlikely. 

As we set off, our group of 25 started out fairly brisk and soon we had merged into a large group of about 40-50 riders. My brother and I sat at the back and we crusied along at 40kph without much problem. Suddenly as we passed through a small town as the peleton pinched, the whirr of wheels was pierced by the sharp crack of carbon slamming down onto the floor, a lot of groans and the group swerved around a rider who had gone down. The group continued to be trundle along but sadly after 35km my saddle began to come lose, I called back to my brother who waited and I adjusted and re-tightened it as fast as I could. It was gutting to lose such a large group. We set off again and my bro jumped on my wheel, a fast guy came past on his own and I jumped on his wheel and alternated the work with him for a while. I looked back and suddenly there were 10 people stretched out behind us. I kept working until we bridged up to another small group ahead, I was clearly working too hard – but it was great fun. This group then worked well together growing as we accumulated those individuals ahead of us latching on.

Before I knew it we had gone nearly 70km, and my bro and I decided to pull in at the aid station for a quick refuel. I filled up my water and just as we were about to leave a couple of the group we had started with rolled in. We waited for them and head off after a short break. Again we began to build up a group up to about 40 odd people, and suddenly a group of riders in green, obviously some sort of race team, came past cranking it on a mixture of high spec road and TT bikes. The group surged but managed to latch on and so we sped along at 45kph for another hour or so. We pulled in for another stop at Evian where I had some Evian, you know, for novelty value. 

Drinking Evian.....in Evian

We carried on at a good pace, round through Geneva and its distinctive fountain that could be seen from miles away.  The weather had been perfect 25 odd degrees and not a hint of a thunderstorm. We had set off so early though, so it was still heating up, but I was really enjoying the ride - a far cry from the poor road surfaces in and around Hertfordshire. Eventually we got caught by another huge peloton being led by a scooter and a guy on a recumbent bike. With about 60km to go we decided to take the draft and stick with them not stopping until the end. Another guy went down, taking a girl with her, she was obviously in some distress and it was a stark reminder to keep focused. 

The fountain in the distance, its huge!

I kept on taking the gels and cracked out a can of coke I’d been carrying for the last push. I offered my brother some coke which he gladly accepted, and also gave him a caffeinated gel. It was getting hard work as now we were overtaking a lot of those who had started the 110km or 60km events – every time we passed them, the large group pinched and people not concentrating would lose a couple of lengths and the group would fragment. The same happened with the risers and many of the mini-roundabouts. In a couple of instances it required absolute max efforts for 30-60s to latch back onto the group.  

With about 10km to go there was a moderate climb which totally split the group. Ten or so riders absolutely bolted off the front and it all stretched out, my bro stayed with me as we pushed over the top, but the next time I looked around he was gone. I waited up, and he told me he had completely blown. I made several attempts to cajole him to stay on my wheel, but each time he just fell off. As the event has gone on he had started to feel a little sick, and stopped eating, thinking there was only about 20km to go, he thought he would be fine....d'oh. He certainly took it in good spirits, and fortunately it was very close to the end.  I had certainly worked hard for most of the day, and was happy to roll in with him the rest of the way, on smooth swiss-roads and glorious sunshine. If only I could post that time at Roth!

We enjoyed a free massage and the pasta party in the sun at the end of the ride (if only I could do that at Roth instead of the marathon?!) It was great fun, and I am certainly considering entering the etape come next year. The rest of the day was spent relaxing in the sun down by the lake with a beer.….all in all a great weekend.

Lanzarote Summary

It feels like we were there longer than a week, but Lotte and I are now back in England. All things considered, things probably could not have gone better. I can't speak for Lotte, but I certainly leave Lanzarote more motivated and fitter than when I arrived (I've even got a tan).

I think its easy when you set aside a block of time for serious training to have unrealistic expectations of what you might achieve. Perhaps I would have trained longer and harder had I not had such a debilitating gastric issues in the preceding days before flying out, but as a result I arrived only wanting to get back into training. Therefore, what I considered we achieved over the past week exceeded my expectations. Either way, the outcome has left me pondering this statement:

"Whatever happens is the only thing that could have"

Not wanting to get into a deep philosophical discussion of what that might entail just now, instead, I’ll talk through our week. We arrived on Thursday morning, and instead of renting the bikes from Friday-Monday leaving two days to relax after, we rented them from Saturday-Tuesday giving me and extra day to build my strength for the days ahead. 

