Cotswold 113

After my failure to finish Challenge Henley I was determined to get ready for IronmanUK in Bolton this year, so I duly entered the Cotswold 113 middle distance triathlon as recommended by Dave and Jennie, they also entered as did Andy and Nicky King.

The day came around as always far too quick and I was not really prepared, my cycling is OK having been riding to work on a regular basis but my running was lacking and my open water swimming non existent!

I met up with Dave, Jennie and Nicky at registration on the Saturday and started to suss out the swim course, there were a lot of buoys in the lake but we soon discovered that the buoys were not for us and there were a number of sail boats that marked out our course. Once again this looked like a long distance to swim but not quite as daunting as the swim at The Outlaw when you couldn't see the turn from the start!

Having spent some time at the Park it was time to head off to the Hotel, duly checked in we were advised that the pub next door was not taking reservations until 8pm, so we headed off to find the nearest alternative, a Harvester a short drive away.  This was also very busy but we opted to sit in the garden for our food as we needed to get fed quickly and waiting for a table inside seemed not the best option.

On returning to the hotel it was agreed that we needed to be at the start by 4.30 at the latest to give us time to get the bikes racked, kit sorted and get into our wetsuits on time for the swim start, this meant setting my alarm for 3.40am not something that I enjoyed!

The morning came around all too soon and we arrived at the site to get sorted, bikes racked and kit laid out in transition it was time to head to the swim start area, make use of the loos and get into our wetsuits.  The swim went off in 4 waves, Dave and Jennie were in the 2nd, Nicky in the 3rd and I was in the 4th so I got to watch the others disappear into the water and then wait my turn.

My open water swim technique is absolutely appalling, I look like it's my first time at swimming lessons and not able to get my face in the water! I have mastered the art of swimming by breathing in to the side and then looking straight ahead. Not the best and I'm sure if I could master my fear of getting my face in the water when swimming in lakes I could reduce my time! on the plus side it does mean that I take the shortest route as I am always looking where I am going unlike other swimmers who zig-zag around me!

On exiting the swim it was a short run around the transition area to get to the entrance and find my bike, get my wetsuit off and my cycling gear on. Dave would later ask me if I stopped for a burger as I took such a long time! the truth was I was feeling a bit dizzy and following my exploits in Henley I wanted to take my time, well that's my excuse!

Once out on the bike I felt much better and soon settled into a rhythm passing quite a number of people on the road, my computer on my bars said I was averaging 19mph which I was quite happy with, then the 1 hill on the course arrived and my speed dropped to about 6mph going up it! after this though there was a rolling section that meant the next rise was easy due to the speed attained on the previous downhill section. The rest of the bike course was flat and fast, although it was 2 laps so that hill had to be tackled again later in the ride.

Some of the roads were a tad narrow and we rode along them both ways which meant that there were riders coming towards us as we tackled them and they really were only wide enough for 2 bikes! this meant that at some points I grabbed a rest as I waited behind other riders for the chance to pass.

For a non drafting event there seemed to be lots of people riding together, indeed at a couple of points on the ride it was like a peleton coming towards me!

At the end of the 2nd lap it was back in to transition and change from bike gear into running stuff and out for a 3 lap run. I just could not get going and my run time was disappointing.  I started a bit of a leap frog session with Martin from Cardiff Tri Club and that helped but still I could just not run as fast as I wanted.

The marshals and spectators on the run were fantastic, I was wearing my running vest with my name on the front and at one point the marshal spotted this and whipped the group of spectators up around him to "Big it up for Andy" this they did almost deafening me as I ran through them, amazed at the boost that this gave me.

A little further on Dave's family spotted me and gave me a rousing cheer as I went past again a welcome boost!

At one of the feed stations I tried to eat a jaffa cake but should really have had a drink first as it just gummed up my mouth with the chocolate and sponge, still I had some water to wash it down with so all was well eventually.

Going into my last lap Martin ran away from me and out of sight, so much for my leap frog buddy I thought! further round the lap though he jumped out of a hedge and nearly scared the wits out of me! so we leapfrogged each other again for the rest of the lap encouraging each other to keep going. until the final straight when he ran away from me again.

I finished with the best sprint finish I could which was probably more like a fast jog, Nicky (having finished much earlier, winning her age group and being 3rd woman overall) her son and Dave's family were all there cheering me on as I headed down the finish chute. I had finished and about 30mins quicker than I had hoped for so with a bad swim and run my bike must have been quite good!

