Milford New Year's Eve Duathlon

Milford New Year's Eve duathlon Race Report

Another New Year's Eve, another Milford duathlon. My third in four years and, in my humble opinion, another fantastic event from David Denton. Much like last year the weather was crisp and clear and brought a good turn out of 44 athletes including the relay teams. I was lucky enough to have a small support crew this year (three friends wanted a lift to London and they had no choice but to come with me to the race) and as they sat in the club house I went through the motions of a warm-up before concluding it was far too cold and retired to the club house as well.

It was a cold morning, the lack of hair may have had an impact...?

As always we started at 10:00 prompt and about five athletes set off at the front for the first of two 2.5 mile runs. The undulating course is always a challenge and having not run quickly in many moons my legs spent the first couple of miles wondering why I was going at quicker than Ironman marathon pace. Darren Ridout, an accomplished runner with a sub-34 minute 10k, led the way and we arrived into T1 neck and neck.

Rarely do both feet leave the ground AT THE SAME TIME!

In a moment of deja vu from the 2008 edition he told me that he wasn't the sharpest biker on the planet but I knew the short opening run wouldn't have done much to separate the field and so did my best impression of a quick transition and led onto the 9.2 mile bike leg. Within a mile a cyclist (who I hoped was from a relay team) flew past me and I later found out he posted a huge 23:26 bike split, more than three minutes quicker than my own time and nearly five minutes quicker than the third fastest cyclist on the day! Knowing I stood little to know chance of catching him I settled into my rhythm and focused on beating last year's bike time.

Sometimes people like to know who they're lapping

As I approached the short climb to T2 the relay team (my Mum as communications director reliable informed me I was first individual!) were a considerable distance in front and I had a good lead on third place. Not being one to hold back, and with my coach having given me the rare treat of permission to go hard I pushed as much as my leaden legs would let me and managed to finish with an advantage of just over two and a half minutes from second place Tony Caulton. Slightly slower than last year on the run but seeing as I've spent most of my time over the last two months in the pool this didn't come as much of shock. To cross the line first today was fantastic.

This face is why I race Ironman, lactic acid is not my friend

As always a marvellous race and as well organised as any I have taken part in. The hospitality shown by organisers and competitors alike makes this one of my favourite races of the season and a great way to round off a wonderfully enjoyable 2009. Thanks to everyone who has helped me this year, Alex at La Bicicleta, Sheffield, Lee and Sam at Tri-Topia (can't wait to head back this summer), Scherrit and Corrine at the Bike Whisperer and everyone at Hillingdon Triathletes. What ever 2010 may have in store I wish everyone the best of luck for their up and coming racing season.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Vote John/(Sorry Kitchner!)

It's the closest I'll ever get to a Kitchner-esque 'tashe,
but I still look more like a 70s porn star.

Ah a return to crappy paint-doctored images, this can only mean a special occasion. I found out today I have been nominated for the Triathlon 220 Age Group triathlete of the year. I am genuinely honoured considering some of the names that are on the short represent the best in short, middle and long distance racing in the country. (I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a tad out of place, but what the hell!)

So faithful blog readers, mobilise your friends, family, pets and alter-egos and vote en mass for John.

VOTE HERE

On a more important note, what ever happens thank you to every single person who nominated me, it means a lot. Also, votes for Dave Wardle, Sky Draper, the Tri247 website and all things Hillingdon would be a votes well spent.

1 year older (again)

With annoying consistency my birthday roles round each and every 29th of November. Between the ages of 0-21 it was a novelty to be celebrated with gusto but I seem to have slipped into the mid-20s malaise where its worth a meal out and a beer rather than a huge piss up with several days recovery to follow.

Before writing this I looked back at the similar blog I wrote this time last year regarding where I had come from and where I thought I would be in a years time and once again I am reminded that even the loftiest goals are attainable through hard work and perseverance. I always had a Kona slot in mind when I sat at the Hillingdon Xmas bash in 2008 but never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be the top British age grouper at the event. It has been yet another fantastic year and even though a quick review of 12 months of blogging reveals some major lows, they are out-weighed by the phenomenal highs.

I already know what my targets are for next year in my three "A" races (Roth, Louisville and, if Louisville is a success, Kona) and this year I have more riding on my results than ever. I have told myself that, extenuating circumstances, aside I MUST hit 2/3 of my targets in these races to even consider continuing with triathlon as a career into 2011. These targets are written in black and white on my bedroom door so there is no escaping them.

For once I won't be sharing these targets (yet) as they seem, even to me, to be lofty. Only time will tell if I have ideas above my station (in which case I'll be sat here in 12 months time writing about a significant change in direction) or whether I really can make it in what is one of the toughest and most competitive sports on the planet.

I'll finish with a quote I read on Gordo Bryn's website this last week from the swimming coach Dick Jochums. "People will do the minimum required for success. This is why extremely motivated people can compete with extremely talented people."

