HOT NEWS RACE REPORTS
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Previous years : 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008 - 2009 |
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Sunday 22nd August 2010
Dorset Doddle |
| About 6 months ago a good friend of mine (Ben) asked if I would like to participate in the Dorset Doddle. A 32 mile run/walk/climb/crawl along the coastal path between Weymouth and Dorset. It passed through such places as Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove, Kimmeridge Bay and promised some spectacular views on what should have been a lovely summers day. Imagine my dismay therefore when I woke up Sunday morning to cloud and drizzle. I drove to the finish (Swanage)and boarded the coach to Weymouth at about 7:30. We got dropped off at the start (the clock tower on Weymouth seafront) and as we waited for the 9 am start I looked out to sea I could already see the rain moving toward the coast. We got underway on time and the field immediately split. The event is actually officially a Long Distance Walking Association event so the walkers were at the rear. The runners were off in front and Ben and I were in the middle. Ben is competing in the “Race Across Wales” in a couple of weeks and this was a training “run” for him. As expected the raining started to come down within a couple of miles of the start. The big problem was getting any traction on the muddy, hilly surfaces. We had a bit of a debate as to the best choice of shoes given the conditions. Ben had gone for a bit more comfort with less grip. I had opted for my Inov8 off road shoes which have a lot of tread but little in the way of comfort. It seemed I had made the better choice as Ben repeated slipped over and quickly began to look like he had been wadding through a swamp. The next challenge was visibility as fog moved in. As we staggered up onto the Army ranges from Lulworth visibility was down to about 20m which made navigation a real challenge. Luckily Ben had done the event several times before and knows the route well. From this point the rest of the event can be summed up as mud, rain, mud, rain, mud. Some of the climbs were nearly impassable and many of the cliff top paths were treacherous with s with big drops only a metre away. Running was impossible and even walking quickly was proving quite risky. I had spent all day laughing at Ben falling over so I got my just deserts when at about 28 miles I went into an uncontrollable slide on one of the descents and ended up doing a full somersault into a Gorse bush (I’m still picking the needles out!). As I lay there I knew I wasn’t dead because I could still hear Ben laughing his head off. We finally got to the finish at 6pm, covered in mud, tired but happy to be in one piece. I think I’m going to try and find a event that has a road in it next time! Nigel |
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Sunday 15th August 2010
National Championships, Bedford |
| While Di & I were being the voices of triathlon, commentating at Swanage, Dave travelled to Bedford to compete at the National Championships. Bearing in mind that Dave's A race of the season is the Big Woody ironman distance triathlon in a couple of weeks, here is how he got on. This was my first time racing in the National Championships and my first triathlon on this course although I did some river swimming races here in the 1960's. I arrived in Bedford early on a drizzly and misty Sunday morning to discover that the bike route had been changed due to road works, adding a several right hand turns plus a few kilometres to what is usually a fast course. The swim was a single lap upstream and downstream in a river which was cleanish but full of weed. I was in the fifth wave of a series separated by 5 minute intervals. I got away to a good start and soon found myself weaving between swimmers from the proceeding waves. T1 went smoothly enough and it was out onto greasy but drying roads on the bike. I settled into a steady pace and took the cautious approach of making sure I stayed upright, didn't get lost and safely negotiated the right handers across traffic. Despite my caution as I entered T2 a fellow competitor accidentally ran his handlebars into my hand. This proved surprisingly painful and although it hampered me pulling on shoes helped fire me up for the run. The run was three laps over various bridges around the Bedford riverside park and virtually flat. I found myself running with good cadence and plenty of energy which on reflection probably means I held back too much on the bike. I finished in 2:23:05 and took second place in my age group. Dave |
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Sunday 25th July 2010
Bustinskin Big Swim |
| Here's Dave's day - I can’t match Graham’s heroics at Eton but I had a good day closer to home in Weymouth Bay . 10:00am Sunday morning and there was glorious sunshine at Bowleaze Cove for the second of the Bustinskin Big Swim series. There were two races running concurrently a 1.2 mile and a 2.4 mile with a combined mass start. There was the usual scramble at the start and I was part of the lead group rounding the first buoy comprised of some 1.2 milers in their white caps and 2.4 milers in orange caps. The swim was roughly parallel to the shore out to Preston and back 2 laps for the orange caps and one for the white. Pretty soon the lead swimmers disappeared off across the bay with me and someone on my toes in pursuit. I didn’t know how many of those in front were doing the longer distance but figured I must be in the top four. Swimming conditions were perfect the water was clear and you could clearly see your own shadow on the sandy sea floor. After lap one the orange capped lady swimmer who had been on my toes went past me and together we overtook another orange capped swimmer so I still reckoned I was in the top four although I could no longer see anyone in front of me. As we entered the final 200 metres I overtook the lady swimmer and sprinted up the beach to the finish flag to be greeted by a jubilant Sally who informed me that I had won. So I finished 1st in a respectable 56:50 out of forty odd in the 2.4 mile race my first overall (as opposed to age group) victory for sixteen years! Cheers Dave |
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Sunday 25th July 2010
VO2 triathlon, Dorney Lake |
| Gra's latest race report - After my disappointment at Bala & with such a long gap from that race to The Vitruvian, unlike last year I decided that I needed to fill it with a shorter distance so decided to have a play at the VO two standard distance triathlon at Dorney Lake. Set the alarm for 3:50am as registration opened at 6:30 & my race was due to start at 8:30am so I wanted to make the journey as hassle free & relaxing as possible. You might think that this was in fact too early to leave, but we both found it quite an enjoyable trip. We even managed to throw in a detour through Eton & take the back roads to the lake. The day was cloudy & cool with the occasional breeze around the lake, but the forecast said it would stay dry. When we arrived at the lake, we were quite surprised to find that we were the first car there so we strolled to registration & then racked the bike to prepare for the race. The whole race was based around the lake with the swim being two anti-clockwise laps followed by an eight lap bike course. The run was a two lap out & back course also along the lake. At the sound of the horn I settled pretty quickly into a rhythm & as I was near the front, I found I had clear water for the whole race. Nikki said I came out in 5th position with the lead guy way out in front so the chase was on. T1 went very smoothly & headed off on the bike leg. Again, I found my rhythm & after a few laps found myself in a small group &, as drafting was allowed in this race, took full advantage until the pace slowed down. Nikki later said that I was passing her every 7:30-8mins. Came into T2 in 2nd position & again, had another swift transition into the run, but by this time everything was getting very confusing as there was an overlap with the Sprint race runners so when I crossed the finish line, I didn't really know where I had come. The official results aren't up yet & I didn't have pen & paper to hand to make a note of them at the end of my race, but I can confirm that I won my age group. My overall time was 2:09 something & I think my run was 40:02, but until the results are posted, I can't confirm this. Oh, & by the way, one more thing I forgot to mention: I was the overall winner!!!!! |
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Sunday 25th July 2010
Weekend Review |
| Whilst Di & I were working at the ITU WCS race in Hyde Park some of the athletes were having a great race weekend. Derrick was racing at the Beast of the East triathlon in Wicklow and improved on both his 2009 swim & bike times to record a new PB by over four minutes. Gra went to the VO2 event Dorney Lakes and not only won his age group but won the race overall, recording 2.09.56 for the standard distance triathlon. Dave went down to the Bustinskin Big Weymouth Swim and also took the top step of the podium, winning his age group and the race overall with a 56.50 clocking for the 2.4 mile swim. Congrats to all. |
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Sunday 11th July 2010
Velociraptor Triathlon |
| Nigel had a play at this one. This was described as a "longer than usual sprint event with a challenging bike course". This obviously put lots of people off as when I arrived I found out there were only 50 entrants. Also judging from the bikes racked in transition there weren't too many novices. The 600m swim took place in the Purbeck Sports Centre's 25m pool and consisted of only 2 waves. I was in the first and the swim went without incident. There was a 200m jog to transition and then out on the bike. I had done a reccy of the 20 mile course with Dave about a week ago (thanks Dave!) so I knew what to expect but that didn't stop it being hard work. On the hills I had two thoughts "I wish I had more gears" and " I wonder how slow you can go before you fall off". I finally go back into transition and then started the run on very tired legs. Four and a bit miles later I cross the finish line collected my drink bottle and had a bit of a sit down! All in all this was a great race. Good fun and hard work. Finish time 2:06 |
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Sunday 11 July 2010
New Forest 10 |
