It is with some trepidation that I'm off to Dorset tomorrow for IMUK. Whilst I am beginning to get familiar with the arbitrary way you can feel during taper, and how often it can be quite uncorrelated to how you actually perform on race day, this time the rational side of my brain is telling me that I am feeling flat. This weekend may all go a little pear-shaped. 6 weeks?? Its not going to make sunday any easier!
But on the other hand... just think Rebecca Preston. You never know! Well I guess I've got to see this experiment through - so off I go. If it is all going tits-up, then I'm more than happy to pull the plug and do what I maybe should have been doing for the last 5 weeks: rest. And I'll have learnt a valuable lesson. But then, there's always that faint hope that something might get pulled out of the bag....
Wednesday, 15 August 2007
Sunday, 5 August 2007
Finally summer's arrived...
... and just in time to keep me motivated through a couple of hard weeks. So far, the experiment with 6 weeks between IMs is going to plan - the hard fortnight is now done. Totals for the fortnight came to 62 hours, with approx 42 k swimming, 950km riding and 200km running, with some decent key sessions met, including some intensity sessions. What was surprising was that the running was consistently of good quality - in part because I was running mainly in the mornings and not too much off the bike - but I only had one 'recovery run' where I was suffering and hitting survival pace the whole way round (at the end of the first week... I was quite tired that weekend!!). Had been concerned about generally sluggish riding since IMAustria, which I'd put down to a longer recovery for the bike (I had expected the running to take longer to come back), but the end of my 5 hour ride yesterday gave me a bit more confidence that I've come through that, finishing strongly. Only one run over 2 hours (2:30, last weekend) so relying on early season long distance to carry through.
Whether this is going to be good for IMUK, who knows... we'll find out. Mentally its been a good exercise for me just to know that the fitness is still there, and to keep me from idling through race season. Second, as Austria was my A race, I'm prepared to be a little more cavalier with preparation for UK. At the back of my mind I am considering ditching the marathon if the bike isn't going too well... which may be either due to lack of time since Austria or too heavy a schedule in between. Hopefully, of course, this block will have been just what the doctor ordered and I'll be in good shape come race day. Will be interesting to find out. Otherwise, there's always Vitruvian to finish the season with! ;)
Looking forward to a rest day tomorrow...
Whether this is going to be good for IMUK, who knows... we'll find out. Mentally its been a good exercise for me just to know that the fitness is still there, and to keep me from idling through race season. Second, as Austria was my A race, I'm prepared to be a little more cavalier with preparation for UK. At the back of my mind I am considering ditching the marathon if the bike isn't going too well... which may be either due to lack of time since Austria or too heavy a schedule in between. Hopefully, of course, this block will have been just what the doctor ordered and I'll be in good shape come race day. Will be interesting to find out. Otherwise, there's always Vitruvian to finish the season with! ;)
Looking forward to a rest day tomorrow...
Tuesday, 24 July 2007
time rolls on...
... and suddenly its under 4 weeks to IMUK. Thank god austria was a good result - means the pressure is off! And I'm glad about that. Two weeks might be OK for Rebecca Preston, but I think 6 weeks between IMs might be a struggle for me! I took the first week really easy, just scraping 5 hours of training, with 3 full rest days. Week 2 after austria (last week) was transition, so ramped up the number of sessions again, but limited the time allocated to each session, so longest ride was 2:30, longest run was 1:15. Hit 20 hours comfortably, just with a lot of laundry and showers for the hours of training involved! In theory this fortnight is high volume, shifting to high intensity next week before tapering again! It'll be an interesting experiment in recovery time. This time 2 years ago, what I'm doing now would have been inconceivable - I think I had at least a month really easy before getting back into training (more out of necessity than from plan)... so its good to see fitness improvements in other ways.
Wednesday, 11 July 2007
Team Serpie
Team Serpentine on race morning... we had some time on our hands waiting for the bus to turn up to take us to race start.
From left to right:
Melik (9:50), Jenny (10:15), me (9:16), Bass (11:03), Ade Jones (9:43), Alex (10:58). There were some other outstanding serpie results that day, just not in this photo!
