April 21st - August 8th about time I updated this blog

I have been extremely remiss in not updating the blog this year, and at this rate the season will be over so time to get things up to date.  Rather than go into full detail, I'll give just a small breakdown of what I have been up to.

Slateman Tri and has an reputation for being a tough event.The 1k swim went without incident, it was a little choppy on the return leg but nothing that wasn't un-managable.  Swim to T1 entry was 20:47 a very satisfactory result indeed, especially as it was my first open water race since 2002.

The bike course has one major climb early on up he Llanberis Pass, but other than than it was a fairly fast affair 1:39:12.

Its the run that everyone talks about at the Slateman and with good reason, it's an 11k effort with a nasty section through an old slate quarry and some more nasty climbs in the Padarn country Park.  The final climb in the park and my legs had gone completely, thankfully it was downhill to the finish from there.  Run times was 1:04:36 and a total time of 3:08:07 for my first tri of the year.

Two weeks later on the 1st June  it was a trip to Nottingham for my first A race of the year the Outlaw Half.

It was my return to longer distance racing and to say I was nervous was an understatement.  Though as things panned out I needn't have been.  Gail and I camped over and it was definitely a good decision as it was only a 5 minute walk to the transition.
The swim went well, navigation was easy, drafting less so as the only set of feet in front of me were possessed by someone who couldn't swim in a straight line.  Really pleased to be out of the water and into T1 in 31:34.
The bike is a predominantly fast course, some undulations and one small climb but generally fast and this was reflected in my bike time of 2:34:35 - I was blown away by that performance.  Onto the run and initially I felt good, but whilst the wheels didn't fall off, in the heat of the day I found it a real slog.  Walking the aid stations it was a slow procession to a 2:03:08 half marathon, but...................my overall time was an astounding 5h13m14s.  I never imagined I was going to go that quick so my overall result for the day was a true surprise.  I would be lying if I said I didn't get emotional on a couple of occasions after I had crossed the line, especially when I thought about where I had been physically in 2012.


A few weeks later on the 21st June it was the Dee Mile mile swim in Chester, my first ever swim only race. Although it is called the Dee Mile it is in fact 2k long so more like 1.25 miles.  This race has been going for over 90 years now, and is currently organised by Chester Tri Club.  Year on year times vary according to the flow on the river, this year there wasn't much flow at all, so it was a solid effort with no assistance and a time of 32:22.


A few weeks break until the next event on 13th July - Boundary Breeze Sprint Triathlon.  A local event and the Warrington Tri Club fielded a large number of 23 athletes on the day with some great performances all round.  Especially the ladies who recorded the team win.

 The main concern of the day was the amount of weed in the lake which had steadily been increasing each week (this is my normal open water training venue).  In the end it wasn't really an issue at all except for a small section at the start.
It was also the first time that I attempted to do a flying start on the bike with the shoes already attached.  I'd been practising with Laura earlier in the week and it went without a hitch. Good ride no dramas and it was a good exit from the bike.  T2 was a bit of a drama as despite efforts to make sure I knew where my shoes were, I went straight past them and lost at least 30 seconds in T2
Onto the run and I actually felt pretty good and kept the pace up right through to the end and recorded a 5k pb of 23:25.  Overall race time of 1:17:18.


A week later and I was entered in my first time trial of the year and I think the first one since about 2001. Organised by the Warrington Road Club and round 13 of the Cheshire Points Series.  The course was J2/9, starting near Goosetry and Jodrell Bank.  The route is a one and half laps, it's not a pancake flat course and the headwinds were fun at times.  I had a bit of a disaster at the start when I took my jacket off and managed to pull all bar one of the pins holding my number on, off.  So there I was with the number flapping around behind me like Supermans cape.  It was a hard effort but thoroughly enjoyable to push on the bike with no run to follow.  Final time was 1:04:01.


So that's what I have been up to this year so far, in between times I have of course been putting in the hours training.  Loving the running at Delamere Forest and especially enjoying a latte at Costa afterwards in Frodsham.  Other news is that I have signed up with a nutritionist to try and achieve some further weight loss and get back down to my old race weight.
http://www.fitnaturally.co.uk/

Dec 23rd - Apr 20th I'm still alive and I'm still training

Where does the time go.  Can't believe it was December when I last posted something on this blog.  So I guess as the tri season approaches I ought to give an update on what I have been doing and where things are.  This does mean that rather than the detailed breakdown of a weeks training I will focus on the highlights to bring us all up to speed (no pun intended).

