James Pearson's 2008 Cadence Kona Challenge

Stage 4 The Gila Monster Road Race 71.8 miles

2009-05-06T16:13:00.012-04:00

The Gila Monster Road race was basically the first stage in reverse but instead of starting at Fort Bayard where we finished Stage 1 we started down town and cycled out past Fort Bayard before doing the 4th category climb out toward Mimbres. Unlike the first stage we stayed together out onto NM 35 and up toward the continental divide.

I placed myself in the middle of the pack and apart from one hairy moment where I switched off for a second during the neutral roll out of town the race was uneventful. We had a couple of little breaks off the front but they never seemed to get too far away.

As we made our way toward the continental divide we caught up with the women's pro race and they were neutralized while we rolled passed them. As we approached the continental divide we went through the feed zone and I grabbed a bottle off Wendy. At the top of the feed zone it was clear that guys at the front were going to use the feed station as an opportunity to force a break. I had been warned about this from a local rider who had done the race before but I still ended up working hard to catch back up with the front of the pack and I am sure a number of riders were dropped.

It turned out not to matter as the women pro caught us back up and we were neutralized for a long time while they allowed a gap to open up. Anyone who had been dropped caught back up and at one stage the peleton all agreed to stop and take a pee break which was a nice relief. Not far from the base of the Sapillo climb the referee gave us a green and the race was back on.

The Sapillo descent was scary but the Sapillo ascent was going to be a killer. The gradient went from a manageable 4% at the bottom to a leg searing 17% by the top. Unsurprisingly the group exploded and we all fell in to our own personal hell as we tried to make it up the climb after 4 days of racing. On this side of the mountain we were really exposed and I poured water over my neck to try and cool down. I had decided that I was going to ride at my own pace and not try to hold to anyone during the climb.

There is not much to say about the climb other than I knew it was going to be hard and it was. I did pass a couple of the pro women and when the road levelled out I was surprised how strong I felt. After the hell of the climb the fast descent through the Gila forest was a blessed relief and I really enjoyed ticking off the miles toward the finish.

The Finish Line

This relief was short live because the last 2 miles to the finish were again up hill. Although I could put some power down on the descents any uphill gradient really, really hurt. I saw the 1 mile to go sign and then the 1km to go. Just after I had registered the fact that I only had a 1000m to go a car horn sounded and the Men Pro lead out car overtook. Here I was with only several hundred metres to go and I was possibly about to be overtaken by Lance Armstrong or Levi Leipheimer. I half entertained the idea of slowing down to try and get in the same camera shot as the winner but in the ended decided to keep going at what was by then a very slow crawl toward the line.

Kristin Armstrong wins the women's stage and GC

I must have looked like a drooling mess to the loads of spectators all ready to cheer Armstrong across the line. While they waited for the celebrities they were forced to watch the painful sight of this Cat 4/5 rider suffering slowly over the line. For me it felt great to be passing under the big SRAM finish arch with all those fans cheering and a couple of minutes after I got off my bike the winner passed me followed immediately by Armstrong. This was very surreal. I had just finished a major (for me) road race only minutes in front of the most famous and successful cyclist in modern times. I only hope that I can get hold of some video footage to prove the fact.

Me limping across the line

...followed by Lance......

...followed by Levi....

Wendy and I hung around to watch the prize giving and I managed to get Levi's autograph on my Tour of the Gila jersey which already had Kristin Armstrong's and Floyd Landis's autographs. Taking stock of my body I felt pretty good. I was not as drained as I was at the end of Ironman but I am not sure that I could have cycled another foot uphill. I thought I had finished in the top 25 or so but it turned out that I had finished 40th on the stage. Still this was only 12 minutes behind the leader and several minutes in front of Lance :-). Just like stage 1 the times were again a lot faster than last year and that includes being held up for 10 minutes by the Pro Women repassing us.

and the crowds go wild

In the GC I moved up yet another place to finish 34th overall, just under 25 minutes off the leader. Although I had managed top 15 finishes in the 3 other road races I had done those races had smaller fields and ended in much shorter bunch sprints. It was clear that the caliber of the other riders was much higher than anything I had experienced before at the Cat 4/5 level. So overall I am very pleased with the results. The whole experience was raised to a much higher level for me by the last minute arrival of Armstrong, Leipheimer and Horner. The presence of Armstrong gives me a story that I will dine out on for the rest of my life and I look forward to asking Ben when he is older whether he remembers when his dad raced with Lance Armstrong in New Mexico.

Unfortunately we were already checked out of the hotel so no ice bath today but I did have a craving for McDonald's and I had my first big mac in over 2 years. As always I have to say a big thanks to Wendy and Ben for helping me out so much with the race and acting as my support crew. It was hard work doing so much travel and Wendy had to keep Ben entertained as well as driving all over New Mexico.

Stage 3 Silver City Down Town Criterium 16.2 miles

2009-05-06T15:46:00.020-04:00

When trying to prepare for this race I entered 3 local races back in VA. 2 were shortish road races but the third was a Criterium in Richmond. The Crit was probably the scariest thing I have ever done. The high speed corners with some riders failing to hold their line resulted in several touching wheels and a couple of people being forced off the road. There must have been 4 or 5 big crashes during that first Crit so I was a little apprehensive about the Crit stage of the Tour of the Gila.

The Crit took place in the centre of town. The Cat 4/5 men went off at 0815 and we had to do 15 laps of the course which was a little over 1 mile long. The course was fairly traditional with four 90 degree left hand turns. The start finish straight was wide and fast with a big fast sweeping corner at the starting end (lined with a tyre wall) and a fairly narrow turn at the other end. The back side of the Crit had a short steep climb and then a rapid descent into a fast left and then the even faster left back onto the starting straight and hopefully not into the tyre wall.

I cycled from the hotel down to the start line and en route I tried to get in a number of hill repeats in order to warm up properly. During those hill repeats I could really start to feel the effects of Stages 1 and 2 in my legs. It is important to warm up well for Crits (and Time Trials) as they start off so quickly and if you are cold you can easily get left behind before you have a chance to warm up. Before the start of the race I watched the 3/4 women finish their race and chatted with another 4/5 man who had never done a Crit before.

I was feeling reasonably happy as I lined up until I heard the referees asking that anyone who had not signed in sign in. I had completely failed to appreciate that I needed to sign anything. I knew the Pros signed in but I didn’t realise I had to. I have never signed in for a race before but I guess that a stage race is different. I rushed over to sign next to my number and then before I knew it the gun was going off. There was no get set and the gun took everyone by surprise as 70 guys struggled to clip in and get going.

The race started off fast, as expected, but nothing that I couldn’t hold onto. I found out from Wendy that a number of riders did get dropped in those first couple of laps. I knew I wasn’t fast enough to win any of the sprints so I tried to keep myself in the top 20 or so hoping to avoid any big crashes at the back. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were no crashes (at least that I was aware of) there were of course a couple of close calls but the race was generally pretty clean. The two sections that I found the most nerve racking/exciting were the crest of the hill on the back straight where I was putting a lot of power into the pedals and as the back of the bike was unweighted the back wheel would squirrel a bit and then the very fast left hander on the finish straight where this giant tyre wall was trying to suck you in.

Before too long we were on the last lap and the pace went crazy. I sprinted hard and managed to finish 24th. Although generally I was not too tired the last sprint had left me feeling a little sick for a couple of minutes. We crossed the line at 38:13 which meant that we had averaged about 25.5 mph. The Pros were not due to start until after 3pm so we had plenty of time to go back to the hotel take an ice bath, change and come back to watch their race.

Back on our corridor at the hotel it looked like team Ouch were in their team brief and outside were 7 very shiny very new Kuota bikes lined up against the wall.

Floyd Landis on the way to line up

First corner

Lance working hard

The Pros race was pretty impressive to watch. Although they had to do 40 laps they still averaged 27 mph. Lance did a lot of work during the race trying keep Levi in the lead. Apparently Levi's tyre came off with only a couple of laps to go and he had to get on Chris Horner’s bike to finish but I didn’t get to see any of that drama. A crash toward the end of their race upset all the organised lead outs and the race was won by a relative unknown, Van Uden, from Land Rover – Orbea, he looked pretty pleased with himself.

Van Urden takes the win

That night we celebrated Ben's first birthday and he made short work of his cake.

Although I finished with the pack I still moved up the GC one place to 35th and I was 0:14:22 off the leader. 3 Stages down and only one to go but the last stage was the infamous Gila Monster.

Stage 2 Tyrone Individual Time Trial 16.15 miles

2009-05-05T23:18:00.012-04:00

This was a tough time trial with the altitude, climbing and false flats but I knew it was an opportunity to claw back a little time on some of the other riders, after all TTs are triathletes bread and butter.

One of the coolest things of the day was the fact that Lance and Levi were doing exactly the same stage as me. In fact their start times were less than 2 hours from mine. Lance was 10:45 and I was 12:39 and yes in a TT the slower riders normally go first. As the race leader Levi was only a few minutes after Lance and just like yesterday's stage there were very few spectators and the whole event was very low key despite the participation of the two the best cyclists in the world.

When it was my turn the people that had come to support Lance had gone but I still had a guy counting down to my start time and someone holding my bike steady which was a first for me. I came out of the gate charging and within about a mile I caught the guy who had started 30 seconds ahead of me. Before the turn around at just over 8 miles I had passed another 3 riders. On the way back I was really starting to feel the burn but I knew this was my event so I kept pushing and passed another 2 riders and if I had had another 200m I would have passed one more guy.

I really enjoyed the time trial and finished in 0:43:35 which was the 16th fastest time and it moved me 3 places up the General Classification (GC) to 36th, 0:14:18 off the leader. I also managed to finish within 10 minutes of Lance who finished in 0:34:22. Levi set an amazing course record at 0:32:29. Back to the hotel for the usual ice bath, to eat a whole bunch of calories and to try and get some rest.

Tour of the Gila Race Report

2009-05-05T20:15:00.012-04:00

Epilogue…..

Since Ironman UK I have eased back on my training but have tried to keep up a reasonable level of fitness. My wife has started to catch the bug and has completed 2 marathons and her first triathlon. I have resurrected this blog for one last post as I wanted to do a race report for the 2009 Tour of the Gila (again like all my race reports it is very long).

Last year while training for Ironman I found I really enjoyed the bike riding, especially the faster group rides with local roadies. I also found that after a few weeks I was able to stay with the A group at most group rides. This all led to a desire to compete in a road race and having really enjoyed watching the Tour de France for several years I really fancied the challenge of competing in a stage race. Last year I was registered for a couple of rides but for one reason or another I was unable to actually race and most of the 2 day stage races on the calendar were not open to me as a Cat 5 rider. With only a short time to go before leaving the States I was determined to try and get in a big road race.

Trawling through bikereg.com I found the Tour of the Gila, a 5 day stage race for the Pros and a 4 day stage race for Cat 4/5s. The only problems were that:

1. It is in New Mexico (hardly local).
2. It is one tough course with plenty of climbing.
3. It is all done at elevation ranging from 5000 to 8000 ft.

Despite my reservations I soon decided that the potentially once in a lifetime opportunity to compete in a 4 day stage race outweighed any worries I had and I signed up. In order to train for the race I replaced some of my running sessions with bike workouts. I hoped to get in some hill rides at Skyline Drive but unfortunately I only managed to achieve trainer workouts with a bunch of phonebooks propping up the front wheel. Before I knew it Wendy, Ben and I were driving through the desert of New Mexico heading for Silver City. The race was Thu 30 Apr through to the 03 May but I managed to arrange a meeting in Tucson at the beginning of the week which meant that we could fly in the weekend before the race and I could preride the course and try and do a bit of acclimatization.

When we arrived in the host town of Silver City NM we found a very quiet little sleepy hollow. I picked up my bikes from the LBS, where I had had them shipped, and while I was there I overheard half a conversation about a local news story that someone famous was possibly coming to town. I didn’t think anything more of it at the time and went out to ride part of Stage 1. I was pleased to find that the altitude was not hitting me too hard. I did have a very slight headache and found oxygen a little bit harder to come by but I was still able to pedal away. The scenery was amazing but the climbing was relentless and the descents were by far the most technical I had ever seen and in places really scary. When we got back to the hotel I found out that the local news story was that Lance Armstrong and his team Astana mates had decided to make the Tour of the Gila his come back race in preparation for the Giro d’Italia. Needless to say this was very exciting and had the whole town buzzing.

Sunday I rode what would be stage 4 of the race, known as the Gila Monster. This involved the category 2 climb from Sapillo Creek to Pinos Altos which was a real bitch. That evening I again checked the news and it turned out that the cycling governing body, the UCI, had heard about Armstrong’s plans and had invoked a rare rule that banned international teams from competing at national class events. Oh well it was exciting while it lasted but I guess the ‘Lance Effect’ would not come to bare on this race. Monday morning I rode the Time Trial course (Stage 2) which again was far from flat with a cat 4 climb on the way out and a cat 3 climb on the way back. The first 4.5 miles of the TT were all uphill.

Monday and Tuesday were spent in Tucson before heading back to Silver City NM on Wednesday to register for the race. While we were in Tucson I ended up in TriSports.Com getting some supplies. Chatting to the manager he told me that he had heard that Lance was back in the race. Checking online it turned out to be true. Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner where all going to race but to get around the rules they had to do it as individuals and would be forming up as Team Mellow Johny’s (Lance’s bike store in Texas).

Stage 1 Fort Bayard Inner Loop Road Race 64.2 Miles

I lined up with the other 70 or so riders for the start of our first Stage. Looking around me I noticed that the group looked pretty serious. There were some very fit looking guys and a lot of nice bikes. The Pros were starting back in town and had to do another 15 miles on top of us. We started out at a reasonable pace but after about 10 minutes of climbing things suddenly turned nasty. The pace picked up significantly and before long the group started to split. I just about managed to hold onto the lead group but I was right at the back and my heart rate was already red lining. I knew it was only a matter of time before I got dropped and within a few minutes the elastic snapped and I was falling off the back of the group.

Here I was 15 minutes into a four day stage race and I was being dropped. I managed to keep going and before I got to the summit I could see some other riders who had been dropped. I decided to keep going at a steady pace and try and catch more riders on the butt clenching Sapillo descent. The plan worked and with a bit of a hair raising descent I found myself with about 5 other riders. I was still knackered and just held on at the back of the group trying to get my breath back. We had about 15 miles of steady ascent to go to the Continental Divide at 6720 ft and then 20 miles down hill before the final kick in the teeth, a 9 mile cat 3 climb back to 6800 ft. Before long I got my breath back and was able to start taking turns at the front. I was back in my triathlon comfort zone of high zone 2 low zone 3 heart rate. We started to pick up other riders who had been dropped from the lead group and before long we were in a group of about 20. About 14 of us organised into an effective pace line with about 6 guys loafing on the back. We really rattled along and before the start of the last climb we had the lead group in sight.

When we hit the last climb the same thing happened again. I made the initial split but was soon dropped again. I had a about 8 miles of solo climbing to go. This was a bit of a lonely time but I guess the Ironman racing helped as I didn’t feel too dispirited. After a while grinding out my own pace I started to feel stronger again and before long I caught the next two guys who jumped on my back wheel. When we go to the flats I felt really strong and pulled the two riders the last 5 miles to the finish. Rather disappointingly the guy I had just pulled for several miles decided he needed to sprint for the line and finished ahead of me putting me in 39th place overall.

Me getting dropped on the last climb

I felt pretty good. I finished the stage in 3:07:42. A lot of guys were saying how fast the stage had been and when I checked last years results I saw that the winning time for Stage 1 had been 3:12:00 so we had clearly been shifting. My Garmin told me that we had averaged 21.1 mph and with 4220ft of climbing that was not too shabby. About 30 minutes after we finished the Pros came in in a mass sprint.

Pro's mass sprint

After a giving a quick interview Lance and Levi jumped on their bikes and cycled the 5 miles or so back to their rental house. I am fairly certain that it is rare that you will find someone as famous as Armstrong cycling along the road like this, shooting the breeze and without a police escort.

I went back to the hotel reasonably happy with how things had gone and got myself an ice bath which I would come to hate by the end of the week. Tomorrow was the Time Trial and in theory this event would suit me better.

Ironman UK Race Report

2008-09-18T16:25:00.013-04:00

Its been 11 days since Ironman UK and about time I posted a race report. If anyone is still reading this blog I thought I would right this race report and a then a report on our trip to the Hawaii to watch the World Champs before calling it a day.

We arrived in the UK a week before the race and spent time with family before heading down to a cottage near the race site the Thursday before the race. Although the weather was nice the morning we landed it was a short lived phenomenon and for almost the entire week it rained and rained and then rained some more. Much of the country was flooded and rain was accompanied by high winds and low temperatures.

By the time I picked up my race packet I was really beginning to worry about the weather for race day. It had been almost 7 weeks since Lake Placid but I still had not fully dried out and memories of the rain that day were still very vivid.

The Saturday before the race we were joined in the cottage by friends and family and had a very pleasant meal which really took my mind off the race itself. Unlike Lake Placid after I had picked up my race packet I had not returned to the race venue. I had taken the opportunity to do a loop of the bike course and my initial impression was although the course was a bit hilly and the road surface a little rough it was still a fairly nice course - I later came to change my mind.

Race morning we were up early as usual. The race was scheduled to start at 6am which is an hour earlier than most of the North American races. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was not raining race morning and although it was not warm it was not too cold either. Wendy, Ben and I arrived at the race site at about 4.30am with the rest of my support crew arriving a little later. For this race I had quite a large fan base consisting of my parents, my brother and his girlfriend, my mother and brother-in-law and a close friend of the family.

At about 5.40am I left Wendy and Ben and I had to muster in the transition area from where the organisers were going to shepherd us to the race start. At about 5:45am the organisers started making PA announcements that there were cars on the course which needed moving before the race would start. I also got the impression that it was too dark to start the swim and it was something like 6:20 before we were corralled toward the race start. I had lined up with everyone else but the way it worked out I was very much toward the back of the line as we made our way to the edge of the lake. From the edge of the lake it is another 500m swim to the actual race start.

The Marshall's started to tell us to hurry up as the race was about to start. This was pretty annoying, there was no way of forcing my way to the front and I was worried that I would not make it to the start line before the gun. I also wondered why the race was scheduled for 6.00am as it seemed to me that it was always likely to be too dark at that time in the morning. As it worked out I did just about make it to the start line in time but many others didn't. The 500m swim before the start did give me a great opportunity to warm up and get over the initial cold shock. I think the water temp was about 60 deg and that actually turned out to be ideal for me.

Swim 1:09:00 (341/1295)

As I said I was a little bit anxious that I wouldn't make the swim start but I did manage to the get to the start line and lined up toward the right of the line 1 or 2 swimmers back from the front. The course was a 2 loop swim following a centre line of buoys. The lake did dog leg left which meant that you could cut the corner on the way out but needed to 'bend' round the buoys on the way back.

The start was not quite as busy as Lake Placid but in order to get between the first buoy and the edge of the lake there was a bit of a bottle neck and I had to fight for the first few minutes. After that the race stretched out and I the only other pushing and shoving was at the turnaround buoys.

The lake itself was a bit muddy and visibility wasn't great but as I said the water temperature was just right for me and I had a pretty comfortable swim (I did wear 2 swim caps). When I looked at my watch at the half way point it was something like 32min so I was pretty pleased (I failed to appreciate it wasn't quite half way as I still had to swim back to the edge of the lake where we first got in).

The second loop was much the same as the first. I did get a couple of very short drafts and from the taps on my toes someone must have been drafting off me. I did feel noticeably less tired across the arms and shoulder than at Lake Placid and the long swims had certainly paid off.

I got to the edge of the lake and looked at my watch which read 1:08 so I was very pleased with my swim. There was a great crowd at the edge of the lake and I got out feeling pretty good. Sub 1:10 for me is a massive improvement on my half ironman swims which took me over 40 mins and my Oly swims which used to take me about 30 mins. It was also within my A race goal pace.

T1 (Timings were available but are no longer listed)

T1 went pretty well for me. There were no seats available and not as many helpers as Lake Placid but there was plenty of room. I decided to throw on a pair of arm warmers as there was still a chill in the air.

Bike 5:45:40 (72/1295)

The bike course was a 3 loop course. After leaving transition there was short ride to the looped course which involved a steepish climb. The first part of the course headed due south from Sherborne to almost Dorchester. This stretch was mainly gentle rollers but it did have one very distinct climb half way toward Dorchester. It is worth noting that the road surface on this leg was really rough and actually got pretty annoying by the end of the race.

The course then took a 90 degree turn to the left and there was a very long climb which took you up to the top of the local hill. This section was very exposed and I did have a couple of exciting moments as the wind moved me and my bike (zipp 606 wheelset) a few feet across the road. I would strongly advise against disc wheels if the wind is strong.

After the climbing there was a very fast short descent and then the course made its way through some narrow country roads before the last section back toward Sherborne which consisted of some horrible rollers and was all into a strong head wind. This was by far the worst part of the course for me.

The first loop went reasonably well. I had a slightly different nutrition plan. At Lake Placid there was a very well organised special needs bag drop for both the bike and the run. This allowed me to put 3 fresh bottles in my special needs bag which contained Gatorade along with Carb supplement. At Ironman UK the special needs was ad hoc at best. It was up to you to supply the bag and there was absolutely no guarantee that you would get your stuff back. You would also have to stop the bike and sift through the melee to find your own stuff.

To get around this I made up one bottle which I filled with Gatorade and loads of carb supplement. It tasted like treacle (s@#t) but my plan was to pour some of this mixture into my aero bottle and water it down with the stuff available from the aid stations. At the first aid station I was after Gatorade but was given water. Be aware that the bottles handed out were not transparent and all had Gatorade written down the side but half of them were just water.

After the first aid station I made sure I was getting Gatorade and my nutrition plan seemed to work. I supplemented my drinks with a little power bar and some banana.

The second lap of the course was very lonely and probably due to the bearings going in my rear wheel my bike was making a lot of noise. Despite the wind and the noises coming from my bike I was still averaging 20mph and was pretty happy. By the 3rd lap and mile 70 I started to tire. At IM USA I didn't really tire until the last 10 miles but this time my legs were heavy with another 40 miles to go and a hell of a lot of climbing.

I did end up talking to myself. I was tired and the wind was relentless. The only thing that made it more bearable was that by now I was lapping some of the slower riders and continued to pass some of my fellow 3rd lappers who were also clearly suffering. The last 8 miles before I turned off the loop back toward the start were some of the hardest riding miles of my life and I saw plenty of weaker riders weaving all over the climbs and one or two people reverting to getting off and pushing their bikes.

I was very happy to get back to transition at Sherborne Castle. I did go slightly quicker than IM USA but to be honest it was a much harder ride which I think I can put down to the wind. It is also fair to say that a 2 loop course is psychologically easier to swallow than a 3 loop course. Arm warmers and toe warmers turned out to be exactly the right amount of extra kit for me and one small mercy was that my core temperature remained about perfect. It did threaten to rain a few times but never actually happened.

T2

No problems. Pretty quick and easy. Transition was very quiet and I took the time to wipe my feet and apply sportslick.

Run 04:25:55 (497/1295)

I left transition feeling pretty good. Holden had really worked on my bike to run transition and I found as I left transition that my legs were feeling really good. Unlike IM USA where I left transition and was immediately forced into stopping and stretching this time I was firing on all cylinders.

As you can see from the clip I was smiling and the clock was only at 7:02. If I could hold a 3:30 marathon I was on for a 10:30 Ironman which would have been great.

The run course took you around the castle grounds and an out and back on a dirt track which then turned into a very very muddy pot hole ridden path which followed the castle walls before kicking you out into Sherborne town. The course then weaved through the town before heading back to the castle. You were given a wrist band as you passed transition and had to do 3 loops before you could veer off to the finish line.

The first loop went pretty well. I really wish that they would publish chip times for the various laps as the first one should have been around the 8 min mile pace or better. The town was quiet the first time I passed through it but the dirt tracks really sucked. As I said at the start it had rained all week and the paths were in an awful state. I did twist my ankle in one of the potholes but fortunately not badly enough to affect my run. I saw one guy who had clearly taken a fall and was deciding whether or not he could continue.

The second loop was not quite such a success. I was watching the clock and I started to notice that my pace was slowing. By the time I got to about mile 13 everything started to go 'Pete Tong' and my pace really ground to a halt. I started to get aches and pains all over my legs. My knee caps hurt, my hips hurt, my groin hurt, my calfs hurt, my ankles hurt and to add to my misery I developed a massive blister on my right foot (which didn't happen at IM USA even though I wore the same trainers and socks??). In fact I would say that every injury I had ever suffered in the last 30 years came back to the surface.

I saw my friends and family but I was unable to raise much of a smile. The crowd in the centre of town were great and my race number 118 was the same as the British directory enquiries number which carries the tag line 118 118 "got your number" and features two actors dressed as 1980's runners complete with sweatband and afro hair. If I hadn't of felt like total crap I am sure that the cries of "got your number" from the crowd would have remained funny but to be honest by the third lap my sense of humour was at an all time low.

As I hobbled round the course I did the sums and realised that a sub 11 hour finish had gone by the wayside but a sub 11:30 finish was achievable. I managed to drag my sorry ass back to the castle and I finished in 11:27:07; 191st place overall.

If I am honest this race was not as well organised as Ironman Lake Placid and the course, especially the dirt tracks on the run leg, was pretty awful. The road closures were also a little ineffective and I had to deal with a few cars during the ride. I ordered a medium T-shirt and although I finished 191st there were no mediums available and I didn't get a cap although the announcements had said that they were being handed to the first 250 finishers. The lack of an effective special needs station is a big factor and I also missed the wetsuit strippers. Those in the US who were tracking me on line reported that the on-line timings were not accurate and were eventually taken down before the end of the race. I would be interested in seeing my transition splits and the splits of the individual loops but I am not sure if they will become available.

On the plus side the volunteers were very pleasant and the finishers post race curry and beer went a very very long way to making up for the hardship of the day. A nice cold larger and a spicy hot curry are almost the perfect pairing at the end of an Ironman. Curry is the most popular food in the UK and I am not sure everyone appreciated the food. I did hear one US female athlete asking the caterers if there was anything less spicy to eat. I am also glad that my family and friends got to see me in an Ironman.

It was a massive relief to finish. I have posted a clip of me finishing and my glance back at the clock sums up how I felt. I know if I kept racing Ironman I could go faster still. My race revolves around my inability to hold my marathon together but I am glad to say that I do not retain any desire to try and keep improving my Ironman time.