All in all the event was a great event, the location was fantastic and the marshals amazing. The course was a good course even with the narrow lanes!

The one aspect of the weekend that did put a damper on things was that the Help for Heroes team had 12 bikes nicked from their campsite on the Saturday night but like the true heroes they are they managed to borrow bikes to enable at least some of the team to compete. It was truly humbling to see the team complete the event and made me realise that although my run felt rubbish I had nothing to moan about really in comparison.

Thanks to everyone involved in running and marshaling the event as always without them we would not have the opportunity to take part.

Now I just have to get ready for Bolton in 5 weeks time, gulp!

Duathlon Number 2!

Well up until last year I had never taken part in a Duathlon and to be fair even last year I only did the bike leg as a member of a team, @dashing_divasuk had entered one but then put out a twitter plea for a cyclist to ride the bike section for her.

This year I thought it would be a good idea to take part in f3events duathlons and as I am preparing for ironmanUK in July the Olympic distance didn't look too long. My thoughts betray my lack of Duathlon experience!

So race 1 for me was the 2nd in the Winter Duathlon Series and I managed to get round in a time of 2:41:31 which was better than I was expecting.

Then yesterday was my 2nd duathlon and the final one in the Winter Series, I was still wondering why I had opted for the Olympic distance but was determined to give it another go.  As in my first event Dame Kelly Holmes was taking part, not that I saw much of her in the race except for the cross overs on the run, oh and the fact that she had finished and was collecting her bike from transition as I came off my bike and on to my second run.

There was again a smattering of GBR vests on display, including 1 who was obviously doing the super sprint distance as he was starting his second run as I was finishing my first.

So after what felt like a reasonable first run of 5k I was out on my bike for the 40k ride which again seemed to go well I was catching a fair few people on the way round the 5k lap, having said that I was caught by a few as well.

On returning to transition and trying to ignore all the people that had already finished their events I started out on my 10k run, my legs just did not want to work and it was hard work on the 4 lap course especially when most of the people that I had caught on the bike came past me again.

Eventually I had started my last lap and felt the end was in sight, then coming towards me was @lazygirlrunning who was out supporting rather than competing, as she is my cousin I may even forgive her for taking a photo!

Anyway I managed to finish the event in 2:36:49 so about 5 mins quicker than my first outing, when I looked at the results online it said that I was the slowest over the last 10k run. These have since been added to and I am no longer listed as the slowest but not far off.

In fact looking at the splits my runs were almost identical across both events and all the time I improved was on the bike! Looks like my running needs most work prior to my trip to Bolton!

An extra feature of the online results was that I seemed to have become younger in the second event dropping down from the 45- 49 age group to the 40 - 44 age group, if I can keep up that ageing process I may well enter more duathlons!

Brighton Marathon

Today was my fifth running of the Brighton Marathon, it has only been run 5 times and I have run them all. I have also registered for next year for which I need to complete entry on Tuesday.

I decided that I would get the train to Preston Park from Burgess Hill, the train was packed and it seemed to take for ever to get off the platform at Preston Park but I was soon in the park, just in time to catch Dave and Jennie before they started the 10k.

Having had a quick chat they were on their way and I got changed and handed my bag over the the lorries to be transported to the finish.

The weather forecast was for rain most of the day but it was quite warm so I decided against the long sleeve top and went for just vests. A decision I was really pleased with later on due to the promised rain not arriving.

Having been for the obligatory couple of visits to the loo I lined up in the start coral, now when I first ran this event 5 years ago I was in the last coral but over the years have moved closer to the front. Now I am sure that I will not get into the front coral,unless I lie about my expected finish time.

The gun, or rather horn, went off precisely on time and we were on our way filing thorough the start past Paula Radcliffe who was the official starter. She must have had sore hands as was high fiving as many runners as possible.

The first part of the run goes around the park and up the hill were loads of cars and a skip on the side of the road which made for a rather narrow gap forcing us to stop running and walk for a while.

Once past this section the rest of the course was wide enough to allow for running all the way, well when the legs allowed!

I seemed to be going well and was quite regular on 9 minute miles by my watch, that was until I reached mile 16 when things started to go astray and my legs decided that it was a bad idea to be running!!

I managed to push on and run / walk for the last 10 miles, it was nice to get a cheer from Zoe Ball sat on a wall about mile 23, lots of people all round the course cheering me on, a definite benefit of having my name on my vest!

