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Sunday, December 23, 2007

Walking this Week

This week I did about 30 minutes of walking during some of my lunch breaks. It was just above freezing at that point.

Then this afternoon I did 45 minutes of walking, it was after 1:30pm and it was still foggy.


Fog and Trees

You can only just about see the supermarket and shopping centre behind the trees.

Fog and Pathway


The footpath and trees between the fog.


It was quite pleasant being wrapped up in a nice warm coat, hat and gloves. My new coat even has a pocket on the arm for a mobile but my new MP3 player fitted in their easily which made it a nice walk.

Weekly Update

This week I did over 2 hours of training with 25% of this being swimming and the rest running. This was not helped by me getting a pain in my shoulder muscle which is now better after resting.

I did who ever do about 70 minutes of walking which was not included in the above total.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Weekly Weigh-in

This week I have gained another 3/4 lb (0.3 Kg) with my % body fat remaining the same. This is better than expected as since the last weigh in I have had 2 christmas dinners, chips and a lot of party food.

But this week I have done a few runs in the cold with a number of layers on which kept me nice and warm.

However tonight's match which I was going to be an assistant referee was cancelled due to a frozen pitch. So I can't use my new premiership style referee kit or new sat nat yet.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Weekly Update

This week I did 2.5 hours with 20% being swimming and the rest being running.

The running was in freezing conditions and the second run of the week I felt my right hamstring tighten, so I stopped training in that session earlier than planned.

My planned football match was cancelled today, so that planned time training was not done.

Hopefully next week I should be able to do some more training.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Weekly Weigh-in

This week I have gained 2 oz (0.1 Kg) and my % body fat increased by 1.5%.

The training is still at a low volume although it is starting to gradually increase but was affect by me having the flu during the week.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Weekly Update

This week I only did 1 hour of training with a quarter of this being swimming and the rest running.

This was not helped by me having flu for the last 3/4 days and therefore did no training during this period.

Weekly Weigh-in

This week I have gained 3 3/4lb (1.7 Kg) with my % body fat the same.

I think this was due to weigh in last week was after an hour long run so may have been dehydrated at that point, also I did less exercise.

Norwich Half Marathon

Last week I did the norwich Half Marathon despite the heavy rain and wind.

The start was delayed due to an accident on the main road to the venue which slowed the traffic in to the race venue. By the time we got to the car park the grass had turned in to a mud field with cars wheel spinning.

I just got a few kit items and nutrition items into my bag and headed to the race start. Luckily I had collected my number the day before and just got to the started with a few minutes to spare. Luckily they had delayed the start by 10 minutes so I had plenty of time to the additional outer layers on.

As there was only water available on the route at the aid stations I decided to take 4 gels and a sports drink with me. I also had a sports compression leggings on while running for the first time plus they where under my outer leggings due to the strong wind and therefore windchill factor. I also had two 3 layers on my top with only one being a long sleeve and buff scarf, hat and gloves.

So I was nice and warm, I only had to pull the scarf up in some of the route which was more exposed to the elements.

For the first couple of miles I went of faster than I was planning but managed to just hang on to a reasonable pace for me although the last few miles was more of a struggle but I managed it in 1 hour 52 minutes. This was 2 minutes slower than the last time I ran this but the event was in the summer then plus I had not done a few marathons and ironman in the previous 4 months.

I was getting some boo's from spectators, runners and marshals as I went round. I am not sure why?
Below is a photo of me from the BBC web site gallery for this race.




I had to wear the Ipswich Town top and hat for this race as norwich city at the time were bottom of the league table. Interestingly I saw two other runners wearing Ipswich Town kit , and a Colchester United person as he went past me but only one person wearing norwich kit. That was the same amount as number of Scooby Doo's that was running.

I finished about half way in the results which was ok for me as this was not a main race for me. I think the conditions and/or traffic problems may have affected a lot of people from taking part as there was 500 less finishers (over 20%) than people who had registered for the event which was just over 2,200.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Weekly Update

This week I did just over 3 1/2 hours with all of this being running.

This did include a half marathon (13.1 miles / 21km) which was in not ideal conditions.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Weekly Weigh-in

This week I have lost over 4 1/2 lbs (2.1 Kg) and my body fat is down by 0.5%.

Strange as I had only done a few hours training in the last week. I did weigh myself about 10 minutes after an hour long run which I had done at a really easy pace.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Weekly Update

This week I did over 3 hours of training. This did include a faster swim session, a cross country and a running speed session. I did have more exercise planned but my football match got cancelled.

About 10% of this time was swimming with the remaining being running.

Cross Country Race

I did a 5.6 mile cross country race this morning. I planned to go of faster than normal as there is a footpath only 2 people wide after the first 100m.

So at the start I ran off through the massive muddy puddle. I soon saw way most people ran round it as it was half way up to my knee, I was glad I double knotted my shoe laces.

I did however make up a lot of places but then a lot of people started to over take me. I did not have my heart rate monitor on, just the GPS part so as I completed the first mile in 6:50 (minutes:seconds) and my heart beating fast I knew I went off fast and slowed down by over 1 minute per mile. The pace of the first mile I would have beaten my 10km PB.

However I knew there where a few hills and muddy sections on this course that would slow you down. The last couple of miles my pace was struggling and I was just able to manage a good pace. Then with less than half a mile to go I noticed one of my club mates trying to catch me up, that gave me a boost for the rest the run.

There was about 10 runners grouped together which we had a bit of a sprint finish for the last 100m, with half of this small group going round the puddle but those who went through it finished ahead of those who did not.

I ended up with just over 45 minutes which I was pleased with this route and my early fast pace. I only had a select few cakes after the race compared to the previous XC.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Weekly Weigh-in

This week I have gained 2 lb (1 Kg) and my body fat increased by 0.5%.

I suppose in the chips, large roast dinner, a large selection of party snack food and a fast food meal deal I had in just 3 days over last weekend did not help.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Speed Night and June 2008 Training

Tonights training turned out to be speed based.

When I got to the swimming pool the normal medium pace lanes where already quite full yet one of the fast lanes only had three people in it. So I decided to go in the fast lane. I was able to keep up with the pace in this lane, although I did have took take a longer rest period during the last few of my 100m reps.

Then after this I went out for a running session in the light rain. I did a speed session of 800m reps which I did 5 with a 2 minute rest period between is rep. This felt tough by the third rep due to the fact I have not done this type of session for at least half a year. I was able to complete my planned session.

I then went to the bar at the leisure centre and after 20 minutes England were already 2-0 down, in the end they lost and did not qualify for the Euro 2008 championships.

At least I will have more time for races and training next June.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Weekly Update

Last week I did 6 hours of training with 20% of this being swimming and the rest being running.

I have started to book races for next year and currently have entered two running races for next year.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Weekly Weigh-in

This week I have lost 1/4 lb (0.1 Kg) and my % body fat has remained the same.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Getting Cold

While I was out for a run tonight it is really getting cold as the road gritter was out.

Luckily as it went past I was on a footpath behind some trees. As you would not want to be hit by any grit when the temperatures are that cold.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Cross Country Race in Eton

Today I did the first cross country (XC) league race of the season.

The start was on the Eton side of the River Thames. Despite the fairly strong wind below across the river we could still hear the bugle for the minutes silence at the local Remembrance Day events while we all observed it.

The race started with a lap of about 400m around a field before going along a footpath next to the river for over a mile before going on a road briefly then round the edge of a large field and then along a footpath to the river. It then followed the same route back to the start until near the end which used a different entrance to the field where the start/finish was.

On my GPS device there was only 80ft of ascent on the whole run which was 5.9 miles (9.5 km).

It was flat and the off road sections where following a footpath so you ended up going single file most of the way and occasionally you could (if possible) overtake someone. So I decided to go off fast for me and see how long I could keep the pace for. I ended up doing it in about 46:30 (forgot to stop my watch after crossing the finish line) which is about 7:45 minutes per mile.

This is fairly fast for me especially as I have only done one short (10km / 6.2 miles) running race this year, although I have ran these distances in races at an end of a triathlon.

Now this year I have started and/or finished a race on the Windsor side, Eton side or in the River Thames within a 100m section of the river.

Weekly Update

This week I did nearly 6 hours of training with 90 minutes (25%) of that swimming and the rest running.

