A few weeks ago I took Rosie Pup out for a run on Braunton Burrows and messed around doing some video with my phone while we were out. I finally got round to chapping enough out to bung it up on youtube this week, so here it is.
As is normal with my vids, don't expect great quality and high quality editing. What you see is what you get when I'm around.
Enjoy, I hope it doesn't make you too seasick.
Friday, 23 July 2010
Sunday, 18 July 2010
kernowMan 3/4 Distance Tri
So it's training race time again and we're all ready to roll in Penzance. Races on a Saturday are a total nightmare for me because of the dumb hours I work, but I needed to get something long in to see what sort of shape I was in and either kick me into action or give me a much needed ego boost. Thankfully Saturday turned out to be the best day of the week with just a few small showers although that wind could have been a whole lot kinder to us.
Realising on Friday night that I was going to be struggling for breakfast I picked up one of those Nutrishake things to try, it seemed ok, certainly didn't lead to any race day problems. My only other forgetfulness problem was sorted when I scrounged the use of a track pup pre-race to sort my tyres out. I'd got gas canisters handy just in case, but my kindly fellow competitors saved me wasting one.
We headed down to the water a little late and very casual (just my style). We posed for a few pics and then headed into the water. The stroll out is interesting, you're walking along on soft sand and then suddenly your feet are on a ridge of rocks and you can't get any balance. There was a bit of a countdown and we were off. No fisticuffs in this swim, not with a field so small, I just settled into my rhythm and watched two swimmers charge off ahead of me. By the first bouy though the two early speedsters had dropped off a little and I was out from on my own.
The swim itself was cracking although I'm sure I swam through a cluster of small jellyfish early on, no stinging action to report. Swimming around the Island didn't make any difference to me, I breath to the left and it was always on my right so I never saw it. As there were so few of us we had a kayaker each, saved me any navigational issues until we were heading into the beach when the damn sun kept getting in my eyes. I've since heard stories of the chop and a few rips messing with people but to be honest I'm so ignorant of whats happening around me I just plough on, so long as I can see something to try and keep me straight I'll swim through anything.
Out the water 1st in 45:02!
There was a section between the swim exit and T1 that involved crossing roads and various safety gubbins. I understood (?!?!?!) that we had 5mins to get from one mat to the other and whatever time it took below that would be taken from the final results (it wasn't). So I strolled from the beach, had a drink of water and pee'd (we'll leave that bit there) before heading off to the T1 where I did the normal gubbins and headed off out. Still, it made no difference to anything and everybody had the same so I won't worry about it.
Heading out on the bike I felt shocking (must stop drinking that sea water) and on the way out to Lands End I was just waiting for someone to come past me. A couple of times I actually felt like stopping to see if I could be sick but I had the company of a lead motorcyclist and while I was in that position it would be stupid. I was glad I'd kept going when we got there as things were easing. It was here that I first attempted to drink out of my aero bottle and found that I couldn't reach the straw, I hadn't used it since November and forgot about the extension piece which was (thankfully) swishing around inside. A bit of one the move groping around and bottle maintenence sorted the problem though and all was well. The bike section from Lands End to St Ives is simply stunning, the road it tortuous, twisting and hilly but this section had a nice tailwind to compensate and the stunning views took your mind off any pain. I got a 5min lead on the 2nd place cyclist at Lands End and 9mins on 3rd place. I had no idea how far behind they were out of the water though so I pushed on through the scenic section, still waiting for the inevitable pass. When I got to St Ives I saw Shelly and asked her to let me know what the gap was, then I headed out for 2 tortuous laps of the Olympic Tri course. Shelly came past in the car and shouted to me that the gap was up to 10mins by St Ives. Oh hell, it was growing!!! That's not what I'm used to! It was a nice thing to hear however because the headwind on this section of the course at times was crazy. It just never seemed to be behind me, even with it being looped. Leedstown to Hayle is normally super fast, not today!! At 56miles I passed two girls, they were the frst racers I'd seen all day, must have been the tail enders from the Olympic race that started 2hrs later, it gave me a bit of a boost because finally I was going to start seeing people. WRONG!!!! The next people I was were at 87miles on the road back into Penzance before T2. Finally I was back off the bike and my focus for the whole ride had been achieved which was to keep my average speed above 20mph. This stat was ruined however when I headed straight into the loos for an Austin Powers style pee stop before hitting T2, I was in there forever!!
