Taper and Recovery

Despite competing in triathlon for a few years now, I still struggle with how to recover and taper. After the Half Ironman race at Trentham last Sunday, I have been reflecting on what worked and what didn’t during the pre-race and the event itself.

Taper – I managed to hold a big block of training during the first 3 weeks of July. This period included 3 races that I pretty much trained right through. It was particularly hard doing long runs the day after races. However, the week prior to racing at Trentham, I reduced the volume and intensity of training significantly. The only hard training I did was a turbo session of 3 x 6 mins at 330W on the Wed prior to the race on Sunday. That session is normally 6 x 6 mins. I also took 2 days leave on the Thursday and Friday prior to the race. I had heaps of sleep. The result was that I felt fresh – but not stale. This is different to the taper I completed for the London marathon. For that race I tapered gradually for 3 weeks and I felt stale come race day.

Nutrition – As I mentioned in the race report, I could not eat my intended solids. Even drinking was a struggle. I was just so ‘full-on’ during the bike leg, eating and drinking was a real problem. So, for the world champs, where the bike and run are longer, I will reduce the effort on the bike ………to almost ‘full-on’!! If I am struggling to eat then I shall slow down. If I don’t, I know that the 30k run will be a real suffer fest………….after the London Marathon ‘bonk’ I can’t face that feeling again!!

Recovery – Post race I am not feeling half as bad as I expected. That said, I am fatigued. Being back at work means early mornings. Having a couple of late nights due to family stuff seems to have knocked me sideways a bit. This just goes to show how important sleep is!

That’s all folks.

Trentham Big Half Ironman Distance Triathlon Race Report

Last Sunday I completed my first ‘A’ race of the year! It was the Trentham Big Half Ironman Triathlon – 2k swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run. The sun was shining and it was seriously hot…..just the way I like it! I had a good race (even with my normal slow swim!), finishing 4th overall and winning my age group by 12 minutes!! My first civvy age group win…..how pleased am I, woooohoooo!!

There were 2 other RAF triathletes competing: Jase Walkley and Reg Swallow. With Jase finishing 7th overall (2nd in age group) and Reg finishing 26th overall (11th age group), the RAF raced extremely well!

What follows is the normal race dissection – interesting to some, but probably boring to others!

The swim, being 2k, was slightly longer than the normal 1.9k. It was 4 laps too, which is strange. T1 was about 600m from the swim exit and we had to have trainers to wear for the run to transition. I never feel totally smooth in the water and I tried in vane to catch some draft off faster swimmers. At least I avoided getting bashed or going off course. As I came out of the water I stopped my watch at 36:30. I tutted at what was another slow swim! I stumbled into my trainers and was met by Nige Porter, who was waiting to start the swim for the Classic Distance race(finishing 7th overall too - nice race Nige!). He politely informed me that Jase was about 3 mins ahead of me! The way Jase was cycling at the moment, I had my work cut out to catch him on the bike.

Into T1 and a smooth transition saw me onto the bike ok. I had driven the bike course the previous day. Much of it was on dual carriage way but it was by no means flat. ‘Rolling’ would be a good description. With 3 laps to complete, it was easy to see some of the faster swimmers ahead. I clocked Jase going the other way on the dual carriageway – oh dear! He seemed a long way ahead! I concentrated on smooth but hard pedalling and started to pass rather a lot of riders. I had a nutrition strategy but as I felt a bit nauseous every time I tried to eat, I was not able to eat half of what I had planned……..eek! Thoughts of blowing up creeped into my head and I made a conscious effort not to go into the red zone on the hills. I could see that I was making time on Jase, but not enough to catch him on the bike. On the second lap the Big Half riders were mingled in with the Classic Distance competitors and it became hard to see who was racing which distance. I was happy enough, though, as I was carving through all ahead of me.

Into T2 and a less than smooth transition saw my into the run with Jase’s girlfriend (Kelly) announcing that I was about 2mins behind him. I had some muscular pain from the bike effort above my knees but I felt surprisingly ‘perky’. With 4 laps making up the half marathon, I had decided to make the first lap a warm up loop. Memories of blowing up at the Vitruvian last year had made me very cautious! Jase and myself crossed as he completed his first loop. He looked good. As I completed my first lap, Kelly shouted that I was about 1 min behind Jase. Still feeling ok, I eased into the 2nd lap slightly faster. I was taking one gel every lap and supping on a lucazade sport during throughout the run. As the 3rd lap started, I could see Jase just ahead……it was hammer time! As I caught him, I tried to get him to hang on but I think he was slowing. As the 4th lap began I was feeling strong and completed my fastest loop (offering Reg some encouragement in the process). A sub – 1:30 run time was mine and I finished feeling tired but not half-dead! The run course was 95% on gravel-type track and the final run in on tarmac. Once on the tarmac, it felt great and traction gave an extra burst of speed that made me realise that the course may not be that fast.

