Challenge Roth Race Report - Sunday 8th July, 2012

Swim - 55:28

T1 - 2:53

Bike - 5:49:05

T2 - 3:03

Run - 3:59:00

Total 10:49:27

First things first. I really enjoyed the whole week, largely due to the fantastic company of Tri Londoners, but also because it is a fantastically organised race! I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone.

If anything, this race has made me appreciate a few things. First, in iron distance races, (barring illness/mechanical misfortune etc.) you get what you deserve. Second, it is crucial to contextualize your race, and the preparation required. It is easy to be influenced by the goals of others, and fall into the trap of assuming that what is important to someone else should be important to you. Moreoever, I think we can also too easily assume that what we intially think is or should be important, actually is.
We all place value on different things, which is fine in its own right, but I believe however we should all challenge these assumptions on a regular basis. I certainly have learned that many of things I once thought I placed value on, perhaps are of lesser importance than I first thought. Finally, I think that endurance challenges - as bad as they may be for your short/medium term physical health, are a great way to focus one's perspective.

Anyway, the race.

My bike, does that rear tyre look flat to you?

I had put a suggested 'best time' of 10 and a half hours when I signed up for the race, which put me in a start wave at 07.10am. The girls were starting at 06:45am and a few Tri londoners in a couple of the waves before me. My plan was to really go for it on the swim. I've put in a good amount of work in swimming this year, and its something I'm proud of. I wanted to see what I could do. As an indication, I've swum a little over 200km this year up until the race, and 100km of these have been done since mid-late May. I acheived my goal of 15km a week for the 6 weeks preceding the race, and had seen my times come down and down. After a good swim at Wimbleball, I certainly felt very confident going into the swim of a time around 55 minutes, with a draft maybe even faster.

The girls entering the water

Having watched the previous waves go off to the second that they were scheduled, I knew I needed to get to the front row of my wave of approx 250 swimmers, to be ready for the start and have a chance of getting the feet of any fast swimmers in my wave. I eagerly waited in the holding pen and made my way right to the front of the swim start. A guy asked me in German my predicted swim time to which I responded funf un funfzig (55). He said something back I didn't understand but slowly tread water backwards away from me ;-)

Nervous smiles before the swim?

The girls....

The gun went and I went "f****n' mental" (as was the plan). I pushed as hard as I could, until I could barely breath, and settled into some feet just ahead, but this guy wasn't settling and sped off into the distance. I merged across and swam alongside 2nd in the wave for a good while and then settled onto his feet. Within 4 or 5 mins we were starting to swim through the waves ahead and the guy I was drafting was obviously doing a fair amount of navigation to steer through the crowds. I would have personally chosen a line closer to the buoys, but I preferred the draft. After the turnaround and more of the same, other than feeling incredibly hot, I decided to go it alone. I veered left and took a line closer to the buoys leaving the guy ahead of me on his own to the right. A couple of guys were on my toes and followed me. I continued to work hard all the way in, remembering all the training I'd put in, the moments at Cally where I could barely breathe, and what I would feel like knowing I'd slacked off at the end of the day when there was nothing to do but rest. The second turn around seemed to take a while to come, but the satisfaction of smoothly cruising past the stuggling swimmers ahead was great, (in fairness some of them were probably swimming around the hour mark ;-)).

I kept pushing and felt tinges of cramp in my calves, which stimulated thoughts of 'oh my god, I've done a lance!' (re: Lanza 2010). I felt ok getting out the water and charged through transition. I did have trouble getting my suit off as my arms were aching pretty bad, but with only a number belt in my bag, was away pretty quick. I saw Tomas in transition, faffing around, and gave him a shout (sadly I'd not managed to make up the ten minutes in the swim and 'dunk' him as had been bantered earlier in the week, but I'd take leaving transition before him - beggars can't be choosers and all that).  I was pleased with my swim having done a least half alone, considering the traffic, dead pleased with 127th fastest men's swim (inc pros) out of 2570. I was 20 out of 160 (inc pros) in my AG. I ended up 4th in my wave too.

To the bike. Tomas soon screamed past me shouting something, it was presumably in Irish and about potatoes?! I was taking it steady to start, and stuffed down a daim bar in a bid to recover from the swim. I noticed the wind on certain parts of the course, and was pleased to have been lent Chris Wilson's disc wheel. I felt pretty good, and was pushing with a cap of 150bpm on the flats and a cap of 160 on the hills.  I soon passed Ana and gave her some encouragement. She certainly seemed to be having fun. I saw a lot of people get pinged for drafting and was careful to ease off or make a concerted effort to pass around the many risers that caused the field to bunch.  By the Solarerberg I saw my brother who told me Lotte was just ahead and before the end of the first lap I passed Roz, Lotte and Naomi in quick succession. Jokes about whether it was a club ride were exchanged.