I did the swimming sessions in a 20m pool so I decided to do longer than normal reps of 200m. The first session was harder than the normal and I was struggling the last couple of lengths to main correct form but the sessions afterwards I felt I was improving and increased the session form 1 km to 1.6 km.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Weekly Weigh-in

This week I have gained 1 lb (0.5 Kg) with my % body fat down 1%.

More concerning is that in the last 11 months I have steadily been increasing my weight. During this time my weight has increased by 11 lbs (5 Kg).

I think the problem was due to my food intake remaining the same before/after endurance events such as marathons and endurance triathlons.

Hopefully make changes to my diet to take in account of the amount of exercise should stop this trend.

Lasted nearly 2 Weeks on the NFP Diet

I lasted nearly 2 weeks on the NFP diet, as tonight I had pasta.

Sunday, November 04, 2007

NFP Diet

I was told about the NFP Diet after the Dublin Marathon, which I have followed since.

No For Pasta (F word changed from an expletive)

After all the carbo loading in the build up to the marathon, it is nice to have something that is not pasta. So far I have lasted 1 week on the NFP Diet.

Weekly Update

This week I have done 5 and a half hours of training. A bit under 10% of this was swimming and the remaining time was running.

This was broken down by the Dublin Marathon and then an easy 30 minute run. I took last run easier and made it 2 miles shorter than planned as I did not want to rush back in to running after doing the 2 marathons in 3 days.

Friday, November 02, 2007

Weekly Weigh-in

This week I have lost 1lb (0.5 kg) and my % body fat has increased by 0.5%.

I did 2 marathons over the weekend which helped use lots of calories (about 7,000 calories) but then there is the gels and sports drinks that I had during the race and followed by the recovery food and drink. The recovery food tended to be the unhealthier kind and some celebratory alcoholic drinks was had afterwards.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Dublin Marathon

After getting only a few hours sleep due to getting to the hotel late and its location in the bar district of Dublin, I was surprised I woke up at the first alarm at 6:20am on a Monday Morning. I had planned various alarms on my mobile, alarm clock and a wake up call.

The hotel was only a short walk to the start and more importantly the finish.

The start was in a different location this year which only had about dozen toilets and there was 10,000+ runners, so the queue's were long. As I had got there relatively earlier I was at the start line with a few minutes to spare although I guess a lot were not. However as a chip timing device was used you would get your time from crossing the start to the finish.

This year after about 1 mile the route was slightly different as it went across the main bridge and up the main street in the city before rejoining the previous year's route. There was some strange looks from some tourists who had not realised it was taking place.

The course then went past the back of the zoo and through phoenix park which was about 8 miles. There was then a few short inclines and a short steep hill which I had to walk up the last half of both of these due to my leg muscles being sore from Saturday's race. From then on I walked up most other inclines so I was able to complete the race.

I was at roughly the same pace for the next 12 miles until a few miles when I slowed down as I walked up some inclines and through the aid stations to make sure I got the required nutrition.

During this race I tried a different make of salt replacement capsules for the first time which I was ok with and I think did help me in addition to the gels I had with me as well as the nutrition available on the route.

Then with about 2 miles to go I picked up the pace, possibly due it being my 50th mile during the weekend and mentally being a big target to go through. Then in the last half mile I picked up the pace even further.

I ended up with a time of 4 hours 30 minutes which I was pleased with due to the race on Sunday and I completed a double marathon weekend.

NFL Wembley

On Sunday I then went to Wembley to watch the first regular season game to be played outside North America. It was between New York Giants and the "home" side Miami Dolphins. The home team had brought there normal home game commentator, there sound alerts for during the game and about 40 cheerleaders. Flickr has a number of photos of the event.

By the time I got to Wembley I had already that day travelled by bus, coach, train and tube plus walking about 1 mile.

The game and the whole event was great. Our seats were to the left of one of the ends and in a higher tier which gave great views of the complete field.

I am not sure how good larger, chips and hot dog is good for either recovery food or carbohydrate loading.

I had worked out how long it would take me to get to the airport from here. However I did not take into account that I would have to wait at the stadium station for 30 minutes.
I then had to run up and down stairs and escalators and other sections between the tube, train and airport. I just made the check-in by a few seconds and just got to the gate when they opened it for boarding.

I did not get to my hotel at Dublin until 30 minutes after midnight with a planned wake up time of 6:30am.

Weekly Update

This week I did 7 and a half hours of training. This was all running due to the upcoming races that I had entered.

Next week should be about the same but hopefully with some swimming at the end of the week.

Snowdonia Marathon

I took part in the Snowdonia Marathon at the weekend, it was its 25th Anniversary.

The start was in Nant Peris and the finish was in Llanberis and was a clockwise route on road around the mountain and then a bit over it near the end which was off road.

The first couple of miles there was a step hill up to about 1,200 feet (365m) which was then followed by the same amount of downhill. This was just as hard as the uphill due to the pressure put on your back when running down at a faster pace. There was also a slight breeze through the valley.

At about 8 miles I noticed I was on to beat my marathon PB which was on a relatively flat course so I thought I would be harder near the end. A bit after then it started to rain lightly and a bit more wind. So at this point I decided instead of getting wet and cold I would put on the green bin liner which I had for the start line and decided to keep with me on the run and ended up keeping on until about the last mile.

Some of the water stops had mars bars which had been cut up in to sections these would good to have as something different to Gels and sports drinks.

There was a few more smaller undulations until near the end where there was another big hill to go over. By this time I was walking up it with my heart rate was still increasing due to its length and steepness.

Even in the last half mile there was 2 more inclines which where only 50 to 100 ft but felt massive at that point due to my legs muscles being exhausted.

Below is an image of the course profile from another runners GPS.



The race was harder then I expected but it also had some great scenery.

Included is a link to another person's photos of the race, the majority of which are taken near the top of the first hill.

Some more photos of the area can be found on Flickr. The route was from Nant Peris south east along the A4086 then south west on the A498 and then north west on the A4085 towards Waunfawr which was then across off road to Llanberis.

I really enjoyed the race despite the conditions and the hillier route.

I ended up with a time of 4 hours 48 minutes which I was pleased with.

Highlights of this years race are available on line at the S4C (welsh tv) web site. You will need to click on the link under available programmes called Marathon Eryri 2007.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Weekly Weigh-in

This week I have put on another 1 lb (0.5kg) with my % body fat remaining the same.

This was not helped by two lunch time pub meals and cakes as some people where leaving or retiring at work.

This week I will only have run, however I do have a few long running races over the next 7 days. As part of my recovery next week I will plan to do some swimming and maybe some light running depending on how I feel.

I have also signed up for another event in 6 weeks time which will be a shorter and faster event.

Before that following race I will have cross country league races, a problem with these is the amount of nice food and cakes afterwards.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Strange sightings on my long run

On my 14 mile long run at the weekend I had a few strange sightenings. The route was a few loops around the edge of the town I live in the UK.

I have seen people picking berries of bushes on the side of a road but I had not seen somebody cutting roses at the side of the road.

Then another house there was a grape vine growing over fence.

The next strange thing was a dead dear on the side of the road, this was at the end of a business park.

Further down the business park a squirrel ran across the road only a few metres away from me.

All that was in just 6 miles, the remaining 8 miles where pretty uneventful apart from my lack of pace.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Weekly Update

This week I have done under 4 hours of training and all of this was running.

This figure should increase for the next two weeks due to races and hopefully I should be able to get some other training as well.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Weekly Weigh-in

This week I have gained 3 1/4 lb (1.4 Kg)!!!

My body fat has gone down by 1%.

This was mostly due to having a lot of food at one of my brothers wedding on not doing any training since then. However I did do some swimming and gym work while there for the weekend.

Interestingly it seems my weight has increased since I have got my Sky+ (PVR e.g. TiVo) earlier in the year.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Sponsorship Money

My final total for sponsorship money raised for the stroke association when doing the Ironman UK was £355.

Weekly Update

Last week I did nearly 6 hours of training.

This was despite being at my brothers wedding at the weekend. However we made use of the swimming pool and gym their in the mornings.

Plus the 13 mile run I did midweek last week. This made my running about 65% of the time, with swimming 25% and cycling (in gym) 10%.

This also included a 5km run on a treadmill. This was my first run on treadmill for a couple years. Which it is harder to pace plus you don't cool down as much as you would outside.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Half Marathon in Training

Tonight I did a half marathon (13.1 miles/21km) in training.