The last 3 miles as usual were hard, so much so that as soon as I crossed the line I sank to the floor and attracted the attentions of the marshalls to check I was OK. After a few minutes rest I did manage to get back to my feet and wish Jenni Falcolner good luck for London next week, she was at the finish working for TV but had time to ask me how I had got on in the race.

Then on through the finish area to collect my bag and out through the village to get back to the station. On the way out I bumped into Andy Rossiter, an old colleague from my BBHLC days, I probably haven't seen him for over 15 years so was good to catch up.

Once again the event was great and Brighton certainly didn't disappoint on setting or organisation. If there was one slight gripe it was the amount of time it took to get out of the finish area and across the course, whose bright idea was it to have a bridge with steps this year?? ;-)

Well in the end I set another PB at Brighton and enjoyed most of the run!

Thanks must go to all the organisers and volunteers that make the event possible.

Thanks also to all of the people who lined the streets to cheer on complete strangers who are mad enough to run 26.2 miles around the city!

Thanks to all the people who sent messages of good luck before and during the event and congratulations after.

Thanks also to Jenni Falcolner for taking time to chat after the race and also for not saying anything when I sank to the floor which happened just in front of her!

My First Duathlon

So after taking part as the cyclist in a team Duathlon last year I had the chance to complete one on my own today.

F3 Events run a series of Duathlons based at Eton Dorney and each day has a selection of distances.

Looking at the website f3events.co.uk there is a Super Sprint, Sprint and Olympic. Having looked at the distances the Olympic was a 5k run followed by a 40k bike and finishing with a 10k run.

On the basis that I am getting ready for ironmanUK this didn't look that far so I duly entered this distance.

When I got the final details it appeared that I had less than 3 hours to complete the event, now I was getting nervous!

Given the recent spell of bad weather I was relieved to arrive at Eton Dorney to a crisp sunny morning. Still a bit dubious about the distance.

Too late to back out now so I started the first run a 2 lap out and back course. On my first lap there was a certain Dame Kelly Holmes coming back the other way!

I went into transition to find my bike and head out for 8 laps of the bike course, after 3 1/2 laps I managed to catch Dame Kelly, at this point I was actually pleased that I was doing the Olympic distance as it meant she would not catch and leave me standing in the final run! (She won her age group in the Sprint Distance)

Coming round for some of my later laps meant going past the finish area with lots of other competitors already finished with their medals around their neck.

After my required 8 laps on the bike it was time to swap my bike for my running shoes again. As I headed out for my 10k run I was again questioning my wisdom of choosing this distance.

My legs were heavy and really didn't want to run, but run they did, 4 laps of the course this time. At the end of each lap a Marshall was directing is to go left for the finish or straight on for the turn, how I wish I could turn left!

When I finally did get to turn left it was such a relief and I was over the line to collect my medal in a time of 2hrs 41mins and 31secs.

Just one thing I have to go through if all again in about 8 weeks time!!

All in all for my first Duathlon I was very happy, the event was great a nice and flat venue, if maybe I can request less wind in April please.

Finally thanks must go to the organisers and the marshals of the event without who they would not be possible!

Blaze Light

It has arrived my Blaze light is here and I have made my first trip using it!

Towards the end of last year I saw an article about a new bike light that was about to hit the market, Blaze. It was helped to be created by kickstarter, now I had missed the opportunity to be part of this but I did sign up to the website at Blaze.cc to be on the list to get first dibs on ordering.

My wife always asks me what I want for Christmas and I can never really think of anything, I am very lucky to have most of what I would like, obviously a Ferrari is out of the price range! So last year when she asked I knew what I wanted, a Blaze light.

At the time Blaze were trying hard to get the lights to market in time for Christmas but it became apparent before they started to take orders that this was not going to be possible.  My wife was a bit disappointed that the only thing I had asked for would not be able to be under the tree on Christmas morning, me I didn't care I just wanted the light.

So January arrived and with it a few emails from Blaze about when we could expect our lights, Kickstarter supporters were, quite rightly, taking priority but I was one of the lucky pre-order customers that was in the first batch of deliveries.  Another email towards the end of January stated that the light had been dispatched and was on its way, unfortunately the Customs people decided to be ultra cautious about letting the packages be sent and they sat at a warehouse for several days.

Yesterday was the day that Customs had finally done their thing and the light was delivered, typical I was at work and then had to go straight out to a meeting when I got home. Nothing was going to stop me checking out the light though so I snatched a few minutes to unpack and check it out, I also managed to get it on charge so it was ready for use on my commute this morning.

