Well, as I type this there’s 24hrs until the big kick off and I’m feeling sh*te!!! Yesterday afternoon out of nowhere I developed a headache. I took a Nurofen and it disappeared, this morning, after my worst nights sleep of the holiday it’s back. I’ve taken another tablet so it’ll be gone soon but I’m not a headache sufferer so it’s damned annoying. I’m sure sitting in front of the computer isn’t helping but it’s killing a bit of time while it’s still dark out there. Yesterday morning I went out for my last pre-race run. It was 4 miles keeping my HR below 150bpm and I averaged 6:45’s. I finished the run at the group swim, pulled on MY wetsuit and went out for 15mins. After Wednesdays 2XU trial it felt awful! My shoulders felt restricted, my legs felt restricted (not that they do anything). I was still motoring along compared to others in there but it was so much more like hard work. I knew then that my big purchase for the year was on the way. After the swim we bummed around the Ironman Village, saw Bella and Torbjorn Sinballe (I nabbed the Thunderbears Gatorade after, now I’ll bike like him – NOT!) at the Elite interviews and pondered my wetsuit dilemma. I mooched around the 2XU and BlueSeventy trade stands comparing suits. The BlueSeventy for some reason ‘felt’ more supple and I couldn’t help wondering what it swam like compared to the 2XU. Both stands were busy but the woman I’d spoken to on the 2XU stand almost seemed to be avoiding me, there were so many athletes about that she probably wasn’t but in the time I was there I had 2 people from BlueSeventy speak to me and offer to either loan me a suit at todays swim or let me try one in the Endless Pool. You can’t really compare Pool to Sea but I didn’t want to leave a decision until the last second so I agreed to try the Endless Pool. 10mins of swimming later I was sold. I told the Endless Pool man (who actually remembered me from 2005) I swam around 1:20/100m pace so he set the pool at 1:12/100yard pace which is roughly the same. I jumped in and swam solid for around 10mins. There was no effort at all, it felt as though I was swimming a warm up at 6:00+ pace. I actually wanted the pace turning up as I kept crashing my fingers into the grill of the water jets but without stopping there was no way to ask and it wasn’t a training session, just a wetsuit test. Once I’d stopped I ditched the wettie and jumped back in with just my Trisuit on. The difference was apparent immediately, for the first time ever I was officially faster in a wetsuit that without one, there’s video too. A short section taken by Shelly which I’ll hopefully get on youtube later (I’ll link at the bottom of the page) and a proper underwater one off the Endless Pool boys ( I didn’t even notice the camera until near the end). We had some food and went back to our apartment to ponder the wetsuit dilemma. A bit of internet browsing showed that amazingly a wetsuit seems to be the one thing that costs less in the UK than in America (typical!!!) so now I was even going to have to pay over the odds if I wanted one. A couple of texts went off to club coach/equipment geek Toasty and he recommended the more expensive BlueSeventy over the 2XU. Could I justify the expense?????? After many hours (actually days) pondering I decided that ‘if’ I swim to my potential I’ll not only get out of the water up to 5mins quicker in either suit but I’ll also get out feeling much much fresher. That’s as much time if not more than I’d expect to gain if I spend 3 times the amount on a Disc wheel so therefore it’s worth it. Once I’ve finished writing this I’ll be off for my first ever swim in my brand new shiny BlueSeventy Helix Wetsuit. My bank balance has taken a kicking, but hopefully but 8am (7:55 hopefully) Saturday morning it’ll have been worth it. Last night was the Pasta Party with all the normal pomp and ceremony, oldest and youngest competitors, some loon who’s done over 100 Ironman races ( how the hell does he afford it) and somebody that’s lost over 9stone (127lbs) on the way here – Wow!! Today is my wetsuit debut, the Ironman breakfast, last bike tweaks and maybe a 30min spin, then chill chill chill chill chill followed hopefully by a better nights sleep. Next post will probably be post race. Good Luck to anybody who’s racing here tomorrow, I hope you all have a great race but finish behind me. Good Luck to the folks back home, especially those going out in the now Arctic Exmoor weather to race the Exmoor Beast on Sunday. Here’s hoping that the sun shines for you all.