I am a long way from qualifying for the World Champs but I am glad that I had such a great opportunity to give it a shot. In only 10 months of training Holden and Cadence have managed to take my 6+ hour half ironman personal best and turn it into a sub 11:30 ironman. I have also had the opportunity to meet some great people, not least my fellow Cadence Kona Challenge finalists, and my fellow Grand Finalist, Mary Lou.

I am a two time Ironman and have a great story to tell Ben when he gets older. In the meantime I can now bore people with tales of Ironman USA and UK and can enjoy watching the World Champs with a beer rather than a bottle of sports drink.

We rounded out our 'sporty' trip by watching a stage of the Tour of Britain. I feel sorry for the US riders who must have found the weather during the week a real shock, we were all certainly glad to get back to the warmth of Virginia.

Thanks for all the support.

James

Ironman UK

2008-09-08T14:05:00.002-04:00

I am still deep in the English country side and I do not have a phone signal, let alone access to the internet. I am currently on my brother-in-laws laptop but will post a proper race report when I get back to the states next week.

In a nutshell I completed my second (and final) Ironman but I really paid my dues this time. While I finished Ironman Lake Placid feeling relatively comfortable this one really, really hurt.

Swim went well, although I nearly didn't make it to swim start before the gun. I knocked a few minutes off Lake Placid with a finish time of 1:09 (1:08 on my watch).

Bike was a real slog. The weather in the UK has been terrible all week, by Sunday it was dry but the strong winds persisted. There were sections of the bike course that were very exposed and the top part of the figure of eight course was straight into a 20+ mph wind the whole time. I will go into a lot more detail in the race report but it was a tough, tough bike leg and I finished in 5:45.

Run. I left transition with 7 hours on my watch so all I needed was a 4 hr marathon to go sub 11 hrs and a 3.5 hr marathon would give me that elusive 10:30 finish. The run was 3 laps of a 9 mile course. First lap went well and I think I was well on the way to my 3.30 marathon but then at about the 14 mile point the wheels fell off my wagon and my legs started to shut down. I had to dig deeper than I have had to dig for a long time in order just to finish and it was a huge relief to finish, let alone finish sub 11:30.

Bottom line it was not a fun course and it was a real hardship to get through it. I am glad that it is over but I also like the fact that I have a bagged Ironman UK and Ironman USA, it makes a nice set.

Thanks to Mary Lou for the comment and to the Team Z guys who followed my progress from afar. I can't wait to get back the warmth of the Virginia and recoup.

Pictures and Race Report to follow.

have your cake and eat it

2008-08-20T16:40:00.006-04:00

I know I have been quiet for awhile but to be honest I have not had a lot to report. Life has fallen back into the same familiar routine that I was following before IMLP. Get up go to work (sometimes train at lunch), come home, train, eat, go to bed, repeat. The weekends are a long ride Saturday and a triathlon brick on a Sunday.

At least I am not alone in my training. I have mentioned Chris from time to time in my blog and his reward for finishing first in his age group (60-64) and setting a new course record at Lake Placid is to continue to give up all his free time in preparation for the World Championships in Hawaii. Most of the team are now able to kick back and focus on shorter course racing for the rest of the season whereas Chris and I are still looking for opportunities to go riding for hours and hours on end.

It works out well for us as I am slightly quicker on the bike he can sit in my draft and still get in a good zone 2 workout and I get the benefit of having someone older and emenintly more sensible making sure that I actually turn up for the long workouts.

Generally things are going pretty well as I approach the last couple of weeks before Ironman UK. Last week I was able to exercise for the first time without any pain and I think I can finally assume that I have recovered from my bike accident. I also got to pick up my new ride last week, a week later than expected but worth the wait.

Here she is in all her glory. The saddle is a loaner from Conte's as the BH importer did not send the Scratch TR saddle I ordered and I am waiting for them to put that right. I took her out last Saturday for what was supposed to be a long ride but unfortunately I didn't have a great ride and had to cut it a bit short. It was however my birthday and Chris surprised me with a birthday cake so we ended up substituting another 1.5 hours on the bike for cake.

To clear up any confusion I have not signed for the Pro Cycling Team AG2R the kit came free with the bike

Sunday was the first day that I finally got to do the full Tri brick, i.e. swim bike run and it felt pretty good. I am hoping that a few of these will really help me when it comes to race day and that all important bike to run transition.

I did finally put the BH through her paces last night when for the last hour of my 2.5 hour ride, Chris and I linked up with the A group at the weekly Conte's ride (every Tuesday at 6.30pm). There were an impressive number of riders there covering the full gambit of abilities and experience. You may remember that I was tagging along on the Wakefield A Group ride but I haven't done that ride for a couple of months and it was a shock to the system last night to be dragged kicking and screaming from my comfort zone.

The last thing you want on one of these group rides is to be dropped so you move heaven and earth to stay on the pace. This particular ride was very hilly and the first few steep climbs really took their toll. My heart rate maxed out and stayed there for quite a long time, it was hot and I started to develop a headache and if I had kept going I was going to start cramping badly. People were getting dropped but I just, by the skin of my teeth, held on to the top of the hill with the leaders and then managed to recover enough to make the next brutal climb. As with most of these group rides even the leaders are suffering and after the initial onslaught the pace on the hills slowed significantly.

In the end I was pleased with the ride but I was disappointed that one of the guys in the ride was also riding a BH G4. He turned out to be a nice bloke but I guess even if there are only a few dealers in the US if you go back to the store where you bought the bike you run the risk of bumping into someone on the same machine - bubble certainly not burst but maybe a little bit deflated.

My finishers video clip

2008-08-07T18:59:00.003-04:00

This video clip cost me $15 and to be honest it is terrible.

The only good thing about it is that it features one of my friends, Sebastian, in his Team Z kit in the general montage footage (45 sec, far right hand side, green top, red visor and sunglasses??).

The actual video of me crossing the line is awful and you cannot see my face. My body language makes me look as if I couldn't give a damn when actually there is a huge grin on my face - honestly.

Do you really 'need' a new bike?

2008-08-04T17:41:00.011-04:00

I'm back. I didn't know whether or not to keep this blog alive but, as you can see from the new count down timer, I have made a decision to race Ironman UK and I think it is only fitting that I keep this blog going until that race is over.

Why race Ironman UK?

The Cadence Kona Challenge is effectively over and Triathlete magazine stopped following the challenge this month. Unfortunately in the process of ending the coverage of the challenge they printed a very large picture of me in which I look as if I am doped up to the eyeballs. Holden and Cadence are going to keep coaching me through Ironman UK but looking at historic finishing times there is not a hope in hell of qualifying for Kona. Ironman UK attracts some uber-athletes, probably because there are so few M-Dot Ironman races in Europe, in comparison to North America. Last year the winner of my age group did it in 08:56!!! only 20 minutes slower than the overall winner. However, I have paid for the race, I cannot get my money back and I cannot live with the idea of just letting that money, and a place in a sold out race, go to waste.

Secondly I want to know whether I can finish the Ironman distance with a decent run. If I can hold together a half decent run I can drastically improve on my Lake Placid time and at the moment it is impossible for me to gauge how much my crash affected my race.

Finally I would love for my family and friends to be able to watch the Ironman spectacle and it looks as if quite a few of them will be able to make it to watch me race at Sherborne in September. I hope too that Wendy will not be stuck under a tent looking after Ben and may actually be able to see something of me racing.

Life as an Ironman;

The week after Lake Placid was total rest and it was heaven. I ate copious amounts of food enjoyed some nice wine, steaks and icecream. The Saturday and Sunday after the race I didn’t get out of bed until midday, enjoying breakfast in bed, with a paper, and while watching the last two stages of the Tour de France on TV – life really does not get much better.

Life after Ironman

The week after was still very much recovery and I did a short swim every other day but nothing else. This week I am supposed to return to some more demanding training. The problem I am having is that I am still bothered by my injured groin. Holden is keen to make sure that I am 100% fit before we build up for Ironman UK and wanted 3 days where I didn’t feel any discomfort before he started me running again. So far that hasn’t happened and I haven’t been for a training run now for something like 5 weeks (not including a little run during the Ironman). I am frustrated to say the least and after some discomfort during Sunday’s recovery ride the run scheduled for today has been pushed back until Saturday.

Outside of training life is good. I have spent more time with Wendy and Ben and tried to get outside to enjoy the hot weather rather than do battle with it whilst training. Ben is busy growing (very tall) and working on his ability to roll over. He can get about half way and then grunts for 60 seconds before giving up and crying until we either assist him roll or pick him up.

The title of this post comes from a question posed to me by my wife and I must admit it is a bit of a tricky one to answer. For the last couple of years I have harboured a desire to treat myself to a carbon framed bike. My recent participation in group rides with local road racers has not only drastically increased my strength on the bike but has also served to rekindle my love affair with my old road bike (an aluminium framed Orbea) which had been lying, neglected and dusty in the garage. Although I love my old Orbea we are approaching the 7 year itch point and I secretly longed for a younger, prettier and lighter model.

After Ironman I noticed a 2007 Cervelo R3 on sale in my local bike shop (LBS). This is a great bike and is light and relatively sexy. It is pretty in a girl next door sort of way but is not going to stand out from the crowd and in my eyes will never warrant a modeling contract. Still I knew it was a great deal and would serve as a very good carbon framed bike and in any event it was much better than my current bike.

I went back to my LBS to look at buying it to find out it had been sold. I like to think of this as fate because as I looked around the store I came across the BH bikes. BH are Spanish and have been making bikes for a 100 years. They are very popular in Europe and are currently the team bike for AG2R but there are very few dealers in the US. Their top of the range bike is the G4 and my LBS, Conte’s, had one in a small frame which I took for a test ride. This bike ticked all the boxes for me and after doing some research I knew I had found the dream bike I was after (I just needed a larger frame).

It has the supermodel looks but just as importantly it has a supermodel ‘weight problem’ with the frame weighing a ridiculously anorexic 860 grams. It has classic European styling and a bold white, blue and black paint job and is all hand built. Like any supermodel it is not cheap but thanks to Conte’s we were able to play around with the components (mainly the wheels) to reach a great deal. This really is a relative term but with current exchange rates believe me it is a lot cheaper to buy a bike in the US than the UK. I have also worked out that if I water down Ben's milk by using 50% less formula in his bottles and change him every 6-8 hours rather than 2-3 hours I should soon be able to pay off the bike in next to no time.

The icing on the cake for me was that they were even able to get me the Prologo Scratch TR saddle (white) which is very hard to get hold of at the moment but maintains that Pro Tour look. I am very excited and Wendy has even been kind enough to buy me a set of Time RXS pedals for my birthday. It is now just a case of waiting for the bike to arrive. A nice touch is that BH were running a promotion during the Tour de France whereby you got an AG2R jersey and shorts with every bike and it is always useful to have an extra set of cycling clothes.

Bottom line is that no one ‘needs’ a new bike but it sure is fun when you get one.

Before I sign off I wanted to share a couple of things with you. Firstly my fellow Cadence Kona Challenge Grand Finalist, Mary Lou, has written a truly fantastic race report which must have taken her longer than the race itself. It is a funny, entertaining and extremely revealing race report and I commend it to everyone to read if you have the time. To go to her blog click here.

The other thing I wanted to share with you was sent out by one of my Team Z teammates. Triathlon is full of inspirational people and I am constantly surprised when I see disabled athletes and their amazing feats but I have to say that this guy really does stand out. Please click here to see the story.

T+2 Ironman USA Lake Placid Race Report

2008-07-22T17:05:00.022-04:00

I hope you are sitting comfortably as this is an Ironman Race Report and for anyone who has seen how long my sprint reports are you know this is going to be very, very long.

I will start where I left off with my T-1 post. The night before the race I was feeling pretty calm but to keep my mind occupied and off the race I went to bed early, at about 8pm, and watched a DVD on my laptop. At about 9:30pm I started to feel sleepy so shut the computer down and tried to get to sleep. As soon as I closed my eyes I started to think about the race. The more I tried to stop thinking about it the more I did. It took me a long time to fall asleep and probably fell asleep about 11pm.

14 hours of this :-)

I awoke to my alarm clock at 3:30am and felt a little bit tired. After a breakfast of "Ironman Oatmeal", very similar to regular oatmeal but just a little bit more expensive, we met up with Mary Lou and drove a few minutes down the road to one of the park and ride pickups. We were straight onto a bus and dropped just up the road from the Olympic Oval at about 5:20am. There were lots of body markers and I was quickly written on before I made my way to my bike and transition bags. All that was left to do at this stage was pump up my tyres, put nutrition on my bike, and in my transition bags, and drop off my special needs bags a mile up the road.

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner - Mmmmm tasty

With my pre race jobs accomplished I joined the queue for the porta potty and tried to make sure I was not carrying any excess weight on the course. Before I knew it I was in my wetsuit and making my way to the swim start. There were so many athletes that it took a while to work my way to the corral that shepherded you through the entry gate and over the timing mat.

Swim 1:12:00 (Division place 140/238; Overall Place 991/2345; 1:54 per 100m)

I had read several race reports and was not looking forward to getting battered in the swim. I couldn't decide where to put myself. Many people want to keep left and follow the buoy cable that marks the course but this means that the buoy line is a battlefield. Others go way right of the course in order to avoid the melee. I decided to put myself somewhere in the middle of the two and few bodies back from the front. As I waited for the canon I couldn't help but be impressed by the scene. The banks of mirror lake where packed with spectators all screaming their support and there was a helicopter hovering over the water filming the action, it was a very impressive sight.

Time went quickly and before long the canon sounded and we were off. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I did not get immediately run over and actually had a reasonable amount of room. I think many of the slower swimmers had kept way back to avoid the scrum and the faster guys were sprinting to get away from the crush. I found a rhythm and started to settle into the 2.4 mile swim.

As I was telling myself how nice it was to have some room I started to get jostled. About a 1/3rd of the way out on the first loop swimmers were coming together and I started to get battered as people tried to migrate toward the buoy line. After a few minutes I stuck my head up and decided that this was not going to get any better unless I did something and repositioned myself toward the right hand edge of the group. I again settled down until we came to the turn around when everyone came together again. A bit more fighting and I was on the way back toward the start line. Every so often I would manage to get on someones heels and draft for a little bit. The first loop was pretty uneventful, I did feel a bit tired in my upper body and can't say that I was looking forward to the second lap, fully aware as I was that this was the farthest I had ever swum.

I got out of the water and looked at my watch which read 34 minutes and change so I was on track for my sub 1:10 hour swim. I ran across the beach and could hear the crowds cheering, it was then straight back into the water where I had to talk myself into getting my arms going again. A lot of people talk about the water flow created by so many swimmers swimming in the same direction but the only time I noticed it was when I got back into the water and went around the corner of the pontoon which was used by the race starter. There was such a strong flow that I was literally whipped around the corner and back out onto the second loop. Unfortunately this sensation was very short lived and I was back under my own steam.

The second loop I settled down into a steady swim, similar to how I would swim in the pool during training. I was very relaxed and started to breath every third stroke rather than every second stroke as I had on the first lap. The entire loop was pretty uneventful. My arms were a little tired but overall I felt good. I did notice as I started the second loop that it had started to rain and I assumed we were having one of the passing showers that had been predicted and hoped that it would not leave the bike course too wet.

I tried to keep my pace up as I tired and a couple of times I was able to again get on the heels of stronger swimmers for a few hundred yards. Making the turn around for the second time was a big morale booster and little by little the shore got closer. I was out of the water and looked at my watch "1:12". I was still on track for my A Race Goal of as close to 10 hours as possible. In my dream race this would break down to 1:10 swim, 5:30 bike and 3:20 run and then take a few minutes off the bike and run to allow for transition. My B Race Goal was very generous and that was to finish before the cut off at 17 hours. Two very different goal times but to be honest the only two things that mattered to me were to qualify for the World Champs and if I couldn't I needed to make sure that I became an Ironman.

T1 5:38

There was quite a long run from the swim to the transition area and the shower that I had noticed during the swim was still going and there were streams of water running down the road. There was a 10 foot wide fenced off coral that marshaled the athletes through the crowds from the lake to the oval. There was a 3 foot wide carpet to save your feet but I decided that I wanted to run so I left the carpet and started to overtake people as I ran on the tarmac. I grabbed my swim to bike transition bag and found that people were already getting changed outside of the tent.

I only needed to put on my helmet, bike shoes and race number so I too decided to change outside of the tent. I had some arm warmers and a cycling vest inside my bag but made a quick decision that the rain would probably stop soon and it shouldn't be too cold at this time of year so I left them where they were. As I went through the tent it was like a Turkish steam bath. There was no light and masses of steam rising from the hundreds of wet athletes crowded into the tent. I couldn't see a thing and I was very glad to have changed outside. As I ran to get my bike I noticed how muddy the grass had become and how dark the skies were, oh well so much for a nice day but the day was still young and there was plenty of time for the weather to improve.

Bike 5:49:22 (Division place 71/238; Overall Place 392/2345; 19.2mph)

The bike is my strongest event but I figured that for any hope of qualifying I would need to do a sub 5:30 ride which equates to an average speed of 21 mph, over 112 miles and in the Adirondack Mountains, please note they are not called the Adirondack Hills. I knew this was going to be a monumental task but I had made a conscious effort to keep focusing on how I was going to achieve the task rather than how impossible it may appear, in order to help me get through the last nine months of build up.

So feeling pretty good I left the oval and we were immediately faced with a very steep downhill that ended in a 90 degree turn. It was raining so hard that you had to ride your brakes all the way down the hill or you risked crashing within a stone's throw of the bike start (I heard that one of the pros did crash out of the race here).

Some of the amazing supporters who braved the weather

I successfully negotiated the turn and started to head toward the edge of town. Before 2 minutes had passed I heard a bang and realised that my rear wheel had a blow out. I had new tyres on the bike and had ridden the tyres and tubes for 2 decent rides so I have no idea why I suddenly had a tyre burst, there really is no obvious explanation. There I was perhaps 3 minutes into my ride, still only a couple of miles into a 112 bike leg having to change the tyre. The rain was pouring down and I had to take my helmet off to see. I was surprised how calm I felt but with deep wheels, valve extenders and terrible conditions it still took me 5 minutes to change the tyre. I also had to stop a couple of times after I changed it as it sounded as if wheel was rubbing, so all in all I probably lost about 8 minutes or so.

I stuffed my tyre levers and the burst tyre in my pockets and set off again. The course started with a 10 mile climb that took us from 1777ft to about 2220ft. This first climb I started to catch back up with some of the riders who passed me while I changed my flat and allowed my heart rate to get up into the 160s while I climbed. At the end of the climb out of Lake Placid we came upon perhaps the most memorable part of the course which was the descent into Keene. We descended 1200 feet in 4 miles which is a very steep descent. I topped out at 47.4mph and I was flying passed some of the other riders. I must admit I was a little bit apprehensive during the descent, no that is far too reserved, I was scared. The road was soaking wet, the wind was blowing and I had just had a blow out a few miles back and a bike crash 2 weeks ago. I looked at the metal railings marking the edge of the road and tried not to think what would happen if I hit them at over 47 miles an hour.

After the descent there was a level stretch that took us to the next town of Jay and it was at this stage that I lost both tyre levers out of my pocket, if I flatted again I was going to struggle. At Jay we turned hard left and there was another big climb before a six mile plus out and back from Wilmington and then the last 12 miles back to Lake Placid which ended in a series of short sharp climbs. Despite the relentless rain which just got heavier and heavier I was feeling pretty good. I finished the first loop a little slower than the 2:45 or better split I wanted but put a lot of that down to the flat.

At special needs the volunteer helped me swap out my water bottles and I ate a banana and grabbed a flapjack for later. Going through town was great but as I went back around the outside of the oval there were streams of water pouring across the road making things very trecherous. My nutrition plan was to drink 3 bottles of Gatorade endurance per lap with a couple of scoops of carb supplement in each bottle. I would supplement the fluid with gel, or other food, as I felt necessary and this seemed to work OK for me. The only slight problem was that with it being so cold it was easy to avoid drinking as you didn't feel thirsty.

As I set out on the second loop I still felt good but by now the rain was getting pretty tiresome. Just before the descent into Keene I thought I saw a green Team Z jersey off in the distance but it would be another 15 miles or so before I would catch up with Sebastian from my Tri Team. On the climb out of Jay I caught up with Elizabeth, another Cadence Kona Challenger who went on to have a great run and secure herself a slot at Kona.

The out and back from Wilmington went well again but by now I was starting to feel stiff in my lower back and neck and I had some cramp twinges in my leg. After Wilmington comes the long climb back to Lake Placid which has a number of steep hills to contend with and ends with Papa Bear which was lined with spectators. By now my back and neck hurt and my legs were getting very heavy with some cramp in my right hamstring. Luckily I was able to get out of my saddle and just about power over the climbs and it was hear that I passed my other Team Z teammate Chris Wren who was well on track to securing his slot at Kona in the 60-64 age group.

T2 3:59

Back at the Olympic oval I handed off my bike and grabbed my run gear bag. This time I did go into the tent as it was a lot, lot quieter and I was able to sit down. I didn't rush and took the time to dry my feet and apply some grease to the bottom of my feet before I put on my socks. I put on my newly purchased Ironman run cap and headed out of the door. Just before I left the tent I was overtaken by Chris who had obviously had a very quick transition and we headed out together.

Run 4:43:06 (Division place 143/238; Overall Place 1081/2345; 10:49min/mile)

Within a few hundred yards I started to cramp in my right leg and had to stop and stretch. I also took the time to stop and take a salt tablet. At this stage I was passed by Sebastian who must have finished the end of his bike ride strongly and was now putting in a good run. I wanted to stay with the two of them but I soon realised that I just didn't have the legs for it. After a couple of miles I knew I would not be able to hold a quick enough pace to get anywhere near my A Goal and with surprisingly little difficulty I made the decision to back of completely and run/walk the marathon.

It was an amazingly liberating feeling and came with two distinct benefits. Firstly I managed to keep any discomfort in my groin down to the bare minimum and even though there was a little bit of new swelling in the area after the race I feel surprisingly well. Secondly I had the opportunity to chat with some of my teammates and interact with some of the amazing volunteers who manned the aid stations. I saw Chris and Sebastian after the various turnarounds and they were both going well. Chris had a great race and won his age group with ease and earned himself a very much deserved slot in Kona. I also saw a couple of other Cadence athletes and of course Mary Lou who despite being nervous about the race had put in a great swim and bike and was now well on her way to becoming an Ironman. A couple of times on the run Dianna came springing up alongside me and gave me some welcome encouragement. Dianna is a Cadence Coach and apart from being an endurance event junkie and very gifted triathlete she is also the lady who looked after my wave at the Cadence Kona Challenge selection weekend way back in November last year - seeing her gave the whole Cadence experience a nice twist as I had not seen her since the selection weekend. Also out on the course was Lisa another Cadence coach who was officiating and gave me a lovely huge cheer as she went past. It was a great atmosphere and despite the rain I really started to enjoy (when I use terms like this I mean them in the context of doing an Ironman - everything is of course relative, this is not the same sort of enjoyment as say sitting in a hot tub) the whole experience.

Just before the half way point I came back into town and the crowds were amazing. I went past the Team Z tent but Wendy was not there as she was changing Ben. I carried on to the special needs bags where I changed into dry socks and although it only lasted 30 seconds I had dry feet for the first time all day and it felt great. I headed back into town and Wendy and Ben were back. I gave them both a kiss and assured Wendy that I was feeling fine and headed back out for my second loop of the run. The second loop was very similar to the first it was wet and long and I continued to run/walk it. At one stage I used a porta potty but it was on the side of the road and at such an angle that I was worried that it would topple over and I could not think of a worse way to end your race. I did do some quick arithmetic and decided that I should finish in under 12 hours without doing anything too drastic.

Ben wrapped up against the elements

When I ran I actually ran pretty smoothly and with good form but after a few hundred yards it would start to hurt and I would walk again. This went on for another couple of hours and then I was on my way back up the very steep hill back into town. I knew that I only had a mile or so to go and then I would be an Ironman. I started to smile to myself and prepare myself for the finish. Luckily the run back into the oval is down hill and I carried the momentum into the oval where the crowds were fantastic. As I approached the line the guy in front was showboating and doing a speed skating impression. I slowed down to let him finish and then it was my turn to cross the line and for the first time ever at a race I couldn't resist the urge to put my hands in the air.

My M Dot Tattoo (don't worry Mum its fake)

Before I go into my conclusion I wanted to just do some quick thank yous:

Thanks to Cadence for organising the Kona Challenge without which I would not now be an Ironman.

Thanks to all the sponsors of the Challenge. I have nothing but praise for the all the Cyfac, Zipp, Sidi, LAS and Zoot equipment and the Enervit nutrition (N.B. The LAS low visibility visor works really well but you like to think about putting wipers on your helmets).

Thanks to Triathlon Magazine for covering the story and a big thanks to NA Sports for allowing me a slot to race (thanks Heather for sorting out registration and thanks to the guy that helped Mary Lou and me get registered when we arrived).

Thank you to anyone that has taken the time to read or comment on my blog as it has really helped me stay focused knowing that people are reading this stuff.

Thank you to the two young lads who had been tasked to hand out wet sponges. The idea of taking a wet sponge having been rained on constantly for 7 or more hours was very funny but yet you were both so earnest.

Thank you to the army of volunteers at Lake Placid. You were all, without exception, wonderful people and your help and infectious enthusiasm on race day was invaluable.

Thanks to the crowds who braved horrendous weather to support the athletes and perhaps the loudest support came from the legion of Team Z supporters that had made the long haul to Lake Placid just to cheer us on - very generous.

Thanks to the Team Z cameramen who exposed themselves and their expensive equipment so that we could have some memories of the day.

Thanks to Dianna and Lisa and the guys in rediculously small cutoff jeans shorts whose encouragement was very much appreciated and thanks to Tara for giving me a shout out on the run (she went on to finish an amazing 28th in her age group).

Thank you to Mary Lou for the pleasure of her company before and after the race and for the very thoughtful gifts you gave us.

Thanks to Holden whose coaching has been exemplary and whose positive and relaxed demenour is ideal when it comes to placating and dealing with over anxious A type personality triathletes.

Thank you to family, friends and colleagues who have offered such kind messages of support.

Thanks to Wendy who spent an entire day huddled under a tent trying to look after a two and a half month old baby just so that I could indulge my own selfish quest to become an Ironman.