My normal 'casual' T2 followed, sit down, put socks on, reset Garmin, have a drink etc etc etc before I headed out onto the peachy little run course. It turned out that I hit T2 with around 30mins lead, maybe I'd coped better than most with those 2 windy laps.
The first lap of the run was a tester, I'd heard it was tough and with my habit of blowing on the run I wanted to push nothing. At this point I had no idea how close/far away 2nd place was so I was risking nothing. Immediately I walked the first hill out of transition, a girl ahead from the middle distance race ran every step and only took around 20m out of me, as soon as we were over the top I passed her. I ran and focused on keeping it smooth when I could and as soon as I felt my quads twinging or felt I was working too hard on a hill I would walk for 30secs or a minute. The off road section was fantastic but if I ran it again I wouldn't wear lightweight shoes, I felt every stone through the soles. I missed a turn towards the end of the lap but the marshalls were awake and aware of the situation so I was soon back on track (my fault entirely). Lap 1 and 6.5 tough miles completed in 50mins, sorted!! Lap 2 was more of the same and also done in 50mins. The 3rd and final lap was similar to the others, I'd set myself a 50min target so I could complete the run in 2:30, I also had a couple of targets to aim at for a change. My first target worked really hard on the hills and I just had no interest in that so I'd walk, let him get away from me a little and then reel him back in again once the terrain was favourable. I caught him at the drink station half way around the course and never saw him again. At this drink station though I had my only 'bad' experience of the race. I was on my last lap, I was nearly home, I just wanter to play things safe so I ignored the energy gubbins and just knocked back a cup of water. The problem here was that it tasted like sterilising stuff and almost as soon as I started running again my guts felt rotten. There was only 3 miles to go though so I wasn't concerned and kept running with my eyes firmly focused on it's new target further along the trail. I carried on plodding and walking, feeling slightly queazy and with that nasty taste still in my mouth until I got to the last drink station, it was only just over a mile to the finish and I'd planned to run straight past but I took some more water jus to get rid of the taste in my mouth. It was too much though and 1mile from home on the side of the main road I was hurling my guts up in the verge while my target disappeared into the distance. I felt fine once my stomach had done its thing and the stuff was out of my system but it cost me my 2:30 run split and my target, no worries though. Lap 3 was 51mins and I was very happy to run across the field to the Finish Line after a properly solid workout where my body had proved to me it's not in bad shape and I'd even worked through a couple of mental barriers too. Job Done.
So in the end I won by close to 50mins, but I won't let my ego get carried away with it, I know that on another day I could have got thoroughly beaten and while that challenge would no doubt have dragged me along to a faster finish that wasn't what the day was about. A solid 8hrs Ironman Training session was the plan and that's exactly what I got, I'm happy.
The swim is the swim, nothing to learn there really except that maybe my ignorance helps me cope better if the conditions are challenging.
The bike was great, it's a tough course made tougher by the wind and I averaged 20mph while never really feeling I was into it. Do I think I could have carried on for another 22miles. Yup
The run was as tough as old boots but I kept the pace consistant even with my random walk breaks. Other than an unforseen drink/stomach issue I'd have kept the same pace for lap 3. Could I have done another lap -yeah I think so. I'd have rather had a more cushioned pair of shoes for the stoney off road section though.
2.8km sea swim - 45:02
Transition 1 - 5:53
91 mile bike ride - 4:36:11
Transition 2 - 2:08
19mile run - 2:31:35
Total Time - 7:56:12
Happy Days
Realising on Friday night that I was going to be struggling for breakfast I picked up one of those Nutrishake things to try, it seemed ok, certainly didn't lead to any race day problems. My only other forgetfulness problem was sorted when I scrounged the use of a track pup pre-race to sort my tyres out. I'd got gas canisters handy just in case, but my kindly fellow competitors saved me wasting one.
