Who likes short shorts?

ME! I like short shorts!

Over the last six weeks I have experienced two traumatic events, the first was that the first pair of proper running shorts I ever bought bit the dust. They were a lovely black number with as slit up the side so big they left nothing to the imagination when I was in full flow. Unfortunately, after nearly three years the lining gave up the ghost and they had to be retired. Since then I have got by on two pairs of running shorts as the training has been light and, having no job until three weeks ago, washing them was not a problem. Recently, a second, a perhaps even more earth-shattering event rocked me into action and kick started a quest for new shorts; whilst out running with a friend, we spotted a fellow runner with shorter shorts than me... the bar had been raised!

With the help of Chris "The Munchkin" McCarthy (his words, not mine) and his superior knowledge of short shorts retailers in London I set out with a mission, to buy the shortest shorts I could find. Our first port of call was a fail, when I asked the staff if they sold "really short shorts" they laughed and said they didn't. Clearly the recreational runner prefers a short that leaves the dignity intact, thankful my complete lack of shame meant I have no dignity to protect. The assistant's comment of "you could always cut some off" suggested she thought this was some kind of joke! Her levity was not appreciated and I left quickly.

The second shop was much better and I was able to find a number of shorts to hold next to each other to see which was shortest. At this point Macca (as he prefers to be know) decided to pretend he didn't know me, can't think why, and didn't seem to be on board with my watertight logic that "the shorter the shorts the faster the runner". Strange. I eventually settled on a pair of Gore shorts which are, quite frankly, bordering in indecent, and had the pleasure of running in them this morning, running on cloud 9 the whole 21k.

A quick bit of maths suggested that the 8 inch shorts cover approximately 1/6th of my 46 inch outside leg leaving leaving a staggering 83.3% on show for London, lucky, lucky London.


Can't wait until Summer 2011 when I'll see how London responds to me running along South Bank in Speedos!

It's been a while...

Welcome back!

I took the order to take a month away from triathlon fairly seriously and as such decided to leave the blogging alone. It's been a time of change for me having moved to London and begun a new job. I'm now a proper age grouper again and am glad to say that having the routine of the day imposed upon means the structure of my training has already improved, 6am jut doesn't seem that early.

My assault on 2011 began last week and the ultimate goal is Challenge Henley in Septemer, on the way I'll be hitting a few middle distances, attending some exotic training camps and will make a welcome return to Olympic triathlon which is a distance I haven't touched in nearly three years; hopefully my 2:00.58 PB will be broken...

As always things start with a massive swim focus. My first few Masters sessions have made it painfully clear how weak my swimming is, I'm the slowest out of about 40 people and in lane six of six. If I can make it to lane four I reckon I will be in the front group of most domestic triathlons, lane one is made of 55 second 100 free swimmers and some age group domestic champs so that will remain a distant dream.

I think I'm as rusty at blogging as I am at training as re-reading this it's one of drier posts. I promise to improve and maybe take a picture or two.

Little Woody Race Report

My wall planner tells me that the last weekend in August was to be spent in Louisville, Kentucky trying to get my Kona slot; ah well, best laid plans and all that. If I couldn't spend my bank holiday weekend getting cooked from the inside out then a return to the Little Woody seemed a fantastic way to round out my season. Having raced the Aqua Bike version last year I knew at least part of the course and was well aware it suited a strong biker. Having endured a number of draft-fests this year I was fairly confident the sharp climbs and rolling hills of the Forest of Dean would sort the men from the boys, and 500ft more climbing than descent doesn't make things any easier.

Having booked my accommodation as close to Drummonds Dub as humanly possible without setting up camp in the car park I was a little annoyed to find out blue green algae meant the swim was being re-located to the Southern most point on the bike course. My 0645 departure quickly became a 0545 but lack of sleep aside, the new swim venue was nothing short of spectacular and one of the most pleasant triathlon swims I've ever encountered. Set at the National Diving Centre it was a disused mine and the water was so clear I was able to see my stroke slowly disintegrate as the swim progressed.

I exited in just under 28 minutes, suggesting the swim was around 150m short but my position overall was solid. Given the pretty poor times I've been posting in the pool post-Roth, either the stop clock at Ponds Forge is broken or my blueseventy Axis came to the rescue yet again. As someone who enjoys running up steep hills the 600m run up the side of the quarry was a nice addition and as I crested the slope with my heart rate close to 200m interval level, the sun was just beginning to rise above the sides of the mine. The weather Gods were smiling.

Due to the changed swim the bike was a new route. Although about 1500m shorter than last year my watts:speed would suggest it had considerably more ascent as a result of the swim being at the lowest point of the bike route. A hellish first 2k awaited as we wound our way up some rather steep and windy lanes. After reaching the start of the lap I concentrated on the basics keeping power steady and taking in fuel. As expected a few whippet thin riders passed me on the climbs but I reeled them back in on the flats. I felt solid for the whole ride and was only overtaken once by eventual race winner Sam Dell. That said, that was after Mr. Dell had to repair a broken front mech so kudos to him for riding damn hard!

