Well it's been a difficult couple of weeks with a close death in the family defining things a little and throwing things up in the air as life has a habit of doing.
Training
This has been fairly consistent. I've been fighting off a few niggles but am now fully aware that this is standard practice. I've never had massage or seen physio or anything else so should expect nothing else!! My only tool to fight off the niggles is stretching, so let's hope it continues to keep things at bay...
I've had to split my training into blocks for the year. With the nature of the business I run it means I'm going to have some periods when I'm simply not going to be able to train - June and July are the most difficult months (November and December I can do basically nothing, but they don't count as the season's done and dusted then....) and so I've had to make some allowances. Fritton Tri on 30th May will herald the end of my first major 16 week training period, so I'm following it with a very light, almost non existant training week - enforced by the fact that I'm in Bath for the week working very long hours with no access to bike or pool....
Newmarket Sprint Tri - 16th May
I'm pleased to say that I came out of this with the overall win, but it was bloody close! My main competition was always going to be Jack Peasgood, winner of Waveney Tri the week before and the guy going 30 seconds after me - so to actually get out of sight was always going to be tough.
The distance was 400m/20k/4k. The swim was neither here nor there - I didn't put a lot into it as it was never going to define the race. The bike started with me missing the first roundabout - great start, 20 seconds lost. I then lost another 20 at the first foot down stop with the car in front of me not pulling out - boo. The bike course itself was a dragstrip really - very fast. I decided that the best course of action was to go all out, try and break the string to Jack and demoralise the poor chap! I pretty much managed to do that until I came to the second foot down stop - the car in front of me just wouldn't pull out. Consequently I had a frantic talk with the marshalls while waiting to go to make sure they wouldn't disqualify me if I went round the car - they said fine, so I went, 40 seconds lost. Unfortunately in my eagerness to get away I accelerated so hard that my badly fitted (by me, the day before) tub on the rear slipped and created a lump - I was convinced I had a puncture so limped the last 1/2 a mile back to T2 losing the remaining gap I'd built up, and coming into transition 10 seconds up still :(
In a nutshell, I gave everything on the run - I knew I had to pull another 20 seconds or I wouldn't win. Finished absolutely spent with the fastest run split - I think it was a pretty accurate 4k, so to run 3.32 per km on and off road with a steep hill in the there was very pleasing.
Am glad to have had this race before I do the bigger distances and more important races, but I really should have flushed out a few of the bike problems by now??!
New kit
Within the last couple of weeks I've received some lovely new kit from my sponsors Human Performance Unit and Sailfish. Everything fits perfectly and looks fantastic, and just gives that bit of renewed vigour knowing you've got the support behind you. Sailfish have given me one of their top of the range G Range wetsuits (+ tri suit and other bits) which is the same as I had last year but with so more in the way of funky logos. I got a chance to try it last week and it feels fast fast fast....
Fritton Lake Olympic Triathlon
Well this is the next race on Sunday, and my first full distance for the year. There are a few worries going into it, but I've done all I can to arrive here in good shape. I just need to remember to calm the speed down having done 3 sprints so far this year I need to remember it's a tri, but it's twice the distance so I need to conserve some energy... The biggest worry for me is course markings for the run - getting lost has up to now been a common problem at this event, and I'm hoping it's not one that afflicts me. If all goes to plan then I know it's possible to get well inside 2 hours, but we shall see. To be continued...
Friday 28 May 2010
Friday 14 May 2010
Worlds Qualification + run PB's
It's been a fairly decent couple of weeks for results and so forth. Training has been fairly consistent, but I was chatting to someone this morning about how much harder it is to add 10-15% to your training in terms of intensity. While I'm not putting in any more hours (a bit less in fact) than I was over winter I'm having to enforce a rest day each week just to give the body a chance. Up to now I've been coping with a day off every 10 days or so, but at the moment that just doesn't cut it - and I need to listen to the body now and ignore the training schedule when I feel I need to.
Touch wood I'm relatively free of injury. Unfortunately I've had a very worrying knee pain for the last couple of weeks (bike related), but hamstring troubles that have been loitering around for 6 weeks or so seem to be fading a little, I hope....
Grand East Anglian Run 10km - 2/5/10
This was my big hope for a run PB. This was the 4th year I've raced it I think, and the course is pretty fast. Target was 34.40 which would have been a 40 second PB. I was well on for it at halfway going through in under 17 minutes, but really faded in the second half coming in in 34.58. 21 second PB - is 2.1 seconds per km what I've been working for a year to achieve?? Yes it is I guess.