We headed down to the water a little late and very casual (just my style). We posed for a few pics and then headed into the water. The stroll out is interesting, you're walking along on soft sand and then suddenly your feet are on a ridge of rocks and you can't get any balance. There was a bit of a countdown and we were off. No fisticuffs in this swim, not with a field so small, I just settled into my rhythm and watched two swimmers charge off ahead of me. By the first bouy though the two early speedsters had dropped off a little and I was out from on my own.
The swim itself was cracking although I'm sure I swam through a cluster of small jellyfish early on, no stinging action to report. Swimming around the Island didn't make any difference to me, I breath to the left and it was always on my right so I never saw it. As there were so few of us we had a kayaker each, saved me any navigational issues until we were heading into the beach when the damn sun kept getting in my eyes. I've since heard stories of the chop and a few rips messing with people but to be honest I'm so ignorant of whats happening around me I just plough on, so long as I can see something to try and keep me straight I'll swim through anything.
Out the water 1st in 45:02!
There was a section between the swim exit and T1 that involved crossing roads and various safety gubbins. I understood (?!?!?!) that we had 5mins to get from one mat to the other and whatever time it took below that would be taken from the final results (it wasn't). So I strolled from the beach, had a drink of water and pee'd (we'll leave that bit there) before heading off to the T1 where I did the normal gubbins and headed off out. Still, it made no difference to anything and everybody had the same so I won't worry about it.
Heading out on the bike I felt shocking (must stop drinking that sea water) and on the way out to Lands End I was just waiting for someone to come past me. A couple of times I actually felt like stopping to see if I could be sick but I had the company of a lead motorcyclist and while I was in that position it would be stupid. I was glad I'd kept going when we got there as things were easing. It was here that I first attempted to drink out of my aero bottle and found that I couldn't reach the straw, I hadn't used it since November and forgot about the extension piece which was (thankfully) swishing around inside. A bit of one the move groping around and bottle maintenence sorted the problem though and all was well. The bike section from Lands End to St Ives is simply stunning, the road it tortuous, twisting and hilly but this section had a nice tailwind to compensate and the stunning views took your mind off any pain. I got a 5min lead on the 2nd place cyclist at Lands End and 9mins on 3rd place. I had no idea how far behind they were out of the water though so I pushed on through the scenic section, still waiting for the inevitable pass. When I got to St Ives I saw Shelly and asked her to let me know what the gap was, then I headed out for 2 tortuous laps of the Olympic Tri course. Shelly came past in the car and shouted to me that the gap was up to 10mins by St Ives. Oh hell, it was growing!!! That's not what I'm used to! It was a nice thing to hear however because the headwind on this section of the course at times was crazy. It just never seemed to be behind me, even with it being looped. Leedstown to Hayle is normally super fast, not today!! At 56miles I passed two girls, they were the frst racers I'd seen all day, must have been the tail enders from the Olympic race that started 2hrs later, it gave me a bit of a boost because finally I was going to start seeing people. WRONG!!!! The next people I was were at 87miles on the road back into Penzance before T2. Finally I was back off the bike and my focus for the whole ride had been achieved which was to keep my average speed above 20mph. This stat was ruined however when I headed straight into the loos for an Austin Powers style pee stop before hitting T2, I was in there forever!!
My normal 'casual' T2 followed, sit down, put socks on, reset Garmin, have a drink etc etc etc before I headed out onto the peachy little run course. It turned out that I hit T2 with around 30mins lead, maybe I'd coped better than most with those 2 windy laps.