I arrived in T2 in third position with the quickest bike of the day and three minutes down on first place. I soon ran into second and was about 2:15 down on Sam after what I believed to be the first turn around. Unfortunately the race went a little pear shaped for the leaders at this point. At about 4k an old sign had been used which still had “turn here” written on it. This wasn't the turn but, with oxygen starved brains and tired legs we turned here anyway. No one on the course could tell us where we should have turned so myself, Sam and Alex Scott in third simply ran back to T2 and asked what we ought to do. By this point Sam had run an extra 100m or so and we had all run the wrong way down a muddy path which resulted in a lost trainer for me but we had put a decent amount of time on 4th and it seemed we were running to decide the podium places. Sam and I gapped Alex by about 100m at around 15k and then Sam gapped me about 100m later and that was pretty much how it stayed for the remainder of the race. As instructed we added on a loop at the end to make up the lost distance but Sam was a worthy winner having suffered a mechanical on the bike and having run further than me and Alex. I was happy to finish in second after a really solid race and good end to the season.

The run signage was the only fault I can find with what is fast becoming one of my favourite races on the British calendar. The best swim I've done in the UK followed by a bike route that simply does not allow drafting ensuring a fair race throughout in a stunning setting. If you're tired of poorly refereed courses get yourself down to the Forest of Dean next year. Congratulations to everyone who completed a tough race and my hat is doffed to all those who finished the hellish Big Woody, must be one of the hardest Iron races in the UK.

Thanks to blueseventy, Alex at La Bicicleta, Sheffield and Lee and Sam at TriTopia, who've all helped me a huge amount this season. That's a wrap for me in 2010. Good luck to anyone who has races left especially those that are Kona bound.

See you all in 2011.

The Little Woody

I'll get a report up later today (not like I have a fat lot else to do, except pack my life into boxes but that's always best left until the very last minute) but a few photos have come my way courtesy of the weekend's support crew Laura Thompson who put up with my pre-race whining and post-race mood swings like a saint. She's also a dab hand with an iPhone camera.

Life: Take Three

I've written and deleted this post twice already as I find myself rambling inanely about rubbish so, I'll ramble inanely about rubbish but keep it short.

Training in Sheffield/living at home is not a good place for me to be mentally. I have no idea way, perhaps the lack of training partners, perhaps I regress back to a time when I was a fat kid who ate everything, who knows, but as I write I find myself sitting on the back end of 7 days of crappy training. The motivation I found in France and Germany a distant memory. For God's Sake, I only have 10 days until the end of the season but, just like April and May, I find myself not caring.

Long story short I was not cut out to be a full time athlete and I take my hat of to those who have the mental discipline to treat this like a job. It's something I cannot do. I will move back down to London next month and start work in October and, to be honest, I cannot wait. The structure of having a job gives my life outside work structure, a routine that I crave but for some reason cannot impose on myself. I'm sure psychologists could have a field day on this but it just seems to be the way my mind works.

I am looking forward to training at 6am again and having to hit the turbo at 8 in the evening. I am excited over the prospect of looking forward to Friday not because I can get drunk, but because it's so close to Saturday morning and Saturday morning means a long bike ride.

This is my third attempt at "life" post university, and I'm only 24. Teaching didn't work out, neither did sport, here's hoping the third time's the charm...

Roth Photos

As promised, a selection of photos from Roth. Enjoy.

Saucony Kinvaras

I haven't done a product review in a while so when I decided to try out Saucony's new and innovative Kinvara, I thought I'd throw my 2c into the hat. Advertised as a minimalist shoe (something I'm not too sure about as it seems to be packed full of technology) what it does do is allow the wearer to run in a more natural way. By natural I mean as one would run if they were running barefoot.

A lot has been made of barefoot running recently, I've read a bit on the topic and having suffered numerous injuries it interested me. The ethos is, put very simply, that heavily cushioned shoes make us run in a way we would not if we ran barefoot, this places emphasis on the wrong muscles, puts forces in the wrong places etc and causes injuries.

The theory made sense, after all, weren't marathons from the turn of the century until the 1940s run in plimsoles and Dunlop Green Flash? Hardly the most cushioned of shoes. My only problem was that many of the shoes available were designed to promote a forefoot/midfoot strike (Newtons being the most well know). I felt this defeated the purpose somewhat. I didn't want a shoe that promoted anything, I wanted a shoe that allowed my feet and legs to do what they wanted.

