HOT NEWS 2005

HOT NEWS 2009

30th November 2009
Graham's winter warmers

Below are the race reports for my last two races:

Sandy Balls Duathlon - 25th October 2009

I thought I'd have foray into the Duathlon world again just to start my Winter training.
Race day was dry but windy. The course was a one lap run which started at the bottom of Sandy Balls by the lake, which meant an uphill run to start off with. Once we were up the top of the hill we had to vault the fence, run through the car park then out onto the road. This was done intentionally to split the field up, which it succeeded in doing.
I didn't go too mad on this first section because I knew what was coming up once we had reached the Fighting Cocks pub where we had to turn left & do a loop which included a steep descent, up the other side, a loop & return.
Into T1 for a long run out through the Centre because we weren't allowed to ride before the road. The bike course was across the top of the open heathland, heading towards Nomansland.
A little loop & head back across the plain again towards Sandy Balls. It went OK but had to avoid a few marauding cows & some dopey donkeys which didn't want to move, but you get used to this when you ride in the Forest.
Back in for T2 for the second run which was the same as run 1 apart from missing out the off-road loop down by the lake. I managed to overtake two people on the climb up to the pub but after that it was a "get on with it & don't let anyone catch you" onto the finish. It was an enjoyable day out in the Forest with times of:

Run - 23:54
Bike - 37:09
Run - 20:11

Total time of 1:21:15

16th overall, 2nd in my age group & to my surprise, I won a bit of silverware & a bike stand. Maybe I should do more duathlons.

Downton Half Marathon - 29th November 2009

This was going to be my first test of my Winter training which is now two months old.
I was a little bit worried about how I would perform on the day because on the previous lunchtime, I had to do a VO2 treadmill test (ouch).
Race day morning for a 10am start. It was dry to start off with but with the overnight rain, I was expecting the roads to be underwater as per a couple of years ago, because the course is mostly country lanes. It is a testing course with some good climbs throughout.
The run went considerably well.
I got to the first drinks station at about 3 miles & was nicely settled in for the first climb. When I was overtaken by a couple of Zoom Tri Club runners who seemed to be travelling quite well so I made the decision to try & hang on to them. This was quite successful until approx mile 8 when we caught another competitor but then the pace went up & I dropped off but managed to catch them on the descent.
Mile 10, we were absolutely drowned by an almighty five minute downpour which had now turned the last three miles back to the finish mostly into a river.
I pushed on between 10 & 11 which was then down to two runners, myself & a Zoom Tri guy but by mile 12 & 13 he really put his foot down & I was then starting to struggle, but he did only manage to get a few metres & I was determined not to let it get any bigger. So overall, a very enjoyable & successful Winter run out.
The splits are as follows,but they are all over the place due to the nature of the course:

1 - 6:25
2 - 6:37
3 - 6:52
4 - 7:16
5 - 6:20 [33:31]
6 - 7:18
7 - 6:11
8 - 7:27
9 - 6:25
10 - 7:13 [1:08:10]
11 - 6:42
12 - 6:35
13 - 6:37
Last bit - 44 secs

Total time - 1:28:49

20th overall & 5th in my age group

Merry Xmas & a Happy New Year to you & your family. May 2010 bring you everything you want.

Gra

Sunday 19th September 2009
Squamish XTC Off-road Triathlon

I thought Julian was about 8 hours behind the UK but maybe it is closer to 14 days…….anyway from our International roaming reporter - here’s Julian’s race report.

This was to be my first tri of the year and almost a year to the day since my last outing at the European Cross triathlon champs (some of you may remember this race as the one that I outsplit Bryce on the bike?) since this was also the Canadian offroad champs it seems I am keen to race with the fast guys again!

The day started with an hour's drive on the beautifully scenic Sea to Sky Highway from Vancovuer that leads along the coast to Whistler via Squamish.

When we arrived at the provincial park we jumped down from Aleixa's Jeep and both went "wow, it's cold! or words that effect! IT was nice and warm when we left the city at 0630 but we had both forgotten that we would be up in the mountains and also the clouds it seemed.

We both set up in transition as it was a case of first come, best spot secured on the rack! I took a look around the swim course. Being a lake the water was pan flat flat as I warmed up (yes Scott, I did listen) and then we all had to get out so that they could count us out and then get the same number back in. The downside was that some idiots walked from line to line and it took a good ten minutes of waiting around until the number was correct, unfortunately the standing around was murder on my back and the swim was some what marred by it. Either the swim was long, they started the half distance early or my back was taking more of a toll than I thought but I had just gotten back in for the second loop and was about 20 metres out when they set the half distance racers off (15 minutes later)! NICE! Still, I had some feet to get on.

Once, out of the water the real fun began. Squamish is the self proclaimed outdoor adventure centre of Canada, which is quite a title to impose on somewhere but when you see there trails you can’t disagree. There was a long, long fireroad climb out of transition which was 15 minutes long and allowed me to pass a number of "fishes" before we went into the singletrack.

Having been up to pre-ride the course on Monday with a former World Cup MTB rider and the current Pacific Xterra champ I knew exactly what was coming and made up more places in the fantastic flowing downhill s bends complete with berms to angle the bike over. The only rider that came past me for the first 40 minutes was a guy that was doing the relay and was really flying through the course. The second half was marred by a guy bailing on a tight right turn into a steep, steep climb and blocking the track. Three of us had to get off and run with the bike 'cross style before being stuck in the singletrack with each other for the next 5 minutes or so before one guy crashed and we went around him in various directions (kind of like Bryce at Calshot!).

I made it back into transition in pretty good shape and headed out on the run mindful that that was a SERIOUS hill that we had been warned bout in the pre-brief. Sure enough it was about 2 km long and very steep, think St Johns hill at Shaftsbury but gravel! The descent made up for this as it was basically, straight down a mudslide which had us grabbing roots to slow down and stay semi upright! Unfortunately, the marshalls weren't too hot and when I asked if I was to go straight back to transition to start lap two I was told yes. Once there I couldn't see any signs and asked another who told me I should have gone the other way around the lake not back the same way we had gone out! Crap was my only utterance as I set out to back track, she shouted out that I had more than covered the distance so just go out on lap two. In my defence I would explain that they don't set out the course or advertise it before the race and so it's not a case of the athlete's responsibility to know the course like a road tri. Still, I did the hill again and flew down the mudslide, oh sorry, descent!

In all it was the great day in simply amazing surroundings and beautiful weather. The race organisation was not up to the standards of previous XTC races I have done but it was a good day out and I "won" a waterproof brooks cap, a sigg stainless steel water bottle and a tracksuit jacket instead of a race T so spot prizes were a bit better than Roger's beach duathlon.

The only downside from the race was that on Thursday of this week I was in Vancouver general hospital with a severely swollen, very red lower left leg that was throbbing horribly. I was there from 0800-1600 when they ran blood tests and ultrasound as the worry was for DVT as I had flown twice and done three 5 hour drives in the last two weeks. The outcome was they discounted DVT, blood clot and skin infection but discharged me with cause unknown.
Last night I was at dinner with a sports massage therapist of some renown and she checked it over and proclaimed it was a sub acute Tibialis anterior tear compatible with a long sustained climb on an unstable surface (Hmm, I wonder where that was)! At least I know and am working an aggressive icing schedule with orally taken arnica!

Off for a ride tomorrow morning before watching my first cyclocross race at Vanier park on the edge of Stanley Park.

I thought back a couple of times to how Dave would have loved the swim and Graham and Matt would love the run course during the race but the funniest thing that went through my mind was of Nigel climbing that hill in Moors Valley as I was on the second loop, that kept me going.

All the best guys, good luck with the winter training. J.

Sunday 27 September 2009
Bustinskin Middle Distance Triathlon

Dave's season finale-

This was to be my last tri of the year and although I have eased back on the training since Prague I was really looking forward to it.

Race headquarters was the National Sailing Academy at Portland. We lined up on the slip way for a mass swim start as the red sun emerged from the horizon over the Dorset Coast.

The water was warm and flat (the only part of the course that was). I took it relatively easy and stroked out enjoying the ambience.

T1 was a similarly relaxed affair but then came the bike.

The first section of the bike course commenced with the brutal ascent of the hill up through Fortuneswell to Portland Heights and then an undulating ride out to the Bill before circling the island and descending down onto the Chesil causeway. The route then headed out to Portesham and the very hilly Dorset country roads that lead eventually to the coast road at Burton Bradstock. The route returned to Portland via Swyre Hill and Abbotsbury giving spectacular views of Chesil Beach and Portland in the process.

By the time we reached T2 the sailing academy was buzzing with the sailing and windsurfing community who viewed the by no road weary triathletes with some bemusement.

If the start of the bike section was hard the the start of the run was even worse involving a long steep descent up the footpath past the castle onto Portland. I made the tactical decision to walk and consume my first of four caffeine gels on the way up. Two competitors overtook me on the ascent but I quickly overhauled them once we passed the summit.
It was a good event in that I seemed always to have someone in my sights to chase throughout.
The rest of the course followed the footpath that encircles the island. Much of the path consists of scree and rocks and I soon wished I had not opted for my Saucony racing flats. Despite(or because of) the difficulties terrain I really enjoyed the run and took in the views as I made my way round before descending once more to the Chesil causeway. From then on it was a straight out to the Ferry Bridge before crossing under the road and running back along the harbour-side to the finish.

I finished the race in good shape. I now feel confident of my race strategy for this type of distance and know which nutrition works for me.

The severity of the course make the times a little difficult to judge but for the record it was a 31:41 swim ,3:18:08 bike and 2:02:51 run. Overall 5:59:06. This might sound slow but only the race winner broke the 5 hour mark. I finished 24th out of 87 finishers and first in the over 50s category.

This was a typical Bustinskin event. Innovative course. Well organised. Plenty of marshalls all in the right places offering help and encouragement to all competitors. Clearly marked courses. Good humoured officials and organisers. Excellent goody bag including a technical long sleeve shirt. Great facilities changing rooms, hot showers, refreshments etc. For me it was a great way to end the season.

I reflect back on an enjoyable season training and racing for mid and long distance events and look forward to more of the same next year. Thanks again Scott and Di for your support.

Wednesday 23rd September 2009

As part of a university research project looking at measured- v- predictive VO2 in standard (olympic) and long course (Ironman-distance) triathletes, I am looking for 12 participants; 6 Standard & 6 Long course male triathletes.

The athletes will be asked to conduct a 12 minute Cooper Test, with blood lactate sampling as well as a treadmill assement with measured VO2 and blood lactate.

The age of the athlete and their experience of racing does not matter.

The participants will be given a feedback sheet that will include their measured and predictive VO2max. values, their current running training paces and their recomended heart rate training zones.

The measured VO2 assessment is normally £120 but I can offer that plus the above for only £20.

My research proposal has been submmitted to the university and I should have approval by the end of October 2009 when I would look to start.

If you can think of anyone who would be interested get them to drop me a line and I'll furnish them with participant information, a couple of questionnaires and an informed consent sheet.

Scott Murray
triathlon.coach@btinternet.com

17/09/2009
Season's Snapshot

Another season rolls towards an end, although Dave still has a middle distance race at Portland, so at least one more race report to come.

Personally I think it has been a good year for team members.

Nigel took a progressive build up to the London Marathon, recording a number of Personal Bests. At the London Marathon Nigel achieved the target time he had set himself, Nigel went on to have loads of fun, as he put it, at one of the UK’S most iconic triathlons at Windsor. There is a rumour that Nigel has raced more triathlons (Ferndown Try –a – Tri) this season but we have yet to see any other race reports, so I can’t really comment!!