I should have been doing a 10m TT the following morning, but didn't fancy riding it in the gales that were blowing that morning, so stayed in bed.
Grendon Sprint Tri - 9/5/10
Big early season race. I've always done well in sprints and bearing the fact that I seem to go downhill from August onwards I fancied the thought of doing this race to qualify for the Budapest Worlds in September - giving me the chance to decrease the volume in August and still have a big goal at the end of it.
I needed top 4 in age and thought it was do-able. The worrying factor was the weather - I have terrible circulation and am really pretty awful with the cold. As it was, it was pretty windy and on the morning there was an air temperature of 7 degrees and a water temp of 12 degrees - ouch.
Anyway, I was first wave. Exited the water in about 6th with feet like blocks of ice. Goggles had leaked and I just had problems breathing throughout - think it was the cold + first wetsuit outing.
Bike was a course I should have excelled on - under my wetsuit I had my one piece + a two piece top, thermal long sleeve and arm warmers. I'd been so concious of my fingers leaving me that I wanted to try and keep some warmth. Through the 23k course I was fighting the urge to vom all the way but went past 4 people so figured I had to be near the front.
Coming into T2 I saw my wife waiting on the side of the road for me - when she realised it was me she started bouncing manically and screaming - evidently that meant I'd overtaken everyone and got to the front! The run was solid if unspectacular, but I extended my lead a fraction and came in 1st from the 30-39's.
A very disappointing time, but it seems that everyone was about 4 minutes down on last year due to the wind and cold. 7th overall and qualification done - big hopes for September now with some focussed sprint training later in the season....
Great Yarmouth 5 mile run 12/5/10
Just a little that I've not done for a while. PB stood at 28.30 and I figured I should be good for somewhere between 27.30 and 28.00. In the end I finished with 27.58. Faded again but not quite as dramatically as in previous races.
Next is Newmarket Triathlon on 16/5/10. Should be interesting against the Waveney winner and some other decent bods.
Touch wood I'm relatively free of injury. Unfortunately I've had a very worrying knee pain for the last couple of weeks (bike related), but hamstring troubles that have been loitering around for 6 weeks or so seem to be fading a little, I hope....
Grand East Anglian Run 10km - 2/5/10
This was my big hope for a run PB. This was the 4th year I've raced it I think, and the course is pretty fast. Target was 34.40 which would have been a 40 second PB. I was well on for it at halfway going through in under 17 minutes, but really faded in the second half coming in in 34.58. 21 second PB - is 2.1 seconds per km what I've been working for a year to achieve?? Yes it is I guess.
I should have been doing a 10m TT the following morning, but didn't fancy riding it in the gales that were blowing that morning, so stayed in bed.
Grendon Sprint Tri - 9/5/10
Big early season race. I've always done well in sprints and bearing the fact that I seem to go downhill from August onwards I fancied the thought of doing this race to qualify for the Budapest Worlds in September - giving me the chance to decrease the volume in August and still have a big goal at the end of it.
I needed top 4 in age and thought it was do-able. The worrying factor was the weather - I have terrible circulation and am really pretty awful with the cold. As it was, it was pretty windy and on the morning there was an air temperature of 7 degrees and a water temp of 12 degrees - ouch.
Anyway, I was first wave. Exited the water in about 6th with feet like blocks of ice. Goggles had leaked and I just had problems breathing throughout - think it was the cold + first wetsuit outing.
Bike was a course I should have excelled on - under my wetsuit I had my one piece + a two piece top, thermal long sleeve and arm warmers. I'd been so concious of my fingers leaving me that I wanted to try and keep some warmth. Through the 23k course I was fighting the urge to vom all the way but went past 4 people so figured I had to be near the front.
Coming into T2 I saw my wife waiting on the side of the road for me - when she realised it was me she started bouncing manically and screaming - evidently that meant I'd overtaken everyone and got to the front! The run was solid if unspectacular, but I extended my lead a fraction and came in 1st from the 30-39's.
A very disappointing time, but it seems that everyone was about 4 minutes down on last year due to the wind and cold. 7th overall and qualification done - big hopes for September now with some focussed sprint training later in the season....
Great Yarmouth 5 mile run 12/5/10
Just a little that I've not done for a while. PB stood at 28.30 and I figured I should be good for somewhere between 27.30 and 28.00. In the end I finished with 27.58. Faded again but not quite as dramatically as in previous races.
Next is Newmarket Triathlon on 16/5/10. Should be interesting against the Waveney winner and some other decent bods.
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