Amen Dick, Amen.

Part of new regime is to get strong. I think the paleo diet has its advantages for sure, but if you aren't careful it is just too easy to lose weight and when you're 6'4" this isn't always a positive. I raced South Africa at 73kg and thought skinny = fast. Well at Kona I was about 79kg and I out split myself in the bike and the run, my swim was only 90s slower and without a wetsuit. The last few weeks have seen me hitting the gym and for the most part I've enjoyed it but one thing really annoys me, the people!

I am fortunate enough to have been coached for two years by people who know what they are talking about. An ex-olympic rower and the coaches at the English Institute of Sport taught me how to lift weights. No mean task given I'm not famed for my above par coordination. The contrasts between a "proper" gym and a commercial gym are many. Proper gyms have lifting platforms, free weights, people who have leg muscles, people who have a core and therefore DO NOT require a weight belt for bicep curls. They have athletes who spend as much time lifting as they do resting and no one, repeat no one, would even consider bringing a bleeding mobile phone into the gym to use between sets. No one wears baggy jogging bottoms or casual trainers and the main goal is performance, not the holy trinity of biceps, shoulders and chest!

Anyhow, imagine my delight when looking for the changing rooms at my nearest track I walked into a room I hadn't seen before and was greeting by the site of lifting platforms, bar bells with proper free weights and a proper squat rack. I've just finished my first session there and it was blissfully painful. Know waiting for the bloke on his mobile, in fact, not a mobile in site as I was the only one in the room, free to punish my errant quads as much as I wanted... heaven.

On another note I "raced" the Thirsk 10 miler on Sunday. It was a great day and although I was given strict instructions not to race I thought I'd put the hammer down in the last 2 miles as a birthday present. The photo below was taken just before the aforementioned hammer was dropped. As with all pictures of me at running races I seem to look like a giant.

(Literally) Cooking with gas

As my 24th birthday approaches (although according to the latest issue of Competitor I've already reached that age!) I was desperately trying to think of a blog post. Having nothing to note in training (weights make my muscles hurt, I'm still not a very good swimmer etc, etc...) I got thinking about what I do with the time I'm not training, eating or sleeping. Whilst this is a very small segment of my life most of the time I have spare is taken up with cooking. One thing I have really enjoyed about having a bit more free time is that I have been able to really improve my culinary repertoire, as well as being able to experiment a little more. This got me thinking about how my diet has changed over the last few years of my life and I was able to break it down into four distinct periods:

1. High Fat/Low Clue - this involved me having 2 meals before 8am, usually Frosties with full cream milk and then a full breakfast sandwich on the way to school. A full breakfast sandwich is exactly what it sounds like, bacon, egg, sausage, mushroom, cheese and extra grease. Lunch was often a battered sausage and chip butty (at a recession busting £1) and each day usually featured at least a pack of fig rolls. (AKA the moob diet.)

2. Low fat/Low Clue - in an attempt to lose weight I simply tried to cut out all fat. I must have been eating less than 10g of fat a day and all I ate was low fat food. Like many people I assumed this was the best way to be healthy not realising that many low fat/"healthy" foods contain a multitude of additives and artificial ingredients to keep the fat down. Equally, I was blissfully ignorant of the importance of good fats. I lost weight but felt like crap.

3. Uber-carb - When I arrived at University my rowing coach gave me various nuggets of advice, some were gold nuggets like HTFU (first time I'd heard this) others were nuggets of a different kind like "you cannot eat too much". This is a lie, you can and I did, moreover it was mostly made up of carbs. Here's a "You are What you Eat" style break down of a typical day:

• 3-5 XL malt loaves
• 8-12 Weetabix
• Pasta and Pesto
• 4+ Sandwiches
• All you can eat ride pudding
• Pasta bonding, an all you can eat pasta buffet which usually culminated in someone being sick.

It now seems odd that we didn't see the flaw in eating literally thousands of calories in our pre-race carbo loading when the race lasted, at most 6 minutes. I sincerely apologise to anyone who used a toilet after me during this 3 year period.

4. Variety is the spice of life - my current philosophy is that, in moderation, most things are OK. I try to keep all foods that have been processed at a minimum and usually read ingredients and avoid buying something if I couldn't make it myself. I do a lot more of my own cooking so I know exactly what is in things and look to hit 10+ servings of fruit everyday. At this stage in the game (pre-Xmas) my diet is far from perfect, but in January I will become strict on my diet and stick with the "help or harm" philosophy: if it isn't going to make me faster, it ain't goin' in my stomach.

To break up this text heavy blog, here are a few of the meals I have enjoyed creating in the recent weeks.

YUMMY!

And through the magic of the iPhone...

...I bring you photos of Hawaii, and only 3 weeks late!

On the way back from Hawi, the suffering was about to beginThe finish, I'm alot happier than I look, honest.

