Suunto Footpod

I just wanted to do a quick thank you to Suunto for sending me a footpod to accompany the T3 they gave us at the Cadence Kona Challenge

Before this competition I used a Polar heart rate monitor. I still plan to use my Polar heart rate monitor during races as I have the speed and cadence sensors on my bike and the Polar is a pretty tough unit. Part of me always thought that the T3 might end up in the draw and that I would be using my Polar monitor all the time but this has turned out not to be the case.

The T3 is very simple to use. The watch is light and much smaller than my Polar wristwatch. I find that I wear my T3 most days and just keep the chest strap in my bag for trips to the gym. With my Polar monitor I have their wearlink chest strap which is far comfier than the old polar plastic chest strap. The T3 comes with a chest strap that has a rigid plastic piece but that bit of rigid plastic is much smaller than the cheaper Polar chest straps and the chest strap is actually perfectly comfortable, I can wear the T3 strap for 3 to 4 hours of cycling without issue.

I haven't used the footpod yet but I did have a Polar footpod which I could never get to work properly and have really never used. First impressions of the Suunto footpod are that it is a lot smaller than the Polar footpod I have. It is also very lite and I particularly like the way in which it turns itself on and off based upon motion. My Polar unit was turned on by a button and it always seemed to have a flat battery. I think that the Suunto unit is going to be pretty straight forward to operate and due to its size should not be noticeable when running, it looks like this particular piece of kit might actually get some use.

Notes from a small (but bloody expensive) island

Thanks to Bill Bryson for the title but I have added a more modern twist of my own to his well known book title. I have just returned from a week long business trip to the UK and I am aware that I have been a bit slack in posting recently.

If I am brutally honest there is not a great deal I miss about the UK. Granted I have friends and family there and it is great to see them (although I didn't have time to visit everyone I wanted this visit) but on the other hand the country is small, wet and overpriced. Gas/petrol is now up to 1.10 pounds a litre which equates to around $8.50 per gallon and this high cost of living applies accross the board.

I was somewhat suprised then to find last week that the temperature was actually fairly mild, although it threatened to rain all week it stayed pretty dry and I did manage to have one particularly pleasant run. As I mentioned in my last blog it was a recovery week which was a good job as there were 3 days where I couldn't get in any training at all.

I managed to get to a swimming pool on Monday and started to follow one of Holden's swim workouts. After about 20 mins I was really starting to struggle and I asked the lady I was sharing a lane with how long the pool was. It turned out that the pool I was in was 33m long which when you are supposed to be doing 25yrd sprints makes a huge difference. Relieved that I was not as bad as I thought I was I adapted the workout accordingly and was glad to get out of the pool when finished.

At the other end of the scale I went for a swim on Friday in the pool at my Dad's gym. This was basically a 'fun' pool but they had roped off one small lane for laps. This pool was probably less than 20m in length and was really warm. I could get to the other end in only a few strokes and to make matters worse there was no warning that you were about to reach the end of the pool and I nearly went ploughing into the wall a few times. I will be glad to get back to my regular pool which, although I have cursed it many times, in a strange sort of 'Stockholm Syndrome' way I actually miss.

Back to that rather pleasant run I mentioned.

I spent the last couple of days of the trip with my parents, they live up in the middle of the country in a county called Shropshire. It is quite a rural county and has plenty of small villages and towns surrounded by countryside. By the Saturday I was aware that I had done very little training and although it was a recovery week I was supposed to do 2 hours endurance on a bike. With no bike I decided to subsitute the workout with a 1.5 hour run. I set out from my parents house and within 15 mins I found myself out in the countryside. I followed the twisty english country roads with only a rough idea of where I was going. I ran through several small villages with their stone walls, small churches and village shops and the sun would occassionally break through the heavy clouds warming me nicely. I even managed to get a begrudging hello out of a farmer stood watching his horses (it was quite an effort for him to remove his pipe to return my greeting).

After about an hour or so it was clear that I was a little lost and that I was not going to make it back to my starting point. I was not carrying any drink or food but I had a 20 pound note. I stopped at one of the small towns, bought a drink and with the change tried ringing my folks to try and get a lift home. Unfortunately they were out so I left a message asking for a lift, bought myself a paper (I do miss my English newsapers) and went and sat in the local pub. I finished my run with a couple of pints of guiness (hydration) and a packet of salted peanuts (sodium and protein). After about 45 minutes my Dad, who had heard my message, turned up to give me a lift, it was absolute heaven.