I first saw the Kinvara at Roth and had a quick look but noting the Challenge Roth 2010 branding on the side I was a little put off. I'm not a man for living in the past and didn't want a shoe that would remind me of a past race when my focus was on future races. When I returned the UK I decided to order a pair (without branding) and give them a go. My biggest catalyst for making the decision was that after the disintegration of my training shoes in France I decided I may as well switch to racing flats with Roth so close. I found I was so much quicker in flats and that I finished my long runs feeling much less stress on the legs. Obviously the weight of the shoe makes a difference but 200g is not THAT much. Ultimately, after some treadmill comparisons, I noted that I my strike in the flats was completely different, much more midfoot, under the knee instead of over-striding, and my turnover was 2-4 strikes/minute faster. All good news. The Kinvara seemed to offer this but with the added bonus of a little bit of cushioning. My Saucony A3 flats are great but the ride is a little harsh for everyday use.

My first impressions were positive, the fit was feather light and very comfy, the thin mesh uppers great in warmer weather, although probably not suitable during winter if get a repeat of 2009-10. My first run was a tempo brick of about 8 miles and I loved the feel. They gently coerced me onto my midfoot, encouraging a strike just under my knee and giving me a higher turnover. I felt they helped me recruit the back of the leg much more than other shoes and I felt the energy of each stride was carried over into the next rather than being absorbed by the road, or my knees. There was a greater stress on my hamstrings (possibly a result of the hard ride) but sitting here 14 hours later I'm suffering no DOMS or undue tightness. There were points where I had to focus more than I normal, especially when I fatigued in the last 10 minutes or so, but this is not surprising given the slight change in running style.

I have a tough track session tomorrow so we'll see how they fair with some really speed, well, speedy for an Ironman anyway.

Roth Race Report

Check out the more traditional Roth Race Report here. Pictures up soon, promise.

Roth: The introspective race report

I've thought alot about my performance yesterday. Thanks to all the people who've sent congratulations but, despite a huge PB and a pretty nice marathon time, I ultimately failed in what I came here to do. I hold myself to very high standards and I didn't (quite) meet them yesterday.

My execution was the best I felt it could have been given the fitness I brought to race. I raced my heart out and left everything on the course as I have always been told to do by everyone who has guided me in this sport. My failure is rooted in a lack of discipline which crept into my life when I had nothing to do but train. With so much time I began training later in the day, not optimaising recovery time, this probably played a small part in the virus I picked up costing me three weeks during my peak phase. I began to eat more than I should convincing myself I could lose the weight. I left it to late and couldn't. I arrived at Roth at least 5lbs more than I should have been and this is unacceptable. It undoubtably cost me 5 minutes on the bike and run combined.

I write this because these are the things I MUST change. I have no problem with failing, I used to think it was a bad thing to fail and would do anything in my power to avoid it but I like to think since I left university I learnt failure is fine as long as three things are true:

1. You fail knowing you have given it your all (Check);
2. You fail in the pursuit of a lofty target (Check);
2. You work out where the mistakes were made and endeavour never to repeat those same errors. (We'll see)

Despite this I will take a moment (and it will only be a moment) to put what I have done in perspective. In only my third year in the sport and fourth Ironman I have gone 9:11 as well as posting a huge PB. Even more pleasing was that I finished top British male OA (Chrissie beat me by a mile as well as most of the men's PRO field, unreal!) and within the top 50 overall in what is one of the most competative Iron distance races in Europe and probably the world outside of Kona.

The rest of my season will be a little different to what I originally planned, I simply cannot afford to go to the USA to race and Kona will have to be put on ice for another year or two. Instead I will return to the Little Woody to round out the 2010 season.

2011 will again feature some significant lifestyle changes both in sport and in the outher facets of my life. I will be returning to work as, to be perfectly frank, I am never going to make a living from this sport and I feel I can race just as well whilst working. Moreover, I will be able to afford to race instead of suffering from the constant nagging thought that I'm surviving on borrowed cash. I hope to obtain my PRO card as I originally planned and race in that category but ultimately that is down to the discretion of the BTA. Finally I will be taking a step down in distance and racing Olympic and middle distance triathlon next year. In the long term I hope this will enable me to return to long distance in 2012 with the ability to aim for some top 10 placings. But we'll have to wait and see.

Apologies for a somewhat introspective blog but I like to get things and thought down as soon as possible after a race. A more traditional race report will follow, hopefully with some lovely pictures of me in lycra!

I can, I will, I must.

The title for this blog has been ungracefully stolen from another of my coach's athletes, if you are that athlete sorry and thank you, as this is my race day mantra. The romantic ideal of athletic struggle is often glamourised by adverts and films adding music and showing the victor post race, things are put into slow motion o black and white and it is as if the world's best are able to summon super human strength and overcome pain and win with seeming ease.

I cannot speak for all athletes but I suspect this is not the case. Success, however you define it, is got through dogged determination and, quite simply, being willing to suffer. Lance once said something of similar effect about people who thought he "flew" up the cols and mountains of the tour, he didn't "fly" he suffered in pain up every one, he was just able to go faster while suffering than his competitors.