See Ya.
Friday 31 October 2008
Thursday 30 October 2008
It's a picture-fest.
The view from where we are.
Manchesters Hilton Hotel has the biggest beds in the world!!
Escaping the Regisration tent brawl.
Having a (very) painful massage - a good one though.
Manchesters Hilton Hotel has the biggest beds in the world!!
Escaping the Regisration tent brawl.
Shelly made me a sign - everybody say Ahhhhh.
Bella at the Pro meeting - we like Bella ;-)
Yesterday we went out to see the dolphins
With this I can get in (almost) anywhere.
Yesterday we went out to see the dolphins
With this I can get in (almost) anywhere.
Wednesday 29 October 2008
IM has opened.
Well if the short training is anything to go by then things are looking good. Yesterday I went out for an 11mile cruise on the bike then jumped off, pulled on my trainers and went for a 3mile run in my cycle gear. I didn't really look at my Garmin until I finished but it turned out I ran the 3 miles averageing 6:22 min/mile pace. Now I know I'm going to be nowhere near that on Saturday but with how easy the pace felt it makes you feel good to realise that on race day I can run 90secs a mile slower and still be well on target.
Today I popped down to the beach to join the hoards for a swim. There was a 2XU stand there and after chatting with the staff there for a while about how I strangly swim slower in a wetsuit than without one I tried out their Elite suit. I've been swimming long enough to know that sometimes you just get in the water and feel great and other days you get in the water and feel rotten, today was either a great day or the wetsuit really seemed to work because I felt as if I was flying. There's no real way of knowing of course because nobody was there with a stopwatch but one thing is for certain, there was nobody in the gulf that was anywhere near my speed this morning and that felt goooooood!!!
Off to register now and spend my dollars in the Ironman Village. The race is easy, it's avoiding the spending that's hard.
Today I popped down to the beach to join the hoards for a swim. There was a 2XU stand there and after chatting with the staff there for a while about how I strangly swim slower in a wetsuit than without one I tried out their Elite suit. I've been swimming long enough to know that sometimes you just get in the water and feel great and other days you get in the water and feel rotten, today was either a great day or the wetsuit really seemed to work because I felt as if I was flying. There's no real way of knowing of course because nobody was there with a stopwatch but one thing is for certain, there was nobody in the gulf that was anywhere near my speed this morning and that felt goooooood!!!
Off to register now and spend my dollars in the Ironman Village. The race is easy, it's avoiding the spending that's hard.
Tuesday 28 October 2008
Hello from Panama City Beach.
Well we’re here :-) and after all the panic about transporting the bike things have all turned out pretty well.
After packing, repacking and repacking again we weighed my bike box and it was over weight so everything came out except for the bike, wheels and saddle. Tools, tyres, tubes, bottles, gels etc etc etc all got bagged up and put in with the other luggage – such a dreadful waste of space really.
The original plan was to only take the bike box and two other bags but we soon realised that the new weight regulations meant that suitcases became overweight a long time before they became full so an extra bag was called for.
On Saturday morning we headed up to Wolves to see the family and drop Rosie off at my parents for the week. No doubt she’ll be even more spoilt when she leaves there than she is already. After visiting a few folks and getting more than my fair share of quizzical glances and comments about the now fading haircut we headed out to Manchester Airport for our overnight stay at the Hilton Hotel. More strange looks followed as the Hilton is far to posh (and expensive) for us and a bloke with freaky hair is secretly probably less than welcome in their restaurant, about as welcome infact as their bill was in my bank account. Still it was very nice as a one off experience and their gym machines came in handy for me to knock out a swift 45min bike/15min run brick session.