I am now back into my regular routine and am looking forward to my marathon in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately I think the pub recovery strategy was a one off and I am now back to my chocolate flavoured recovery drink.

Bonking - TG*

Any British readers not involved in endurance sports may well be wondering what on earth this post is going to be about. In the UK bonking is a euphemism for having sex which is obviously very different to its endurance sport meaning of a sudden onset of fatigue or tiredness.

Well on Monday this week I bonked (sudden onset of tiredness). To be fair it was not really a surprise. We had friends for dinner on Sunday night and I had a number of glasses of wine and finished off with brandy. I didn't go to bed until late and woke up tired and with a hangover.

When lunchtime came around I was still feeling pretty awful but set off on my 1.5 hour endurance run. I didn't take any fluid or nutrition with me as I can normally just about go that long without carrying anything but after about 70 min I started to feel the onset of a 'bonk' and by the time I finished the run at 101 mins I was really hungry.

It was at that point that I realized I was not going to have time for lunch as I had to get to an appointment on the other side of the city. A couple of hours later I was sat in a chair really struggling to keep my head up and my eyes open. I eventually got to eat at about 4pm and very quickly recovered in time for that evenings weights session.

It is not the first time I have bonked but it normally happens on long workouts when you get your nutrition wrong. It is similar to when marathon runners refer to 'hitting the wall', you have used up all your glycogen stores and just do not have the fuel to keep going.

I have bonked once or twice on 50-60+ mile bike rides and it is a terrible feeling as you just don't have the energy to keep going and most of the time you are nowhere near your car and have to keep going.

The only good thing about bonking is that when you do eventually get to eat it is simply heaven. On Monday I rushed to a Subways and ordered a foot long Sweet Teryaki Chicken Sandwich. It tasted so good as I wolfed it down.

With hindsight I think that it was the lack of sleep that did the most damage, as the coach told me at the beginning of this build phase recovery was going to be as important as the training itself. Thankfully I only have a couple more sessions to go and I am on a recovery week.

The Triathlon Gods must be smiling on me as this recovery week again falls on a week I am travelling and would struggle to get in longer sessions. This is the third time my recovery week has fallen on such a week. Next week I am going back to the UK on a business trip and I am going to take the opportunity to get in a couple of really good curries which could perhaps be the best apres-bonk food in the world.

2008 Race Schedule

I have posted my 2008 Race Schedule on the sidebar. You can visit the relevant website for each event by clicking on the individual races.

The schedule is not set in stone and there are a couple of other running races or relays that I might try and fit in. I have already registered for the races that have sold out with the exception of the Ironman events i.e. Cherry Blossom 10 miler (sold out in 4 hours) and Columbia. I have also registered for the Nation's Tri which is close to selling out and is a race which I really enjoyed last year.

Please note that I still do not know for sure if I am going to Lake Placid. I am not registered for the race, which is sold out, but I hope to compete as part of the Cadence Kona challenge. That being said, as I understand it, not all six of us 'contenders' are going to be able to go.

Participation in the Hawaii Ironman Worldchamps is obviously dependant on me getting to Lake Placid and then putting in a fast enough time to qualify.

I am also hoping to do the Escape from Alcatraz Tri which looks like a lot of fun but that is dependant on a lottery draw next month and would also mean that I would have to drop Mooseman.

It should be a really great year for racing and I am looking forward to getting going. I want to make the most of my last full year in the US and to sample some of the great North American triathlons before I go back to Europe.

Answer Tips

Just a quick reminder that this Blog features answer tips so if you double click on any word you are unsure of you should get a description.

Build Beasting - TR*

Having completed two base cycles I now find myself in the middle of a build phase. A build phase does exactly what it says, you take your base level fitness and build on it. In my case Holden (coach) is getting me ready for a marathon in my race schedule (still to be published) therefore this build cycle is aimed at improving my running and getting me ready for the marathon.