I ain't Lance, not even close, and tomorrow I'm not really racing anyone except the clock. When the voice in my head says, stop, for the love of God stop, your feet are bleeding, your fast approaching incontinece and your legs cannot support your weight, I will have to shout out my mantra. I will have to shout damn loud to be heard through the flood of common sense telling me pain isn't weakness but leaving the body but your body telling you to stop, your hurting it you moron. I will have to shout it loud to drown out the voice telling me it isn't worth it, or I've done enough. I'd like to think as I sit here I will develop a massive second wind and it will feel effortless, that I will arrive at some kind of sporting nirvana where pain is but a distant memory and sub 7:00 mile splits flow like honey, but I know on race day that isn't how things work. It will only hurt more and then more as I get progressively further on in the race, I must convince myself that suffering is worthwhile. Easier said than done.

For me to able to say I raced hard and well only two outcomes are acceptable:

1. I collapse into the canal and wake up on a drip in hospital,
2. The clock reads 8:XX:XX when I cross the line.

Sub9orbust!

On Sunburn, or how I'll never learn

I am so hot right now

As a pasty, pale skinned man from the North of the British Isles you would think I would have learned that it isn't safe for me to step outside of the shade when the mercury tops 17c, and if I do decide to risk it I ought to be sporting a visible layer of factor 50 or a HASMAT suit... or both. Yet somehow I still haven't learned, or, more accurately, there is one day every year where I dismiss the evidence, assume I've "acclimatised" (HA!) and decide to forgo sunscreen. In fact, over the last six years I can distinctly remember the time each summer where this has happened:

2004 - I shaved my head for a post exam trip to Gozo, within 12 hours of landing it looked like a traffic light on stop.

2005 - I decided that the sun in Whitby can't be THAT strong and managed to burn my entire right hand side in my own personal, and painful, homage to Dracula.

2006 - June, discover cycling and Oakleys.
July, discover panda eyes and classic farmer's tan line

2007 - I ride my first century ride. I was slow, it was hilly and by the time I finished my upper arm looked like a paint sample contrasting alabaster white and crimson red.

2008 - My first run in with triathlon tan lines. Possibly the only tan lines worse than cycling ones. The singed muffin top and crispy wings combo is a really good look.

2009 - It turns out even cloud cover doesn't stop me burning in Hawaii. Only crispy wings this time reducing the muppet factor by about 3.


I had a lot of time on my hands hence having to rest the camera on the stairs and get the timer correct, this was the best of about six attempts.

2010 - I've been in France for four weeks and haven't burnt, so I must be OK, right? WRONG! As the top above adequately demonstrates.

Only this time round I have discovered (only took the better part of a decade) Aloe Vera fresh from the plant. Great for burns it meant I was actually able to sleep the night after cooking myself, a pleasant change to normal.


The inside of the plant is soothing, the pointy outside, is not.

The only question that remains is where will I be burning in 2011? Stay tuned to find out.

Slow month at Tri220

Clearly the nation's triathlon magazines will print anything. If ever proof were needed of a lack of material, three pages about me should suffice. A big thanks to Amy Swan for writing the piece. Also another huge shout out to Tri-Topia who, for whatever reason didn't get a mention in the article but deserve huge props (that's street that is) for putting me up for the last four weeks (and hopefully the next two as well!). Check out their website on the right.

Long day in the saddle

Yesterday myself and Lee completed a fairly epic 126 mile bike ride. It was 36c and I was chaffing from about mile 4, I think it may be time to replace my beloved Skinz bib shorts, if what Lee tells me is correct then they've been washed so many times they've become see through. If that doesn't stop drafters, nothing will.


We started early to avoid the heat, note the much needed coffee on the post box


Lee getting aero as I try to take a photo whilst dealing with the chaffing.


A village fete meant an off road detour and added an element of cyclocross to our long ride.



YEAH! 200 hundred sweaty, sweaty kilometers.

It was a great day and testament to the amount of time a spent aero is this large (and slightly tender) lump on my forearm which appeared this morning. Hoping this goes down before tomorrow's ride...

Down by the river side

If I recall correctly, this time last year I was about to start teaching year 8.

Sub9 or bust

More training/eating fun from TriTopia. Roth is 4 weeks away now and the title says it all. I'll be aiming for sub9 on race day and it's either that or nothing, and by nothing I of course mean a slow hobble to the finish. Something tells me it's going to be the either my quickest long distance race ever, or my slowest. Everything on the line.

TriTopia Video Update

Another trip abroad, some more video blogs, or "vlogs" as I have been reliably informed they are called. Sorry for the wait (I've been here nearly 10 days already) but thanks to my illness I need to cream the next 14 days if I'm going to stand any chance of going sub-9 and, most importantly, getting my sub-9 t-shirt. As we all know... it's all about the stash! Enjoy.