I'm still being coached by Laura, and things are going really well on that front.  I can feel myself getting stronger and faster in all areas, so whatever she is doing it's working.

I've done a number of races since the start of the year.

Essar Four Villages Half Marathon - 19/01/14
This would be my first half marathon in about 10 years so I was a little nervous to say the least, but the only aim was to try an do under 2:00 hours. Conditions on the day were as good as you could have asked for. Laura had given me a race plan to start me out steady and then build through the latter stages.  Tracy Hampson ran with me for the first 5.5 miles to keep me under control and on HR pace and she did a great job before leaving me to run the rest of the race at her own level for a well deserved 1:44:45.    I had a hard patch around 7-8 miles but when the last gel kicked in I felt strong and the climb that everyone had gone on about turned out to be a bit of an anti climax and no where near as difficult as expected.  The final push gave me a very surprising time of 1:52:31

Fearless MTB Duathlon - 23/2/14.
This was a tough event held in Llandegla Forest near Wrexham. Weather conditions were pretty poor all day with a constant drizzle, but the main issue was gusting and strong winds.  The first run started with a steady 2 mile climb on hard packed service track, but once we had cleared the trees into the exposed areas the wind was awful, almost bringing you to a standstill.  It was great to finally turn back into the trees and head downhill for some shelter.   The evil organisers stuck in a nasty bank to climb part way through the run as well, the worst part being you knew you would have to dot it again later.

Onto the bike and it was a 19km route that wound its way across a mix of the MTB centres trails, most of it on Red Routes.

I maintained a steady pace, and whilst losing a few places on the more technical stages, I was able to make this up on some of the steady long climbs spinning past people.  I'm also pleased to say that I managed to stay on the bike throughout and no injuries were sustained (though there were a couple of hairy moments).

Onto the final run and it was a shortened version of the first, but I was quite surprised to find myself catching and passing people throughout.  It took a while for the legs to get going but once into my stride I was pushing all the way.  I even managed to pip someone on the line who stopped about 5 metres before the actual finish line.  Final time was 2:25:13  http://www.uberfitevents.com/assets/results_fearless_2014.pdf Overall it was a good starter event for the year and will hopefully be back to do it again.



Oulton Park Duathlon - 16/03/14
A few weeks later and it was a return to Oulton Park for the duathlon, only this time it was for the standard distance event, comprising of multiple laps of the racing circuit, 2 run laps, 9 on the bike and a final run lap. The sprint event went early in the morning and gave me chance to cheer on a few of the Warrington Tri Club members.

It had been blowing all morning and it didn't let up later in the day either and it remained a fairly chilly day so I had opted to go with a long sleeve compression top under the tri suit.

The race plan was to work hard throughout, but the first 2 lap run was held to top level 3 to ensure that I had enough left for the rest of the event.  The run felt good and it was sometimes hard not to push harder.  I even went through 5k in a pb time so I knew it was going to be a good day.

With the final run lap complete it was into transition and out for 9 laps on the bike.
As you would expect with a race circuit the surface is pretty good so no pot hole dodging required at all.  You exit the pit lane before hopping on the bike and then its straight into the first right hand bend that seeps downhill into a left hander.  The wind was quite noticeable at this point and  on several of the laps you could feel it make the front wheel twitch; I was only on 50mm rims so anyone running deep sections would need all their wits about them.  After the left hand it was a long straight to the hairpin and a wind the wind behind the fastest section of the course.  Exiting the hairpin however brought you straight into the headwind and a small climb, normally not to bad to tackle, but that wind was really slowing us down.  Dropping it into the 39 I was able to spin nicely up the climb and in doing so passing a lot of folks trying to grind it out.  A nice straight downhill section follows into a right hander and the sharpest climb on the course.  Decide your gearing before you hit the bottom and then go for it.  Most of the laps I stuck with the 39, but did try the big ring as well.  In all cases I was passing people strongly up the climb, but found spinning the better option.  Once at the top it was flat then back round to the pit lane.  I had no dramas on any of the laps and the constant lap nature of the event meant you were always passing people so felt like you were going a lot quicker than you were.