| I was viewing this race as part of the long term build up to other events – great thing about it was I was guaranteed a PB as I have never done the event before, never actually done a stand alone 10 miler either. From my training I knew my long runs were around the 11 minute per mile pace, approx. 7 min per k. But this was a race so adding a little pep to the pace I was looking to hold around the 10 minute/mile pace, closer to a 6.35 min/k. So looking for around the 1.40 mark. Equally I thought the race would be a good test of my conditioning as ideally I wanted to show an average heart rate of around the 166 mark, which for me equates to sub 85% maximum heart rate. So race parameters set, I hoped that pre-race hydration strategy would offset the ambient and reflective temperatures of 32-34ºC. Di wanted to get there early, two hours early… There were about 1200 showing on the start list and the race commentator confirmed that about 1000 athletes toed the start line, certainly the first couple of miles were pretty busy. Di & I were in the same area for the first couple of miles; I went through the first mile in a frisky 9.02, second mile was completed under 18.30 as I tried to settle into a rhythm. By this point Di was stretching the elastic and prior to the water station at 2½ miles I need to step off for a quick break, so knew that by the time I got back she’d be off into the distance. My fueling & hydration went well and I settled down, running around the 9.30 mile mark and kept that pretty constant through the first five miles. At the second aid station at five miles I walked through as I intended to take on an energy gel and wanted to ensure I had enough water to dilute it. I got back into my pace and felt pretty comfortable through the last water station at 7½ miles; Graham had warmed me about the hill around the seven mile mark – this kicked in about mile eight and dragged on for a bit more than the incline between the three to four mile markers. The race marshal on the hill was advising runners that “…it only climbs all the way to the top when it stops…” Nine mile marker was a chance to push it on, I don’t have the crowd pleasing sprint. Came down the finish chute and could hear Di shouting; quick look at the clock and happy that it was showing 1.39.02. HR showed an average 152 with a max on 168, so pleased that the time was achieved within the set parameters. Finished 590 out of 857 finishers. Anita from Team Feat caught up with me at the finish line, she had a storming run. p.s. The way the DOMS kicked in pretty much shows that I couldn’t have gone much harder. Di’s report I thought having a few days off before the race would be a good idea...well rested, taper etc! I managed one run and nursed sore calves from the Athlone weekend officiating! Ouch! But I was still looking forward to it having done a couple of long training runs into it. On the race morning we got to the New Forest showground early as I expected lots of traffic! No traffic so very early but on the positive side only a small queue for the loos! And we caught up with a few friends. Sorry to Scott for my extreme time keeping. We watched the children’s races and felt sorry for the chap in the Scooby Doo outfit! How hot must he have been? It was a very sunny, hot day...so the reptile in me was happy. No worries being cold and what kit to wear! Eventually we were called to the start and we edged our way forward. At this point Scott informs me that my race face was on as I was not satisfied with one spot...I kept moving a few steps nearer the front! Who was I kidding? We start by weaving in and out of field trying to get some free space, which was hard in amongst about 1000 runners! At about 3 miles it started thinning out nicely. I had planned to take fluid every 4 km or so and stuck to it. At the first aid station, somewhere in the woods, I threw one cup of water down my neck and the other over my head! But steamed up my sunglasses for a few steps! The road section from here was quite long and the heat was really picking up now. The marshals’ did a great job of keeping us on track and keeping the cars away. Luckily, to take my mind off the calves and how far it is to the finish, the New Forest ponies and foals made an appearance cantering across the road…and they definitely had right of way. Onto the half way stage and a marshal with a hosepipe was a welcome idea. Time to take a gel…panic as I struggle to open it with wet hands. I carry on willing the gel to work sooner rather than later! Got to 7 miles and another re fuel with my bottle at hand from my fuel belt – (what a good purchase and I would thoroughly recommend one). And I have a daft idea as I feel good at this point – run as hard as you can from now on and see if it lasts to the finish! So I ran, picking off runners as my next target to get round. And I kept on running. And I must have been focused as when Scott mentioned Rhinefield House and the polo ponies I had to say where? How could I miss the huge stately home? And I ran focused to the finish and heard Anita cheering me on! Sorry I could not wave or smile…officially tired now. And into the finish and stopped to get my breath which was a silly idea as my legs told me in no uncertain terms they had done their work and wanted to stop. I finished 449 out of the 850 finishers, was handed a Horse Brass as a race medal and hugged Anita and smiled…my race was done and I enjoyed it. Cheered Scott through the finish and he was looking strong. Well done to Anita with her 1:18 time. And thanks to Scott for dragging me round Hyde Park and Moors Valley on our training runs to prepare for it. 1:31:26 for a 10 mile so happy! Think I will enter next year! |
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Race Reports
Catching up with Dave |
| Hi guys. I know I have been a bit slack with race reports but I didn't want bore you with standard 10k road runs. July 3rd British Gas Great London Swim. Earlier in the year when Sally heard that Nikki was going to do the Great East Swim, Sally decided that she would like to train and prepare for this event on my home patch. I said that I would 'ride shotgun' in the mass swim with its cast of thousands. So over the last few months Sally graduated from swimming a mile in the indoor 17m pool at the local caravan park to donning a wetsuit and joining the 'lads' swimming on Saturday mornings and Monday evenings across Swanage Bay. Come race morning we found ourselves lined up at the Royal Victoria Dock in what was the largest wave of the day. Sally was very nervous but stuck to the plan that we would swim side by side and I would navigate and steer us out of trouble at the start and in the scrabble around turning buoys. Everything went according to plan and 35 minutes later Sally stood on the finish jetty goggles filled with tears of emotion. She was placed 17th out of 98 in her age category but more importantly loved the experience and wants to do more (she did three sea swims last week). July 11th Bustinskin Race to Bill Standard distance triathlon This turned out to be another family 'gig' where I was joined by my nephew Matt and his wife Whitney (yes you guessed from the U.S. of A). They are both good athletes having played Ultimate Frisbee at international level but new to triathlon having only recently completed their first pool based sprint in June. After a damp and misty start the sun shone for us at Portland. I had decided to race blind with no watch or bike computer and used my new Blue Competition Triad bike which I have been building over the last few months. The bike was only finished last week and this was my first opportunity to test it out under race conditions. The three lap bike course and out and back run meant that I could keep an eye out for Matt and Whitney and shout encouragement. We all finished safely. I need to do some adjustments to the bike set up but am really pleased with it. All of us thoroughly enjoyed the race which like all of the Bustinskin events has a really friendly and welcoming 'old school triathlon' atmosphere. I finished in 2:28:35 just in front of Matt 2:31:41. Whitney whose target was to go under 3 hours was delighted with her 2:56:36. |
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Friday 9th July 2010
Weekend Preview |
| Looks like being another good weekend of racing; Dave is out at Race to the Bill; Nigel is taking on the Velociraptor and Di & myself are having a play at the New Forest 10. All of which should mean that we will have some more race blogs & reports next week. |
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Sunday 4th July 2010
Athlone Triathlon Festival |
| Di was out at Athlone at the ETU European Triathlon Championships as one of the Technical Officials and had a great time. Derrick raced to 7th place in his Age Group, so a pretty successful weekend, all round. |
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Saturday 3rd July 2010
Ironman Frankfurt |
| Tim, one of the Training Bible UK athletes we work with was doing this as his first Ironman race. I am not an anxious person and generally most of life’s problems don’t cause me great stress. Then I decided to enter Ironman Germany. Over the past 6 months I have had several sleepless nights and always had nagging doubts especially when work pressures meant I missed training sessions. Imagine my delight to find out that the overall completion time had been reduced to 15 hours (legal action by local residents), the swim was non-wetsuit, the bike was 5km longer and the weather was extremely hot (and I niggled my back as I left the house). I arrived 2 days early and had another sleepless night making myself ill in the process. By the time the next day came I was resigned to being on a ride I couldn’t get off. Thankfully I managed a few hours sleep before the big day and before I knew it we were in the water ready to go. Seconds before the gun went, I spotted Jane (obviously the last time I was going to see Mrs Wiley that day!). I was not quite prepared for the free for all and spent as much time doing breast stroke on the first loop as crawl trying to avoid swimmers. On the second loop I took a wider angle, no doubt swam extra but at least got into a rhythm. I completed the swim in 1.44. The bike course was a 2 loop affair accessed by a ride from the lake. It was the first time I had experienced crowds of this magnitude. Once I had glanced over my shoulder and realised that some of the applause was for me and not a pro about to lap me I began to enjoy myself. Children held their hands out to “five” me on the way through and especially on the uphill sections the support was intoxicating. On reflection pulling a “wheelie” was a bit extravagant and posing for photos and kissing babies slowed me down! I enjoyed watching the pros come past and resisted the urge to chase them down! The course itself had a total climb of about 1000m, which by Sevenoaks standards is a stroll in the park. I had to laugh when a German competitor told me she wasn’t looking forward to the “mountain” section. “Heartbreak Hill”, to which she referred, is probably gentler than Sevenoaks station up into town. Probably my lowest ebb came at the beginning of the second loop and the grim realisation I had to do it all again with diminishing spectators to keep me going. I finished the bike in just under 7.19 Leaving transition I realised I had just over 5.30 to complete the run. It was very hot. I had a pre-race strategy to walk through the feed stations and run the rest. At the first station I discovered the joys of ice under my cap. I busied myself as I ran with calculations of what speed I needed to maintain. It was a 4 loop course and I was concerned as I saw competitors 2 or 3 laps ahead of me walking. If I was to be reduced to walking I wasn’t going to make it. I managed to keep going at a steady, slow pace but was hating the feed stations. I didn’t want to eat or drink, but managed to force myself to. When I got to the final lap, I realised I was going to make it. Mike Clyne had given me many useful pointers and sound advice, one of which was to thank the volunteers. On that last loop I was like the Queen on a tour of a Commonwealth country thanking anyone who vaguely looked in my direction. Then the joy of running down the finisher’s chute and crossing the line with 17 minutes to spare. It was an amazing experience, but one I am never going to do again. I have used up all of my family’s patience and now have 6 months of chores to catch up on. Not so much “Ironman” as “Ironing Man” from now on. I am very proud to have completed the race and would recommend it to anyone but what pleases me most is knowing I am NEVER going to do it again. Tim |