After work I did a 5 mile loop before the main club training session and then I did a 8.18 mile route which had some hills in it with the main group. It was about 2 hours to do this which felt hard even though my pb for this distance is 20 minutes quicker.

I think it was due to still having a cold, it being the longest run I have done for a month and I did this after leaving work.

Thats now 20 miles (32km) in the last 2 days!!

A couple of "rest" days coming up now.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

First Run in a Week

Tonight I did my first run in a week. :-)

It was a 7 mile (11km) run at an easy pace. I think it helped my cold by getting all that fresh air after being in an office all day. I did wear two layers and a hat so I did not get cold while out.

I may even try another longer run tomorrow, as I can not go swimming at the moment.

Monday, October 08, 2007

Diet Coke Plus

Today I came across a new version of diet coke called diet coke plus. There was two versions vitamins and antioxidants both in 350ml bottles (12 oz).

The antioxidants version was diet coke plus greet tea extract, which tasted quite nice and the coke was not as sharp and more palletable.

The vitamins version had 15% RDA of a few vitamins, again was quite pleasant tasting compared to the normal diet coke.

These did have more calories than normal, a total of a massive 4 calories!!

I now these are not the most healthiest of drinks but these are slightly better than their standard diet coke.

I normally prefer the other major brand of diet cola but this was quite nice tasting and I would get them again.

Diet Coke Plus Press Release (pdf file)

Sunday, October 07, 2007

Weekly Update and Weigh In

This week I have gained 2lb (1kg) but my % body fat remained the same.

This was likely to only doing 2 hours of exercise with 20% being swimming and the rest was running.

I felt under the weather so decided against training and over the weekend I got a cold. It has been 6 days since I last exercised!!!

I may try an easy run tomorrow, I think there may be another weight increase due to the lack of training. It is also not helpful for a couple of races I have got at th end of the month.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Weekly update including some different runs

Last week I did over 4 hours of training. About 20% of this was swimming and 80% was running.

Some of this running was up in the north of the country. On Saturday morning I did a 7km (4.5 mile) trail race near Barnsley, South Yorkshire. I was told by the local runners it was up hill for the first mile and a half (2.4 km) and then undulating. Looking at my GPS data they were not wrong, I spent most of my race time running up hill!!

Then the next day I did an easy pace 50 minute run in the Peak District. While running it I took some photos along the way on the way out section of the route.

Weekly Weigh-in

This week I have lost 2 1/4 lbs (1 Kg) but my % body fat increased by 1%.

I can understand why the body fat went up but not the weight loss. As on Saturday afternoon I was at a sporting venue watching my brother play in the final. While I was there I had a burger, cheese burger, hot dog and fries all were a large size.

Nottingham Marathon Race Report

We arrived with plenty of time before the race their was not that many people around and their was no queues for the toilets!!!
Enough Toilets?

When we queued on the road at the appropriate start time of 5 hours. This was an educated guess based on half and training times of my brother who I was pacing him round. There was lots of runners in front and behind us.


At the start of the race At the start of the race

Then the army canon started the race, its the only race I know that that starts with a canon.

The first few miles where through the city center at a different route than I had previously done. I was therefore surprised with the amount of hills, apart from the ones near the railway station and castle.

After the section through the city we then headed at to the university. Round the university there was some parts on gravel which was ok but there was also a number of other hills.


Trent Building

After leaving the university section we had down past the hospital. This direction of the route had changed so there was a nice long down hill section.

The next section was through the wollaton park. There was some more people cheering you on through there plus YET another hill.


Going Up Wollaton Hall

At the drinks station leaving the park there was the Nottingham Caesars (American football) team in the full kit, it was a bit unusual to see this at a race.

The route then came back through the city center with a few more hills. We then ran on the road next to the river trent until those doing the half marathon turned left and ran up the finishing straight and those doing the full ran along the footpath next too the river. At this point the sun and warmth disappeared and the strong winds started.

We then ran past the notts county fc ground and then out towards the country side. This section was flatter from now on but there was some long constant gentle slopes. At this point we where starting to use a run/walk strategy with walking through the aid station to get the required water and sports drinks.


Another Hall

Then we effectively did 2.5 lengths of the national watersports center rowing lake. With 1.5 lengths of it in to strong 20mph (32 kmph) head winds.


Entry to the watersports center Runners next to the lake to the right View of lake

Once we got to the far end of the rowing lake we could see that it was 2000m long!!!

View of lake distance marker

From the far end of the lake we walked the last 6 or so miles, as my brother said his back was hurting a bit.


On the way to the finish The finish is in the distance

Then we head along footpath next to the river trent, again in the strong head winds. We ran up to the Nottingham Forrest FC ground which we ran under.

Going past the stadium Seen Better Days


there was just under a mile from this point to the finish. As we crossed the bridge to the other side the river, this felt a massive hill at this point.

It felt steeper


With the finish line almost in site you had to turn right and do a ½ mile loop. Then we saw the 26 mile sign :-)

26 Mile Marker

Some of the marshal's had dressed up like robin hood.

One of the Marshalls

Then there was the finishing straight, at this point there was not many people left.

.

The Finishing Straight

At this point my brothers back was ok and tried to out sprint me on the 150m finish straight on the grass. This was while I was taking a few photos, although I just about caught him up with about 20m from the finish line but at this point his conscience also got the better of him as stopped to let me go past him.

However there was enough medals there.

With our Marathon Medals

It was an enjoyable day and it was nice to just run and enjoy a race and not worry about my pace.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Weekly Weigh-in - Not going to good

This week my % body fat is up 0.5% and I have gained 2 lb (0.9 Kg).

This is despite running (plus some walking) a Marathon with my brother. Which according to my running GPS device I used 3,300 calories which is more than a day's recommended daily intake. However I was having sports drinks and gels which was using some of these calories. Plus this week I have also had 4 large cream cakes that somebody brought in to work as it was their birthday.

However more concerning is that since the end of April my weight trend is for a gradual increase and is up 10 lb (4.5 Kg) since then. This trend must be stopped.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Back in Training

After doing the Marathon on Sunday I had one complete rest day from training and then I was back in training tonight.

I did a 1 mile warm up and down running to and from the training venue. Then we did a 4.4 mile (7km) run which was relatively fast with the pace increased nearer the end. My muscles felt tight until about the last mile of this run which they then felt a lot better. On the way back I took it a lot easier pace as I did not want to overdo the training.

Weekly Update

Last week I did 8 hours of training, all of this was running. With most of this being at a Marathon on Sunday where I paced my brother round.

I will do a report on this later in the week, I was also taking photo as I went round. As I was doing this at an easier pace for me.

Two 45 minute Speed Sessions

Thursday night I was a neutral assistance referee (linesman) on the FA Womens Premier League (Southern) game, this was my second game at this level. It was a good game and I enjoyed the match. I had my new Ironman watch on one arm and another referee watch on the other.
I thought it was a good speed session as you have to control you pace while maintaining appropriate positioning along the touchline and the view of the play.

As the ground was still hard I was using non studded footwear which was ok until occasionally when a rapid change of direction was required. On certain parts of the touchline I nearly lost my footing a couple of times.

Afterwards there was not much food their I liked, so after I filled up my car at the nearby petrol station I thought I would get something from their food section. However as it was after 10pm it had all been sold.
After about 5 minutes of driving along the motorway my cars accelerator cable broke. :-(
I managed to get it safely to the side of the road and within 30 minutes the recovery service had arrived and fitted a temporary cable.
So by the time I got to my house it was after Midnight.

The following day I was able to get the correct cable fitted, however it costed just over twice what my fee was the previous night.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Weekly Weigh-in

This week my weight remained the same with my % body fat down 0.5%.

My exercise level is starting to increase while keeping my food intake relatively the same, well apart from the odd bit of dark chocolate toblerone, mmm.

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Weekly Update

I have started to increase my training and this week I have done 3.5 hours of training. This was 80% running and 20% swimming.
Nearly half of this time was a 10 mile (16km) run that I did this morning, which was warmer than I expected.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

What a month

I have had a good month or so, completed Ironman UK a couple of weeks ago and this week I found out that I apparently have got a referee promotion to level 6 (with 1 being the premiership). Also in less than 2 weeks I will pace my brother in a Marathon.

I only noticed when registering for the season, as I did not receive any letter due to it was sent when I was moving house.