Dave started his season at the Marshman Middle Distance triathlon in which he achieved one of his goals, namely qualifying for the European Long Course Triathlon Championships in Prague. Stepping stones of the Swashbuckler Middle Distance tri, the Poole 10k andSwanage ½ marathon led into the European Champs where Dave finished 4th in his Age Group. Dave seems to have been bitten by the Middle Distance bug and reckons he may stay at this distance for 2010.

Matt started his racing build up to Austria with an outing at the Swashbuckler Middle Distance triathlon, he had a bit of a sharpner at the Burnham on Sea tri before racing his first Ironman, IM Austria. Matt enjoyed this one and just missed the opportunity to qualify for the Hawaii IM. Within weeks of IM Austrai Matt was already looking to enter the Quelle Roth ironman distance race in 2010.

Graham showed that he was recovered from all of his injuries by racing against Dave & Matt at the Swashbuckler Middle Distance Tri, before heading off to the Middle Distance Championships in Bala two weeks later. Gra rounded his season off with the Vitruvian, one more race had been planned but Gra has decided to have a bit of a chill out and plan his 2010 season – looks like more Middle Distance action is planned.

Both Julian and Mark’s seasons focussed on getting everything sorted for their respective travel. Julian is now safely ensconced in Canada and it won’t be long before Mark becomes the team’s third international representative – Javier in Cuba/Kuala Lumpar; Julian in Canada take the first two slots.

Di & I managed to catch up with the athletes at the Swashbuckler & the Vitruvian and were down to go to the final New Forest middle distance.

Di assisted at a female only training camp at Tidworth and completed the ITU Technical Delegates course and was one of the ITU officials at the Hyde Park ITU World Triathlon Series race.

Scott managed to fit one race in and also worked as a volunteer at the Hyde Park race.

Coaches continue to work with TrainingBibleUK coaches & clients. There are a number of training days planned for the winter season to be run out off Sandy Balls at Fordingbridge as well as a sprint/standard triathlon camp in Gran Canaria in January 2010. More information on www.trainingbible.co.uk

Saturday 5th September 2009
Vitruvian Middle Distance Triathlon

Here is Graham's take on his day.

I've been looking forward to this race for 365 days because after last year's race I vowed to go back & break 4:30 hours.

After my knee operation in the early part of this year I decided that I would concentrate on this one race & nothing else. I only did two races running up this event, both middle distance, & the rest of the time was devoted to training, & lots of it. Was this a mistake? I'm not sure.

My training had gone very well so when race day eventually came, I felt that I could do nothing else & all I wanted to do was to race.

We travelled up on the Friday thinking the distance to Rutland Water would take 3 hours or so, but 5 hours later (poxy M25!!) we arrived for registration & then pasta with garlic bread in the cafe next to the water. We then booked ourselves in our hotel & had a well deserved spa bath & a good night's sleep.

Race day started at 3:45am & we left the hotel at 4:30 to arrive at Rutland Water at 5am in the dark so head torches were needed to get to transition safely. Bike racked, kit set out then off to do a warm up. Race briefing was at 6am which was compulsory for everyone & this is where I met up with Scott & Di, as well as Rob Griffiths who was up there supporting his athletes.

The race was very nearly ruined before I had set foot in the water.

As I was putting on my wetsuit, Nikki screamed at me to stop because a wasp had travelled in the sleeve just as I was about to pull it up my arm. I managed to get rid of him before any harm was done.

I entered the lake at 6:40 (Wave 3) with the sun rising over the calm waters of the lake. I positioned myself on the front row & off we went. For the first lap I set off on a steady pace but nearing the end of this lap we started to catch the tail-enders of the wave in front of us so had to do a bit of dodging & weaving. A safe exit & re-entrance onto the second lap of the swim. I started to move up a gear on this lap cos I wanted to at least get into the 30 minutes for the swim.

I exited the water for a speedy T1 & out onto the two lap bike course with the renowned Rutland Ripple which Nikki kept calling the raspberry ripple!!!! This made me chuckle while I was struggling to get up it (note to myself - I must concentrate). The wind was quite blustery but the first lap was OK, no untoward problems & worked hard throughout. We had to come back into the water park via the feed station to then start the second lap. By now the wind had picked up considerably which made the second lap a little bit more difficult, & that is where I lost a couple of minutes, which was a little bit annoying.

Back into T2 for a speedier transition, & it is at this point that I can honestly say I can match the eventual winner of the race, the times will follow at the end of the report.

Now I knew what I had to do on the run & I honestly believed that I could do this what with all the times I had been recording in training off of the bike, but would it come together on race day? The run consisted of a two lap run, out of the water park, along a narrow path onto a bit of grassland, a right hand turn & across the dam & off to the Norman church & back again. The first lap was fine. At the half way point was still on schedule but during the second lap, heading towards the church, I was heading into a very strong head wind & this is where it all fell apart. I really struggled. I turned around & gave myself a mini talking to & a kick up the arse & with the tail wind behind me I was moving along a bit better, but once I hit the dam again I found myself heading into the head wind again. It was at this point that people started to overtake me. Not good. I struggled to get to the finish but I did it. I am a Vitruvian.

Split times are as follows:

Swim - 30:20 [63rd]
(T1 1:31)

Bike - 2:26:04 [67th]
(T2 0:38)

Run - 1:37:29 [134th]

Total time - 4:36:04 (last year's time was 4:36:00)

I came 61st overall out of 785 entrants & 8th in my age group.

Conclusion: I really believed that I could do it in 4:30 so deep down I am gutted, but I tried my best. This race is now in the past & I'm going to enjoy three weeks off & then start to focus on next season & improve on the areas that I now know that I need to improve on.

Gra

Coaches Notes – Comparing the swim, bike & run times from 2008 & 2009 shows that Graham was actually faster over all three disciplines in 2009 and finished one position higher in 2009. Swim 30.20 to 30.26, Bike 2.24 to 2.27, Run 1.32 to 1.34 and overall 61 compared to 62nd in 2008.

Graham raises a couple of good points in relation to season’s planning and testing yourself before you’re a races. The planning of a season and the checks & balances in training may be where the experience of a coach can help, periodisation and tapering are sometimes easier when looking in from the outside.

Saturday 8th August 2009
European Long Course Triathlon Championships

Just back from Prague having had a great time and an enjoyable but tough race.

The race organisation was 'laid back' to say the least and pre-race communication sparse and at times ambiguous(the exact number of laps was only confirmed on race morning!). Still Prague is a great city and the people are very friendly.

The race start was about 4 miles outside the city centre. The swim was two rectangular laps of the strongly flowing Vlatava River. A swim to the start and the opportunity to watch the elites confirmed the strength of the current. As a result I had a very good tactical swim making full use of the shelter of the banks heading upstream and the full flow heading downstream. I left the water feeling good and then out onto the bike.

The bike course was up and down a freeway with two dead turns each lap. Each 20k lap involved an outward 6k virtually flat section followed by a 4k climb and then a return to the start. After six laps the novelty was beginning to wear off and the air temperature was up to 28 degrees. I felt good at this stage and everything had gone according to my race plan until the one and only aid station ran out of water on my final lap. I rejected the alternative of the sponsors drink 'Nutrend'(anyone heard of it?) because I figure long distance triathlons are no time to experiment with nutrition.

The run was where things started to go amiss for me. It consisted of two and three quarter laps, pretty flat but of mixed terrain including three circuits of the Prague horse racing circuit with a soft sand track (just the thing for tired legs). I held a pretty good pace for the first couple of laps but I struggled on the last section in the heat with little shade and with again the aid stations running out of water. I was reduced to walking pace at times but rallied with Sally's encouragement to run the last circuit round the horse track to the finish (glad it wasn't a steeplechase course).

It took me some time to cool down and recover at the end of the race which was when I made my biggest mistake - cycling 5 miles back to the hotel through the Prague traffic. Not a good idea.

I finished in 7:51:36 (4km swim 1:03:57,120km bike 4:01:08,30km run 2:46:31).

4th in my age group. I was pleased with my preparation and overall performance and finished knowing that I had given of my best in challenging conditions.

Dave Pratten

18th July 2009
Swanage Half Marathon

This race was planned to be my last before my final three weeks preparation for the European Long Distance Champs in Prague.

I warmed up with a quick 1 mile sea swim across Swanage Bay with the usual Saturday morning crew. Then it was a dash home for a double expresso before Julian kindly dropped me down at the start. I didn't have time for a shower or even to wash the sand off my feet(more of that later).

The half was held over a new course which involved a return section on the back road from Corfe to Harmans Cross.. this was to avoid traffic in Corfe and on main road (good) but involved more hills (bad).

I set out to run a steady 7 minute mile pace and more or less achieved this throughout. I was well supported along the course as the water stations were manned by the kids from my school. Next year I'll get them to put laxative in my opponents water cups.

I had a comfortable race and finished in 1:32:44 and in 32nd place out of 360 odd starters. It was only at the end that I discovered a nasty blister on my toe caused by sand rubbing. We live and learn.

Dave Pratten

18th July 2009
Bryce's blog

Well being a cyclist this year has been educational.

My power is up about 7% on last year based on some fundamental changes to how I've trained but I did not decide to specialise on the track as planned. That said I still did the masters nationals but had a shocker the other week only getting 4th in the Kilo and 5th in the pursuit mainly due to a shocking opening lap.

I did make up for it today though at the invitational. I took 4th in heat 1 (again due to too slack an opening lap), then got some advice from some friends and had Jen 'walking the line'. I then improved to take 2nd in heat 2 which got me into the final (I was the only rider to actually get faster between the rounds). I lost by a second which got me silver.

That said I only lost to a former National Junior South African Pursuit champ and beat the current 35-39 Kilo National champ.

18th July 2009
Bryce's blog

Sunday 5th July 2009
Ironman Austria

Matt was racing his first Ironman - here's his report.

Hi guys,
I have been training towards this “A race” since the end of last year and training went well. I am very grateful to Scott for giving me some plans to work with and it was really quite motivating to achieve each weeks/month worth of training as specified in a plan and is probably the first time I have focused on this type of approach so many thanks Scott for 6 months of schedules they got me through it. Anyway to the report….

I travelled out to Klagenfurt with about forty other members of Kingswood Tri - a local club - I had been persuaded by Eric 'the eel' Downey if you know him when flying back from Lisbon during 2008. They had 50 advanced race entries and it was Eric who persuaded me to attempt the big IM as I do not think I would have myself.
I signed up just prior to the race selling out in 92 mins and that was that. Anyhow we drove to Stansted for the Ryanair flight on Thursday morning without bikes as the club had arranged a guy with trailer to drive baggage and 33 bikes over independently for £100 so not that cheap but it saved us the hassle as Ryanair do not take too many bikes per flight. Our accommodation was 10 min from the airport and about a 30 min walk to the start along the huge lake but in the middle of nowhere to be honest so the only thing we did pre race was travel to the expo and eat so not all bad.

Race morning rapidly arrived, I had been quite nervous the day before wondering what will be but on race morning I felt really quite relaxed and in fact looking forward to the challenge - would I get round or succumb to the course? I joined the huge line of people queuing through the turnstiles which let us access the lake for free today, listened to the music, drank some water and waited.