Coming round past T1 again, I got out of the saddle on one hill and noticed my rear tyre seemed a little soft. I ignored it, but soon it was clear it was really down. A slow puncture.....hmmm, thoughts rushed through my head, do I use a canister to refill it and hope it holds, then my second canister to change it later if necessary. I stopped, busting for a pee and got that out of the way first. I decided, no, I've got to change it. Do it once, do it right. I only had one small valved inner for the disc on the back and one long for the rim on the front. I had to get it right, as the pump I had wouldn't attach to the right-angled adaptor for the disc either. I checked for the puncture but it wasn't noticeable. Shit. No real guarantee this just won't pop when I fill it, or go down slowly again. Deep breath, and inflate. It worked!!! I didn't fill it all the way, and left a little splurge of gas in the canister in for emergency refill. By this time, Naomi, Lotte and Roz and Nick had now passed me all asking if I was ok. I got back on the bike and worked hard to catch them again in the hope that if I was ahead and I punctured again, at least they might be able to lend me a canister or tube or something. It had taken me exactly 10 mins to change the tyre, but I wasn't riding angry - these things happen. I remained positive and thought, better to get one in a long race than write-off a short one.

My brother and his wife warming up for their support act (mit der Tri London tea towel)

I soon went past Nick and had a chat, who said he was having an awful race struggling to keep nutrition down. I peed again, he repassed me, and then I went back past him again, exchanging stupid banter once again, but also telling him to stick with it! I then found Lotte on the big descent then Roz again. They seemed happy enough, and it took me another 10 mins to catch Naomi. I told her of her gap to Lotte and Roz, and to keep up the great work. She even repassed me as I stuck to my cap on a steeper hill, to which she gave me a "come on Andy". Not rising to the bait lasted about 3 seconds as I ignored my cap and pushed past. ;-)

I did feel like I had overcooked the bike a little (thanks Naomi), but had done well with nutrition and soon enough I was onto the last stretch into Roth. My calves had continued to cramp a little, but other than a few aches I felt good. Looking at my splits I had slowed on the second lap of the bike quite dramatically, which is an honest reflection of the long rides I've done. Only 2 rides of over 100 miles in May, and reduced cycling volume through June as a result of a knee niggle from using someone else's bike in Geneva. Estimations from the pros of the bike were 10-15mins slower compared with other years due to the wind, and 10 mins for my puncture, puts me around the 5.30 mark on a good day with which I would have been happy before the race, so all things considered I am pleased with that leg.

In T2, the little kid struggled to find my bag, and I went for another pee costing me precious time on the split competition.

Onto the run and I planned to take it steady until 30km, put my music in, then see what I could do. Nick came flying past early on with some banter, but knowing he'd not got much nutrition in on the bike, could be a risky strategy. On the first out and back I saw, Jo, then Tomas, with Kris hot on his heels, then I saw Russ all coming the other way, giving them my encouragement. I just tried to keep it rock steady, walking the aid stations to make sure I got on everything I wanted. I'd said to myself before the race I'd rather have a steady yet unremarkable race than blow entirely.  My HR was sitting pretty at just under 150 bpm. I saw Nick a couple of times at the turn around and marked my splits to him. By 20km I had reeled him back in, chatted for a short while then pushed on at 21km, he looked like he was in a bad place. Here I took on some bananas, and over the next few km started to feel an horrendous stitch that slowed me to a walk! ARRGH! Take it easy, just recover and get moving again. I walked the 60-70m or so into the next aid station, and had some more coke, but no solids from now on. I stopped for ANOTHER pee!!! and at the final turnaround seeing I had made 4 mins on Nick, but only had 9-10 mins on Roz and Naomi, wanted to really push on. At this point, cramp had returned, (despite) regular salt tablets, for which I stopped shortly to stretch it out just before the 30km mark. This really was a no option rule - I was going to run, and run hard to the end, so thought it best to treat myself to a stretch while I could. I saw Lotte who looked like she was having a bad day at the office, then Ana (WHERE DID SHE COME FROM!) only moments behind. A dark horse indeed! She looked very happy and I screamed some support. Some caffeine pills and my final salt tablet, a coke, some sports drink and a gel, music in. Let's do this.

Early celebrations with 3km to go...

I ran trying to find the limit for the final 12km between cramping completely and speed. The music really helped me dig in and I began to pass quite a few more people (music in sport is the area of my dissertation, and I am utterly convinced of the benefits of its application). If I was in any doubt before I only need to look at the declining trend it helped to halt in my run splits, and the stimulation it provided to my heart rate which had begun to sink. Obviously to be taken with a pinch of salt, but I didn't exactly plan to fade between 20-30km.

km	time	avg/km
10	0:54:04	05:24.4
20	0:56:03	05:36.3
30	1:03:10	06:19.0
42	1:05:05	05:25.4

You can see a in HR recovery at just after the 580 min mark split (where I put my music in)

The time really flew, and soon enough I was back into Roth. I remembered the short hill and ran it all with my bro alongside letting me know the layout of the last 2-3km of the course. I had started to slow a little, as the cramp was now really knocking at the door. Ignore that, and then upped it as best I could until the finish - 3:59. Again, I felt like I executed the run very well, but just my volume of running had let me down a little in the lead up to the race. I had a great April, but after that, it had been a gradual decline in run fitness. Combined with going a little hard on the bike meant I came away with a time I think is quite a lot slower than what I am capable of.  I felt pretty sick at the end, but after I'd sat down for a while and had a massage and shower, I felt almost back to normal (if a little tired) within an hour.