Then I only posted my registration form off by snail mail on Monday lunchtime and by Wednesday afternoon I had got a request by email to be a neutral assistant referee (linesman) on a FA Women’s Premier League (Southern) fixture for next week. This is only the second match at this level I have officiated in.

Weekly Weigh-in

This week I have put on 1 lb (0.5kg) but my % body fat has reduced by 0.5%.

This is due to the lack of exercise while maintain food intake. This is to help my muscles recover after the Ironman. The training is alrady starting gradually to increase again.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Back in Training

I am back in training after having two weeks off.

Last week I did a massive 1 hour 18 minutes of training. It was split between all 3 areas but it would be, as it was a sprint triathlon. This was my last triathlon of the year. Now just running races, cross country races and the occasional game of football (soccer) to officiate in.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Ironman UK Day - Photos

I now have some 40 photos of me at Ironman UK taken by my brother. These where either at the main venue Sherborne Castle or a few minutes walk away. Luckily there was none of me on the tougher cycle and run parts.

I also made my local newspaper (small photo and article) where I grew up.

Weekly Update - Rest Week

This week I have done no training sessions. Although I have done some walking and and a bit of swimming with my nutrition being described as a "rest" week.

The walking was a for a total of about 8 miles (an educated guess) which this also include pushing my niece and nephew in a pram, so I got a bit extra resistance walking.

The swimming did include some open water and pool swimming. The open water swim was in the north sea which I did a few minutes of swimming, which was really cold as I only had my speedo's, googles and swimming cap. A tri suit and wet suit would have been really useful. The following day a few miles away the lifeguard station had the sea temperature as 8C (46F)!!!

Then the next day I went to a pool with my 2 year nephew, which we where in the shallow end with him trying to swim. That was until he saw the giant inflatable in the middle of the pool, it was 15m (49 ft) in a 25m (82 ft) pool and only about 1.5m (5 ft) wide. It was an floating assault course with things to go through, climb under and up with a slide in to the water at the end. It was not really designed for adults, so as my nephew went though I had to struggle to get through and stay on the floating device. Then their was a enclosed slide which we then had to go on before finishing in the pool. You don't normally see this swimming training for an Ironman!!
I was then able to do a handful of lengths before a swimming lesson started.

Nutritionally the few days after the Ironman I was fine which did seem to help my recovery. Then for the following 5 days or so while I was away on my brother stag do I was having various food such as chips, meat pie, gravy, chippy butty (actually in a roll up north), bacon, other fried food and ice-cream. To wash this down a number of different types of alcoholic drinks was used.

My endurance training and cycling knowledge did come in use for one of the days when we had a 30 minutes go-karting race which I finished 2nd out of 11 and beat both of my brothers. :-)

Despite the lack of training and not so nutritionally complete I only put on 1/4 lb (0.1 kg) this week but my % body fat did increase by 2.5%.

I will do a couple of training sessions in the next few days before a local sprint triathlon at the weekend.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Weekly Update

This week I did over 17 hours of training, nearly all on Sunday :-)

Sunday I used over 10,000 calories but this was replaced going round eating and drinking at least every 30 minutes. Since then I have been having various protein drinks to help with my recovery process.

However this week I have put on 1.5 lb (0.75kg) but my % body fat has gone down 4%.

This week will most likely be a complete rest from any training, although I will get some light exercise from some walking only a few miles.

Less than 2 week now to my next triathlon, a local "sprint" distance triathlon.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Made it on to the BBC Web site

On the BBC web site there is a photograph of me at Ironman. It is on the the cycle lap before you start to head back on the lap.

Going by the drinks bottles this was on the first lap so was only about 12 miles (20km) in to the cycling.

Ironman UK 2007 Race Report

The swim was delayed by 20 minutes, due to the main competitor car park (field) being too muddy to use due to the recent rain this was causing competitors having problems getting to the start, however I was there by 4:15am.
From the transition area they had a precession of the competitors to the lake entry point. This was good as you got encouragement from the spectators.

From the swim I had two swimming caps on and a swimming mask. I positioned myself for the start in the middle of the lake which was next to the lap divider buoys but behind the pack. I thought I would not get involved with the tussle of a mass swim start with 1,600 people. During the swim I got hit in the back of my head, in my swimming mask and my body this was while swimming the just the first lap of two. During the last lap of the swim my forehead was starting to get quite cold despite having two swimming caps on and being told before the race the lake temperature being 17C (62F). As I was only a few hundred meters from completing the swim I decided to continue on see how I felt when out of the water. Then about half way down the last leg I got cramp in my right calf, which I stopped briefly before continuing on with the swim which did go a few minutes later.
Based on my longest swim of only 2000m I estimated a fast time of 1:45 for the 3800m (2.4 miles), so when I did it in 1:29 I was well pleased with that.


T1 took 13 minutes but this includes time from leaving the lake and the run to transition and out on the bike. During transition I also put on a few pieces of cold weather cycling gear including my additional layer on my head which had already warmed up from the swim. As at the race brief the day before they warned about hypothermia.


The Cycle was 3 laps for 112 miles (180km), which on the way out section had 1 hill and the rest was undulating. They way back was hilly, there was 3 long hills plus a long 14% descent with the rest being undulating. The only flat bit was the 1 mile at the start/finish of the cycle section. A number people including the professional triathletes dropped out due to the conditions. On the cycle route you could still see the Homer Simpson which was next to the Cerne Giant on the hill side, it had faded turned brown as it was a biodegradable paint.

There was a cold north westerly wind which made it more difficult. My cycle computer had the temperature (excluding windchill) between 15-18c on the route. There was some light rain for about an hour on the start of the last lap of the cycle. My longest cycle ride before this was 76 miles about a month ago, although I had done a few triathlons including Half Ironman Distance. I did stop a few times to stretch my legs so they were not too sore after over 7 hours of cycling. I also stopped at most aid stations to get the required nutrition and fluids, as I decided to only take sodium replacement tablets with me on the cycle as there was plenty of aid stations on the route. My GPS watch just had enough power for the cycle lap which was setting to get a low battery warning in the last few miles. This was good for pacing myself over the long distance as used the pedal cadence and my heart rate functionality on it.

My cycle time was 7:44 which was an average of over 14mph (23 kmph) which I was pleased with considering the course and weather conditions. So I had done my two difficult parts of the triathlon and just had to run a marathon, the easy part so I thought as I have already run 6 marathons.


My T2 time was about 8 minutes, this including the time to run to the transition area after the cycle still wearing cycling shoes and after 112 miles of cycling. Here I put on two other short sleeve running tops, as the weather was still cloudy but at the end of the cycling it looked like it would improve. The buff scarf (cycling scarf) that I had underneath my helmet I decided to keep round my neck for the run in case it got chilly.

On the run for the two laps around the castle (9 miles/14km) I think I was doing just over 9mm pace and I was overtaking lots of people. I got warm during this section and out the buff scarf in my tri suit pocket and not to family members. After running through the town where there was a lot of support in the high street, you do two laps of a 3 mile section of a HILLY dual carriageway (the A30 to Yeovil, also known as babylon hill). This was into a cool headwind. By time I was half way done the first leg of first lap my leg muscles had gone and I was only running down the hills and walking up the hills. At this point virtually everybody was walking, I decided to stop recording my mile split times on my stopwatch.

By the time I completed the first lap of this section my arms where cold, luckily I packed a bag for the run special needs area which was at the end of the lap. However I packed a pair of running gloves and a running waist jacket, nothing with long sleeves. By the time I was getting near the end of the last lap of this section my arms where really cold it was getting dark and they had ran out of the foil space blankets. There was only a bin liner which would have kept by body warm which was warm and not my arms. I was very seriously considering stopping at this point to do to fatigue and my arms feeling cold but then I remembered the pirates motto “it’s not a knitting club” and a song from the last week that was on my Ironman playlist, “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. I looked at my watch I had built up enough time earlier on the run to be able to walk complete all the way back. So as long as I could stay warm and my muscles not complete give out I will make.

Using what I had available I decided to put my arms inside the sleeveless jacket and hold it closed with my gloved hands. This made my arms warm again. As my core body was warm, they were out of the wind and the jacket was against my body so there was not much heat loss compared to a space blanket would have been in the wind. I was still able to run down the hills like this with my buff scarf around my face. This must have looked stange to people going the other way but I did not care as I was warm and I was back on the way to the finish. Going up and down a footbridge was a bit interesting due to my leg muscles fatigued at this point. I walked through the park and the town centre getting encouragement all the way.