Thank you to my son, Ben, whose extremely easy going nature (don't know where he gets it from) made it possible for Wendy to spend the entire day under a tent while I indulged my own selfish quest etc.

If I have missed anyone I apoligise.

Overall 11:54:03 (Division place 110/238; Overall Place 692/2345)
I don't know where to start. I am very sattisfied with the result. I achieved my B Goal, I am an Ironman and I always will be. Despite walking a lot of the Marathon I finished sub 12 hours and before the Cadence Kona Challenge this would have been a dream time for me. I had an opportunity to do something that not many people get to do and thanks to some great conditioning by my coach I managed to do it in relative comfort and could enjoy (as far as that is possible) the run portion and soak up the atmosphere. When I look back to my first half ironman, Black Bear last year, the result seems even more amazing. I ran the entire half marathon at Black Bear but the whole thing took me over 6 hours whereas at Ironman USA I went under 12 hours with a lot of walking.

However, I did not make my A Goal. I was a long way off qualifying. Even if I had run the entire marathon I do not think I would have finished too much under 11 hours and the last!!!! qualifying slot in my age group went to a guy who finished in 9:57. Could I do it one day, maybe, but then you get into the vicous circle of "well if I hadn't flatted I could have gone sub ......", "If the weather was more ... I could have ....", If I hadn't of crashed maybe I could have ....." etc., etc., etc.

Being entirely objective my swim was only 2 mins off the 1:10 I had allowed myself, My bike leg would have been about 5:40 if I hadn't of flatted and I took just under 10 minutes in transition therefore for a 10 hour finish I needed a 3 hour marathon. I honestly believe I have the base fitness to run around a 3:20 marathon but 1. After the ride I didn't have the legs for it and 2. I always seem to struggle getting into the run despite a number of brick workouts. It may be that I am leaving way too much on the bike course to ever run a decent time but then if your A goal is to try and go 10 hours, or close to 10 as possible, you cannot afford to go 6 hours on the bike unless you are a world class runner.

Did my injury affect my time? The pain in my groin is getting steadily worse after the race and it feels like I have been punched where the centre of the bruising was so I am glad that I did take it so easy on the run. However, I was not in pain at the start of the run so I cannot blame my inability to run fast on the injury. Wendy did point out that 8 days before the race I couldn't walk properly and I must admit that at 2 days before the race I sneezed and felt so much discomfort that I started to doubt my ability to finish. So although I couldn't have qualified even if I hadn't of crashed I am very thankful that I was still able to finish the race.

What next? I did not enjoy the Ironman. I did not get the same sense of fun and enjoyment that I do at shorter Olympic distance races. It is a sufferfest from start to finish. It is survival of the fittest, it is conditioning, it is mind over matter but it is not fun. It is however a phenominally rewarding experience. If you know, or can imagine, the enormous sense of achievment in completing a marathon you can multiply that sensation for completing each of the other two disciplines and then multiply that feeling by a factor of 10. Crossing the line hearing the words "[insert your name here] you are an Ironman" is a high that would be very difficult to recreate.

But once you have experienced that high would another Ironman be as rewarding? I was adamant that I would not keep doing Ironman races and I am still stunned by some of the people who keep putting themselves through it. To see some of the brave individuals who are bent over double, trying not to collapse or fall over, so that they can make it to the finish line in the cold and the dark before the cutoff, whilst wearing a t-shirt which declares they have done this s@#t before and know what to expect is bind boggling. That being said I now find myself in a quandry. I have paid for, and I am registered for, Ironman Uk. I cannot get a refund. I know I don't stand a hope in hell of qualifying as the times there are even tougher than Ironman USA but I am still considering it. I do know what to expect and it would give me another opportunity to see whether I can put in a decent run. It would also give me an opportunity to get family and friends to experience the day and more importantly Wendy might actually see me race rather than been stuck trying to protect Ben from the weather. Perhaps the biggest factor is that I can do it without dedicating another 9 months of my life to Ironman training as the race is only a month and a bit away. That being said I know that I will never experience the same sensations as when I first heard the words "James Pearson you are an Ironman".

T+1 Ironman Lake Placid

2008-07-21T21:51:00.006-04:00

Just a quick note to say 1. I am now an Ironman and, 2. thank you for all the kind messages of support and I will get around to writing a full race report as soon as I can.

The view from our room a couple of hours ago

Wendy and I left Lake Placid earlier today and took the ferry across to Burlington, Vermont where we checked into the Hilton. I have been for a swim and jacuzzi and then we ordered loads of room service and a bottle of bubbly. Needless to say I am feeling pretty good after all that. Various bits of my body are a little sore but nothing at all serious and I imagine the stiffness will wear off very soon.

Room service including banana splits and bubbly - nice

Before I get around to the full race report, and as a bit of a teaser, I thought I would show you the 2008 Lake Placid video that was aired at the pre-race banquet. Please note that the occasional down pour mentioned actually turned out to be 14 hours of the heaviest, most relentless rainfall I have ever seen and I have been based in Faslane, Scotland. To top it off the rain started 40 minutes after the start of the race and did not finish until well after I had finished.

I finished in 11:54:03. I had a reasonable swim, solid bike and when I realised I could not run a quick enough 3rd leg to meet my A goal I ran/walked the marathon to minimise the aggrevation to my injured groin. Despite not meeting my A goal I met my B goal, finishing, with 'relative' ease. Hats off to everyone who has finished an Ironman I do not care what anyone says it is bloody hard work, also commiserations to those few members of my tri team who did not make it for various reasons. I am very sorry it didn't go right for you on the day and realise that nothing at this stage will make that any easier to swallow.

T-1

2008-07-19T12:55:00.006-04:00

My bike is racked, my transition bags are in transition and there is very little more I can do before tomorrow - which is nice.

I am sat outside the hotel room in an introspective mood. Since T-3 I have been for a two bike run workouts. On Friday I went out for a 1.5 hour zone 2 ride. I rode not far off the pace I would like to race at, keeping my heart rate mainly in the 140's. I went out on the course from Lake Placid in reverse for 45 mins and then turned around and came back. Going out was great and I was flying along at 23mph average but coming back was a slog as I went up the series of hills that constitute the overall climb back to town. Unfortunately I have to report that by the time I got off the bike my inner thigh was a bit sore and running was not that comfortable. It is certainly not enough pain to stop me racing but enough to be of concern for such a long race.

That night we met up with Mary Lou and went to the "mandatory" pre-race brief. It was quite impressive to see so many people in one tent. There was an inspiriational video and a very funny video but the brief itself did not throw up any nuggets of information.

Today I met up with Team Z for a very short ride and jog just to get the system going before I went to rack my bike in the oval. When I got there I found that I did not have an allotted space like the other 2588 athletes. The last rack was for 2550+ so I asked a volunteer and he put me on the end pointing in the right direction. I actually have a great position, it is always an advantage to be near the transition exit as you have less distance to run with your bike. My transition bags are on the floor rather than the racks but again they should be pretty easy to find.

Tonight we have a Team Z banquet with slide show and speeches which should be good fun. I am hoping Ben will settle quickly when we get back so that I can try to get to sleep but I suspect that I will nervous excitement may keep me up a good chunk of the night. Tomorrow we will be up at 3:30 and hopefully in town not long after 5:00.

This place is now packed, there are half naked people running and biking everywhere. We have met some really nice people and lots of families are arriving to support the athletes. The weather has been very unpredictable. It rained phenomonally hard yesterday and today has been a bit sticky but despite heavy skies it has not rained. I am about to check the forecast but rumour has it we are looking at high 70s/low 80s which should be OK. The only problem with being in the mountains is that you have to plan for every weather eventuality.

Hopefully next post I will be able to sign off as an Ironman but I am not sure when I will get round to updating again. Hopefully I will have enough energy left to hit the keys after tomorrow.

T -3

2008-07-17T22:28:00.013-04:00

We're here. Wendy, Ben and I arrived in Lake Placid yesterday evening and we had a really pleasant trip.

I had an appointment with the chiropractor Wednesday morning and then headed out to BWI airport. We flew from Baltimore to Burlington, Vermont and then picked up a hire car to get to LP. Ben was as good as gold on the flight and even slept through takeoff. The drive from the airport to Lake Placid was beautiful. The easiest way from Vermont to New York state is via ferry across Lake Champlain and it was a lovely little ferry ride. For virtually 45 miles of driving on the New York side of the lake we didn't see a single car and could see the mountains around Lake Placid getting closer and closer - not having seen the bike course I was starting to get worried.

Transition - inside the Olympic Speed Skating loop - before the bikes

Just before you get to the town of Lake Placid you are greeted by the two Olympic ski jumps which I will have to run past on Sunday. We went directly to the hotel and didn't see any of the town and Olympic village until the following day. At the hotel we grabbed dinner and watched the Tour on TV but found ourselves alone in the restaurant at 9:45pm with the lights turned out - they obviously go to bed early here as the restaurant even has a bar and pool table.

The turn around is basically at the far end of the lake

This morning we met up with Mary Lou and headed down to Mirror Lake, the site for Sunday's swim. I was supposed to do a 30 min swim but I was so close to the end of the course at 15 minutes that I kept going and did the full 1.2 mile out and back (you do it twice during the race for a 2.4 mile swim). The lake was fantastic. It was the perfect temperature, not too hot and not too cold and the water was clear with a deep green colour. There were a number of other swimmers about but everyone had loads of room and it is a shame that the swim is not more of an individual time trial rather than a 2500+ person mass scrum.

After the swim we headed to registration. There were big queues but because Mary Lou and I were not on the list of names by the door we grabbed one of the officials who then led us through a back door, neatly cutting out the lines. He took us to a desk marked Pros/Problems. I thought it was a bit unfair to label us problems and wondered if we could fool anyone into thinking that we might be Pros instead but by the amount of time we spent at the desk it was clear that we were problems. The lady at the desk was very helpful and before too long had everything sorted out and we had our Ironman Bracelets on and had all the other 'stuff' we are going to need for race day. As well as the usual swim caps and chip you have a plethora of bags for various stages of the race. You have bags for your transition needs and also bags called 'special needs' bags in which you can put in anything you thing you might need half way through the bike or run, e.g. dry clothes, food, fluid, parts etc.

After lunch Wendy, Ben and I headed out to drive the bike course. The course was not bad but is far from flat. After getting out of town there is a massive descent to a town called Keene which looks like it is going to be very, very fast and the descent goes on for several miles but what goes down must come up. I saw 3 or 4 short climbs which looked a bit tough but the majority of climbing should be pretty steady. The last part of the course back to Lake Placid takes you by Whiteface Mountain and the scenery is absolutely stunning.

Whiteface Mountain

Back in town and having been out on the road for nearly 2 hours you realise you have to do that entire 56 mile drive on a bike - TWICE. By that stage I didn't have the energy to DRIVE the run course. I was ready for a nap but after trying, and failing, to get internet access it was about time to go for dinner and we headed out for a bite to eat with Mary Lou. By now town is buzzing with cars, expensive bikes, fit bodies and deep tans. The restaurants were all filling up rapidly by 6pm and we were glad to get a table. After dinner I met up with Ed from Team Z to get my bike off him and I am now back in the room trying to stay awake and get this post out.

If I were to try and gauge how I was feeling in terms of readiness and confidence for the race I would say that I am not panicking but have some concerns. I swam very close to race pace today and felt great but I have not been for a run for over 2 weeks. The sharp pain in my groin has gone but after travelling for a day my entire inner thigh felt stiff and mildly uncomfortable and I am worried how this might manifest itself on race day. I am fairly content, I know under the circumstances I couldn't have done any more to get prepared for this race and I do feel like I have fitness reserves so we will just have to wait and see what happens on the day.

Even if the race itself doesn't go to plan it is a great experience being here and the atmosphere is great. I have never been somewhere that is so entirely devoted to all things triathlon and it is a very surreal but enjoyable experience.

Ben thinking "Same s#@t different Lake" this will be his 4th Tri in 2.5 months of existence

Hopefully I will be able to update the blog at T-2 and T-1 days to race and I realise that Tuesdays post should actually have been T-5. I am going to go for a ride tomorrow and I think I will go back out past Whiteface Mountain and then I will try and go for a very gentle jog to see how I get on.

Last but not least I now have a race number, 2591 (that's right there are really that many people competing). If you want to follow the race you can use the race number, or my surname, to track an athlete, details are on the Ironman USA webpage and there is a link to the right of this webpage. Just before I go the 3 of us wanted to wish my Mother-in-Law, Janet, a happy birthday.

T -4

2008-07-15T19:53:00.006-04:00

Sunday, I got in a good 1.5 hour ride. I pushed quite hard sat up on the bull bar but whenever I got down into the aero position I couldn't put any pressure on the pedal without hurting my groin. I was going to go for a very light 20 min recovery run when I got off the bike but as soon as I took one stride I knew it was a bad idea and called it a day.

Monday, I got in a good 1500m swim and went back to the chiropractor. Dr Beck had worked the damaged tissue on Saturday and Dr Booker carried on where he left off. He had me run so that he could assess my gait and as he worked on my hip flexors and abs I did get a bit more range of movement in my hip. However he did ask me whether or not I had seen my doctor as he instructed and I had to admit I hadn't. The problem with my symptoms is that they could also be an indication of a hernia brought on by the impact. If I had a hernia there is not a lot anyone could do and it would be game over.

It was with great trepidation that I went to the Navy Yard clinic today. I have to say the US Navy medical care is amazing. I walked into the clinic which is situated between the car park and my office at 0815. I asked if there were any appointments for today and I was given an appointment at 0830. 0820 I was called through to have my vitals taken and a few minutes later the doctor saw me. After a lot of coughing I was told that I did not have any hernia - whew. He told me I should have stayed on the Ibuprofen and prescribed some 800mg tablets to take upto and including the race. Less than 5 minutes later I was picking up my prescription and I was at my desk for 0900 which is pretty rapid patient service.

This afternoon has been a rush of last minute shopping, dropping my bike off to be taken up to Lake Placid and seeing the chiropractor again. Today I was with Dr Beck who continued to work on the scar tissue. When I got back from the Chiro I went out for a 2 hour ride. I had to borrow Wendy's 650 front wheel for which I have no spare tubes and I realised that I have sent my puncture repair kit with my bike. The ride itself was great. The weather was beautiful and I went back past the scene of the accident. As I went past in zone 2 I was reading 24.5 mph so I am going to reassess my crash speed as a little faster than I thought. My groin didn't bother me. A couple of times I was aware that something wasn't quite right but I was still able to get down into my drops and put some power down.

The bottom line. I have had a good chat with Holden and he assures me that my fitness level will be more than enough to race well despite not training. I should not worry and if necessary I will not run until I actually hit the marathon of the Ironman. Dr Beck said the same thing when I talked about key sessions and his quote is the only key session is the race itself. Everyone has been great and really supportive but as Holden said I just have to be mentally prepared in case my body hasn't repaired itself sufficiently to run on Sunday. That being said my gut feeling is that it will be close but I will be OK come Sunday.

I must go as I haven't packed yet and we are back at the chiropractor first thing tomorrow morning and then straight off to the airport where we are going to annoy all the business travellers with our arsenal of baby gears and 'mobility equipment'.

Whoops wrong Lake Placid - I hope

Next post will hopefully be from Lake Placid itself - that's right I am hoping to blog 'on location'.

I think I prefer the other picture - less frightening than this mass start

One week after the crash - One week to go until race day

2008-07-12T20:43:00.003-04:00

I am almost exactly half way between my crash on the road bike and Ironman USA. I have to say it has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster but for the most part I have been pretty down in the dumps.

Not training at all after intense exercise for many months is a strange feeling that can leave the endorphin addicted athlete a little moody to start with, add to that the constant worry that maybe you have blown your one big race and you have a very grouchy individual.

Monday I could only hobble. Tuesday and Wednesday I started to get some movement back but my left groin was still badly swollen. I was getting pretty nervous by Thursday with the race only 11 days away. Thursday night I managed to get in the pool for 30 minutes. I took it very easy with a pull float and I was relieved to find that my back, shoulders and arms were all functioning well with only one minor isolated pain in my tricep. I did however find myself bending at the waist to avoid pulling on my groin and I was not fully extending my arms as it would cause pain in my lower abs.

That day I had also googled Chiropractors and found one in Arlington called Capital Rehab. I chose them as they had 3 positive online reviews and they worked with a few track and field teams and seemed to be very sport orientated. I made an appointment for the following day with Dr Booker.

I arrived at the Chiropractors not knowing what to expect and met with Dr Booker. We had a chat and he asked me how important the race was to me. After I explained
what it meant to me he got his partner in and we agreed that I would see them Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue and Wed. Wendy and I had originally planned to leave for Lake Placid Tuesday night but to maximise treatment we have decided to fly up on the Wednesday.

He put me on a e-stim (tens type machine) for 10 minutes which had my leg jumping all over the place and then worked on realigning my hip and the damaged tissue in my groin, which hurt, a lot. He told me to take some herbal joint relief pills and omega capsules and agreed that I could do swimming and cycling but no running. I did feel better for having the injury worked on and I got a good impression from Dr Booker and Dr Beck. The proof will of course be in the pudding but I feel far more optimistic for the race.

I have managed to get out on the bike for 50 minutes last night which did not feel too bad. I cannot cycle while aero but I wasn't too sore this morning and it was a big psycholigical boost to get back on the bike. Today I did 15 minutes aqua-jog and then a 1500m swim. I also met with Dr Beck who continued to work on the damaged tissue which still hurt, a lot. I felt a bit daft aqua-jogging and I actually blistered my feet on the pool bottom but the exercise itself was good. It is hard to get your heart rate up but it is good resistance work for the muscles.

Tomorrow I am hoping to get in a slightly longer ride and then it will be back to chiropractor on Monday. I have put in a picture of the discolouration near my groin. The dark blue area must be where the stem or handlebars caught me and I have drawn a line around the extent of discolouration. I feel a lot better now the swelling has gone down and hopefully the pain will continue to ease off.

CRASH!!!

2008-07-07T21:11:00.003-04:00

It was all going too well. Last week was a tough week with 3 hours of training most days and plenty of lactate threshold intervals but I was just about managing to get through it all. Saturday was my last long ride before Lake Placid with Sunday a triathlon day consisting of short swim, 2 hour bike and 1:45 run. The rest of this week was also meant to be fairly intense with only a short taper before the Ironman.

The Saturday long ride was going well. I went out for 3.5 hours before coming back to the house to refuel. I was holding a good pace and felt pretty good. I decided to swap from my tri bike to my road bike to give myself a break from the aero position for the last couple of hours. I was about 25 minutes from the house on a local bike trail when everything turned upside down, literally.

I was happily cruising along at a steady 20mph+ when I looked down and realised that I was very close to the edge of the trail. The trail was 3 inches of tarmac laid on top of dirt so there was a big drop at either side. I looked at the drop and tried to gently bring the bike back to the left but like a rabbit in the headlights I couldn't stop myself and the front wheel dropped off the edge of the trail and dug in immediately cartwheeling me off the bike.

I am not sure exactly what happened. I have a cut on my nose which I think means that my head hit the ground and pushed my glasses into the bridge of my nose but bizarrely I couldn't find a single scratch on my helmet. My bike was 20 feet away on the other side of the trail and I also landed on my shoulder and back judging by the scrapes, bruises and holes in my shirt. A gentlemen out walking and a lady pushing a baby both came to ask if I was OK and the guy had seen me come off and seemed impressed by the show I had put on.

I was telling them both that I was OK but I was still lying on the grass at the edge of the trail where I had rolled to after I came to a stop and I decided that I needed to stand up. As I got up I realised how sore my groin was. I called Wendy and arranged to meet at the next road to intersect the trail. As I hobbled down the trail I realised just how sore my groin was and it appears as if the kinetic energy generated by a 164 pound man travelling at 20mph was all dissipated through my groin into the stem of my bike.

Long story short I experienced some of the most excruciating pain I can remember and had to fight back waves of nausea. I got into bed where I remained the rest of Saturday and all day Sunday. After 36 hours of ice treatment and Ibuprofen I was able to hobble into work for half a day today.

So what does it all mean.

I have spoken to Holden and I am to rest today and tomorrow and then we will see if I can get back into the pool on Wednesday. He assures me that fitness wise I will be OK however I know it would have helped my race if I had been able to complete these last few hard workouts and transition simulations.

I have spoken to the makers of my wheels, Rolf Prima, and it is going to cost me $240 to get my front wheel rebuilt. I have not looked at the rest of my road bike as it will probably end in tears and I will face that ordeal later.

I am healing up OK. My hobble is speeding up and I am able to move around a bit now. Thankfully nothing is broken and although I am very stiff and sore as long as nothing is strained I should be OK for the race.

Although I am pretty down at the moment it could have been a lot worse. I still see people on the trail on road bikes without helmets which is daft and I am also glad that I had my mobile phone with me or it could have been a bit of a drama getting home.

It is apparently not all that uncommon for accidents to happen in the last couple of weeks and at least it happened now and not next week. I am no stranger to bike accidents and anyone who rides a road bike at speed for long enough is likely to have some sort of accident but it is still pretty shitty timing on my behalf.

Philly Weekend Part 2 - TR***

2008-06-30T17:57:00.012-04:00

If you enjoyed Part 1 of this report be warned Part 2 is not going to be anywhere near as interesting. You will see that this has a 3 star Trigeek rating (click here for the rating scale) as it is predominantly focused on Sundays Blood Lactate Testing.

Sunday was at last a little bit of a lie-in. Ben slept relatively well and we were not planning to be at Cadence until 1200. Due to the Manayunk Arts Festival we left a little bit early to allow for parking and the walk into town. When we got to Cadence we met up with Todd Parker who was going to do the testing and we also got to meet Lisa Spohn another coach who helped out with the tests who is herself a 5 Ironman veteran.

The testing was done in Cadence’s test lab. Instead of using my bike on a computrainer this time we used the static bike in the lab which was fitted with my pedals and adjusted to mirror the dimensions of my own bike. I had had a tough week and the day before I had worked hard during the time trial and group ride and there was a good chance that these results may be affected by the week’s efforts. Todd explained how it is not unusual for spikes and troughs in the results if you have been working hard before the test and the body has not properly recovered.

None the less I had tried to take it easy after the day before and although my legs were a bit tired we would see how I got on. After warming up for a few minutes we began the test. The bike was wired to the computer and every 3 minutes the computer would up the wattage by 25 watts and it was up to me to maintain 90 rpm. At the same time Todd would prick my finger and take a sample of blood which was then analysed for its lactic acid content. When that content is above 4 you have deemed to have passed your threshold and the test is over. Comparing the blood lactate level, wattage and HR they can then work out exactly where your threshold lies and what the associated Heart Rate and wattage are for that limit. For more information and to see my last set of results please click here.

It soon become apparent that despite yesterday’s riding my body was still efficiently dealing with the lactic acid in my system. I warmed up at 120 watts and my blood lactate was down at 1.3 compared to 1.8 at the same wattage 3 months ago. We started the test at 125 and my blood lactate went to 1.8 but my body then managed to actually process some of this acid and the figure dropped to 1.6 at 175 watts which looked promising. At 225 watts we were still down at 2.1 and at 250 we were 2.8 still well below threshold and clearly already above my old Lactate Threshold wattage of 240 watts. The bike actually got up to 325 watts before the test ended and by then my legs were really starting to protest but in March I was done at 250 watts.

Todd ran the results for me and it was very reassuring to see that unlike the last tests there had been a significant improvement since the selection weekend in Oct 07 and from my last set of tests in March 08. The first thing that stands out is the actual Lactate Threshold which has gone from 240 watts in March to 277 watts this weekend. This is a significant gain in 3 months but the way my Columbia and Philly bike splits went I am not that surprised. It is clearly a reflection of the interval work I have done recently and I am sure that the biggest improvements came from joining group rides around DC. The Tuesday night Wakefield ride and doing the Hains Point Group ride on a Thursday when combined with long rides at the weekend has paid dividends.

The other thing that leaps out at me is how low the heart rates are throughout the results table. This is a bit of a surprise and based on my lactate threshold interval training out on the road I do not believe that these heart rates are accurate. I normally do my LT intervals at around the high 160s, low 170s according to Sunday’s tests I would be 132 to 138. 132 to 138 is normally what I would see during a pretty gentle endurance ride not an LT interval. I was super relaxed on Sunday and perhaps the low heart rates are a reflection of the tiring week I had had. It is sometimes difficult to get your heart rate up when you are tired.

Before I could do the run testing I had to wait an hour for my body to flush out the acid that had been generated during the ride. This was an ideal opportunity for Wendy to leave me with Ben while she had a look around the shops and I sat quietly feeding him while watching Colin doing another of his very thorough bike fitting. It was actually very relaxing and a good way to unwind. Colin came over and we caught up and then Wendy came back very suspiciously the exact second I had finished changing a particularly smelly nappy/diaper.

The run test is very similar to the bike but this time the treadmill is set at a 1 degree gradient and the speed is increased by 0.3 mph every 3 minutes. During the warm up blood lactate was back down to 1.1 which is nice and then Todd set the treadmill to 8mph and we were off. The run is not as much fun as the bike and you ideally want to start closer to your lactate threshold so that you are not left sprinting away for a long time. I settled into a comfortable but fast pace and started whiling down the minutes. When you have a sample taken you have to straddle the treadmill this gives you a brief respite and looking at the graph it is very comforting to see that my heart rate actually fell significantly at 8.6 and 8.9 mph which was presumably when I was having blood taken. A quick recovery is a good sign of overall fitness.

By 9.2 mph I was beginning to suffer and I was willing the little blue blood lactate reader to tell everyone that I was done and it was time to slow the treadmill down. Luckily my prayers were answered and it came in at 4.1 and I breathed a sigh of relief as Todd turned the speed down. After Todd processed the results it was nice to see a steady improvement in my run results as well. The zones have changed a little and the heart rate figures are all up a little bit. My endurance zone is now a whopping 129-172 bpm and my Sub-Lt zone is a tiny 174-173. I am not sure that this means a great deal but what is significant is the pace I can maintain in these new zones. According to the latest testing in my Sub-Lt zone I can maintain a 6:54 to 7:49 min/mile pace. In theory, if your nutrition is right, you should be able to go indefinitely in this zone and should certainly be able to finish a marathon.

So what does this mean for Ironman. As far as I can tell on paper I am capable of achieving a good result at Ironman. My swim is OK and I have plenty of swim endurance so should be able to finish the swim in a reasonable time. According to my bike results I should be able to put down anywhere from 233 to 277 watts in my Sub –Lt zone and my body seems to be recovering very quickly from LT efforts. Additionally it is not just a case of my LT power going up I have also lost nearly 10 pounds so my power to weight ratio has also improved significantly.