All in all, it was a good event. Having the fastest bike split of the day was immensely pleasing too! Despite my lack of nutrition during the race, I had maintained the efforts level. However, at the World Champs in August, I will have to make sure I eat and drink more or the extra distance will came back to bite me on the 30k run! Quite how I will do that, I am not sure? Maybe ease up on the bike? I am sure that Kelda will help me out on this issue. As soon as the pics are out I will post some……..just in case anyone is interested.

Swimming Technique

Today I tried to employ my brain during my swimming! As I am on an easy day, I started off the session with 10 x 50m on 1:30, concentrating on timing of the stroke. I did two 50m reps with varying arm stroke timings: front quadrant, ‘normal’ stroke and windmill stroke! For me, the most efficient was the normal stroke. This method is actually different to my natural stroke, which is almost a catch up stroke! Distance swimmers favour front quadrant swimming, but I think it is only effective if the swimmer can grasp a good chunk of water in the first place! Clearly, I cannot! Maybe the diagrams below will illustrate what I am talking about:

Front Quadrant

'Normal'

Windmill

'Normal' swimming for me then! However, changing even the slightest part of your swim technique is difficult and never instant! I just need to stop thinking that I am gliding through the water - actually I am stopping and starting on each stroke!

Fatigue and Taper - The Fine Line.

I always struggle with the balance between feeling fresh and ready to race and feeling stale from resting too much. I think I tapered too much for London Marathon this year; hence I have been reducing any taper prior to races since then. It can be risky because just a few days out from a race I feel fatigued and not race fit. So far, however, I have raced well this year on a ‘mini taper’.

My dilemma now is squeezing the training in that I need to get me in shape for the World Champs in Holland and also taper for races. During July, this has been difficult! Since the Inter-Services Triathlon Champs last Wednesday (which was quite a hard race) the key sessions have been a long run, a long open water swim, a long bike and a run with some 30 sec bursts to wake the legs up……….. I am now officially fatigued.

Today my legs were very heavy. With the Trentham Big Half Ironman to race on Sunday, my fatigued state could be good or bad. I am now into a mini taper and if I perk up by Sunday then I will have bagged some good sessions for Almere and a decent race (hopefully). I may do a 10 mile bike TT on Wednesday to test the legs but I should recover from that exertion ok by Sunday. I will need to be at my best to hold off the fast improving Jason Walkley! I am not impressed with a 4 lap swim as I am sure the faster swimmers will lap me!

Another Race!

Another race looms! I am still fatigued from Wednesday’s race! On Sunday 27 July I compete in the Trentham Gardens Gatorade Big Half (Half ironman distance). This distance sort of suits me because the swim is only 400m longer than an Olympic distance swim, yet the bike and run are twice as far. I do need to recover from last Wednesday though. I have just ran 13.2 miles and although I was ok once I got going, the last couple of miles felt tough. That said, last year it was taking me a week to recover from an Olympic distance race. Am I in better condition this year?!

I need a long steady bike session and the dreaded 6 x 6 mins at 330W bike session. Also, I need a short sharp run session……….all before Friday to give me a couple of days to ‘taper’!

Pete Daulby caught a good action shot from the Inter-Services swim. It clearly shows that I was not last out of the water and he was good enough to chop my bald patch off the pic!!

Inter-Services Triathlon Report

The Inter-Services Triathlon was held at Tallington Lakes yesterday. The weather was not too bad, for a change! Unfortunately, the Army were just too strong and they won the team and individual titles. Our top triathlete, Dale Grassby, was leading after the swim and bike; however he has been suffering with a stress fracture of the foot and he hobbled round the run to make team points for the RAF. That said, he was still our top finisher in 6th place! That sort of indicates the quality of the guy - he is fast! When fully fit he could challenge for the title for sure. The RAF packed nicely but we just needed to have some guys in the first 5 really........our time will come! I may be relegated to the veterans race by then though! As for my race yesterday, it can be summarized as: too many stops at traffic lights, slow swim, struggled to get going on the bike, good run off the bike. Room for improvement - C+.

Here are the RAF Team places:

Dale Grassby - 6th 2:13:18

Greg MacDonald - 8th 2:15:55

Daz Sharpe - 10th 2:16:33

Pete Norris - 11th 2:16:37

Mark Saggers - 12th (that's me!!) 2:18:01

Andy Reardon - 13th 2:18:49

Jase Walkley - 15th 2:19:21

Mal Rose - 19th 2:20:28

Mike Westwell 20th 2:20:44

Jamie Elliot 24th 2:24:16

There were many other RAF guys racing but I will leave those details to the official results. No time right now to expand! Last night after the race I tried a new recovery strategy.................resting!