The first lap of the run was a tester, I'd heard it was tough and with my habit of blowing on the run I wanted to push nothing. At this point I had no idea how close/far away 2nd place was so I was risking nothing. Immediately I walked the first hill out of transition, a girl ahead from the middle distance race ran every step and only took around 20m out of me, as soon as we were over the top I passed her. I ran and focused on keeping it smooth when I could and as soon as I felt my quads twinging or felt I was working too hard on a hill I would walk for 30secs or a minute. The off road section was fantastic but if I ran it again I wouldn't wear lightweight shoes, I felt every stone through the soles. I missed a turn towards the end of the lap but the marshalls were awake and aware of the situation so I was soon back on track (my fault entirely). Lap 1 and 6.5 tough miles completed in 50mins, sorted!! Lap 2 was more of the same and also done in 50mins. The 3rd and final lap was similar to the others, I'd set myself a 50min target so I could complete the run in 2:30, I also had a couple of targets to aim at for a change. My first target worked really hard on the hills and I just had no interest in that so I'd walk, let him get away from me a little and then reel him back in again once the terrain was favourable. I caught him at the drink station half way around the course and never saw him again. At this drink station though I had my only 'bad' experience of the race. I was on my last lap, I was nearly home, I just wanter to play things safe so I ignored the energy gubbins and just knocked back a cup of water. The problem here was that it tasted like sterilising stuff and almost as soon as I started running again my guts felt rotten. There was only 3 miles to go though so I wasn't concerned and kept running with my eyes firmly focused on it's new target further along the trail. I carried on plodding and walking, feeling slightly queazy and with that nasty taste still in my mouth until I got to the last drink station, it was only just over a mile to the finish and I'd planned to run straight past but I took some more water jus to get rid of the taste in my mouth. It was too much though and 1mile from home on the side of the main road I was hurling my guts up in the verge while my target disappeared into the distance. I felt fine once my stomach had done its thing and the stuff was out of my system but it cost me my 2:30 run split and my target, no worries though. Lap 3 was 51mins and I was very happy to run across the field to the Finish Line after a properly solid workout where my body had proved to me it's not in bad shape and I'd even worked through a couple of mental barriers too. Job Done.
So in the end I won by close to 50mins, but I won't let my ego get carried away with it, I know that on another day I could have got thoroughly beaten and while that challenge would no doubt have dragged me along to a faster finish that wasn't what the day was about. A solid 8hrs Ironman Training session was the plan and that's exactly what I got, I'm happy.
The swim is the swim, nothing to learn there really except that maybe my ignorance helps me cope better if the conditions are challenging.
The bike was great, it's a tough course made tougher by the wind and I averaged 20mph while never really feeling I was into it. Do I think I could have carried on for another 22miles. Yup
The run was as tough as old boots but I kept the pace consistant even with my random walk breaks. Other than an unforseen drink/stomach issue I'd have kept the same pace for lap 3. Could I have done another lap -yeah I think so. I'd have rather had a more cushioned pair of shoes for the stoney off road section though.
2.8km sea swim - 45:02
Transition 1 - 5:53
91 mile bike ride - 4:36:11
Transition 2 - 2:08
19mile run - 2:31:35
Total Time - 7:56:12
Happy Days
A few pics from the KernowMan
Setting the Scene - St Michaels Mount
Early morning transition set up
The races Moltey Crew having a pre race pic.
Out of the water after swimming around the Island
Pretty bike shot - I really must learn to hold my fat gut in though.
Ok, ok................ I just can't go on the move - heck I tried enough
Running into T2 'after' the above pit-stop
Never let it be said that I rush my transitions.
One lap of 3 completed.
Once again ------ I'm not know for rushing things.
There's always time for an aeroplane finish ;-)
and a bit of Usain Bolt action (or is it a teapot?)
A sensible finish for the local rag.
Race times are up, I'm happy with that.
Feeling the BURN!!!!!!
Early morning transition set upThe races Moltey Crew having a pre race pic.
Out of the water after swimming around the Island
Pretty bike shot - I really must learn to hold my fat gut in though.
Ok, ok................ I just can't go on the move - heck I tried enoughRunning into T2 'after' the above pit-stop
Never let it be said that I rush my transitions.
One lap of 3 completed.
Once again ------ I'm not know for rushing things.