I had a nice quick transition, but can't say that my legs felt fantastic running off the bike.  I grabbed to some water for a mouthful and a splash over the head then it was time to work hard on that final run.  I knew somewhere behind me Warrington Tri member Tracy Hampson, would be hunting me down as she was a quick runner, I just didn't know how much of a gap I had after the bike.  By the time we had reached the hairpin the legs felt more normal again and I was holding level 4 HR comfortably, exiting the hairpin I caught a glimpse of Tracy  and knew she was closing in.

On reaching the steep climb shouts from Gail, Andy other club members spurred me on and I pressed hard up the climb and maintained the effort once I got to the top moving into zone 5.

With about 300m to go Tracy caught up with me and a gentle tap on the elbow to let me know she was there as she came past, looking strong as always.
I tried to push a bit harder but was already at max level so there wasn't anything left to offer and crossed the line happy that I had given everything to that race. Link to my Training Peaks log for the event http://tpks.ws/UlAl
The even better news at the finish was that Tracy had picked up 3rd female overall.
Results - http://www.xtramileevents.com/files/3113/9532/6013/OP_Spring_2014_results_final.xls

Bolesworth Beast MTB Duathlon - 30/03/14
Organised by Chester Tri Club, this was a small event held in what can only be described as the "hilly" bit of Cheshire.  The weather was very pleasant, if anything erring on a bit to warm at times.

The event was based at a mountain boarding centre (basically off road snowboarding with wheels) a sport that requires gravity to help you along.  As such the first run began at the top of a steep bank about 250m long.  We proceeded downhill round a tree and then started the steep climb back up to the start point, this wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't for the fact that we got send back down and up again.  After the second ascent it was into the woods and following a path out into some fields and then into more woods that climbed up to the top of a sandstone ridge.  Once up top we followed the ridge for a while before dropping down a steep descent (playing into my hands as a descender and allowing me to pass a few people.  Onto fire tracks we then dropped onto tarmac road that led us back into the village and transition.

Out onto the bike it was a very mixed course, with tarmac roads, fields, bridleways and some sections through private woodland of the Bolesworth estate.  I had a steady ride overall, not pushing the pace to hard, but certainly making good time as I was passing people who were doing the shorter sprint event and had done a much shorter run course that didn't include the climbs at the start.

Once back in transition it was a repeat of the first run, so back up and down that bloody hill again, up to the ridge and back down.  I found the climbs hard going and did have to resort to walking sections, but surprisingly only came in 1 minute slower than the first run.  I also found that I was able to press on quite hard once all the climbing was dealt with.

Overall a really pleasant event, nice little goodie bag and a nice challenging course, certainly one I would recommend to others as the bike isn't to challenging or tricky.

There have been some good weeks of training along the way.

The work at the track continues each Monday and there have been several occasions where I have been the most consistent runner of the week.  We have also done a couple of time trials, the most recent being 3000m (13:34).

I've also done a 400m TT in the pool, but despite all the improvements in my technique I was dissapointed to record exactly the same as when I did my first one in December (7:12); I put this down to fatigue from racing at the weekend before and also having done a hard swim session the night before.  I certainly hope to be under 7:00 very soon.

March also saw a group of us head up to the Lake District for a training weekend.  One thing that didn't disappoint was the reliability of the weather, it basically pee'd it down the whole weekend.  That didn't stop us enjoying this great place though. Saturday the group headed up Helvellyn, though conditions were poor and when we got to the point of Striding Edge the decision was made to head back down, this for me was the fun part, engaged in fell running at it's best.  Though we did stop for a photo call.

spot the short arse

On Sunday after being joined by a few more hardy athletes we headed off on the bikes in yet more rain.  It was a lovely ride however and whilst challenging in the conditions all had a good time.  It was actually surprisingly warm (a good job as I had forgotten my leggings).
The only bad point for me was the right hand STI working loose and therefore leaving me with no brakes on a fast wet descent.  I thankfully managed to bring it to a stop using the back and with shaking hands re-tightened the the STI and carried on.  It was a brown stain moment to say the least, but I survived.

