Bad Swimming

Swimming is not going well lately. I am going so slowly and not really finding a rhythm. Every time I swim it feels like I have a different stroke technique. I suppose that I will just have to accept that I will get my swim to the standard of my bike and run. The good news is that over the 4k swim at Almere, losing 10 mins in the swim is not really that bad – I could lose far more if I blow up on the 30k run!

Managed a brick session today with Mark Hutch. I have mentioned Mark before; he has great potential on the bike and run – he just needs some consistent training. We did 4 x (5k bike/1k run), the idea being that you stay constant effort on the bike and increase the run pace as you get more fatigued. Mark did the first 3 bricks and then had to go; so I went berserk on the last rep…….as you can see from the 1k run times:

3:53, 3:42, 3:27, 3:09

Ideally I would have liked to have completed 5 or 6 of these bricks but there was not enough time to squeeze them in. Happy with the 3:09 last effort though.

Training Hard

July is a busy month for triathlon races: RAF Sprint Champs, Inter-Services and Trentham Half Ironman. Having lots of races can make you feel as though you are not training, as you get sucked into the race/recover/ease up for the next race cycle! So, straight after Dambuster it was back to full on training:

Sunday: 45 min EZ turbo spin.
Monday: AM 40 min spin to pool. 30 mins EZ swim. 30 mins spin home. PM 1 hour steady turbo.
Tuesday: AM 1 hour EZ spin on turbo. PM 13.2 miles steady run.
Wednesday: AM 1 hour pool session hard with main set 7 x 200m increasing effort. PM Ride 10 miles to local 10 mile TT. Blast 10 miles TT then ride hard back home for a good 30 mile session.
Thursday: Mini recovery tri of 600m swim, 12 mile bike, 3 mile run.

Tomorrow is a tasty brick session and a long slow swim. The weekend will be filled with a long bike and an open water swim session at Cambridge. Next week will be another big week, including a 25 mile TT on the bike and a long run increased to 15 miles. There you go! All the top secret training methods out in the open! Oh, and I also want to increase my 2 x 20 min turbo lactate threshold session to 3 x 20 mins. Not sure how that fits in……mind you, a 25 mile TT is probably the very same session!

Happy training bloggers!

Dambuster Triathlon - RAF Champs 2008

Bit of a late post about the RAF Champs 2008 at the Dambuster Triathlon on 21 June 2008 - sorry! Busy busy at home!

The weather put a real cold and wet slant on the actual race but there were many good points to take away from the venture. I decided to camp at Rutland water in my import Tiyota van. My eldest daughter, JJ, came along too and she really enjoyed the whole experience. many thanks to Jamie Elliot's wife, Lauren, for adopting JJ whilst the race was actually taking place (lauren, JJ has not stopped talking about you!). The camping on the Friday night was fun; there were at least 8 RAF Tri chaps camping and it made for a great atmosphere. We all woke to a gloomy morning and the rain started at about 0600. We racked our kit and waited for our wave swim starts. As as I squeezed into my wetsuit I noticed that the zip on my trisuit had broken.......eek! With the cold temperature and rain falling I did not fancy riding 26 miles baring my chest to the elements! Lauren and JJ saved me by quickly dashing back to the campsite and grabbing a spare top that I had in my bag. Potential disaster averted, I started the swim by unintentionally blasting the first 200m or so! I sighted and saw that I was in the first 10 places – even the lead canoeist was visible, which is unheard of for me! I had to get on to a decent swimmers feet to catch a draft or I was going to be toast for sure! I tried in vain to draft some swimmers and I began to feel my technique fall apart gradually as I began to get tired. I did feel as though I was swimming straighter but I didn’t feel good in the water. My official time was 25:05 for the 1500m swim; that is not actually too bad for me but I really need to be around 23 mins to be competitive.