Lake Placid has some hills but my power to weight ratio is not going to play that significant a role as this is not a mountain stage in the Giro D’Italia. However in theory I have enough power in my endurance and sub-lt zone to be able to put in a good bike split without writing myself off for the run. With all the road riding and hill work I should also be able to recover pretty quickly from any climbs and therefore not have to take them overly slowly.

On the run if my nutrition is good, and I am feeling OK coming off the bike, I have the ability (again on paper) to run a 3:20 marathon at 7:38 min/mile pace while staying in my Sub-Lt zone and could just about run a 3:30 marathon while staying in my endurance zone.

BUT (and as you can see this is a “big but”) this is all on paper and is at this stage is pure theory. The three disciplines have been examined here individually and not together as a whole but it does show that there is a chance, if everything goes like clockwork and I have a fantastic day, that I may just surprise myself. It helps give me confidence that there is not one discipline which is going to single handedly scupper my dreams of a slot at Kona and in the words of Sir Mix-a-lot “I like big but[t]s”.

A big thanks to the mechanics at Cadence who gave my bike a much needed full race tune. Sorry to have missed two of Cadence's senior management, Matt Heitmann who normally posts the fastest time at the West River TT and Olympic cyclist Brian Walton, who normally leads out the Cadence group ride, both probably saw my bike split at the Philly Tri and both happen to be missing the same weekend I do the rides - you do the maths :-).

Philly weekend goes well as we approach final preparation for the Ironman - Part One

2008-06-30T11:05:00.006-04:00

Confidence is up at the moment following a solid week of training and capped by a productive weekend with my coach and the staff at Cadence Cylcing and Multisport in Philadelphia.

Downtown Philly

This week I had a gentle swim on Monday and a 2 hour endurance ride and 30 min recovery run on Tuesday. The swim was pretty uneventful but the ride was really satisfying. I went back to the evening ride at Wakefield after a break of a few weeks. There weren’t quite as many people as when I first went along but there were still probably 15-18 in the A group. Those people who have read some of the earlier posts may remember that the first time I did this ride I was dropped unceremoniously during the first acceleration. This week I watched the same thing happen to a couple of guys who clearly didn’t understand the difference between the A and B groups and instead of getting dropped I actually found myself at one point 4th wheel with the rest of the pack struggling to catch us and it felt good. After the ride I kept going for another 25 minutes before the recovery run because I felt so good.

Wednesday was a long swim (3.7km) and went fine although the last 1000yrd set was a bit slow and I suspect I lost count and did an extra couple of lengths. Thursday was a very hot and humid day (95 deg with a heat index factor well in the 100s) and I was down for a 2 hour endurance ride with 3 x 15 min lactate threshold efforts followed by a 45 min run with 4 x 3min zone 5 (that means almost flat out) efforts. With the heat and tired legs I was dreading this session. I took my bike out at about 5.30pm and headed to hains point to do my LT intervals. I was pleasantly surprised how good I felt and was able to hold 45 minutes of LT work without too much difficulty. During the ride home the heat really attacked me and by the time I got home I was pretty dehydrated. I had to shotgun a couple of pints of water before the run and almost inevitably the large volume of fluid gave me stomach cramps when I tried to run. I kept walking running for 20 minutes trying to shift the cramps but everytime I sped up they came right back. I limped home defeated after a little over half an hour of trying to get up to speed.

Friday was a much anticipated Day Off but included a very long and frustrating 5 hour drive to Philadelphia.

Saturday morning with no racing and staying in a hotel would seem to be the ideal time for a bit of a lie-in. Instead Holden asked me if I wanted to meet him at 6:15am at the Cadence store to do a local 8 mile time trial before we headed out on the Cadence group ride. I do not know what has happened to me and for some reason my normal sensibility escaped me and I whole heartedly agreed to meet him. Wendy and Ben dropped me and my various bags helmets and two bikes at the store. After some bike maintenance Holden and I headed off to the Art Museum where the West River Time Trial starts every week. This is local time trial where you take a number and cycle 4 miles up Martin Luther King (River Road) before turning around and coming back. When you get back you call out your number and the organizers post the times on a Yahoo group.

It is a really great little TT and it is very kind of the organizers to give up their time in this way. Holden was number 40 and I was 41. The riders all went off 30 secs apart. I asked Holden what HR I should aim for and he told me to just go as hard as I could for the duration. I set off and my thighs immediately started to protest. I ignored my legs and kept going. I was suffering and I was really glad to see the turn around point at the Kelly Drive Bridge. On the way back I really started to suffer. I knew I would never catch Holden but I did catch the guy who had set off a minute in front of me. By that stage I was dribbling a bit and I kept looking down which entirely defeats the purpose of wearing the aero helmet as it then sticks up in the air like a sail. By 6 miles I was weaving and when I saw the curb I would try and veer left and when I saw the solid white lines I would try and veer right and that was the only level of thought I was capable of. As the trees cleared and I could see I-76 I thought the finish was just around the corner but I was wrong and I still had a mile to go. The finish is back up a short little hill and by the time I crossed the line I struggled to shout out my number.

I couldn’t stop to get my time as the Cadence group ride left at 8am but I later found out I did it in 19:21 which I am more than satisfied with. Holden got an 18:21 which put him about 4th fastest on the day. It took me 20 minutes to recover as we headed back to the store and even at this time in the morning it was already very humid and starting to get hot. Back at the store we met up with the other 8 guys or so who were coming out and headed off. The ride went out on a bike path for the first 45 minutes and I spent the time chatting to a Dane who was studying in the US and who was also a keen runner with a sub 2:50 personal best in the marathon. After we left the trail I found myself in Valley Forge and the scenery went from bland to beautiful in only a couple of minutes. Valley Forge was really stunning with fantastic open vistas and fields. Unfortunately the views came at a cost and that cost was hills.

The first 40 minutes of the ride had been very gentle but now I sweated my way up the climbs. I was tired but I was also happy at how quickly I was recovering after each and every climb. On the way back in to town, this time going through some very nice neighbourhoods, I found myself toward the front pushing the pace and feeling pretty good. There was one 7-8% climb that seemed to go on for ever but I had a 12-27 cassette on the back wheel so I just shifted right down and spun easily up the hill. When we got back to the store Holden suggested I keep going so I cycled back to the hotel to meet up with Wendy and Ben.

Manayunk Arts Festival

We had arranged to meet up with Holden at St Joseph’s University for some swim training but not until 4pm and despite the mornings activities it was still only a little after 11am so we decided to check out the Manayunk Arts Festival. The festival was pretty interesting and it was a shame that I had to go swimming as Smirnoff had a couple of tents and there was another booze tent and the other white meat (pork) roadshow. It was bloody hot and beer, cocktails and BBQ pork seemed a lot more appealing than more exercise at that stage. As we headed back to the car and I pushed Ben up a hill my legs were screaming and I wondered how the hell I was going to get through a swim workout and then some LT testing the following day.

Ben taking advantage of Holden's Mahoosive Shoulders

Luckily for me I managed to get Holden talking so the endurance swim he had planned had to be curtailed and instead I had a fairly easy 30 minutes in the pool where he got me to work on a couple of things. He again reiterated that we were not going to change anything before Lake Placid. He was happy with my stroke which although far from perfect was perfectly good enough for Triathlon. I explained how frustrating it was that I was not getting significantly quicker in the swim legs and he explained how swimming was not like the other two sports and more effort does not always get you the results you want. Swimming is more intuitive and at some stage it [my stroke] was likely to click for me and I would get faster but at the moment I was perfectly OK doing what I was doing.

He made me kick for a couple of lengths making sure that my legs were very relaxed. For the Ironman I am not to kick very hard at all. I am going to rely on my arms for propulsion and the floatation from the wetsuit combined with a very light kick to keep my body up. After the kicking we looked at my catch and pull to make sure that it was looking OK. The first thing he noticed was that I was tensing my legs which in turn was pulling the leg buoy under water and making me less dynamic. I was told to relax and let the float bring my bum to the surface. When I relaxed I did feel a lot lighter and was able to concentrate on my stroke. If you think you may be doing the same thing with a pull session instead of pushing off with your legs just float in the water and let the float do its work before you start to swim.

Holden was pretty happy with my pull and upper body movement. I am a little inflexible and stiff through the shoulders and back but I have a reasonable Natural Recovery (swinging your arm forward like a windmill rather than the more deliberate bending and then thrusting of the arm that you see a lot of ‘classically’ trained swimmers using). I was however losing a lot of efficiency by not catching enough water before the pull. Just like rowing you can only pull against the water that you have ‘caught’ with the paddle. In this case the paddle is your arm. The trick is to fully rotate your shoulder so that your arm is entering the water as far in front of you as you can reach and then after gliding through the water and just before you lose your momentum you try and achieve an EVF.

When I say EVF a doctor may think of Erthrocyte Volume Fraction, a photographer of Electronic View Finder and a dyslexic of help getting pregnant but a swimmer who is up on the latest acronyms would think of an Early Vertical Forearm. You can only pull on what you can catch so catch much and catch early you must (in a silly Yoda voice). You want to get your forearm, not just your palm, down and as vertical in the water as possible without sacrificing your reach. When you get the hang of this you are using your lats a lot more in your stroke and after only a few minutes of trying my forearm and lats were both aching.

When you have a good catch you can then pull hard against the water and get into the mindset that you are flinging the water you have caught behind you as you propel through the water. All sounds a bit Zen but I must admit when I thought like this I did feel a lot quicker through the water. We are going to work on this over the next few weeks just to improve power output without really changing the stroke and to condition the muscles I am going to rely on at IMLP. We are not looking to increase in water fitness or work anymore on the kick and a lot of these last few swims will be pulls.

Swim over Holden went home to check on his dog and we headed out to take Ben to the Art Museum steps so that when some 'classic' movie channel is running Rocky we can tell him you've been there. We then went to find something to eat before getting back to the hotel where all of us pretty much slept like a baby, especially Ben.

I know there are a lot of pictures of Ben for what is supposed to be a Triathlon blog but then he is cuter than most triathletes and it keeps his Grandparents happy.

…… To be continued.

More Pictures from Philly

2008-06-27T07:00:00.006-04:00

I was sent a couple more pictures from the Philly Tri so I thought I would put them on the blog.

This is Holden with the Wassner sisters. Holden is the one with the smirk in the middle. Rebeccah Wassner (on the right I think) defended her 2007 title to win the females race in 2:03:25. Her sister, Laurel, is also very fast and she came in 3rd out of the female pros. All three of them are members of the new Cadence Pro Triathlon team.

This photo was taken just after the finish and as you can see the first thing I did was take off my shoes. I am standing next to Cadence's Director of Performance and ex-pro cyclist, Brian Walton and his kids. Next to him is Mike Egan. Mike is also a very talented athlete with an amazing story and he was good enough to give me some support out on the run on Sunday. He finished 3rd in my age group, 21st overall, with a time of 2:04:21 and he is the 'face' of Cadence (he is the good looking guy in all the pictures on the website and in Cadence's adverts). I can highly recommend his race report from Kona which is very interesting:

http://www.cadencecycling.com/training/blog/2007/10/mike-egan-reports-on-his-ironman-hawaii.aspx

The last one is of course me grinning like an idiot with my wonky British teeth. I am not sure why I am quite so happy. The race wasn't that bad and it was probably more to do with being able to release my feet.

Well since the race things have not eased off at all. Monday was a gentle swim but Tuesday I was back out for 2 hour ride followed by a recovery run, a long swim Wednesday and a merciless 2 hour ride with 3 times 15min Lactate Threshold intervals followed by a 45 min run with 4 Zone 5!!! intervals yesterday. Unfortunately everything fell apart by the run. The ride went well but by the time I got home I was severely dehydrated. Temperatures were in the mid 90's and humidity levels were stifling. I had to down a couple of pints of water and that unfortunately resulted in stomach cramps as soon as I tried to run.

Still a productive week and during the group ride on Tuesday I couldn't help but remember the first time I tried the ride and I was dropped in the first few minutes. Now I can do my own share of dropping. Later today we are back up to Philly. I will do a group ride from Cadence tomorrow and hopefully get to swim with Holden and then I have some more LT testing on Sunday so stand by for another boring analysis type blog.

Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon Race Report

2008-06-24T07:17:00.011-04:00

I think this was the 4th running of the Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon and I wanted to have a go at this race since the first time we visited Philly. The race is all in and around the Schuylkill River and the Philly Art Museum. For anyone that doesn’t know the area it has become synonymous with Rocky’s training run and victory dance up the museums steps in the Rocky movie. It is also a key feature of the Philadelphia Triple Crown cycle race which takes in several laps of the area. I went for a run along Kelly Drive the first time Wendy and I visited Cadence's Philly Centrre and I must admit I fell in love with the area from the start.

The race was on Sunday so we drove up to Philly Saturday arriving in the early afternoon. We wheeled Ben out and went to packet pickup which was situated in a big marquee. There were a few stores and local interest groups with stands and Cadence had set up their own store and had a couple of mechanics on hand to look at people’s bikes. We bumped into Matt Heitmann from Cadence who congratulated me on the vote and he gave me a little bit of free advice for the bike course.

After packet pickup we checked into the hotel, which was only a few miles from the race start, and I got my bike out and cycled back to the marquee to preview the course. After scribbling down a really rough Cue Sheet I set out. I won’t talk too much about the course until the actual race report but during the preview ride I was constantly missing turns and back tracking. It was difficult because the actual race course went the wrong way down many of the one way streets, which is clearly fine when the roads are closed but is not so ideal on a Saturday afternoon in heavy traffic.

Mission accomplished I returned to the hotel where we had a fairly relaxing evening and managed to get to sleep for 10 o’clock with the alarm set for 4:30am. Apparently our 12lbs alarm clock went off at 3:30 but I woke to the bedside alarm at 4:30am. By the time we had fed Ben and got everything back into the car we got to the race site for about 5:30. There was plenty of parking but about a 10 min walk down to transition at the river’s edge. By the time I got there all the usual long queues had formed, e.g. body marking and porta-potties. The body marking went pretty quickly and I found myself inside the huge transition area.

I had registered very late through Cadence so was assigned one of the standby race numbers. My rack was therefore way at the back but when I tried to find my rack it became clear that my number was missing. I asked an official and she told me to rack anywhere. The freedom to rack your bike wherever you like felt absolutel great. There were a couple of spare racks that had no bikes on them so I sauntered over fully intending to take a whole rack to myself but unfortunately another official asked me to go and join some other people who were in the same boat as me.

With transition set up I gave my bag to Wendy who stuffed it into the vortex that is the tray underneath the stroller/pushchair and I went to find a bus to the swim start. This race had an upriver swim start and then a straight swim down the river to transition. When I got to the swim start I had a warm up swim for 10 minutes and the water was warm but murky. I got out, put my flip-flops in the supplied bag along with my body glide and handed in to be taken back to transition. It was then that I realised that I had left my goggles in the bag. I went back to the bus and asked if I could have my bag back which really upset the girl who was collecting the bags. After huffing and puffing a bit she retrieved my bag and announced to everyone waiting that once you had handed in your bag there was no getting it back. After I retrieved my goggles I went back to the other bus to hand it in rather than face her wrath again.

Swim 26:50 (452/1892 overall)

I was in the water a full 10 minutes before the wave started and ended up treading water. Luckily my wetsuit is really buoyant so I didn’t waste too much energy. The highlight of the wait was when I turned in the water and found myself staring at a dead fish as it floated very slowly down the river. According to the race website there had been something in the river that had killed a lot of fish recently but the water was now ‘safe’, unfortunately this particular ‘floater’ must have been leftover from then.

The swim felt a lot longer than 1500m and that was probably because there were no turns to break it up. I felt like I pushed fairly hard during the swim and the time was again an improvement on my previous races but I cannot understand why quite so many people are still able to put in a faster swim split than me. I know that I am not a natural swimmer, and that I do not have a swim background, but with all the training I have put in and the improvements in my swim stroke I would have thought my swim might have been more on a par with my run, in terms of where I sit in relation to the rest of the field. Obviously the swim in an Olympic distance event has far more influence on the overall time than a swim in an Ironman as it makes up a much bigger percentage of the overall race distance, so I am not going to worry about my swim until after Lake Placid.

I exited the water feeling comfortable although I was a little concerned about some twinges in my calves which may have been the onset of cramp.

T2 2:47

I was about to say that this was a very slow transition but then I remembered that there was quiet a run to get to the bike and then to the exit so perhaps it isn’t as bad as I first thought.

Bike 1:03:28 (41/1892)

Back in my comfort zone I had another very strong bike which put a real smile on my face. I thought the course was great. You head out of transition on a road that follows the river bank. It had a great surface and you were soon able to pick up speed. In order to wipe the smile off your face the course designer then sent you up the first of one of four climbs per loop. This first one is fairly longish climb which gets steeper just before it peaks. I managed to stay aero for the first half of the climb and I found myself starting to overtake a number of people. I was wave 3 and the pros, men 55+, F45+ and Athenas had all started ahead of me, along with all those 30-34 men who could swim faster than me and that dead fish.

Following Matt Heitman’s advice I pushed hard on the descent and found myself really flying down the hill and overtook quiet a few people on the descent. I concentrated on carrying that speed back out onto MLK (the riverside road) and because I had pre-ridden the course I knew that I could safely go flat out on nearly all of the descents except for the last one before transition. A few miles further on we crossed the river and headed back toward the city on Kelly Drive it was here that one of the pros burst my bubble by flying past me on what was presumably his second loop (not sure who he was because it was a long time before another pro passed me). There were 2 more climbs on the way back down to the Art Museum the first of which was a steady incline which could be ridden fairly easily whilst aero and the second, shorter steeper, lemon hill climb which was just about short enough to be powered up without slowing too much.

You then had a wonderful descent back out onto Kelly Drive before you went back across the river just behind the museum. Heading back up toward transition there is one last kick in the teeth as you veer off for another climb and then there is a very steep descent just prior to bike dismount. This is the only descent I took carefully as it ends in a blind corner and is much narrower than the other descents. I was then faced with repeating it all over again before I could come into bike dismount.

Despite the large numbers out on the course I only saw one pair cheating. They were both members of a local tri club and the one guy was a few inches off the wheel of the guy in front as they weaved through the other cyclists. I made some comment about a team time trial as I overtook them and if I hadn’t of been totally blitzing them on the bike leg it would have pi@#ed me off seeing such blatant disregard for the rules and the spirit of the race.

I was still feeling pretty strong at the start of the second loop despite having pushed the pace. I must point out that again I was having ‘watch’ issues and had no idea what my heart rate was doing although I felt OK. I was now faced with a much more congested race course as a number of other waves were now out of the water. There were bodies all over the road and I found myself having to weave in out of people who, like a lot of drivers on the road, could not grasp the concept of keeping to the right when not overtaking. The descents were particularly exciting as I flew down the hill yelling at the top of my voice ‘bike left, bike left’. By the time I got back to transition the crowds were really big and there was a great atmosphere. I perhaps took the dismount ever so slightly slower than normal mindful that I could make a complete idiot of myself if I screwed up the flying dismount.

T2 1:23

I then had a long, long run back to my rack with my bike which probably means that this was actually a pretty slick transition. I was motivated by the Cadence mechanics and support crew whose tent was on the edge of the transition area and I could hear them all cheering for me which helped a lot and stopped me from dilly-dallying.

Run 44:08 (174/1892)(7:07 min miles)

I started the run feeling pretty good. The course was two out and backs from transition on the same very flat road that we had been cycling on. As I left transition, and the crowds, I began to take stock. My legs were turning over nicely and I felt comfortable. There was no-one about and I started to fantasize that I was clear of the rest of my age group and all I had to do was to keep going like this until the finish line time where I could expect much glory, tea and medals.

Before I hit the first turn around someone went charging pass me, luckily his leg said 35-39 so I decided he must be some freaky, world class runner who had recently turned to triathlon and let him go. I then reeled in one female runner and made the first turn around. On out and back courses this is the moment of truth, are you going to see the entire field 20 yrds behind you, all running sub 5 minute miles, and about to blast passed you, or is the road going to be deserted and you could, if you wanted, now walk the rest of the course and still get the glory, tea and medals.

What I saw was a fairly deserted course and I felt like I had quite a bit of breathing room. I next reeled in a 55+ runner called Terry who seemed to know absolutely everybody and I am pretty sure he was a member of a local tri club. Seemingly every runner that went by in the other direction called out his name. By the time I got back to transition I was just over a third of the way through the run but was starting to feel a bit sick in the pit of my stomach. I knew I couldn’t have gone any quicker at that point and concentrated on keeping going. I then got passed by another older male runner and headed out on the next out and back.

The wheels started to fall off a little bit and my feet, which were squeezed into some different trainers than I usually wear, started to protest. I must have slowed because I was passed by a couple of women and then 2 of my age groupers went whizzing by me. Perhaps I had gone harder than I thought on the bike because a flat course like this I would have hoped to better my 43:58 at Mooseman which was on a relatively hilly course.

Still by the time I crossed the line I had a bit of a second wind and the sicky feeling had gone. I felt comfortable and I could have kept running at that pace for much longer given a bigger pair of shoes.

Overall 2:18:38 (120/1892)(15/180 in my age group)

I am very satisfied with my race. I have placed better in my age group in the past but never when competing with a field of this caliber. This is a new PB for me and is nearly a minute faster than the previous PB at the Nation’s Tri which had a virtually flat bike course. The race was also a qualifier for the 2008 National Age Group Championships for which I think I now qualify.

The swim was sound and the bike leg kicked ass. My bike split was even better than a few pros, including my esteemed coach, Holden (I have to come clean and admit that he managed to break his saddle and had to stop for some repair work. He still managed to finish 9th out of the Pros but was just out of the money). The run was OK but then again I have not targeted this distance of race and I think I could have kept going a lot further which bodes well for Placid (whether I could do another 20 miles we will have to wait and see).

The location of the race was wonderful, great backdrop, good roads, large crowd and a sense of occasion. It was also a chance to meet up with a lot of the Cadence Staff, some of whom I hadn’t seen since the selection weekend in October. We managed to catch up with the New York centre Director of Performance, Mikael Hanson, who we had not seen since last year. It turns out he also has an 8 week old baby so many congratulations to you and your wife and I hope you get to have a good nights sleep soon. We also met up with Brian Walton and his kids and said hello again to Todd Parker, a really nice bloke and another top coach. Thanks to all the guys in the mechanics tent who really spurred me on in transition and thanks to the Cadence mechanic who helped me out after the preview ride on Saturday by fixing my front derailleur.

The other Cadence athletes at the race were great and I hadn’t realized before the race but Mary Lou, the other Cadence Kona Challenge finalist was also racing. We managed to say hello twice while out on the run course and then had a good chat after the race. To round off the day nicely we met up with Kelsey and her dad. We met Kelsey at the New York Kona challenge event. She was one of the ten quarter-finalists to be invited back for a second day of testing. She is a very gifted athlete and I suspect the only reason that she didn’t make the top six is because she was so much younger than the rest of us and with her natural talent will almost certainly go on to great things in the future.

I also want to say thanks to the guys at the finish chute who introduced themselves. They had been at the selection weekend in New York as well and had also voted for me and it was really nice of them to say hello. Another very nice lady came up to Mary Lou and me as we were chatting after the race and told us both how much she enjoyed the blogs. I am really sorry I cannot remember your name so please do not forget to email as I know you said you were racing Lake Placid as well.

By the time we left the race site the three of us were beginning to tire rapidly but we just had time to say hello to Holden. He was disappointed but still very upbeat about his race which is a great testament to his character. We made plans to get together next weekend for some training and testing and his parting salvo was to let both Wendy and I know that the next couple of weeks or so would be tough in terms of training but at the same time very important for the Ironman.

The Cadence Kona Challenge Vote is in

2008-06-19T17:06:00.004-04:00

I have been holding off posting anything until I found out the result of the Kona Challenge voting. The public vote officially closed on Sunday and it has been an excruciating wait for the results. An email from Triathlete Magazine earlier in the week let us know that they had received far more votes than they were expecting, so a big thank you to anyone who voted, and that it was going to take a little time to tally the results.

For days now I have had people asking me how I got on with the vote and it has been heartwarming just how many people seem to have become genuinely excited by the competition on my behalf.

However like most waits (unlike the one on Wednesday as I waited to cross the George Washington Bridge, on the Cross Bronx Expressway NYC, which I found out subsequently is officially the slowest stretch of road in the US) this one has come to an end.

The link below will take you to the announcement of the results on the Cadence website.

http://www.cadencecycling.com/news/?a=v&i=385

For anyone who hasn't visited the link the answer is yes, it looks like I am going to have to do an Ironman after all. The countdown on my webpage lets me know that I only have 30 days until Ironman Lake Placid and the reality of the situation has hit like a lightning bolt. When I submitted my application to the competition back in June 2007 I honestly didn't expect to make the final six, let alone get a place at Ironman USA.

That being said I have always trained as if I was racing the Ironman and tried to put the actual race, and the possibility of not competing, out of my mind. Its a cliche but I have really enjoyed the journey and the race itself is the icing on the cake. With all the coaching I have received from Cadence and Holden I am in the best shape of my life and know that I can do well at an Ironman but whether or not I can do something special enough to make it to Kona we will not know until race day is over.

I have a hell of a lot of thank yous to make and I hope to be able to thank as many people as possible face to face but in the meantime:

Thanks to Cadence for the opportunity and for putting on the competition.

Thanks to Holden for giving me some top level coaching throughout the year and for being super supportive.

Thanks to Cyfac, Zipp, Zoot, Enervit, LAS Suunto, Ironman USA, Triathlete Magazine and Sidi for being so generous and for providing such high end equipment, it is very much appreciated.

A big thank you to everyone who voted for me. Thank you to my family and friends, thank you to Wendy's family and friends, thank you to Ed and Team Z who have been great throughout, thank you to my US Navy colleagues and thank you to my Royal Navy colleagues.

As I said earlier I have been bowled over by how fired up everyone who supported me has become and I only hope that I can do your enthusiasm justice on the day.

Thanks to Wendy for entertaining my hobby which on the face of it is absolutely ridiculous and asks a lot of my family for my own selfish goals.