The first 20 miles, best 20 miles EVER!

And we're back...

Post race spin/posing

A wild donkey, incidently, how I felt in the pool today as well

Another long time without posting, although if you follow the Twitter updates you'll have been given a truly breathtaking tour of San Fran via crappy iphone photos. Lucky you!

Well the new season is upon us, in exactly 13 hours I'll be stood at the side of the pool for a 2200m technique session which is going to take forever. I thought I'd bite the bullet and do 1500m this evening to make tomorrow less of a shock. It turned out to be long course set up at the pool! I think it's going to take a couple of weeks to get back to normal. I had a great time in San Fran, did some good running and tried to lose a little bit of the post-Kona moobs (limited success, another 2 weeks before I'm feeling trim me thinks) but other than that spent a lot of the time reading, a lot of it drinking coffee and the rest of the time planning next season.

I'll be working with a new coach this year, Alan Couzens will be guiding me and trying to make sure I'm not burnt out by Christmas and my goal races will be Roth in July and Kona again in October. I'll be aiming to qualify at UK which is only 2 weeks after Roth but I'm hoping this is a short enough time to hold fitness and long enough to regain freshness. Bit risky but a simple life would just be boring.

I'm currently on the search for sponsors and a job which will fit around my training and racing schedule, which does not make me an employers dream I'll admit, so it's been a hectic 48 hours since getting back to Sheffield but hopefully things will start to come together by mid-November. I've also got the excitement of my UK athletics Level 1 coaching course to look forward to which will be a nice change and a it's fantastic to have some new paths to explore. If any readers know of any NFP organisations working with kids in sport please let me know as I'm eager to continue my work in education in some way even though I'm not in the class room full time.

There is no doubt this year is going to be one of the most challenging I've ever had but I'm ready for it and I WILL make this work!

Later.

Kona 2009

My body needs to sleep but my head won't let it, probably a combination of too much sugar today and some residual adrenaline still pumping through me. If IMSA is anything to go by then I'll be dead to the world from Tuesday through till Friday. On the plus side this affords me some precious time to write my blog. An advanced warning, it's probably going to be fairly long.

Before the race I did my usual race plan, projected splits, HR and power limits, nutritional plan etc. All in all it was just over an A4 page in Time New Roman font size 12, so it isn't just GO FAST scribbled on the back of a beer mat with some speed lines drawn around it. To eke out every last second of your potential in an Ironman takes planning, discipline and some luck too, and all of this on top of the training, but it's all self-inflicted and I wouldn't change it for the world.

My goal time... 9:50.

Race week was incredible, in fact the whole build up was incredible. We'd chosen to stay a little way out of town and whilst this had its drawbacks it was nice to be away from the hubub immediately before the big day. All the admin went off without a hitch, a statement of how well this race is run. Bike check in took around 5 minutes, significantly less time than I spent pontificating on whether 8 gels would be enough for the bike or did I need 9? Should I take a chocolate energy bar or would it taste too sweet in the heat and, most importantly, could I get away with a full white race kit? The answer to this last question was yes, yes I could, a response which no doubt pleases the readers who refer to this blog as "John porn", you know who you are.

At 5 I headed over for body marking and enjoyed a surprisingly calm build up, there were nerves for sure, and the anxiety dreams had come think and fast (my favorite being the one where I forgot to rack my bike with wheels and only realised when I came to T1 to find just my frame in the rack) but when all was said and done I knew what was required. Having come out early I was prepared for the tough conditions, I'd taken on Madame Pele the week before and come out 2nd best, I wasn't scared but I was respectful and knew that hydration and nutrition were key.

Thanks to some solid advice, when the cannon went off at 7am I had a great position and had one of the best swims I've ever experienced, I found some feet and sat on them, when they moved and hopped onto the next convenient set. There was the usual argy-bargy but for my first non-wetsuit event I was real pleased to exit on 1:03, my target had been 1:02 but I always knew that was on the optimistic side and I felt I'd given myself a good start.

Onto the bike and up the first half of Palani I must have been passed by at least 50 riders. I was under strict instructions to keep the power below 260w and I was failing, those passing me were flat out sprinting and must have been pushing 400+ To give you an idea this is about 100 watts more than the QUICKEST cyclist of the day would produce, needless to say I saw many of these people again. Once we completed the in town segment of the course we went onto the Queen K to start the real ride, a 107m out and back ride along a landscape which is amongst the most barren I've ever experienced. As we left town the sun got stronger and I started to feel good, my legs warmed up and I think I had one of the best moments of my life to date when as I over took a line of about 10 cyclists going past a group of spectators I heard people shouting "go 1829". I saw people giving me the hang loose sign and when I responded even more people waved back. It was incredible, in 35 degree heat I got goose pimples from the excitement, the realisation that I was taking part in the race I had read about since before I even started this sport. For some people 3 years doesn't seem like an awful lot of time but for me it felt like ages since I'd first seen the video of the Iron War between Dave Scott and Mark Allen and Team Hoyt crossing the finish line within the cut off. It was a good thing I checked the power meter as this excitement seemed to have increased by watts by about 20% and I sure as hell wasn't going to finish the race fueled by adrenaline and fond memories!