Final pep-talk

On reflection, I am utterly confident, that with work I can go considerably quicker in an Ironman. The question is whether I am willing to do the work to get me there, as it would require a financial and time sacrifice I think at this point in my life I am probably unwilling to commit to. Furthermore, would going quicker necessarily make me happier?! It's hard to say. The improvements I have made have certainly been rewarding, and I know I'm a competitive individual, but just how competitive? I raced at Roth without the specfic pressures of a time goal I had previously put on myself, and feel I was better for it. That isn't to say (as is clear from my report) that I still am not naturally drawn to looking at times and those relative to others.

I will race another, of that I am pretty certain, but it won't be without a level of preparation that matches my ambition. We had some in depth discussions of time goals and the reasons for them, and I need to have a long hard think as to what those are, why, and when I might be ready to commit to them.

Next up, Transalpine! :-)

The finish and medal...

IM UK 70.3 - 17th June 2012

Swim - 27:46 (12 in AG, 65th Overall)

T1 - 4:59

Bike - 3:13:48 (32nd in AG, 274th Overall)

T2 - 2:33

Run - 1:41:28 (16th in AG, 141st Overall)

Total - 5:30:35 (20/141 in AG, 151st Overall)


Barring the organisation of this race - I had a great time. Sadly Ironman has decided that because this race sells out, they'll try to cram a few hundred extra athletes in, keep upping the price and offer nothing extra in return. I had an amazing time two years ago and was really looking forward to going back. Unless things change however (I accrue more money than sense) - I won't be going back.

I felt sorry for the Rotary volunteers who had to deal with hundreds of angry people as we were stuck in the car park for over an hour and a half just trying to leave the venue after registration. The whole system had snarled up, and gale force winds and rain, left inappropriate cars stuck in the mud let right and centre. Add to that the hour queue to get into the car park in the first place, the first day didn't go well. They left people queuing in the rain when there was plenty of room in the registration tent and the desks were hugely understaffed.   Race morning was no better - as the race was delayed by 30 minutes - and the two wave start (due to the added numbers of athletes) was no better. The water was cold, yet they still insisted on the unnecessary singing of the national anthem pre-start, which left people around me shivering uncontrollably. There was no starter horn, and everyone just started swimming at the end of the national anthem - perhaps out of sheer frustration - many, myself included, were WAY infront of the start line, as the kayakers made the most apathetic attempts to push us back I have ever seen.

Anyway - rant over. The race:

My bike - ready to roll (really slowly round the bike course)

All smiles (not sure why) pre the delayed swim start - photo courtesy of Tobias Mews

I had grouped over at the front left of the main pack with Amy, Rob and Mel and I swam hard and found no feet whatsoever for the first stretch.  It was a 1 loop triangle course that they have reversed from years past to stop one stretch from swimming directly into the sunrise (the only beneficial improvement they have made - shame the sun was hidden behind clouds). Anyway, after the first turn I found some good feet, but ended up going past them as I felt I had started to take it a little easy. On the final stretch I kicked on, and saw another group about 25m ahead - dammit - too far to bridge and I just conserved my energy. At Roth, I am going for glory, and going to swim hard all the bloody way! I came out of the water with 26.30 on my watch - but my split was 27.46 - no idea how that works - as a guess it would be that we all jumped the start and they retrospectively guessed when we had started post-anthem (and got it wrong).

The swim start - photo courtesy of Tobias Mews

Swim exit - photo courtesy of Tobias Mews

Anyway, 20 yards up the steep slope Brundish runs past - (damn, I really thought I'd be able to hold him off to the finish ;-)) gave him a bit of encouragement, and felt like death as I ran the rest of the way up the hill. Changed into arm warmers and was out on the bike in reasonable time. As you will see from Gabriel's report I fortunately had a clear transition to go through. Had I been a reasonable swimmer in the second wave - it would have been utter carnage. At this point, I was happy with my swim - but when I saw the results and that my time was only good enough for 13th in my AG, I was a little surprised - I guess it just goes to show how competitive some races are now.

Bike HR data

Anyway, out onto the bike and took my time up the first hill. Amy flies past me grinning like a looney, she was clearly already having fun, and went on to put together a brilliant race. I am used to the usual flow of bikes coming past me early on, but was suprised to see how many kept coming past. Since Geneva 3-4 weeks ago, I've had issues with my right knee and been riding less than 50 miles a week. I thought it had finally cleared up but after maybe only 10 miles it was already starting to ache. I know the pain doesn't get unbearable, so just carried on, trying to conserve energy in the hope of a good run. I think I could have and should have gone a little harder on the bike - as my avg hr was still about 5 beats below threshold, but it was clear my legs weren't up for it. On the second loop, I did push a little towards the end and I went back past a few who had clearly imploded, and came in off the bike 6 mins faster than two years ago - so not all bad. But still - I had gone out on the bike in 65th overall, and come back in 192nd! Clearly a lot of work to do on the bike.