I was rather blasé when I declared the Myrtle Beach Marathon to Holden as part of my race schedule, when I started this build I was still far from certain that I was actually going to do it. I know it is silly but I still have a phobia about running a marathon. The idea of running that far scares the sh*t out of me even though I have committed to doing an ironman which features a marathon just as the icing on the cake. Somehow the massiveness of an ironman means that I cannot comprehend it therefore it doesn't scare me, whereas I can visualize 26.2 miles and I don't like the look of it. This is magnified by a childhood dislike of running. Although I now love to go out for a long training run I still have an irrational dislike of the term 'running' which reminds me too much of the forced runs at the all boys grammar school I attended, where we were forced to run in our white shorts, t-shirts and daps in all weathers. I was also a podgy teenager which didn't help with my enjoyment of the runs.

Yesterday I actually went on line, paid the race entry fee for the marathon and booked a room for our stay. Because money is now involved and you rarely get a full refund if you cancel a race I am definitely committed to doing it. I highly recommend signing up for any races you are dilly-dallying over because as soon as you submit your credit card details a weight is lifted off your shoulders and you can get on and with your training with a renewed sense of urgency.

So why have I called this post "Build Beasting"? Beasting is a British military slang term for a physical training session where the instructors work you exceptionally hard, or 'beast you'. This build phase comes as quite a shock and in some ways resembles a bit of a beasting. Volume is not too bad with runs still at about the 1 to 1.5 hour mark and rides up to 3 hours but intensity has suddenly shot up. Holden has me doing hill repeats where I have to find a hill 1/4 to 1/2 miles long and go up and down it 6 times. I do a run each week where I have to pick the pace up and do sub-lactate threshold pace for 20 minutes or so.

The weights sessions are 'hypertrophy' where I have to do less repeats but with significantly heavier weights and the last swim session was tough. It involved 5 x 200m repeats, then 5 x 100m and then 5 x 50m repeats where the first repeat was quick, the second fast, the third really fast, the fourth quick and the fifth as fast as you can. By the end I thought my arms were going to drop off. I have just finished 2 hours on the trainer where I had to do 30 minutes of FCAD (fast cadence) and OLD (one legged drills) then 30 min of OG (over gear) intervals then 3 zone 3 intervals. So for FCAD you cycle PDQ, for the OLD, aka SLD, I thought OMG I am going to be KO'd and the OG were far from OK (you have got to love the acronyms there are 3 times as many as most sports).

The end result is that my legs now feel like James Caan's must have after he spent a few nights with Kathy Bates. I find that where I used to take the stairs I now take the elevator to try and rest. To be fair to Holden he did warn me that this build cycle was as much about recovery as it was training and if I didn't rest properly I would not get through it. Still it makes a change from the endless endurance miles during the base phase.

2007 Race Summary

Before I post this years race schedule (still a couple of possible changes) I thought I would briefly summarize my first season.

I started to train on my own in Jan 07 and started picking races in about Feb last year. My criteria for picking races mainly revolved around geography but I also wanted to pick different race distances so that I could see what they were like.

My first race was Sprint distance race called the Kinetic Sprint and it took place at Lake Anna, Virginia about 1.5 hours south of D.C. The race was on the 22nd April and the water temperature was in the mid 50°F however the weather was glorious and it was a pretty hot day. It turned out to be a great first race for me. The distance was right; 750m swim, 18 mile bike and 5km run, the field was not too big, the race was well orgranised and you could park very close to transition. Lake Anna was also very picturesque.

Next I went from sprint distance to half ironman, 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run, with the Black Bear Half Ironman in Lehighton, Pennsylvania. This was quite a step up and although I didn't have a problem finishing it was a lot more tiring and a very different kind of race to the sprint. It was also the inaugural Black Bear race and I did not realise just how much climbing would be involved. According to my watch we must have a climbed around 7000 feet during the bike leg. My time does not appear to be that quick but it was my first long triathlon, I won second place novice and overall results were pretty slow in comparison to flatter courses with only 3 people breaking the 5 hour mark.

The following month I tried an Olympic distance race, Medexpress in Morgantown, West Virginia (1st July). Olympic is normally 1500m swim, 40km bike and 10km run and it is a nice distance to race despite the swim being a larger proportion of the race in comparison to the other distances. The race was again pretty hilly with a develish little climb toward the end of the run. I had a good race and placed 3rd in my age group although I do not think the field was that strong. There were professionals at this race and it was fun to see them start off and blitz the course.