Taking stock

I once read somewhere that the longer the time since an athlete's most recent blog update, the higher the probability that he/she are injured... It's been over six weeks since I last blogged and I can vouch that, unfortunately, in my case the adage happens to be nearly correct.

Following my bout of stomach issues I managed to link together about 10 days of really solid training but some minor dental work teamed with a lot of travel, sleeping on couches and a cocktail of pain killers (possible made worse by racing the Marsh Man middle distance) meant that the last three weeks have been pretty much a write off thanks to fatigue and some kind of background virus. Each week I've started with the "can do" attitude and hoped that after a couple of days of bed rest I'll be ready to go, alas this has not been the case and after three or four days of training I have woken up and been back at square one looking down the barrel end of 48 more hours in bed with only cups of herbal tea and old Have I Got News for You episodes on YouTube.

This has been mentally very, very tough. Not only has my ability to train vanished but with it I have lost my desire and motivation. I have been waking in the morning to glorious sunshine and wanting nothing more than to roll over in bed and sleep for another four hours. The rational part of my brain tells me there is a reason for this. I am not a lazy person, I enjoy activity and I enjoy being outside, if I don't want to leave the house, something ain't right... but even though I know this I still feel guilty and am very aware that I am not acting like myself.

Ultimately, on the advice of my coach (amazing as always) I have rested for the last week or so. My only exercise has been some long walks in the hills and I went away with a friend camping to Wales for a change of scenery. I woke this morning and for the first time in a long time, wanted to train. This morning's 75 minute run represents the first proper training session I have done in a while, and it feels good!

Obviously three weeks of nowt has its implications and unfortunately Roth will not be the race I wanted it to be. I will now train through Roth with the goal of qualifying at IMKY becoming the next objective. I'll be leaving for France and the triathlon perfection of Tri-Topia in a little over a week and hopefully upon arrival I'll be back at the grindstone putting in some big sessions worthy of my surroundings.

It's been a rough few weeks and thanks to everyone who has had to put up with me being a grumpy tosser... sorry.

The right and wrong ways to lose weight

The right way = make sure daily calorie intake is roughly 300-500 below expenditure and that the reduced calories does not mean cutting out fruit, veg, lean meats and good fats. The result should be a loss of 1-2lbs a week. Any more and you need more food, any less and you need to man up and eat less. This approach worked well for me and over the last two weeks I've dropped around 3lbs.

The wrong way = get a gastrointestinal bug and lose the same as you lost in the previous two weeks in 48 hours. I'm now out of bed and the light-headedness has stopped, maybe I'll make it outside for a walk too. Don't think they'll be any 100 milers this week.

FWIW, my 2c is that the former is all you ever really need to know about dropping weight. All those multi-page articles (let alone the books with hundreds of pages) aren't really aiding your understanding of weight loss. When input < output you lose weight. It's just a case of getting the balance write. This is something which is unique to every individual and formulas for resting metabolic rate can only ever give you a ball park figure. For example, I've seen various different methods for calculating my RMR and all are off by some margin (i.e. enough to mean my 500 calories less/day is actual not a reduction at all). I'm a tall and big (for a long distance triathlete) guy and the standard calculations give me an RMR of between 2200 up to about 2800. I do not lose weight unless I work on my RMR being as low as 2000. I only know this through trial and error.

Keep a rough food diary, log you calorie needs and sit down with a calculator at the end of the day. Weigh yourself every week at the same time and you'll soon be dropping weight and gaining speed. Just don't try option two, personal experience has also taught me that that is no fun at all.

108 hilly miles: a photo diary

Yesterday was my long ride, the last one of this block. Having nailed myself on Sunday I was a little worried about how I would hold up. Not too well is the answer. These are some of the things I saw.


Wouldn't have got much past half-way without a couple of these, and lots of chocolate!


Sheep!


My new (thank you Blue Seventy!) uber-fast wettie. 4k in an hour? Hell Yeah!


God knows I needed this to wake me up. Also, if you've never tried frozen grapes do, like a refreshing grape sorbet.


The most common view of the day. This was one of the less "pot-holey" segments


One of the photos above is of my brand spanking new Blue Seventy Axis, it rocks! Perfect for leaden legged muppets like myself. It's part of the first care package from the company who I'm delighted to say are supporting me through 2010. My first ever wetsuit was a Blue Seventy bought more than two and a half years ago. It saw me through my first sprint, standard, middle and long distance triathlons and served me well and now, as I try to compete with the big boys, I'm chuffed to be back in a Blue Seventy.

It's now less than 15 weeks to Roth. First proper block done, total mileage ~700 miles with the swimming and running maintained. Much more awaits me after a short rest period, of that I can be sure. Bring it.

Breaking the blogging silence

Wow, nearly a month since I last posted. Less out of laziness and more out of doing nothing of blog-worthy note.