The long drag up Fire Mountain

On Friday, even though I certainly didn't feel my best on waking, we set off on a gentle 4 mile run in the morning to Puerto Calero and back along some undulating trails. It was great to be out training again, and it was a great way to get some of the cobwebs out of my system. More literally, Lotte and I also ensured we did our POWERbreathe training, choosing to do the 30 breaths after our run, to work the already part-fatigued inspiratory muscles. Not only does this add an aspect of specificity to the training, but it is also a good way to get it out of the way. I tend to do most of my training in one big block in each day, so putting at least part of the POWERbreathe practice actually into that training block seems to lessen the logistics of performing the twice daily regimen.

View of Puerto del Carmen Harbour on an early morning run

On Saturday, Lotte and I slept through and wandered over to the breakfast buffet in a leisurely fashion. We then set out for a 50 mile route of the Ocean Lava bike course and ran for 30 mins off the bike. This was my first experience of cycling in Lanzarote, and it took some getting used to. I haven't been cycling that much of late, coming off a run focus, and I knew my cycling legs would take a while to return. The ocean lava course is pretty cruel, but great fun.  I slowly began to get my bearings on the island and lets just say I also began to understand when the wind was going to be helpful, and when the wind was not going to be helpful. Despite my short-lived illness, I also found that I was relatively rested, and perhaps a little over enthusiastic. After a loop of El Golfo as we climbed up into Las Brenas, I pulled away from Lotte, building to threshold and enjoy the silent smooth roads. Then out of Las Brenas, having enjoyed the last little surge I did the same again, this time climbing out of the saddle and pushing on. We re-grouped at the bottom of the next sweeping descent and then turned left up the climb at Fermes. I only had to look ahead to see a small car at a funny angle to know it wasn't going to be pretty. It was most of what I had to hold on to Lotte's wheel for the short but steep climb to the top. Lotte aptly described that climb in a tweet later that evening "#Fermesisabitch". Im inclined to agree (excuse the pun).

View from the top of the "#Fermesisabitch" climb

On Sunday we were to bike the Ironman course, which to be honest I found a bit of a struggle. It was a hot day, and I think by the time we reached the top of Tabayesco, the heat was starting to tell. Not even an arid cheese and ham sandwich (hey Spain, ever heard of BUTTER?!) was enough to bring me back. I stayed alive on some caffeinated gels up to Mirador del Rio, but  really blew up on the way back along the LZ1. Even though the wind was behind us, as we moved along at the same speed as the wind, it was as though there was no breeze at all, and I just felt like I was cooking in my helmet. It was over soon enough, and 100 miles with 2000m + of elevation the bag. Even knowing what I know of coping with adversity, this was a great reminder of how easily, when you’re tired you can still lose focus and drift into a more negative mindset. I’m happy to say I took this reflection with me over the rest of the week, and made an effort to actively re-enforce my positive emotions as I trained – I felt much better for it!

Lotte coasting down to Famara

On Monday I had convinced Lotte to take the morning off, to give us some time to recover, and to head out for a late-afternoon ride. Now knowing the island a little better I selected a route that I felt would be about as easy (wind assisted) as we could get. After a little splashing around in the sea in the morning, we got on the bikes and  head off up the donkey track and then over Fire Mountain, getting some of the uphill work out the way. Dropped down through Mancha Blanca, Tinajo and into La Santa before a short climb (wind assisted) up to Soo. Dropped down again into Famara, then another (wind assisted) (do you see where I'm going with this?) climb up to Teguise, before coasting back (mostly downhill, wind assisted) home. Despite plotting as favourable route as possible this still gave us another 50 miles and nigh on 1000m ascent. Beacuse it was later in the afternoon, it was also a little windier, which Lotte was quick to point out! Regardless 200 miles and 4000m+ asc in three days and we were beginning to see what resembled some decent training. 