Tuesday, 10 July 2007
Hot day at the office
I love Klagenfurt. Beautiful scenery, picturesque town, great local support behind the race, and reliably hot weather. The swim start was cloudy, but the forecasts had promised that it would warm up nicely through the day. The morning had been fairly calm and relaxed at the hotel, but the bus we were getting was late and proceeded to take 45 minutes to get to the race start… so we arrived at transition at 6:10, giving us 20 minutes to get everything right before transition was cleared and we would be moved on to the swim start. I spent the majority of that time queuing for the port-a-loos as is every triathletes’ habit. So the unnecessary triple checking and worrying was cut out of the preparations. Down to the swim start, on with the wetsuit, finish off a gel and some more fluids, I waited patiently for the start. I seeded second row back on the right hand side – a pretty confident spot considering some of the AG swimming talent out there. At the four minute call, we were told to swim out to the start line. I’d thought it was a beach start, but was thankful that we’d get at least a little time in the water before the gun as I’d not managed to get in for a warm up. So we all gently cruised forward towards the start line 30meters out, and BANG – was that the start gun?? Rather reluctantly everyone started swimming a bit harder, a little unsure, but soon we all got our heads down and pushed on. The lack of a 400m anaerobic hammer session at the start was actually quite welcome. Perhaps that was what explains how the pace seemed to keep on edging up for the first 20 minutes, and why I seemed to be passing a couple of pro caps. The second section my stomach let me know that I was going too hard, so I backed off to cruise until the canal came and I let the melee suck me down to the exit ramp. I caught the clock out of the corner of my eye: 53 minutes. Good work!
T1 was a fairly leisurely affair, time to say hi to a couple of people, cram my ears into the new aero helmet (yes, I know – next it’ll be racing in speedos!) and jog out to the bike racks. After missing my bike stand and retracing my steps back to my rack, I was finally out on the bike course – a bit ahead of schedule. I wondered if that swim would come back to bite me in the ass later in the day. But the bike started well. It was still quite cloudy, and the first section is quick, even when cycling comfortably. Cyclists were few and far between so I mentally prepared for the packs to roll past at any moment. The first loop of the two lap course went by quickly, and the temperature started to rise. The support on the course was awesome (especially from the Pirates!), with some great europop pumping at the top of the hills. I stuck to my nutrition schedule and hit the turnaround in 2:28. Then the first large pack passed. I was surprised that it had taken them so long, and tried to keep pace with the back-end of it for a while, ultimately letting them roll on by after a few kilometres. Then things started to slow down a bit, and by the time I was half way round the second loop I was not having fun anymore. A couple more packs (and some serious drafting infringements) rolled past and there was not much I could do about it. Then a couple of brits came on past… I think I had met in the days before the race and they seemed pretty shit hot. And they were proving it on the bike – mostly taking time out of me on the downhills where I am still pretty rubbish. But things picked up – largely due to grabbing a coke at the next aid station.
So I rolled round the rest of the course, figuring the 5 hour target was lost. Got in a couple of minutes past 5 hours, relieved to be able to take off the aerohelmet which had warmed up nicely and was crucifying my ears! Cap on, trainers and gels in back pocket. Off we go. The clock at the T2 exit had just ticked past 6 hours. This could still be ok. The first couple of kms were too quick: the target was 4:30/km to hit 3:10ish marathon, but the first was done in 4:15. I slowed a bit – the only time in the marathon that I would have that luxury, and saw 4:25s for the next few, and then I slowed again, this time involuntarily. By 10kms I’d hit survival pace, and stayed there for much of the rest of the marathon. At that 10km mark, I wanted it over with. My race was done – all I could do was hang in and not walk. I ate gels and drank all the coke I could get my hands on until I was done with sugar. And then I had some more coke. And some more. The kms ticked by slowly, so I occupied myself with shouting to Pirates and other Serpies on the course. When halfway came, I felt a bit better, though survival pace was still all that was happening. I knew I could hang on, as long as my stomach held out – it was on the verge of cramps/stitches or something for most of the run. And man, it was hot. Last 10kms, I knew I was in the clear. With 4 km to go, I picked up the pace (a little), passing the last of the Brits who’d breezed by me on the bike.
9:16. The target was between 9:10-9:20 so I can’t complain, but it was done the hard way – swimming too quick and fighting through the rest of the day. I was a bit disappointed with the run – although it was a 3:15 marathon, I never got into the pace I’d intended. O well … good to have things to work on. And still came in first British athlete J 39th overall.