Having finished off my last strength block I topped the scales at a wopping 85kg. The heaviest I have been in years, since 2007 to be precise. My squat was closing in on my best efforts whilst rowing and I've set ~20w PBs for everything up to 1hr in duration on the bike. My swimming still has MILES to go, but it's a significant improvement on where I was this time last year. The run is going surprisingly well considering I'm 5kgs over race weight. I can only assume as the weight drops in the coming weeks so to will the mile splits.

After a few days in London during my rest week it was back to the millstone, and what a millstone it is. When I saw the training load I made sure I had a proper rest week enjoying some of London's cultural delights. Shout outs (see, I'm "with it") to Sarah, Will and Charlie for giving me a bed, 16MS, Mike, Rick, Katy and Penny, for a great day, 3/5 of CGS for the first BBQ of the summer and my usual travel companion Laura for making the intolerable journey to London slightly more tolerable.

This block is a bike focus, this week I've logged just under 20 hours whilst maintaining swimming and running, next week I'll be aiming to break 20. Not only are the hours long but they're pretty damn hard as well. I've hit new PBs for 2hrs and 4hrs and logged my longest ever constant ride of 6:30. For me, this is conclusive proof that all the gym work is paying off. If I can maintain this power and lose 5kgs over the next 12 weeks or so I have high hopes for my Roth bike split.

There is the potential for some exciting news in the coming week but until everything is confirmed I'll keep schtum.

Next week I promise I'll having something to say, and I may even include a picture or two. If you've made it this far, congratulations. Have a choccie biccie, you've earnt it.

Holy lactic acid Batman: Clumber Race Report

First, some stats:

·In the 2009 edition of this race a very respectable 2:00 would have placed you in 13th position. On Saturday you would have come 54th.

·The 10th place finisher in 2009 completed the race in 1:57.59, on Saturday the same position would have required you to be a staggering four minutes quicker.

·Finally, in April 2008 I raced the National Duathlon Championships in Milton Keynes, in my opinion a far quicker course than Clumber. I finished 6th in 1:57.57. On Saturday at Clumber I beat all my splits from MK and finished the race in 1:57.08. Had my name featured on the results sheet (apparently I “withdraw before race” then turned up anyway just for the crack) I would have been a staggering 23rd.

If it was not already clear the standard of the competition at Clumber this past weekend was very, very high.

Despite the promise of a cool and clear morning, I had to put my windscreen wipers on about 17 seconds after I pulled out of the driveway on Saturday and these wet and rather chilly conditions provided the 750 or so participants with appropriate conditions for a duathlon held in the North of the UK in early March. With so many entrants OneStepBeyond were always going to have their work cut out getting everyone registered for a 9am start and despite a very organised system, I felt the tent by transition was a great idea; the briefing didn’t begin until slightly after 9am. That said this might have had something to do with the fact that about 8 people decided to register before 7:30 (thankfully I arrived at 7:25) and then the remaining 742 tried to register in the next 60 minutes.

As always the wave start worked well and, although a little busy, the well thought out and varied route never felt crowded or claustrophobic, transition, although damp, was manned by some great volunteers and the same can be said of the classic “four right turns” bike route. Inevitably when you have 750+ athletes on a 20k loop it can little a crowed and inadvertent drafting is inevitable, although I am pleased to say that I only really saw one instance of blatant cheating in my just over an hour on the course (I suppose if my “withdrew before race” classification actual means “DQd for drafting” this will all sound little hypocritical and I certainly don’t recall a) drafting or b) being told I was drafting but, as I said earlier, I have no doubt that just like 90% of the participants I at some point was less than a family estate away from the rear wheel of the cyclist in front).

On the final run it became two things became abundantly clear. The first is that I am a very slow man and should stick to Ironman where anything close to 7:00min/miles is considered lightning fast. The second was that the leaders during the opening 10k were not just club runners who would go on to struggle on the bike. This race was being controlled by a large number of very high calibre multi-sport athletes and the overall finishing times are testament to this. Huge congratulations to the overall winner Daniel McCarthy who went sub-1:50. I remember being outrun by him on the final leg of a Hillingdon duathlon two years ago, today I only saw him coming in the opposite direction when I still had a very long way until the turn around.

OneStepBeyond put on an excellent race in a great location and if it weren’t for the fact that it hurt so much, I’d happily return next year. As it happens I think I’ll pick something longer and slower and leave the 31 minute 10ks to the speedsters. When James Cracknel pasted me at rowing I could deal with it and I always knew he was going to be pretty nippy on the bike but when that behemoth of a man out runs you by over a minute, it’s time to leave duathlon to the lactic fiends!


Cold out?