SWIM
Just as I came through the klaxon went and I hadn’t realised we were all off.
I scarpered along the sand looking for a way into the water and that was it I was off. The start as Scott would say was a 'bun fight' and everyone I spoke to didn't enjoy the argy bargy of the swim. I didn’t mind it too much at this stage, I was just concentrating on getting through the swim and onto my stronger disciplines.
The lake itself was beautiful, clean, warm with very clear water you could even see the fish swimming amongst us. The swim went out 1500m to a buoy turn left for 500m back around to shore for 1km then 900m down a narrow shallow canal with fans cheering either side of you. I was fine swimming amongst the others until it funnelled into the canal. This was a real battle with everybody grabbing everybody else it seemed. One guy kicked me hard on the calf and this was agony. It felt like the worst cramp you could have - a dead leg I think and it still hurts now. I had to stop and stretch amongst the melee and this wasn't ideal, I just couldn’t kick or stretch and get rid of the pain and I was fearing this could be DNF time.
Thankfully after about 10 min it dissipated whilst swimming in the canal but I could still feel it and wondered about the bike and run. I got pulled out up the short ramp and that was it swim over and into T1. I kicked frantically for the last 50-75m and this really worked normally I feel a liitle light headed when coming out but this time fine. Time 1:14

BIKE
I found my bag, wetsuit off, bike shorts, gloves, number, helmet, sunnies and socks on and legged it to find my bike. Off through the park and out onto the roads for 2 x 56 mile laps. The roads were good, aid stations every 20kmish but it was more hilly than described although they weren’t that slow - they couldn't have been I averaged over 20mph. I was fearful initially that my new 11-23 cassette might not be enough for the 2 steeper hills but it was fine. Supporters were dotted around the scenic course in clusters and at the top of the hills it was like riding the tour with the fans narrowing the roads shouting your name which they had read from your number - this felt great!!

I had tried a few new things for this race, which I hadn't done in training, naughty I know but it was all good in the end. I used tri spoke wheels front and back, a Profile Aquacell bottle with camelbak tubes, an aero helmet and took 2 x Powerbars (Banana and caffeinated coconut flavours) these were yum reckon I will use these more often. I cut them up into 4 small pieces each and this worked really well eating a chunk every 20km and having them unwrapped prevented the risk of any littering penalties too. I also grabbed Infinit and bananas, water as well as carrying and using 4 Powerbar gels Vanilla flavour which I have regularly used. The nutrition info is for Lou’s benefit as she was curious. I had used the equipment on one 2 hour ride so I did wonder how it would all go. I hadn’t ridden the route either but this wasn't too important to me as I had quizzed others and had a rough idea. I rode quite conservatively in all truth as I didn’t know what the marathon was going to be like as I hadn’t done one before, plus it was pretty hot - 32 degrees apparently. The draftbusters were around all the time though the first lap everyone was together crammed on one side of the road even though the roads were closed. We had been told at the briefing that we were not allowed to cross the white centre line plus there were a whole raft of draft penalties - warnings through DQ, its to complex to go into here!! The first lap was a little annoying in that I was braking on all descents as there were too many people on the one side of the road plus it was difficult getting what you wanted at the aid stations but not too bad I guess. I overtook a few and a few overtook me but overall I was feeling good not too hot and enjoying the beautiful mountain scenery. 2 guys from the Kingswood club were racked next to me so when I got back into T2 and saw one bike I knew I had some catching up to do. I had run out still in my bike shorts - doh! so I threw these into a hedge to reclaim later. TIME 5:24

Once onto the run I knew this had to be my best bit of the race so I just ran at a pace that felt good. I did put on my HR for this element as I wanted pace info but my footpod didn’t wanna work today so RPE it was with the odd glance at the HR but I was focusing on time.
The run was flat, again 2 laps but traffic free so that was good. My pace started out a bit quicker than it should have probably but it felt easy so I just went with it. My HR got up to about 162 and the first 10 km averaged about 4:30 per km. It was really hot at this point with no shade and the locals were enjoying firing hoses from their gardens onto the athletes, these were very well received. Aid stations were every 2km with more gels, banana and drinks on offer plus loads of wet sponges to squeeze on ourselves. I always grabbed something at each station initially running through but in the middle of the race I took a little longer slowing to a brief walk ensuring I drank a full cup of Iso (some members of the group argued that this was 'diesel' being yelled but me and another guy are sure its Iso!) or water. I grabbed a couple of banana pieces, melon pieces and orange pieces on the run and a couple of gels too at various times that was it. I passed many runners on the run sometimes several times and was passed by a couple of pros and 2 age groupers I think but I did overtake these later to my satisfaction one was running, one was walking. It suddenly rained with thunder at about 5km to go and this gave me a lift I think and I picked it up a bit towards the finish, it felt that way anyhow. I overtook at least 3 Kingswood guys during the run to be first person from that club home in 10:18:41 and become an Ironman. TIME 3:29

This race was well organised and great fun and didn’t hurt anything like I was expecting. In fact my first 1/2 at New Forest was way more painful, it must have been my Synergie training plans and extra training. I am now looking to do another one and improve my time, it must be the post race thing Di told me about maybe Quelle Roth which opens 16th July I think??

I look forward to catching up at Julian’s leaving do. Apologies if the info here is lacking I am sure to have missed some serious fundamentals which I can advise of later!!

Hope you are all well and training is good by the way.

See you all soon

Matt

Sunday 21st June 2009
Marlborough Triathlon

Today was “The Longest Day”, not a comment on my time rather it was the Summer Solstice, so the approach roads to Marlborough and the area around the stones at Avebury were filled with druids and those seeking spiritual enlightenment.

For me this was the first triathlon that I had specifically trained for since about 1997-1998, albeit I had competed at events since then I haven’t had a block of consistent training for a few years now. It was also the start of my campaign to be fit & healthy to race at the 2011 World Police & Fire-fighters Games triathlon.

I knew what pace I was swimming and running at but am still struggling to get sufficient biking in whilst commuting to & from London, although Di & I had managed to ride the bike course some three weeks before the event; subsequently I had set myself the target times as follows; Swim approx. 10 minutes; Swim & T1 15 minutes; Bike 1.30; Run 1hour; Total time - 2 hours 45 mins.

Swim went off without a hitch, three to a lane and we all maintained pretty good lane discipline. Weird thing about the pool at Marlborough is that the shallow end is so shallow I was scraping my knuckles on the pool floor! Hopefully this says more about the Marlborough pool than my gene pool.

Came out of the pool in 9.50 and T1, had a steady (slow) transition but out onto the bike in 14.52.

The bike at Marlborough starts with a short climb from the high street onto a B road, no real problems but certainly gets the heart rate up at the beginning of the ride. The course is then pretty undulating with a couple of long drags mixed in to cause discomfort. The longest drag takes you up to a viewpoint before you sweep down through some switchbacks prior to heading onto the A361; the hairpins at Hackpen Hill are not for the faint hearted.

The route back on the A361 & A4 was pretty uneventful and I maintained my fuelling strategy throughout, good dismount and a run into T2, getting into T2 in 1.25. Uneventful T2 and out onto the run.

The run starts with 1 ½ k, on the flat, somewhat narrow pavement, before turning right – that’s when the 2 ½ k uphill starts, and it is pretty much a climb all the way with only one false plateau. So just when the legs are a little bit toasted, you have 2 ½ k downhill before returning alone the pavement.

Completed the run in 61 minutes and a total time of 2.43.51.

The first triathlon I did was a Fast Twitch event at Littledown, when I finished 96 out of 97 competitors, checking the results at Marlborough shows that 1 was 179/180 athletes, so there was a synergy to this race marking the start of my racing again.

Good to be back this side of racing.

Sunday 14th June 2009

Sunday 14th June saw three of the team racing across the UK at very different races.

Matt was 7th overall and 1st in his AG at the Burnham on Sea Sprint race, completeing the 500m swim in 9 minutes; the 20k bike in 32 minutes and the 5k run in about 19 minutes giving an overall time of 1.02.

Coach Note – good to see that Matt has some top end speed prior to starting his taper into IM Austria on 5th July.

Nigel went a little bit longer, completing at the Windsor Triathlon, one of the longest established events in the UK calendar.

Here is Nigel’s view of the race –

I realised a few weeks ago that this was going to be my first Olympic distance event for nearly 3 years.

I also decided that for the first time ever I was not going to put myself under pressure as regards to time. The aim with this event was to have fun.

My wave start at 6:55 in glorious sunshine.

The first 900m were upstream and so were slow going. Once I had made the turn the current was with me but visibility was an issue because the sun was so low in the sky. I just knew that I had to go under one bridge and then look for an inlet on the right where the exit was located. I just hoped I didn’t miss the inlet and end up back at the start.

I eventually found my way to the exit point and I was feeling ok.

The 200m run to transition so took care of that. By the time I got to my bike I was feeling as sick as a dog.

T1 then consisted of me leaning on the racking trying not to throw up and Linda yelling “Are you all right?” at me through the fence.

I eventually got myself together and wandered out of transition and got on my bike.

Now my watch had switched itself off 7 minutes into the swim and my bike computer then decided it had had enough as well. I therefore spent the entire bike leg not knowing how fast I was going (I know not very fast was probably good enough!) or more importantly how far I had to go.

Eventually I made it back into T2 on then off onto the run. Now I’m sure somebody told me that the run course was flat so I was a little disappointed when I found out that you had to run up the hill next to the castle.

I was even more dismayed when I realised that you had to do it 3 times!

Anyway the run was hard work but I gave it all I had and crossed in 2:55:11.Overall a slow time but a great event AND LOTS OF FUN.

Coach Note- great to see Nigel enjoyed Windsor, this theme of having a great days racing continued with Graham at the National Middle Distance Championships at Bala.

Here is what Gra thought of the National Champs.

This was my B race for the season.

Friday involved a 5hr drive up to Bala with an afternoon swim in the lake to see how cold it really was, but after what everyone had said about this lake, it wasn't that cold. We then settled into our B&B two miles away from the lake.

Saturday involved a drive around the bike course which had been changed from the looped course of last year to an out & back due to subsidence & roadworks. All I can say about the bike course is that it was 51 miles over a very lumpy & steep terrain.

In the afternoon before registration, we drove the run course. My conclusion of the bike & run was that this would be a proper course - nice & tough to sort out the men from the boys. I then went to register & collected my bag of goodies which included a very soft reasonable size bath towel which I had never had before.

Race day morning dawned clear & sunny & not much wind.

The race start was 9:30am when the first wave set off.

I then followed in the second wave at 9:40am & the third & last wave followed ten minutes after that but by the time I had started the wind had picked up causing little peaks going out on the swim but apart from that, a good start. At the turn I was feeling OK. On the return leg I had to do a bit of dodging & weaving because I was catching the back markers from the first wave. I stood up and gingerly walked to the pontoon because the bottom of the lake was covered in large stones, some of which were sharp. However, I didn't suffer any injuries so ran into T1.

T1 was quite smooth & was pleased with how it went. I ran out of transition but ran past the mount line as it was on an incline. So I mounted my bike on the road, which was a wise decision because according to Nikki, a lot of people had difficulties getting onto the bike & getting up the hill, probably being over-geared but I was now on my way.

The bike course was out & back as I've said. The first 5 miles was a steady uphill climb so decided on soft tap peddling all the way up & not worrying too much about who was coming past me because I had decided that I would take the first 25 miles fairly easily as I knew the return leg had two serious climbs on it, the first being straight after the turn-around point.
However, I did descend down to the turn-around at 45mph. Weeeeeeeeeeeeee.
The other sting in the tail was midway back to Bala, the 10% climb. By now my theory was coming to fruition because some of the people who had overtaken me at the beginning were starting to come back to me, which was pleasing to say the least.

I flew back into Bala town centre & into T2 for a rapid change from bike to run.