Lap 2 of the run - photo courtesy of Tobias Mews

Luckily the course was still quite empty - photo courtesy of Tobias Mews

Up yet another hill - photo courtesy of Tobias Mews

A quick pee in t2 and out onto the run, which I left with Gabriel exchanging the odd grumble.  I felt good though.  Took it steady on the hills and openend up on the downhills. I wanted to hold something back for the last lap. It was muddy underfoot and some trainers with decent grip would have been nice. The racing flats couldn't really cope, so I spent a lot of the time running on thick grassy verges to get some purchase.

What goes up, must come down - photo courtesy of Tobias Mews

Anyway, I think I wimped out a little on the run too, as although I pushed a little more on the last lap avg HR for the section was only 164 and my threshold is 170ish, so again clearly could and maybe should have run harder, by quite a bit :-S.  It is a great run though and I think the best thing about the course. The terrain suits me down to the ground.  I had a caffeinated gel at the start of lap 2 and then was on coke and water at every aid stop. I seem to have some run strength in me at the moment, so I look forward to leaving it all out on the course come Roth.

Run HR data

I managed to pass 37 on the run, with a comfortable effort, but not close to making up the 100 others that passed me on the bike. Steady improvement over the last 2 years though and 15 mins off my time from 2010. Who knows maybe in another 6 years I'll be mixing it with the speedy ones.....;-).

Well done to all the Tri Londoners (Mel, Lotte, David and Joe) for some great performances, and the other two for their quite frankly ridiculous performances - Amy looks like she had the race of her life, and Rob showed that even without a training plan, or knowing anything about exercise - it is still possible to mix it with the best ;-)

One more week of hard work - then I think thats Roth o'clock......

Hercules 1.0 Triathlon Race Report

Swim – 20:32

T1 – 02:25

Cycle – 1:16:08

T2 – 01:08

Run 41:45

Position = 6/68

I had planned to treat this race purely as training. On Thursday I had a massage from Chris, and having not been for one in a good couple of months, there was a lot to iron out. All day Friday I felt that massage and I was a little worried I’d have nothing to offer come race day, I felt sluggish in my swim on Friday morning and certainly didn’t feel much better getting dragged round the Chilterns by a couple of ‘real cyclists’ later that day.  Saturday I went for a swim and did feel a lot better and simulated some starts hammering the first few lengths then easing into a more sustainable pace.

Sunday came around and my goals were to get into the front pack with the swim as best I could, bike conservatively and run at my threshold. I wasn’t here to compete, I was here to test my training to date.

The swim was fresh (14.1 degrees apparently), but not unbearable, I warmed up as best I could and kept moving trying to keep the blood flowing. Soon enough we were off and I found myself on the toes of the lead swimmer. A look back and there was a gap of about 3 metres to 3rd by the turnaround on the first lap. It felt somewhat odd, as being so far up in the field was a foreign experience to me. For my swimming companion, sighting was obviously foreign to him – he was all over the place.

There were some buoys for navigation, and it was colder than this looked

I wanted to take advantage of the draft but not at the expense of 200 extra metres on the swim. As I worked my way back down the lap, I decided it was best to take control of the situation. By the start of the second lap, he had merged behind me, and in my childish nature, I couldn’t help but mess around. I put in a couple of spurts, just to see what would happen. He didn’t respond and lost a couple of lengths on me. I thought about killing myself to see how far ahead I could get, then grew up a little, and decided to hold the pace I was comfortable with and swim in. He rolled in 9 seconds behind me. I feel this was a pace I could hold for Half Ironman certainly, and having no draft for the majority, even if it was a little short, am very happy with my swim – you can’t beat first! ;-)

Leading out the swim....ohh yeaaah!

After the swim I decided that no matter what happened the rest of the day, I would be pleased with the result. I certainly took my time in transition and put on my jacket, gloves etc etc – I left transition in 4^th – haha. I set off on the bike and tried to keep my heart rate at a reasonable level.  I knew I wouldn’t enjoy the ride if I was cold, so no regrets in wrapping up. A couple came past me early on and I caught the girl who had overtaken me in transition. I to’d and fro’d with the swimmer who couldn’t navigate and although the legs felt a little tired, as the second loop was over I felt like I was just getting warmed up. I certainly had a lot more to give on the bike but I definitely need to work on it A LOT if I want to realise my season’s goals – for which there is still time. 

I dismounted before the line, and as I ran into transition, I unclipped my helmet. The marshal shouted, “you, stop there!” As he did so, I clipped my helmet back, guessing what it may have been pertaining to and apologised. I hadn’t intended to cheat and I certainly felt by this point, it was clear I had understood my mistake, and already lost as much time as I could have saved having come to a complete standstill.