At the turn around I still felt good and (probably in error) put in a push on the down hill. As we made the turn back towards Kailua the combination of a hot headwind and an increase in the temperature made it feel like I was turboing in a sauna wearing a bin liner. The power took a dive and my traps were killing me meaning I wasn't riding the aero position for long periods of time. This funk lasted from 35 miles to go until the airport, about 10 miles out, but as I went down the hill into T2 a combination of caffeine, sugar and a second dose of adrenaline pumped me up for the run. My bike goal was 5:15, I came in on 5:13. I was bang on target.

Leaving transition for the last time I knew there was still a hell of a lot of racing to do. As with the bike about 20 people immediately over took me and, once again, I saw most of them later. I settled into 7:30 miles whilst we had the shade and focused on taking in gels and water. As the race continued I felt as good as can be expected and made it to mile 10 in 75 mins. However, the remaining 16 miles were going to be 16 of the toughest I'd ever run. The hill up Palani made my legs scream and from then on it became a death march. The temperature was at 105F (40C) and the humidity was killing me. I must have drunk over 10 litres of fluid in 7 hours and washed the same amount over me again but I had only been to the toilet once. At mile 13 I began taking in coke at the aid stations and slowly began picking of the athletes in my AG, I had no idea how many were in front of me but I thought I might be in 6th of 7th. Seeing the solar panels of the Energy Lab was bitter sweet, only 8 miles to go but 3 of those were through one of the hottest 2 square miles on the planet. At mile 19 my intercostals cramped and I had to ditch my HR strap and my fuel belt, I was going to finish fulled on coke. I picked of another person in my AG and I worked out I was maybe in 6th. I figured there was no chance of making the top 3 so was racing for myself and my time. By mile 20 I was just telling myself to not walk, just don't walk. Mile 20 through to 22 were just under 8min pace but 23 to 24 was killer and I was over 8:30s. Some how I managed to take in a combination of coke, Gatorade, an orange slice, ice, water and another coke in one aid station and as I saw the last hill of the day I pushed for home. I picked of three more athletes and started the descent down Palani, my quads liked this even less than going up it some 100 minutes earlier but I knew if I went hard a sub 3:20 marathon was on. I went but didn't make my target and with it sub 9:45 slipped away, that said it was a big PB on a tough course on an even tougher day.

My marathon prediction had be 3:25 so going 3:20 put me 5 minutes under my target of 9:50. I'd clearly missed some athletes in my AG as I came in 8th, 9 minutes off a podium spot, which it turns out are 5 deep in Kona. I raced my heart out and there was no way in hell I could have made the top 5 with what I had today. Having said that, I was chuffed to be te first British age group athlete over the line and the 3rd British male over the line including PROs. It's a different game all together here and there were times I felt like I had brought a water pistol to a gun fight. To run a 3:20 in 40 Celsius and have only the 8th quickest split in my AG shows the depth of the field. I hadn't planned on coming back next year but am now reconsidering. I want to rock up fully ready and prepared with no niggles and uninterrupted training, then maybe I'll be stood on the stage with the men's 25-29 winners instead of in the crowd...

It has been a fantastic ride and I am very satisfied with my 2009-10 season. I've progressed massively in 12 months but feel I've yet to make the step upwards I know is within me. Time and patience are key in this sport and I have plenty of both.

Bring on 2010!

The day after...

Once again, my own personal chair upon finishing.

Quick summary; it's 7AM and whilst I'd rather be sleeping the sun burn, blisters and general aching won't allow it. 9:45.47, 8th in AG and 1st GB AG athlete across the line. Based on fitness and training I raced to my potential and then managed to eke out an extra 4 minutes on the run with some old fashioned Yorkshire grit/Franklin belligerence.

It hit 105F on the Queen K on the marathon and the humidity was astonishing, it was a big PB for me on what is considered to be one of the toughest IM routes out there. Pretty chuffed! Full race report and photos will come soon.

Thank you to everyone who has sent me congrats, it means so much to hear from you.

Come in number 1829, your time is up

Today is all about relaxing. I've fallen into the now familiar pre-race routine of taking today off and all that now remains is a quick swim-bike-run tomorrow morning all done and dusted in time for breakfast at 9. Anyone in the UK who is wanting to follow my progress www.ironmanlive.com is the place to go and my number is 1829, the privilege of being in the 18-24 AG, along with the pretty pink wrist band shown below.

I must be an athlete, my wrist band says so!

