Cross Country

It's XC season again, with the first race at Heaton Park back in October. This Sunday it was race 2 at Sherdley Park. I finished in 39:31, i.e. almost 5 minutes faster than a year ago - well chuffed - still way down the field, 86th out of ~260 men :-) This year I'm using spikes instead of fell/trail shoes - this makes a huge difference in the mud! Conditions so far have been good but in two weeks time it's off to Boggart Hole which is always a quagmire. I like this picture, showing a close finish between 3 Man Tri runners. For more pics see the club pool on flickr.

Plans for 2011

Been off-line since Antwerp but certainly not off training. After pretty much taking all of August off, "winter" training started in earnest 10 weeks ago and it's been going well, with 100+ hours logged so far. Picked my A races for next season - UK70.3 at Wimbleball in June and then IM Regensburg in August. As IM is such a big commitment I decided to hook up with a coach to make sure my training is as efficient as possible - so far really enjoying the sessions. Hopefully now I will get back to posting more regular training updates.

Antwerp 70.3

This was my last race this year so I pushed the boat out. Taking the race line at the swim start meant a lot of biff but it paid off; 35 mins - PB. T1 was crowded but uneventful. I made the most of the flat bike course and managed to push hard for all but the last ~5k; split = 2 hrs 33. T2 also ok. Although my running has come on a lot this year, I've been disappointed with my run splits in races. I convinced myself I just needed to suck it up and stick to my target pace. This seemed to work and I even gained a couple of minutes; very happy with 1:38. My dream target before the start was 5 hrs, with a realistic goal of 5:05, so when I saw my final time of 4 hrs 50 I was well chuffed.

As a consequence of pushing hard, I was in a bit of a state at the end. No swanning around the finish soaking up the moment; even though it was a hot day, within minutes of stopping I was cold to the core and shaking, so it was straight back to the hotel, hot shower and into bed for 30 mins under a blanket just to ward off the body-shock. An hour or so later I was fine, went back to the finish and enjoyed the atmosphere.

Swim: 35:01
T1: 2:24
Bike: 2:33:10
T2: 1:50
Run: 1:38:11
Total: 4:50:38

371st out of ~1160 finishers, i.e. 32%.

K-Swiss City of Manchester 10k

One of my goals for 2010 was to go sub-40 mins in 10k road race. I avoided the BUPA Great Manchester Run in May as this race attracts >25,000 people, making it hard to get a good time. So I signed up for a smaller event, the City of Manchester 10k organized by Sports Tours Internationals, which attracts about 2,500 runners. The race started and finished on the athletics track at Sport City - see here for the route - making it good for spectators.

The weather was cool and dry so good for running, but not perfect as there was a bit of a headwind in places. The legend that is Ron Hill took part and got the race underway. Encouraged by Howard, I pushed right to the front for the start so got off to a flyer. I then settled down into a good rhythm and in the final 3k still felt strong.

I had been checking my watch periodically so I knew I was on course but I only ever looked at my pace, not the actual time, so I was shocked when I came around the final bend and saw the official clock reading 37 mins something. I pushed on and finished in 37:32 - a massive PB, placing me 32nd! In 2007 and 2009, my 10k times were 45:41 and 41:22 respectively, so well chuffed with this big improvement.

Had a good chat with Neil and Howard after. Will do this again next year!

A Day in the Lakes

Another cracking event organised by TriHard. Arguably the hardest half-iron distance race in the UK, starting with a 1.9k swim in Ulswater, a 90k bike ride taking in Kirkstone Pass and Shap followed by a 21k fell run which involves two big hills. My goal was to do it in under 6 hours and I came in in 5:56 so pretty happy.

The pic shows the view from the top of Kirkstone looking back down the hill. I put a 12-27 cassette on my TT bike specially for this race.

Swim 00:37:33 139th out of 227 male finishers

T1 00:01:22 37

Bike 03:11:44 84

T2 00:00:54 22

Run 02:04:46 66

Total 05:56:10 77

I'm an Overglider!

I have been a fan of Swimsmooth for a while and this week I went to one of their swim clinics up in Bolton. It was a fantastic day; together Paul and Adam put on a great set of classroom and pool-based sessions. What I really like about their approach is that they don't treat everyone the same, culminating in their new website, www.swimtypes.com. So, it turns out that I'm an Overglider, so a key thing for me to work on is increasing my stroke rate a tad and improving the early phase of my catch. Off to the pool tomorrow to put what I learned into practice.

Swashbuckler

This weekend was the Swashbuckler, a middle distance race in in the New Forest. A beautiful day started at 6:15 am with a 1.9k swim in the Beaulieu estuary at Bucklers Hard. Two loops of an out-and-back, with the out against the incoming tide giving a slow swim for all, ~50 mins for me. Then, 80k on the bike through great scenery and quiet roads. This was my first tri on the new TT bike and I was very hapy with a split of 2:28. Finally, a 22k run; although I finished feeling strong, 1:55 is slower than I was hoping for. In the end, I finished in 5 hrs 13 mins, placing 127th out of 307 finishing men. Couldn't have asked for a better day for my first race of the season.