Finally congratulations to my fellow finalist, Mary Lou, and I am very sorry to those who didn't win the vote. Kate, Scott, Elizabeth and Randy are all very deserving and it has been my great pleasure to meet them all during this competition. I know that most of us have booked Ironman races in case we didn't get in through the vote and I wish everyone all the best in their endeavours and I hope I get the chance to meet up with you all soon. If I fail to qualify for Kona we will be going to watch the race anyway and it would be fantastic if there was another semi-finalist/finalist that I could cheer for.

Thanks Ben for your support and thanks to his sister, Kate, whose short but exceptionally influential life started this whole crazy adventure.

Mooseman International Triathlon Race Report

2008-06-10T13:53:00.010-04:00

Apologies for not having posted on the blog for a while but life has been hectic. Training has stepped up a gear, Ben is very time consuming (although Wendy is doing the lions share of taking care of him and I would not be able to even consider training at this level if it weren't for her monumental sacrifices,)there seems to be an ever growing mountain of admin to be addressed and I have recently had to submit a piece of course work for my distance learning degree (although I am now taking a break from studying until Oct). All that being said we seem to be just about coping and as Ben gets older hopefully we can start getting our lives back in to some sort of routine. In the meantime here is my latest race report.

Mooseman is a triathlon held in and around Newfound Lake in New Hampshire. There is an international distance race on the Saturday and a Half Ironman distance on the Sunday. My race schedule only features one half ironman distance this year which was Lake Anna. All my other races prior to Ironman Lake Placid are Olympic/International distance. Doing the short course races does not effect the rest of my training and in theory I need little or no recovery time after an Oly race whereas a half ironman does require a bit of recovery. Therefore I was racing the Oly rather than the half this weekend.

With hindsight New Hampshire, from D.C., is a long way to go for an Olympic distance race. We drove a 1300 mile round trip which is probably the furthest I have ever driven in my life and is by far the furthest I have ever driven with a 5 week old baby! That being said the location is stunning and Ben was as good as gold in the car. He also got to go through six different US States and as he is a US Citizen it is nice to be able to take him around the country (even if he has no idea where he is). We also got home to find that his US passport had been delivered which contains some really nice US themed pictures on the visa pages and some classic American quotes. Despite the logistical challenges of getting to and from the race with all the stuff we needed I would probably still do it all over again. Newfound Lake is picture perfect and the race itself is very well run with lots of nice touches and a great scenic backdrop.

Race start was scheduled for 7.30am and parking at the State Park was limited. You need to get to the lake fairly close to the gates opening at 5.30 to ensure a parking spot inside the park. If you cannot get into the park you cannot park on the access road and face a reasonable walk in to the start. We arrived early and got a spot and then linked up with the rest of Team Z for breakfast. The lake was covered in a very thick bank of fog and the weather was mild prior to the arrival of the expected heat wave. A long story short the race organizers decided to delay the swim start but while we were waiting we were entertained by a bagpiper, in kilt, who then played at the swim start as you set off into the lake (nice touch 1).

Swim 16:36 (135/718)

16:36 is a new personal record, I have taken a whopping 11 minutes off my personal best; However before I consider quitting the navy and turning pro I must confess that the fog that I mentioned never lifted and the race organizers cut the swim short. I may never know how long the swim course was but coming out of the water I felt pretty good and my position would seem to suggest that my better swim at Columbia was not a one off.

The lake was crystal clear, but fresh, and despite the warmer weather down south Lake Newfound was only at around 58 deg. I put my face in the water to make sure that I didn’t get any cold shock and after the initial icecream head had passed I felt OK. I may not have put my head in the water as much as I should have which in turn would have kept my legs lower in the water increasing my drag but then again I think I reached a happy compromise between comfort and speed.

T1 1:42

T1 was a short run up the beach and into the woods around the lake. The organizers provided wetsuit strippers (nice touch 2), something you get at a Ford Ironman but not something I have ever experienced before. My T2 was reasonably quick but it did take a little bit of time to get my wetsuit off as the young guy helping me was not used to stripping wetsuits and couldn’t get it over my ankles. To be fair I could have helped out more but I was enjoying the rare opportunity of being able to lie down in the middle of a race.

There was a short 20m run through the woods to the bike mount line. The organizers had put down a green mat to cover the mud and tree roots and the surface was actually much better than many of my other races but that did not stop me from falling over. I was running down the chute with people cheering either side. I was wearing my snazzy zoot cadence race gear and pro looking aero helmet. I was pushing a beautiful bike with high end components and feeling like a million dollars then for some reason I looked down, let my handlebars twist and fell over my bike. I fell quite hard and must have landed on the teeth of my crank as I took a little chunk out of my knee. I also managed to graze my other knee and an elbow on the ‘non-slip’ matting. None of the injuries actually hurt but the fact that I had fallen at the spot with the highest concentration of spectators did tweak my pride.

When I came to get on my bike I found that I had knocked my chain off. I started trying to shift gear and get it back on but was making real ‘pig’s ear’ of it until luckily a mechanic took pity on me and came to my rescue (many thanks whoever you were). A real case of less haste and more speed would have seen me getting away from the scene of my embarrassing fall much more quickly.

Bike 1:22:38 (163/718) (19.8 mph)

Not a good bike ride for me.

We came out of the park and turned right onto the bumpy road that followed the edge of the lake. The roads had taken a real beating during the harsh winter and out of the entire 40k loop there were really very few patches of smooth tarmac. The course followed the circumference of the lake with a little extra loop going through the town of Bristol to make up the mileage.

When I came to the first hill and started to climb I found that my legs were really tired and I didn’t feel like I had any power in them at all. When I got to the top of the hills I was able to get up some speed on the descents and reel back one or two riders but in general I spent the entire ride getting passed by others. I couldn’t let rip full speed on some of the descents because of the dodgy road surface.

At Columbia I could have taken on the world during the bike leg. I could have beaten Lance Armstrong, I could have used a mountain bike with flat tyres, fitted with panniers full of bricks and still finished in under 1:10. At Mooseman I couldn’t have taken on a troop of Girl Guides. I couldn’t have beaten Chuck Armstrong (for US readers)/ Hilary Armstrong MP (for UK readers), I couldn’t have taken a motorbike, fitted with nitrous and finished in under 1:20.

Aside from my difficulties the signage and support crew out on the course were great and if you could have seen the lake the views would have been excellent too. Sorry to the lady who tried to hand me water at the aid station, I don’t know why I was trying to come through the aid station so quickly when I was putting in such a slow bike split, and kudos to the guy who successfully handed me a bottle it was a great hand off.

So why was I so much slower than at Columbia? What excuse have I been able to come up with on the long drive home? Well my excuse is that I was tired, not waking up 2 or 3 times a night when the baby cries tired, but 2 hard weeks of build training including lots of Lactate Threshold work on the bike and run, tired. My legs were clearly on strike. They refused to work hard day in and day out during the last fortnight of build and then drive all the way to NH and race. They were going to take the day off and enjoy the scenery and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.

The only consolation was that my leg was covered in blood so hopefully people that saw me being passed would have assumed that I had been involved in some horrific high speed crash and was bravely soldiering through the rest of the ride in a valiant effort to complete the course. I did come up with a story about being knocked off my bike by an angry moose for when people asked me about my leg after the race.

T2 1:12
A pretty good time.

Run 43:58 (93/718) (7:05 min/mile)

The course took us out of transition and along the beach for 50 yards before we came back out onto the same coast road we had ridden on. The run was then a straight out and back along the lake road with a very neat finish line in the middle of the woods, next to transition.

I got out on the run still feeling a bit sorry for myself and decided that I was not going to push it as this race had already gotten away from me. I settled into what felt like a comfortable jog and decided I would just keep going like I was. By now the fog and burnt off and we were rewarded with a stunning view of the lake as we ran. The organizers had also set up music stations along the run and there were even live musicians at key points including a guy at the finish line (nice touch 3).

I chatted with a younger guy for a few minutes and then started to draw away from him. There were a couple of steep kickers and I even walked for 45 seconds up the steepest one but no one caught me and the guy in front didn’t pull away too much. Near the half way mark the young guy I had been talking to came past me and I let him go. I then found myself catching and passing a slightly older guy that I had been following for most of the run. After the turn around the guy I had passed came charging by me on one of the uphills.

At the 4 mile mark I decided that enough was enough and I was going to put my foot down for the rest of the run. I caught the slightly older guy who I had been changing places with and started to reel in the younger guy. After passing the younger guy I could recognize the next runner as one of the guys in my age group who had passed me toward the end of the bike leg.

I was gaining on him slowly and as we neared the turn back into the park we both passed a taller chap who was also in my age group. With about a third of a mile to go I had to decide whether to charge by this guy in my age group so quickly that I would instantly destroy any hopes he may have of racing me or, take the sneaky underhand approach of sitting right behind him until the last minute and then running past him when it was too late for him to do anything about it. For a second I sat behind him in his draft and then decided that I was being a coward and floored it to go by him. I kept running and never looked back and must have done just enough because he finished 6 seconds behind me.

Crossing the line I stopped and bent over double, a support crew lady came straight up to me asking me for my chip but because I had just put in a little sprint effort toward the end I was starting to dry-retch and thought I was going to throw up. All I could do was hold up a finger to indicate I needed a minute and she got the message and waited for me to recover - last thing you want to do is try and remove the chip from the ankle of some one about to throw up. Very quickly the sensation passed and I felt fine. I got my finishers medal and a Mooseman water bottle which had been filled with cold water (nice touch 4).

This was a really nice race. Great location, great atmosphere and very well organized. Roads were poor and parking is an issue but those are the only slight negatives. Make sure that if you do this race you bring plenty of bug spray. Other nice touches included the printing of you first name on you race number so people could shout for you by name even if they didn’t know you, someone dressed as a Moose going around entertaining people and the inclusion of a nice little Mooseman towel in your transition bag.

Conclusions

Driving for 24 hours or so with a month old baby is a challenge but is doable.

My swim is still on track. I suspect the pace was similar to what I will need to do at IMLP but obviously over a much longer distance.

Transitions were both pretty good but there is always room for improvement.

I have come to terms with my bike. Rather than panic because there is only a month and a bit until IMLP I can accept that this was a C race (one that I have not tapered for and am not concerned about the result). I may not have accepted this before the race and had visions of putting in a great time and finishing toward the top of my age group but back with my feet back on the ground I know that all my training is geared toward one race and that is the only time I will find out whether or not it has all worked out.

Although I felt like I was jogging the run and only running the last 2.2 miles (including a short walk) I still averaged 7:05 min miles and had the 93rd fastest run of the day which is not a bad result considering the lack of taper.

Before I sign off I want to say well done to all my teammates who raced the half ironman distance on the Sunday. By then the heatwave had really hit and temps were in the high 90’s. I went for a ride around the lake at 9am and it was already very hot, it must have been brutal out on the run late in the morning. I also want to say well done to Chris who came second in his age group at Eagleman and could well have secured his slot at Kona if it weren’t for a knee injury he picked up whilst I was riding with him a week ago and well done to Jim, a friend from work who got into Escape from Alcatraz via the lottery and after a break from Triathlon of many years has successfully completed a particularly tough triathlon course.

Zipp 606 Wheelset and Vuka Bull and Aero Bars

2008-05-25T08:11:00.019-04:00

Having already posted a very amateur review of the Cyfac Mythique I thought that I would follow up by posting some pictures and comments on the Zipp equipment we were given.

Before I show you the 606 wheelset and Vuka ‘tri porn’ I wanted to just make a quick comment on how struck I have been by the similarities between newborn babies and triathletes. Here are some of the similarities I have noticed but I am sure there are many more:

Weight: Triathletes food/calorie intake is monitored to reduce weight. Babies food/calorie intake is monitored to increase weight.

Outfits: Both get through a lot of laundry. Triathletes change clothing regularly as they get wet swimming and sweating. Babies change outfits regularly as they get wet.

Sleep: Both need a lot of sleep. Triathletes need their sleep to recover and babies need their sleep to grow. I know I look terrible in the picture but at that stage I would have given my eye teeth to swap places with Ben.

Gear: Both need to travel with a lot of gear. Triathletes have bikes, nutrition, butt butter and bike pumps. Babies have buggies, nutrition, butt paste and breast pumps.

Wind: Triathletes live on a lot of GU and Carb supplements which are designed to be digested quickly which in turn generates a lot of wind. Babies it goes without saying.

Rashes: Triathletes nipple. Babies nappy (please note that this is not a picture of Ben (or me for that matter)).

Time consuming: I have no idea where the last three weeks have gone both Triathlon and Babies take up a lot of time.

So on to the Zipp Gear.

One of the first things you notice when you see the bike is the stunning Zipp 606 wheelset. The 606 wheelset combines a 404, 18 spoke, 52mm deep rim on the front with an 808, 24 spoke, 82mm deep rim on the back. The combined weight is a svelt 1753g and both wheels benefit from the Zipp ABLC dimpling treatment. ABLC is Zipp's Aerodynamic Boundary Layer Control and in their own words:

"The idea is that these highly modified and designed rim shapes can only take advantage of the airflow if the air is sticking to the surface of the rim. With a V shaped rim or flat-sided rim, the airflow becomes separated from the leeward side of the rim as soon as the rim begins to face airflow more than 1 or 2 degrees off axis. This separated airflow creates a vacuous region behind the rim, which is the primary source of pressure drag on the wheel itself. With a curved section, we are able to keep the airflow on the rim surface out to 7 or 8 degrees of yaw, but eventually the flow begins to separate or 'stall' on the backside. With the dimples, we are forcing the airflow into a higher energy state, forming a turbulent boundary layer near the surface of the rim, which allows the air to remain attached to the rim even at higher angles."

Seems obvious when you say it like that but in a nutshell they act like a golf ball and greatly lowers pressure drag whilst only slightly increasing skin friction drag. Although I could never hope to prove or disprove Zipp's claims I can only say that when I was rolling down the hills at Columbia without being able to peddle I was still passing several people pedalling their heart out. The wheels roll great and when I am along side someone with regular wheels and we are freerolling I often have to apply the brakes to stay with them. There are obviously many other factors for this but I am sure Zipp would not have achieved such a position of dominance if their wheels did not in fact perform as claimed.

The other key Zipp component on the bike is the Vuka Bull Bar and Clip Aero bars. The bull bar weighs only 195g (about the weight of 2 small bags of peanuts or a 195 paper clips) and it is as flat pancake. I must admit that the first time I used them they were so flat that I thought I would slide off the front of the bike but I soon got used to the feeling. It is also worth pointing out that Vuka brake levers are also wickedly thin but again they feel strong when you pull on them.

The clip in aero bars are very easy to adjust and they are clamped to the base bar by a rotating cuff which is a very neat and aerodynamic solution. I find the pads are easily as comfortable as anything I have used before and the chicane (slight bend up and then straight) bars fit me really well. Zipp also do the bars in a ski tip or flat.

All the Zipp gear is unquestionably top quality, high end gear. Whether I would buy it myself, if it was coming out of my own pocket, would probably depend on the price I could get it for on the day and whether or not I thought I could justify it to Wendy without sounding ridiculous. If you have the money to spare I believe the gear is effective and there is always the psychological effect. I read the race report of someone I must have passed at last weeks race who talked about being passed by guys on nice bikes with aero helmets. A quick looking bike makes me feel faster and may even discourage the competition from trying to close you down. I am also pretty sure that if I had not won the gear I would have bought some Zipp wheels this season. The 606 set is a very good buy in that the 808 rear is nearly as aero as a disc wheel so if you can only afford one wheelset the 606 covers a lot of bases.

The Latest Twist on the Lake Placid Vote

2008-05-22T09:38:00.002-04:00

Thank you to everyone who has voted and thank you to all those who have asked me how I got on in the vote.

It turns out that there has been some confusion with when the vote would close and that it did not in fact close on Monday as it claims on the Triathlete Magazine page. Hopefully that date will be corrected soon but I can confirm that the vote is still open and remains open until 15th June.

Sorry for all the confusion but it all adds to the suspense.

Columbia Tri ‘Unplugged’

2008-05-19T11:39:00.011-04:00

This is my Columbia Tri Race Report and the reason I have classed it as ‘unplugged’ is that my Polar HRM packed up, which was not a drama as I had my trusty Suunto for back up but then that too failed to register a pulse throughout the race. Confident that my heart was still beating I ran the race on perceived effort, rather than HR, which is actually a first for me.

Before I get into the ‘nitty gritty’ of the race I thought I would bring you quickly up to speed on triathlon life following the arrival of our new milk processor (a.k.a. Ben). Somehow he can take a small amount of milk and turn it into a vast amount of pee and poop.

Ben was born on a Friday and we were all back home the following Sunday. By Tuesday I felt able to get out of the house for a couple of hours and pick up my training with a group ride in the evening. The rest of the week didn’t call for any particularly long workouts and I managed to achieve 95% of my training. I was probably only getting around 5 hours sleep a night and I paid the price over the weekend. Wendy looked after Ben on the Friday so I could get some sleep and I did a long ride on Skyline Drive on the Saturday. Sunday called for a ‘hardish’ swim and another long ride. I managed the swim but then I was completely beat and could only lie on the settee drifting in and out of sleep.

This week has been slightly easier (for me not necessarily Wendy). I am back at work and able to train over my lunch. I am probably getting 6 hours or so sleep and again the volume was not too bad in light of the upcoming race. Again Thu and Fri Wendy let me sleep through most of the night by taking care of Ben. The night before the race Ben was pretty well behaved and fell asleep promptly after each feed giving us a little over 5 hours sleep. We wanted to be at the race site by 5 am to ensure a parking spot so we were not too bothered about getting up early.

We arrived at Centennial Park just after 5 am and were able to park very quickly. My bike was already racked so I went down to set up my transition and sort out my nutrition. I had done a short brick the day before and I knew the bike course was rolling and although I had not seen much of the run course everyone warned me how hilly it was. I had also met up with my Cadence Coach, Holden. He and his girlfriend Kerry were there as Holden, as well as coaching, is a Pro Triathlete and had decided to race. He was in a pretty select field of Pros which included Chris McCormack and Chris Lieto along with some other ‘big names’.

Me, Wendy, Holden, Kerry and Ben
(who does normally have a face but the pic is a little over exposed)

Ed and the Team Z triathlon club were all congregated by the start finish line and I left Wendy, Ben and Janet, Wendy’s mum, to feed Ben while I waited for my wave start. As a 30-34 age grouper I am used to my wave starting pretty near the front but at Columbia it was the other way around and the pros were followed by the older age groups first. The pros went at 6:55 and I didn’t go until 7:39.

Swim 26:39 (place 631/1722);

In water start and the temp was in the mid to high 60’s and was actually very comfortable. My wave consisted of 20-24 and 30-34 and was therefore pretty big. I lined up near the front but when the swim got underway I found myself in the middle of the worst scrum I have ever experienced so far in a swim start. I was prepared to swim fairly hard for a bit to get clear of the mêlée but I was well and truly boxed in. Every time I went for breath I was taking in water and I was really unhappy. After a few more minutes of this I had had enough, I sat up and breaststroked out of the mess. I have never swum breast stroke in a tri before and I started to think to myself that I was already blowing this race after only a few minutes. That being said, as soon as I had some open water I settled into my rhythm and actually enjoyed the rest of the swim. Strangely I was not being overtaken in the water and I actually swam 26:39.

This is not a great swim time by a lot of people’s standards (Holden posted an amazing 16:07) but when you compare it to my fastest Oly race, the Nation’s Tri at 29:26, it is a good solid step in the right direction. More importantly, my swim pace was 2.0984392975609753 mph (roughly) which if I were to maintain over the Ironman distance would give a finish time of 1:8:37, under the 1:10 goal I am setting myself (subject to change). I also got out of the swim feeling strong and certainly didn’t over exert myself.

Transition One 2:22 (158/1722);

Nothing really to report other than the pros are all doing times in the 1:20s. Obviously they save some time not putting their shoes on but that cannot account for a whole minute. Time there to be saved me thinks.

Bike 1:09:09 (78/1722) (ave 22.0 mph);

You may have seen on this blog that I have been spending quite a lot of time in my sexy new, all matching, colour coordinated Cadence Cycling gear and hanging out with some road cyclists. I was even going to do a road race a couple of weeks ago until Ben’s 13 day eviction saga, when his refusal to vacate his 9 month, small, rented pied-a-terre, put pay to the plan. Even without actually racing the fast paced group riding, with plenty of high heart rate efforts, has made me a lot stronger on the bike and I was determined to put in a good bike split.

Armed with my evil looking (in a good way) LAS aero helmet and bullet like Cyfac, decked out in all its Zipp Spead Weaponry glory, I was ready to do battle. I turned out of the car park onto the course and made the shift up to the big chain ring ready to kick butt but as I did so I heard a ‘pting’ sound and after a split second I realized that my front derailleur cable had snapped. “B@#$!@ks”, I thought to myself, I was all psyched up but now stuck in the small ring for the whole race. It’s a bit like winning a life times supply of beer but having to drink it all with a shot glass.

Long story short I rode 42km of fast cadence leg drills, pushed hard on the uphills and really went to town on achieving an aero profile for the descents. I have probably taken many 100s of miles off my chain by riding small ring front and back and many people must have looked at me funny as I passed them with my groupset clicking away horribly, but pass people I did. I felt great on the bike and with so many people having started ahead of me I was going past people in their droves. It was by far the best bike leg I have ever had. Average speed may be way down on something like the Nation’s Tri but this was not a flat course.

Even more reassuring perhaps is the knowledge that if I had of had a big chain ring who knows what I could have done. In recognition of all the high end gear I have been given I have to admit that I was a lot faster than most people on the descents, even though I was not peddling, thanks entirely to the Cyfac, Zipp and LAS aero equipment. But, if I could have used some of my spare strength on the descents I believe I could have knocked a couple of minutes more off the bike split.

In some ways I am pleased that I didn’t have a HRM as I believe that with the cycling I have been doing of late my LT threshold on the bike has probably changed considerably.

F.Y.I, Chris Lieto did the bike in 56:35 at an average speed of 26.9 mph. Wow!

Cumulative Time 1:38:09 (147/1722);

Interestingly at this stage I am pretty close to where I finished overall in terms of placings. 630 people swam faster than me but only 77 people biked faster than me. This highlights how much difference the bike can make in comparison to the swim (which is a good thing when you swim like me).

Transition Two 1:19 (231/1722);

Still wearing socks with trainers but I am only roughly 20 secs slower than pros so no biggy.

Run 45:19 (206/1722)(7:18 min/mile);

Coming off a high on the bike it was back to reality with the run. I came out of transition feeling good and I think I had pretty good form. I started to pass a few people but much fewer than on the bike. When I came to the climbs (I think there were 7 steep climbs in total) I had decided I would just take it very easy with little baby steps before regaining ground on the descents.

This strategy worked for me. My run time was OK, nothing special, but certainly solid. I could not have gone any quicker up the hills without doing myself serious damage and I am not as quick or as light on my feet as I would like. Having said all that I finished strong and on a flat course I think I would have ran a very good split.

Happy with my run.

Overall 2:24:46 (151/1722) (Age group 25/143);

Not one of the top 5 in my age group by about 15 minutes, which is quite significant, but then it was a very strong field. Ideally I would like to have gone harder in all 3 disciplines, particularly the bike and run but I am not sure how much was in the tank. That being said I am not training for short course, I am in this for Ironman and I did feel perfectly fine at the end of the race (and today) which is a great sign. I often ask myself whether or not I can possibly hope to do a 10 hour Ironman. Sometimes I think I am in cloud cuckoo land and sometimes I think that maybe, just maybe, it is possible. Today is definitely one of those maybe days.

Let me out I've finished

I enjoyed the Columbia Tri and would definitely recommend it to others. The field was very strong and there were plenty of world class athletes there but I didn't actually get to see them (obviously exluding Holden). Bare in mind that there are over 2000 competitors which means that logistically this race can be a bit harder than others e.g. parking, waiting for the toilet.

Congratulations to Team Z members Brian and Monica; Kathy and Dave who are all expecting and big thanks to Kitty and Jeff for their genourosity. I would also like to thank everyone who has already voted for me in the Cadence Kona Challenge. It was rather surreal that one of my fellow racers recognised me (I was wearing my Cadence Kona Challenge T-shirt) at the race expo and knew my name. It turned out that he too had been one of the 100 finalists who tried out for the challenge back in New York.

Please do not forget you can still vote by emailing triathlete magazine at triathletemagcontest@gmail.com, with my name (PEARSON) and the name of one other of the finalists who you would like to see compete for the chance to qualify for Kona. Voting closes at midnight tonight. For more details please see triathlete magazine on line.

P.S. Holden had a great race finishing in 7th place with a time of 1:59:55 only 2 minutes behind Chris McCormack and Richie Cunningham, not a bad day at the office.

"There can be only two."

2008-05-13T20:29:00.007-04:00

For anyone that has not read the header, or is new to this blog, the whole reason I am training for Ironman is to try and qualify for a slot at Kona 2008 as part of the Cadence Kona Challenge. Before I can qualify for Kona I must first be selected as one of the 2 Cadence Kona Challenge finalists to race at Ironman USA, Lake Placid.

The 2 finalists will be selected by a public vote that is being hosted by Triathlete Magazine and the vote is now open. So forget Obama and Hilary and exercise your right to vote by emailing triathlete magazine at triathletemagcontest@gmail.com, with my name (PEARSON) and the name of one other of the finalists who you would like to see compete for the chance to qualify for Kona. If you do not know the other finalists please follow the link to the 'tracking the Cadence Kona Challenge' where you will find the other 5 finalists blogs. Voting will close on the 15th June 08.

Thanks to anyone who votes for me and although I feel very lucky to have come so far on this adventure I do not want it to end. If I win the vote I look forward to continuing to share with you the trials and tribulations of Ironman training and the opportunity to put it all into practice at Ironman USA.

7lbs 10 ozs, a new PB

2008-05-06T21:33:00.005-04:00

I have been keeping this one close to my chest but it gives me enormous pleasure to announce the arrival of our new baby boy Benjamin Carden Pearson.

Ben was born at 0858 at the National Naval Medical Center Bethesda and weighed in at a very reasonable 7lbs 10ozs.

I cannot claim that this time around the pregnancy has been particularly easy. We knew fairly early on that his heart was OK and that he didn't have the same problems as his sister but then soon after we received a positive Quad Screen Test Result for Trisomy 18 which knocked us both a bit sideways.