The race starts at 6pm UK time and whilst guessing at times is a total lottery here as the conditions can make a massive difference, I'd hope to be crossing the finish line before 4am Sunday morning. I can understand if you'd rather check out my progress after the race is over, by which time I'll be tucking into a big greasy burger and something chocolaty, or on a IV drip, depends how things have gone!

I'll post again when the race is over but hopefully my Mum, who is arriving in paradise in just under 3 hours, will be able to update my Twitter account using the iPhone as and when she sees me on the course. People often ask how you keep on eating whilst racing? Well, below is a picture of all the gels I'll be consuming during the race. This is about half the total calories I'll be taking in (the rest from a mixture of bars, drinks and Coke when I'm on the run). The heat here makes it increasingly hard to get your cals from solids so I'll be getting more of my fuel in liquid form than I would when training/racing in the UK.

Kona Video Diary 6

Another day, another location, although this one may appeal more to the triathletes than the tourists. Certainly no shortage of places to swim here, the pool is a stone's throw from the pier. Today I shared a pool with Chris McCormack, Steven and Bella Bayliss and Rasmus Henning, previously I've seen Marino Voenenhacker, Norman Stadler, Tim deBoom Luke McKenzie, Craig Alexander and Joanna Lawn. Only about 20 Ironman titles between them then...
Mahalo.

Kona Video Diary 5

Another (almost) live clip of, yard for yard, perhaps the most famous beach in the world, Dig Me beach. Great AM swim all the way to the turn-around, alas, no Espresso yacht yet (although it turns out it's a catamaran). Those of you who know me are well aware how much I've been looking forward to this part of Kona.

Kona Video Diary 4

Three hours on the Queen K (+ a puncture + losing half my fluid when while I was repairing the aforementioned puncture) meant this ice bath was soooo sweet. BTW, I'm wearing shorts.

Kona Video Diary 3

Morning all! Had a great start to the day, although everyday is great! Ocean swim at 7am, course still isn't marked so did 1.2miles with a pack in about 3omins and then another 1/4mile with a local guy called Todd who was really helpful. The went to Lava Java with him and his family for an amazing breakfast. Pretty easy day today so heading out with Todd again for an hours run at the Energy Lab.

Kona Video Diary 2

I'm here!

Kona Video Diary 1

It's not quite "aloha" yet, more "howdy". I've landed in San Fran and am currently utilising the potent combination of coffee, endorphins, Twitter and blogging to try to stay awake for another 4 hours by which time my body will think it's 6am and the actual time will be about 10pm. Enjoy the first of many videos leading up to and immediately following the race itself. Apologies for the God-awful gurning before you press play, I ain't exactly an oil painting but it certainly doesn't reflect me in a positive light!

Today was my last BIG training session before Kona. All three disciplines would get a look in but by far the most daunting was the 4 hours turbo @IM pacing. I decided to document the session with a small photo diary, partly to look back on in future but mostly to break the monotony of working your arse off for 4 hours and going nowhere!Will it be enough?
The calm before the sweaty, sweaty storm.

Half way, looking quite fresh all things considered.

DONE! Now just a 10k run to do.

And, as an extra special treat to say sorry for not blogging for AGES, here is a short video of me just going through 2 hours... it managed to kill about 3 minutes so was totally worth it!

Bitter Sweet

I've been incommunicado for a while on the blogging front (at least compared to my normal prolific blogging rate) and, for once, quite allot has happened. I'm fit! Unfortunately that's fit in the sense of being able to run rather than the type of "fit" I would hope to be a measly 20 days from what was supposed to be the crowing jewel of my tri career thus far. It's all a little bit bitter-sweet to be honest. Going from planning to hit my best race, to beginning to deal mentally with starting knowing I couldn't finish, to my present state of being elated that I will be able to "race", but having to accept that in terms of AG plaudits I won't be able to "race".

My bike and run are the strongest they have ever been and the numbers I've been seeing are very encouraging but my run just isn't there, as you would expect from 6 weeks of no running. I don't really know what to expect on the day so we'll just have to wait and see. I suppose I'll be getting a clearer idea of what is possible in the coming days especially when I land in Kona in under a week!!! Where does the time go?

It's a huge juxtaposition to IMSA where everything had gone with militaristic precision for the previous 6 months. Since coming back from South Africa in April I have had to deal with three injuries (two of them minor but taking out about a week and my most recent effort) and one stomach bug. Also, I'd be lying if I said I'd dealt with the injury well and, as a found myself doing as a younger, fatter lad, solace was found in food. As a result of this I am not quite as svelt as I was 4 months ago. What sort of difference this makes remains to be seen.

Last big training day is tomorrow and it's a quite frankly masochistic 4hours on the turbo @IM pace with a 10k run off. Hopefully I'll have some pictures so you can get a feel for just how sweaty the last 30 minutes were... time to hydrate me thinks!