Team Serpentine did very well. Jenny got 1st in her AG, and was first British lady home. Melik and AJ both went convincingly sub-10 with PBs, Alex went sub-11 on his first try, just to mention a few. Overall an outstanding weekend!
T1 was a fairly leisurely affair, time to say hi to a couple of people, cram my ears into the new aero helmet (yes, I know – next it’ll be racing in speedos!) and jog out to the bike racks. After missing my bike stand and retracing my steps back to my rack, I was finally out on the bike course – a bit ahead of schedule. I wondered if that swim would come back to bite me in the ass later in the day. But the bike started well. It was still quite cloudy, and the first section is quick, even when cycling comfortably. Cyclists were few and far between so I mentally prepared for the packs to roll past at any moment. The first loop of the two lap course went by quickly, and the temperature started to rise. The support on the course was awesome (especially from the Pirates!), with some great europop pumping at the top of the hills. I stuck to my nutrition schedule and hit the turnaround in 2:28. Then the first large pack passed. I was surprised that it had taken them so long, and tried to keep pace with the back-end of it for a while, ultimately letting them roll on by after a few kilometres. Then things started to slow down a bit, and by the time I was half way round the second loop I was not having fun anymore. A couple more packs (and some serious drafting infringements) rolled past and there was not much I could do about it. Then a couple of brits came on past… I think I had met in the days before the race and they seemed pretty shit hot. And they were proving it on the bike – mostly taking time out of me on the downhills where I am still pretty rubbish. But things picked up – largely due to grabbing a coke at the next aid station.
So I rolled round the rest of the course, figuring the 5 hour target was lost. Got in a couple of minutes past 5 hours, relieved to be able to take off the aerohelmet which had warmed up nicely and was crucifying my ears! Cap on, trainers and gels in back pocket. Off we go. The clock at the T2 exit had just ticked past 6 hours. This could still be ok. The first couple of kms were too quick: the target was 4:30/km to hit 3:10ish marathon, but the first was done in 4:15. I slowed a bit – the only time in the marathon that I would have that luxury, and saw 4:25s for the next few, and then I slowed again, this time involuntarily. By 10kms I’d hit survival pace, and stayed there for much of the rest of the marathon. At that 10km mark, I wanted it over with. My race was done – all I could do was hang in and not walk. I ate gels and drank all the coke I could get my hands on until I was done with sugar. And then I had some more coke. And some more. The kms ticked by slowly, so I occupied myself with shouting to Pirates and other Serpies on the course. When halfway came, I felt a bit better, though survival pace was still all that was happening. I knew I could hang on, as long as my stomach held out – it was on the verge of cramps/stitches or something for most of the run. And man, it was hot. Last 10kms, I knew I was in the clear. With 4 km to go, I picked up the pace (a little), passing the last of the Brits who’d breezed by me on the bike.
9:16. The target was between 9:10-9:20 so I can’t complain, but it was done the hard way – swimming too quick and fighting through the rest of the day. I was a bit disappointed with the run – although it was a 3:15 marathon, I never got into the pace I’d intended. O well … good to have things to work on. And still came in first British athlete J 39th overall.
Team Serpentine did very well. Jenny got 1st in her AG, and was first British lady home. Melik and AJ both went convincingly sub-10 with PBs, Alex went sub-11 on his first try, just to mention a few. Overall an outstanding weekend!
Friday, 22 June 2007
Countdown to IMAustria
Just over two weeks to go... a fair few club mates are off at the races this weekend at Nice and Switzerland, so there's been a fair amount of IM talk recently - means that I'm starting to get excited :)
I went out to Austria last weekend with Jen for a look at the new bike course and more or less my last long ride, also to try out the new bike. The course has changed to 2 loops pf 90km since I did Austria 2 years ago - it seems to be a bit slower now than before (here's hoping I've not slowed down!) but still beautiful. The new bike rode like a dream. The main difference from my old P3 being that its a lot more comfortable - the full carbon frame helps on that front compared to the aluminium of my old bike - and I've not put the aerobars quite as low (only marginal) as I've been training on for aan extra bit of comfort for race day. Plus, even with 808 rear and 404 front, the handling's still better than the P3 with just training wheels!