Panorama view from Mirador del Rio

 On Tuesday we forewent out buffet breakfast in the morning in favour of heading out early. We had got some supplies from the supermarket and had those before getting out the door before 8am. As we set out on sore bums, it was abundantly clear, that it wasn't just tired legs that might slow us down, but a strong wind. Lotte's sister had recommend we see Orzola right at the other end of the island. We plotted a relatively direct route there, but it was hard going. I’m not sure if the 40 min slog into a buffeting wind from Arrieta detracted from the initial impressions of Orzola, or whether a favourable view was soured by the unsuspecting climb out of there, but needless to say I won't be in any major rush to go back. Having taken on another gel, Lotte and I commenced the (in)famous Tabayesco TT. We managed it comfortably in 40 mins. I held back most of the way and enjoyed the climb. It wasn't nearly as steep as I had remembered from descending some of that section on Sunday. I think it was Lotte's time to be wiped, as after a bite to eat she seemed to struggle a little as we made our way back. Instead of a direct route home however we had added in a loop down from Teguise to Tahiche, through San Bartoleme to and back up to Tinajo to make up some distance. This did NOT go well. The wind seemed to have picked u even more  and those of you that know, this loop heads north.  No hashtag that can be repeated could describe how Lotte suggested she felt. Soon enough the miles ticked away and we were coasting back across from Mancha Blanca towards PdC, on what I think must be one of my favourite stretches of road on the island. 

It'd be wrong not to eat some Paella...

Lotte and I managed our POWERbreathe training every morning and evening, and having performed the twice daily breaths before, and also having only ‘dabbled’ before, it is also clear that the rapid progression comes from the regularity of practice. No surprises there then. This time, I have opted to also perform half of my daily practice standing up, without the inspiratory muscles supported. Although these attempts seem significantly harder initially, and some adjustment of the level is required for the standing, I hope that the hard work will pay dividends. For now, I look forward to building on the both the momentum and hard work (21 hours of cycling in 4 days) established out here in Lanzarote. 

POWERbreathe UK

So this week hasn't turned out quite as planned, but it could be worse.

On Monday, I (more or less) completed my 30 days of running. (30 mins running every day for 30 days); a small challenge I had taken up for a good boost to my run training in the run up to Roth. I say more or less as I had technically let slip on the 26th (after zero sleep from a poorly timed uni assignment) but made it up with a double run on the Friday. Technical completion or not, I had achieved the desired outcome, I was running well, and had a good mix of interval work in there too. As I am sure you will realise, April had also been a bit soggy, so I was pleased that I had stuck it out.

All I had to tackle on Tuesday was my final exam of the year, before I could look forward to getting ready for a week in Lanzarote, training (but also relaxing) with Lotte.

However, on Monday night, I came down with a nasty bought of gastroenteritis which I reckon I can trace to an uncharacteristic pastry after swimming on Monday morning. I had an unsettled stomach by mid-morning. By late evening I felt plain unwell, and by 2am, I had lost nearly 3 kilos. I don't think there is ever a good time to get gastroenteritis, but this was particularly poorly timed. Not that I wasn't up for risking an 'inbetweeners'-esque moment in my exam, but I honestly was incapable of anything that day and decided to apply for mitigating circumstances. I just slept.

It was then a race to recover for some decent training in Lanzarote. Although I felt remarkably better on Wednesday, I still felt very weak.  Lotte and I decided to push back the 4 day rental of the bikes until Saturday, to give me an extra day to recover, and it seems to have paid off. My stomach seems to have rebuilt itself, the sun is out, and I even felt like a beer yesterday (and today of course).

So having rested up, Lotte and I even managed a run this morning.

After 3 days off, I guess this signals the start of the last big push before Roth, and then of course Transalpine. In relation to the latter, further good news comes in the form of team sponsorship by POWERbreathe.  Lotte and I will now officially run as Team POWERbreathe UK and blog on our training with the devices in the run up to the race. I have been using mine for a while, and have noticed significant benefits in my breathing during swimming and during interval work, but really expect to reap the rewards when it comes to running at altitude. Hopefully we will both be able to give a balanced and realistic account of what it is like to train for triathlon and multi-day eventing using POWERbreathe, and also an insight into some useful hints and tips regarding its usage.