So there we have it, an update on where I am at the moment and hopefully I will be a bit more concientious in keeping it up to date as we come to the start of the tri season

16th - 22nd December - erm which way was I supposed to go??

Monday started early with a swim session, the aim was 200's using my T1000 pace plus 5 secs, which equates to 1:59/100 avg.  For whatever reason I can't explain I really struggled with getting the timings right and finished the session a bit frustrated.  In the evening it was over to the track for 3x600, 4x200, 4x100.  I went out a little to quick for the 600's but the 200's were spot on and all within 1 second as were the 100's so getting better at pacing slowly but surely.  Coach Andy did note that I was starting to heel strike a bit, but he put this down to fatigue from the SnC and long sessions at the weekend.
Tuesday was a well earned rest day and I was certainly grateful for it.
Wednesday morning was a chance to hit the turbo for some interval work.  I'd normally say that turbo mornings aren't my cup of tea but it was actually really good and I watched coverage from the Sandman and Snowman tris for some additional motivation.
In the evening it was over to Runcorn for the coached swim session.  I was there a little early so was changed and stood at the poolside when all of a sudden the building was plunged into darkness......power cut.
This was followed by 20 minutes of standing around wrapped in a blanket in the foyer whilst we waited for the power to come back on and for the building to be checked.  I was expecting the session to be cancelled, but decided to make the most of the time left and knocked out what I felt was actually a really good set. The main part was 8x100's on 10s rest, but considering how I swam on Monday this was on a different level, times were quick and solidly consistent throughout despite the pace.
I was working in Bradford on Thursday so was only able to train in the evening and it was the last circuits session of the year.  Carl had some interesting sets for us, splitting the group into two and pitting us head to head.  The final part was a "Total Wipeout" style game where we had to jump a large knotted rope until there was one person left standing.  Great end to the year for the circuits and I'm looking forward to re-starting in Jan.
Friday morning back in the pool, and I don't know what was in my coffee, but it was a bloody great session, I was exceeding the required times on the ladder down set, but at the same effort level I had swum the week before.  I've no idea what's changed but something has clicked that's for certain.
Saturday I needed to do a steady Lvl 1-2 run, so decided to head down to my new favourite place Delamere Forest.  The instruction was to stay off the main paths, so I did just that and took just about every side path I could find and it was awesome muddy fun.  Well it was until about 15 minutes before the end as I had found myself back near the car so decided to go further down and do a loop around, only something went a bit awry with my sense of direction and ended up adding another 35 minutes onto the run due to some dubious route choices.  Despite that it was a great run in a lovely setting.
Sunday's bike was the final session of the week, I rode with Warrington Tri club as they were ending the year with a nice easy social ride.  Conditions weren't to bad, it was a bit windy and chilly, but dry so a nice way to end the week with a 3 hour ride.
I'm 3 weeks into being coached now and have to say that the difference is noticable in the quality of the sessions being done.  The week to come is an easier recovery week, which nicely coincides with Christmas week.
Totals for the week: 10h16
Swim 7250m - 2h25
Bike 92km - 3h57
Run 23km -  2h56