When I got to the last few hundred metres I took off the jacket, this was to look better for the photographs at the end and cross as the finish as a pirate. The atmosphere at the end was great despite it being late, dark and chilly. With that last step I became an Ironman, the next fews steps was to get my medal.

I completed the marathon run in 5:43, which is nearly 2 hours away from my marathon pb that is how bad the run affected me.

My overall time was 15:19:36.

I really enjoyed the day there was plenty of support around the course. The weather conditions and hills were not that ideal but it was the same for everybody so you all had to deal with it whatever way you had to make it to the finish.

I am an Ironman

I am now an Ironman. :-)

Yesterday I completed the Ironman UK course in 15:19:36, I will post a report of the day on here later.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Registered for Ironman

I have registered earlier today for Ironman. It is starting to get a bit more real now with only being a few days away now.
I even went through the finish, well the part that had already been put up plus I was driving in my car.

Last Run

This morning I did my last run before the Ironman. It was a 4 mile (6.5km) run with a few hills. It felt harder than normal but this was due to the rest this week and it was a week since the last run. Hopefully this will mean I am more fresh for the run on Sunday.

Weekly Weigh in

This week I have lost nearly 2lb (0.8 Kg) but my % body fat increased by 2.5%.

Strange as this was with less than 3 hours of training this week as it is the last taper week before the ironman.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Last Swim

This morning I did my last swim before the Ironman.

It was a 1km (0.6 mile) pool swim which was at a fairly fast pace for me. The main thing was that it felt really good my stroke and rotation where better timed and I really enjoyed it.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Adjusting Sleep Pattern for Race

This week I am also adjusting my sleep pattern so that when I wake up at 3am on Sunday morning for breakfast it will not be a complete shock to the system.

I have been gradually changing my time to sleep and get up by an hour at a time and should have a few days at getting up at 3am. The main difference I have found is that I fell hungry mid morning and late afternoon.

Also I just Sky+ anything I would have watched and view them in the morning.

Reduced Caffeine

This last 2 weeks I have gradually been reducing the amount of caffeine I consume. Before this it was about 300mg daily which is on the fairly high side.

This week I have gone caffeine free.

I did have a bit of a headache at the end of the first day but that was fine the following morning.

The theory is that when I have the caffeine on the race day it will have a bigger impact and some current research suggests that it may reduce the pain felt in endurance events.

Early Morning Cycle Ride

On Monday morning I did a cycle at just before 7am. This was a good practice ride before Ironman which was also my last ride before then.

I had adjusted the cycle computer so it did not hit the handlebar stem next to the aerobar. The only problem was I did not reseat it correctly so was getting no reading for the first few minutes, after this it was ok.

At this time of the morning the sun was fairly low which made riding on the road a bit tricky in places. Luckily the Ironman cycle course is mainly a north/south ride with only a few minutes at the outbound section that would be facing the sunlight. However by the time I will first get their, the sun should be a lot higher than this so it should not be a problem.

However it may an issue on the swim which is two laps with the first part facing the direction of the sun. Although I have swam in conditions like that but it should be a bit easier by following all the splashes that will be going on with 1,500 people taking part.

The cycle was also cold despite the sun being out and was only 13c (55F) so it was fairly chilly when adding the windchill as well. I may wear some additional layers on the first lap of the cycle to warm myself up after the swim.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Weekly Update

This week I have put on 2 lb (1 Kg) but my % body fat remained the same. This was due to my training reduced which was only 3 hours but my food intake remained the same.

This week my training hours will be reduced due to the forecasted weather and changing the time I sleep to get used to the early morning race time.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Taper week 1

This week I have been tapering back my training and doing about half the previous week's training. I seem to be more tired not doing the training although my muscles do not, I suppose that is the way it should be.

Insect Bite

On Monday I did a nice easy 4 mile cross country which was fine until afterwards I realised I had been bitten by an insect on the top of my calf. The next day it had started to turn red and swell up a bit. This is the sort of thing I wanted to avoid in the last few weeks before the race.

Luckily I work in a hospital so was able to buy some stuff from the pharmacy. It seems to be working and has now significantly reduced. It is not causing me any issues now training and have since been swimming and running.

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Race Haircut

At the weekend I got my race haircut for the Ironman.

I was planning to get it cut short but it is shorter than I planned for. I don't think I have had it cut this short since I was at primary school.

The only way to describe it is a military style hair cut.

It however was good for doing the 4 hours cycling in the heat at the weekend, so hopefully will be good for the race.

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Weekly Update

This week I did nearly 11 hours of training which was spread quite evenly between the three areas.

25% swimming, 40% cycling and 35% running.

The cycling and running had a long session. The swim was all pool based doing short sessions which I made some technical improvements during the last few. Some of the swims where also before a running session with a few days I did triple training sessions.

The Taper Begins

Today I did my last session before the two weeks of tapering down before the ironman.

I did a 62 mile (100 km) cycle ride with the temperature on my cycle computer reaching 34C (93F). I did this in just over 4 hours.
This was fairly good time as the route was undulating with a few big inclines and declines, so was a good training route for two weeks time. From my GPS the route had over 3,600 ft (1,100 m) of ascent.

I was also eating solid food on the bike every 20 minutes which was good to practice which I felt ok doing and when I finished.

I decided against doing any further on the bike or a run due to the heat, as that would have affected me and I did not want risk that being so close to the event now.

Friday, August 03, 2007

Swim Improvements

Over the last 3 swim sessions in a pool I felt I have made some improvements with my technique. With better timing on the stroke with the body rotation phase, this has improved my speed but not making any more fatigued afterwards.

I just need to try this in a lake now, hopefully at the weekend.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Weekly Weigh in

This week I have lost 1.75 lb (0.8 Kg), however my % body fat did increase by 0.5%.

The weight loss was mainly due to the longer training sessions which where done at a lower intensity which uses a different fuel source (more fat).

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Ran over 100 miles in July

In July I ran over 100 miles. :-)

This is the 3rd highest amount I have run in a month ever!!

The other two where the month before the London marathon in 2005 and Dublin marathon in 2006. Both of which I improved my then marathon PB with the London marathon before I started to do or train for triathlons.

I love it when a plan comes together.

Only 19 days to go, now counting down in days!!!

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Weekly Update

This week I have done just under 10 hours of training. It was 60% cycling and 40% running. The pool that I normally us before a run session was closed this week due to flooding.

This time includes a long bike ride (4.5 hours) from today plus during the week my longest run before the ironman.

This week I will try and get some swimming including lake swims and some more cycling. This will be the last big week of training before ironman which is now less than 3 weeks away now.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Weekly Weigh in

This week I have put on 1 lb (0.5 kg) but my % body fat is down 0.5%.

The amount of training this week has been affected by the weather conditions. I have now don my longest run before the ironman I just need to do some more endurance on the other two disciplines.

A Long Training Run for Ironman

Yesterday I did my longest run of the year, a 16 mile run. Which now July is the month I have run the most miles this year.

This was to try and simulate how the run at the Ironman will feel like. The day before in the evening I had done 7 miles at a relatively fast pace, I then deliberately had less sleep by going to watch the simpsons movie at the first showing locally at 1 minute past midnight.

Then after work I did 6 miles at about 1 minute per mile slower than my 10km pace and then did another 10 mile run. All of this was in light rain but with no flooding on the roads.
For the last 8 miles my legs did feel heavy and I was doing 10 to 11 minute mile pace, however this did include a few walk breaks for drinks and gels.
The route did have a few hills and undulations which is similar to the run course. This felt tougher than previous marathons I have done and was good practice to get used to running in this state which will likely be even worse on the day but hopefully the weather will be better.

Also tried some new running kit for the first time which was fine. The trainers I had used for only the second time where ok for the whole run. After lacing them differently from the previous day as yesterday they had starting to make my feet sore after 5 miles.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Last Week’s Training

Last week I did just under 7 hours of training this was affected by the torrential rain that week. This was about 60% Running which included some longer runs, 25% Swimming pool and lake and 15% Cycling.

However I did include my last triathlon before Ironman UK, which tried a few new things and learned a few items which should benefit me for this race next month.