I know now that the bike has to be back on the rack before you touch your helmet – but racing the longer stuff I genuinely hadn’t thought about it that much. I’ve even read through the ITU rules now – something I can’t imagine is expected of every triathlete entering a Sunday afternoon run around in Welwyn. (Apparently its illegal to crawl on the run!)

Anyway, the jobsworth marshal was having none of it. As he slowly waddled his slightly rotund frame over to me, he began to question me “How many of these have you done”…..I said “I’ve done one Olympic before”……I looked at my watch and said, “sorry, but can I go?” as the 5^th place ran off out of transition. He said, “look, you can either have me stand here and hold you up for a while or I can give you a two minute penalty”. At this point I bit my tongue, and although many of the things I wanted to say came rushing to me, I just said “be held up for a while?!”. He then waited for a couple of seconds and said, off you go.

On reflection I broke the rules, and I certainly will take heed in future. But where was lotte’s stop and go penalty as stipulated in point 31, Appendix K, number 12, p.126 of the updated 2012 ITU rules for leaving equipment (aerobars) or discarding personal articles on the course? – there is just no justice in the world. What probably bothers me the most is that after all the stick I gave lotte for her Lanzarote transition, it was well and truly returned when she realised she had outsplit me in both transitions. What goes around comes around! See you at IMUK 70.3 Carritt!

RUUUUN!!!!!

Anyway, lesson learned and onto the run, I after less than a lap I had caught the 2^nd swimmer once again, and settled into my pace, I was running at 170 HR and felt I could have held it for a good while. I could see I was very slowly gaining on the guy ahead, but as the laps went on I lost him in the extra bodies on the course. I passed Naomi on my 3^rd lap, and received some encouragement. I carried onto the last half lap as the first lady drew level with me, she had been slowly gaining on me for the run. In no mood to kill myself, as she drew level, I told her she was good to go and I wouldn’t give chase. I mean someone who wears their name on their kit at that time in the morning in rural Hertfordshire is clearly taking triathlon a bit too seriously! ;-)

Some of the run course - it wasn't this nice a day!

Sadly as I rounded the last corner I saw that the guy ahead of me and he was much closer than I had though – maybe with a little more effort I would have had 4^th.  But realistically, there was not ability in this field worthy of beating. Even so,  I upped the pace in the final 50m – its almost irresistible  when you are running towards a finish chute. I was happy with a solid race (bar transitions) and gladly  undid all my hard work at Ray’s gathering – as usual……

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.

Outlaw Race Report (ish) 8th August 2010

Andy Bruce....you are NOT AN OUTLAWWWWW!!!!!

(ok so its not what they shouted as I DNF’d my way outta this one, but it would be amusing at Ironman races if they had the facility to do so)

I approached this race, not really fussed, and hadnt given it much preparation.  The week after switzerland I managed a couple of rides, and very gentle swims.  On Monday I had has a steady state fuel analysis done with Metabolic Solutions that had shown I was severely fatigued. As opposed to in february when fit i was sourcing 40% of my energy from fat (at lactate threshold), I was only sourcing 5% energy from fat at the same intensity. NOT good for long distance racing.  On the Wednesday night swim, my arms felt dead in the water, but i still had some semblance of speed. In honesty, i doubted whether this was an entirely good idea??!

Anyway, race day was upon me and just thought I’d see how it went. I wanted a 1 hour swim, especially after my split in Switzerland but didnt have any other specific goals for the race. By now, deep down, I didn’t  really wanted to race. Anyway, a cold start, I got myself into the fast pen, (sub 1 hour swimmers) and off we went. I found myself powering off ahead of people my side of the pen, and I merged across to find some feet. All going well. The first 1.9km up the lake was a REAL struggle, there were so many weeds in the water, I kept getting huge clumps in my hands, and face, and kept losing the feet in front of me. I was getting seriously pissed off with the weed, and thought id be WAY off the hour. I took a peak at my watch as I rounded the end buoys and had what looked like 27 mins on the watch. I thought to myself at least its definitely only the same distance back down the lake - lets see what I can do. Whilst I didnt feel great, I wasnt deteriorating, as the people in front of me seemed to slow I bridged to the next swimmers ahead of me with relative ease. Out of the water and 54 something on the watch, MUST have been a short swim, but even so thats way under the hour. only goal of the day accomplished. Out onto the bike....

So again whilst I didnt feel exactly nippy (and wasn’t) my legs weren’t totally dead, but I didn’t seem to be able to lay down much speed at all, I just decided to see how it would go. I felt I was pushing a little hard on the first lap and reigned it back. 1.37 for the first loop, 1.40 for the second with loo stop and 1.38 for the third lap with loo stop. So pretty consistent riding. I pushed it all the way home from 95 miles. Felt good actually at parts, although I did get a sharp pain in my right knee that dissapated quickly after an adjustment of my pedal stroke (just a usual random ache I think)

Anyway, onto the run and I didnt seem to get my heart rate down. I wasnt having fun, I was very short of breath and generally felt exhausted. As usual I tried to ignore the aches and just get into the meditation of one foot in front of another and watch the miles ebb away.  This time I was really going to hold back, no pushing for times. After the first lap of the lake and the first out and back, i had started to feel a little better, walking some aid stations, I seemed to get my hr down, but then something strange happened - I suddenly decided/realised I didnt WANT to finish. Completely weird, normally I’m stubborn to the point of grinding things out for the sake of it. This is how it came about.