Swim, Bike, Done

I "raced" the Little Woody this weekend. A great race which I enjoyed, not least as it stayed dry and warmish. However the third discipline still remains elusive.

The Good:
Finished the bike with no injury worries and some cracking numbers on the PM. 271w average with a massive negative split and the last half hour at 291w avg. Felt pretty fresh too but that's always easy to say. Came in 5th I think but no results yet.

The Bad:
I wanted to run, oh how I wanted to run!

The Ugly:
On physios orders I tried a 30 minutes run this morning, as regular as clockwork my knee seized up about 25 minutes in. I have now not completed a run longer than half an hour in 3 weeks. This is beginning to get desperate!

Tri-Topia photos

Cycling over the river in Angles. You can just see the castle in the background.

Coffee in Angles

All that bilateral breathing finally pays off as I can see the Abbey in both directions.

Enjoying some quality food, seconds soon arrived.

Tri-Topia

Just a quick update from France. I drove from London yesterday and about 10 hours later arrived at Tri-Topia situated about 200 miles south of Paris near Poitieres. It is amazing. The weather is 30c+ and the setting is amazing, in the middle of rolling country side, near various lakes and rivers for swimming and the farm house itself has it's very own farm. Looking forward to eating bacon sandwhiches which couldn't be any more local, about 20 feet away from the kitchen.

Looking at the photos of what the place was like 2 years ago Lee and Sam have completed their very own triathlon Grand Design and the addition of the endless pool only makes things better. I'll be writing up the whole weeks experience in more detail soon but now that the knee is finally sorted I cannot think of a place I would rather be than here!

This is getting wierd....

He's managed to do it again.

Maybe I'll stick this one on top of the previous article as right now I know which one is most important. Time to stretch and then work on my deficient swim stroke. Be thankful for what you do have rather than lamenting what you don't.

http://chuckiev.blogspot.com/2009/08/injuries-dont-just-happen.html

Vital

Gonna print these off and stick them on my wall:

http://chuckiev.blogspot.com/2009/08/young-pro-triathletes-guide-to-survival.html

Number 1 - it ain't a job 'till I'm earning money, it's just a really tough, full time hobby.

Kona - 61: Food and the injured athlete

One week of training down. The knee still ain't perfect and running mileage has been severely restricted but nearly 500k on the bike and nearly 20k in the water means I'm starting to lose some of that weight and I'm currently feeling a satisfying level of fatigue. With a day of tomorrow I'm hoping to recoup with some ice and anti-inflammatory I'll be able to push the run up to 90 mins and be able to break 100miles on the bike and crack 15 hours during the week.

I mentioned in my last post I'd managed to gain 5kg in the space of 10 days and I've always had somewhat of a love/hate relationship with food. Some of you know (some may not) that I wasn't always in possession of the svelte physique I currently own and used to be a little softer around the edges. My Mum always said that I was born skinny and then started eating, and then never stopped (a fact backed up by the doubling of her weekly food bill when I was back home!). I love food and being an athlete this isn't really a problem. When I'm training I feel that I am the model of professionalism with my nutrition. My diet is low in gluten and all processed foods. I avoid bad food and refined products and aim for 10+ servings of fruit and veg a day. I also take a rough calorie count to ensure I'm not under/over eating. I also LOVE cooking and generally aim to make all my own meals so I know exactly what goes in them.

The problem is all it takes is a break in routine, like an injury, and I fall off the band wagon and I return to the 17 year old who ate because it made him feel good for a short period of time. This was then followed by guilt and inevitably more eating. At 17 this usually ended up with me raiding the cooking chocolate draw and eating it's content, sadly it wasn't much further from the truth when I was back home last week.

It's something I don't really understand about myself as I have the discipline to train and eat well but if I want to get anywhere in this sport I have to be able to deal with setbacks. Previously, when triathlon was a hobby, it wasn't as much of a problem but working on my mental game is something I will be aiming to do over the next few months as I feel it is as important as being physically prepared.

Bit of a "stream of consciousness" blog I'm afraid, haven't written one like this for a while and a random collection of thoughts from the last week nailed together. Apologies if it reads badly...!

Back to base(ics)

The knee is sorted (fingers crossed) so now it's all about the numbers:

Days until Kona - 67
Days where I can make myself faster - c. 53
Kilos I need to lose - 5kg (food and the injured triathlete are a topic I'll post on later this week).

I'm gonna be keeping it as simple as possible, lots of miles and just as much recovery to make sure I'm in the best shape of my life for Kona.

Happy training all and congrats too all the Hillingdon athletes who raced at London this weekend.

Swimming Hurts

For those who keep up with the international triathlon blogisphere this title is nicked from an article written by Brett Sutton (the team TBB coach) some time ago. In the last 10 days I've swum 35k. As someone who usually swim an absolute maximum of 14k to cover more than twice this with a few double sessions and functional strength has left me sore but I'm hoping when I recover (which will be when I can run/bike again, paradoxically) I'll be moving a little bit quicker.