There's always time for an aeroplane finish ;-)
and a bit of Usain Bolt action (or is it a teapot?)
A sensible finish for the local rag.
Race times are up, I'm happy with that.
Feeling the BURN!!!!!!
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Kernow Fest the Preview
First up, a big thanks to Greg and Stuart for their encouraging words in my last post.
Next a quick nutritional word - Did I say I was tempering my junk food diet? Ah well, scrap that! My will power isn't strong enough to avoid the lure of chocolate when I need to keep awake at 4 in the morning. Normal service has resumed.
Training wise - Other than the total lack of training today when I'm off work (I'm blaming the monsoon type conditions outside) I've picked it up nicely. 15 days in and I've done 25hrs, I've already done more cycling than I did in the whole of last month. If I can keep it going then we should be on for a decent monthly total.
My bike has been into my LBS for a bit of TLC and come out with a list of (expensive) things that need doing to it. My ZIPP's need new bearings (again) and pretty much all my running gear needs changing due to wear. That can wait until after this weekends racing though............... I need to chat with the lads about the benefits of aerodynamics when I pop in there next. They tightened up a few of the spokes on my ZIPP's because things were getting a bit sloppy but now some of my bladed aero spokes are in not so aero positions - I'm sure that defeats the object a little!!!!!!
Now to the Kernow Fest - It's a day of three Triathlons, Standard, Half Iron and a 3/4 Iron Distance races. It will come of no suprise to hear that I've entered the longest of the three, but purely as a training event. It's very low key and the field is very small so there's a chance that it could be a very lonely outing although after 40-45miles we might find ourselves merging with the other two races.
Next a quick nutritional word - Did I say I was tempering my junk food diet? Ah well, scrap that! My will power isn't strong enough to avoid the lure of chocolate when I need to keep awake at 4 in the morning. Normal service has resumed.
Training wise - Other than the total lack of training today when I'm off work (I'm blaming the monsoon type conditions outside) I've picked it up nicely. 15 days in and I've done 25hrs, I've already done more cycling than I did in the whole of last month. If I can keep it going then we should be on for a decent monthly total.
My bike has been into my LBS for a bit of TLC and come out with a list of (expensive) things that need doing to it. My ZIPP's need new bearings (again) and pretty much all my running gear needs changing due to wear. That can wait until after this weekends racing though............... I need to chat with the lads about the benefits of aerodynamics when I pop in there next. They tightened up a few of the spokes on my ZIPP's because things were getting a bit sloppy but now some of my bladed aero spokes are in not so aero positions - I'm sure that defeats the object a little!!!!!!
Now to the Kernow Fest - It's a day of three Triathlons, Standard, Half Iron and a 3/4 Iron Distance races. It will come of no suprise to hear that I've entered the longest of the three, but purely as a training event. It's very low key and the field is very small so there's a chance that it could be a very lonely outing although after 40-45miles we might find ourselves merging with the other two races.
The race starts at 6am with a 2.8km sea swim. As it's a sea swim it's subject to change but all being well it will be around the outside of St Michael's Mount which is a small Island just off the coast. Of course it turns out to be rough then the swim will likely be much shorter :-(. After the swim and T1 we're off on a hilly 90mile bike ride, the first 40-45mile loop goes out along the main road to Lands End and then back to Penzance along the Northern Coast Road via St Just & St Ives. When we reach Penzance we'll join the two lap course of the other two races where we'll likely find some company along the way as their race starts 2hrs after ours. The plan is to put a solid shift in on the bike and work as much of it as possible. Once we're off the bike there's just a simple little 10k run to do ...................... 3 times!!!! I've no idea what will happen here, if I can get my head around hammering the bike it might be a struggle, or I might find I can cruise around without any problems. My history with long distance racing has taught me to play it by ear, what will happen will happen, I'll find out on Saturday afternoon.
Hopefully my next post will be a race report and will be posted a lot quicker than things have been lately, I'll do my best for you all ;-)
Friday, 2 July 2010
Review of a poor month
Finally June is over and it couldn't end soon enough. It's been a disaster in sooo many ways.