The inner dialogue re-appeared and the question was asked, why are you doing this? (pretty normal, im sure weve all asked ourselves during training or racing)

I however struggled to find an answer. Usually I look to within the confines of a race and try to remain focussed.  The answer usually is for the feeling of accomplishment you get from finishing etc etc.   That didnt cut it this time, I started to look outside the race and started to look at my past injury, and what I was doing. Was I out of my depth? I was 10 ish miles into the marathon and starting to feel good, but I know how quickly things can turn. I knew i wasnt injured at the time, but with the proven exhaustion id been suffering from, I knew i was on the edge of maintaining form.  I had felt terrible earlier, and knew and had been experiencing especially for the past 9 hours just how much a full ironman took out of me last time.

I began to look to my races and training comittments (namely transalpine at the start of september, the training weekend planned in switzerland next weekend) I knew if I ran the rest of this race then, other than being able to brag that I’d done two Ironman in 3 weeks, that i wouldnt be able to train effectively next week - and completion at transalpine would become even less of a likelihood than it already is.

I suppose ultimately I chose to fight another day. It was a solid training session, and a swim pb, one i should be proud of (even if it clearly must have been short!) Im sure it looks like I quit, but this race never meant enough for me to fight for.  Perhaps im getting smarter, or just lost my nerve....

Lets just hope I can convert the decision into results and get my untrained legs round Transalpine - which I’m glad to say they’ve now decreased the elevation (to 13,500) but increased the distance (to 305km!!!)

A steady block of running for 3 weeks now for me, then rest....then???

Below I’ve added some images from last years race - a taste of things to come! I can’t wait!

Ironman Switzerland Race Report 25th July 2010

Swim: 1:01.08
T1: 4:13
Bike 5:50.56
T2: 3:27
Run: 4:22.10
Overall - 11:21.55,8
place overall: 899
age group: 82

So all things considered preparation had gone well. No mishaps, and after a successful 15 hour drive leaving early morning Wednesday, we (myself, James and Chris - two first time ironmen) arrived Wednesday evening at my brothers house about 25km from Zurich. Sorted the bikes out and went for a 2 hour spin on Thursday, had to change cassette on the wheels i borrowed from Kev, and after a swim in the lake on Friday, nothing Saturday it was time to race.

During the previous 2 weeks i had regualrly been getting 10 hours sleep and felt like I was very rested.   This time I had no nerves in the run up to the race, I spent most of my time making sure James and Chris werent panicking, and felt at home (having spent lots of time in Switzerland at my brothers I guess it kind of is).   As such I hadn’t given much thought to my actual race. I knew my strategy, but I suppose I just hadnt had time to actually sit quietly and think about it. As a result I got almost no sleep the night before since it was all I could then think about. Perhaps a 3 hour doze.  Up at 3am for breakfast. Ive not slept much before other races, and it doesnt seem to make a difference. Adrenaline seems to carry you through.

I had not had any caffeine for 2 weeks previously and made a pot of literally nuclear coffee as I woke up.  A bowl of fruit salad, and apple, a banana, peanut butter and honey wholemeal bagel and 3 pots of rice pudding with honey. Can of red bull in the car over, and half a lucozade, the rest watered down, and taken to sip during prepping for transition.

After I had pumped the tyres and set everything out, (its an open tranistion at CH) I got a(nother) coffee and wandered down to the swim start to have a look around, listening to my ipod in my own little world. I felt very calm and felt the race was going to go well. Got the wetsuit on and wandered down to the swim start.

I had planned on wearing compression socks during the bike and run, but at the expo had bought some compression calf guards instead to save a little more time. I was wearing these all morning, and when i started to jog and jump around as I made my way down to the swim my calves did feel tight.   As I got into the water to splash around and warm up a little, I felt like both my feet were starting to cramp (oh shit!).  I’ve NEVER had this before, and only cramping at swimming if I’ve run earlier in the day. Wanting the swim to go well, this was NOT good. Realising there was little I could do about it with only a few minutes before the start, I just ignored it (it must have been just lactic from jumping up and down)

Swim start, as we all lined up on the beach i felt some nerves come over me. Here it was, the public goal of a 1 hour swim, I knew I was capable of it, just time to execute now. I’ve done the training, no problem. I decided to position myself much more central this time, but towards the left of the middle (next to the ’women only’ start area).  This was with the thinking that I would probably be swimming faster than the ladies who werent wanting to go in with the main field and if it got ugly, and even if wasnt swimming faster than some of them,  i could head out in their direction where it wouldnt be so aggressive.