The bean bags are out!

Inter-Services Triathlon 2008

The main triathlon event for the UK services is the Inter-Services Triathlon, to be held on Wednesday 16 July 2008. This is a Standard Distance race comprising 1500m swim, 40k bike, 10k run. However, I think the bike distance on Wed is 44k – don’t ask me why!

The Army have been victors in this competition for the past few years; the RAF last won in 2002. With some RAF fast men out through injury and lack of allegiance (I won’t mention any names……ok Andy Fisher?!), the RAF troops are up against it this year too. Some of the younger RAF triathletes (well. Younger than me!) are really improving fast, and it can’t be long before we beat the Army at the Inter-Services; we can but do our best.

We have a strong ladies team and Vicky Webb may well challenge for the Ladies Title!! No pressure!

Race well!! Report will follow.

RAF Sprint Triathlon Champs

The RAF Sprint Triathlon Champs turned out to be a very close race – well between 2nd and 8th was very close. Andy Fisher was always going to take the win but the improvements made by some of the ‘younger’ RAF triathletes is awesome! If these guys stay in the sport, the RAF will have a very strong future in the inter-services competition. The results are below:

Andrew Fisher 01:01:59
Mark Saggers 01:03:59
Darren Sharpe 01:04:17
Jason Walkley 01:04:26
Peter McCrory 01:04:53
Michael Westwell 01:04:53
Mal Rose 01:04:53
Del Pitcher 01:05:29
Mike Scott 01:06:39
Jamie Elliot 01:06:40
Nigel Porter 01:07:47
Mick Pullin 01:08:12
Jon Leigh 01:08:23
Ben Lonsdale 01:08:54
Joseph Dale 01:09:06
Reg Swallow 01:09:29
Christopher Wilcox 01:09:29
Stephen Hesketh 01:09:35

Less than a minute between 2nd and 7th…….wow! That is close. Undoubtedly, the performance on the day for me was Daz Sharpe and Mick Pullin. They had both raced hard the previous weekend at half ironman distance! How they managed to make it to the start line, let alone race so well, I will never know! Daz would have beaten me for sure, had he had fresh legs. I came out of the swim slightly up on him and managed to maintain the lead into the run. Normally Daz would have eaten me up on the run (actually, he would have eaten me up on the bike!). Although he cut into my lead on the run, he was just too fatigued to catch me.

Check out Jase Walkley too! He must have had a storming bike split, as he said his run was not good. With Mal, Westy and Pete McCrory all improving with every race, we should see a blanket finish at the Inter-Services next week between the RAF guys. We also have Pete Norris back from Cyprus to compete. Pete has been flying over in the sun; hope he can cope with the UK summer! Let’s just hope that we are ahead of the Army!

Overall, I was happy with my race. I ran well off the bike and my swim was as good as I can expect. I have had a stomach problem ever since the race; hope it clears up for next Wednesday. The Inter-Services Triathlon is always an important race and we will try like mad to overhaul the Army. However, they have massive strength in depth. We have Andy Fisher missing and Dale Grassby injured. Losing these guys is a big loss for the RAF as they are potential top 3 placings. Oh well, we will do what we can!

July Racing

Three races in three weeks coming up. Firstly, the RAF Sprint Champs at RAF Cranwell on Wed 9 July. Then the Inter-Services Olympic Distance Triathlon at Tallington Lakes on 16 July. Thirdly, it is the Trentham Big Half (Half Ironman distance) on 27 July. I have just completed 3 hard weeks of training and the bike and run are feeling good. My swim is, as normal, just about passable! So, the focus is to just enjoy the racing and try my hardest. After the Trentham Big Half it is recovery and tick over for the World Long Course Champs in Holland….EEK!!

The weather forecast for the RAF Sprint Champs is not good; yet more rain and wind – I hate the bad weather!!! Some of the fast boys are out for this event and although I have a shot at the vets title, realistically, making the top 3 overall will be difficult. I will be happy to stay safe!

Race reports to follow. Tip for Cranwell is Andy Fish’ for the win, closely followed by Daz ‘fast man’ Sharpe. Jase Walkley is back from the Falklands and may just go very well. Mike Westwell is in good form also. Not sure if Greg MacDonald is turning up. Whatever happens, it will be a hotly contested event. I am trying a new tactic……swim hard……bike hard……run hard.

As far as training goes, I have managed to maintain some hard sessions. Last Sunday I needed another long ride. I would have preferred 4 hours on the bike but I had to leave at 0600 as it was, and could not fit 4 hours into my day. So, I went out on the single speed and rode round the fens of Cambridgeshire for 3 hours – very flat and very windy.