Financially it's been a shocker with bundles of bills and various things at home breaking, but this isn't really about life at home. Bills come for everybody, it's just a thing you deal with. I just hope that I don't end up spending twice what I earn in July too *gulp*.
Racing hasn't been too bad. I picked up a nice win at Burnham on Sea Tri and got schooled into 2nd place at the Croyde Aquathlon. Comfortably posting the fastest run at Croyde was a bonus though, strangly I was fastest at no individual discipline at Burnham, I just put them all together better.
Training has been very disappointing, but I do have my excuses...... The lurgie I picked up just before Burnham dragged on for 3 weeks and messed the plans up. I never really felt physically low,, but when you're coughing and sneezing at the slightest exertion then it makes training for any amount of time or distance a struggle. Of course my laziness is always a factor although if I wasn't so lazy I'd be out on the bike now instead of writing this.
I'm well up on my training for the year still with 215hrs compared to 179hrs in the first 6 months of last year. My target for the year though was to always train more in one month than I did in the following month last year. As Hawaii is a month earlier that Florida was last year I need to compare June training with July 2009, that is not a good comparison. July appears to be the month I started putting the hours in last year and this 33hr training month (my lowest since January) looks very bad when compared to last July's 45.5hrs.
So it's time to knuckle down and get back into things (starting today). I need July's training to match or better last August so that means 48hrs of training and over 30hrs in the saddle. Fingers crossed!!!
Nutritionally I had a half hearted attempt at backing off my normal junk food diet. It went ok for a week but the following week I was back to normal as the work hours piled up and the garage chocolate stops got more frequent. I've also bought some Powerbar Energy Drink to try as it's the drink of choice at Hawaii. My first outing with it last weekend was a disaster as I blew to pieces and crawled home at the end of a 4hr bike ride. In fairness it was hot, hilly, I was getting hammered by my training partner Phill and I didn't take nearly enough drink out with me so I won't blame Powerbar yet.
Anyway, it's time to train I guess.................. better get on with it.
Financially it's been a shocker with bundles of bills and various things at home breaking, but this isn't really about life at home. Bills come for everybody, it's just a thing you deal with. I just hope that I don't end up spending twice what I earn in July too *gulp*.
Racing hasn't been too bad. I picked up a nice win at Burnham on Sea Tri and got schooled into 2nd place at the Croyde Aquathlon. Comfortably posting the fastest run at Croyde was a bonus though, strangly I was fastest at no individual discipline at Burnham, I just put them all together better.
Training has been very disappointing, but I do have my excuses...... The lurgie I picked up just before Burnham dragged on for 3 weeks and messed the plans up. I never really felt physically low,, but when you're coughing and sneezing at the slightest exertion then it makes training for any amount of time or distance a struggle. Of course my laziness is always a factor although if I wasn't so lazy I'd be out on the bike now instead of writing this.
I'm well up on my training for the year still with 215hrs compared to 179hrs in the first 6 months of last year. My target for the year though was to always train more in one month than I did in the following month last year. As Hawaii is a month earlier that Florida was last year I need to compare June training with July 2009, that is not a good comparison. July appears to be the month I started putting the hours in last year and this 33hr training month (my lowest since January) looks very bad when compared to last July's 45.5hrs.
So it's time to knuckle down and get back into things (starting today). I need July's training to match or better last August so that means 48hrs of training and over 30hrs in the saddle. Fingers crossed!!!
Nutritionally I had a half hearted attempt at backing off my normal junk food diet. It went ok for a week but the following week I was back to normal as the work hours piled up and the garage chocolate stops got more frequent. I've also bought some Powerbar Energy Drink to try as it's the drink of choice at Hawaii. My first outing with it last weekend was a disaster as I blew to pieces and crawled home at the end of a 4hr bike ride. In fairness it was hot, hilly, I was getting hammered by my training partner Phill and I didn't take nearly enough drink out with me so I won't blame Powerbar yet.
Anyway, it's time to train I guess.................. better get on with it.
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