Milton Keynes Olympic Distance Triathlon

Earlier today I completed the Milton Keynes Olympic Distance Triathlon in 2 hours 41 minutes. This was a good time for me but the course had been made slightly shorter due to the torrential rain and flooding of the past few days.

It did not start that well as the hotel I stayed at nearby had a wedding reception their so I could hear all the cheesy 80's/90's wedding songs. I think I got about 5 hours sleep before the alarm went off. I waited for a few more of my alarms before getting up.

When I got to transition I noticed that they had rotated it by 90 degrees to reduce the saturated area in the transition area. However it ended up muddy with patches/puddles of water or mud, this was not helped by their being I think 1,000 people doing this event.
I was unpacking my stuff and I was thinking their is something missing. I realized it was in my cycling shoes which where in the boot of the car. I checked the time which was 5 minutes before the transition should have closed. I checked with the stewards who said I would be allowed back in if the first wave was not out of the water. I ran to the car and back with my cycling shoes, that was my warm up. I then had a further 40 minutes before my wave started. So I put on a old race t shirt instead of being done up in my wet suit and getting really warm.

The 1500m swim was a M shaped course (starting on th right edge) followed by a short ^ shape to the swim finish. I stayed at the back of the wave and did not go of course much on the first turn, the second turn I noticed half way that I was of course by a bit so corrected my direction to the next turning point. About 2/3 the way around I noticed my googles had started to mist up so was making sightening the buoys a bit more difficult especially when the sun was in the line of sight reflecting off the lake. I managed the swim in under 34 minutes, which I was pleased with.

The first transition I took just over 6 minutes which was pretty quick for me. It was helped by my bike being near one of the rack ends near the bike exit. The thing I struggled with was getting my cycling top on when I was still wet, I eventually managed this with the tri suit on top. I was glad I was trying some new black running socks as by the time I made the 10m run out with my bike, my cycling shoes where covered in mud.

The cycle I struggled for the first few miles to get one of my shoes clipped into the peddle. A marshall even helped my get some mud of them, eventually I was able to get them both clipped in to the peddles. The course had been altered and slightly reduced by 2 miles (3km) by the recent flood. This meant the big hill at the end of the loop was not done but they took you on a route which a few more longer undulations before joining the planned route until the last 5 miles (7km) or so. You could see some of the fields below the road to the left which had been turned in to lakes. I completed the cycle in 1 hour 16 minutes which is an average speed of 17 mph (27 kmph). During the first half of the ride I did seem to struggle, this could be due to the lack of cycling done recently and therefore the loss of cycle fitness, in addition to struggling to get the shoes clipped in correctly. However the average speed was about right for this sort of distance.

The next transition I completed it in just over 1 minute, as it is a relative quick change. As it was fairly cool on the cycle only 16C (61F) I decided to keep my long sleeve cycling top on underneath my trisuit to save some time in transition. As a lot people had been in the transition area by now for each of the stages it was really muddy now, so more cycling shoes where covered even further.

The run was 3 laps which a section of about 100m had been removed as it had been turned in to a waist high lake. This made the run 9.6km (just under 6 miles). As you left th transition area their where various puddles and muddy sections which where about ankle deep. I was glad I double knotted the shoe lace before leave, as the mud or water went totally over the show and as they are more breathable fabric, some of the moisture got inside the shoe. I was glad I took a sports drink with me on the run as it was starting to warm up, I was not too impressed of my decision to keep the cycling top on, although it could be partly undone to cool down. Most of the lap was on the road around the park their was a section of about 1km (0.6 miles) off road on the grass/mud and trail paths. I did the run in under 45 minutes which was only a few minutes away from my normal running 10km PB, so I was pleased with that time.

Overall I was pleased I did this event as I learned a few more things and tried some new kit out, I will try some others in training runs.

However this was the last race before Ironman UK which is now less than 4 weeks away!!!

Friday, July 20, 2007

Run after the Rain

Tonight I did a 6 mile (10km) run, which was nothing special apart from the conditions from earlier in the day. Until just after lunchtime for the previous 18 hours or so there had been torrential rain which had caused flooding including Thunder and Lightening in the surrounding areas.



The above photo from the BBC South Today web site flood photo gallery. The photo is only 0.5 mile (0.7km) away at most from my home. As you can see in the photo it is at the bottom of a slope. However it is the major route to the nearest city and the a main supermarket (begins with T).

On driving home from work and only seeing the flood water before turning off the roundabout I knew a different route based on recent training runs since moving to this part of the town. This route also had a flood diversion not as bad as the above which the traffic was diverted through an industrial estate.

When we run past this area about an hour later their was cars and vans both that had attempted to go through it. So got stuck going through and look like they got pulled back by rescue vehicles. Some had made it through the water, only to stop working just a few meters afterwards with the inside flooded.

Hopefully the weather may be better soon. I should then be able to get some more long cycling rides done.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Weekly Update

This week my weight is the same with my % body fat down 0.5%.

However this week I have done my first training run this year of double figures with a 10 mile (16km) run midweek.

Already this month I have ran more than each of the months of May and June, so at least my running is coming together at the right time for Ironman UK.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Ironingman Training

Tonight I added a bit of a twist to my training. As I left my house I started my washing machine which had a dozen shirts to be washed. The aim was to beat the washing while doing the training session.

I jogged to to the training session which was only 0.6 miles (1 km) away. We then did the hill session, without me mentioning my session tonight so the length was not changed. Afterwards I chatted to the other runners for a few minutes before setting of on the easy jog back of the same distance. I then did some stretches and walked back about 100m to my house.


As I opened my front door I could still hear the washing machine going, I had beaten it. It was another 25 minutes before it finished.

As I treat for beating the machine after dinner I ironed all 12 shirts. :-)

Monday, July 16, 2007

Last week's training (or lack of)

Last week I did 4 hours of training. This was 1 hour of swimming and 3 hours of running. The planned long sessions (5 hours +) at the weekend I was unable to do due to weather (weather warnings issued) and also a sore shoulder, I think I must have slept on it awkwardly.

Hopefully this week should be better but the current forecasts are poor. I will go out unless it is really heavy rain or windy for a run but cycling may be another story.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Longest run of the Year ...so far

Tonight I did my longest run of the year* (so far) a massive 8.36 miles (13.45km).


*This excludes about 6 running races or triathlons which I have have run further than this.

Highlights of Ironman UK on TV

The highlights of this years Ironman UK will be shown in the UK on Channel 4 on 4th November at 8:30am, according to the British Triathlon news article.

That is about 2 1/2 months after the event.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Swim Improvements

The last two pool swims I have had a good sessions. I felt I have improved my technique at the rotation phase of the stroke. This has increased my speed slightly without additional effort.

Weekly Weigh in

This week I have lost 1.3 lb (0.6 Kg) but my body fat increased by 0.5%.

Monday, July 09, 2007

Weekly Update

Last week I did 7 1/2 hours of training, this back to the sort of levels I need to be at least doing.

This was virtually all the Cowman Triathlon plus 2 other runs earlier in the week. This amount of time was affected by me getting a cold at the start of the week.

Cowman Triathlon

The Cowman Triathlon could also be described as the Milton Keynes Half Ironman Distance Triathlon and was based in Emberton Country Park which is to the north of Milton Keynes.

This year their was only 2 waves for the Cowman, which I was in the last wave which started at 7.10am. They also had a sprint event their which started an hour later.

In addition to the chip timing you had stick on numbers, which the a lot fell off on the cycle due to how many I saw on the road. My front number fell off but the back one stayed on all day. They where quite good as in addition to the race number they had your first name on them, so you got some encouragement from the spectators. They also had some stickers for your supporters displaying I am supporting 123 or whatever your number was.

The lake did not seem that cold. I suppose that was helped by walking across the grass to the start area which was still cold due to the dew that was still on it.

The swim I did in 45:30 which was fairly good time for me. The main difference from last year was I did not get cramp in my legs and felt like I could have done it again, good news for less than 6 weeks time!!!

I could have done it slightly quicker if I had listened carefully to the race briefing while I was getting my wetsuit on before the race. As in the last swim lap instead of heading to the next lap buoy as on the first lap you should swim straight to the swim exit. I think this would have only added 30 seconds to my time, however typically my sighting to this buoy was the best I had done all day.

In the transition (T1) I was fairly quick for me 6:25 apart from getting to and from my bike the longest thing was getting out of the wetsuit which I seemed to struggle with.