9th to 15 December - Getting into the coaching groove

The first session of this week was a swim, but instead of the usual stuff that I make up I was given a proper structured workout by Laura.  Main emphasis was on utilising the 1k TT pace set in the previous week.  I was a bit off the mark on a couple of the reps but it was a good workout nonetheless.  In the evening it was over to the track, the main change was moving up from 4x400's to 3x600, it was then the usual 4x200, 4x100.  The 600s were tough but I was able to remain on target with the times.
Tuesday was a session I don't want to repeat too frequently, I was over at coach Andy's place to do a CP30 test on the turbo.  For the technical description on what this means you can have a look here  http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2009/11/quick-guide-to-setting-zones.html  for the athletes version, its 30mins of pain as you ride as hard as you can maintain, only to find the coach changing the gear and making it harder still near the end.  It was a really tough thing to do, but we got a good base for my threshold and I can now start to work to this in my future workouts.  We also sat down an looked at my HR from the 2.4k track run to use that as a base for running thresholds.
Wednesday morning was a short an easy zone 1 run.  I can't recall ever running at such an easy pace before, which shows that I clearly wasn't recovering when I thought I was, this is why a coach is such a good idea.
Wednesday evening was a swim session with Andy and his coaching partner Chris Standidge ( a very accomplished age grouper).  We focussed on a few areas to determine aspects of our stroke that need correction.  For me I need to straighten my arm more on entry as my elbow is dropping.
Thursday mornings swim was a declining distance ladder set interspersed with 50m kicks.  Idea was to swim these as 1000T pace, but I was trying to focus on stroke correction so I was missing on a few of the reps, but effort level was on the nail so happy overall with the session.
In the evening was circuits, and thankfully it wasn't as bad as the previous weeks, though still tough enough.
I was certainly glad of the day off on Friday.
Saturday evening was the Petzl Nightrunner 10k race at Delamere forest.  This is run in the dark around the forest with a headtorch.  I ran within myself for about the first 7k, pushing but not at threshold, saving this for the final 3k which included an ascent of Pale Hill, which I am pleased to say I managed to run in its entirety, followed by a fast descent to the finish.  Overall time was 55:24  http://www.thenightrunner.com/downloads/delamerenightrun.pdf

It was a good event and it was great running around the mere and looking back to see all the little lights in a line.

Sunday was a long steady ride zones 1 - 2.  I managed to cover just over 40 miles in 2:43 which was slightly over the required 2:30 I had been tasked with.  It was at least dry, but quite windy and at times you could feel yourself drifting as the wind whipped across the fields.  There were plenty of cyclists out making the most of the dry conditions.  I was also doing the ride in a 'fasted' state by only drinking water and not eating before I went out so I could maximise fat burn and to teach my body to rely more on fat as a fuel.  Overall a good ride.

Dec 2nd to 8th - a new beginning

I'd ended up with the previous week turning into a recovery week, which it seems was fortuitous as it marked the end of the beginning and the opening of a new chapter in my tri career.  So what is this big change, well quite simply I have taken away the uncertainty of planning my training and handed this over to a coach. So let me welcome on board Laura Grady.  I would also add that she is an excellent massage therapist.

It's very easy to get trapped into the routine of just doing more and more without any consideration for the quality of what you are doing, I guess after a couple of chats with Laura that this was the way things had been going.  So what was week one under a coach like.  Pretty good actually, some quality sessions and even a rest day; in Laura's own words, " you only take a day off every four weeks, that's rubbish".

Monday night was track time, 4x400, 4x200 and 6x100, slightly reduced rest on the 400's made this a slightly tougher session.  I was also finding that I was running the 400's about 10 secs to quick but fininshing within myself so definitely getting quicker.

Part of the coaching process involves setting base times from which to work, so on Tuesday morning it was a 1000m time trial in the pool.  An easy warm up and some drills, then into 40 lengths as hard as you can go. Final time was 18:59 which is a T Pace of 1:54 per 100.  It was definitely an eye opener pushing that hard in the pool.  Wednesday was a 60 minute turbo session, nothing to testing, easy w/u then 4x5 minute race pace efforts and a couple of minutes recovery, finishing nice and relaxed.

Thursday was another time trial in the pool, this time a 400m flat out effort after a warm up and some fast 50's.  This was a hard 16 lengths but a pleasing 7:12 and 1:48/100 pace.  This is just a couple of second shy of my best in a race so really pleased.  Circuits in the evening were a whole new world of pain that made it feel like I had gone back to week one of the circuits.  The warm up and shuttle runs were fine, but everything after that was a nightmare of screaming muscle pain.  It wasn't a great night at all.

Friday was a day off training and also off work as I loaded my 205 Gti race car onto the trailer for the last time to take to Spoox Motorsport who were buying it back off me.  A bit of a sad day and the end of an era, but can say that I did enjoy my years in motorsport.  Saturday Jasper and I went running around Hartshill Hayes, a nice steady pace and really enjoyable morning in the woods.  The last session of the week was an easy 100 minute bike ride exploring some of the roads I used to train on many years ago.  The only issue came when I rode through Atherstone and lost the back wheel on a greasy corner and planted myself on the deck.

Totals for the week: 6h58
Swim 1h - 3800m
Bike 2h42 - 65km
Run 2h02 - 16.1km