Sunday morning came and we made sure we got to Check-In with plenty of time to spare for any of the expected problems…….. What can I say other than it was fine. After reading horror stories about flying Delta and reading totally separate horror stories about flying from Manchester Airport the whole experience was great. The woman at Check-In was very friendly which immediately made us feel a whole lot better about the situation. The bags were weighed and even with just bike and wheels my case was 22.8kg, just 0.2kg below the new limit. The girl on the oversize/squishy bag gate was also very friendly, we even started having a laugh and a joke when I appeared at her gate for the 3rd time. After getting the bags away there was a long old queue to get through passport control and into the Departure Areas which had plenty of people around us grumbling but we had plenty of time to kill so that wasn’t even a problem.
There’s no way really to describe the 9hr+ flight from Manchester to Atlanta other than it’s loooooong. 1st time we went it was a novelty and we were on a nice new 777 where you had your own personal TV’s and plenty of channels to choose from, 2nd time we had the terrible twins screaming and a wailing to keep us ‘amused’. This time though it was just long, the films weren’t much good and with it being a daytime flight there was no way I’d just be able to sleep through it.
Once at Atlanta we ONLY had to wait 4hrs for our connecting flight. By the time you’ve cleared customs and baggage that’s down to 3hrs though and the Airline changing your flight to a totally different Terminal also helps to kill a bit of time. There’s no escaping it though you can tell you’re in America almost instantly because there are some HUGE folks here. We’d hardly got off the plane before we saw the first man mountain walking towards us. I genuinely looked at some people strolling through the airport and wondered how they would fit in their planes seats. It’s really got to be seen to be believed.
Flying from Atlanta to PCB was short and sweet. 250miles, 45mins and one time zone which meant that we actually landed before we took off ;-) and finally 20hrs after checking in at Manchester Airport we were at Panama City Airport along with ALL of our luggage and our MEDIUM sized car which like everything else here is HUGE. Looking like a LandRover Freelander on steroids with a hulking great V6 engine, Leather, Climate Control etc etc etc the steering wheel on the wrong side and no clutch pedal (damn automatics). Americans must get a real shock when they come to the UK and a medium car is a Ford Focus diesel. A quick trip to the never shutting Walmart to get milk, bread and other necessary goodies before hitting the apartment to empty the bags, find out what was broken and ‘finally’ sleep.
Damage Report – On one of our suitcases a solid plastic sheet that form the sides of the case has been totally destroyed leaving small bits of plastic over the contents and the bigger broken pieces just lying about inside the fabric. My bike box has taken a beating (as always). One of the 4 clasps that fasten the sides has broken off, one of the wheels has been smacked so hard that it’s totally seized up and it’s generally scuffed to bits. It’s done its job though and the bike is still in one piece, so that makes all the hassle and worry about whether it would get on the plane worth it. Looking at the beating the box has taken I’m not sure a bike bag would have offered the same protection and as for packing it in cardboard as Delta recommend – nooooo thanks.
This morning I went for a walk on the beach with Shelly before taking the bike out for a spin. It’s damn windy here today, far windier than it was in 2004 when people were panicking about the swim, the sea has a good chop on it but it’s more like a flat day at Croyde than a tough day at Perranporth. I was getting blown all over the place on the bike ride though and even took a small off road excursion at one point which could have been very embarrassing but I held the bike upright and made it back onto the road without any problems. Tuesday and Wednesday are both forecast to be on the ‘blustery’ side of things. If it stays this way until the weekend it’ll make for an interesting race that will suit the strong riders – that’s me stuffed then.
At the daily trip to Walmart this afternoon we played ‘Spot the Triathlete’, it’s not really that hard a game to play, there were plenty of Oakleys, tanned and toned bodies and shaved legs wandering about, there’s none of that with me though of course :-).
Until next time. From a sunny but rather windy PCB.
Seeeeeee ya.