I didn’t have a great T1! I seemed to have trouble getting going but no show stoppers. As normal when it is cold and wet, I struggle to feel strong. The old bones just do not move well in cold conditions. Nobody passed me on the bike and I passed huge amounts of people continuously. However, my bike time was more than a minute down on last years’ time. In T2 I flapped my hands at my helmet trying to undo the strap! My hands were totally numb. I would have ran the entire 10k wearing it! However, a friendly referee snipped the catch and I was away.

I struggled with a mobile stitch as I began my run and I could not let loose and run at full pelt. That said, I was not going slowly but I just had to back off. Once I got into my stride I was fine but I kept trying to avoid the stitch returning. With about 1 ½ miles to go I let rip and ran free. The stitch disappeared instantly and I was really motoring. I was slightly annoyed at this, as with only a short way to run until the finish, there was not enough time to make up for the slow parts of my run. I finished the run feeling far too strong.

Overall, it was an ok performance. I recorded a PB for the Dambuster course at 2:11:59. That bagged me 3rd place in the RAF Champs and Vets Champion too. Andy Reardon won the RAF Champs with 2:08:41 and Daz Sharpe recorded 2:09:50 in second.

The RAF ladies really showed how to win!! Vicky Webb is the 2008 RAF Champ and she bagged 2nd lady overall too! Kelda won her age group (again!) and Bev won her age group (again!). Guess the blokes had best get going and match the girls!! There were heaps of RAF guys and gals participating – over 30 – and it was great to see all the red white and blue Royal Air Force kit everywhere…..some first time Olympic distance finishers amongst them too! We should not forget what a challenge completing this category of triathlon is! An open water swim of 1500m, a bike of 40k and a run of 10k is not easy!! Well done to all.

Dambuster Race Approaches

The RAF Triathlon Champs are scheduled to take place within the civilian event, The Dambuster, on Sat 21 June 2008........ at silly o'clock in the morning - somewhere around 0640 to be precise. The weather does not look good either. This will be the 4th Dambuster for me and I cannot remember having decent weather once 8-( I struggle in the cold weather; it must be due to the aging body! Anyway, the RAF has over 30 guys and gals participating, which is great for an open water race of Olympic distance - 1500m swim, 40k bike and 10k run.

Since racing at RAF Odiham sprint triathlon last week I have been feeling somewhat jaded. I managed a swim set of 30 x 100m on 1:58 on Monday, along with a 6 mile run containing a number of 30 second strides with decreasing recoveries. I got stuck into a decent turbo session of 2 x 20 mins at 290W yesterday. That smarted a bit but I feel better for doing it. The taper thing never really works well for me, though I will take a couple of easy days Thursday and Friday. If the weather holds up, I could go well; however, my tip is either Andy reardon aor Daz Sharpe. Dale will cruise to victory if he finishes but rumour has it that he is injured and will only do the swim and bike. That said, if he puts his trainers in transition, he is bound to hobble round and probably still win!! For the ladies, I think Vicky will do well, though 'young' Bev is always a safe bet too.......could be close!

Bally Still Does Tri!!

Away from the RAF Tri scene whilst serving in Saudi, young Bally - fast man and Ironman specialist - is still associated with tri in some respect!! Not quite the tri that we are used to! Bally assures me that he will be attaching tri-bars to this fine piece of machinery. However, in order to carry around the vast amount of pies he now consumes, the basket stays.

Martin was visiting for a course at Halton and it was good to see the youngster! Seriously, he is finding it difficult to train with triathlon as a goal. His environment is not training friendly. Nevertheless, I think we have not seen the last of Ironman Bally.......he will be back, I am sure.

Since I competed at Odiham I have been feeling rather tired. Took a couple of easy days Thursday and Friday and then did a steady 12 mile run on Saturday. Today I did a very easy 20 miles on the bike to finish off my easy week, but still felt tired. I hope I can recapture the strong feeling I had whilst racing at Odiham. The RAF Champs are fast approaching (Sat 21 Jun) and I will do a quality bike session on Tuesday and then tick over till the race. Some good warm weather would be good!

Racing Again - But Powered By What?!