The run course was routed along narrow country roads by the side of the lake which were undulating but this gave you no respite at all. However, the final sting in the tail here was a 1 mile climb up to the turn-around point. For the first 3 miles I ran beside an Army tri guy feeling strong. He was dropped by mile 4 where I started to run on my own. The only disappointing thing about going out was a few of my age group ran past me but I couldn't do anything about that because I was running as hard & fast as I could. I still felt good climbing the hill to the half-way point & then ran home as strong as I had gone out, even managing to still catch & pass runners ahead of me.

Splits are as follows:

Total time - 4:35:08

Swim - 35:11 (76) - T1 1:20
Bike - 2:29:29 (62) - T2 41secs
Run - 1:28:25 (60)

This gave me 44th man (51st overall, which included relay teams & women - out of 507 finishers) & 11th in my age group

Conclusion: My best ever race in my triathlon career as everything worked on the day & most pleasing was to go sub 1:30 for a half marathon on the run off of the back of both swim & bike.

Thursday 11th June 2009
Morton Kermesse

Julian went across to an old favourite -

Thursday saw me with an offer to get a lift over to Moreton to joing in one of the Kermesse series they have each Thursday and since two of my training partners were riding I thought it worth a visit. We were chatting about the race as we drove over and I said that I knew it was a 3 mile loop but was it 6 or 7 laps, 11 was the answer I received! Ah, well I was there.

After signing in at the Village Hall I went for a warm up lap and to see how gritty the corners were. It's so simple a lap that Bryce hasn't got lost on it and even Lou would struggle! So they set the stratch group off and I went with the others in the "duffers" pack.

Well, it got organised pretty quick and aside from a few shouts from Bernie Shroesbury to get on the front to save Greg's legs we were going well. I was pleasantly surprised to still there on lap 7 when the second group came through and split the pack. I got dropped on the second bend onto the main road but catch them again by refusing to brake for the last turn. Unfortunately, the wheel I got onto decided to pack halfway along the straight when he caught his team mate so I had to chase again.

I didn't manage to catch anyone and couldn't maintain more than 230 watts for one lap but no one catch me and I pulled out two laps before the end having averaged 200w for the hour. Not great but good for where I am in this split season.

A big surprise was on lap 5 when a white piece of litter on the verge turned out to be a ferret eyeballing the pack as we went by!

I am going back next week to see if I can't hold for another lap whilst still avoiding the ferret!

Sunday 7th June 2009
Poole Festival of Running 10k

Dave was out at this one.

I know 10ks don't fit in with preparing for long distance triathlons but I entered this event to support our new Swanage based running club, Purbeck Runners. The club was founded this winter and already boasts 130 plus members.

I have been putting in a few miles recently both on the bike and on my feet and knew I would probably be a bit short of pace even so I was a bit surprised at the start when five fellow Purbeck runners shot past me and disappeared into the front pack. I tried to get into my stride as soon as I could and went through the first few kilometres at just over 4 minute k pace reaching the halfway point at 20:24.

As we started the second lap the heavens opened and I began to overhaul a few runners including a couple of my team mates. I was trying now to keep a steady pace but got caught up in a bit of a battle over the last few hundred metres to finish in 40:15.

The time which was my best for a few years has little relevance for my A race preparation apart from boosting my confidence regarding my general fitness level at this stage of the year.

Coach Note’s – If Dave was following a eight week speed or higher intensity phase and a two week taper prior to Prague on 8th August, then his speed work should have started on 1st june – so the Poole 10k worked in quite nicely.

Based upon Dave’s two recent run time at the Swashbuckler & Poole then Dave’s predicted 30k time at Prague would be 2.15-2.30.

30th May 2009
Swashbuckler Middle Distance Triathlon

Lou had recovered sufficiently from IM Lanzarote to marshal at The Swashbuckler Middle Distance Triathlon where Dave, Graham & Matt were racing.

Here are some of the their thoughts, Graham’s up first-

I am still around, I haven't fallen off the end of the World but due to my knee operation in December 2008, this is my first race in 8 months. It is my C race for this year, using it as an indicator to see how my knee would stand up to some serious hard work.

Race day started at stupid o'clock (3:30am) to arrive at the picturesque setting of Buckler's Hard at 4:30am for kick off at 5:45am with the sun rising to herald a glorious day ahead. I was in the second wave with Dave which started at 5:55am. My swim was not as eventful as Dave & Matt's swim with no incidents with goggles. I was out of the swim for a 200-300mtr & ran up the grassy bank, through the village & into transition with Scott's words of "Dave's just in front of you". A very quick T1 took me out of transition before Dave according to Scott & Di who spoke to Nikki whilst I was out on the bike. To be brutally honest, I didn't see him.

Out onto the road where the bike course took us out on a two lap course in the very rough form of a figure of eight. Fifteen minutes into the ride I met a herd of cows in the middle of the road who did not want to move so I had to slow down considerably & weave my way round them. These were the only "wildlife hazards" I encountered but saw plenty of the prancing foals etc enjoying the spring sunshine. I behaved myself at Lou's corner where she had an eventful day (for more information see the results page re DQs).

Back into T2 where I must apologise to the Dismount Line Official, who I nearly wiped out, because there were two people dismounting a bit slower than I wanted to but I tried to go round the outside of them but he didn't move aside quick enough for me. I racked my back & put on my running hat & shoes, picked up my gels & headed off on my two lap run around the country lanes & paths of Buckler's Hard.

The first lap felt good but coming back through transition to start my second lap I started to think have I committed myself too much, but surprisingly I stayed with the pace until about mile 12 when I did start to slow a little bit, but not a lot, for the final two miles.

My apologies to Jules who was riding next to me, & I don't know how long he was there, where he gave me a few words of encouragement but just got the odd grunt back from me.

I ran up the hill for the final time towards transition to cross the finish line with a time of 4:26:03 & my splits are as follows:

Swim - 27:43

Bike - 2:18:40

Run - 1:39:39 (for a 14 miles course, with me slowing a little bit for the last two miles, it still works out at about 1:31 half marathon - this was the best part of the day)

I came 22nd overall (20th male) & 4th in my age group.

All in all it was a great event, very well organised & came away happy with the day's proceedings and a positive outlook for the rest of the season.

I would also like to thank all the Marshals for their smiling faces & words of encouragement.

Dave’s talk on the day –

Another middle distance triathlon in a beautiful location down at Bucklers Hard. Di's photographs describe it better than words possibly could.

What a difference a fortnight makes - instead of enduring high winds and cold rain we were faced with wall to wall sunshine.

The swim involved two laps up and down the river in flat calm conditions ,not easy to spot the turn buoys due to the sun but who was going to complain with weather like that. Matt was in the first wave of the swim while I was in the second wave with Graham and enjoyed a relaxing swim alongside him. We caught the back markers from the first wave one of who managed to dislodge my goggles with a flailing arm as I overtook him but I remedied this and emerged from the water feeling good. A nice long run up through the village run to transition and then out into the New Forest for the bike.

The bike was scenic and varied. The main hazards were the wildlife and most of us had to stop or slow down for cattle and or horses at one time or another. There were a lot of foals who seemed to prefer tarmac to grass! Following my experience at the Marshman I raced conservatively and concentrated on practising my nutrition and hydration strategy for Prague.

The run was two laps of country lanes and woodland paths. All very pleasant in the morning sun. It was getting warm but I felt comfortable on the run and enjoyed racing with Synergie teammates and support.
I finished fourth in the 50-59 age group and third out of three in the unofficial Synergie Middle Distance Championships in 4:55:30(27:30,2:37:36,1:50:40).

There are some photographs posted at http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/sredir?uname=Diddyditri&target=ALBUM&id=5342009174646964129&authkey=Gv1sRgCNa_heHRoY38-QE&feat=email

23rd May 2009
IM Lanzarote

Lou had invested a lot of timeinto this and as can be seen there are lessons learned and some points to be worked on.

Here is Lou's take on the before & afters of IM Lanzarote.......

So, after months of training harder than I’ve ever trained before, going out over the winter in weather that even some of the local hard core boys weren’t stupid enough to go out in, doing 7 hr brick sessions and other such fun things, race day was finally here.

Taper as follows:
week 3 – got a cold, neurotic levels sky high,
week 2 – felt fat & unfit. Did a 90 min bike – legs, neck and back felt crap. Wondered how the hell I’m going to do 112 miles.
Week 1 – all fired up and ready to rock.

WEATHER

Windy on the bike – no, really? Paolo reckoned bike times were generally about 30 mins slower than 2 years ago. Not sure about. Sunny but cloudy – bit overcast on climb up to Los Valles and Mirador, not blazingly hot but thankful of that – could have been hotter. Even had a few spots of rain from Yaiza out to El Golfo. Run was quite warm but then got cooler cos I was out there so long, ha ha!

SWIM

Decided to start under the yellow banner (over 65 mins) but due to the sheer mass of people ended up being quite a way back still. In hindsight, started FAR too far back but wanted to avoid getting beaten to a pulp and panicking. Ended up having to swim wide to find anything resembling clear water. Pete did say if I went too wide I would end up on the way to Tenerife – think I did a good job trying to get to Fuerteventura! Did try to move in a few times but then got people zigzagging across which is SO annoying and people trying to hold hands they were swimming so close so decided to stay wider. Better positioning on 2nd lap but still probably a bit wide. Trying to concentrate on keeping a long smooth stroke. Enjoyed the swim. Saw some fishes.

Got out of the water and saw 1 hr 17 and thought “******* crap”. Was really disappointed and annoyed with self for being so slow. How much faster could I have been if I had started further forward?

T1

Not too bad. Long run up the beach and a long spread out transition.
Took wetsuit off at top of beach on pavement so could prop self up against wall – not a bad move and easier than getting off in transition area.
Changing tent was chaos so just got sorted by bag racks since didn’t need to change clothes.
Put bike shoes on – long run in cleats but there was some matting down so not too bad. Prob would have been better to carry them then put them on by bike.
Quite an easy bike rack position to find as were my kit bags.
Girl who won my AG (a very efficient German) did fastest T1 overall – 3 minutes. That would have been good to see. How did she do it so fast – must have sprinted through transition, shoes on bike? Did she wear a full wetsuit I wonder? Mind you, she was the same person who, when racking kit bags on Friday, said she planned to go sub 11 hrs. Blimey. She ended up doing about 11.5, winning the AG and finishing 15th female overall – Elliot said her kit was plastered in sponsors’ names so I guess she must race at a pretty decent level in Germany.

BIKE

(You might want to skip this bit): Peed after El Golfo climbing back to Yaiza, on road to Soo, top of Los Valles and a massive wee in T2 (in the toilet!) Just as about to stop (oops) for 1st pee, when one of the Civil Guards police drove by and slowed down – thought “hmm, I’ll probably get arrested if I drop my togs now” so pretended to be stretching until they went by. It’s so easy for blokes to stop and pee – distinctly unfair. Was supposed to pee on the bike but that would have meant doing so over my Powerbar ride shots and my other munchies – not an option! Had various discussions with people about the merits of peeing or not peeing on the bike! Decided that time lost was time gained in sheer comfort factor.

Found the 1st hour really hard – probably my worst. Couldn’t get into, wasn’t enjoying no matter how much positive self talk trying to do, telling self to “look at and enjoy the scenery”, “remember how good I felt out here in March” etc etc. Seemed SO slow – another lady said the same thing and that it was taking ages to get anywhere.
R hamstring and L (?) quad and ITB niggling at start so mild panic but settled down.
Was beating self up after having such a slow swim.

Better once got to first feed station at Uga. Realised (a) wasn’t going to qualify for Hawaii (not that I was ever likely to) (b) finish in top 3 in AG (not likely either) so then decided to just enjoy the ride, which I did, perhaps too much. Started to cheer up – thought “if I had such a crap swim, what are all these blokes doing still going past me?” Also, the spots of rain made me laugh and I felt better after that.