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Sunday 20th June 2010
Wimbleball 70.3 |
| Like Graham, Matt had a middle distance race as his key event this year. Here's Matt's day. This was my A race and I was hoping for a Florida slot but I wanted to earn it properly rather than get a rolldown as I had done 2 years ago. On race morning it was very busy queuing to get into the site, and therefore I was running around a bit to get ready for the walk down into the lake for the mass start should've got up earlier I guess though I did have breakfast alone at our b and b as the other guests were in bed and Jess wasn’t well having had a sudden bout of sickness and diarrhoea the day before she was fully recovered race day though judging from the shouting and photo taking. Swim was a mass start and although I got there near the back of the pack after chatting to friends I used to train with, I easily swam upto near the front in a bit of space ready for the 7am start. Swim went ok a bit of barging/kicking though I seemed to swim a wider line on one section but finished in 34:03, I was hoping for a little quicker but not too bad. I wanted a sub 3 hour bike and did that with 2:58:54. This was fairly uneventful though you needed to have your wits about you avoiding Gatorade bottles strewn all across the road and the odd dead fox in the middle of the road as you descended. There was a no overtaking zone which was a bit annoying for me on both laps as guys overtook just after the top of the hill before entering the zone yet hit the brakes fairly soon after and went really slowly on the downhill (and I am a ponce on steep descents). Both these times including improved transitions (24 secs) made me 9:59 quicker than my 2008 time so fairly pleasing. Onto the run and I wanted a sub 1:30 half. I hadn’t trained much having not run the distance since February (Seville marathon) I think, but I was 2nd in a 5 mile road race last weekend in a PB so was running quite well. I did 1:33.10. I don’t think I pushed hard enough. I was definitely wary of running out of steam as I had done in 2008 when I had to walk one hill and stop at drink stations but none of that this time all felt pretty good possibly too good meaning I hadn’t pushed enough? It was sooo difficult overtaking on some sections especially on the third lap as so many more runners were on the course by then standing around blocking feed stations and to overtake it was into the nettles, long grass or on the edge of the path which meant a risk of twisting your ankle. I could've adopted one guy’s approach who I followed briefly where he barged a guy out of the way who was walking and chatting in the middle of the path to his mate. I don't know if it was the thing to do but I couldn't help sniggering. Some people simply wouldn’t move over when asked which made me quite angry a couple of times. Anyway that’s not really an excuse but 20 seconds slower than 2008 and it was a lot hotter and given that I had gained virtually 10 minutes earlier I cannot complain too much. It could have been worse as I did see a couple of ambulances around the bike course picking people up so its not too bad when looking at the bigger picture. Before the event I had looked at the Clearwater times for the last 3 years and I think my time of 5:11.17 would have qualified for a slot but not this year. Maybe the field is improving or it was an easy day at the course who knows but I did enjoy it overall and was satisfied with the improvement on my 2008 time (9 mins 36). Just got to train harder for next years event to earn a slot. Good luck to everyone for their races I hope to hear about a successful A' race soon. By the way, I got run down by a chap (Steve) who was at the skittles night and recognised the Team Synergie Coaching tri-top, so Scott you are too well known and we had a chat at the finish after he had pipped me. See you all soon Matt |
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Sunday 20th June 2010
Weymouth Big Swim |
| This is part of the Bustinskin events, Dave has been supporting the Bustinskin guys all year and was out at this one. Hi chaps, Yes, I am still here and still competing older, slower and no wiser but still competing. My tri season doesn't start until next month but I ventured into the waters of Weymouth Bay on Sunday for the inaugral Bustinskin's Big Bay Swim. Low tides meant a change was necessary to the course with a swim out into the bay and back rather than the original parallel one to the shore. At pre race briefing Mark helpfully provided a 3-D image of the course on the beach using sand for the sea and coffee cups for buoys. The race started about 100m off the beach in shin deep water and resulted in a mix of running, wading, skipping and dolphin dives for the first 50m before swimming out into the bay. I enjoyed myself, literally buoyed by my new Snugg wetsuit and became engaged in a few battles round the 2 lap course. The only downside was being overtaken in the final sprint finish when my lack of stride height (short legs) impaired my ability to run in water. I finished 6th overall in 1:11:58. A slow time for a 2.4mile race but the winner finished in 1:08 something so I guess it might have been a little longer than billed. Cheers, Dave |
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Saturday 19th June 2010
Great Eastern Swim |
| Hi Guys I'm writing this report as this was supposed to be my main adventure into doing something other than being a supporter to my podium hungry husband. However, as some of you know, this was scuppered, as was my Paris Marathon adventure, due to a ruptured appendix the day before flying off to Paris for said marathon which, in turn, had a knock-on effect to this event. Definitely one for the calendar next year as it looked really exciting from the sidelines. Anyway ..... The day of the event was quite sedate really. No getting up at stupid o'clock, just a leisurely get up, have breakfast then load up the car with a picnic etc (I must add here that we were staying with friends approx 45mins away from the water park), then headed off along quiet Essex country lanes towards the reservoir. We knew when we were almost there as there was an army of cones along the roads to stop competitors & visitors parking there to annoy the local residents. So we were eventually directed into a field, then through into another one where we had a lovely view of a bank which obviously had water on the other side due to all the swifts, swallows & martins darting about. I will also add that the weather was very unpredictable. One minute we have brilliant sunshine then the clouds blew in rather quickly to be followed by torrential rain. The wind was also a major factor as it often became quite brisk & rather cold, with it coming down from the north. The time was approx 11am so we all went for a wander as the event was advertised as having a large farmers market & entertainment, both of which were a disappointment, so we then wandered down to the water to take stock of what was going on. As we were heading that way I heard the commentator say that due to the adverse weather conditions, the course had been shortened to 1500mtrs. Gra was due in the water at 1pm so after avoiding another drenching we headed back to the car for a warm cup of tea & started our picnic, that it all but Gra who was being very controlled & not tempted at all by what was being paraded in front of him - chicken legs, sausage rolls, sandwiches, cakes (lots of cakes & all home made by my friend April), etc until we left the car just before 12:30pm so that he could get suited up for the swim. We made our way down to the start area only discover that due to the conditions, all the times had been put back half an hour so we watched the elite men get themselves ready for the off. However, just as we got there the heavens opened again so made another run for cover, this time in a bouncy castle type thing which had British Gas guys in trying to get people to enter a competition for a free wetsuit, so needless to say we both entered as I'll certainly need one for next year. Gra's time came & we waved him off & watched him warm up then ask one of the marshalls what the new route was which was pointed out to him, as the distance had now been brought down to 1400mtrs. With everyone penned in the obligatory "who's done this before" & "how many are doing this for the first time" showed just how many people have been inspired to do this type of event & I was very disappointed that I wasn't one of them. Anyway, the count down started but before it was finished, he was off on "3" with everyone else following him on "1". Gra was off like a rocket with a couple of other quick guys right behind him but from where I was standing, several hands were being raised before they'd even reached the first buoy, so it must've been very tough for some of the novices. It then got very bunched up around this buoy & very much looking like it had come to a complete standstill. At this point April, Paul & I started to make our way to the finish, having to take shelter again on the way round. As usual. I could spot Gra quite easily & saw him exit in 6th position in his wave but it looked like a lot of people were struggling with so many just resorting to doing breast stroke. Gra headed off to the change tent & we took shelter again & it was still raining when Gra emerged so we made a quick exit & headed to the car & shelter. Gra tucked into the picnic box as we headed back to our friends house. We had know idea where he had come & he wasn't really bothered as he was treating it like a training session so when I text Scott to find out how Matt was doing/done, we were both surprised to find that Gra was 3rd in his age group & 28th overall out of over 1000 male competitors. Needless to say, I'm very much looking forward to doing this next year, & with another year to practice, I'm sure I'll do well. Nikki |