Anyway, thats enough for now. Off for some dinner and then to bed before some biking and running tomorrow.

Dorset, Somerset & the Gower Peninsula 16th October - 13th November 2010

So yet again, I’ve let the blogging slip, with uni work, attempting to earn some money and generally asking people for money for Polar Challenge everywhere I go, its not surprising, but still inexcusable.  I look forward to settling the polar payments (however it needs to be done) and getting down to some serious Polar specific training.

In a way, having fallen behind on the blogging will spare you my usual verbosity as I try to spin out an entire blog for a single event when I could do it in a fraction of that.
Three events to catch up and those are:

• Dorset Coastal Trail Series Marathon - 16^th October
• Exmoor Beast Sportive - 31^st October
• Gower Coastal Trail Series Marathon - 13^th November

Dorset


After the disappointment of a DNF at the Isle of Wight, I was looking forward to being fit and ready to do justice to an Endurance Life event.  The usual routine of dinner at home, then rolling out late on a Friday night missing rush hour is such a familiar feeling now- to me it now works as a trigger the start of my preparation for these races.  Lotte and I headed down to her mum’s house in Taunton as a night-time stop over – to be joined by Jay and Oli a little later.  With the excitement building and the usual store of mum’s homemade flapjacks slowly digesting I’d been told this was one of the tougher races in the series. 
Once again we were greeted with a fresh clear morning and generally stunning conditions for running – I enjoyed catching up with some of the familiar faces at these events and it was time to get going.

It was a tough start along the beach with uneven rocks interspersed between the sand. I focussed on efficient running and keeping my HR down in the earlier stages of the race, walking the hills and making up my time on the descents.
After about 13 miles a competitor behind me fell and cut his eyebrow. With no first aid kit of his own, I offered him some antibacterial wipes which helped him to clean the wounds out, it had stopped bleeding and after running with him and asking some questions about whether he felt concussed (I’m certainly no doctor)  I pushed on. Unfortunately we had lost contact with a group of people I’d been running with at the time.

After the second checkpoint, I made a move to pick up the pace, well let’s say increase RPE. Despite doing so I was passed by a couple of runners a few miles further down the road. Hmm. It was starting to get warm and I rolled my long sleeved thermal up as I hit the second beach section, dangerously reminiscent of  Portland, the delights of which I look forward to reliving in 3 weeks time!
After the final checkpoint with about 4 or 5 miles to go I started to run the uphill’s and really push the pace on the descents and caught 5 more competitors. I finished in about 4.40 in 19^th place and had a great run. – just a shame I had to stop for the injured runner, although I hope someone would do the same for me!

The Exmoor Beast


This nice ‘little’ sportive followed the same usual routine except it was a Sunday event, and once again Lotte and I , having watched Saracens put on a poor display at home to Exeter drove down Saturday evening to her mum’s house in Taunton for the night before.

The weather forecast was atrocious and I was ‘looking forward’ to rolling out of Butlins, Minehead for 3000m of ascent across the 100 mile course.  Having wrapped up warm, it was surprisingly hot, and about 2 miles down the road, I was roasting, yet at least it wasn’t raining.  After stopping to undress somewhat, first up was Porlock hill.  For some reason there were already people walking, and although it certainly was slippery with the leaves, and the cattle grid on a particularly steep section I ground it out in my bottom gear, trying to remain seated and keeping my weight over the back wheel to stop it slipping.
From a brief glance at the map I thought we were going all the way over Dunkery Beacon, a hill that almost was the end of me 250 or so miles into the Tour of Wessex.  I held back, but the route suddenly dropped away from the misty summit of the Beacon. What a relief! Although I was quite looking forward to the destruction it would have caused!

I kept holding back and kept eating at the feed stops, knowing that the course finished with a loop of the 70.3 course. Having not ridden properly for many months, I knew I wouldn’t have the cycling endurance, but with my legs still strong from hours of running at the Transalpine, I hoped I’d maintain some sort of strength to the end.