Right to the front of the start and off we went. I swam hard, and didnt come across any rough and tumble for the first straight, couldnt find many feet, but knew there would be some soon. Pushed again and got a thwack round the head as I rounded the buoy (it didnt knock my goggles off and was the only physical contact I encountered).  I found some reasonable feet and settled down.  Along the straight into the island turnaround on the first lap a gap of about 10m had opened up infront of the person i was drafting. Do i? dont I? I felt good and wanted to be in that pack for the second lap, its now or never - so i went for it. 30s of pushing, im about half way across, ugh this is hard work im thinking. Pushed again and just as i was thinking this would be too much, someone swam alongside me and was trying to bridge the gap also. I latched onto their feet as they came past, and although they didnt quite make the gap, they got me close enough. Onto the island 28.30 (ish by my watch - not what my splits actually were)......hmm I knew the second lap was 200 m longer - the hour isnt on the cards at the moment.

Shit, I thought - but ive been pushing the pace, and swimming fairly aggressively, is it just a long course or am I just not up to it. my perceived effort was that of IM UK 70.3 easily.  Anyway, I ran and dived in, and the pack had thinned across the island. Found some more feet but I could tell he wasnt moving fast enough, hmm.  I looked around, noone close - I didnt want to do any work so sat with him and thought about what to do. If I push any more I could ruin the race, its a long day. Then (luckily) this guy came mowing past. He was definitely on the go and it only took him a few metres to move past.  Not to look a gift horse in the mouth I latched onto his feet but I had to work to stay with him. But he was chewing up the other swimmers. These were some good feet. I stayed with him all  the second lap. Amusingly, the times i got to close and brushed his feet, he kicked hard, to lose me. It only made him go faster. It was like whipping a horse, except i was tickling someones feet. It made me chuckle.

Coming out of the water, on my watch was 1 hour and 58 seconds. Hmmm again.  My watch didnt tally with either of my times so dont relly know what was going on there. I am however not disappointed (well i am that i didnt get the time), but I honestly dont know how I could have safely gone much quicker, maybe if I’d found a draft earlier on the first lap - who knows. Ill try again at Outlaw.

Out onto the bike, and kevs 808s felt smooth, light and gooooood. 22mph feeling easy all the way along the first 30km. then into the rolling section. I was just holding back and concentrating on eating. Felt comfortable and no aches or pains. Decided to time getting up the beast (13 mins 37 seconds) and then back onto the lake out round to hearbreak hill where lotte and my family and friends were waiting. What a buzz, the atmosphere is awesome.  Purely because it was so much fun, and just about short enough, i kicked up a couple of gears and powered up the hill absolutley loving it. Pushed the HR up a bit though!!

Second lap I tried to concentrate and just maintain my effort, pushing in the last 1/3rd if I felt good. A quick loo stop at one station and up the beast again, (13 min and 30 seconds).  There is a misleading climb after the beast that isnt named, having cycled the course before I knew it was there, and paced myself on the first lap. The second time however, in passing over some nuun to an RAF chap who had been suffering with cramps, I dropped my last gel, and so didnt have any to take after the beast for about 40 mins, and only water in my bottles.  I eased back and took 2 bananas, 2 powerbars, 2 gels, and some cola at the next stop and had a good feed. There is an awesome downhill section on each lap and both times i hit 75kph.   I felt much better and down along the lake and round to Heartbreak hill for the last time i dug in.  (N.B. there was in general an HORRENDOUS amount of drafting on this course, lots were getting penalised which is good, but lots were BLATANTLY drafting, quite shocking really. I dont really understand it)

Came off the bike and as i left t2 there was 7 hours cumulative time on the clock (or thereabouts). Ok so here is where it all begins to get serious. I had run consistenly since 70.3, about 3 x a week, and my longest run since then was just over 1 hour (once), everything else had been 30-45 mins easy. Anyone with sense would tell me to expect nothing from the run.

I held it back fairly steady on the first lap, getting used to the rather complex looping switchbacky run course. Lotte was telling me everything i wanted to hear, ’keep it steady, stay focused, you know how to do this’. My rather excited, but equally well meaning family werent quite as constructive, with my grinning mother sitting there with a sign saying PUSH! with Andy written underneath. Maybe later. Unfortunately, lotte and my family do all know what I’m like though, and knew that I knew that 11 hours was on the cards.  On the cards, but Ive never run 4 hours before, let alone in an IM marathon. However, id taken 1 hour 10 off my bike time, 15 mins off my swim time, and about 20 minutes off my tranistions so far, so why not take 15 mins off my 4.15 run from bolton, that was undulating after all, and I’m a much better athlete than I was then!!

I had said to myself and Steven (coach) before the race, that I’d enjoy myself if I went for it, so I suppose I had already made the decision then (to go for a time). Its arguably the WORST thing you can do to yourself in an Ironman, especially when i have little or no training to back up the attempt.