AG triathletes, for the most part, cannot swim. We come to the sport late and whilst we can plug away on the bike and run the swim often eludes us. Many triathletes spend hundreds of pounds on different swim courses to improve form and aerodynamics under the premise that swimming quickly is all about technique. Sutton suggests that whilst technique has its place, swimming bloody hurts, just like running fast hurts and biking fast hurts. You've got to put in the hard yards (often with paddles to work the correct muscles and keep the elbows high) to make you fast, only when your arms, back and shoulders are burning, like your legs would on a hard bike or run, are you learning to swim faster.

As another blogger who I regularly read is so fond of saying... "there is no easy way."

3 Rs: Rest, recuperate and refocus

IMUK is now a no go. After 10 days of fighting niggles I've been diagnosed with patellar tendonitis, still a niggle but one that I don't plan on messing with as it could easily turn into something more serious and cause more long term issues.

I'm pissed off and didn't hide it well yesterday but today (with the knee feeling a little better) I suppose this was the wake up call I needed. I thought I'd made it through my last three heavy weeks unscathed but finishing sessions at 9pm and then neglecting to stretch and do my core, as well as eating really badly, was simply too much for my body to take whilst working a full time job. The next few days will be ultrasound, massage and physio plus double swim sessions and plenty of core and stretching to address to route cause of this problem.

I may head over to Bolton next week to complete the swim for experience but all being well I'll be training hard by next week... this time not neglecting the stretching and nutrition. It's boring but vital to remaining injury free!

A great start...

Well, it's 24 hours since I started my new "job" as a full time triathlete. (I'll be using the "" for the word job until I start making some money.) To be honest it's been a pretty crappy start but with two decisions which I think demonstrate the changed mindset I now must bring towards this sport.
First the cloud:

1. Lost my Oakleys! They ain't sponsoring me yet so that's four pairs in just under a year!
2. Niggles, lots of them. I've had to pull out of Bedford due to a tight Achilles which is not helping my IMUK prep.
3. I ended up leaving for my first ride as an athlete late and thus missed my time target.

Silver lining:

1. I made the decision not to race Bedford. Bedford is a C race, it doesn't matter in the scheme of things and if two/three days of running and a day or two off cycling are what it takes to be 100% then that is what NEEDS to happen. Consistency is key.
2. I've started a food diary. Everything I do now must be professional, that doesn't just include training but nutrition and recovery.

So the cloud still out weighs the silver lining but hopefully by the middle of next week the balance will start to shift.

Good luck to all the Hillingdon athletes competing at Bedford.

Off to Roth

First race of 2010 planned and it's Quelle Challenge Roth. Gunning for a time and the pressure is already on as I put myself in the sub 9:00 catergory... going to have to live up to that or I'm going to look like (more) of an arse.

Last big training is banked before IMUK. A huge 8:30 training day which as always resulted in me digging a bigger whole than I thought I had. Tuesday's run was attrotious and I'm now experiences niggles galore. Pretty standard then...

Bedford race report will be up by Monday. If I can break 2:00 I'll be a happy bunny.

Where I will be

Things are really hotting up in terms of triathlon related activity over the next three months. With less than 100 days until Kona and only 7 days (unreal) until I will have to refer to myself as a full time age-grouper it's no surprise. Two more races have been added to the calender, Bedford Classic on the 19th July and the Little Woody at the end of August. For those who care this is how the next 12 weeks is shaping up.

19th July - Bedford Classic
2nd August - IMUK
15th - 22nd August - Tri Topia training camp
29th August - The Little Woody
26th September - travel to Kona
10th October - Ford Ironman World Championships

It's shaping up to be a great few months and I'm really looking forward to seeing how my fast twitch muscles respond over the Olympic distance in what looks to be a very quality AG field.

Good luck to Lee @TriTopia who is racing Roth this weekend. I can't wait to head out there and experience the place for myself.

Happy training folks.

Priceless...

Food to get me round 107 miles and up and down 9000ft - £7
Petrol to drive me to the hills - ~£5
Remembering why I love cycling - PRICELESS!

I will soon be leaving London, on the 20th July my teaching contract ends and I will be heading back to God's own country (where you don't have to drive 30 miles to find hills). This coming weekend demanded a serious bike workout on the TT which invariably requires a measurable loop on a rolling course with as few stops as possible, ergo duel carriage ways for around 5 hours.
As a way of saying "goodbye" I chose to ride the Chiltern Cyclosportive gran fondo route... and what a route! There's practically no flat in all 107 miles and some of the climbs were brutal. I clocked 6:16, only 6 minutes shy of the gold standard so not too bad. More importantly, somewhere between Bison Hill and Great Missenden (excluding I remembered why I love cycling so much. It feels like I've spent two months in the aero position on dual carriage ways trying to hit a specific wattage and it was a refreshing change to just ride.