Blowing the usual hooley round El Golfo and back to Yaiza. Still people heading down as we were heading back so I thought at least I’m not last. Ended up being near a bunch of guys from slog back to Yaiza through to top of Fire Mountains. Seemed to lose them after that – probably on the descent as I nearly got blown off my bike whilst doing 40mph. Also, could have done with extra small cog as spinning out on some descents, which is where I think I lost people.

More people appeared on run down to La Santa.

Strong sidewind down to Famara so wasn’t as fast as when rode in March. Shame as good bit of road.

From Famara to Teguise, started overtaking a few guys. Turning Left towards Teguise, got blasted with headwind. Found a small bunch of guys near me – left them behind on climb to Haria where also overtook a few more people, several on flashy TT bikes. Climbed up to Los Valles (and Mirador) much better than I did in March. Almost seemed to fly up – well, not quite but mentally better as well though was having battle with the wind and a German girl in my AG along the slog by the Ecology Park. Played the overtaking game for a while but then thought it was wasting energy and she eventually went ahead - she did look a seriously powerful biker with legs of steel on a flashy TT bike. Think she ended up doing a really fast bike split so respect to her.

Had to stop to pick up Special needs bag (bit of a faff) but was glad of the extra energy drink bottle. Stuffed a cheese roll down my top (advantages of not having a heaving bosom!) but left the 2nd. Clear descent down to Haria – one bloke sparko on the floor. Started munching my Salt & Vinegar Cheddar snacks as climbing out of Haria. Enjoyed them and good strategy to use.

Another girl in my AG suddenly appeared near top of climb to Mirador but I wasn’t accepting that and managed to burn her off. Checked watch which said 5 hrs 25 (I think it was just as started descent) and I thought “that’s not too bad” but it all seemed to go a bit downhill (literally) from then on for some reason. Good run down Mirador.

Forgotten how long the slog is to Taiche especially the bit just before reaching there. Overtook a couple of guys. Spirits still good. Nasty slog up towards Nazaret but was expecting that. Was a guy about 25m or so in front of me who I was trying to keep with. Really suffered on that horrible bumpy road. Forgotten the bit from Teguise towards St Bartholome – bugger. That took forever and there were suddenly very few people around. They had cocked up the km markers as well, which fortunately I knew there was still more than 15km to go but even so it was a tad off putting. Thought I was the only person left out on the road by time hit the stretch to Madasche – legs started feeling a tiny bit tired at this point but surprised how long they had kept going. Could see a few people ahead of me on climb to Conil – at least it meant I had clear descents on the way back in though rather lonely. At one point during the section from Taiche, I thought I might be on for a 7hr split but then I seemed to lose time – did I fall asleep or something cos I’m not quite sure what happened especially as I didn’t seem to be eating quite according to plan either.

Other than climbs, did nearly all on tri bars. Felt really comfortable on bike.

Heart sank when got back into P del C and saw so many people already on the run, so many bikes back and so many kit bags gone. Thought I must be nearly last. Cursing myself for being so slow and useless. Took shoes off (very cautiously bent down so hamstrings didn’t twang) and carried them as long run – has some matting down and cos not so blisteringly hot, thought there wouldn’t be too much risk of burning feet.

T2

Did a slow jog to kit bag – did start trying to go too fast initially but then thought “take it steady”. Quite a slick transition although pee’d for England. Mixed up a 500ml bottle with Nunn tab to carry.

RUN

Noticed as started run that clock said 9.16 or something so I knew a 12.5 hr time was not on the cards today.
Had a bit of stitch at start of run. Legs bit slow but ok – think stomach was more the limiting factor, annoying cos legs felt they could have gone faster once got going off bike. Kept looking enviously at people who had 2 or 3 lap bands who were flying along. At one point (think it was 2nd or 4th 5k section) decided that wouldn’t do Forestman, couldn’t be bothered, too slow so what’s the point. On 3rd lap, said to Elliot I was never doing another Ironman, but I knew I didn’t mean it! What I really meant was that I want to do an Ironman but be up there in with the faster, stronger people and not trailing along at the end of the field – still, I get better value for money! On one lap, I apologised to him for being so slow and taking so long.

Towards end of first lap, stomach felt distinctly dodgy so made 1st pit stop. Had to stop again at about 1.5k into 2nd lap, turnaround point of 2nd lap, towards end 2nd lap, start 3rd lap (then took 1 Imodium instant – mistake as should have taken 2 so at least know for future), turnaround 3rd lap – each time, the output was getting less though and my stitch stopped, but I still couldn’t run at the pace I felt I had in my legs.

Trying to work out what my stomach needed. Finished 500ml bottle with Nunn tab in it by about 12.5km (I think) so made up another one as worried about losing electrolytes. Had a bag of Cliff Shot blocks, taken at intervals, which I finished by end lap 2? Not sure if they were helping stomach or not. Sipping water regularly and small amount of coke on lap 2. Acutely aware that I needed to get some calories in as at one point I did start to feel a bit lightheaded but not sure what stomach would tolerate. Had a gel at mid aid station on 4th 5 km ? lap – not sure how much got absorbed or went straight through. Towards mid to end 3rd lap, resorted to 5 sips of energy drink + 5 sips water – seemed to work and toilet stops reduced so stuck with this til end. Useful for future reference.

Once I’d got my stomach settled, I was able to pick up my run pace so my last 10km was my fastest. Legs felt tight but otherwise holding up well – no sore feet or shins. Overtook loads of people on my last lap, lots of who were walking so it was nice to finish strongly. I thought doing 4 laps of the run would be mentally soul destroying but I broke it down as follows:

Lap 1 – get settled in rhythm
Lap 2 – half way there – the faster / more I run, the quicker I’ll finish
Lap 3 – next time I’ll be on my last lap
Lap 4 – nearly there

Also, concentrating on making it to the next toilet kept the mind occupied!

Did the whole run on:
1 gel, a bag of Cliff Shot blocks, small amount of coke mainly on 2nd 10k but a few sips over last 10km, 750ml Nunn drink, water + some energy drink during last 15km so my nutrition strategy went completely to pot and it all became a bit random. Still, I learnt for future races.

Didn’t look at my watch at all during the run (not something to be repeated) – with my dodgy guts, I thought “just finish”. Thought I was heading for a 15hr job especially when it started to get dusk so when I got to the line and saw 14.03 I was delighted and had tears down my face. Arse – I could have sneaked in under 14hrs if I’d known, minus at least 20 mins for pooing (ok so it probably wasn’t quite that long) would have given me a 13.5 hr finish time!!

Felt a bit light headed after but no where near as bad as at Austria (medical tent job). Stomach did one more eruption shortly after crossing line. Went to get some food but didn’t fancy any of what was on offer – just wanted some pasta in a tomato sauce. Couldn’t even contemplate the ice-cream. Ate half a snickers bar as walked back. Damn it – I never seem to get this post-ironman food scoff right and be able to enjoy all the goodies on offer! And I completely forgot the massage tent though maybe not such a bad thing.

NEXT DAY:

Doing the usual weeble walk but legs otherwise not too bad – no significant damage / injuries. Feeling pleased that finished and proud to walk round wearing my finishers T shirt. Walked down the steepest hill in P del C to the harbour to get some food – legs not too impressed. Had a nice beer. We walked past a restaurant called “Boto Fumiera” which Elliot thought was hilarious and said “Lou, they’ve named a restaurant after you”. Yes, very funny.

FOLLOWING WEEK:

Disappointment started to kick in – dwelling on race and beating self up for cocking it up. Why did my nutrition plan go pear shaped? How come I seemed to lose so much time on the last 30 miles or so of the bike? Starting far too far back on the swim. Looking at results confirmed that I’m still too far behind the top girls so I need to keep working at getting stronger & faster – it will come especially with more time under Mr D’s wing. Some people saying that IM Lanza isn’t as hard as its reputation. Well, it’s certainly harder than some. I don’t have that same silly grin (yet) that I did following Austria – maybe cos it’s my 2nd so I’ve done the “I’m an Ironman” bit. Guess you always expect your 2nd to be better than your first – slightly unreasonable given the 2 completely different courses. Suppose disappointment that my race didn’t go quite as well as I had hoped dampened my post race “celebrations” but then, what is a perfect race? Know that to have a truly perfect race is rare – comes back to the whole issue of goals and expectations.

POSITIVES

Just about top ½ in AG and females overall and I wasn’t last in either

My pre-race “estimated times” (slightly weather dependant) were 1.15 swim, sub 8hr bike, sub 5hr run, 15 mins for transitions = 14.5 hrs overall so I achieved that and came in under on the bike & run. I know I have got a sub 4.5 hr IM marathon in me and can do better on the bike.

Beat someone who I thought would be way ahead of me. Turns out she had a run injury so the victory doesn’t really stand but hey ho – it made me feel better temporarily.

Ran all of run except aid stations and a couple of times for about 30secs whilst let stomach cramps ease. I always got running again. Managed to eventually work out digestive problem

Kept focused and generally positive (other than the brief blips mentioned above, but they were passing thoughts). A couple of times on bike I found myself thinking to sections ahead so had to pull self back to present. I never suffered any real bad patches and generally enjoyed the whole race. Did use some of my positive mantras just to help keep focused especially when going into the headwind or climbing.

No problems with kit

I finished when some didn’t

All very well setting goals (1 – to finish & enjoy, 2 – to try to hit the above times, 3 – to finish in top ½ AG and females) but then there’s always the little voice that expects more and says that you can do better, which is why I think I feel a bit disappointed. Suppose that’s what drives you on to improve. Certainly made me more aware of why need to set very clear goals, to believe in them and stick to them – not to change the parameters as soon as you cross the finish line! “Well, I met my goals but it wasn’t good enough!” Need to get better at acknowledging my own achievement perhaps and shutting up the perfectionist in me!

COULD HAVE DONE BETTER’s – a long list which is best kept to myself

Some maybe’s:

Maybe I could have pushed it harder on the bike but would my legs have then suffered on the run more?

Maybe if I hadn’t had gut problems I would have gone harder at the start of the run but would my legs have then blown up?

Should I have taken Salt tabs during run? Thought I was getting enough electrolytes through gels & Nunn tabs.

How much faster would I have been on a TT bike or with different wheels on mine?

I’m racing against some people who have much more IM racing experience & some people who race 2+ IM each year. Gives much more opportunity to learn and practise nutrition, pacing etc. (one girl in a lower AG has a sponsor who pays for race entries so she’s doing 3 IM races this year and aiming for Hawaii. Would be nice to be able to afford to do more – both time & money)

Did I REALLY cock it up as much as I think I did or is it just my head thinking that, cos I’ve been dwelling on it?

At the end of the day, I wanted to finish and enjoy it – which I did and I learnt from it so I guess that really was mission accomplished. I did what I did on the day so just need to accept it.

FINALLY….I had a really good run today (Friday) which did me the world of good and got the endorphins rushing around, and I started thinking and feeling more positive about my race. At IM distance, you don’t get many chances to race (unless you’re a Pro or a very wealthy age grouper) so getting everything to go right on that one day does perhaps involve a small element of luck also. Those that get it right win the gold medal. Some days it will happen, some days it won’t, that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. So I think I have now finally quietened my post race demons and can get on and enjoy the feeling of being an Ironman Lanzarote finisher. I might even be really indulgent and decadent and have a glass of champagne to celebrate ….cheers!

Will I do it again? Yes, definitely. I am on a mission to do better.

Sunday 17th May 2009
Waving, not weaving!! Dave at the Marshman

My main focus for this season is to qualify and compete in the ETU Long Distance Championships in Prague.