Yesterday was the second RAF Sprint Triathlon at RAF Odiham. I am astounded that I managed to race so strongly! I nearly didn't make it as Julie has been quite poorly. I won't go into details here but she has been suffering with a long term illness since the birth of our first daughter in 1998! Finally, it looks like she is going to receive the treatment that should put things under control. Anyway, in order to get to Odiham I had to bring my 2 girls with me - my very own fan club!

I sometimes wonder how I manage to train and race to the level that I am at. I know that there are many guys far faster than me but, with all that goes on in my life, I still wonder how the old body takes the beating I give it! This is where I talk about my faith! And it is not often easy to do so! My blog intro says that I am a Christian; that means that I believe what happened when Jesus was on the Earth 2000 years ago. I believe that my body is a weak temporary vessel and I will go to Heaven. Now this is a VERY basic explanation! Please ask if you would like more detail!

My point is, my body is weak and I am blessed by the grace of God to be able to enjoy the feeling of physically pushing myself to the limit whilst competing at triathlon. So to get the best out of my weak vessel I am powered by the grace of God. I draw strength from my faith whilst I race.....that means unlimited strength and power (combined with some decent nutrition of course!!). Always happy to chat 8-)

Onto the race report. Great weather, as always at Odiham! I thought that the organisers did a fantastic job because the course had to be changed at the last minute due to roadworks. My swim was totally average - normal for me! Young Jamie elliot was next to me in the pool and he shot through the water like a torpedo! He was way ahead of me and he seemed to have a slick transition too. I managed to catch him quite quickly on the bike - I was spurred on after reports that an Army guy had set a very quick time in an earlier start wave. My plan was simple: push to the limit from the off and when it felt like I was going to blow up.....push some more!!! The bike was a 2 lap course which was either up hill or down hill! Some parts through the town held me up a bit but I am sure other people suffered the same delay. I feared that my legs would be shot after pushing the bike so hard. However, half a mile into the run I knew that the run legs were there. As I finished, I was not sure if I had done enough to match the Army triathlete; to be honest, it mattered not as I had really enjoyed the race. First 7 places as follows - phew! Just kept the Army at bay:

1 Mark Saggers 1:03:15
2 A Horsfall 1:04:48 (Army)
3 Jamie Elliot 1:08:08
4 Jon Leigh 1:08:25
5 Nige Porter 1:08:29
6 A Garrick 1:08:51 (Army)
7 Sam Wright 1:08:56

The official full results should be out on the RAF Tri website shortly. Next race is the RAF Olympic Distance Champs at Rutland Water. Check out the poll and predict a winner! the real RAF fast men should be out for this race! Catch you all later!

Wheels Are Go!

After my crash in early May, I now have some very nice American Classic wheels, as recommended by fast man Daz Sharpe. They feel great and are very light and responsive. It's a wheel set that is good for any terrain.

I missed out Ted Hamilton when I mentioned those RAF guys competing in the World Champs in Canada - turns out he won a silver medal in the sprint event! Well done Ted.

i make it that Bev finished 12th - great effort but knowing Bev, she was probably hoping to podium! Still waiting to find results for the others.

Open Water Fun!

I completed the open water swim training with Cambridge Tri Club yesterday. It was great fun and I actually felt quite good! My sighting was ok and I managed to get plenty of drafting practice. I thought I had trouble swimming in a straight line but some of the feet I tagged onto were going round in circles!

Earlier in the day I had completed a brick session; actually it turned out to be a mini triathlon as I swam 1k, biked 20 miles and ran 5 miles. The aim was to chug along at a 'brisk' pace without pushing myself too hard. I did the swim as a negative split with an easy first 500m and a build over the second 500m. 16:30 was ok considering the relaxed first 500m. I maintained a 20.5 mph average on the bike and 6:40 per mile for the run. Quite a good session, though I could still feel the turbo session that I did on Wednesday in my legs.

Some RAF guys in racing action this weekend:

World Champs Standard Distance Vancouver - Dale, Kelda and Bev.

World Champs Sprint Distance Vancouver - Dave Lassen.

Bala Half Ironman - Turbo Man Pullin and Reg 'DNF' Swallow.