Tough day

WOW! As my tweets may have indicated that was bloody fast. I wrote down three goals before I left the house at 6am this morning:

1. 10k in 35mins
2. Bike at 290w avg (~60mins)
3. 5k in ~18mins

I hit all of these except the last one (where I was about a minute off) and with transitions came in about 1:57. Still waiting on the full results when a fuller report will go up. Based on the results from 2009 and 2007 (2008 was on a different course) I would have broken the top 10, today I'm not sure I made the top 20!

On my way to Ironman racing I spent about a 12 month block where I would have classified myself as a duathlete, as the front pack sped off at 30-32 minute 10k pace it became startlingly (and painfully) obvious that I can no longer cling to that title. The racing was just too quick for me today and I take my hat off to those who came inside the top 10, blisteringly quick!

A rest... for the mind!

Athletes at every level know that the basic tenant of increased performance is train hard and rest well. Our bodies only get stronger following periods of sustained training and then adaption during a rest phase (sorry to all coaches for this crass over-simplification). This formula is repeated over many weeks, months and years thus explaining why the world's best endurance athletes tend to be in their 30s. Clearly this doesn't account for the skills we require to perform at the highest level but skills have never been my forte so lets brush over them for the time being.

This is all very well but often the mind is simply not willing; this last week I had my first real experience of this. Following a tough block and a particularly rough week with some average performances I awoke on Monday morning and simply had no desire to train, unusual for me but I decided I had earned a rest day, all I was missing was a medium intensity swim, "I'll wake up tomorrow and nail it!", I thought. Around came Tuesday and the prospect of the pool was once again about as appealing as gastric flu. I went through the motions of breakfast and coffee and sat down to watch BBC AM news. Next thing I know I'm asleep and when I wake again the news is still on, shame it's the one o'clock news.

On Tuesday evening, after another day of not training I got some pretty crappy news which only made me feel less motivated, Wednesday followed with 35 minutes in the pool and a 35 minute run, hardly big mileage. Thursday was the same (only without the swim!) and on Friday, as I looked at myself in the gym mirror I saw that 4 days of heavy eating and light training equals man breasts and a muffin top, yet still I approached a swim I had loved every second of just seven days prior like a condemned man on his way to the gallows.

Thankfully help was at hand! On Friday I drove with Martin, an old partner in crime from my rowing days (and a pretty handy oarsman at his peak) to Keswick in the Lake District. What followed was 72 hours of big, unstructured training, and I loved every second of it. The sessions went as follows:

1. An 11 mile trail run around Derwent Water. Racing each other up the short, sharp climbs and a 500m "sprint" (I'm an Ironman, he's an ex-rower) finish to the car.

2. A 3:30 mountain bike ride in the snow. Big vertical gain, plenty of spills, even more mud and a barrage of colourful language at the slushy surface which seemed determined to make every incline, decline and flat an exercise in suicide. I felt so good after I went for a transition explore. Not so much a run as me scrambling up a hill behind the Youth Hostel for 30 minutes.

3. An epic run. We just ran. Our planned route was abandoned at 1300ft when it became clear Hellvelyn pass would have made the mountain biking look as safe as bubbled-wrapped polystyrene and so we just followed the trails for about 3 hours. Occasionally stopping to look at the map or admire the view we eventually made it back to the car tired but oh so happy, very much looking forward to our well earned Sunday lunch.

My iPhone died so I can only apologise for the lack of photos but suffice to say I am looking forward to my last strength block with an eagerness I would not have thought possible just four days ago. It is often said "the mind is willing but the body is weak" but this is not always true. Sometimes it's your head which needs the break and a phrase which has always made sense to me is "a change is as good as a rest". Damn right it is, I shall be entering March with an all too appropriate spring in my step.

Croeso i Gymru

Welcome to Wales! I've spent the last four days in Wales visiting my little bro (not so little as he celebrated his 22nd birthday on the 4th, check out his blog on the right). Whilst there I enjoyed some fantastic terrain and a whole range of weather from the typically British to some unexpected sunshine appearing just in time for my long ride on Saturday, the first 4hr+ effort of the year. Ow! I managed to take some great snaps whilst I was there and the highlight had to be Sunday's "long" run.

The word "long" doesn't really apply as I barely squeaked past 13 miles in two hours which, under normal circumstances, would not be a reason to celebrate. However, the first 5 miles of this run were up Snowden! 3,500ft in under 5 miles was tough going but was totally worth is when I reached the top. My iPhone camera really doesn't do it justice, it was one of the most incredible views I've seen, made all the more enjoyable as I made it to the top in about 57 minutes, a fairly respectable time. For those who care I descended in about half the time!

Doing stints like this remind me how lucky I am to be able to explore Britain in this way and ensure I never take for granted the opportunity I have this year. However long it lasts for I am determined to look back on it and have NO regrets. Enjoy the photos!


The view from Llanberis Town. WHAT A DAY!


Llandudno from the little Orme


The view from the top of Snowden


Top of Snowden, felt like I was on top of the world. Next stop Ben Nevis and Scarfeld.