To achieve qualification I needed to provide the selectors with recent middle distance form so opted to enter the early season Marshman and Swashbuckler events to give me some margin for error.

The Marshman is a new event based down on Romney Marsh the site of the UKs largest on shore wind farm (this should have given me a clue as to what sort of weather to expect).

The 1.9k swim was in a gravel pit and proved uneventful for me. Transition was smooth enough and I overtook several others as they struggled into arm warmers, gloves, and overshoes.
I had opted for the Bryce approach of wearing as little as decency and the BTA nudity regulations allow (a decision I was to regret later).
The first 15 miles of the bike along the Rye to Ashford main road were fun with a freshening breeze behind me and the watery sun on my back. The course then turned into the Kent countryside with lots of turns a few hills and an increasingly severe headwind. Then the sky turned black and down came the rain.
The last section of the bike course was back down on the marshes and involved a very cold crosswind that made it difficult to stay upright and make progress.

By the time I reached T2 I was frozen.

I struggled into my shoes and set of on the run firmly believing I would warm up. I shuffled through the first 3 miles into the wind and further heavy rain without gaining any feeling in my feet. Fortunately we then turned north and ran with the wind behind us for about 4 miles. I was feeling more comfortable but still was having problems with cold in my right foot.
Part of the run involved negotiating a series of stiles and cultivated field which proved particularly challenging.

I kept going and crossed the line in 5:33:47 in 47th place out of 174.

Sally said I was weaving about and looked rough (but she says that every day).

It wasn't until I returned home that I found out that I had won my age group and more importantly secured my GB selection for Prague.

Not fast, not pretty but job done.

This was a good event with a safe, well marshalled and signposted bike course.

Sunay 3rd May 2009
Fordingbridge 10k

Well this was a shock to the system – a 10k running race!!

The last time Di ran a 10k race was pre-Pyrenees; the last time I run one was last millennium – about 1993/4 I think, memory is a bit hazy.

So here I was with about 200+ other runners and it didn’t look good; I knew that I was running about 12 min/mile pace as I am trying to build my aerobic base and not many runners around me looked as though they would be going that slow. It was a given that I wouldn’t be running as fast as Di – gun goes; she goes.

Now I had been told that this was a pleasant little run with a couple of drags “that you can’t really call hills” and that when you got to the top of one of the climbs that it was quite pretty as there was a field of bluebells on your left. So I was a bit surprised to find that there isn’t really a flat bit on the course.

The first upwards undulation was pretty much between the 1st & 4th kilometre and the second upwards drag was between the 4th and 8th kilometre!! There may have been a couple of downhills but these did not make up for the uphill bits, particularly the solid 2k climb in the middle of the race.

So as you can imagine I was pleased to see the drinks station, I stopped to have a chat with the volunteers who told me they were glad that the rush was over and they were glad the last couple of people were now through so they could pack up – that made me feel special…..

The last couple of ks are downhill towards the finish so I tried to pick up the pace a little bit, by this time the race photographer had long gone and my injection of speed seemed to upset the sketch artist.

Di was 186/231 in a time of 57.22 and I came in 229/231 in 75.29.

Small steps towards New York.

25th & 26th April 2009
Here come the girls.....

Tidworth Triathlon Training Weekend!

Over the weekend of the 25th & 26th April 2009, 23 athletes ventured out of their comfort zones with a common goal of learning more about the sport of triathlon and completing a multi sport event.

Janet Whiting hosted the fourth female athlete only camp at Tidworth with the help of the coaches Nadia Saba from BAD Tri, Pam Ellison, a seasoned racer who has had the opportunity to represent Team GB in triathlon and myself.

The athletes travelled form all over the country to attend the weekend providing an enthusiastic group who all had a goal to achieve.

On the Saturday 25th they were taken through the safety and maintenance checks for the bike including the scary issue of what to do in the event of a puncture! Simple...mend it and replace the tube! The damsel in distress was not an option this weekend.

Bike handling skills was next on the agenda so the coaches split up to cover the technical sessions. I had the cycle proficiency award section where all the girls went back to basics and learnt to pedal, corner and mount and dismount from their bikes. Lots of laughter and trepidation as I talked and coaxed them round the obstacle course turning through tight turns and changing direction. All you could hear was me " Pedal, pedal, pedal. Look up and forward. Don't look at the ground as that is where you will end up! Look up." facial expressions changed from anxious and worried expressions to smiles and laughter as they realised they could do their cycling proficiency award! Eventually we had our first perfect circuit where the cones were left intact!

I packed up my box of tricks and wheeled it down to the poolside for the first of two swim sessions. The aim of this session was technique and drills. As per usual my to lanes had to be different and muster at the opposite end to all the others so we had plenty of space and they all could see and hear me. A number of swimming drills were demonstrated and then completed by the group. The session was adapted to suit the groups abilities and combinations of single arm drills and the less traditional kick drills were utilised to correct screw kicks. Bilateral breathing patterns were introduced having explained about the need to do this for open water events and for physiological reasons to balance the neck and shoulder muscles on each side. The girls were surprised at how natural breathing on three strokes was and were determined to persevere.

A welcomed break and lunch was next and the group were really gelling by now and the noise in the room was buzzing. A great spread was provided which satisfied all and ensured they were ready for the transition sections.

The girls were split into two and Nadia and I provided the transition session. Hints and tips were given in what to consider in setting up your transition paying attention to equipment, the rules and how your brain is affected by chlorine and salt water rendering your ability to function logically severely reduced. Suggestions of starting from head to toe to put your helmet on first and finish with your shoes was adopted and used. Each set up their transition for T1 and then practised a real transition running from the pool to their bikes and leaving via bike out. So we tried it again to make sure it wasn't fluke they had done so well. This time paying no attention to me in transition they failed to see me playing the "What If? " card and moving shoes, helmets and numbers around.

"5,4,3,2,1 GO!" and they all sprinted from round the corner into transition and realised things had moved but all got on with it and retrieved their equipment. The moral of the story being that you can practise and deal with the unexpected so when it happens on race day it does not upset you and put you off.

Nadia went on to talk through T2 again emphasising when you can take your helmet off. They practised T2 and then they were off to recce the bike course for the race on the Sunday with Pam and Janet.

The day was rounded off with a Q & A session covering the sessions from the day and clarifying any burning issues. Most of us then went to the Boot Inn, which has the most amazing number of choices on the menu, to informally chat and tell tales!

Sunday started with the sun shining and some still not sure whether to take part in the race practise or not. However before long all had been cajoled into it by each other. The run route was jogged round and memories started to shred in panic and nearly everyone thought they had forgotten the bike course. Pam and Janet quickly maintained order and put the wheel back on and talked the route through.

After the jog round I led the Range of Motion exercises with the whole group which produced some comedy moments and giggles with 26 women, athletes & coaches, doing their impression of Morecombe and Wise across the green. But Comedy knees and the low lunge probably had the biggest laughs with coordination becoming a bit of a problem an bodies moving in a gawky uncontrolled fashion. But the last laugh was on me as two days later - DOMS got me and walking was slightly painful!

Onto the race which was a run bike run locally to the leisure centre. Everyone entered into it and raced hard thinking about what they had been taught about bike handling skills and transitions. No-one dared undo their helmet strap until their bike was racked! No penalties here.

Even the most apprehensive women returned to cross the finish line with a smile and the big finish for the camera. Some great effort was shown.

But no reward of lunch yet...into the second swim session to practice open water drills and mass starts and turns. My group had the surprise of blind swimming to show them which side they favoured and therefore prove the need for sighting drills. The looks of "you are joking...swim with my eyes shut!" were evident but they all had a go and had some fun yet learning something. An impromptu game of bull dogs with footballs got rid of the inhibitions of invading personal space with mass starts with everyone getting stuck in. A fun session with practical hints and tips thrown in.

Onto a late lunch which again was excellent. The group were really talkative now and a conversation about the race was topic number one. The day finished with a further Q & A session regarding planning a season, nutrition, where to find races, who to train with, equipment and clipless pedals. Handouts and a manual were handed out to all the triathletes providing further references and websites to use.

I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and the group were great fun to work with. It again proved to me that the sessions we often think are for the kids can be re-badged and used with adults to go back to basics. The enthusiasm of a group of new comers was fantastic and I really do believe they will continue with the sport.

Thanks to Janet Whiting to organising the weekend and to all the coaches and athletes who attended. And I look forward to seeing you on the tri circuit!

Di

Sunday 26th April 2009
Flora London Marathon

Nigel's first A race of the season.

The aim with this one was simple. Get round in under 4 hours.

Training had been going really well so I planned to go out at around 8:30 pace.

The weather was warmer than I had hoped but that was out of my control so all I could do was get on with it.

The size of this race is staggering and it is very crowded. This means that overtaking is quite difficult. (I actually checked my mileage at the end and it read 26.6 miles. That’s 0.4 miles dodging sideway trying to get passed people!).

The race started at 9:45 and there was the normal stop/start for the first mile or so until the field stretched out a bit. The first few miles were uneventful. I kept to the plan and actually went through halfway in just under 1:53.

At about 16 miles I started to get pins and needles in my hands. By 18 miles I also had them in my face. I had been drinking all the way around by I had still managed to dehydrate!

The rest of the race was a blur which included having no memory of a couple of miles and towards the end tunnel vision.

I can honestly say that I have never had to dig so deep in an event. The only thing that kept me going is the fact that I had worked too hard to let it go. Time was slipping away and I was constantly recalculating how much time I could afford to lose per mile.

When I finally got to Birdcage Walk I gave it one final push and crossed the line on very rubbery legs with about 90 second to spare!

Completely exhausted. ……Completely elated

The split times from my watch were as follows;

9:46, 8:45, 8:11, 8:08, 8:23, 8:44, 8:47, 8:21, 8:25, 8:27,
8:21, 8:22, 8:25, 8:25, 8:41, 8:41, 9:06, 8:59, 8:45, 9:17, 9:41, 9:51, 10:20,
10:12, 10:12, 9:35.

Total time 3:58:23

So goal achieved … now where did I put that bike…….

Coach Note - there were over 6,000 competitors dropped out of the race due to heat/hydration problems, so you can see how tough the race became.

Sunday 5th April 2009

Race Report – Bournemouth Bay Half Marathon
Nigel Eldred

This was my last proper race before London and a chance to see how I had improved.
The plan was to go out at about 8:30 pace till about 8 miles and see how I was feeling.

The gun went off at 10 am and I settled into steady pace. As I went through the first 2 or 3 miles I kept checking the splits and thinking “I’m going to fast”. I tried to slow a little but kept getting carried along by the runners around me. My heart rate wasn’t excessively high so I thought I would just run at what felt “ok” and see what happened. As I got to about 11 miles thing got a bit tougher but I pushed on and finished in 1:43:45 a new PB by nearly 7 minutes !

Total time 1:43:45 overall pace 7:54/mile

Now just to stay injury free till the 26th April (marathon day) ….!!!

29th March 2009
Training day update

The last training day saw the athletes undertake a distance based time trial in the pool. For Dave & Matt that meant 4km & 3.8km respectively, Graham then jumped in to do his 1.9km swim. The shorter course athletes declined to get wet for a number of reasons.
After a quick break it was time to crack on with the bike ramp test, so Gra, Dave, Julian & Matt got onto their turbos for the intense session of the day.
Nigel joined the guys for breakfast & coffee seeing as he is still in training for the London Marathon.
Julian was pleased that we did not do a Goal Setting or Psychological Profiling session this time around.
For the afternoon we had bought in the experience & expertise of Dan Goodbourn & Martin- two bike mechanics who have helped club & Country athletes make sure their bikes are up to speed.
Real informative, applied afternoon with Dan & Martin demonstrating how to change brake cables, check & tighten headsets and diagnose bottom bracket problems. When changing gear cables the athletes had a master class on how to make sure the gears work as they should and there was even time to discuss tyre & wheel combinations. A highly recommended workshop for anyone who uses a bike, so you can get hold of Dan at www.themobilebikeshop.co.uk

Team outings – so where will you see us this season? Team members are talking about being at the following races.