After packing, repacking and repacking again we weighed my bike box and it was over weight so everything came out except for the bike, wheels and saddle. Tools, tyres, tubes, bottles, gels etc etc etc all got bagged up and put in with the other luggage – such a dreadful waste of space really.
The original plan was to only take the bike box and two other bags but we soon realised that the new weight regulations meant that suitcases became overweight a long time before they became full so an extra bag was called for.
On Saturday morning we headed up to Wolves to see the family and drop Rosie off at my parents for the week. No doubt she’ll be even more spoilt when she leaves there than she is already. After visiting a few folks and getting more than my fair share of quizzical glances and comments about the now fading haircut we headed out to Manchester Airport for our overnight stay at the Hilton Hotel. More strange looks followed as the Hilton is far to posh (and expensive) for us and a bloke with freaky hair is secretly probably less than welcome in their restaurant, about as welcome infact as their bill was in my bank account. Still it was very nice as a one off experience and their gym machines came in handy for me to knock out a swift 45min bike/15min run brick session.
Sunday morning came and we made sure we got to Check-In with plenty of time to spare for any of the expected problems…….. What can I say other than it was fine. After reading horror stories about flying Delta and reading totally separate horror stories about flying from Manchester Airport the whole experience was great. The woman at Check-In was very friendly which immediately made us feel a whole lot better about the situation. The bags were weighed and even with just bike and wheels my case was 22.8kg, just 0.2kg below the new limit. The girl on the oversize/squishy bag gate was also very friendly, we even started having a laugh and a joke when I appeared at her gate for the 3rd time. After getting the bags away there was a long old queue to get through passport control and into the Departure Areas which had plenty of people around us grumbling but we had plenty of time to kill so that wasn’t even a problem.
There’s no way really to describe the 9hr+ flight from Manchester to Atlanta other than it’s loooooong. 1st time we went it was a novelty and we were on a nice new 777 where you had your own personal TV’s and plenty of channels to choose from, 2nd time we had the terrible twins screaming and a wailing to keep us ‘amused’. This time though it was just long, the films weren’t much good and with it being a daytime flight there was no way I’d just be able to sleep through it.
Once at Atlanta we ONLY had to wait 4hrs for our connecting flight. By the time you’ve cleared customs and baggage that’s down to 3hrs though and the Airline changing your flight to a totally different Terminal also helps to kill a bit of time. There’s no escaping it though you can tell you’re in America almost instantly because there are some HUGE folks here. We’d hardly got off the plane before we saw the first man mountain walking towards us. I genuinely looked at some people strolling through the airport and wondered how they would fit in their planes seats. It’s really got to be seen to be believed.
Flying from Atlanta to PCB was short and sweet. 250miles, 45mins and one time zone which meant that we actually landed before we took off ;-) and finally 20hrs after checking in at Manchester Airport we were at Panama City Airport along with ALL of our luggage and our MEDIUM sized car which like everything else here is HUGE. Looking like a LandRover Freelander on steroids with a hulking great V6 engine, Leather, Climate Control etc etc etc the steering wheel on the wrong side and no clutch pedal (damn automatics). Americans must get a real shock when they come to the UK and a medium car is a Ford Focus diesel. A quick trip to the never shutting Walmart to get milk, bread and other necessary goodies before hitting the apartment to empty the bags, find out what was broken and ‘finally’ sleep.
Damage Report – On one of our suitcases a solid plastic sheet that form the sides of the case has been totally destroyed leaving small bits of plastic over the contents and the bigger broken pieces just lying about inside the fabric. My bike box has taken a beating (as always). One of the 4 clasps that fasten the sides has broken off, one of the wheels has been smacked so hard that it’s totally seized up and it’s generally scuffed to bits. It’s done its job though and the bike is still in one piece, so that makes all the hassle and worry about whether it would get on the plane worth it. Looking at the beating the box has taken I’m not sure a bike bag would have offered the same protection and as for packing it in cardboard as Delta recommend – nooooo thanks.