Thankfully repeated ultrasounds at the Prenatal Assessment Clinic at Bethesda all indicated that the Quad Screen result was in fact a false positive and that Ben was fine. I must say a big thank you to Dr Peterson and all the Prenatal Assessment Staff who have all been wonderful. Obviously we were not going to rest easy until we had Ben in our arms and he kept us waiting to the bitter end coming out 13 days overdue. His actual due date was the day of the Lake Anna Half Ironman and the fact that I raced on the day Wendy was due caused a bit of excitement. Obviously with hindsight there was nothing to get excited about and I am glad that we didn't put our lives on hold awaiting his arrival.

It was a huge relief to find that he was perfectly healthy, in fact he aced his APGARS and hearing test (proud father moment). Both he and Wendy did so well that the Doctors let us out of hospital after only 2 days despite the fact that Wendy had required surgery.

Since Friday he has decided to sleep all day and wake up around midnight for a 6-8 hours of crying, eating and being fidgety before falling asleep again for the rest of the day, storing his energy ready for nightfall. Thankfully he seems to be settling into a slightly more regular (but still tiring) routine. Obviously my training over the weekend went out of the window and I had to miss the road race on Saturday but I did manage to get out this evening for a bike ride despite the fact that I was so sleepy.

I am as pleased as punch and have to say a big thank you to Wendy whose monumental efforts, both mental and physical, put even an Ironman into context.

Public Safety Announcement

2008-04-27T21:46:00.005-04:00

After last weeks less than impressive race I have been trying to get back into my training and switch focus toward my next race. This week has been pretty uneventful but the training has gone very well and I am feeling much better.

On Wednesday, for the first time ever, my lunch time run was interrupted by a Head of State. The President must have been addressing congress and as he left Capital Hill the Capital Police shut the roads so that I was unable to get down The Mall. I had to wait 5 minutes or so before he passed but he did give me a wave to make up for it.

This weekend I had a 4 hour bike ride on Saturday and today I swam 3k, biked 2 hours and ran 40 minutes. Despite a blow out of my rear tyre as I descended Sugerloaf Mountain in Maryland I was able to stay on my bike and the rest of the ride yesterday went very well. I used the ride as an opportunity to do a couple of loops of next weeks Poolesville High School Road Race route. The route is not too bad but the gravel section of the course, for which it is infamous, has some really nasty pot holes and I am a bit concerned about my wheels.

So what is the public safety announcement? Well as this is a bit if a no news week I thought I would take the opportunity to share with you one of my experiences following a long summer ride last year which will hopefully act as a warning to others. Last summer I was out for a ride and I was wearing my tri shoes without socks, as I normally do. About an hour or two into the ride I was caught short and decided to answer a call of nature in the woods by the side of the road. Unfortunately being still relatively new to these shores I am not used to looking for Poison Ivy and must have brushed against some with my ankle. The resulting reaction did not clear up and I ended up having to go to hospital to get some steroid cream. So if you do need to 'spend a penny' beware. Here is a pic of my leg - enjoy.

Lake Anna Half Ironman Race Report

2008-04-23T22:24:00.005-04:00

I am usually pretty quick at posting my race reports because so far they have always been very positive. Pretty much everything has gone as planned and I have seen a nice steady improvement in my race results. Even this year the Myrtle Beach Marathon showed that I could complete a marathon in a pretty good time with the bare minimum of marathon specific training and with plenty left in the tank. The Cherry Blossom 10 miler showed that my body performed exactly as predicted by the Cadence LT testing and the race went like clockwork. My tardiness in posting a race report for Saturday’s Half Ironman is a good indication of how badly that race went.

It was my first tri of 2008 and it was the Lake Anna Half Ironman at Lake Anna, Virginia. This time last year I did the sprint race at Lake Anna. It was my first ever Tri and I was really happy with my sub 1.5 hour finish. My coach’s advice for the half was to go steady on the swim, bike and first half of the run and then to go all out for the end of the run if I had the capacity. I had only done one other half prior to this race and that had taken me over 6 hours to complete which was largely a reflection of the very hilly course. I knew that Lake Anna was relatively flat and in light of all the training I have been doing I was hoping that I could break the 5 hour barrier.

I drove the 1.5 hours south to Lake Anna with Wendy and my mum, who is visiting from the UK, and we arrived at about 6.30am. I registered and started to get myself ready. I had a few butterflies, which surprised me, and it was clear by the time it took me to get ready that I hadn’t raced for a while. I lined up with the rest of my wave on the small beach at the lake and we were the 3rd wave to start. It was a beach start and we needed to do 2 laps of the triangular course with a short run across the beach in between. As we waited for the off the announcer was trying to whip up the crowd by telling them how hard a half ironman is to complete. As he explained how are legs would be burning coming off the bike and how are arms would ache coming out of the swim we all looked at each other in disbelief, his comments were certainly not helping the competitors.

When the horn went off I did the ministry of silly walks run to try and get across the shallow water and then started jockeying for position in the water. It was a fairly big wave and there was quite a bit of pushing and shoving. I felt like my heart rate was spiking and it wasn’t until I was on the third straight of the first lap that I realized that Eric “the Eel” Moussambani would be able to give me a good run for my money the way I was thrashing around.

For anyone who cannot remember “The Eel” he was the very brave wild card entrant from Equatorial Guinea who competed in the 2000 Sydney Games. He and his female teammate Paula Barila Bolopa, nicknamed “Paula the Crawler”, set records for the slowest ever Olympic swims but it was the first time either of them had been in a 50m pool. Apparently Equatorial Guinea only has 2 pools the longest of which is 20m.

The second loop was a lot smoother but not necessarily that much faster and I finished the swim in just under 40 min. Considering that I really need to go around 70 min at Lake Placid this time is very disappointing. I ran up to transition where I struggled a little to get my wetsuit off and took the time to towel off and apply suncream. I was a bit peed off and made a point of getting past some people before I settled down on the bike.

The bike course was 2 laps on rolling roads around the circumference of the lake. Although it was a pretty quick course some of the rollers were large and there seemed to be an almost constant headwind. The first loop I overtook a number of riders at the start and one guy in his late 50’s went past me. I kept him in sight and my heart rate in the low 150s and had a fairly uneventful 1st lap. Toward the end of the 1st lap I caught up with a group containing a couple of people I knew but that group then seemed to pull away from me. I didn’t want to push too hard on the bike and let them go. The 2nd loop was even more uneventful and pretty damn lonely. My heart rate dropped a little into the high 140s and I suspect the second lap was actually slower than the first. Toward the end of the 2nd lap a couple of blokes and a woman past me and we continued to jockey for position the rest of the ride.

Sue Pearson 2008 ©

I finished the ride in 2:46 which was again a little bit disappointing. If I wanted to finish in under 5 hours I should ideally be swimming 5 mins and cycling 5-10 mins faster than I did. Not to worry, I had been very conservative and although I had not felt comfortable on the bike, saddle sore, sore glutes and sore neck, if I put in a good solid run I shouldn’t be too much over the 5 hour mark. I threw on my cap and set off on the run but as soon as I hit the first climb straight out of transition I knew I was in trouble.

I still have not worked out what went wrong but my body just refused to get going. My legs would not fire up and my body refused to speed up. I decided that I was going to have to walk as I was getting nowhere fast with the run. After a few minutes I decided to try running. This time my legs were there and they were quite happy to tick over at quite a high cadence but after a few hundred metres my chest and stomach would clench, almost as if I was going to be sick, and I was forced into a walk again. I decided (very quickly) to forget about finishing in any sort of time and to walk/jog the rest of the run. At every aid station I would make sure that I drank 2 cups of water and when I broke into a run I would go flying past people and then a few hundred yards further on I would walk until they caught me and then I would go running past them again.

Near the end of the final lap I picked up the pace and ran the last mile fairly briskly down to the finish. It was a strange experience and I certainly didn’t feel like I had completed a half ironman. There was lots of running left in my legs but the rest of me was not playing that day. As I try and analyse the problems I could probably come up with some theories/excuses. The bike ride for some reason really took a toll on my gluteus maximus which may have caused the initial lethargy on the run. After that I could possibly try blaming the heat. The average temperature was 82 degrees and was probably in the mid to high 80s on the run. This is a lot warmer than I have been training in and as a fair haired anglophile the heat can really kick me in the teeth. The other biggish difference was perhaps my nutrition where I experimented with a couple of things for the first time in a race.

Sue Pearson 2008 ©

All the excuses aside I had a bad race and will have to chalk it up to experience. It is a hard pill to swallow as this is the first time a race has not gone well for me. I am trying to think of some positives and can only come up with the following:

My face and arms are now fairly brown (I did burn myself fairly badly on the back where I couldn’t reach with the suncream).
I got to christen my aero helmet and new wetsuit.
I had no problem with the swim distance.
My gut feeling is that I could maintain that bike pace for 112 miles and hopefully a fraction quicker.
Even though I walked half the run I still ended up with a personal best for a half ironman.

Ok what is done is done. No more long course races now until I hopefully line up at the start of Lake Placid. In between now and then I have a number of Olympic distances the first of which is Columbia and apparently both Chris McCormack and Matty Reid are both racing this year. I suspect they are both breathing a sigh of relief after seeing my half results but I hope to regain some confidence by putting in a good performance during that race.

Thanks to my mum for taking pictures of my race.

Big Cycle Week - Big Fun

2008-04-13T19:01:00.012-04:00

Well it is Sunday night and I have had a good week but I am well and truly ready for a good nights sleep.

The week started with the Cherry Blossom 10 miler on a miserable, cold, soaking wet Sunday and finished with another cold overcast Sunday. In between, the weather has been wonderful getting up into the 80's. I have been sun burnt twice this week and yesterdays run left me a sweaty mess.

I have only done a little swimming this week and after Sundays race my runs have been around 75 mins long and pretty uneventful. The highlight of this week has undoubtedly been cycling. I have gone into Tuesdays group ride in some detail but on Thursday I tried to repeat the roadie group ride experience. This time I joined the lunch time group ride around Hains Point in downtown D.C.. Hains Point is a wonderful ride. Named after Major General Peter Conover Hains, this spit of land has a fantastic 3.4 mile flat tarmacked road that runs around its circumference and is therefore a very popular spot for local cyclists. There is a group ride leaving from the golf club every lunch time at 12:05.

Apparently Tue, Wed and Thu tend to be the faster days with Mon and Fri being a little more relaxed in light of the weekends racing. I left work at 11:45 and headed down to Hains Point. When I go there at 11:55 there was no one around. I started to think that the ride was off because of all the traffic there to view the Cherry Blossom. I did one loop of Hains Point thinking that I would go off for a solo ride but then I started to see other riders coming in the other direction. I turned around to join them and headed around Hains Point in the wrong direction until low and behold a peleton appeared. I tagged on the back and the first lap was very genteel as everyone warmed up. The weather that day was absolutely glorious, very warm and sunny. After the first lap the pace started to really pick up and again I began to struggle.

As the group got separated by traffic I saw the faster guys begin to disappear. Everyone seemed happy to watch them go but I decided I was going to close the gap. I launched myself off the front and rapidly started to close them down but .... I only made it 4/5 of the way across the gap before my legs gave up, oh well I was close and I am sure I will only get stronger. I fell in with another group and had a very enjoyable 40min cycling fairly hard in the sunshine before going back to work.

As I already had my bike and cycle gear with me I decided to go to the gym at work to do my weights session before going back out to Hain's Point again to join the Team Z group ride. It was a perfect evening and although I didn't do any pulling I had another very enjoyable ride.

A great weeks cycling was capped today with a Team Z ride along Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. For those who do not know the area, Skyline Drive is a beautiful road that winds its way a 100 miles or so south from Front Royal in Virginia along the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The first 10 miles or so of the ride are all uphill but you are rewarded with the most spectacular views.

About 2600ft and getting cold (don't let the sunnies fool you)

Unfortunately, unlike midweek, the weather again took a turn for the worse. Instead of the 80's we had experienced earlier in the week the temperature was back down to about 47 degrees in the car park before we set off. When everyone rolled out Chris and I cut off to a garage to use the rest room. By the time we got to the entrance to Skyline Drive there was a big queue of cyclists waiting to pay the $8 entrance fee. I eventually got to the front and waved my National Parks card before we started to climb. I tapped out the rhythm and Chris stayed with me while we went up. Chris is a an experienced triathlete and having just turned 60 is in with a great chance for qualifying for Kona this year. When I joined the team last year I would regularly draft off him during the longer rides but now at least I have the ability to do my fair share of pulling.

I do not have particularly low gearing on my road bike so I found it easier to push quite hard on the climb in order to maintain a good cadence rather than go slow and get bogged down with a very slow cadence. Starting at the very back was actually good fun. We got to see other members of the team that we do not often get to speak to on a ride and it is always more motivating going past people than being passed.

Chris Wren, Ed Zerkle (Team Z founder) and Me - 3000ft'ish and bloody freezing

After a little over an hour and half we turned around started the descent. Although it had been overcast all ride it had until that point not rained. Unfortunately as we descended it began to rain. Because we were up at 3000 feet the rain had turned to ice and my face was pebble dashed by hail and ice rain as we flew down at 40mph+.

Back at the car park I grabbed a coffee and started to get the feeling back in my fingers. I could really feel the climbing in my thighs but I had that lovely warm, tired, satisfied feeling that comes after a good hard ride. We passed several of the slower riders on the way back down who all had another couple of hours of cycling ahead of them and in light of the weather I was really impressed by how cheerful everyone was.

So a great week but I also have to mention Derek, a friend of mine back in the UK who has just completed his first marathon, the London Marathon, in a very, very impressive 3.30.

Montagues v. Capulets

2008-04-09T10:45:00.003-04:00

Man Utd v. Liverpool F.C. Fans,
Navy v. Army,
Hello v. OK Readers,

And of course;

Triathletes v. Road Cyclists

All classic rivalries but like Mahatma Gandhi and MLK before me, through non-violent means, I am striving to break down the barrier that exists between Triathletes and Road Cyclists by doing a bit of both. Of course I am being a tiny bit overdramatic but as I got into the sport of Triathlon last year I certainly got the impression (however misguided) that there was an underlying rivalry(?) between the two groups.

If any triathletes or road cyclists are reading this please do not get upset with me these are just my observations/points of view and as always my tongue is never far from my cheek.

I suspect that any antagonism between the groups stems from the fact that keen road cyclists tend to do a lot more biking for the simple reason that Triathletes also have to fit in time to swim and run. On top of this extra riding they tend to ride in a group most of the time. Triathletes on the other hand must race alone and are not allowed to draft off another cyclist. Many triathletes apparently prefer to cycle alone in order to train as they will have to race. Bottom line is that road cyclists do a lot more riding as a group.

They also ride quick. Top triathletes may be able to hold a fast pace over the course of the race but they do not have the sudden accelerations that road racers have. You do not have to be a cyclist to realise that a lot of people riding fast as a group within a foot or so of each other can be very dangerous. In order to remain safe you must be alert and most of all predictable so that you do not cause an accident. As a triathlete I had not experienced this requirement to such a high degree and roadies know this.

It seems to me that roadies instigate a policy of tough love when it comes to new cyclists. In order to keep the group safe if you do something stupid or dangerous you get shouted at. There is also no waiting around you either keep up or get left behind. If you get left behind you are done in a race and if you get left behind training you must ride more until you keep up. To that end they treat any new cyclist, including triathletes, as potential sources of danger until proven otherwise.

Triathlon group rides, on the other hand are very different. Most people, most of the time, are training in their endurance zone and are not after generating bursts of speed. As you are not constantly accelerating, decelerating and cornering there is plenty of time to discuss the weather, John’s latest haircut or the pros/cons of the yoga. There is inevitably less experience in the group and sometimes it can be a little dangerous but I bet it is no different to a novice group of ‘roadies’.

I have ran road races to improve my running and even did a swim meet last year to improve my swimming but as yet I have not done a road race to improve my cycling. That will all change on May 3rd when, with my coaches blessing, I do my first race. I have already mentioned that this race has more than its fair share of crashes and people continue to tell me that it is a poor race choice for you first race but things are as they are.

To try and increase my chances of completing the race I realise it is important to get in some group riding of the sort I have mentioned above. Last night I was down for a 2 hour endurance ride so I decided to spend 45 min cycling down to Wakefield Park where I would link up with a weekly group ride. 5 or 10 minutes before the ride start I was not sure that I was actually going to find (the rather large) Wakefield Park but sat at the traffic lights up ahead was a roadie decked out in his racing kit. I asked him if he was going to the group ride he introduced himself as Bo and said that I could tag along as he warmed up on route to linking up with the group.

We rode around the neighbourhood course backwards, chatting away, he turned out to be a nice guy and I thought to myself this pace is fine I can live with this. We then saw the rest of the group turned around and tagged on. I sat right at the back and Bo hooked up with one of his teammates. Again I was feeling fairly pleased with myself. As we went up a small rise I saw Susan, the ride captain from Team Z, who was out on a separate ride and I said hello as my group went past. Then suddenly the pace exploded. I tried to keep up and my heart rate shot up into the 180s. I was being dropped. Oh no! I am 2 minutes into my first roadie group ride and I am being dropped. To make matters worse I was wearing all my new, shiny Cadence Gear so I looked liked a pro but was riding like a toddler.

Luckily some one else was getting dropped and a few others were struggling to keep on the back. I pulled up and tried to get my heart rate down. I was slightly overdressed so I took off my skull cap and hoped that people thought I had pulled up on purpose to take off some of my winter clothing. The group had turned around and were on their way back. Bo and the other elite riders thundered past and I tagged back on. The group had now split into 2 groups and I hitched onto the back of the second group.

I was now in a group of about 12 cyclists some were older guys and there were a couple of younger guys in the group. I again felt out of place in my new gear as everyone else was wearing their beat up training gear which looked like it had seen many miles in the saddle but what can I do it’s a Catch 22 i.e. if I don’t wear it it will always look new. We kept the faster guys in sight for a while and it was obvious that the initial burst of speed was clearly aimed at breaking the group up. I think I probably got the worst of it as I was sat at the very back and unfortunately, for my pride, I passed Susan again as I was hanging off the back of the group. Although I was no longer with the elite guys my group was still moving at a quicker pace than I was used to. Instead of a constant effort the group would hammer out of corners and push hard up hills which is very different to way I train for Triathlon. That being said I was fairly comfortable staying in the group and even took a turn pulling. I did feel a burn in my legs a couple of times but luckily I seemed to recover fairly quickly from it.

As we passed the parking lot I dropped out of the last 30 mins of the ride as I had arranged to get picked up by Wendy. It was interesting ride. Although the initial burst of speed was scary after that I was OK in the second group. I would be interested to know who I was riding with and how the pace compares to what I can expect in my first Cat 5 race. It was not as much fun as my Tri group rides. There was no talking and the ride was very business like. That being said Bo and another guy I chatted to after the ride, called Chip, were both really nice guys and not fire breathing dragons.

I am planning on joining the group ride around Hain's Point tomorrow lunchtime so we will see how that compares.

Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Race Report

2008-04-07T18:52:00.009-04:00

I hope this post is not to badly writed but I am fealing reelly shattered. Yesturday I was up at 'stupid oclock' to do the Cherry Blossom 10 miler and today Holden, being the simpothetic sole he is, had me up at the same time again today doing a 1.5 hour ride before breakfast. Befor i slump over the keeboard here is my report;

The alarm went off at 0530. Race start was 7:40 for the the elite women and 7:50 for the elite men, there were then a number of waves leaving every couple of minutes thereafter. As I got out of bed I looked out of the window and the rain was pouring down. Wendy was undecided as to whether she was going to come along and one look at the weather put her off completely. I cannot claim that I was particularly motivated at that point either and I was fairly slow to eat my breakfast and leave the house. I took the metro into the city as the race attracted something like 13,000 racers which is just staggering. On the metro I bumped into Kathy and Dave from Team Z (tri team) and we headed in together.

We got off the metro at Federal Triangle which was only a short walk from the GW Monument, the new start location for the 36th Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run. The rain was still coming down heavily and I was reluctant to strip down to the singlet and shorts I had elected to run in. To help fend off the rain I decided I was going to wear a bin bag until just prior to the start. When I struggled to be able to punch a hole through the bag for my head I began to wonder just how good I was going to be during the run.

Holden had made it crystal clear that I was to push hard during this run and I should be aiming to run at my Lactate Threshold throughout. If you go back to my last Cadence Run Blood Lactate Test my lactate threshold zone is from 164 to 171 bpm. The training zones table goes on to say that at 171 bpm I should be able to run 7:02 to 6:46 min miles. I had decided to set my dream goal as 65 minutes and my back up goal as 70 minutes. I had no reason to think I could run 6:30 min miles for 10 miles which would be needed for a 65 min finish but it seemed like such a nice clean goal. According to my training zones I should be able to maintain 7:00 min miles at LT so that gave me my more realistic goal of 70 min.

My wave of 2,500! runners was the red wave but between you and me I snook into the yellow wave corral in front. This was my first 10 mile run and when I registered I had no idea what time I could run. Following a winter of Cadence Coaching I was aiming for a quicker time than I predicted. As some of my team mates were starting out from the yellow zone I decided to join them. Looking around I was glad that I had moved as there were clearly plenty of slower athletes around, even in the yellow corral, and unlike Myrtle Beach I really didn't want to be threading my way through slower runners throughout the race.

I managed not to get kicked out and after the gun went off we found ourselves very quickly squeezed into the narrow road entering Hains Point. Hains Point is a big spit of land opposite the Reagan Airport and there is a very smooth tarmacked road around its circumference which is lined by Cherry Blossom on either side. Hains Point is not far from my office so I often find myself running around it at lunch times but yesterday morning the 3 and a bit miles seemed to be longer than I remembered.

Within a few hundred metres of the start I found my heart rate at 170 to 171 bpm and steady. I did have to overtake quiet a few slower runners at the start but after only a mile or two I found myself surrounded by pretty similar paced runners. It was clear by the time I got around Hains Point that the 6:30 min miles were not coming off at this heart rate and knowing where my LT was I didn't want to up the pace. In fact the opposite happened and my heart rate dropped a beat or two for the middle few miles which were probably my slowest.

By the time I had worked my way back around the tidal basin I was over half way and on the out and back past the Kennedy Center I managed to get back up to pace. The course took us over Memorial Bridge but as we came back across the bridge a slight uphill coupled with a gusty wind colluded to get my heart rate up and a bit of a 'sicky feeling' in the pit of my stomach.

As we headed back toward the wonderful finish location at the foot of the GW Monument there were signs marking 1200m to run, 600m to run etc. At 600m I decided to pick up the pace for the much cliched 'strong finish'. I don't know how they measured those 600m but they were long and again I began to feel sick. It was amazing that at 171 bpm although I was in a state of steady pain it was nothing I couldn't cope with but as soon as my heart rate rose a few beats I would feel sick.

I crossed the line in 68:35. That meant an average of 6:51 min miles which is smack-bang in the middle of Cadence's predicted pace for my LT and I ran the race pretty much dead on my target heart rate throughout. From that perspective it was a very successful race. I ran much closer to the wind than at Myrtle Beach but some how the finish seemed far less satisfying. Perhaps it was the mechanical nature of the race and my first marathon had that added sense of achievement. I am not sure my head was ever really in the race and I didn't take in my surroundings as I concentrated on maintaining my pace. The weather was depressing but actually a very good temperature for running and the rain did let up for the hour and a bit I ran.

The race marked the end of a week in which I had had a couple of disappointing training sessions and a bit of a slump. Please do not think that it was not a good race, it was.

To round out a long day Wendy and I went to watch a local Crit (Criterium) Bike Road Race at Tysons Corner. As I mentioned in my last post I have recently got my Road Race Licence and I have just (20 minutes ago) signed up for my first race on May 3rd (I am also on the waiting list for a Crit later in May). Not really knowing what to expect when I turn up at a road race we went to watch the Pro Men and Women race and get a feeling for what 'goes on'. The racing was interesting and I got to meet Ken Young, a local Marine Sergeant and very successful rider, who Brian Walton at Cadence had put me in contact with for advice on local group rides. He had a good race and was just pipped at the post following a sprint finish.

My first race will be at Poolesvilles and it is a 42 mile road race which is well known for a gravel section that is often the scene of a crash or two. Not ideal for my first race perhaps but it was the only date that fit. To try and reduce the number of times I will get shouted at during the race I will try and get in some group rides with local road cyclists.

Breaking one of the Golden Rules of Blogging

2008-04-05T15:53:00.017-04:00

Always stick to one subject in a blog or else the reader will lose interest. Well assuming you have some interest in this blog, unlike the poor guy who was sent to my page by google when searching for a rain cover for his mobility scooter, or the guy who was sent here when looking for a falconing glove!!, then I am afraid I am going to cover several topics in one go;

Well done to Holden for his first race of the season.

My coach, Holden Comeau had his first race of the season at the Miami International Triathlon a few weeks ago. I meant to congratulate him earlier on my blog but he finished the Olympic Distance event in a fantastic 1:56:40. Not only was this a PB but it put him in the top 10 pros in a field which included the winner Matty Reed and the US Navy's own stellar triathlete Timothy O'Donnell. I know these are great athletes but the thing that I find most amazing is the swim times which were in the region of 12.5 mins for the top guys, when the same swim distance last year took me 30 mins.

Training Update

My training has been progressing fairly well. I have been using the new HR zones from the last round of LT testing to pick up the pace on my runs. My endurance running zone of roughly 130-140 bpms limited me to some pretty slow paces however I have a much larger endurance zone now and Holden has been pushing me to run at the top end of this zone. I am regularly running near 8 min miles on my endurance runs and keeping my HR under control.

I have also had strides introduced to my program. I am not sure that I am getting them quite right but the basis behind them is to pick up your pace to in excess of 180 steps per minute in short, sharp, faster intervals. By doing this you engage muscles that you do not use on your more leisurely endurance runs but the intervals are so short (about 100m max) that you do not have any residual fatigue. I can certainly agree that they exercise muscles that do not get used very often because my groin is feeling a little tender after a couple of stride sessions this week. The pictures are from my recovery run plus stride session from this afternoon.

My running will get a thorough test tomorrow as I am racing the Cherry Blossom 10 miler. It is a huge event with over 10,000 runners including many elite runners who will be finished around the time I reach half way. The plan from my coach is to push hard and run a fast pace race up at my Lactic Threshold. There are obviously risks with such a strategy as if I overdo it slightly at the start I may 'blow up' (figure of speech for running out of puff before the end). Race Report to follow.