26th April – Nigel: London Marathon.
17th May – Dave: Marshman Middle Distance Triathlon.
30th May – Dave, Graham & Matt: Swashbuckler Middle Distance Triathlon.
14th June – Graham & Dave: National Distance Triathlon Championships, Bala.
14th June – Nigel: Windsor Triathlon.
5th July – Matt: Ironman Austria.
12th July – Julian: Off Road Triathlon, Vashon Island, Washington.
1st August – Nigel: London Triathlon.
8th August – Dave: European Long Distance Triathlon Championships, Prague.
5th Sept. – Graham & Dave: Vitruvian Middle Distance Triathlon.
20th Sept. – Julian: XTC Off Road Triathlon, Squamish, Canada.
20th Sept. – Graham: New Forest ½ Ironman Distance Triathlon.
11th Oct. – Winter season training days start.

So the usual blend of local and International events and if all goes to plan athletes will race 1 European Ironman race; 1 European Championship, 1 National Championship event, 5 middle distance triathlon, 2 off road triathlons, 2 of the largest standard distance races in the UK. Not a bad mix.

So let’s make it a great season.

17th March 2009
Matt's meanderings....

Hi guys,
Thought I would get in a couple of brief race reports:

Weston Tough Ten 22nd Feb '09
This lived up to its name it must be more than 50% uphill I think it just seems that you are constantly going up an incline which gets steeper when you leave the road and enter the woods. It’s a nice start/finish on the beach it’s just that one long road which you ascend twice it seems to go on and on. There was only one downhill though which seemed very fast towards the finish, the biggest hurdle here was overtaking those on lap one and not slipping on the mud, just about managed it. A very well organised race and reasonably quick given the amount of ascending. I did 1:01:30 av. 6:09 per mile (put that stat in as the maths was relatively easy) 21st out of 1071.

Bradley Stoke Aquathlon 1st March '09
My first ever aquathon, a pretty small field but it was local so I thought why not, although it did mean I forewent my Sunday bike - Sorry Scott (I went out midweek instead however) The race was based in a leisure centre, there were 2 distance options 500/5km or 1000/10km so I did go for the longer option, I know you will all be surprised by this!

My swim was dreadfully slow I felt ok and was taking it pretty easy I suppose but got lapped several times by the 2 girls in my lane - not a happy bunny. By the time I got out of the pool most people had disappeared into the distance. I was a bit angry so ran hard. Got by several people on the run including a couple of guys just before the finish who saw me coming and were trying to go quicker, that kinda spurred me on I suppose as they were looking over their shoulders, I took this as a sign they were tiring.

I was 4th overall with the second quickest run of the day 38:31 only beaten by the winner however the swim was another story. Ok I will tell, 17:50 for the 1km 26th place, my training repeats are quicker than this, it’s the first time I have been so poor in a race hopefully it will be the last. Mind you a minute quicker in the pool could have meant a minute slower in the run I guess so who knows?? I may try more aquathlons quite good fun and so easy not taking a bike……

Bath Half Marathon '09
I have done this race for the previous 2 years and Pb’d each time and this continued. I felt really good throughout the race much more comfortable than usual, I guess my longer training is paying off - thanks Scott. I was a bit casual at the start and wasn’t near the front of the field, this definitely lost me time weaving and darting past runners at the start as well as waiting on a couple of tight corners. I did a few sprints at the start too to get by the crowds so this could have taken it out of me a bit but I felt good all the way through. Normally I lose time in the second half of the race and runners pass me but this time it was the other way round and I have to say it was rather enjoyable picking people off rather than hanging on as runners come by. A great race loved it with the exception of the 25 minute delay at the start due I believe to transport problems with the Park and Ride services.

I did 1:18:02 was hoping to go under 1 hour 18 but a Pb by 1:23 so I cannot complain. It’s the first time I have run sub 6 minute miles and hopefully there is more to come. 85th out of 11,000.

I hope everyone is racing/training well (Nig and Dave are judging by the race reports) I look forward to catching up later this month.

Sunday 8th March 2009
The Grizzly

There are races and races.

The Grizzly is certainly my favourite running event. I first entered this event in the mid 1990s. It has grown considerable in size of field, race distance and popularity over the intervening years. Entries open in September and are usually filled within a week.The route varies from year to year and sometimes more frequently following shipwrecks, landslips, mudslides, flooding and personal whim. The course designer a.k.a. Lean Mean Bogstalker has changed his mind so frequently he can no longer remember exactly where it goes so the general idea is to follow the tape, read the numerous signs and listen to the marshalls (over 400 of them).The terrain includes roads, tracks (some very stony), paths, shingle beaches, field, woodland and a bog. Runners can expect to be upto their thighs in mud and waist deep in water. The signs are idiosyncratic e.g. 'Stairway to heaven' at the base of the steps up the cliff path.'Pracitise
random acts of kindness and senseless beauty' just before the bog.etc etc

I lined up at the race start with over 2,000 others on a very cold and windy esplanade. The klaxon sounded and nothing much happened, a minute or so later I started to move and several minutes later crossed the start line. 200m of tarmac and then onto a shingle beach. It might be dreadful to run on but the sight and sound of so many feet on shingle is very impressive. We ran along to the mouth of the river Axe and followed the beach back into Seaton and some welcoming tarmac and the main crowd of spectators.. It was then a long steep climb westwards upto the first summit to be greeted by a lone highland piper (it reminded me of why Scott prefers to live in England).

The descent into Beer was fun and really was the first point where there was enough room to start to run without being hindered by crowds of other athletes. I looked at my watch and noted it had taken me over twenty two minutes just to complete the first two miles. As I sucked down my first caffeine laced jelly I contemplated it was going to be a long day.

I won't bore you with a full race description but among the edited highlights were the Japanese Drummers on the beach at Brenscombe, the Buddhist shrine complete with incense and prayer flags, the folk band playing 'I would walk 500 miles' as we passed the Fountain's Head pub. The bog of course..longer and stickier than usual..claiming not only scores of running shoes but also some poor guy's Garmin. Crossing the river twice..strangely refreshing and of course the finish with Honeybun's cakes, fairtrade bananas and milkshakes.

For me it was a bit of fun, a good day's training and an opportunity to try out my middle/long distance nutritional strategy..caffeine shots at 20 minute intervals (not for you Julian) washed down with water. It seemed to work fine. The race distance was something in excess of twenty miles. My time was approximately 3 and a half hours. I survived, I didn't throw up, I didn't fall, I didn't injure myself and didn't lose my trainers. Success can be measured in may ways.

Cheers
Dave

1st March 2009
Mad March 20 mile race.

Nigel was out running this one.

Another key race in my build-up for the London Marathon.

The plan with this one was to run at around race pace (9 min/mile) to about 15 miles and see how thinks felt.

I was lucky enough to have Louise Gould for company so at 10:15, in nearly perfect
running conditions ,we set off.

The course has been changed this year to 2 laps of 10 miles.

With a very slight tendency for uphill on the first 5 miles of each lap and “downish” on the second 5. The first lap went without incident. I was running comfortably and was pleasantly surprised to see my splits were around the 8:30 mark. Lap 2 got underway and I was beginning to think that Louise was losing the plot as she started taking the all the livestock we passed. I’m sure the chickens, cows and horses were entertained but quite frankly I was getting worried.

We also had a little conversation with an irate local who wound down her car window and asked us if we were going to pick up all the plastic cups that had been dropped around a drinks station. I told her that somebody would but it probably wouldn’t be me!

By mile 16 it was time to see what was left in the tank. I pushed on and had some great family support at mile 18. The last couple of miles were tough but that was more about going a bit quicker rather than me tiring.

I crossed the line in 2:46 and a bit. Easily within my planned pace and giving me a new PB for 20 miles by over 12 minutes! Also managed a negative split (as instructed by Scott !)
Many thanks to Lou for the company and all the support around the course.

Now if I can just keep it going till the marathon ……..

For the number
lovers amongst you the splits were as follows

8:15, 8:27, 8:37, 8:25, 8:28, 8:21, 8:23, 8:24, 8:30, 8:19
(10 mile split 1:24:21)
8:27, 8:24, 8:25, 8:11, 8:21, 8:08, 8:23, 8:03, 8:01, 7:48
(2nd 10 mile split 1:22:17)

Total time 2:46:38

Coach Notes – Nigel’s two outings at Blackmore Vale & the Mad March give a projected time of 3.45-3.59 for the marathon, with the 3.45 time being projected from the Mad March time.

01/03/2009
Training Day

Whilst Nigel was off doing a 20 mile run at the Mad March Hare as part of his London Marathon preparation and Graham was rehabbing his hamstring the rest of the team had the usual early morning turn out at David Lloyd Ringwood.
The morning kicked off with 7 x 200m anaerobic swim session based on their current critical swim speed (CSS); the first five reps seemed to go well but the screw turned on number 6 & 7.
Following this session Matt did his uaual cool down in the hot tub, Dave was straight to the café for a double espresso and Mark got some food on board, the guys were joined by Julian for the goal setting session before we all headed off into the forest for a duathlon/transition set consisting of run & bike loops.

Photos are up on http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/SynergieCoaching/1stMarch2009TrainingDay?authkey=Gv1sRgCNnXrLXxwd6J6wE&feat=email#

A select few will be posted onto the website later.

14 & 15th February 2009
ITU Level II Technical Officials Seminar

Aim of Seminar
The aim of the conference was to present the role and responsibilities of an ITU Technical Official and how they will effect event management in Great Britain in the future.

The presenters were all from the ITU and had a vast experience in event organisation and management. The panel had great enthusiasm for the sport’s development and wanted to create safe, fair and spectacular races.

Presenters
Thanos Nikopoulos was the ITU Delegate at the Beijing Olympics Triathlon and had worked with the Chinese from 2005. He enthused that the race had been the best event he had ever seen and that he thoroughly enjoyed the experience. However he still does not speak Chinese!

Jorge Garcia has worked at many ITU events and currently is assisting the Athlone team with their preparations for the European Cup in 2009 and the European Triathlon Championships in 2010.

Jasmine Flatters was representing the ITU Technical Committee and explained that she hoped that this seminar would be the start of a programme to create a new and effective approach to management over the whole event spectrum. She explained that the intention was to work with British Triathlon Federation and positively influence event management by adopting the ITU approach. Jasmine is also responsible for the update of the rules book.

Audience
The audience was made up from three areas of event organisation; race referees, event organisers and event assistants. The audience had experience from Commonwealth Games, World Championships, National Ranking and local events. The audience had lots of experience in event management and the overall opinion regarding the ITU approach was buoyant and encouraging.

Programme
The event provided one and a half days of input regarding the ITU’s all encompassing approach to an event rather than the current GB style by placing the onus on the race referee agreeing the event is safe to run on the day. Half a day was used as a workshop to put into practice all the considerations and use the daily work sheet to ensure all had been considered and not forgotten.

The event opened with the 5 Pillars of Support for the event being outlined, as below:
1. Safe and fair
2. Spectator friendly
3. Satisfactory for the local organising committee
4. Profitable for the sponsor
5. Legacy

The input focused around the ITU Event Organisers Manual which is a step by step guide for considerations in organising an event. This is available as a download from the ITU website. It is regularly updated to include recent developments from current races, to encompass best practice.