I got a puncture as we passed through Dulverton, dangerously close to a coffee shop that served an awesome carrot cake & ice-cream that I had stopped off at with Lordy on a ride out here at the end of August. Unfortunately it was far from open, or as sunny as back then.  For many hours now it had been misty, foggy, and windy and rainy all in one. Truly miserable weather. Fortunately it wasn’t cold.
We got going again and stopped for a final feed stop at the start of the loop of the 70.3 course. After another munch, we pushed on and just at the end of the difficult section of the loop I looked around and Lotte had her head on her handlebars, bit of a weave going on there too. After she stopped and had some more flapjack, we pushed on and I towed her and a few other passengers along the faster flat section at the top of the loop. As we turned right, with about 9 miles to go, began a HUUUUUGE descent that had my hands aching and my breaks wearing!

Not long after we were back in after 8.15 hours cumulative time, which with feed stops and punctures was probably closer to 7.15.   A very tough route, but great fun. I’d certainly like to give it a go on a nicer day!


Gower


Same as usual, after a feed on Friday night, Lotte and I embarked from casa del Bruce loaded up with flapjacks and this time an Irish companion in the form of Naomi.   Unfortunately Jay was kept back by work over the weekend since they had a bit of a rush on, which was a real shame.  We arrived at the cottage in Gower at about 10.30pm and after a quick hello to the fellow Tri-London and other lodgers of the cottage it was straight to bed.

I was down to run the ultra and after registration collected my new skins a400 compression top and tights from Oli kindly supplied to us by Skins (@skinsiders).  The weather had reportedly been atrocious all week even described as ‘biblical’ by some of the race organisers.   Yet it seemed to have cleared up on the day. Not having seen a forecast and not trusting the weather to hold out, I thought I would take the opportunity to test out some new kit, and chucked on the long sleeve top – very snug and comfy!!

Anyway, the race kicked off and almost immediately my legs felt tired.  I had gone for a couple of runs earlier in the week with my Vibrams and my calves had been aching for a few days after.   I’m not sure if this was contributing to that at all – they didn’t feel good though.

Maintaining a reasonable pace, my new inov8 mudrocs were however doing the trick in boggy conditions - a must have for the muddier races!

After the second beach section (a bit of a theme with the CTS races) my mind really wasn’t in the race at all. I think it was at some point around here I decided not to run the full ultra. A decision largely based on enjoyment more than anything else.  I like to think I run for enjoyment, I had run the day thus far and had a great time and I didn’t think I would enjoy the extra 10/12km so I called it a day. Simples.  I came in on 5.04 for a 46km marathon – slightly disappointed not to go sub 5, but it was still good for an effective 19^th place in the marathon, and I believe I easily had 15 mins in me having been pacing for an ultra.

I was also feeling particularly tight across my hips towards the end, and so I think it was a right decision. Avoiding injury in the run up to Polar Challenge is now also a real priority and with Oli unfortunately picking up a nasty strain in his foot I’m glad I didn’t run on (not that I could possibly say I would or wouldn’t have got injured had I continued) – but hopefully you get the point – y’know…wouldn’t want to overdo it!  Just in case later that evening I whipped on the compression tights, which in comparison to my 2XUs are just as good compression wise, and certainly more comfortable.

That said, the next day, having only run the marathon I was keen to get out and go for a short run to help build some endurance but to me what I felt was without the same injury risk, having had the chance to recover. I went for a damp yet ultimately enjoyable 10km jog around the moorland surrounding the cottage and delightful ‘Swansea Airport’.  I felt strong, no sign of tightness, and very much enjoyed that run too – I don’t know if the same could have been said for the 10km loop for the ultra add on!  Another great race – thanks @endurancelife!!

General Update - Team Arktix

Hello everyone. It’s been a long time since any of us last updated the website in any way. And for that we apologise – It’s been pretty manic at for us three of late and whether its been cycling running or swimming around at various locations across the UK, Europe and Africa we’ve still had to contend with raising our race entry fees.