I did the run leg of a sprint relay with some of my Team Z teammates at Culpeper before my next big race which was the Annapolis Tri on the 9 Sep. This race was not on my original plan but my it was one of my Triathlon team's scheduled races and having raced Lake Anna with teamates I knew that it could make for a great day out. Annapolis is only a short drive for us and Wendy and I were able to stay at the Naval Academy which was immediately adjacent the race start. The race finished in the Navy/Marine Football Stadium which was a great experience. They even had a camera filming you as you finished with the image being shown on the stadiums Jumbo screen. It was a fast rolling course and I had a pretty good race. The field was a lot stronger than I had experienced before and some of the young military college team races went sprinting past me on the run. I was also very hot by the end of the race.

My last race was the Nations Tri only a couple of weeks later on the 29 Sep. This race was a bit of gamble as the year before it was reduced to a biathlon as the organisers were not allowed to do the swim over water quality concerns. Last year there were all sorts of rumours over whether or not the swim would go ahead but in the end everything went ahead as planned and it turned out to be a great race. It could be my favourite race of 2007 as the setting was exceptional. I vividly remember cycling down Constitution Avenue toward Capital Hill on a Saturday morning almost completely on my own. All traffic was kept off the National Mall for the race and at the time there were no other competitors around me and it was really special. I was pleased with my result, which was the best of the year, and had a pretty balanced race beating a couple of the elite fields times including Washington D.C.'s Mayor, Mayor Fenty.

I wrote several long race reports last year and if I can find them I will post a link to them on this blog so I won't go into any more detail on the races themselves other than to cover the results.

Lake Anna Sprint:

Swim 750m - 13:18
T1 - 2:00
Bike 18 mile - 50:00 (21.6 mph)
T2 - 1:19
Run 5 km - 22:36 (7.16 min/mile)

Overall - 1:29:13
(something like 5th in my age group)

Black Bear Half Ironman:

Swim 1.2 mile - 37:05
T1 - 02:09
Bike 56 mile - 3:10:17 (17.66 mph - hilly!!)
T2 - 01:37
Run 13.1 mile - 2:08:46 (9.49 min/mile)

Overall - 5:59:54
(2nd place novice)

Medexpress Olympic:

Swim 1500m - 29:10
T1 - 03:27 (included run to transition)
Bike 40km - 1:11:56 (20.73 mph)
T2 - 01:15
Run 10km - 50:51 (7.49 min/mile)

Overall - 2:36:39
(3rd in age group)

Annapolis Tri Olympic:

Swim 1500m - 30:26
T1 - 02:13
Bike 38km - 1:02:36 (22.63 mph)
T2 - 02:16
Run - 10km - 47:05 (7.34 min/mile)

Overall - 2:24:36
(24th in age group)

Nation's Tri Olympic:

Swim 1500m - 29:26
T1 - 3:06 (includes a run to transition)
Bike 40km - 1:02:31 (23.9 mph)
T2 - 1:00
Run - 43:12 (6:67 min/mile)

Overall - 2:19:22
(14th in age group)

Summary:

I am really pleased how the year went. The first race was ideal and I highly recommend starting with a sprint distance. You never know whether or not you will like a sport until you try it and after that first race I knew I was going to enjoy triathlon. Racing is by far the best bit of the sport for me. Wendy and I have enjoyed some wonderful weekends away and the races are often held in the most picturesque spots.

My results improved steadily over the year and having mainly raced at Olympic distance I can see a steady improvement in times; 2:36:39, 2:24:36 and 2:19:22. Obviously the courses are never quite the same but nevertheless it is a pleasing trend which gives me faith in following a training program. My bike splits have always been pretty good and I was very pleased with a 24 mph average during the Nations Tri (even though it was very fast course). My running has improved and again the Nations Tri was very pleasing with a less than 7 min/mile average. My weakest discipline remains the swim and my swim times have not improved over the year. I notice that I am loosing around 5 min plus on other triathletes of similar fitness levels on a 1500m swim which is quite significant. I am not saying that my swimming has not improved at all as I think that I am using less energy in the water than when I started racing but now I need to turn that efficiency into speed.

A really enjoyable first year and I cannot wait to start this season. I am looking forward to trying to race longer courses rather than just finish them and I want to see if I can get myself into the top 5 of some of the shorter races. I have entered the lottery for Escape from Alcatraz and think that would be a great experience if I am lucky enough to get in (I wasn't in the first cut although Jim, a guy I work with, has been picked which is great news)

Of course I also want to try and qualify for Kona at Lake Placid which I know is a hell of task and I am really looking forward to 2008 which could be my Annus Mirabilis - "Watch this space".