Points of Interest

Use of wet suits:
Use of wet suits at Elite, U23 and Junior at ITU Events

Swim Forbidden Mandatory Max.stay
Distance above below in water.
300m 20° 14° 10 min
750m 20° 14° 20 min
1500m 20° 14° 30 min
3000m 22° 16° 1 h 15 min
4000m 22° 16° 1 h 45 min

Use of wet suits for Age Groupers

Swim Forbidden Mandatory Max. stay
distance above below in water
750m 22° 14° 30 min
1500m 22° 14° 1 h 10 min
3000m 23° 15° 1 h 40 min
4000m 24° 16° 2 h 15 min

Bike - Drafting
To draft is to enter the bicycle or vehicle drafting zone:

Elite Athletes Bicycle Draft zone – rectangular 3 meters wide by 10 meters long. The front of the rectangle is measured from the leading edge of the front wheel.

Age Groupers Bicycle Draft zone - rectangular 3 meters wide by 7 meters long. The front of the rectangle is measured from the leading edge of the front wheel.

A competitor may enter the draft zone of another competitor and must be seen to be progressing through it and they have 15 seconds to do so.

If the competitor enters the draft zone and then remains out to the side in a blocking position, i.e. the competitor remains out wide preventing the overtaken competitor from completing their overtake, this is a penalty.

Distances

Current and proposed ITU race distances are:

Swim Bike Run Min. Age
Sprint 750m 20km 5km 16
Standard 1500m 40km 10km 16
Middle dist. 3000m 80km 20km 18
Long Course 4000m 120km 30km 18

The intention is for the ITU Long Distance World Championship from 2009 to be 3 x Olympic (Triple Olympic) distance.

Anti Doping
This aspect was thoroughly covered with the specifications of how to set the area up and how to keep control and chaperone the athlete from the finish area to the anti doping staff for testing. Random testing will take place as well as targeted testing for individuals. At the moment the indication was that this will be for the elite athletes only.

Practical Aspect to the Seminar
The seminar ended with a workshop with seven different groups which each had to utilise the daily check sheet format from the ITU to plan and manage an event. Each group used a real event to plan. The events ranged from a local event up to the 2010 ITU World Duathlon Championships in Edinburgh.

The exercise was chaired by the panel from the ITU presenters who questioned each team about their thoughts and considerations of all aspects of the event from contingencies for bad weather to emergency vehicles access to the course areas.

The overall consensus from the groups and particularly the experienced event organisers was that the format worked and its thoroughness ensured thoughts had been written down and considered which anyone involved with the event could see. The reliance on a single person, the race organiser, being the single point of contact and being involved with everything all the time was not necessary as the check sheet pointed you in the direction, meaning a better organised event could and should take place.

This is the first course the ITU have co- coordinated in Great Britain and the hope is to run more in conjunction with the BTF. My thoughts about the weekend were positive as I think the ideas from the ITU work. However the event management check list could perhaps be scaled in accordance with the size and format of an event. The need to understand media on a large TV scale is perhaps not necessary for a local event but a media input to cope with a photographer turning up unannounced at a children’s event does need to be managed. The process employed by the ITU appears to consider the “What ifs?” scenario which I think creates a more professional approach to event management looking I from the outside. As a coach, competitor or assistant at the event I believe that knowing all these checks and considerations had been made would give me confidence in the event and ultimately assist in my enjoyment of the race, which goes back to the 5 Pillars of Support the ITU promotes.

Di

15th February 2009
Lychett 10 miler

Dave didn't really enjoy this one....

This is a 10 mile road race described as hilly although they were more long drags than real hills. I ran a pretty steady approximately 7 minute mile pace on the undulating but mainly uphill outward half passing through 5 miles in 34:55 and came home a little quicker on the inward bit to finish in 68:58, 45th out of 267 finishers. To be honest it was a bit of a boring race on a boring course. Give me mud, water and proper hills any day. Which is just as well as my next run is the Grizzly down on the South West Coastal Path at Seaton in March.

1st February 2009
Blackmore Vale Half Marathon

Whilst the rest of the team were toiling through a training day, Nigel took the easy option!!

As part of my preparations for the London Marathon the Blackmore Vale Half was one of my key races.

I am training on a schedule aimed at getting me as close to a four hour time as possible so I was interested to see how I would do on this hilly course.

The day turned out to be bitterly cold with the wind chill taking the effective temperature below zero.. It was the first time I have ever seen 500 runners running round and round a football pitch trying to stay warm!!

The gate at the end of the field where the start takes place has, over the years, proved to be a bit of a bottle neck . Officials attempted to get runners to line up in speed order to minimise the problems but when the starting horn went it proved to be ineffective. The start therefore consisted of run for 200m, mill around trying to get through the gate, start the race !!

My plan had always been to run at just under 9 min mile for the first 7 or 8 miles and then see how I felt.

Once I got going I was comfortable at that pace. I made sure I drank at all the water stations (there was even ice on the water at the first one!!) and was treated to the odd snow flake on occasions. By mile 10 I still felt really relax so I decided to push the pace a little. By the dreaded last mile (uphill to the finish) I even found myself passing a dozen or so other
runners. I finished (with a sprint!) feeling happy with my mornings work. Final time 1:51:42. Thats 4 minutes off my PB. Next big test the 20 mile Mad March Hare ….. stay tuned !!!

Coach Note – Nigel’s Blackmore Vale time projects out to a 3.59 Marathon time……

25th Jan 2009
Slaughterford 9

Matt was out at this one.

I did my first off road race yesterday which included a short wade through a river and some scary muddy descents ascents - my god do I need some specific footwear - I was like Todd Carty on ice, that's bad I am reliably informed!!

I did 1:05:14 18th overall out of 362, must be my slowest ever 9 mile run I think but some of the hills were pretty steep. Very enjoyable though, reckon I will do more.

25th Jan 2009
Heartbreak Half Marathon

Here's Dave -

As the name suggested I figured this would be a good test of my current fitness.

It was billed as a tough and hilly off-road event with only one mile on a tarmacked surface the rest being forest trails, mud, sand and water. What I hadn't reckoned with was the weather being so wet leading up to the event and Richard deciding to add a little something to the distance. We were informed at race briefing that to break up the field up he would start us at the bottom of a hill which we would then need to ascend before hitting the one and only road section. He estimated that this would add an extra 3/4 of a mile to the event. Although those wearing Garmins reckon we ran at least 14 miles in total.

The race itself was great fun with varied terrain and enough competition to give everyone something to chase. There were no distance markers so it was a question of pacing with perceived effort and distance. I think I ran a pretty even pace throughout to finish 24th out of 220 finishers and third in the over 50 category in a time of 1.47 exactly. A well organised and marshalled event.

21st Jan 2009
Matt's Race Reports.

Clearwater, Florida World 70.3 champs

Apologies for the delay in producing this report I have been slack admittedly although its hard finding time as I am following one of Scott’s training programs. I am only kidding Scott I am really enjoying the new found focus / training sessions plus my mileage has increased significantly for this years Ironman 'A race' so its looking good for me at the moment.

Anyhow this was a great race, well organised and the atmosphere was pretty chilled out beforehand. I went for 10 days and had a week pre-event looking at the course, expo, crystal clear sea and generally soaking up the sun and atmosphere - I could seriously get used to this lifestyle and it was a window albeit a slight one into the life of a pro. Every morning at breakfast I would feel slightly guilty looking out of the hotel window at the bikes and runners going by clearly preparing to race whilst I was helping myself to that extra muffin-hmm.

I think I registered a couple of days beforehand and the guys were sooo friendly and proud that people had travelled the globe to get to Clearwater. Swim practices were held on the 2 days beforehand and these were well attended and worthwhile with coaching clinics and free Gatorade and Power Gels being given out. Signing in the bike on the day before the race was easy as I arrived early and had a volunteer to myself to help rack and show where to put bags and where to run etc. I was filmed whilst racking my bike and thought nothing of it but this footage made Channel 4's coverage over here, unfortunately that’s the only way my being there was gonna get on TV!

Race day came and the excitement began. People were running everywhere getting stamped with their race no. on their arms/legs and then had to clear out of transition by 6:20. A few tyres had popped the day before due to the heat so people were scrambling around for inner tubes and generally getting ready. I had hired a bike over there and ridden part of the route on it but I still wondered whether it would be comfortable after 56 miles?

Anyhow the cannon went off and that’s pretty much the last I saw of the pros. My age group was split in 2 groups so there were about 75 in my wave, this was a bit different to Wimbleball where I qualified for this race and all 1500ish went at once. The swim was really good very calm, no bunfight in my wave and the sun was shining although the lead guys left me way behind. I was just keeping it simple and sighting the pier on the way back - the swim was a triangle shape with 2 right turns before heading back in but this was probably the calmest swim I have been involved in. Into T1 through the shower and got the wetsuit off quite quickly whilst avoiding the over eager wetsuit strippers, some guys were led in the sand on their backs getting legs pulled off, most unusual...

The bike course was pan flat with the exception of the bridge out and back into Clearwater and this wasn't too steep on the bike although it certainly felt steep whilst crossing it on the second lap of the run. At every junction the police marshalled the course, stopping the traffic and with half the road coned off for athletes you could go pretty quick, in fact this was the first time I had gone sub 2:30 for a half IM bike and I wasn’t pushing really hard because I was a bit unsure of how the legs would cope with the run. If only all races were run like this I didn't have to stop once. That said the suggested 'draftbusters' were not really in attendance and every 10 mins or so a cluster of disc wheeled bikes would fly by, probably the leaders in each age group which started after ours. There weren't too many supporters on the bike route so my attention was just on riding as I was battling with an American girl and we overtook each other several times whilst making the odd comment - I eventually prevailed but only 'cos a guy I knew flew by me as we entered Clearwater at the end of the bike and I wanted to get by him....I overtook him in T2 and struggled to keep him at bay during the run but this was good motivation knowing I was being chased down. It was scorching on the run, really hot and I was utilising the feed stations which were located every mile for either water, gel or Gatorade. It was 2 laps and there were a few more supporters out including my folks who missed me to begin with 'til I shouted at them from point blank range!!

It all went well finishing in 4 hours 37 mins which I was really happy with, although I would like to improve upon 362nd overall if I can get back here again. The post race awards and meal were good with Mr Bezzone giving a great winners speech, I hope that guy wins more often so that I can hear a few more of his anecdotes. In all a great trip and if you get the chance to race here take it, it’s an awesome setting....

Hangover 10km 1st January 2009
Start the New Year as you mean to go on I thought. I turned up near Weston Super Mare and it was freezing literally we even had a few flakes of snow falling. I ran ok I thought, although this was a lot windier and hillier in parts than I had expected. Placed 5th overall in a new pb of 36:59 so quite pleasing and helped myself to several mince pies that they wanted to get rid of and won a bottle of wine too for later - good times...

Weston Prom 5 miles 15th Jan 2009
Another run in Weston Super Mare although very different this was along the prom for 2 laps. It was hammering down with rain and sooo windy in one direction (out) but you couldn’t feel a thing coming back which was much nicer. I got there late and just made the start so the heart rate was up, which was good. Placed 13th overall and a bit disappointed really because I led a group for 1 1/2 laps in 5th place but on the way back this cluster of guys all went by me and I just couldn't respond. I put it down partly to inexperience and impatience running what felt too slow behind other guys and the fact that I was rather hungry beforehand. Anyhow another pb so cannot complain although I had never run a 5 mile race before so any time would have done. Finished in 29:11.