Doing a Lance

I think most Triathletes know this but I am not sure how many non-endurance athletes are aware of the fact that Lance Armstrong was a very successful junior Triathlete before he decided to specialise in cycling alone. Well I am following in his footsteps (apart from the successful Triathlon bit; and the Tour de France victories; and I suppose the fact that I am not really specialising in cycling). I love to watch cycle racing on the TV and enjoy cycling for Triathlon so I have applied for my road race licence. I want to have a go at a couple of road races this year as part of my training and for the experience.

To help me I have invested in some Cadence Cycle clothing which I am assured is good for an extra 2 mph over non-branded clothing and it certainly looks and feels the part. I am also looking at doing some local group rides which will be a bit faster than some of the triathlon group rides. I will definitely keep you updated and hope to secure a place at a race or two (they sell out quick and there are a lot of Category 5 racers, or beginners, like myself, looking for a place). I look forward to the experience with a sense of nervous excitement similar in a way to what I felt before my very first Triathlon. In the meantime here are some pictures of me posing in my new gear.

I know the bike is not my lovely new Cyfac but road racers do not take kindly to tri-bikes when riding in a group as the brakes are not in the same place as the gear levers. I have therefore dusted off my old road bike in preparation for a bit of non tri group riding.

Cyfac - Le Mythique

2008-03-26T17:24:00.024-04:00

I did promise to do a quick review of the gear that the sponsors of the Cadence Kona Challenge were kind enough to give us. I am going to start with the bike which is a Cyfac Le Mythique.

Before I start I want to put this review in context. I would describe myself as a keen amateur triathlete but I am only in my second season. Therefore in order for you to understand where I am coming from here is my cycle history:

Late 70s/Early 80s - Red Steel Trike;

80s - Raleigh Boxer - Great Bike, most comfortable saddle ever built;

Late 80s - Raleigh Racer - Mine was blue and white I believe and my first 'proper' road bike;

Late 90s/Early 00s - I had a couple of mountain bikes both of which were stolen;

2004 Orbea Mitis - Nice Spanish Road Bike, Aluminium Frame, Carbon Stays, forks and seat post. Shimano Ultegra groupset. Still use it occassionally - mine was silver with red detailing;

2007 Felt S22 (2006 Model) - After training through the winter months on my Orbea I decided to go out on a limb and buy a dedicated Tri bike even before my first race. Like the Orbea this bike has an Aluminium frame and some carbon parts. The 2006 model was actually better spec'd than the 2007 model and had Dura Ace groupset with carbon cranks and Carbon Aero bars. It looked good in matt black;

So that brings us upto date and back to the Cyfac. In reality I guess that when I comment on the Cyfac I am really comparing it to the only other dedicated Tri bike I have owned, the Felt S22. The Cyfac is therefore up against some stiff competition as I really liked the Felt.

The Cyfac Le Mythique, or the mythical one (its not a myth its in my garage), is part of Cyfac's small but varied inventory. Here is the history of the company taken straight from their website:

Cyfac has had an interesting trajectory through the cycling industry. Originally focusing as a frame-builder to the professionals, Francis Quillon was hired by some of the sports biggest companies to build the frames that their sponsored riders actually rode. Systeme-U, Castorama, Carrera, GAN, Festina, Cofidis, Chocolade Jaques, and more provided re-badged Cyfac frames to their athletes.

In the tight-knit French cycling community many other pros, amateurs, and cycling afficianados learned of Francis' work and went sraight to the source, helping to slowly build the Cyfac brand.

In an age of distinct monocoque frames and very unique looks per manufacturer the use of custom frames is reserved for only a select few. Sponsors want their riders on their frames. While Cyfac still makes some specialty framesets and training bikes for a large group of pros, we reserve our best work for you, our Cyfac customer.

They make two versions of their CLM timetrial and triathlon frame. One is the Carbon frame called the Gothica and the other is the Aluminium Le Mythique.

Now before you turn your noses up at the idea of an aluminium frame on a high end bike Cyfac point out that this is not your "mothers aluminium", this is "Triple-butted, multi-shaped Columbus 7000 series Altec 2+ aluminum alloy with airwing profile downtube, aero slice top tube and bladed rear seat/chain stays".

Reading through the blurb in effect what they are saying is that traditionally aluminium was hard to shape and resulted in a rigid frame. They use the latest technology to be able to shape the aluminium far better than ever before. It is also worth pointing out that they claim to have produced the first full-custom carbon frame and pioneered aluminium TIG welding and the use of Aluminium appears to be a deliberate choice.

The bike is not what one would consider cheap and the frameset costs $3099 dollars (the 2 carbon waterbottle holders by the way retail for $100 each!!) but;

You get a Cyfac ultralight XC102 full-carbon straight-blade fork with integrated headset included (which is important otherwise your front wheel will roll away).

All frames are custom built.

The frames are all hand built in one rural factory in France.

So what is it like to ride?

Probably the best thing about this bike is how comfortable it is to ride whilst aero. I am not talking about soaking up road bumps, a carbon frame may be more comfortable in that respect, but rather I am talking about frame geometry. On their website Cyfac make a big point that Tri bikes are not all about an aggressive seat angle. They will offer a more aggressive angled Time trial frame but mindful of a Triathletes need to get off the bike and run they offer a less aggressive angle.

I do not intend to go into seat angles as some people will know what I am talking about and those that don't will be able to find better explanations by googling the term but Cyfac are advocates of a less aggressive angle for Triathletes who are going to need a reserve of energy for the run and they quote some very successful cyclists with less aggressive seat angles e.g.

EDDY MERCKX
1969: Tour de France TT Créteil -Paris

Seat Angle: 72°
Head Angle: 71.5°
Saddle to bar height difference: 4cm

Another interesting point they raise is the idea that with squats and other weight exercises you don't want your knee getting in front off your foot as it stresses the joints. They claim that if you repeatedly ride in a very aggressive position, like poor quality weightlifting, you are unduly stressing your joints. This argument does appear to make sense to me and there is no doubt that the less aggressive angle is more comfortable. Do not think that I am not that aero on this bike because I am pretty aero but the biggest bonus is that I am less likely to sit up out of the bars than some one riding more aggressively. Of course as you sit up you lose all your aero advantage.

This is turning into a really long blog so that is enough theory.

The bike looks gorgeous in its deep blue and black colours and the paint finish is clearly top quality. I am not an engineer but all the butting looks great to me and very, very smooth. Without access to windtunnels and labs I can still happily say that the frame looks very aero and the rear wheel cut out is slick. The cable run is on the outside of the frame which although ever so slightly less aero makes maintenance much easier and it has neat touches such as a welded attachment point for your race number.

There really is very little I can say about this bike that I do not like. The only thing that springs to mind is the fact that this bike has horizontal hangers for the rear wheel. These make sense on single speed bikes when you may wish to adjust the chain tension but it does not make sense on this bike. The problem with horizontal verses vertical hangers is that it makes it dirtier and slightly more awkward to get the chain off the cassette and you have to be careful that the spindle is all the way home or you can easily miss align the wheel and push it against the seat stays.

It is also worth pointing out that unless you are totally objective when it comes to buying your bikes it is hard to ignore the fact that this bike is that little bit exclusive. You are very unlikely to see another one at a race and you know the company has a great history and pedigree. This is brought home by the wording "fait a la main a la fuye" written down the seat tube which I eventually managed to work out means built by hand in La Fuye.

As an aside my bike came with SRAM Force groupset which has been great so far and a Fizik Arione saddle which was convenient as it was already my saddle of choice.

So Merci Beaucoup Cyfac pour la Bicyclette. Le Mythique est Tres Bien (and thats coming from a Brit).

The Most Astonishing Lactate Threshold Test Ever - TR***

2008-03-21T21:29:00.010-04:00

OK as promised the results from my latest lactate threshold testing in Philly a couple of weekends ago.

The title of this post is actually a total fabrication. The test results were not in any way astonishing and if anything at first look they are actually a little disappointing. That said if we look at them more closely they do raise some interesting questions.

For those who have not seen the earlier posts, whilst I was in Philadelphia visiting Cadence Cycling and Multisport Center I undertook some blood lactate threshold tests. On Saturday I did a bike test and the following day I did the run test.

Lets first look at the run test and how it compares to last years testing at the Cadence facility in New York during the Kona Challenge selection weekend. At first glance the results do not look too different to the initial testing.

The VO2 max HR 181 is unchanged but my lactate threshold HR has gone up slightly from 167 to 171. That means that although my max HR is unchanged my lactate threshold as a percentage of my VO2 max has gone up ever so slightly from 93 to 94%. Therefore I can go that little bit quicker before my body produces more lactate than it can deal with.

The graph shows my heart rate in bpm as diamonds at the top, my RPE or Ratings of Perceived Effort (simply how hard I felt I was working from a scale they held up) as diamonds and the squares indicate my blood lactate levels.

To find my threshold you draw a line through lactate levels and what you should find is two distinct lines that intersect at the lactate threshold. The relatively flat line indicates that my body is coping with the lactate that is being generated and the levels remain fairly level and when the line starts to steepen dramatically it indicates that I have reached my threshold or OBLA (Onset of Blood Lactic Acid) and the body is no longer able to flush the lactic acid being produced and it floods my blood stream.

So my LT threshold has not really changed very much since I started this program which is disappointing but .....

I have done very little LT training and the vast majority of my training has been focused at the endurance zones. According to the algorithm that Cadence use my endurance zone has gone from 117 to 139 bpm, to, 118 to 157 bpm. I am not sure how this algorithm determines the zones but however it does it it did it the same way last year and there has still been a significant change. According to the new figures I ran the first half on my marathon in my endurance zone which means that I have a lot left to give. It also means that I should be able to run 8 min miles in my endurance zone which was supported by a run a couple of days ago when I found I was able to hold 8 min miles for 20 minutes at only 140 bpm.

If there has not been that much change in the run results that is certainly not true for the bike. However again at first glance the figures look a little disappointing. My bike results from last years time trial gave a VO2 max of 180 and a lactate threshold of 168 bpm however this latest LT test gave a VO2 max of 165 and a lactate threshold of 156.

This is a significant drop, so what does it mean. Well it is not actually that bad as my LT as a percentage of VO2 max has again risen slightly from 93 to 95% and my endurance zone has remained pretty similar.

These new results are probably a bit more accurate than the time trial field test. Firstly I have really struggled to maintain my lactate threshold and super lactate threshold zones during training which makes more sense with the latest test. Additionally last years field test was done in a big room with lots of people shouting and cheering and there was plenty riding on it which means I may have given 110% rather than 100% which I may have physically been capable of (mind over matter).

My LT power has allegedly dropped from 245 to 240 watts and therefore as my weight is unchanged my power to weight ratio has also dropped slightly.

So in conclusion:

I am not too concerned about these tests. My run test indicates that I can now run much quicker in my endurance zone which is a good thing. My bike figures are down but I am in the middle of training and did not have much of a break before the test so I would expect to be a bit tired.

Perhaps more importantly I know for a fact that I am fitter and stronger than when I started and I am confident that everything is moving in the right direction. These tests seem to indicate that I am a lot more efficient at slower speeds which reflects the type of training I have been doing.

Perhaps the next round of testing in a few months really will be the most astonishing results ever and put me in league with the uber-athletes or perhaps, as I suspect, I have a perfectly normal physiology and will have to rely on quality training and will power to get me to Kona.

Sorry this has been such a dry post but I did warn you all with a trigeek rating of 3. For new readers click here for the trigeek ratings.

Its Like Running with your hands by your side – TR** (Part 2)

2008-03-11T10:04:00.009-04:00

………………………… continued from Part 1.

That afternoon I met Holden back at the Cadence facility and he took me to a local pool. The pool that Cadence usually uses was closed that weekend so Holden took me to a local high school pool. Apparently the regular pool is really impressive but I was more than pleased with the high school pool. The idea of a secondary school in the UK having such an impressive pool was completely alien to me.

I got changed and then sat on the bench while Holden revealed to me the secret of great swimming. Now I am not sure whether I should share this or not because I don’t want to get to Lake Placid and miss a qualifying slot because someone has read my blog and learnt the secret to great swimming. Therefore if you have read this and finish ahead of me in my age group at Lake Placid I would be very grateful if you would decline your Kona slot – thanks for your understanding :-).

So the secret to great swimming is efficiency of effort. I know everyone thinks they know that already but there is a bit a more to it. Holden talked about fluid dynamics and the more energy you expend pushing against the water the more resistance you will have coming back at you. Therefore you want to get through the water without fighting against it. Now for me the biggest resistance I was creating came from my legs. Holden was relatively happy with my arm movement – not perfect but good enough. The glaring problem with my stroke is my irregular kick.

'Holden explains how he is going to kick me in the head if I get the drills wrong.'

I start kicking and then every time I take a breath I scissor kick to regain my stability in the water. Going back to the fluid dynamics every time I do this huge scissor kick I create a lot of resistance in the water and slow myself down. My coach does not want to try and reinvent my stroke this close to the racing season as it would more than likely be counter-productive but I can make a lot of progress if I can coordinate my kick. He showed me a few drills which involve me establishing a steady kicking rhythm, from the hips, and then trying to windmill my arms (not pulling, just rotating them) without disturbing my kicking rhythm.

The importance of a good kick cannot be overemphasized. I must admit I was one of those people that believed you didn’t need to kick during a Triathlon swim and you were better off saving your legs for the bike and run. When I finally decided to start improving my kick I thought it was all about using my legs to provide propulsion through the water. I was completely off track and the analogy Holden used was that you wouldn’t try and run with your arms locked by your side and similarly you shouldn’t try and swim without using your legs. I do not need to develop a kick to power me through the water, although if I was competitive swimmer in the pool I certainly would, but instead I need to develop a kick which will hold me steady in the water and stop me fighting against the water unnecessarily. From there everything else should naturally fall into place in terms of breathing and body rotation.

Holden went on to explain how I should be whipping my legs to create the kick and explained some other body dynamics but the broad theories he was selling me seemed to make total sense and I really feel like I can make a significant breakthrough with my stroke with minimal effort. I was pleased to find out that the rest of my stroke is not too bad and that I have the in water conditioning I will need and only need to really work on technique.

That evening Wendy and I went out in a storm hit Philly city center and had a dinner at a great little restaurant near 2nd St Station. It was called the Continental Martini Bar and the food was delivered to the table tapas style. We had a lobster mashed potato dish, chicken satay dish and a humus dip and it was all top rate food and highly recommended.

The following day I was back at Cadence for another blood lactate threshold test, this time on the treadmill.

On the way to the store Wendy and I stopped at the Art Museum to get the obligatory Rocky photos. It was fun to see a bus load of kids get dumped at the bottom of the steps by coach and then run up and down before being shepherded back onto their coach. One of the little boys even had a pair of boxing gloves on.

Holden was busy so the test was taken by Colin Sandberg who did my bike fitting last year. Colin is about to embark on his first full season as a Cat 1 racer and he is looking super lean in comparison to when I saw him last year and I believe he now has some ridiculously high power to weight ratio.

The test is exactly the same as for the bike test but instead of increasing wattage the tester increases the speed of the treadmill. Colin explained that it is a little more important to start the run a little bit closer your lactate threshold than is necessary on the bike as you do not want the test running too long, as running is a load bearing sport and you tire more quickly. I warmed up and then Colin started me off at 9.1 mph. I had clearly fooled him into thinking I was faster than I am with my marathon tales and snazzy running gear as I was almost immediately over my LT threshold. We stopped the test and started over when my body had returned to a lactate level well below the test base line threshold of 4.0. This time I started slower and we fell into the familiar 3 min blood sample, pin prick routine.

Colin computed my results that lunch time and Holden is going to send me my bike test results by email. I won’t comment on them now as I think it is probably worth doing a separate post.

The last thing I did before leaving the store was say hi to Brian Walton. He is Cadence’s VP of Performance and is a former Canadian professional road and track cyclist who has been inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame. He has raced professionally for teams 7-Eleven, Motorola, and Saturn and he is an Olympic Silver medalist, not to mention a winner of the Milk Race (aka Tour of Britain). He normally leads out the Cadence group ride on Saturday morning and I was really looking forward to the opportunity to ride with him but I am sure there will be another opportunity. I also believe he is the only person I know who has their own Wikipedia page (if you look it up he is Brian Walton Cyclist not the 17 Century Bishop of Chester in case there was any confusion). Before I left he put me in contact with a Cat 1 racer here in DC who has sent me information on some local group rides. It would probably be really good for my cycling if I tried to stay with a few of these faster group rides with more experienced cyclists.

As I left I collected my bike which the mechanics had very kindly been working on. Everything is now nice and tight again and the rattles from the slightly misaligned group set have now gone, many thanks Woody.

So all in all a great weekend was had by all but I hope to never have such an awful drive up as we did on Friday. I learnt a hell of a lot and I am really pleased with my swim session and feel like I have a way forward which I can now practice on my own in the pool. It was great to see all the staff again most of whom I had not seen since the selection weekend in November. As I said in my first post way back when everyone there is super friendly but more importantly very, very knowledgeable and the store is well worth checking out if you are after high end coaching or equipment.

Bonus Post - Its Christmas all over again in North Virginia

2008-03-10T17:51:00.021-04:00

Today I came home to find a large box had been delivered from Cadence which contained all of the other sponsorship gear.

It was like Christmas all over again. Its always exciting when you receive new tri gear through the mail but to have all of this wonderful gear arrive in one go was absolute heaven. As I was going to try it all on anyway I thought I might as well post some pictures of the gear and yes I do know that I look like an idiot.

In no particular order the box contained:

Zoot Ultra Running Shoes

LAS Squalo Helmet

LAS Cronometro Helmet

"I am the law"

I reckon you need to be fairly quick before you turn up to a race wearing a helmet like this - no pressure.

Sidi T2 Shoes

Zoot Zenit Wetsuit

Enervit Nutrition

I really hope I like the taste.

I will do some amateur equipment reviews over the next couple of weeks. In the meantime a big thank you to all the sponsors for such a great ensemble of kit.

Its Like Running with your hands by your side - TR** (Part 1)

2008-03-10T14:22:00.005-04:00

I am back in D.C. following my weekend excursion to Philadelphia to see my coach and visit the Cadence Cycling and Multisport Center in Manayunk just outside of Philly.

It turned out to be a great weekend there were highs, there were lows, there were tears and there was laughter (I might be over-egging it a bit but it wasn’t all plain sailing).

Wendy and I left D.C. at about 2.30pm hoping to beat some of the traffic but unfortunately that was a very naïve plan and we joined all the other cars parked on the Beltway. Eventually we managed to get onto the 95 heading North but by now it had started to rain. I know the UK has been hit by storms but over here everything is bigger including the weather systems and for the entire journey there was torrential rain and heavy traffic. We finally arrived at Philadelphia around 7.00pm. We crawled through to the city center and it turned out the very heavy traffic was due to the world’s largest flower show.

We found the hotel car park and as I went in I hit the bar which marked the maximum clearance. There was no way I was going to be able to reverse out of the carpark and I don’t know where else I could have parked so I carried on driving in. I tried to remove my bike rack but to take the base off you need a special allen key which was at home. I took off what I could and squeezed into one of the really tiny parking spaces. When we tried to check in they had no record of the reservation and it turned out that I had bought a room through priceline for the 8th of Feb rather than the 8th Mar. The manager was a nice guy but he was full (worlds biggest flower show) he gave me details of another hotel but it was going to cost well over twice what I had already paid through priceline.

After scraping my way out of the car park (which cost $10 for just over 30 min) we decided to head out of the city as all the hotels were full (world biggest flower show). It was now about 8.30pm and after a call to Holden and a suggestion from his girlfriend we found ourselves driving away from the city desperately looking for a room. We eventually came across a Marriott which was reasonably priced and checked in. After again banging my roof rack getting into another low roofed car park we ordered room service and passed out for the night.

The following day I had 3 options:

1. Join the 3.5 hour group ride leaving from Cadence at 0900.
2. Join Holden’s Tri class doing a track workout at 0830.
3. Arrive at Cadence fresh at 1000 for a Lactate Threshold test on the bike.

Looking out of the hotel window the skies were still very dark and there was a second wave of torrential rain forecast for later that morning. I thought the group ride would be a wash out and opted for the LT test. When I met Holden at the store I still wasn’t certain what form the test would take. It could have been a field test test similar to the one in New York during the selection weekend when you have to go b##ls out for 20 mins or it could be a blood lactate threshold test were you only have to go hard enough to get your blood lactate up over its threshold and then you can stop. Mercifully it turned out to be the second type of test and I knew that my breakfast would remain safely in my stomach.

The test was very civilized. I warmed up gently on the trainer whilst they showed 2007’s Tour of California on the big screen. An added bonus was that I was dry and warm and I could look out of the window and watch the rain coming down in sheets. Holden then set up the wattage, I think we started at about 125 and I simply had to maintain 90-95 rpm. 4 minutes later we jumped up 50 watts and then every 3 minutes thereafter another 25 watts. Just before each wattage increase I would have to say how hard I thought I was working and Holden would measure the lactate in my blood (they make a pin prick sized hole in your finger using a special mini torture machine). I think the test stopped at around 250 watts by which time my body was producing lactate that it was unable to flush from my system.

Lactic Acid is not a bad thing as I once assumed. It is a natural byproduct of energy production and is actually used as a source of energy in its own right with a large proportion of Lactic Acid being converted to glucose. You are always producing Lactic Acid and this is useful during aerobic exercise. However when you reach your Lactic threshold, in other words you start to exercise anaerobically, your muscles produce more Lactic Acid than your system can deal with and the lactic acid starts to flood into your blood which in turn interferes with your bodies ability to transport oxygen to the muscles and can rapidly cause the onset of fatigue. In theory if your muscles are able and you have the right amount of nutrition you should be able to exercise under your Lactate Threshold indefinitely.

The test over I grabbed a shower in Cadence’s changing room and found they even supply posh shower cream, rosemary and mint, before arranging to meet Holden back at the store that afternoon so that he could take me for a swim. I also had the chance to say hello to Matt Heitmann, one of the co-founders of Cadence Cycling and Multisports Center, who I had not seen since the Cadence Kona Challenge Weekend in New York. I said hi to some of the other coaches including Todd, a retired Army Officer and Pro –triathlete, who was just joining the company when I met him last year.

If you are ever at the store in Philly you should try Le Bus across the road for lunch or a late breakfast. I had the 6 grain pancakes with banana and walnut and they were very excellent.

Still to come in part 2:

The secret to great swimming revealed.
The meaning of the cryptic Blog title.
More Lactate threshold testing this time on the treadmill.

To be continued ……………………..

That was the week that was.

2008-03-06T20:25:00.008-05:00

Sorry it has been a while since I have posted. To be perfectly honest if I am not at work, training or asleep I am struggling to stay awake. So what has happened since I last posted:

Positives:

I have had my teeth cleaned. Americans have a different approach to dental care compared to our own NHS and last week was the first time in my life that my teeth have had a thorough cleaning. I am amazed, it has been so long since they have been this colour I have completely forgotten what they were supposed to look like.

I found out I have been selected for promotion with an effective date of the 1st Oct 08 just in time for Kona.

I saw Sam McGlone's Fizik advert in Triathlete Magazine and although it is a great looking advert it shows a side of Sam that didn't come accross when I met her at the Cadence Kona Challenge selection weekend (she seemed like such a nice, genteel, Canadian lady). I am waiting to see if Scott my fellow challengee and also a nice Canadian goes for a similar tattooClick here to see the advert.

I got to watch the last two episodes of the wire which I had recorded - by far the best show on TV at the moment.

I caught the sun on my neck and face.

I completed the first week of this base phase.

The last bullet may seem like a small one but it is a minor victory. The week started with an hours recovery ride and 1 hour endurance run on Monday. Tuesday was a 2 hour bike ride with 3 overgear/fast cadence intervals and 3 lactate threshold/super lactate threshold/sub lactate threshold intervals. Last time I tried to do this I could not mantain the intervals but this time I completed the workout. Wednesday was a 1.5 hour endurance run and 30 mins strength training. Thursday a recovery swim, 50 min run and weights session. Friday a day off and Saturday a 3 hour ride. The week finished on Sunday with a 1 hour pyramid swim and then a 2 hour bike, run, bike, run brick workout. Holden told me to let the reigns out on the run and up the speed and I took him at face value. I ran hard for the first 30 minutes run, really shook the cobwebs out and used parts of my lungs I have not used for a really long time.

It was a big week but more importantly I was able to cope with it. I am sure if I was faced with this week a couple of months ago I would not have completed all the workouts. I think the marathon was bit of a breakthrough session for me and I am feeling really good after marathon recovery week.

This week I am doing the same sessions as last week but all the runs are that little bit longer.

On the negative side:

I got sunburnt on my neck and face.

I had a flat on last weekends ride. It was my first for a long time and I used CO2 inflators for the first time. I wasted the first one but managed to use the second one correctly and complete the ride.

I looked at my Shimano Ultegra pedals and cleats and realised that they had seen better days. There is a line on the cleats, similar to car tyres, which indicates when they are worn out. The plastic panel on the pedals was also worn and I had started to wear away at the metal of the pedals. I have replaced them with this years sexy looking shimano dura ace pedals (had to go out and buy an 8mm allen key to fit them). The new pedals look great and the plastic piece has been replaced by a tougher metal piece. They are also wider than the older pedals to help transfer power to the cranks.

When I changed my tube on last Saturdays ride I also noticed that after 10 months of hard use my Hutchinson Fusion tyres needed replacing aswell. I got hold of another set of Hutchinson Fusion Discovery team tyres cheap from Performance Bikes but when I fitted them I managed to burst my inner tubes. No matter how many times I change the tyre I always struggle to get the tube to sit properly within the trye without getting it pinched against the rim - any suggestions?

This weekend Wendy and I are going to Philly for the weekend. I am going to join the Cadence group ride from their store just outside the city and hopefully get to swim under the watchful eye of my coach Holden. On Sunday I am going to have another set of Lactate Threshold testing which will be interesting.

I look forward to letting you know how I get on.

Finally I would like to say hi to any one from Sutton Coldfield or Josiah Mason College and thank you for visiting. It turns out that my dad has been talking about the competition with his ILEX students and some of them have been good enough to check out my Blog.

Facebook for Fitties - Athlinks.com

2008-02-24T16:37:00.004-05:00

I have added a link to my athlink.com profile under my links.

Athlinks.com is great place to keep track of you race results. When you enter your name it will generate those races where your name appears in the results and you can then claim those results for your profile.

You can also include other members as your friends so that you have a link to their profile and results. Athlinks also looks for other people who have raced in some of the same races as you and lists them as rivals (I think they need to be in 3 of the same races as you). I have not yet edited my rivals so these are the default names Athlinks selected as my rivals.