Luckily we’ve managed to get to our half way point in terms of business sponsorship more or less, but if ANY of you have any ideas or leads, please get in contact with us, we’d love to hear from you, there is still a long way to go.  (But seriously, actually think about it, take some time now if you like)

So what exactly have we been up to?  Well first of all Jay has been in Uganda for several weeks. All three of us are yet to catch up – but I assume he was out there running through jungles, wrestling gorillas and building max power and endurance for our Polar trip.  Myself and Oli less glamorously have been to Switzerland (x2) Exmoor (x2) and down to deepest darkest Kent!

I can only speak for the more boring events of my own whereabouts, but I’m sure the other guys will be on here to give you their own viewpoint soon.

So since I last blogged its been a frustrating time for me personally – having been off running for about 3 months and cycling for over a month, I’ve spent most of the time working hard in the gym on my glute activation, general core strength and just swimming lots (lots and lots).

Constrained by injury,  until recently my swimming has been with no legs (just a pull buoy between my legs and a band around my ankles to make doubly sure I couldn’t kick) I’ve got to admit was pretty boring at times – but ‘buoy’ did it pay off (sorry, that was bad) . For three weeks I swam 4x a week averaging nearly 20km and 6 hours a week in the water. Despite feeling like my arms were going to fall off most of the time, which was only exacerbated by taking on the push up challenge alongside this heavy swimming phase – my swimming has come on leaps and bounds.  Being forced to keep up with everyone else using only my arms has built some pretty decent endurance and more importantly not having to worry about my legs – its forced me to eek out every bit of efficiency I can from my stroke.   Now that I’m allowed to kick again – I’m flying. Compared to last year when in an all out sprint distance tri I managed to maintain 1:41 per 100m over a total of 400m, I recently managed to hold 1:32 per 100m over 2.6km during the Marshman Plus (a ¾ distance Ironman triathlon).  This is a pretty encouraging improvement. I only hope to be able to mirror that improvement with my cycling and running when I can really get back to training. And of course I hope to apply every ounce of that improvement to the Polar Challenge, I’m sure I’ll need it and more!

So chronologically speaking the first of the  weekends away was a visit to Switzerland (first weekend of May). Oli and myself head out there and I managed my first cycle back – a gentle 40km spin around the lake on the Sat  and then went for a walk up the Zugerberg on the Sunday.  Oli did some pretty serious running and walking up the mountain both days (having run the Cornwall CTS marathon the weekend before), and it was nice to be able to scope out some routes and ideas for some more serious training a month later when we were to return.

A week later came Marshman Plus, held on Romney Marshes  – Since I still wasn’t allowed to run, the race organiser had agreed to let  Lotte to do the run leg for me. After a good 39 min swim exiting the water in 7^th, I was dead chuffed and just got round the 80 mile bike course practicing my IM nutrition and getting used to being back on the bike.   Having not cycled consistently for over a month and a half I had no expectations, so wasn’t fussed either way. Lotte had a solid run and we finished 9th overall– unfortunately it doesn’t really count since we were a relay, but what the hey, not too shabby. I’ve uploaded my race report for this and you can find Oli’s here. (shhhh he didn’t have such a good day)

The next weekend – Oli and I set off late Friday evening down to Exmoor.  On the Saturday Oli was running the final Coastal Trail Series Marathon, which he breezed round in his usual robot-esque fashion, and I decided to get out and practice the IM UK 70.3 bike course.  It was a day of glorious sunshine and after our efforts we both spent the afternoon enjoying some well deserved fine ales, cider and steak whilst basking in the beer garden at the Blue Ball Inn – Awesome day and awesome pub! To cap off the perfect weekend, on the Sunday we both cycled the UK 70.3 bike course  (myself for the 2^nd time) and headed back to London for some more well deserved food at Ray’s post Crystal Palace Tri London social.  Still bathing in the warm glow of another day’s sun there we were able to share some Gower cottage brownie love with all (Kate at Gower Cottage Brownies coming up with the goods). Despite most people being full to the brim by the time we got there – it didn’t stop many a Tri Londoner getting in on the action, so overwhelmed were they by the dark lure of these chocolatey cubes of delight.