The cycle I managed 3:16:59 which is an average of 17.4 mph (28 kmph). There were a few undulations and short climbs plus at the end of each of the 3 laps (2 long and 1 short lap) was a big hill. I was able to overtake a few people going up this hill. I could have done with one more bar to eat on the bike as there was only a water stop on each lap. Luckily I took some gels with me in addition to the 2 bars. It started to warm up on the last lap of the cycle which was then 21C (70 F).

In the transition (T2) I was fairly quick for me 2:40. T2 is always a lot quicker due to the lack of kit to change and its ease of doing so.

The run was 4 laps of a 5km (3.2 miles) circuit which was on the local village roads, off road around some fields and through the country park. This year their was plenty of food/drink on the route the main section being just near the start of each loop with a water stop 2/3 they way round.
From T2 I also took a bottle of sports drink and some gels with me. The drink was very useful as I sipped the drink occasionally in between the water stops. I only had some of the gels on the last 2 laps once I had drunk my sports drink. To ensure I got enough fuel on the run I also walked though the food stops. On some of the laps I walked up the inclines as my HR was slightly higher than I would expect possible due to the extra heat as it was now 25C (77 F). I tried to chase a person in the last 400m of the run which we had been overtaking each since the last lap of the cycle. However I started to get cramp in my calf muscles so I eased back. I managed the half marathon run in 1:52:48 which was good considering I have not done any long runs recently in training.

My time for the event was 6:04:23 which was 9 minutes quicker than last year. I also got sunburnt due to the lot better than forecasted weather.

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Weigh in for the last two weeks

During the last 2 weeks I have put on another 3 lbs (1.5 Kg). This was due to reduced exercise and increased unhealthy food intake.

Over the last 3 weeks I have now put on 1/2 stone (3.5 Kg), this should be corrected as my training will be increasing again.

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Last Two Weeks Training

Two weeks ago my training was 5 1/2 hours, this did include an olympic distance triathlon (Fritton Lake). Nearly half this time was swimming which I felt I had made some improvements in my performance. The remaining time was fairly evenly split with running being slightly ahead of cycling.
The next week I only managed 3 hours due to the weather conditions. About half of this was time was spent at a children's activity center where I was running, climbing and lifting my 2 year old nephew then the remaining time was evenly distributed between the 3 disciplines.

So far this week I have done 30 minutes and now I have a cold which should take about a couple of more days of rest before training again.

Also Ironman UK as less than 7 weeks away!!!

Norwich Olympic Distance Triathlon - DNS

I had planned to do the Norwich Olympic Distance Triathlon on Sunday but instead DNS'd (Did Not Start) it.
I got up early to get to the venue and was their by an hour before the race start. The previous few days their had been some significant rainfall and the 30 minutes drive to the race was virtiually all in heavy rain. As I got to the race car park I noticed the marshals already looked like drowned rats. I parked my car and noticed I few other people sitting in the cars thinking about doing it. I waited 5 minutes to see if it would pass but it was still bouncing up of the car park, so I decided not to do this event.

I have done this race before and knew the first half of the cycle route is on small country lanes which where likely to already be flooded. I also did not fancy getting even more wet and cold after getting out of the lake and on to the bike. If my main race of the year was not Ironman UK I would have been tempted to do the race despite the conditions.

On the way back the rain did not stop until I was about 20 miles east of the race venue.

I have since seen from some race reports that the rain stopped about 5 minutes before the race start, typical. Also about 1/5 of people who entered did not do it, normally you would expect at most 10% fall out rate.

Fritton Lake Olympic distance Triathlon

On Sunday 24/6 I took part in the inaugural Fritton Lake Triathlon, at Fritton Lake which on the Norfolk/Suffolk Border to the west of Lowestoft. Their was also a sprint distance triathlon at this venue.
The swim I quite enjoyed it as I had already done a practice swim in the lake a few weeks before. Apart from the bit of lake water that got into my goggles at the start I could have quite easily done the swim again. Out of the swim their was a slight incline and 100m run to the grass area where the transition area was. I picked and end closer to the swim exit although it would have been better to pick a space nearer the cycle and run exit. This area in a slight valley where the supporters could stand on the embankments on either side. This was where the pony rides used to be when I last visited here some 15+ years ago.
Including my normal siesta in transition (T1) I managed the swim in 34:09, although my brother timed my swim (start to out of water) in 27 minutes, I planned for about 40 minutes so I was impressed with that time.

The bike was a two lap course which I had practiced the last few times I was back in the area. Parts of the course I used to bike as a child to my grandparents and back. Despite being in east anglia their was one significant hill on each lap which was fairly near the start and their was some undulating parts. I did not push it to hard on the bike and did not get to use the aerobars much due to the slight wind in places which where fairly exposed places. I was trying out eating more solid food on the cycle instead of just sports drinks and water which went well. The only problem I had was with my cadence sensor not sending a value to my GPS device. My time from the cycle including T2 was 1:17:03.

The run was 10km which the first part was on grass and gravel that was for just the first 1.5km. For about the next 7.5km it was off road through the woodland area next to the lake. The previous few days their had been some heavy rain and some light rain started as I was getting in to the transition from the cycle. This section was worse than the cross country league races I do in the winter. Their was numerous places where I thought I was going to lose my shoes and socks in the mud as it went half way up to my knees. In some places it they had covered some sections with boards to help. I ended up going through the woodland in places to avoid the worst mud sections but had to dodge the various undergrowth and low hanging tree branches. The last 1.5km was across a grass field and finally a short section (0.5km) of road. From T2 I took a bottle of Lucozade Sport Lemon with Caffeine Boost out as I know their was only 1 water stop which was within the first 1km. This was quite useful as I took sips as I went round the course until I finished it with about 2km to and give it to the next marshal, I felt it helped me on the run. My run time was 54:32 which given the conditions I felt it was a good time.

I was pleased with my time of 2:45:44 as I had not pushed myself but did have good sections and learn about more about various nutrition options.

Weigh In from 2 Weeks Ago

As I did not have any internet access for nearly two weeks below is my weigh in from 23/6.

This week I put on 4 lbs (1.8 Kg). This was due to doing just 6 hours of exercise but this did include an Olympic distance triathlon.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Windsor Triathlon

On Sunday I took part in the Windsor Triathlon. This was an Olympic distance triathlon based in Windsor and the surrounding area.

The registration and bike racking took part on Saturday in Alexandra Gardens in Windsor. The forecast was wet for overnight, so I covered the tribars and seat with plastic carrier bags. In the morning I found that they where slightly wet but soon dried off on the bike section.
Being in the last age group start (wave 26!!) I had a more sensible start time of 8am but they had waves of starts from 6am onwards. There was an hour’s gap until the elite athletes start times.

The 1500m swim was in the River Thames. It started on the Windsor bank of the river near the Windsor footbridge. You had to swim down about 800m until the relief road bridge and then about 700m to the swim exit. As my wave start time approached I was setting on the bank edge with my feet in the water to get used to the cold temperature while getting my swimming cap and goggles on. With about 1 minute to my start time I pushed myself off the edge of the bank and into the water. I was expecting to be able to stand while I caught my breath fro the cold water. However it was a couple of meters deep, so when I made it back to the surface trying to catch my breath from the sudden cold water I heard the starter say 30 seconds to the start!!!
Some rapid deep breaths I managed to get my breath back just in time for the start, luckily I had a few extra seconds as I started in the back of the wave of 80 swimmers. From here we swam over to the Eton bank of the river staying close to the bank to avoid the strongest current to swim against. You had to avoid some of the parked boats, overhanging trees and swans. There was also a bend in the river which you had to turn where their was also a railway bridge, I did not think I zig-zagged that much for a change along this section. By the time we got to the turnaround point at the relief road bridge we where fairly well spaced out. I then headed towards the Windsor bank to swim back near to the parked boats. I have since learnt that I should have been in the middle of the river to get most of the benefits from the river’s current. As I was swimming along I heard someone on a megaphone shout turn right. I nearly overshoot the swim exit which was set back from the main river. There was also a big step which required the helpers to give you some extra lift to get you out.

There was then about a 200m run to the transition area while, undoing the top part of your wetsuit and removing your goggles and swimming caps. I then had a further 100m to reach my bike which was made easier to spot out of the 2,400 bikes by being near a section of red flowers in the park that the transition area was in. After spending only about 5 minutes in transition (T1) getting the wetsuit completely off and stuff on for the bike I was off on the cycle section.