Anyway, I felt ok on the first lap, and started to push a little, but only a little on the second lap. I wanted to get every lap faster than the last. I probably should have just tried to negative split from half way, or more sensibly still just see where i was with 10k to go and see what I had left, but I didnt want to lose touch with the 11 hour target. The first lap was shorter, so although the  second lap was slightly slower, the laps were all the same from there on in, and i had in fact run it at a slightly quicker pace. Ok I knew it was going to start to hurt from there on, but its only pain, thats all it can do, hurt.  I know how to dig deep if nothing else. As I started the 3rd lap, Lotte, my brother and everyone had been closely monitoring my times, they knew i was close and Lotte said ’you can still get 11 hours but you are going to have to push’  (where was my mum with her sign now!?) I started to kick on, but about half way round the 3rd lap, I couldnt take anything on, even water made me sick. I tried some soup, that made me feel better (real food). But I didnt feel well at all, not a sickness in the sense of bloatedness, but just very weak, and extremely sick, I felt like i was slowing up and by the end of the 3rd lap, I knew that my legs didnt have what it took to keep going at that pace.

I switched off the moaning, and remained rational. Jsut as you can always feel worse, you can also start to feel better.  I just carried on running even though I knew I was slowing and wanted to see how it played out. I didnt even know that finishing the 3rd lap i had actually gone a little faster again was still on for it. It just didnt feel like it was there. The run walk strategy became hard, and despite essentially running completely on ’empty’, I promised myself I wouldn’t walk except the aid stations.  I mean why WOULD you walk? it is a race after all ;-) (plus oli would probably take the piss)

What made it worse, was during the turnaround, about 3 or 4km into the last lap I had by now completely dropped out of contention with the 11 hour target. Although I knew it, and although they didnt want to show it, it was obvious on the faces of everyone. It was a dark place and my brother tried to sing a line from the transalpine song ’keep on ruuuuunnniing!!!!!’ I ashamadely snapped at him and told him where to shove it. saying ’not now’ after a bit of swearing. He was only trying to help, and I immdeiately felt awful. This sort of race strips away every layer and leaves you with your raw emotions. Its hard to not become irritated by everything when things aren’t going well. He was only trying to help, but he couldnt. I felt like I’d let everyone down at this point, myself included. I had pushed too hard too early and was now acting like a dick to top it off. I guess you have to keep pushing  though when you are aiming for a time. Even though it wasnt a time I should have been aiming for. But I had made a decision to try and this was the result. 1 bloody painful lap and me losing my temper.  I carried on running, (pretty slowly) but carried on.  I just wanted it to end.

Lotte came across over to another bit of the course where there were few supporters and gave me some more encouragement, she knew I was broken, but said all the right things. I cant even remember what she said.  Outlaw was another thought that came into my head at this point. The thought of running another race two weeks later actually made me feel physically ill (in an amusing way).

Im glad that I never stopped. I didnt need to keep running, but I’m glad that I did. Its important for me to know that I had no excuses ’if id carried on running i might have been close’.  I wouldnt have been, and I wasnt.  Its great to know exactly how short I fell from my target (regardless of how silly a target it was to impose) I couldnt have run that last lap faster. I gave everything.  In a strange way its completely liberating to know that youve given everything even if its not enough. It makes everything more simple. Next time Ill simply have to try harder.   When I finished my last Ironman I felt emotional and wanted to cry (i didnt obviously, because im tough etc etc) but running down the chute this time, I didnt even feel anything. If i can describe it, I was emotionally completely exhausted. The catcher asked me if i felt ok, I said no. I felt so sick.

I went out thorugh the food tent, tried to drink some water, and didnt want to put it in my mouth. Tried the same with coke, the same result.  I wasnt responding to people talking to me properly. Bumped into Nick Mills who has finished strong, and asked him about his race, he seemed happy which was great. I wasnt very responsive. I apologised, and collected my bag, and took it out to my parents, and decided i needed some sort of help. I  stumbled back round to the finish line to a helper and said ’where is the medics tent’ he turned to see me and said ’oh shit’ and carried me to the medical tent.  All I remember them then saying as i walked in was ’Rot, Rot, Rot!’  Which means Red. Hmm, slightly concerning. My blood pressure was low, and they put me on a drip. Didnt feel much better, but after another i started to do so. Somehow, I managed  get up from the bed an discharge myself and get a shower and a massage. I still hadnt eaten anything, but eventually forced down a protein shake and some chips and a plate of pasta, and some more chips, and a bratwurst (I dont need to feel THAT well to eat apparently).  I apologised to my brother.

So yeah, looking at my time (which isnt the important thing) I finished with a 92 ish minute personal best, which i suppose is good. (It IS after all a faster course) Perhaps Ill be able to get sub 11 next year if i do another Ironman then. I wasnt THAT far off taking into account run endurance. I know how to pace myself, my nutrition may have gone slightly wrong. but im improving still.

I am now 100% keen for Outlaw, 1 hour swim!!!!!! 1 hour SWIM!!!! ahhhhhh!!!!

I love how the body forgets pain.