This morning I went for a walk on the beach with Shelly before taking the bike out for a spin. It’s damn windy here today, far windier than it was in 2004 when people were panicking about the swim, the sea has a good chop on it but it’s more like a flat day at Croyde than a tough day at Perranporth. I was getting blown all over the place on the bike ride though and even took a small off road excursion at one point which could have been very embarrassing but I held the bike upright and made it back onto the road without any problems. Tuesday and Wednesday are both forecast to be on the ‘blustery’ side of things. If it stays this way until the weekend it’ll make for an interesting race that will suit the strong riders – that’s me stuffed then.
At the daily trip to Walmart this afternoon we played ‘Spot the Triathlete’, it’s not really that hard a game to play, there were plenty of Oakleys, tanned and toned bodies and shaved legs wandering about, there’s none of that with me though of course :-).
Until next time. From a sunny but rather windy PCB.
Seeeeeee ya.
Saturday 25 October 2008
Ready to Fly
Well the bags have been packed, unpacked, packed, unpacked, packed, unpacked etc etc etc. Jeez these 23kg weight limits are a pain, your bag's hardly full but it's overweight.
It's been a really slack week (again) with only 2 days of training, a 7.3mile run on Tuesday with increasing pace throughout and then yesterday which consisted of a poor 4mile run in the morning, a solid 7mile run early evening and then a 3.2k beast of an evening swim session which faded the hell out of my hair (there's more dye to be used though :-) ). The next two days will be full of nothing but travelling so my next session won't be until Monday when hopefully I'll get a few bike miles in.
I've woken up this morning with a sniffle which is a bit concerning as everybody in this end of the world has been full of the lurgie lately, but hopefully it's just a result of last nights swim session. I do tend to get a 'swimming cold' after a hard session.
Now I just want to get there. I'll be much happier (and more tired) at 10pm on Sunday night (PCB time). We've failed miserably to find a sensible solution to the bike transport problem so we're just going to have to wing it and hope that the airport folks are either having a smily day or can 'help' with a sensible solution. I can't believe that it won't be a problem that they've had many times before, fingers crossed.
That'll do for now I guess. Next update from PCB.
It's been a really slack week (again) with only 2 days of training, a 7.3mile run on Tuesday with increasing pace throughout and then yesterday which consisted of a poor 4mile run in the morning, a solid 7mile run early evening and then a 3.2k beast of an evening swim session which faded the hell out of my hair (there's more dye to be used though :-) ). The next two days will be full of nothing but travelling so my next session won't be until Monday when hopefully I'll get a few bike miles in.
I've woken up this morning with a sniffle which is a bit concerning as everybody in this end of the world has been full of the lurgie lately, but hopefully it's just a result of last nights swim session. I do tend to get a 'swimming cold' after a hard session.
Now I just want to get there. I'll be much happier (and more tired) at 10pm on Sunday night (PCB time). We've failed miserably to find a sensible solution to the bike transport problem so we're just going to have to wing it and hope that the airport folks are either having a smily day or can 'help' with a sensible solution. I can't believe that it won't be a problem that they've had many times before, fingers crossed.
That'll do for now I guess. Next update from PCB.
Wednesday 22 October 2008
Tuesday 21 October 2008
Suddenly there's panic
Gone it seems are the day when you rock up at the airport with your bike box and put it in the oversize baggage section without a problem. This was the situation when I flew over to PCB in '04 and '05. So long as it didn't weigh over 35kg all was fine.
Things have changed though!!!!!!!!!!
Knowing that we checked the Delta Airlines website for the new weight limits once my bike box was packed. No baggage over 23kg it said. That's fine, leave my wetsuit out and a few tee-shirts, I'm well under the weight limit.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!
Add up the length, width and height of your bags. Anything below 62inches is fine, between 63 - 80inches is subject to a freaking $150 fee. ANYTHING OVER 80INCHES IS UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!! Holy Crap - My bike box measures 88inches (90 if you look at their website).