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Saturday 19th June 2010
Weekend preview |
| Looks like another weekend of mixed racing events - Graham has swapped tri kit for swim kit and is off to the Great Eastern Swim, Dave is also going for the wet option at the Weymouth Big swim, whilst Matt enjoys the 70.3 race at Wimbleball - always a toughie. |
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Sunday 13th June 2010
Summer Sizzler Triathlon |
| Nigel was out at this one and had looks like training on the course paid off. Well my first tri of the season and I was interested to see if I could remember how to swim and ride. The swim was in an 18m pool proved to be a little interesting as I seem to be spending most of my time turning. It seemed to be making getting into a rhythm really difficult but is turned out that it was just my pacing was rubbish and I was swimming faster than I had planned. Got in and out of T1 well and then spent ages wobbling down the road trying to get my feet in my shoes (really out of practice!). Once I got that sorted the bike leg was fairly uneventful apart from when the guy in front of me suddenly jumped off his bike and started shake his head. I checked he was ok as I went passed and he gave me the thumbs up. When I saw him after the race I discovered that he had managed to get a bee trapped in his crash helmet and that he had been very keen to get it out before it stung him! Got back into T2 and out onto the run without incident, The run had a few lumps in it including a nice little trot up Rowland’s hill at the end. Final time was 1:40:18, 34th Male and 6th in my age group (Sounds good but don’t ask me how big the field was!) Overall ......good fun! Nigel |
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Saturday 12th June 2010
Sheactive Duathlon, Buckler's Hard |
| Di raced at this female only event. The reason I entered this race was to have the opportunity to compete at Bucklers Hard as its a beautiful venue. Then, as I read on, the idea of not getting wet in June also seemed a good idea...but then the idea of a duathlon and running twice seemed daft! I trained using brick sessions of run/bike/run and confirmed that duathlon may not be my thing! In practising for the event we went over to the venue to ride the bike course only to find that the road was closed being re surfaced!. (Good for race day). And the run route we thought would be interesting following the river bank across the wooden planks only wide enough for one at a time! (this wasn't the run route). On race day we were the first at the site and waited for transition to open and as soon as it did I bagged the best spot at the top of the racking by the bike out gate. During the next couple of hours more and more women turned up supported by their families. Transition filled up with a mixture of road bikes and mountain bikes and the queue for the loos got longer as the race got nearer and nerves started. The event staged 2 races. The Challenge event was 5k/20k/5k and started at 9am with the novice race starting a few minutes later, covering half the distance. I was doingthe Challenge distance and positioned myself at the front on the start line, off we went down the hill towards the sea and then off into the woods through the mud! I started too fast and glanced at the heart rate to see its 183, on a downhill! So I did not look at that again! We passed the novice run turn point and carried on to the challenge turn point where the marshall was reading his book! At the turn I thought I was in about 14th place...so now fearing a nose bleed due to shock, I ran back to transition breathing like a train! I remembered to put my helmet on before touching my trusted steed and then out of transition to the mount line where it was carnage. I took a wide line to keep out the way which was a good decision as one girl got on her limited edition Boardman and rode into the back of another girl's mountain bike and then they took a while to disengage the bikes from one another! The first loop of the bike was interesting passing all sorts of bikes and all sorts of paces! Some were using the female camaraderie to its nth degree riding in small packs of 4 or 5 and chatting away! I resisted the urge to chat and focused on keeping the cadence high! During the bike course I was pushed on by another girl who kept passing me and then I'd catch her! But luckily for me she was new to the bike and did not like descending or cornering and on the hills and the corners I got her back! The second loop was quieter with fewer bikes out and then back into T2 for a slightly quicker transition than T1. My legs felt ok ish and off down the hill and into the woods again. It was slightly less congested this time and at the turn round I reckoned I was in the first 10 positions so I tried to push on to maintain it. One lady passed me just after the turn round but I then had target locked on another girl and took her with about 1.5 k to go. I resisted playing out the "Persil" advert and falling over in the mud to have a rest. Then the last hill up to the finish which was a toughie and I struggled to smile! Finished with my timing chip beeping so hoped my times were recorded! I waited at the finish line to cheer on a couple of competitors and it was hugs all round! Received a goodie bag and T shirt that fits and then off for cool down. The icing on the cake was I was 3rd in my age group and 10th overall with a time of 1:35:51 with splits of 23:59 for the first run, 46:30 for the bike including both transitions and 25:22 for the last run. First time I have been on the front page of the results! All in all a great race with a real good feel factor and great camaraderie. I really enjoyed the race and I would go back and do it again. And thanks to my race supporter,chief bag carrier and official photographer,Scott. Some photos will be posted on the site but the rest are at http://picasaweb.google.com/SynergieCoaching/BucklerSHardDuathlon120610# |
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Sunday 6th June 2010
Burnham on Sea Triathlon |
| Matt returned to one of his favourite races, here is his take on the day. Both Jess and myself had entered this race and she started an hour before I did so I gave her some T1 encouragement as she came out from the swim to the bike - I think she appreciated it!! This was Burnham sprint tri with distances of 500m swim 20km bike and 5 km run and I have done this race every year since 2006 when I first started tri's. It was my second ever race so I always enjoy this one running down the beach and back. My other reasons for entering are that I can compare with previous years in the hope that I am improving - hmm not sure if this is the case and it also falls 2 weeks before Wimbleball my 'A race. The swim went ok I felt I was quicker than last year coming into the race though its always frustrating as in practice in the week leading upto this I swam consistent 8:20's for 500m yet on race day it was 8:42 though wearing a trisuit, saving a bit perhaps for later, being held up a bit, the pool having a deeper section than my local pool plus scrambling out must all add up I guess, well I hope. Out onto the bike and it was incredibly windy. I had put on my tri spoke wheels which in truth may have not been the best idea for this course because although flat the side winds were quite difficult to negotiate on the day as were the caravans which were unfortunately plentiful in and around the area though it was surprisingly satisfying when overtaking some of these...In fact as I came into T2 a caravan was blocking my path and several vehicles in front and because of this T2 came up a lot quicker than I remembered giving me not enough time to get feet out of shoes before the dismount line. I decided to jump off in shoes and run to the racking. As I jumped off and feet hit the concrete I almost went a** over t** for want of a better phrase and running/sliding wasn't too quick (or elegant) in my worn down cleats. Getting the feet out of said shoes proved even more difficult than getting through T2 and with Jess who had now finished shouting at me from a couple of metres away about the run course I was getting a tad frustrated - time to run hard. Out onto the run and this went pretty well. I hadn't done too much running beforehand though; had gone out the day before and had a niggling pain at the top of my calf/behind my right knee which meant I had to stop twice to stretch it out which once done was fine during the 6 mile run. Also at the end of this warm up run I had to get home quick for the toilet which is still proving a frustration when running. Anyhow Imodium on race morning and pre-race toilet usage got over this issue. I overtook lots of people on the run which was pleasing and felt fast which was a good feeling when heading back along the softer than usual sand. Got to the finish job done 1:02:37 which was 37 seconds slower than last years time but the wind on the bike and on the run out must have had an impact, that’s what I was telling myself anyhow. My times were 8:42 swim (64th),31:36 bike (9th) and 20:20 run (1st) for 5th overall out of 371. This won my age group as well as a nice T-shirt, hat and trophy. I was 2 minutes off the winner if only I could swim quicker, maybe one day? Jess got herself a PB too on not too much recent training, so she was pleased. Considering I hadn't done much shorter stuff I was pretty pleased with this and it was definitely a better than planned result. I was thinking that my form had dipped recently but this has encouraged me somewhat for Wimbleball next weekend - so in the voice of Dale Winton/Anton Du Beck 'Bring on the hills'. |
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Busy Weekend
5th & 6th June 2010 |
| Well the triathlon season is truly underway. Synergie Coaching had a number of athletes that we coach, advise or chat with out racing this weekend. Looks like Matt is chasing Gra when it comes to AG wins. Gra has already clocked up the Ballbuster & Swashbuckler whereas at the weekend Matt took a 5th place overall and won his AG at the Burnham on Sea triathlon. No doubt Matt will send through a race report. Derrick, a Training Bible athlete, was racing at the TriAthy sprint triathlon in Ireland, clocking 1:07. Closer to home, Anita one of the Team Feat athletes raced at Beaulieu, finishing top 10 overall and 5th in her AG. |