Training continues to plod along, I know now that I cannot handle 20+ hour weeks whilst teachingn and have come pretty close to the edge during high intentisty sessions, just had to listent to my body instead of ego... difficult at times.

Cowman Report

A race I really enjoyed last year it didn't feature quite as highly in my race calender this year. It was to form a really high quality training session during a rather big block of intensity and it certainly served that purpose.

Despite scorching heat on Saturday they ended up delaying the start by 15 minutes as we couldn't see the buoys for the fog! My swim was crap, despite 7 weeks of swimming 14k a week, drills and coaching I am now officially slower than last year. Nearly a minute over the same distance. As I headed out on the bike I felt pretty despondent especially as I spent the entire time trying to send the message to my legs that my HR needed to be higher than 145. My bike was relatively consistent and despite never really feeling like I was motoring I came into T2 4 minutes quicker than last year in around 2:31 in 13th place.
T2 was speedy and as the sun came out I found it had a positive effect on my running. I left transition hoping to run four 19 minute laps and with the exception of lap 1 I was close to that target. On lap one the top 15 or so followed a duff sign which had been altered by some pesky kids. They recalculated our run splits based on the average time out other 3 laps so I don't think it effected the results to much. I kept running just waiting to blow, much as I had done last year, but it didn't happen. I managed to even split and moved from 13th to 4th with the second fastest run of the day! Only a "back to fitness" Joel Jameson was quicker. Never finished a run wishing I had another lap to do.All in all not bad, really not pleased with my bike as I can't help but feel if I'd been on form I could have been pushing the 2 guys above me but the run is really promising. Experience has taught me that you can run down almost anyone in 26.2 miles so we'll just have to see what Bolton holds.Thanks to my parents for coming to support, Fusion for some nifty racing gear at the finish line and Big Cow for another great event.

You can have a day off when you're dead!

Happy Father's day padre... yes, yes its technically 6 hours and 50 minutes late but I also rang him during the allotted 24 hours in which its socially acceptable to tell you Dad how great they are as long as its done subtly with minimal emotion and certainly no touching, except possibly a hand shake.

My Dad has taught me many things but two particular memories will always stick in my mind and continue to influence me today.

1. When I was about 6 living in Sheffield we had snow, not nancy London snow where everything stops because there is a foot, proper Northern snow, the kind global warming has killed off. I remember the railings of the school opposite just showing over the top and they were 6 foot high (in those days to keep the kids in rather than undesirables out!). Nothing was working and everything was closed. Being 6 and having no where to be this was officially the greatest day ever and I was up at about 4am. I'll never forget the image of my Father, climbing up the snow with his bike to cycle to work at 7:30! To give you an idea of how bad it was they had to send a JCB to plow us out at around 3pm. My Dad worked the whole day...

2. Aged 17 I was feeling lazy when my Dad (whose job it was to walk me and my brother) came in at 7:30 (which seemed early at the time) and told us with all the sympathy he could muster it was time to get our arses in gear. "I don't feel well, can I have a day off?" I whined. "You can have a day off when you're dead." Came the response. That was me told. I now try and live my sporting life by these words. Never miss a session, never give in, and if you have a rest day planned, you better make sure you kill yourself on the day before...

126mile bike @ IM wattage + 10mile run at 7:08 miles - JOB DONE!

Happy Father's Day!

My Interval Workout

To all those who dislike me talking shop stop reading now.

No blood but a descent set. 5x10min (2:30 rest) descending. 5:58, 5:53, 5:48, 5:42 5:31. Managed to hit 302w/307w on the 2x20m as well. Currently 2 weeks ahead of schedule on the bike, lets hope it carries over to the longer stuff. Only 135 miles will tell...

The Interval Workout

"Eighteen was a shambles. Nineteen required all his effort to keep the pace from slipping down to a stumble...He staggered about, tightly grabbing his knees, eyes clenched shut, painfully, for tears could not get out while the sweat seemed to seep in easily... Cassidy awoke once during the night, filled the toilet with bloody urine (something Denton told him might happen) and went back to bed."

"The trial of miles; miles of trial."

Once a Runner, John L. Parker, JR.

My interval work outs have yet to produce bloody urine (clearly not working hard enough) and my coach has (half) joked that he needs to ban this book from my reading list. Just an idea of what it takes. I ain't going to be running a 3:57 miles any time soon but AT LAST seem quality mileage is starting to be produced CONSISTENTLY! Logged 45 miles of running last week and will log 50 this week. My first proper long ride (5:30) and another planned this week(6:00).

Managed to negative split my 20 miler last night, 2x20m tonight (aiming at 295w avg.) and a track session on Friday - will it produce bloody urine? Only time will tell but I'm hoping not... this week anyway!