So how might we top that weekend you might ask – with another weekend down in the south-west of course! This time the challenge was the Tour of Wessex. 331 miles of cycling and a hell of a lot of hills in three days. The first day was atrocious weather, of which I spent most of it cycling the 106 miles alone, the second (120 miles) and third (105 miles) days I spent with some fellow Tri Londoners. Ascending the 2.9 mile and 597m of Dunkery Beacon about 50 miles into the last day was a toughy, that’s for sure, but again it was great training.  I probably could have done without my gears failing, not allowing me to change more than halfway down my rear cassette in the last 25 miles, but it was an excellent weekend and I can thoroughly recommend it.  Completely randomly I was even spotted by Jay somewhere down near Poole on the second day. What are the chances?!

Taking a weekend off after all that would have clearly been out of the question, so after Charlie at Puresports made her best attempt at ‘fixing my legs’,  Oli and I flew back to Switzerland once again. However, because Sleazy Jet decided to cancel our original flight last month we flew on Thursday evening and got in an extra days training.  Once again the weather was on our side and we had 3 days of fantastic swimming, hiking and yet more cycling. On the Friday, we cycled for about 3 hours which included ascending the Wildspitz (approx 1100m elevation in 70km of cycling).  In the afternoon we went for a hike up the Zugerberg and back.

Saturday morning we hit the lake early for an hours swim. Swimming in perfectly still lake on a warm and crystal clear morning with only the impressive mountain scenery for a view was quite an experience.  Its got to be up there as one of my most enjoyable swims and I didn’t want to get out, but we had cycling to do!

We hopped on the train to Zurich to cycle the Ironman course with my brother and his friend Dave (who will be attempting the Etape later this year). Having tired out Dave and my brother, Oli and myself then cycled back to Zug over the Albis.  The ride totalled 120km with about 1400m of elevation across the day.  Saturday was a scorcher and we topped off another great day with a BBQ by the lake in Zug consuming a  LOT of food. Personally I wolfed down a burger, 3 steaks, 2 bacon steaks, 3 sausages, some Boerewors, and a couple of chicken drumsticks. I may or may not have topped off with some melted marshmallows watching a famous Zug sunset (famous apparently because its one of the only places with a ‘clear’ (i.e. not massively mountainous) view to the west across a lake) I wasn’t convinced by the claim, but it sure was a nice sunset.

Sunday morning, we could hardly believe our luck as the weather was on our side once again and we decided it was too good an opportunity to miss to get in some more riding. We cycled out around Aegerisee to Rapperswil at the southern end of Zurich Lake to watch Ironman Switzerland 70.3.  After catching Raelert bossing the show we then TT-d back along the lake to Thalwil to climb the Albis once again and head back to Zug. This is where it fell apart a bit. I say ‘we TT-d’ – it was more Oli doing the work, with me desperately trying to keep up. After 10km of HIS ‘race pace’ I think the fatigue was finally catching up with me. It blew my legs to pieces. I never found him again and not having a phone with me, and Oli with the garmin I had to jump on the train home (oh what a shame) Still it was another 90km for me and 1000m elevation for the day. Topping off over 800km in 8days and over 10km of ascent on the bike!

So where does this leave me/us. Well – quite tired after some pretty intense training over the last few weeks, I’m looking forward to IM UK 70.3 on the 20^th June. Whilst I haven’t got in any proper running yet since the injury, I’ve started running again on the treadmill.  I’m still undecided whether to even attempt the run leg. Perhaps I should just be happy to go for a fast swim and solid bike in prep for IM Switzerland in July. At least I know now that the initial injury is gone, since I wouldn’t have survived/been able to complete such a bout of training if it had still been about to bother me. Only question is has the gym work done enough to keep it at bay, and do I risk it with a tough half marathon at the end of a tough day in a couple of weeks time?! I probably shouldn’t but with Transalpine coming up at the start of September, Ive gotta get some running in soon or I that could turn out to be a pretty ugly affair!

Stay tuned – and I promise not to leave it so long between blogs next time. That is unless, training gets in the way again!!