After mounting the bike outside of the transition area you headed out of Windsor past the racecourse towards the M4 junction 8/9 for the 42km (26 miles) cycle leg. The first few miles I had electronics issue on my bike. After a few miles I managed to get my cycle computer working by reseating it. However my cadence sensor on my GPS device was not returning any values, so after a few miles trying to sought it out I turned that functionality off. Just before reaching the M4 junction we turned left towards Windsor Park however before reaching that section we turned left down a country lane to extra out and back section to get the distance up. There were a few undulations up to this point of which none of them where that steep or long. Through the park heading back to Windsor there was some downhill sections which you where able to get your speed up. Then once you got to Windsor there was about 1 mile through the town which was marshalled and police but their was still traffic on the roads to avoid until 100m from the end where it was traffic free. I did not push to hard on the bike due to run course still to come, I did overtake a number of people on the bike with only a couple of people overtaking me.

After about only 2 minutes in transition (T2) I was off on the final leg the run section. This was helped by being closer to the bike in and run out area of transition compared to the swim in entrance.

The run was a 10km made up of 3 laps. From the transition area you followed the road to Windsor Castle and up and down the hill and then turned right for out and back section and then over a bridge to Eton college and back over the bridge and to the transition area. This was then repeat two more times and their was water available just before the hill at th castle and at Eton college. I was giving the run a bit more effort and was overtaking people on the way round but at this point you did not know what lap they where on compared to you. I carried to gels on the run from transition and had one of them on each of the first laps at the last water station on the lap. This helped as their was only water available and it was starting to warm up by this point. The last 200m I even managed a bit of a sprint and overtook somebody half way down the finishing straight.

I enjoyed the day especially when I found out my times.

Swim = 35:53
Cycle = 1:29:46
Run = 48:35

Race Time = 2:54:15

The swim time was one of my quickest times for this distance. The cycle time did include both transition times but I still managed over 17.5 mph (28 kmph). The run had 3 hills up to the castle yet I still managed a good time just 5 minutes outside my running PB. I was also the 3rd person out 6 from my local tri club that took part in this race.

Weekly Update

This week I have done 6 hours of exercise. This does include an Olympic Distance Triathlon on Sunday morning and then in the afternoon I also did a 23 minute run.
Over a third of this time was spent swimming and the remaining time split between running and cycling with running with slightly more time.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Weekly Weigh in

This week I have lost 2 3/4 lbs (1.3 Kg).

This was strange as I had 3 complete rest days. Plus on Sunday I had cakes, bacon and egg roll plus a plateful or two of what I would call party snack food selection. However I also did 5 hours of cycling on Sunday.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Last Week’s Training

Last weeks training I did nearly 8 hours with 5 hours of this being the cycling on Sunday. The rest of the time I spent training was evenly distributed between running and swimming.

The swimming was all pool based, I was planning to do a lake swim at the weekend but decided against it. It was a good decision based on the hilly and hot weather on the cycle ride the following day.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Highclere Cycle Ride

Today I did the 72 mile which was extended by 2 miles due to a change in the route. This was the longest cycle ride I have ever done by 18 miles.

This was a charity ride where there was two options the short 74 mile and the 115 mile option. The event started and finished in Highclere Castle, near Newbury in Berkshire.

As I was on the starting line in the small start groups it was quite misty and a bit of a chill in the air as it was about 16c. At this point I was wondering why I put on a short sleeve cycle top, tinted sunglasses and sun cream factor 30!!

As we started there was a few "gentle" hills until about 15 miles in where there was a 800ft ascent (according to my GPS device). I was in my lowest gear and was just about struggling up the hill and my heart rate increasing to I think the highest it has been when cycling. I was not alone with struggling up the hill. Once you reached the top it was a great view even with the mist still visible, I took the opportunity to at and drink some sports drink before the fast decent on narrow country lanes.

After another 15 miles with a few undulations was the first water station where I topped up one of my drinks bottles with water and had the second half of a banana. We continued heading south on the country lanes towards Winchester, which we turned north just after approaching the city. After 50 miles was the next water stop which also had some food, however they had already ran out of sports drinks as now it was 26c (79F) and I was glad of the kit I decided on at the start. At the this stop I topped up both of my bottles with water and also had a tea cake (with butter) and a slice of cherry and coconut cake. I took an energy bar for later on the route.

As I set of from this stop there was yet another long ascent although it was not that step but went on for about 0.25 of a mile. This type of undulations seemed to be for the next 10 miles during this time I eat 1/3 of the energy bar every 20 minutes.

Then their was another step climb which was not as high as the first big climb but was significant especially as this far into the ride. However at the top was the last water station which had some energy drink left but they had to start ration it out so I only got half a bottle. I decided to have one of my isotonic gels that I had taken with me. Then there was a nice long decent for about 1/2 mile followed by another 10 miles of undulations, then there was a relative flat section for about 1 mile as you past the main entrance to Highclere castle. As you got in to the ground there was about 2 miles left and a few more smaller undulations.

Overall I was pleased that I completed the distance in 4 hours 56 minutes which was an average of just under 15 mph. It was a tougher than expected course and then heat also made it even more difficult.

I also eat more solid foods on the bike compared to last weekend and when I finished I felt like I could run for a bit and my stomach was not upset like last week. I decided against doing a run as I did not want to overload my body after doing my longest ever cycle ride to date.

Afterwards to help my body recover I needed some protein source, so I had a bacon and egg roll.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Weekly Weigh in

This week my weight has remained the same but my % body fat has gone up 0.5%.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Bala Middle Distance Triathlon

On Sunday I did the Bala Middle Distance Triathlon, this was a 2000m (1.25 mile) lake swim then a 78.5km (48.8 mile) cycle and then a 20km (12.4 mile) run. Bala is in Snowdonia in Wales.

The 2000m open water swim was in lake bala, I did not see any of the creatures that are meant to be in the lake. It is a big lake 4 miles long by 1 mile wide but I still ended up zig-zagging a bit even though it was a U shaped course. There was a bit of a breeze which produced some waves which seemed to be bigger near the turnaround point.
Coming out of the swim was a bit tricky as it was really shallow so you could not do a normal stoke but it was rocky, so you where slipping a bit when trying to get before you got near the helpers and run or walk along the jetty to the transition area.
My Swim time was 58:19 but this included about 7 minutes that I spent in tranistion (T1) , I am not sure why it took me that long. I did put on some additional layers of a cycling top and cycling shorts.

This was also my longest ever continuous swim.

The cycle route was hilly especially within the first 15 miles and then there was lots of undulations. The route was basically a rectangle shape going in a anti-clockwise direction.
I was trying to keep my cadence higher than I normally do, so I had some energy left in my legs for the run.
My Cycle time was 2:45:26 this also included a few minutes in transition (T2), this was an average speed of 16.4 mph and I had a top speed of 37.2 mph!!! That was going down in to a valley after a long climb.

The run was an out and back route over 6 miles each way. Only the first and last miles where flat the rest all 10 miles where either undulating or hilly. I started of the run at a fairly good even pace however as I got to about 5 miles I was starting to get stomach aches due to what I ate and drank on the bike. This made me walk a few times from this point on. You could see the Lake Bala Railway a few times on the run down below you towards the lake, that would have been a much easier way to take in the scenery!!
My Run time was 1:58:22

Me on the run in to the finish with less than 100m left to go. Photo taken by another Pirate supporter.

My Overall Time was 5:42:07. I was pleased with this as it was 31 minutes quicker than the only similar distance triathlon, although this was slightly further on the swim, a few miles shorter on the cycle and less than a mile shorter on the run. However this course was a lot more hilly.

There was a lot of support at the start/finish area as it was next to the bala leisure centre. There was also great Pirate supporters out on the cycle and run at about 3/4 of the way round where you where starting to struggle a bit. There was also great camaraderie with the other 20+ Pirates and triathletes. Another review of the race by another Pirate is available on RunnersWorld UK and there is also some photos at various stages of the race.

I was glad the weather remained dry, it was slightly cool with a light breeze. The forecasts all week and the night before where for heavy rain all day, this only started when I had left venue and driving back to the hotel in the evening.

I really enjoyed the race despite the hills, it was the most scenic race or training that I have done. Plus the sausage and bacon barm (roll) with brown sauce afterwards tasted great and helped settle my stomach.