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Sunday 23rd May 2010
Swashbuckler Middle Distance Triathlon |
| Just had a quick update from Nikki, who was down on site marshalling and it looks like Graham has won his age group in a time around the 4:33 mark. Great start to Gra's triathlon season. Here is Graham's race report- Race day started at 3am with a 3:45am departure from home, but there was a slight delay getting to Buckler's Hard as we had to stop to take pictures of mist rising up in the valleys with horses in the foreground. Then a bit further down the road there was another stop to take a picture of a foal. What a way to start a race - nice & relaxed with no pressures because this is my C race for the season. Arrived at the beautiful setting of Buckler's Hard. Found my usual spot in transition then went off for a warm up. Came back to the bike for one final check then into the wetsuit for a 6:15am prompt swim start. Into the Beaulieu River to find that the temperature pleasantly bath-like (16/17 deg) but the only problem was when we got to the start "line" the tide was in-coming & very strong. For instance, if you just laid on the water, within seconds you would be 5-10mtr going backwards!!!! It was a mass start which started on the far side of the river, a long way from the bank where the starter was, so when the gun did go, it took everyone by surprise & no time to start the stop-watch. Not too worry though. As well as the strong tide swimming out, the sun was just starting to rise so you were unable to see the buoys in the distance so a lot of time was spent sighting. To add to my woes, a bit of wetsuit chaffing & goggle leaking didn't help matters on the two lap swim, but I just got on with it & was glad to exit the swim & get goggles & wetsuit off. From the swim exit to transition is approx 300-400mtr run up an incline. Nikki was on transition duty & said that I came out in 65th. "Sh!t, that was a cr@p swim" was my initial thought. So I now had to do some work on the bike. Then out on the bike for a 49 mile ride consisting of two separate loops round the New Forest which took you down country lanes & main roads which had the usual hazards of New Forest wildlife, i.e. donkeys, horses, cows etc. All of the said animals have more common sense than the so-called Sunday drivers!!!! For the first 30mins I started to overtake fellow competitors but in the end you just get to a stage where you just have to settle into your own rhythm & get on with the job in hand. Eventually I reached one guy who didn't like me overtaking him as I'd tried a couple of times to push on but every time he would come back & wanted to do the work in front of me, so I just sat behind him at the appropriate distance according to the regulations. Then at the closing 4 miles we caught four riders which made this group a bit big so I eased off a little bit & stayed at the back & thought about the run (good idea or not?). Into T2 still at the back of the group of six but had a good transition so came out first while they ate burger & chips!!! Nikki was still on transition duties & informed me that I was now in 25th place - now that is better. Onto the 14 mile run, two laps of quiet country roads & gravel tracks with the climb up through Buckler's Hard to be done twice. I was looking for a solid run & initially I thought that it was going to be a lonely one because for the first half mile I could see no-one in front of me, but then one of the pack of six came tearing past me so I tried to latch onto him but he was running much too quickly so I settled into my own rhythm & now I was starting to pass a few people as well. With the completion of lap one, and with Nikki still on transition duties, she informed me that I was in 23rd place. Lap 2 was a lot busier as the masses had now come in & were starting their first lap so it was a bit more confusing to realise where I was position-wise but I just put my head down & had a good second lap. At the last mile, I was closing in on a local triathlete & he knew I was coming because he spent the last bit of the race looking behind. I was getting closer & closer to him but ran out of time to get him. I crossed the line exhausted but pleased. Overall position - 21st out of 420 (ish as there were an awful lot of DNFs) Swim - 38:45 Bike - 2:16:22 Run - 1:38:05 Total time - 4:33:13 Post-race thoughts: One of the worst swims possibly of my triathlon career but best to get it out of the way in a race that doesn't matter, a solidish bike taking nearly 2mins off of last year's time, and a good run taking off 1 1/2 mins off of last year's time, and to keep the smile on my face, I win my age group. All I need now is a good two week block of speed training and one week taper then go into my A race, which is the National Middle Distance Triathlon Championships in Bala, North Wales |
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Sunday 2nd May 2010
North Dorset Village Marathon |
| Nigel went out for a run in the country. This was going to be an interesting one for me given my preparation, but I felt relaxed given I had no particular expectatations. I had been around the course (half driven ,half run) so I knew it was going to be a bit lumpy. The only plan was to stay comfortable for the first half and then see how I felt. The conditions were nearly ideal for marathon running , cool with some light rain. The only downside was a strong breeze. Around 250 runners started from Sturminster Newton at 8:30. The first few miles passed without incident. The race had drinks stations every 3 miles and there was some spectacular scenery to pass the time. At 16 miles I was still feeling strong so I pushed on. The second of the course has some interesting hills and they seemed to be getting steeper and longer as the mile passed by. The last 4 miles were hard work with the final mile and a half following a dismantle railway track. I finished with a time of 4:05 with which I was please. If you fancy a nice little run in the Dorset countryside I would thoroughly recommend this race! |
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Saturday 3rd April 2010
Boscombe Quarter Marathon |
| Graham's take on the day. I haven't done a running race since 1st January but since then I have wintered reasonably well with some speed training, but nothing specific, so this would tell me where I was. The race was at 11am & for the warm up, I did a 2 hour 5700mtr pool swim, then moved down to Boscombe where it was cloudy with the wind blowing off of the sea, which was favourable for running. I started on the front row just to get clear of the mass bundle but within the first half a mile, I had found myself on my own but with a single guy in front of me & a bit further on from him was a group of four, so pushed on to get to the single guy. By the time we got to the end of the promenade at Southbourne, the group of four was gradually getting away from us but I had now settled into a good rhythm. We had to do a loop around the Southbourne houses, which included a couple of short climbs & the drink station & at the said drink station, the four in front seemed to break up so that gave me the incentive to push on to see if I could catch them. By this time, one runner had overtaken me & I was unable to hang onto him but by the time we had reached the overcliff road, one of the guys was coming back to me, very, very slowly but I kept working at it. By mile 6 I had now dropped the guy but with the big descent down to Boscome Pier, I took it semi-easy thinking that I don't want to do anything silly as I've got bigger fish to fry this season & got overtaken by the guy I had work so hard to catch & was unable to catch him with the sprints to the finish line. Total time: 41.23 17th overall Splits for the miles - (1) 6:05, (2) 6:25, (3) 6:21, (4) 6:22, (5) 6:22, (6) 6:31, last bit 3:13. Post-race thoughts: I would've liked to have gone faster, but doesn't everyone. Overall, very pleased with the run knowing that I have a bit of work to do over the next couple of months. Gra |
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Sunday 21st March 2010
Avon Heath 10k |
| Wasn’t really up for this one. Since the Old Deer Park 10k two weeks ago I had been very sedentary, mainly trying to get my dissertation into some semblance of order. So no training and a Saturday night full of Guinness, red wine and chilli pasta didn’t really help. But rather than record a DNS, I gave myself a bit of a talking too and decided that this would be a run rather than a race. I had never run around the Avon Heath area; Di informed me that it was a local dogging site and a location where men dress in suspenders and stockings. Could make for an interesting Sunday morning then… Bit disappointed when the only bondage gear I saw was a somewhat grubby “tubigrip” and the only apparent lubricant was being smeared on body parts was “Deep Heat”. The run was a two loop affair, mainly on Avon Heath trails, lots of soft sand, mud and tree roots to test ankle propreoception. The race organisers set the 5k & 10k runners off together so the first 3k were a little bit frisky as a lot of us got caught up racing the 5k runners. Di wasn’t running this one as she was still nursing the Achilles tweak she picked up at Old Deer Park, so I was a bit disappointed when at the end of the first loop she didn’t hand me a bacon buttie. Onto the second lap and had a chat with one of the other runners about the fact the course was described as flat but there were about five cheeky little drags, the longest being about half a k, between the 3-4 & 8-9k markers. I purposely didn’t check my watch during the run, as I was completing this as an enjoyable Sunday morning outing and with the twists & turns, varying surface and the terrain this was not a course for a fast time. First time I check the watch was at the end and I was pleased to have come in under the hour, finishing in around the 57.47 mark. Lovely weather, an enjoyable off road course and all for charity, not a bad way to start a Sunday. p.s. Having been outside for so long I was getting a bit jittery so had to rush back to the books… Scott |
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Sunday 14th March 2010
Mad March Hare |
| This was my second 20 mile race in 8 days so I was interested to see how thing would go. This is a race consisting of 2 x 10 mile loops so the plan was to pace myself to 9min/miles for the first lap and then see how I felt. This would put me on sub 4 hour marathon pace and give me a good idea of where I am with regards to my up coming marathon(s). It was ideal running conditions and we started at 10:15 in sunshine and blue sky. The 1st lap went very much as planned. I was in target as I entered lap 2. However, at about 12 miles my body seemed to remember that it had run the Grizzly last week and things started to get tough. The rest on the race was a real battle to stay on target and I was relieved to cross the line in 2:58. This result is over 12 minutes slower than last year and reflects a training programme that has been interrupted by health issues. Consequently I have decided not to try and attempt 2 marathons in 8 days as was the plan. Instead I am going to defer my London place until year see what happens at the North Dorset marathon. After that I might try one on those triathlon things, assuming I can find my bike and remember where the swimming pool is! Nigel |
