New Forest Standard

This Sunday, I opened my 2011 race account by competing in Race New Forest’s “standard” distance race. This race is slightly shorter than a regulation Olympic triathlon, consisting of a 1.1k swim, 36k bike and a 10k run. I was aiming for between 2 hrs to 2:05, but ended up with 2:23. So if my training has been going so well, where did it go so wrong?

The swim went ok. The lake temperature was ~15oC, so quite warm for the time of year. I positioned myself near the front for the mass start and, when the hooter finally went off we got going. With ~380 people competing for space, the beginning of an open water swim always involves a bit of “biff”. Within ~50m I got a real crack in the face from someone’s elbow. This made the next 100 or so metres very uncomfortable. Luckily I didn’t lose my goggles but I felt sick and really didn’t want to be there. This passed and I then settled into a rhythm and just got on with it. I do now have a bit of a black and bloodshot eye to prove that triathlon is in fact a contact sport.

Before too long I was clambering out of the water and running up to transition, feeling nice and relaxed. The new wetsuit came off really easily and I made my way to the bike leg without any problems. Time for swim and T1: 22:12. To hit the 2hr goal I needed a 20min split so a bit behind but in the top 20% so doing well compared to last years races.

Lakeland Loop - again!

Last year I entered the Lakeland Loop for the first time, a 110km cyclosportif route around the lake district organised by EpicEvents. It takes in two massive climbs towards the end, namely the infamous Hardknott and Wrynose passes with their ball-bustin' 33% gradients. Last year I fell off both so this year I had some unfinished business to attend to - I was absolutely determined to get up both. I could have made life a bit easier and changed the gear ratios on my bike, but that would have been "cheating", I wanted to be able to get up using my improved bike strength.

Seven of us from ManTri set off together on what was a glorious day, but shortly after the first climb up Red Bank we split into two groups. The three of us at the front, me, Stefan and Rob, joined two "men in black" and the five of us powered around Thirlmere and through Keswick, each taking turns on the front. When we hit Whinlatter hill, we slowed down and at the first food stop split up, with two of us opting for some tea and cake.

Stefan and me then worked together around the western part of the route finally arriving at the second food stop where we refueled before taking on Hardknot and Wrynose. As we approached I got slower and slower as my legs filled with dread - I knew what was coming and it scared me! Looking up the valley you can see Hardknot switchbacking all the way to the top, it's a sight to behold. Finally, I got to the red phone box that marks the start of the climb and the work began.

It's very steep at the start, 30%, and it was out of the saddle, grinding hard, heart rate going through the roof. Then you hit the easy bit, "only" 20% but at least now my heart rate recovered and I could sit back down to rest the quads. Then it's the final ramps up to the top and I was surrounded by carnage - the vast majority of people are having to walk up, cars are wheel spinning to get past, then getting stuck behind other riders etc etc.

But I pushed on, out of the saddle, HR maxing out at 183 bpm while my cadence bottomed out at 36 rpm, giving it absolutely everything, straining every sinew, pulling on the handlebars almost as much as I was pushing on the peddles, shouting at myself to "c'mon!" Finally I crested the top - what a victory but still Wrynose to go. After recovering on the descent and the intervening flat bit I felt good and, long story short, got up Wrynose too. Just the small matter of one last final hill and it was back to the start.

Total time, 4:48 including the two feed stops so time in the saddle, 4:32. Recovered at the end, waiting for the rest of the guys then off to the pub for food. Awesome day out, more interesting stories here, including one about a car that drove off the edge!

Bike fit - update

I didn't ride last weekend as I was going for it in the Wilmslow Half Marathon. But this Sunday I did another brick, the first one since the painful one which convinced me to seek help with my bike fit. Today's session was a 3 hr ride & 50 min run. On the bike I was aiming for potential Ironman pace, on the run I just ran how I felt.

The bike ride was good: my neck is still getting used to the lower back angle, but my upper back and shoulders felt so much better: I didn't experience the overwhelming fatigue that plagued me last time. Plus the pace/HR data was very encouraging. Although junctions & traffic kept disrupting my flow, when I got into a rhythm I was happy with my speed and HR zone.

The big plus from this session was that my lower back was absolutely fine on the run. Last time my back hurt so much I had to stop running and touch my toes to stretch out. This time, no such problem. Plus, I saw a positive effect on my run pace; without really pushing it, my pace increased to 4:19/k from 4:31/k despite a longer & faster bike ride.

Bike fit

Last year I got a TT bike and thought the set up was ok - see previous post. However, during long rides recently my shoulders & back have been very sore, and looking at it now I realise that the set up wasn't right at all.

So rather than muck about I bit the bullet and booked myself in at Velomotion who do Retul fitting. This basically involves putting LEDs all over your body so that they can measure everything while your actually cycling, i.e. a dynamic fitting.

Yes it's expensive, and yes Milton Keyne's a long way to go, but it was so worth it. John spent ~3 hours with me the other Saturday, totally overhauling my position. We moved the saddle way up and forward, and the elbow pads way back and down. We changed the saddle for an Adamo so that I could rotate even further forward without crushing my tackle. You don't need to be an aficionado to notice the difference.

I've done one long ride since and it was very encouraging, much less shoulder pain. This weekend I have to do a long brick which will be a big test of the new position.

The plan for now is to see how I get on like this but to improve it further I may get new cranks - the current ones are too long for me and the frame - and upgrade the aero bars to ones with a lower stack to let me rotate round even further.

So, a bit of an investment but if I'm gonna have a decent crack at Ironman this August then I'll need to be able to ride comfortably in the aero position for up to 6 hours.

Wilmslow Half Marathon

Second time for me, looking to improve on last year's time of 1:28:15. Felt good & confident yesterday; usual race nerves this morning but got to the start feeling ready. Paced it much better than last year using my GPS watch, heart rate and feel. By 10k in good shape so pushed on and started to reel a few people in. Took an energy gel with about 5k to go and managed to finish strong. Made it in 1:22:58 so a big PB, placing me 140th and 18th in the 40+ cat. This time means that my longer distance running is almost on a par with my shorter stuff, so a great confidence boost for the coming season :-)