It sure as hell ain't going "bikingly"!

Well, the view I had as I was pootling along on my bike on Saturday morning was nothing short of glorious. It was a cold, crisp Peak District morning, the grass was flecked with frost and I was flying, metaphorically rather than literally. If my verbal picture isn't quite enough, here's a photo.



Thirty minutes or so in, the numbers a looking good and the brisk breeze has just turned into a tail wind when I here an almighty crunching noise. After pulling over my rear derailleur is completely totalled, the spokes of my bomb proof (but clearly not rear derailleur proof) are pretty much trashed and cabling is strewn across the road. Despite an attempt to set the bike up as a fixed gear and ride home it was pretty clear my ride was over.



All this resulted in a slightly longer ride than I should have done today (having recommissioned the bike I had decommissioned about 5 days earlier. A mix of being slightly pissed off and some more remarkably good weather meant an hours spin turned into just over 3 hours. Ooops!

Plenty of photos to follow as I head to Bangor, Wales for my bro's birthday, assuming it isn't raining 24/7 as the current BBC forecast seems to suggest.

It's all going swimmingly

Today is an easy week. My legs are getting a break before I begin my first proper build of the year but the arms are getting no such luxury. I've found that after 12 straight weeks of swimming 6 times a week totalling about 20k a week in the pool I've made what could, at a stretch, be called a break through. To use a topical comparison, it feels very much like yesterday's announcement that we are out of recession... by 0.1% The improvement is tentative, could be revised at any moment in a downwards direction and, most importantly, there's still a hell of a long way to go, but none-the-less, improvements have been noted. My 100s have hit 1:24, my cruising pace is now somewhere around the 1:45/100 and I can actually hold my form for upwards of 5k.

This "rest" week challenge to try and hit 30k in the pool, something I have never achieved before, it'll take 8 swims of between 3.2k and 5.5k including some damn hard sets. Will I survive? Not sure, only time will tell but to even be thinking about having a go is testament to the improvement I've seen in recent weeks/months and takes me just a small step closer to my goals of being well under 60 minutes at Roth.

Snow fun

Monday is long run day, normally around 90 minutes (the looong stuff will kick off in Feb) and 12-13 miles. I usually explore some of the trails in the hills around my house in Sheffield and usually love every minute of it. The recent snow has provided some of the most interesting running and beatuful views I have ever seen around my home town. Today was different...

Setting out at 8:00am I trudged through the slushy snow around my house knowing things would get decidedly fluffier as I ascended a few hundred meters. I couldn't know how right I was. As I got higher and higher the snow got thicker, the drifts got bigger and the light got flatter. At the highest point of my run I was faced with the horrible combination of drifts up to my waist and light so flat I could not tell what was a couple of centimetres of snow and what was a couple of feet! I was falling over every 20 paces and had a HR of ~160bpm whilst walking.

I seriously considered turning back, something I have never had to do in 8 years of running this road, but soldiered on eventually making it to the turn around and the descent back into Sheffield. This was not before having passed four abandonded off-road vehicles, most buried up to the windows with frost crystals having formed from the wind and ice making them look more like ice sculptures than modes of transport.

As I ran back into Sheffield I was reminded of a scene from the 1980s post-apocalyptic drama "Threads". Set in Sheffield it imagines a world where nuclear war did take place and at one point, as the residents of Sheffield flee to Bakewell to escape the fallout (probably over a route similar to mine today) the effects of a nuclear winter begin to take their toll, it didn't look all that disimilar today with a couple of notable exceptions:

1. Unlike the characters in the film I am now eating porridge typing a blog, something they were unlikely to manage even if they did make it to Bakewell.

2. I, unlike the lead character in "Threads", was not forced to eat a dead sheep to stay alive.

As said, notable exceptions.

Another decade down

Another fairly average New Year's Eve (everyone gets drunk, I get tired and wish I was in bed) means 2010 is here. Having decided to start the resolutions early I had a dry 31st, all part of my goal to stick to the "help or harm" eating philosophy until July 18th 2010, at which point I will consume my body weight in bread, cheese, processed grains and continental strength larger. 4 days down 150 odd to go. Only problem was that I had to drink so much coffee to stay awake I awoke the next morning with a worse headache than anyone else. Bleedin' typical!

I have really enjoyed catching up with many family members over the last few weeks but all those who read the blog have complained about the layout and colour scheme so a new, fresh look for 2010 has been implemented. I'd love to say the minimalistic design represents a fresh new stream-lined view for the "twenty-tens" and the fresh new colours represent the current climate here in the UK... I'd love to say this but the truth is this way it's easier for people to read and blogger chose my colours!

My brother has also ventured into the realm of blogging, check out the links on the right to read all about his climbing exploits from around the world. This year alone he'll be visiting Germany, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France, Wales, Sctoland, Spain and Nepal. Puts my list to shame.