Bike Set Up

Spent some time today looking at my bike set up. It's not particularly aggressive but it is comfortable and to my eye looks ok. As I get more used to it and develop the flexibility I'll try lowering the front end. This might necessitate moving the seat back a bit as well?

Training Duathlon

The last in this year's series of winter training duathlons. A beautiful morning, and - as always - a very well organized event.

First time racing on the new Orbea Ora TT bike. It felt very comfortable so I think the set up is about right, just need to spend more time on it. Plan to do a few more time trials this summer as part of my training.

Completed the 15.5 k bike leg in 26:31, got through transition in 31 seconds then finished off the 5.4 k run in 21:28, giving a total of 48:30. Pretty happy with the performance, 2 mins 50 secs faster compared to this time last year.

Lakeland Loop

Yesterday, I took part in the Lakeland Loop cyclosportif, organised by Epic Events. Starting off from the New Dungeon Gyhll Hotel in Langdale, the route is ~112 km, finishing off with climbs over the infamous Hardknott and Wynrose passes. It was a great day; perfect weather, a well organised event and great guys to cycle with. (Pic shows me and George at the top of Hardknott).

I really enjoyed the ride but Hardknott and Wynrose are total b@st@rds!! I was doing pretty well on all the other hills, managing to stay in the saddle most of the time. But when I hit the 1:3 sections and had to get out of the saddle, my power drained fast and I struggled. About four fiths the way up Hardknott, on one of the 1:3 ramps, I got caught up in some stones at the side of the road, lost my balance and fell off, bashing my right thigh. George very generously sacrificed his own climb, hopping off to help me back on my way with a big push. Using every ounce of energy left, I ground my way up the last few ramps and got to the top. After a recovering at the top and down the other side, I did ok most of the way up Wrynose but then, ~100 m from the end, out of the saddle again, I just ran out of juice, ground to a halt, and fell off for a second time, this time bashing my left side!

Got back to the New Dungeon Gyhll Hotel in just under 6 hours, which included generous rests at the feed stations. So, a great day but I certainly feel that I have some unfinished business; definitely plan to sign up for this again next year and, with a bit of power training in the meantime, I will get to the top of Hardknott and Wynrose without falling off!

Wilmslow Half Marathon

A great day, perfect weather and a fast course. Finished just under 1:29; my target was sub-1:30 so very happy. The thing they warn you about on this course is not to start out too fast, so guess what I did!!

Despite setting my GPS watch to the exact pace needed for 1:30, I set out way too fast, doing the first 10k in ~ 40 mins . The fast start made me suffer later, the last 2 k were excruciating and I had to really hang on.

Today, I can hardly walk but hopefully a sports massage will sort me out.

Plans for 2010

I've now entered all the races I have planned for 2010. Only a couple of weeks to go 'til the Wilmslow Half Marathon.

Wanaka Half January 16th - DONE!

Wilmslow Half Marathon March 28th

The Lakeland Loop - cycle sportif April 11th

Swashbuckler triathlon May 23rd

Day in the Lakes June 27th

City of Manchester 10K July 4th

Antwerp 70.3 July 25th

Lake Wanaka Half

What can I say - just awesome!! I couldn’t have asked for more from my first “half-iron” distance race. Spectacular scenery, tip-top organization, fantastic support, glorious weather, and a great course - challenging but not killer.

The Challenge Series have run a full distance race in Wanaka for the last 2 years. This year they introduced a half-distance race to run alongside. As I was in New Zealand visiting family, there was no way I was going to miss it.

My race went pretty much to plan. My dream time was 5 hrs 30 mins. I wanted to be on the bike within 45 mins and was almost spot on, completing the swim and T1 in 45:46. The water was cold at 13.6oC but it was crystal clear and I never noticed the temperature. I did however wear a neoprene cap and booties (HTFU!).

My goal for the bike was 3:00 hrs and I made it (+T2) in 3:06:03, which was great considering the route was hillier and windier than I expected. My nutrition plan worked fine and I felt good getting off the bike.

Both my transitions were excellent, not sure what a lot of others were doing to take so long. Maybe that’s the benefit of doing sprints all of last season. I was hoping for a 1:45 half-marathon, so finishing the run in 1:49:02 was not bad considering most of it was on gravel. This gave me an official time of 5:40:51.

Can’t wait for the next race! Bring on the Swashbuckler!

Overall Result: 05:40:51 (78th out of 131)

Swim (1.9k): 42:16 (122nd)

T1: 3:30 (26th)

Bike (90k): 03:04:22 (88th)

T2: 1:41 (19th=)

Run (21k): 01:49:02 (66th)