Prayers for you guys - race well.

Turbo Time

The intensity is ramping up now and I completed my first turbo effort session yesterday. I had forgotten just how effective turbo training is - no junctions, no free wheeling, no falling off! Great for smoothing the pedaling action out too. I have a Cateye Cycle Simulator, pictured left. It is a real heavy duty beast and advertised as the only turbo that you can do full on sprints in........I checked this and you can!!

Anyway, I was going to do a peaking session of short efforts of 1 min duration. However, the wise old (very old!) Turbo Man advised me that a short max effort peaking session may not be ideal right now for my long distance goals this year. I could see his logic - I just thought that a short effort session would inflict the most pain on myself! Turbo Man advised that 2 x 20 min threshold efforts would be far more beneficial. As I had not done this session before, I had no idea what my threshold, in relation to power output (Wattage), was. I warmed up and did a few spin ups to lubricate the legs and then hit the first 20 min effort. Bare in mind that the power output is relative to the turbo trainer being used - so not worth comparing Wattage between turbo trainers - especially those renowned over power reading Tax Flow turbo trainers!!.

I selected 250W as a starting level and maintained this for 10 mins. Then 5 mins at 260W, 2 mins at 280W, 2 mins at 300W, 3 mins at 310W. 10 min recovery spin and then the next 20 min as 10 min at 260W, 2 min at 290W, 3 min at 310W, 4 min at 330W, 1 min at 400W. Then 1 min rest followed by 5 x 15 second flat out sprints in the hardest gear on 1 min (that is 15 sec sprint, 45 sec spin). managed to top out on the sprints at 850W. After that lot I was rather tired!

I though it was a good session, but Turbo Man tutted and showed me the error of my ways! i had crossed over too many intensity levels. Better off to have maintained a steady power output for each 20 mins and save the flat out sprints for later in the year. Trouble was, I had no idea what level to aim at. Next time I will go for 2 x 20 mins at 290W and see how that feels.

For the very first time in my triathlon training, I am going open water swim training on Friday! Looking forward to that...........I must swim in a straight line....... I must swim in a straight line.....I must......

Ouch!!

Look at this horrible little plant. Imagine hundreds more growing like crazy due to the freaky wet and warm English weather. Now imagine a silly runner going down a country path and deciding to carry on despite the mad over grown nettles making the path invisible - yes, it was me 8-( My legs got covered in stings so badly that I could not sleep last night! After 30 miles of biking and 11 miles of running I normally have no problem sleeping. Yesterday, though, I was up pacing the kitchen, raiding the cereal cupboard at midnight.....eating is a good way to take your mind off that fact that your legs are burning from nettle stings. And they still burn this morning! i must have encountered a particularly virulent strain of nettle. Enough complaining though!

This week is my last big training volume week. Monday was a 3.3k swim set which included 2.5k continuous (the 4k swim in Almere is driving me on to swim further!), and an easy 30 miles on the bike. Felt ok, considering the TT brick session the day before. Tuesday was another EZ 30 miles into work (felt awful!) and an EZ 11 mile run - complete with nettle episode above. I wanted to get to the local bike TT this evening but that won't happen for various reasons. So, it's turbo time! A full on hard turbo session should replicate the TT effort well.....looking forward to that!

8 Seconds Would be Nice!

Well, it stayed dry for the 25 mile Time Trial this morning. I had to be up at 0430 for a 0633 start - just like triathlon really! I finished in 1:00:07. 8 sec faster and I would have preferred 59:59! Nevertheless, I am happy as I have not done any really max effort work on the bike this season - that starts this week. I felt strong and could maintain a good pace; I just couldn't up the pace for more speed. I got to the roundabout at 15 miles and in the distance I could see a crazy guy leaping about the A1! As I got closer I could see that it was non other than Turbo Man offering great support - thanks dude. He was on a big run and stopped by to view the suffering of us cyclists!

I finished the session off with 6 x 1k running with 90 secs recovery. Maintained 3:30 pace for the runs so happy enough with that. Quite a hard morning!