There are a lot of other things you can do e.g. race reports, gear reviews etc. I have not bothered with any of these features yet but know that I have a one stop shop if I want to compare my race results. Please feel free to request me as a friend if you join or are an existing member and let me know that you have seen my blog.

This week has been very quiet and was strictly a recovery week following the marathon. I have had 3 days off, 2 gentle swims, 2 recovery bike rides and a 30 minute light run. Holden has just posted my program for the next 3 weeks and the gloves are well and truly off.

I am back to the grindstone tomorrow with an hour on the bike and a 1hr 15min run. Tuesday is a 2 hour bike with overgear and lactate threshold intervals. Wednesday is 1hr 45min run and some core strength work. Thursday a swim, 50 min run and weights session. Friday day off - thank goodness. Sat a long bike starting at 3 hours this week then 4hrs then 5hrs. Sunday is a swim and then 2 hours of Bike-Run bricks. Bricks are one discipline followed immediately by another, similar to race conditions.

I am tired just reading this program but I am on a high following the marathon. Having proof that the training is working so well really makes it easier to throw myself back into this base training.

As a final note I wanted to say well done to the Brits in the Tour of California. David Millar (picture is of the Slipstream-Chipotle dog - Millar's team, not the man himself) has had a great week and is currently in second place (I am just about to watch the highlights of the final day) and yesterday he made a very brave breakaway with only 3 miles to go which very nearly paid off. Another Brit, Mark Cavendish, took the sprint to the line having crashed only a few miles before the finish. Turns out he cheated a little bit but the point is he showed his world class abilities and having had very few successful Brit Cyclists to follow on the pro tour in recent years it is good to see GBR up there on the leader board.

I have really enjoyed watching the race and have even watched a couple of legs whilst on my trainer, almost as if I were in the race except the peleton was doing 25mph+ whilst I was probably doing about a 14mph pace at best. But with bike racing on the TV it must mean that my own race season will soon be on.

2008 Myrtle Beach Marathon Race Report - TR*

2008-02-18T08:19:00.018-05:00

My first marathon is done and dusted and I am pleased to report that it all went according to plan. Despite my apprehension that in training I had not done any runs longer than about 11.5 miles my fears were unfounded.

As soon as I can figure out how to publish documents to the domain that comes with my email account I will publish some much longer race reports and link them to this blog. In the meantime here is my Race Report for the Myrtle Beach Marathon:

We set out early on Friday morning to drive the 445 miles to Myrtle Beach and picked up 2 other TeamZ members, Kitty and Sebastian, who were also running the Marathon. The drive down was fairly uneventful and we arrived at MB at around 5pm. We checked into the hotel and went to the race expo to pick up the race packet and t-shirt. After grabbing dinner at a great grill joint and a couple of beers I was in bed for 9pm watching Heartbreak Ridge until I fell asleep at about 10pm.

Alarm went off at 4.15am, breakfast started at 4.30 and we were on a bus to the start line at 5.15am. The outside temperature was actually very mild and probably in the mid to high 40s. This was a huge relief as last year at the start the temp was down in the 20s and the runners were desperately huddled together for warmth waiting for the starting gun. I lined up with Chris, Sebastian, Annie and Stacey and we placed ourselves halfway between the 3.30 and 4.00 pace signs. We were all aiming to run 8.30 min/miles which would give us a finish of 3:45. Holden had advised me to stick to 8.30s until at least the 10 mile point and then pick up the pace slightly after that if I was feeling OK.

The gun went off at 6.30am but I didn't get across the start line for another minute or two (the time I am quoting is my chip time - time from crossing the start line until crossing the finishing line; rather than gun time which is time from starting gun until crossing the finishing line). We spent the next 3 miles weaving our way around the 100s and 100s of people who had clearly ignored the pace signs and lined up as close to the start as possible regardless of their actual ability.

I was feeling great and my heart rate was a steady 150 bpm, smack in the middle of zone 3 and about 89% of Lactate Threshold Heart Rate (LT HR). I heeded the warnings about going too fast and tried to keep my heart rate steady. For the first 10 miles I was pretty rubbish at keeping track of my pacing. I didn't see the first few mile markers and at about 6 or 7 miles I stopped my stop watch by mistake instead of hitting the lap button. Chris was running with a Garmin and we tried taking pace off that but I think it may of been reading a little fast. At about the 7 or 8 mile point I was still feeling strong and I started to pull away from the others.

The next 10 miles where pretty uneventful. The roads were very, very long and straight and the sea view was blocked most of the way by hotels. The weather was ideal with temps in the mid 50s but cloud cover keeping the sun off us most of the time. I was surrounded by other runners but most of them were wearing green numbers which marked them out as half marathon runners. When we came back to the start finish area we lost the half marathon runners and it seemed to get very quiet. There were far less people around me and those of us left knew we were only half way around. I passed the 13.1 mile point at about 1:50:00 which meant the first half had been an average of 8:23 min/miles. This was a little faster than planned but I still felt good. Wendy and the Team Z support tent was just past the half way point so I grabbed a couple more Gu's and bid them farewell.

The 8:23 pace is slightly inaccurate as I was probably running sub 8:20s but I went to the loo (No.1) 2 or 3 times which slowed me down a bit. As I still felt good I let my heart rate rise to about 155 bpm. When I got to mile 17 I was fully expecting to bonk and even started to wait for it. By mile 18 or 19 I realised that I was not going to hit the wall but it was still by far the lowest part of my marathon. I started to feel real tightness in my calfs and I had a sharp pain in my right hip flexor. For a few minutes I started to question my ability to maintain my pace and finish in a good time. Mile 19-20 was my slowest mile overall but after I passed the 20 mile timing mat I managed to get my head together.

I passed the 20 mile point at 2:49:00 and when I saw a middle aged bloke overtaking me I decided that I would stick with him otherwise I was going to throw away my good finish. Before I knew it the pain I was feeling disappeared, I picked up my cadence and got my groove back. I put my head down and didn't really look up again until the finish. As I picked up the pace the guy I was following started to drop off and I started to pass more and more people which really got me going. Brian, one of the assistant coaches with Team Z, was waiting at about mile 23 and we ran the last 3 miles together. I crossed the line at 3:38:07 which meant that the last 6.2 miles had taken me 49 mins which is a very satisfying pace of 7:54 min/miles (N.B. no toilet stops in the last 6 miles). That puts me in 296th place out of the 1686 who finished and 31st in my age group. For results click here.

I felt good after the run. I downed my recovery drink and hit the beer tent. Team Z had the grill going so I had a burger and watched the other runners come in. The sun was now out and it was a very pleasant morning. The race was very well organized and put together. The amount and quality of volunteers manning the aid stations was
really very impressive.

Overall I really enjoyed the run. The race went like clockwork. I knew that at some point I would have a low but luckily it only lasted 10-15 mins for me. Perhaps the most reassuring aspect is that although I am a little stiff in my thighs today I feel pretty good overall and I know that the first half of the marathon was run at a conservative pace and I do have more in the tank for Lake Placid.

Big thanks to my Cadence Coach, Holden, who told me how to run the race and has already done great work in preparing my CV system in preparation for IronMan. His confidence in my ability to complete the marathon as planned was very reassuring and I am really looking forward to the racing season ahead.

As a first timer if I had any advice to my fellow newbies they would be:

Get everywhere early - do not be rushing.

Have a plan - stick to it.

If you know your heart rate zones - listen to them.

Start conservative and go for the negative split - it is really motivating to start passing people and will help you finish strong.

Ice bath and compression socks after race will probably help you recover - I am not as bad as those in the video.

Enjoy it - you probably will hurt at some point (sorry Derek) - accept it - get over it and then keep going.

Oh and the Jacuzzi was fantastic.

P.S. Completing a Marathon was very satisfying but not as much fun as a Triathlon.

Myrtle Beach Marathon - Not a day at the 'C'-side, but must 'B' sensible and not 'A' hot-head - TR*

2008-02-11T17:23:00.001-05:00

'A','B' and 'C' races what do they really mean.

I think I have mentioned in an earlier Blog what is meant by an 'A', 'B' and 'C' race within a periodized training program. To reiterate an 'A' race is a key race in your program which you have specifically trained and tapered for, a 'B' race is an important race although you have not specifically trained for it and may or may not have tapered for and a 'C' race is a race which you are not overly concerned about and certainly have not trained specifically for.

A good example of the difference between an 'A' and a 'B' race can be seen in the difference between my preparations for the Myrtle Beach Marathon, for me a 'B' race, and those of my TeamZ teammates for whom it is an 'A' race. Although my teammates continue to follow a triathlon training plan including swimming and cycling they have been focusing on longer and longer runs building to around 18-20 miles. This allows the body to get used to the feeling of using up all of your glycogen stores which will happen at roughly about the 18 mile point.

I on the other hand have not had a run longer than about 11.5 miles. I was a little concerned about this but I have spoken to Holden and he has reassured me that the base fitness level I have acquired through cycling and running volume will hold me in good stead. He has warned me that I will most likely hit the wall and that it will hurt - thanks!! but the point is this is not a key race for me and as such I have not followed a traditional marathon training schedule.

There is of course an element of 'expectation management' associated with my race. I have to admit on my longer runs when the endorphins were flowing I would let my mind wonder and dream about finishing the marathon in some astonishing time and taking my place on the podium. Of course when the endorphin high runs out I can accept that this is a fantasy, in reality I dream of being fairly quick in each of the three disciplines making me a good solid triathlete overall.

With this Marathon I was starting to lose track of the fact that it was a 'B' race. My boss is a keen runner and has a PB of about 3:26 and I have a friend back in the UK who is hoping to post a good time at the London Marathon. I started to think to myself "you are in the best shape of your life at the moment you can run a pretty quick time here". I enjoy friendly competition and started to wonder whether I could run a sub 3:30 marathon. Having talked it out with Holden I need to be more realistic and the plan is to set out at a fairly steady 8.30 min/mile. If I can hold this pace I should finish in around 3:45. If I am feeling good after 10 miles or so I can try picking the pace up a little and ideally I will run a negative split.

Therefore putting my neck on the line I am aiming for a 3:45 marathon or better. This is still a good time and having never run this distance before I would be very happy to finish in that time. I think my biggest problem will be coping with the aches and pains that running that far will create and I hope that the new trainers are not too uncomfortable. Although they are the same brand the GT 2130s do feel different to the GT 2120s. The real key to this race is to make sure that I stick to the plan and run a sensible race. I must not get caught up in the occassion and go out too quickly as I am simply unprerpared to 'race' a marathon. To quote Marsellus Wallace "That's pride fooling with you. Forget pride. Pride only hurts, it never helps." (maybe not an exact quote but this is a PG webpage). We will find out soon enough.

Meet my Coach - Holden Comeau

2008-02-11T16:57:00.000-05:00

I thought I would take the opportunity to introduce my coach or more accurately let my coach introduce himself. Following the selection weekend in New York we were all assigned a coach from the Cadence Cycling & Multisport Staff and I was lucky enough to be assigned Holden. I actually had the opportunity to meet him before I knew he was my coach as he ran the swim assessment during the Cadence Kona Challenge selection weekend. Whether the fact that he swims like a fish and that I swim like a dog has something to do with the assignment I do not know. Here is Holden.....

"I'm a second year Pro Triathlete and still relatively new to the sport, having spent a successful career as a competitive swimmer. At the culmination of my swimming career I held international rankings in the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle. I was a Big Ten Conference Champion, and made two trips to NCAA Championships. As a pro triathlete, I haven't done enough!!! I am beginning my fourth year in the sport, and I have consciously focused most of my attention - until now - on learning the techniques and training methodologies that I believe are essential for success. If an athlete can understand how his body "works" in order to perform a specific sport, it's amazing how many different things can be manipulated in order to train successfully. It was exactly this focus which has also led me to coaching, where I find tremendous satisfaction in helping other athletes come to find all of the things that I think are so interesting and valuable. As for Cadence...I've been an athlete for much of my life, and until I came to work here at Cadence, I hadn't found a coaching organization that was equally as passionate and qualified. That passion is the assumption we work under, and it gives us the freedom and support we need to be wonderful coaches".

Holden

On the Cadence website his bio explains he had the fastest swim split in every race he entered in 2005 and in 2006 he placed 11th overall in the USAT National Championships, finished 4th overall in the NYC Triathlon and was the winner of the Might Montauk and Pine Barrens triathlons. Quite an impressive resume I am sure you will agree and he is a nice guy to boot.

Empire Builders and the Myrtle Beach Marathon - TR*

2008-02-06T14:17:00.000-05:00

As a young, 19 year old Midshipman I found myself serving in HMS Nottingham during which time I had two memorable deployments. The first included visits to Spain, Portugal, Madeira, Tenerife, Mauritania and Morroco before we returned to the UK for a quick touch up of paint and store-ship before setting sail for the West Indies. It was a hard life which revolved mainly around me and the other young officers onboard building ornate fountains on the forecastle for the inevitable cocktail party on the first night of arrival in each port.

I vividly remember leaving the ship and flying back from Peurto Rico just before Christmas. At that time the Royal Navy had a little bit more money and I was flown club class on British Airways. As you might imagine at 19 having just toured a number of wonderfully exotic ports before flying back to see my family at Christmas, sipping champagne all the way, I thought the Navy was great!!

Whilst I was deployed to those sunny climes I would wear the uniform in the top right, or is that left, hand picture. As you can see by any modern standards you look a bit of a 'dork' in that getup, mainly due to the knee high socks which were effectionately refered to as Empire Builders. But it did mean that I acquired that peculiarily British trait of being able to feel no embarassment when dressed as an idiot and I now feel able to cope with the inevitable ridicule that will follow my purchase of a pair of Oxysox.

Oxysox are compression socks which cover your calf and something similar has been sported by Paula Radcliffe for some time and could be seen on Sindballe at the 2007 Kona Ironman. The 'claim' is that they increase VO2 max by increasing the blood flow to your core aswell as reducing swelling and fatigue in your legs. They are also meant to speed recovery following a long workout.

There is plenty of anectodatal evidence that these socks work but little in the way of hard proof. I figure that it cannot do any harm to try them out and apart from the p#sstaking that may be thrown my way I have nothing to lose. I am hoping they arrive by Saturday so that I can try them on a longer run before the marathon. If not I may not wear them at Myrtle beach either out of because I do actually get embarrassed, despite my claims, or because I haven't tried them out. Worst case I can always wear them after the race (under some trousers) to aid in recovery and reduce swelling.

I will let you know afterward if they did anything for me. I have also had to buy a new pair of trainers as my old ones are finished and the Zoot trainers are not here yet. I nearly always go for Asic GT 2100's as they do a wide fitting. I bought a pair of Adidas Cushion 6 before Christmas and although they are really comfortable I cannot run longer than an hour in them as they are a fraction too narrow. Asics on the other hand do 2E and 4E wide fittings. I have just replaced my GT 2120s 2E with a pair of GT 2130 4E. The 2120s were a little stiff but fitted very well and although the 2130 4e feel bigger than I expected I am hoping they will be just as comfortable.

As a forefoot striker I find there are very few shoes designed for my style of running, most have heavy padding on the heel for heel strikers. The adidas were pretty good and Newton do a pair of trainers designed for forefoot/midfoot strikers but they are pretty expensive and take some getting used to. The Zoot shoes sound really interesting but in the meantime I will make do with Asics and the unecessary padding in the heel. I also struggle to get lighter shoes in wide fittings even Asics, as far as I am aware, do not do their DS trainer, similar to GTs but lighter, in the wide fitting. Serves me right for having freakish feet, very wide with a really high instep and one foot is a size bigger than the other - yes I have hobbit feet.

The Royal Navy are going back to Hawaii

2008-02-05T17:49:00.000-05:00

230 years after Captain James Cook first made landfall in the Hawaiian islands and 229 years after his rather less successful return to the Big Island the Royal Navy will once again be stepping foot on the Island of Hawaii. Wendy and I will be at the Ironman World Championships one way or another.

I have not managed to find some back door route to qualification but instead we have made a rather exciting decision. Wendy has wanted to visit Hawaii for many, many years and has raised the possibility of going there on holiday long before my interest in Triathlon and my subsequent desire to qualify for the World Championships. In all honesty I was always put off by the expense and distances involved and used to fob her off with lame excuses. With this exchange posting to the States we are over 3000 miles closer to the Hawaiian Islands than we were in the UK and we have decided just to go ahead and rent a holiday home for a week over the World Champs.

As far as I am concerned it is a win win situation. If I can pull it off and qualify for the World Champs I will have family with me to share in the experience. If I fail to qualify we can have a once in a lifetime style holiday and watch one of the greatest sporting spectacles in the world (I also get to score points with my wife which I can bank for subsequent holidays).

I cannot help but feel like things are beginning to gather pace. I am really excited about the trip to Hawaii, even if it is not until October, and the season will be kicking off very soon. The marathon is only a week and a half away and I am already starting to think about what I will need for my first Triathlon of the season.

I am also really excited about the new kit that should be arriving soon. Zoot have apparently mailed our new shoes and they do not even go on general sale until March and I think the LAS helmets are close to being mailed. I feel like a kid in a sweet shop and will post some pictures as soon as the gear arrives.

I also promise to try not to upset anyone when we get to Hawaii as apparantly there is some controversy over what might have happened to Cook after his death. All controversy aside if anyone does want to eat me please bear in mind that by October I will most likely not have too much in the way of body fat and will not make a good roast.

Proof Positive of Progress during Picture Perfect Potomac Pedal

2008-02-03T16:43:00.000-05:00

Today's ride was an absolute corker/awesome. It was only a short drive to the start at Glen Echo on the far side of the Potomac and the route took in roads that I have cycled many times but today was the best ride I have had in a long time.

My program has not tied in with my Tri Teams for a month or so so it was good to link/hook back up with some old faces for today's ride. We rolled out of the car park/parking lot just before 10am, a later start than normal but it gave time for the sun to come out and start to warm us up. Even so it was a nippy 35 degrees as we started out and I was glad of my toe warmers and booties.

Team Z's coach, Ed, had advised all those that are running Myrtle Beach marathon to take it easy and for the first 10-15 minutes the pace of the peleton was very relaxed. Holden, my Cadence Coach had me down for a 3 hour endurance ride and as I was below my endurance zone I decided I needed to up the pace and went to the front of the group. As I pushed myself up into my endurance zone I started to ride off the front of the peleton and when I looked back I found that no one was going to come with me.

I normally like to ride with others so that you can chew the fat and help while away the miles but today, on my own for the entire 3 hours, I was just lost in the beauty of the countryside, admiring some of the amazing mansions and basking in the wonderful spring sunshine (as I write this I can still feel heat in my face and my nose has caught a bit of sun). The gloomy rides on the trainer dissapeared from my mind and it will not be long until I can start riding weekday evenings in the daylight.

Even more pleasing was my physioligical performance during the ride which has given me my first real indication that I am making progress. The only problem with following a periodized program is that if you follow it properly the only proof of your progress is when you peak for your primary race. During your training rides you are always a little tired and should not be capable of giving your best.

Because I haven't been for a long cycle for a couple of weeks I was actually a little more recovered than perhaps I should of been. The route was not flat and there were quite a few rolling hills but even so my average heart rate for the 3 hours was 142. To put that into perspective for me my VO2 max last year put my Endurance Zone at 143-150 bpm. Today I rode off the front (no drafting), on a hilly route, feeling very comfortable and still kept my average heart rate in last year's recovery zone.

Indecent Exposure

2008-02-01T10:00:00.001-05:00

If you look closely at the picture you will see that the butt belongs to David, not me, but the image is there to highlight a problem which regularly rears its ugly head for triathletes.

We as a community do not fanny (one for the Americans) about when it comes to swimming. I personally do about 2-3 hours a week in the pool at the moment and if you look at Randy's blog you will see that he swam over 40,000 yards last month. Swimming pools are full of chlorine and other particulates that attack our swim suits. This 'attack' does not result in holes in the material or a breakdown in stitching but instead it thins the material to such an extent that it becomes transparent which can be a bummer for other pool users.

It seems like only yesterday that I bought a new pair of swimming trunks but it was in fact the tail end of last year. I tend to go to swimoutlet.com online and order a semi-decent pair that are on sale. I used to think that the more expensive suits e.g. speedo fastskin, TYR aqua shift lasted longer but now I am not so sure that that isn't a load of arse. For the latest technical suits manufacturers have the cheek to charge over a $100 a pair for swimming trunks which will apparently do everything but kick for you, but even the cheaper, highstreet jammers retail for nearly $50.

I currently have a pair of TYR aqua shift which, although I was originally over the moon with, have very suddenly thinned on me to such an extent that I am suprised I wasn't kicked out of the pool by the seat of my pants yesterday. I had noticed that they were thinning where the inseam meets the crotch but I thought I had a little time left. What I had failed to appreciate is that higher up the back of the suit where my buttocks meet there was a nice mug sized see-through patch.

Bottom line, and something I was not aware of before, is that all triathletes need to check their suits regularly and be prepared to buy a new pair with the same sort of periodicity as they would replace running shoes, if not more often. This also applies to race shorts as I have seen several blokes (unfortunately this affliction seems to only effect male triathletes) on race day wearing the same trusty pair of race shorts that they have raced in all year proudly displaying their bare rear end to anyone unfortunate to be stuck behind them. If anything the problem is exacerbated with tri shorts as they are prone to saddle rub in addition to swim rub.

As an aside whilst writing this post I have come to realise that the Americans have a whole bunch of words for buttocks that the British don't e.g. can, fanny (means something completely different in the UK), duff, heinie, keister, tuchis and tush. It is great to see that this foreign exchange program is going such a long way to broaden my knowledge base.

Suunto Footpod

2008-01-30T10:41:00.001-05:00

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

2008-01-28T18:10:00.000-05:00

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*

2008-01-18T18:30:00.002-05:00

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

2008-01-11T17:32:00.000-05:00

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

2008-01-09T20:58:00.001-05:00

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*

2008-01-09T19:37:00.000-05:00

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

2008-01-06T08:34:00.000-05:00

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".

Canadian Winter - 1; Triathlete - 0

2007-12-29T18:54:00.000-05:00

Wendy and I are back from our Christmas holiday in Toronto where we stayed with my Aunt and Uncle and we had a wonderful Christmas dinner with my cousins.

The photo was taken on Christmas day at an Ice Rink on the edge of Lake Ontario and by the way my wife is not that short I just happen to be wearing ice skates.

Not long after the photo was taken I started to get a headache and by the time I went to bed I was sweating and shivering and had a dreadful nights sleep. Luckily this week was a recovery week but after the run on Christmas Eve I have not felt upto exercising until today when I picked up my program with a 2hr cycle, yoga and a recovery run.

There is an advert on Canadian TV at the moment where there is a rather serious looking woman who has a stinking cold but she declares that if you think that will stop her training you don't know her. You then see the lady powering out some lengths in the pool having taken whatever cold remedy is being advertised. This to me seems rediculous. Apart from the risk of her spreading her cold to others in her leisure centre everything I have heard, or read, tells me that when you are sick you should not train. It is important to get well before you start adding the extra strain on your body of training. This philosophy seems to have worked as I have only missed a run, cycle and some weights training but I think my cold, or bug, has been seen off and I do not expect any lingering symptoms.

I also have to take my hat off to Scott, my fellow Cadence Kona Challenger, who is faced with many more months of that Canadian winter. Not to mention Kate who has to tend with a Nebraskan winter. Although temperatures in Toronto were not that bad this week when we arrived on Sunday there were 50mph winds and the windchill factor was pretty bad. Whereas I was able to go for a run in shorts this evening, here in Virginia, Scott and Kate must really struggle to get outside at all.

I hope you all had a great Christmas and I will try and post a precis of my 2007 triathlon season over the next few days to mark the end of the year.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-22T22:16:00.000-05:00

I have nearly reached the end of the second base phase. All I have left is a 4 hour bike ride tomorrow morning. The weather is supposed to be pretty poor tomorrow therefore any riding is likely to be on a trainer. The idea of 4 hours on a trainer does not bear thinking about, luckily we will be flying to Toronto tomorrow which drastically reduces the time available for me to sit on the trainer and the coach has told me to fit in whatever I can.

Wendy and I are spending Christmas with relatives of mine in Canada. Christmas week rather conveniently falls on my recovery week and the Coach has amended my program to remove cycling and swimming whilst I am away as finding suitable facilities may be a struggle. I do however have a few runs and looking at Scott's Blog, a fellow Kona Challenger, the weather in Canada is a damn sight colder than here.

This build phase has gone reasonably well. After the second weekend I did find that my calfs became really tight and I had a bit of pain in my right calf (felt like it was bruised). The coach amended my schedule to give me a little extra rest and that seemed to do the trick. Last weekend and particularly this weekend I have had little trouble absorbing the training and although it is still very tiring I am feeling strong. Lesson learned is that sometimes you are better backing off on the training, or in other words run away so that you can fight another day.

The distances and times have gradually increased over this base period. Tuesday's endurance swim has crept up to 2 intervals of 1200m with a 30 second rest in between (with warm up and cool down I am over 3km a swim). The cycling is up to 3 hours on a Saturday and 4 (in theory) on a Sunday. The running has not increased much and remains at 1.5 hours. The busiest day by far is a Saturday. Today I awoke at 7am had a look outside and checked the weather on line. It looked as if the rain was going to hold off so I joined my Tri Team for a 3 hour bike ride (48.4 miles). The ride was actually very pleasant and the weather kind to us. I got home at lunch time had a quick sandwich and then jumped in the bath. It was now past 2pm and I realised that I was going to have to get a move on if I was to fit in my 1.5 hour run and some Yoga before we had to go out for the evening. I went out for my run at 3.15pm (luckily still not raining) and got home for 4.45pm. I did about 25 min Yoga and then helped Wendy get tea ready. We had to leave at 6.00pm to get to the Kennedy Center to watch the Nutcracker (nothing to do with cycling seats).

Amazingly everything worked out and we had a very pleasant evening. I cannot say that I am big fan of ballet but I did enjoy the show. The scenery, costumes and of course the music were great and the dancers were amazingly toned. Some of the audience were very well turned out and there were some very glamorous dresses and coats about. It reminded me of may last swim at the Sports club. It is in a very affluent area and the people here seem to have a great deal of disposable income. A good example was the lady swimming next to me who came out to the poolside not in flip flops but in a pair of Ugg boots.

I will probably not have a chance to post for a few days so I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.