Riding with someone is so much better. Turbo Man will be gone come October so I am on the look out for a new biking partner. Nige Porter is a possibility, but he is very secretive about his training and I have yet to entice him out on a long ride. Paul Fullalove is new to Tri and he lives round the corner. Now he is very keen and could be the guy to drag out this winter – beware Paul, the bike pest is out there!!

Brick 'till You're Sick!

I have been on the turbo again today. Here I am pushing along at full effort. Boy the turbo makes you pull some wierd faces!

Turbo Man has been helping me with some bike sessions lately. The latest session, completed today was 6 x 6 mins at 330W. This session has to be completed on the turbo trainer for maximum effect and to monitor the power output. The idea is that you are riding at 105% of Functional Threshold Power (FTP) – check out Turbo Man’s blog for a full explanation (he posted some info on this a while back). Well, it sure is a hard session…..and I liked it! I had 2 and a half mins recovery between each rep and warmed up for 14 minutes with progressive spinning and some sprints. Don’t tell Turbo Man, but the last 6 min rep was completed at 340W. He is bound to tell me off for that!

I needed a tempo run this week too and the only way I was going to fit that in was to run off the bike today. The turbo session is hard but I knew that I was feeling ok because I have that strange feeling when I can be pushing hard but not breathing hard………anybody else get that? Sure, my legs were burning but that’s just a mental game. So, off the bike and 5.1 miles completed in 32 mins. Had that strange not breathing hard feeling again. Does this mean that I am in good shape? Does it mean that I must push harder? That must be it!! Train harder…..push harder. Daz is right; at my age I must not succumb to the need for rest.

I Have Perfected the Art of Swimming ......

....very badly!! Further to my last post, where a glimmer of hope returned, with regard to my swimming, after today's swim session I have my doubts!! It was quite a hard session and I was reduced to a drowning man during the main set. Here is the session:

Warm up

2 x 200m F/c 15secs rest after each one
2 x 75 F/c 10 secs rest not flat out steady pace
2 x 50 f/c 10 secs rest
2 min rest

Drills

4 x 50 catch up.

4 x 75 countstroke 15secs rest each one NO SPEED
8 x 25 doggie paddle fists 10secs rest
4 x 50 countstroke 20secs rest each one

Main Set

2 x 100m f/c on 2min
4 x 50 on 50 smooth strokes please dude
8 x 25 paddles if you can on 30 secs target 18 secs or less
4 x 75 on 1 min 15 may be tight then add 5 secs
1 x 200 target 3min 10
4 x 50 fins and paddles on 45

Warm Down

4 x 50 catch up 15secs rest
4 x 25 doggie paddle alt fist and open hand
4 x 25 countstroke relaxation long and smooth
100 f/c as slow as you like

Real swimmers will say it is an easy session but that rules me out......it was hard!

In contrast, bike training is going ok. I did a nice turbo session yesterday of 3 x 15 mins with 5 mins recovery. The first two 15 min reps were at 290W and the third 15 min rep was at 300W. That was hard mentally but manageable. Check out the slow guy I past on my warm down....

Sure, he had all the gear. Didn't quite catch his name......Prance....or something like that.

Train well bloggers

Early Morning Runs - Good or Bad?

Things are pretty hectic at home at the moment and fitting in long course training and all the other 'stuff' that needs to be done is impossible. However, on Monday I did my long run of the week at 0500. I never feel that good when running early morning and Monday was no exception! It was a real plod! I normally swim early morning and run later in the day and I can hack the training ok. This time, with the run early and swim later in the day, I was absolutely exhausted! I dragged myself through swim set and felt as though I could sleep on the pool side! I was also starving and perfected the art of eating and showering at the same time.

So what is it about switching the 2 sessions? Maybe it is the amount of energy expended on the run so early in the day - I couldn't get enough carbs back in the body before the swim? Oh well, let's hope some better runs are ahead of me.

As you know, I have been struggling with my swimming. I keep in contact with a good friend of mine, Dave 'Big Fish' Lowe. He is a great swimmer (ex-RAF Triathlete way back; some of you may remember him?). I met him at St Mawgan and he is responsible for taking my 100m pb from 1:47 to 1:19 back in 2004........yes, the 1:47 was a single flat out 100m! I am down to 1:16 now. Anyway, Dave sent me some swim sessions recently and I dabbled with one yesterday (too tired to do the entire session). There are some good drills in the session and I actually started to feel better in the water. Some new stimulation was just what I needed. It just goes to show how easy it is to lose focus when swimming. With swimming, the more help and technique advise you can get the better...but it has to be constant. I fell into the trap of plodding up and down accepting my place in the back of the swim pack! Thanks to Dave I now feel that I can move forward again.

Train well bloggers!