Its looking like it may get hot again for the race... and perhaps even to the point where the organisers will have to declare a non-wetsuit swim. I'm happy with that - either way it'll be a pleasure in that lake.
Just off up to Rutland Water this pm for an olympic hit out tomorrow - tranistion practice only!! No pace involved... actually I'm just going to see how the legs feel on an easy run - I am a bit fried this week, so we'll see if I even run tomorrow. A bit more hard work sun/mon but then taper kicks in properly!
Looking forward to seeing some good IM race results from this weekend...
I went out to Austria last weekend with Jen for a look at the new bike course and more or less my last long ride, also to try out the new bike. The course has changed to 2 loops pf 90km since I did Austria 2 years ago - it seems to be a bit slower now than before (here's hoping I've not slowed down!) but still beautiful. The new bike rode like a dream. The main difference from my old P3 being that its a lot more comfortable - the full carbon frame helps on that front compared to the aluminium of my old bike - and I've not put the aerobars quite as low (only marginal) as I've been training on for aan extra bit of comfort for race day. Plus, even with 808 rear and 404 front, the handling's still better than the P3 with just training wheels!
Its looking like it may get hot again for the race... and perhaps even to the point where the organisers will have to declare a non-wetsuit swim. I'm happy with that - either way it'll be a pleasure in that lake.
Just off up to Rutland Water this pm for an olympic hit out tomorrow - tranistion practice only!! No pace involved... actually I'm just going to see how the legs feel on an easy run - I am a bit fried this week, so we'll see if I even run tomorrow. A bit more hard work sun/mon but then taper kicks in properly!
Looking forward to seeing some good IM race results from this weekend...
Monday, 11 June 2007
New toys....
I am VERY excited. I've spent a few months working up to it, and now its arrived. My new bike... Scott Plasma Ltd. Check out: http://www.scottusa.com/i/images/products/press/pdf/triathlete%20plasma.pdf
for some more info. Its at the mechanics now getting the seat post cut down, and I'm still waiting for the pedals to arrive... so looks like I won't get to ride her til thursday.
SPECS:
WeightBike: 15.4 lbs
Frame: 2.82 lbs
Frame - CR1 Carbon HMF technology - TR AERO Carbon TubingFork - Scott CR1 Team Issue - 1 1/8" carbon steererHeadset - Ritchey WCS CFGroup - Dura-Ace 10sCrankset - Dura-Ace 10s Hollowtech II 39x53TCassette - Shimano Dura-Ace 10s 12-25TAerobars - Profile Cobra Wing base bar - T2+ Cobra extensionsBrake Levers - Profile QSCStem - Profile Lava OSSeat - Fizik Arione TRI 2Hubs - DT Swiss 240 SSpokes - DT Swiss EvolutionRims - Zipp Carbon 420 DEEPTires - Conti Competition Tubular 700x19C
for some more info. Its at the mechanics now getting the seat post cut down, and I'm still waiting for the pedals to arrive... so looks like I won't get to ride her til thursday.
SPECS:
WeightBike: 15.4 lbs
Frame: 2.82 lbs
Frame - CR1 Carbon HMF technology - TR AERO Carbon TubingFork - Scott CR1 Team Issue - 1 1/8" carbon steererHeadset - Ritchey WCS CFGroup - Dura-Ace 10sCrankset - Dura-Ace 10s Hollowtech II 39x53TCassette - Shimano Dura-Ace 10s 12-25TAerobars - Profile Cobra Wing base bar - T2+ Cobra extensionsBrake Levers - Profile QSCStem - Profile Lava OSSeat - Fizik Arione TRI 2Hubs - DT Swiss 240 SSpokes - DT Swiss EvolutionRims - Zipp Carbon 420 DEEPTires - Conti Competition Tubular 700x19C
Monday, 4 June 2007
Weymouth Race Report
4th place at Weymouth at the weekend was a pleasant surprise!! It was only ever supposed to be a prep race with IM pacing if possible, and the week before was typically quite heavy, if a little disjointed. The weekend before we'd been down in Weymouth and in the Malverns (with Michael and Emmie), and had (as a result of the weather) ended up doing rather a lot of hill running rather than the bike miles we had planned. That left me quite frankly a little broken at the start of the week, so my key long run had to wait til thursday (38km), and friday had some decent volume in it too... leaving saturday as the taper ;)
Hitched a ride down to the race with Michael and Emmie again, and spent saturday afternoon helping out on the Infinit stand at the registration which was great fun, then ate a lot and went to bed. Had no expectations for the day - just wanted to get some transition practice, an OW swim and a decent key workout.