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Sunday 7th March 2010
The Grizzly |
| Sunday was Grizzly time again. 20 plus miles of incredibly testing multi-terrain running. The weather was fantastic wall to wall sunshine albeit with a fresh north easterly wind. The course was tougher than ever with more hills, more mud, more shingle, more cliff paths and more water. This was reflected in the winner’s time which was over 10 minutes slower than when he won the race last year. I love this race although it is a busy one with 1500 plus starters. I know Nigel was in among them but I didn't see him either at the start or finish. This is a race that assaults the senses…sounds include Japanese drummers, Scots pipers, Country and Western duos, folk bands and a didgeridoo player plus of course wheezing runners, cries of pain and feet on shingle. Smells include incense from a Buddhist shrine, bacon and eggs, fish and chips and those old favourites farmyard waste - sweaty liniment embalmed runners. I finished 321st out of 1500 in 3:31:02. This was 10 places closer to winning than last year...if I keep up this rate of progress by my calculation I reckon I should win outright in 2043 (just in time for my 90th birthday). Dave Here's Nigel's take on the day. I was just tempted to send in the report on this one as "same as Dave just slower!" Not really sure where to start as Dave has already given a great description of the general details and atmosphere of the race. Personally I think I is one of the best races I have every taken part in and one of the most bizarre. I don't think I will never forget getting to the top of one of the hills only to be greeted by a kilt-wearing bagpipe-playing Scotsman (no, not you Scott!) or trying to climb the "Stairway to Heaven" having just run (or stumbled ) along a shingle beach which had seemed to go on forever! I eventually got around in about 4:16 tired but having had a great day. If you haven't done this race before my advice is give it a go at some point. It is superbly organized event in a beautiful part of the world and is a real challenge! Nigel |
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Sunday 7th March 2010
Old Deer Park 10k, Richmond |
| My first 10k in about 10 years was at Fordingbridge last May but since then Di & I have managed to put together a reasonably consistent period of run training. That said when dodging the rally cars in the New Forest last weekend, Di had tweaked her achillies. We had no real expectations of this race, it was described as a flat, fast course but I’ve heard that before… Based on the times we had run at the Somerley 5k, Di was on for around about the 53 minute mark and I was looking to squeeze under the hour. The start was on the pitches near to London Scottish ground and the Pools in the Park area of Richmond. The race was well organised with chip timing, a baggage storage area, massage area and coffee stall. There was a group warm up but Di & I did our own thing and warm up checking out the last 2km run into the finish straight. The first three k are on the road, running around the outside of Kew Gardens before turning onto the tow path that heads down towards Richmond Bridge. We went through the 1st k marker in a cheeky 5.20, note to self – don’t go off too fast. For the first 2k I managed to stay with Di but we all know how competitive she is, so by the 3k mark she had started to pull ahead and by the tow path was out of sight, out of mind. I did a quick check at the 5k mark and went through that in around 26.43, so well on course for my target time. The tow path consisted of a lot of areas of broken tarmac, the scenery and action on the river enabled the mind to wander though. As you would expect not a lot of wiggle room on a tow path, not when there was a 10 mile race coming the other way towards you. The last 3k had you running past the turn in to the finish area, instead you had a 2k loop to complete before running back over a small, narrow bridge onto the playing fields. The last 400m were on grass into the finish chute. Di & I passed each other in the loop area towards the end of the race and whilst I was pleased as to how close I was to Di, I knew that I wasn’t close enough to catch up with her. Crossed the finish line in 53.56, so 5k splits of 26.43/27.13. I came home 180/378 finishers whilst Di gets the bragging rights again. Di finished in 52.35, 165/378. A great way to spend a Sunday morning at a well organised, friendly race. Di’s race report is next up. Scott Di’s Oh Dear Park 10k! For some strange reason I was quite excited about this event. Perhaps it was the idea of doing a race somewhere new or a test to see how the training was going. In fact I had the idea to skip through the station...but I didn’t. The morning of the race was cold but dry and sunny and we set off on the train to Richmond via a chilly Clapham. The event was well organised with a bag hold and timing chips! I figured out how to lace that on to my shoe and then a warm up to check out the last couple of kilometres. Really to keep warm as I was a tad cold! And Scott must have been as I never seen him do a warm up before. Then the start loomed and body heat and huddling seemed a good idea but the starter hooter sounded and we were off. But today I was good and gave Scott a good luck and see you later kiss with a discussion about the RV point sorted at the finish line – the St Johns Ambulance! Today I thought the race would be close between Scott and I, as he had been going well in training. For the first 2 to 3 km we were shoulder to shoulder weaving our way through runners on Kew Road. Then we turned for the river and the towpath where my attention was caught by a runner in a full dog outfit running in aid of the Guide Dogs. Now target was locked as I had this daft urge to catch him up and pull his tail! But as I caught him my attention was taken by runners back towards me! I could not understand as it did not add up to where the finish was. All of a sudden I panicked and swore on the inside as I briefly thought Scott had entered us in a 10 mile race not 10k. The next 2k were confusing as I still wasn’t sure and feared I was going too fast for 10mile and would not make it in one piece. A happy looking Gordon setter took my attention for a moment, running and bounding up the tow path! But at 7k the finish was consistent with the one I had seen and I smiled and pushed on. A lady who I had seen at the start was my next target and I pushed on. I briefly had a chat with a guy at 8k asking him who the other runners going the opposite direction were…a 10 or 20 mile race in preparation for London Marathon. So a few supporters cheered the runners on in the last couple of k but I could not say thanks at this time. No spare breath now. Then I saw Scott as I turned round and High Fived him. Then back to the target who in the end could not be caught by me! But I finished in under 53 minutes with a strange grimace come smile. I had come in under 55 minutes which had been my target. Then Scott came across the line looking really strong and probably relieved it wasn’t a multi loop course! All in all, a great race, with good organisation and a lovely route by the Thames which I would recommend. Great way to spend Sunday morning. Di |
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Saturday 6th March 2010
Spring Ballbuster, Boxhil, Surrey |
| Gra made his almost annual trip to Box Hill. This event is one of my favourites because it is such a test as it consists of five laps of an 8 mile circuit, finishing every lap with an ascent of Box Hill. It starts with a one lap run, then three laps on the bike & if that wasn't bad enough, it then finishes off (or you off) with another run to the finish. Nikki & I travelled up Friday afternoon because we just don't trust the M25 to be clear on Saturday morning as I have travelled before on race day & was held up due to a crash further up the road, but I managed to get to the start just in time. After that experience I vowed never to do that again. Race morning was cloudy with a temperature of 4 deg C so just decided on arm & toe warmers for the bike. Arrived pretty early at transition so got bike racked with plenty of space around me then went off to do my normal warm up routine. The race started at exactly 8am & I always start this run with a steady pace & try not to get dragged into a real foot race, but always working well. At the end of lap one everything went OK with no problems so into T1 where I got informed by my Support Coach that I was in 64th position. I then get my trusty steed out of T1 with a long run across the field then through a car park, which in cycling shoes is always uncomfortable, to the mount line. This is where I started to work hard as I started to overtake what seemed to be quite a lot of people on the first lap. I reached the climb & used 42x23 which made it nice & easy to spin up the hill. In the second lap, I didn't seem to be overtaking so many people but was still going well & as for the third lap, I was very lonely as there was no-one to overtake & no-one overtook me. Off the bike & headed into T2 across a very stony, rough terrain which made me feel like I was waddling like a duck whilst trying to run in my cycling shoes. I racked my trusty steed only to be told by my Support Coach that I was now in 18th place but I had a group of approx 5 people right on my heals so I knew that the final 8 mile run was going to be a real race. Exiting T2 there was one guy about 800 metres ahead of me. Could I catch him? Well eventually, after about 3 miles, I did & as I was still feeling OK I pushed on past him then up to 4 miles, where I reached the drink station, only to be passed by a real runner - he was flying - & there was no way I was going to catch or hold on to him, so just concentrated on running my own race &, with no-one around me, I had to concentrate hard & focus on running well as I reached the bottom on Box Hill for one final push to the finish line. The only annoying part about this was on the very last hairpin, some guy overtook me & I was also unable to hold onto him, but managed to stay strong up the final part of the hill to finally cross with the line with my balls well & truly busted!!! Total time: 3:10:13 First run - 56:46 (T1 - 1:20) Bike - 1:16:00 (T2 - 1:26) Second run - 54:41 Out of 210 competitors, I came 19th overall & 1st in my age group (45-49) Post race report - We stayed for the prize presentation (because of the car park situation we couldn't move anywhere) so we sat applauding the winners & then they went to the age group presentation & they were doing the top five in age group 40-49, so when they called out fifth place & I wasn't there, I had lost all hope of winning a prize, but then 4th place was called out & it was me. Nikki yelped & I was very surprised as this was such a big age group, so I walk away £30 richer & with a Human Race body warmer as well. Then we get home & look on Tri247 website & find that I have actually won my 45-49 age group & ran a negative split on the second run, so all in all my Winter training seems to be paying off. I would just like to wish all the readers a healthy & successful 2010 race season. Gra Coach Note – Di & I had on the course updates from Nikki and it was good to see the online support posted for Gra on Facebook & Twitter. |