My first thought on opening the pack was that the light was very solid it seemed to be very well put together and the accessories were very green! My second thought was "how is that bracket going to fit on my handlebars?"

This morning when I dragged my bike out of the back of my car the first thing I needed to do was attach the bracket and get the light sorted, good job I had to be up early to move my car so my son could go to work!

I was still unsure about the bracket, it seemed that my bars were just too big, the bolt would not fit into the slot properly and it seemed to be just on the edge.  Having tested it the light did seem secure so I set off but I will double check the bracket again when its light and I am not by the side of the road!.

The first half of my commute is relatively light in terms of traffic, especially at the earlier hour this morning.  The second half of my trip is where I saw the benefits of the Blaze's not so secret weapon, after all the main reason we have all bought one is due to the laser image projected in front!

The main light was great, it is probably one of the brightest I have used but it was when I started to hit heavier traffic that I switched the laser on and a little green bike appeared on the road in front.

(Yes I know that the image above is not in traffic and is on the wrong side of the road, this was when I was setting the light up in a little side road, not sure it would be safe to take a photo with my phone while riding!)

Under some of the brighter street lights on my route through London the image seemed to get a little lost on the road but was still visible when hitting other vehicles and on a couple of occasions I noticed that other cyclists had seen the image so I hope that drivers did too.

All in all the light is great and does exactly what was expected, it is functional whilst funky, now if Blaze can make a rear light that is as funky and good quality I will be very happy!

National Champs

So this weekends training suffered due to me wanting to go to watch the National Cyclo Cross Championships in Derby.

Saturday was spent doing family stuff, taking the boys to and from Tennis and work, interspersed with tidying out the garage (Again!) and putting some more shelves up.

Then Sunday was the day to go to Derby, it was a 3 hour drive to get there and quite a muddy walk around to see what was happening, I arrived in time to see Helen Wyman warming up on the course and Roger Hammond riding round the course. Maybe he is thinking of a comeback? The last time I saw him ride was when I was a schoolboy riding and he was just starting out, even then it was obvious what a rider he was going to be. Fortunately I was old enough to be in a different age group despite him riding above his and still beating everyone! Ah the good old days of ESCA (now BSCA).

I wandered round whilst the Junior race was going on to see what was happening, it was all quite different from when I used to ride all those years ago, pressure washers to clean bikes each lap? I remember finding big puddles and using them to clean my bike when I could, pits? I used to swap bikes or wheels anywhere on the course that my dad could get to. It is much more structured now, in a good way!

Then it was time for the elite women to start, this was actually the main race that I wanted to see. I had met Helen Wyman a couple of times due to my involvement in Ride London (see earlier posts) and was keen to see how she raced.  Well she went off from the start and led until the finish in a very impressive display of cross riding.  I spent some time near the pits to see what happens in them and saw Stefan bolting back and forth between the pits and the pressure washer area with Helen's bike to make sure that it was cleaned and working well at each change, he must have got soaked!

The event itself seemed great the course looked very slippery and challenging, I thoroughly enjoyed watching if a bit jealous that I wasn't riding but now I am a Vet I would have had to be there on the Saturday, nothing to do with not being fit enough! Congratulations to everyone who competed especially all the new National Champions and also to the organisers and marshals.

I did stop to watch the start of the men's race and the first pass of the pits but then had to make a move to get home in time for more fatherly duties, number 2 son needed collecting from work!

Well having missed a weekend of training I need to make up for it over the next week so will have to fit some swimming and running in alongside my regular cycle to work but it was definitely worth the trip to Derby to watch some very inspiring bike racing.

Maybe after the Ironman in July I should make my goal being fit enough to take part in the National Vets Champs next year? Actually after my last ride out at Didcot I may need a more realistic goal.

2014!

I was having a discussion at work the other day about what events I was doing this year, when I started to list them I realised I have entered more than I thought!

Feb 22 Dorney Duathlon

Mar 2 Reading Half Marathon

Apr 6 Brighton Marathon

Apr 19 Dorney Duathlon

Jun 15 Cotswold Half Iron Distance Triathlon

Jul 20 Ironman UK

Oct 5 Cumbrian Run

Seems a bit loaded at the first half of the year! Oh and I find out next month if I have a space in Ride London this year.

Well the second half of the year I will have to get my Cyclo Cross bike out again! That and maybe some other events might crop up that take my fancy!

Well my training has started ok I just need a bit more structure and keep at it, well I have enough events to keep me focused, hopefully!