The swim start was typically relaxed in Weymouth style, with the briefing on the beach followed immediately by orders to go to the waters edge. We're all milling around when suddenly there's the 5 second warning and the gun goes. Talk about no build up!! The water was perfectly flat, and not too cold - I'd been expecting the toe-curling temperatures we'd seen there before. I started with the first group in the swim, but chose the wrong feet, and by the time I'd taken a look round to see what the hold up was, the leaders were 300m ahead. So I just got into a rhythm and swam on my own for most of the course. Got out of the water 6th overall (not bad considering the major overhaul my stroke is getting at the moment from Andrew Potter), and had a leisurely wander into T1... up the beach, up a flight of concrete steps, over the tennis courts, round the bike stands.... its not designed for speed! Out on the bike I caught a couple of women who'd swam in the first group, then got passed by the eventual race winner by about km 12. After that I didn't really see anyone until km50. By then, I was starting to get a bit disheartened... I was sure that the was a dog leg in there somewhere, but I was headed back into Weymouth and was going to be seriously short on kms! Luckily the turn came off to the left just as two more cyclists blazed past me. Letting them go was easy: 1) This was supposed to be an IM pace effort and 2) I don't think I have a half IM pace! I seem to have quite comprehensively beaten any top end speed out of me! Hitting T2 I'd caught another cyclist, maybe two, and was happy to get out onto the run. The weather was holding perfectly: mid-teens and slightly overcast. My shins were tight going into the run so I took ithe first 6km pretty easy, but still overtaking one of the speedy cyclists before the first water station. Before the end of lap 1, the guy who eventually came 2nd passed me, but I let him disappear (rapidly) into the distance. By the start of the second lap, there were people on the course which makes it a little easier - I like overtaking! With 30mins to go I picked up the pace to get to the bridge at the top of the run course and then home. All in all seemed quite an easy day :)
Hitched a ride down to the race with Michael and Emmie again, and spent saturday afternoon helping out on the Infinit stand at the registration which was great fun, then ate a lot and went to bed. Had no expectations for the day - just wanted to get some transition practice, an OW swim and a decent key workout.
The swim start was typically relaxed in Weymouth style, with the briefing on the beach followed immediately by orders to go to the waters edge. We're all milling around when suddenly there's the 5 second warning and the gun goes. Talk about no build up!! The water was perfectly flat, and not too cold - I'd been expecting the toe-curling temperatures we'd seen there before. I started with the first group in the swim, but chose the wrong feet, and by the time I'd taken a look round to see what the hold up was, the leaders were 300m ahead. So I just got into a rhythm and swam on my own for most of the course. Got out of the water 6th overall (not bad considering the major overhaul my stroke is getting at the moment from Andrew Potter), and had a leisurely wander into T1... up the beach, up a flight of concrete steps, over the tennis courts, round the bike stands.... its not designed for speed! Out on the bike I caught a couple of women who'd swam in the first group, then got passed by the eventual race winner by about km 12. After that I didn't really see anyone until km50. By then, I was starting to get a bit disheartened... I was sure that the was a dog leg in there somewhere, but I was headed back into Weymouth and was going to be seriously short on kms! Luckily the turn came off to the left just as two more cyclists blazed past me. Letting them go was easy: 1) This was supposed to be an IM pace effort and 2) I don't think I have a half IM pace! I seem to have quite comprehensively beaten any top end speed out of me! Hitting T2 I'd caught another cyclist, maybe two, and was happy to get out onto the run. The weather was holding perfectly: mid-teens and slightly overcast. My shins were tight going into the run so I took ithe first 6km pretty easy, but still overtaking one of the speedy cyclists before the first water station. Before the end of lap 1, the guy who eventually came 2nd passed me, but I let him disappear (rapidly) into the distance. By the start of the second lap, there were people on the course which makes it a little easier - I like overtaking! With 30mins to go I picked up the pace to get to the bridge at the top of the run course and then home. All in all seemed quite an easy day :)
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