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Sunday 14th Feb
Seville Marathon |
| Matt has been out in Spain for a couple of weeks so while Dave was loathing Lytchett, Matt was at the Seville Marathon - Great report Dave sounds like a struggle finding those checkpoints! I have only just got back from Spain, so thought I would give a brief report as to my trip to Seville. Basically was training well 'til early/mid Jan with this race in mind however came up against an issue whereby any run over about 30 min or intense exercise meant that I needed a toilet stop. This got a bit annoying on a 2 hour run hunting for public conveniences, or in worse cases public houses with diners gazing up from their Sunday roasts at a guy in lycra tights and T shirt removing a bandana and hunting round for the gents - not good…Therefore went to doctors but nothing found so thought I would leave it a couple of weeks of no distance running to see how I went. The day before I flew out went for 45 mins lunchtime steady run which I had to cut short and dash back so not good prep or worth resting for. Flew to Spain on Weds AM for a couple of days in the mountains at altitude before heading to Seville on the Friday. Thought I might run but absolutely brutal conditions total whiteout, loads of snow, wind etc. didn’t want to spend any time outside so a run was out of the question. Seville on Friday 12th Feb was hammering down with rain so didn’t walk to get my race number or check out the expo as I had planned. Saturday AM off to the race expo which was a 40 minute walk away, slightly longer than I had hoped but Jess who was with me wanted to hire a bike from the stands which are all over the place and cycle round the course watching the following day. Its free for 1/2 hour so I did some sprint work back from the expo to the hotel trying to beat her on the bike, I think the locals thought I was nuts or had robbed the nearest bank….but this training though I had been a bit suspicious of it initially has worked well for me since Scott put it on my program last year so I always do a bit of sprint work the day before a race if I can. Coach Note – it was actually a short, high intensity session – not specifically sprints up & down the road!! Got back had lunch and popped a couple of Imodium tablets in preparation for the following day. Race day arrived 4 slices of white bread, couple of biscuity breakfast bars and 2 more Imodiums, I was ready. Our cab took us to the Olympic stadium in darkness where I arrived at 8am for a 9am stadium start. The race starts and finishes here. This was a pretty low key race with about 4000 entrants but what a great deal you get. It is a flat course though not too inspiring but for your 16 euro's you get a pre and post race pasta party (though I cannot vouch for either as they were not on when I was around the expo), a rather large medal, a full running kit (tech vest, tech shorts, cap), towel as well as drinks every 2.5km plus it is chip timed too - how do they do it for that?? Anyhow pre race a couple more toilet stops, bit of energy drink, stretch etc. watch the Kenyans and Ethiopians trying to run on the indoor warm up track as others just roam unaware was quite amusing then off to the stadium track for the start. I made a schoolboy error of standing at the front of the 2:30 - 3 hrs section which I thought I was overegging my chances a bit but quickly realised that the Spanish people were more optimistic than that and hundreds ended up in front at the elite area when the 4 hour section would have been more appropriate, anything to get photographed at the front I guess. Anyhow the race started and although nervous about the toilet issue I felt pretty good. It was rather cold and many were sporting gloves and arm warmers but I thought I would warm up later in the race so didn’t bother with this. Spent the first 2 miles dodging other runners and nipping through gaps not ideal but then joined a group who were working well. My hands and arms were freezing until 10km but then just about managed to hold a drink (water only as I didn’t know the energy drink) and open a gel. Stayed with this group and felt that I could go quicker but it was hard pacing myself but warmer when tucking in so that was my motivation. Through half way in 1:22:16 just a case of holding this pace I thought. After a couple of km on I thought I would try to push on from the group of about 10 others and went for it. Unfortunately it was not so easy into a headwind and after about 3km I was pulled back and went straight through the group to the back. I hung on just about until about 30km but this was really hard work and then the wheels came off and the lack of preparation and stamina told. I had given Jess an energy gel on race morning for me and told her to pass it to me when I ran by but I thought I would see her before the 32km point but boy did I need it. I felt like I was walking between 32 and 40km as people came by me regularly but I just couldn’t respond. Jess was cycling on the other side of a bridge shouting encouragement at me during this time, which I think helped until she was telling me times which I knew weren’t true, so I begun listening less and less to this. I knew I just had to hang in and once I got to the 40km marker I had renewed zest (or the gel kicked in) and managed to overtake a few into and around for the stadium for my usual (well I like to think) sprint finish. Coach Note – most gels require about 400ml of water to aid ingestion and take about 20 min to kick in. Matt’s doesn’t mention what he took in between 10-30km, so that may be a possible explanation for the slow down. I was well happy that no toilet stops were required or stomach issues occurred. Finishing time was 2:49:42 (153rd overall) which was outside of 2:45:00 my ideal target but getting a PB and under 2:50:00 was pleasing considering that I didn’t think I would get round leading up to the race. To summarise if people are looking for a PB course, weekend away and cheap race entry then this one could be for you. Catch you all soon Matt |
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Sunday 14th Feb 2010
Tedium but podium |
| Lytchett 10 Dave may have left Pete somewhere in the New Forest as he was out at this one on his own. I did this race last year and found it boring and tedious. This year it was also boring and tedious. I finished in 68:36, 52nd out of 356 and third in my age category. The time was 22seconds quicker than 2009. Perhaps in 2011 I will remember not to enter this one! Coach Note - whilst Dave was setting a PB at Lytchett, Matt was setting a PB at the Seville Marathon, getting home in 2:49 but it wasn't easy as his upcoming race report will show. |
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Saturday 6th Feb 2010
Dynamic Adventure Endurance Race New Forest |
| Dave & Pete's Dynamic Adventure Race This was an 8 hour event aimed at intermediate to experienced adventure racers comprising a bike and run stages with some night navigation thrown in. Pete Meteau kindly entered us into this event as a team believing that the 5 hour challenge event held on the following day would be too easy for us. It became evident even at the event briefing that we were 'out of our class'. the other competitors were all much much younger, leaner and meaner than us, and had all the latest kit. Pete and I opted to bike first as we are more evenly matched in this discipline. This also meant that we would complete the night stage on foot which would probably be safer. We set off with a batch of other teams all heading in the same direction to the first control point. As a head down cyclist shot past us Pete yelled 'Stay with him' as I always obey police instructions I spun my legs and set off in hot pursuit. Unfortunately this resulted in me dropping Pete within the first kilometer. very reminiscent of a three up time trial that I did with (briefly) Di and Nigel. We wasted valuable time trying to find each other before failing to locate control point one. We subsequently improved on this unimpressive start by taking a more considered approach. The control points were challenging and difficult to spot being about the size of a clothes peg and with helpful clues like 'at the base of a fir tree'..for those of you not familiar with the forest there are a number of fir trees in the area. Unsurprisingly we managed to get lost only realising our error when we found ourselves caught up in the middle of the local hunt. We found ourselves surrounded by horses, dogs, hunt supporters and police. I think they were all more bemused by us than the other way round. We eventually re-orientated ourselves and enjoyed cycling through a very wet forest in search of more fiendishly hidden controls before returning to transition for a cup of tea and flapjack( transition is more relaxed in adventure racing than triathlon). The run was good fun and we found ourselves in some glorious locations as the afternoon wore on and a glorious sunset formed. We even managed to pick up a few (very few in all honesty) points but arrived back without incurring any time penalties. An analysis of our performance shows that we had a valid reason for failing to win (there were two world adventure racing champions in the field) but none for finishing last. |
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Sunday 31st Jan 2010
Heartbreak Half Marathon |
| Heartbreak Half- Marathon (ish) This race was due to be a 14 mile run and a good test to see how the Winter miles have been progressing. But I had a slight disappointment as the Race Director, Richard Iles, cut the distance down to 10.6 miles for safety reasons, due to ice on many parts of the course. As for my warm up, that consisted of sitting from 8am to 10am watching the Australian men’s tennis final, which was rudely interrupted by a power cut at 9:,so I went & did a proper warm up. The new course consisted of a 5½ minute climb from the bottom of Sandy Balls holiday park up towards the main car park & then out onto the road. We then turned into the Forest which had two steep up & downs. One of these was covered in ice & the second included running through a ford, but once we were up on the plain we had a gentle downhill run into Frogham, at which point we turned round to retrace the course back to Sandy Balls holiday park. As for the race itself, during the climb from the bottom of Sandy Balls all the way to the top to the road section, I was in 9th position, & at this point the first two ladies overtook me. The first one disappeared but I managed to keep in touch with the other plus one other guy. Down the two descents I lost a bit of contact because of the ruts & the ice but managed to get it back along the drop-down to the Frogham car park. On the way back from he turn around, I passed Dave heading down towards the car park & he gave me some words of encouragement. So with his words ringing in my ears, I managed to drop the guy but still worked well with the lady runner. However, on the second to last descent, me being cautious & thinking about this year’s races & not wanting to do anything silly, got dropped by the lady & overtaken by a much better descender than me. On the way back to Sandy Balls I worked very hard to pull them both back but was unable to beat them to the finish line. Overall time - 1:09:29 11th overall, 9th male & 4th in my age group Gra My race report is similar to Graham's but shorter and slower. I struggled early in the race possibly due to the cold conditions or the after effects of a late breakfast. The second half was good fun and I almost didn't want the race to stop so pity it wasn't the full distance. I finished in 1:17:34, 38th and 5th among the over 50's, although they had me down as being in the over 40's category. It could have been my youthful looks but more likely the fact that I had picked up a change in entry from a colleague. Dave |
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Wednesday 27th Jan 2010
Holiday Race Reports |
| A couple of race reports from Graham whose consistency showed with two top 10 placings during the Cristmas holidays. Boxing Day Poole Around the Lakes 10K - 26th December 2009 My goal was to dip under 40mins for this race. However, there was a slight change to the course, which meant that we didn't have to run out onto the top road, but instead we ran around the lake & then through the back of the old zoo, over the railway line & back along the cycle track which meant that we now have to do four laps instead of three as in previous years. The first two laps were alright, but then we started to catch the tail enders & there were lots of them, which meant plenty of dodging & weaving on very narrow tracks, but the goal was achieved with a time of 39:22, 37th overall & 7th in my age group. Broadstone 1/4 Marathon - 1st January 2010 I set myself a realistic goal for this race of 42mins, which I thought was achievable. The course consists of a mini hilly loop them two laps consisting of a gentle descent from Broadstone to Darby's Corner roundabout then left to go back up the Gravel Hill, which consists of four levels, up to the crematorium roundabout, then turn left again into a sharp climb before descending into Broadstone. I settled nicely into a group of four which worked well for the first lap, but then found myself on my own for most of the second lap until catching two people in front of me, & this turned into a good battle to the end, where I surprised myself with a reasonably good sprint finish to bring me in with a time of 41:51, 24th overall & 9th in my age group. Gra |
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27/01/2010
Team 2010 and where you may see us. |
| With cycling & triathlon handbooks now out the athletes and team members have been pencilling in their races for 2010. Here’s where you might see some of the athletes we are working with. February has an international feel to it. Julian will be working in the snow of Vancouver at the Winter Olympics & Paralympics whilst Derrick & Matt will be soaking up the Spanish sunshine. Derrick is out there as part of his preparation for the Ras, whilst Matt is running the Seville Marathon. March sees Graham race the Ballbuster; this is becoming something of a tradition for Gra. Tim has a couple of 100km sportive to get through and Di will be having a couple of 10km runs around Richmond and St Ives. April and the season is starting in earnest. With swim, bike and run events being competed. Matt is tempted with by the 5km swimathon in his Ironman build up. Tim is also cementing his IM biking with three sportive ranging from 100km to 100 miles. Derric is also on the bike, racing the three day Tour of Gorey in Ireland whilst Gra gets to return the favour of support crew, looking after Nikki at the Paris marathon. May is a mixture of longer stuff with Derric at the three day Tour of Ulster before finishing off the month with the eight day Ras cycle race. Gra is back out at the Swashbuckler Middle Distance Triathlon. June is another mixed month of swim, bike and run. Nikki is looking to the Great East Swim and Dave fancies the South Downs 100km Randonee. The rest of the athletes are looking to various distance triathlons; Matt will do his traditional Burnham on Sea race before racing at Wimbleball where he is looking to get a World Championship slot for 70.3 Clearwater. Derric is out at Tri Athy in Ireland and Graham is heading to Wales to race at Bala. July sees some key races. Tim is off to Ironman Frankfurt and Matt is at the ironman distance race in Roth. Both the European Champs in Ireland and the ITU Elite race in Hyde Park may require Di to be on ITU Technical Official duty. Dave fancies the Race to the Bill in Portland and the Worthing triathlons. August, at this stage, is pretty low key. Scott & Di will probably be down at Swanage Triathlon doing the race commentary and Dave may be racing at Bedford Triathlon. International team member Javier is working at the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. September sees the long course athletes recover and look to race again. Graham & Tim will be out at the Vitruvian, this is the same weekend as the World Duathlon Champs in Edinburgh so Di may be on ITU duty there. Derric is back to one of his traditional triathlon in Brittas Bay, Dave is looking to the Portland Middle Distance triathlon. Also this month Matt is talking about the New Forest Middle Distance triathlon and Di & Scott are looking to go back to the Weymouth triathlon. One of the few seasons where we haven’t had athletes chasing Team GB slots but it is still a pretty full season with representation at major swim, bike, run, duathlon and triathlon events across Europe. Let’s all have a healthy and fit season. |
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Monday 18th Jan 2010
Wattbike Seminar |
| Di & I had an invitation to go to the Wattbike factory in Nottingham to have a play on the Wattbike and see how it could be used in training. Steve Marshall gave us a quick overview on what could be done in relation to assessing, training and monitoring pedalling efficiency and power output. One of the obvious advantages to me is how you could ascertain your race course optimum power output position and translate the Wattbike set up measurements onto your outdoor bike. Having seen how intuitive it was to use, both in navigating around the on board computer and when it came to data transfer and storage, Steve decided it was time to have a proper play. Now the game plan was a 6 second anaerobic threshold test, similar to a Wingate test; then a “flying 200m” test before finishing off with a ramp test – finish off in more ways than one. However, having done the first 6 second blast it was decided, by others, that now we knew what the test was like we should do it again….. The 200m test is another anaerobic test that lasts about 10-12 seconds; Steve took great delight in telling us how fast Chris Hoy did this test in – whilst wearing jeans and in a field! Needless to say I won’t be challenging Sir Chris’ place come London 2012. The ramp test took a bit of getting used to, although the Wattbike takes 1000s of data points per second it takes about three seconds to process and display these, so trying to be exact around 20 watt increments was a bit of a test in itself. Writing the last paragraph took longer than my test lasted……. So all test done, time to go home? No – Steve decided that we would do a test-retest comparison of our 6 second effort, so off we went again, sprint finish. A good day out, some great info from the guys at Wattbike, a bit of a play on some tech kit – worth the eight hour round trip. For those involved in exercise prescription and assessment, for coaches looking at monitoring progression and setting parameters I would say that it is a great bit of kit. For athletes I would question how many want to do all their training indoors and as a coach I would have to say that if you are going to spend over £1000 on a power measuring device – get one you can put on your own bike. |
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3rd Jan 2010
Somerley 5k |
| Not to be outdone by the team members who raced on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, Di & I went to re-visit the Somerley 5k run race. This is a charity event for the Wessex Autistic Society and seems to be well supported. We did this race for the first time at the end of December 2008 and it had been a bit chaotic with runners starting and finishing at different locations and no official times being recorded for the 5k. This year it was a bit different with both the 10k and the 5k being well organised; officially timed and finishing under the same gantry. A crisp and bright frosty morning greeted us for our run around the Somerley Estate, a pleasant way to round off a sociable week-end. The 5k race started 15 minutes after the 10k event and both were well attended with approximately 400 names on the start list off the 10k and almost 130 finishers in the 5k run. As per normal the gun goes and Di is off into the distance, I started conservatively but quickly realised I may have started a little too far back and I began overtaking other runners almost immediately – not something I normally do!! I occasionally saw glimpses of Di off on the horizon but settled into my own pace and concentrated on running my own race. At one point Lee Piercy came storming past on route to winning the 10k event. Lee clocked 34 minutes for the 10k race. Di took about two and a half minutes off last year’s time, finishing 19th overall and 4th female in 25.53; I came in 33rd overall in 28.36. This is a good sociable event supporting a local charity and worth a run around the estate. |