Plans B, C & D are all being kicked into action. Plans E, F & G are whizzing around my head and if I get to Plan H I'm in deep in the poo.
Fingers crossed that there is a sensible solution forthcoming SOON!!!
Things have changed though!!!!!!!!!!
Knowing that we checked the Delta Airlines website for the new weight limits once my bike box was packed. No baggage over 23kg it said. That's fine, leave my wetsuit out and a few tee-shirts, I'm well under the weight limit.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!
Add up the length, width and height of your bags. Anything below 62inches is fine, between 63 - 80inches is subject to a freaking $150 fee. ANYTHING OVER 80INCHES IS UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!! Holy Crap - My bike box measures 88inches (90 if you look at their website).
Plans B, C & D are all being kicked into action. Plans E, F & G are whizzing around my head and if I get to Plan H I'm in deep in the poo.
Fingers crossed that there is a sensible solution forthcoming SOON!!!
Sunday 19 October 2008
Bike's Packed
Probably my last 2 bike rides this weekend before I fly next week 40miles yesterday, 33miles today. Todays ride followed a 4k swim TT in 57:47. IM swim distance came around in 54:54. Why do I seem to be the only person in the world who's slower with a wetsuit than without? Still, I should be ok for a comfy 60mins come race day.A week from now we'll be here
Saturday 18 October 2008
Calling number 811
That'll be me in 2 weeks time when at this exact time I'll hopefully be all done and dusted, finishers medal in hand and cheering on the other finishers at Ironman Florida.
The first week of tapering has been a nightmare really but hopefully as it's only 3 weeks out my body won't notice too much that I actually only did one training run (which was awful) in the 5 days from Sunday to Thursday. That was followed by a solid 7mile run, a 4k TT swim and a steady 6mile run on Friday and a very comfortable 40mile bike ride today.
With only one week of work left I'm feeling totally chilled about the race. The fact that I know I've done nowhere near enough training to really race to my potential has taken a lot of pressure off and life is just continuing like normal. Far from living the life that most people lead pre-Ironman I'm just as normal. If I want a drink I'll have a drink (there's a glass of wine in front of me as I type), if I want to eat junk I'll eat junk. There has been chocolate, take aways, biscuits, crisps etc etc etc and in truth it's not going to stop.
If you look at it logically then there's nothing to worry about when Ironman time comes around, it's just a long hard training day. In truth there are only a few hardened athletes at the front who are 'racing', if anybody else races it's just going to lead to a shortened race and a trip to the med tent.
Much scarier than any Ironman race is when you go rooting about and find pictures of yourself racing 6 years ago.
It makes you realise how much you've 'filled out' in your old age. Ok so I'm actually quicker now than I was then, but that was because I couldn't ride a bike to save my life, but jeez could I run. Gone are the days when that skinny little frame goes blasting around a triathlon run course at sub 6min/mile pace, luckily I get onto that run course a lot quicker than I used to. Now if I could combine the run of then with the bike of now I'd be a half decent triathlete (only half decent mind).
Two weeks to go. If I have time there will be a quick update on Wednesday evening when the Florida haircut will be revealed. Be afraid, be very afraid ;-)
Sunday 12 October 2008
Last long bike.
In 2 weeks time I'll have jetted over the Atlantic to PCB. 3 weeks from now it'll all be over and I'll be wondering whether it's been worth all the hassle. One thing's for sure, I won't ache much more than I do now.
Saturday was my big Ironman training/viewing brick session and it's wiped me out!! (course below)
First up was the training. The weather forecast was good and there was no great rush to leave the house so I chilled and prepped my bike for most of the morning before heading out for what was only my 2nd century ride this year. I needed to make it a good one and wanted to make it a harder, longer ride than Florida will be. There was only one thing for it, Exmoor here I come!! I planned to hit the hills early and give myself the option of wimping out with some flat stuff towards the end and that was exactly what I did. 3hrs later and I'd only covered 49miles (16mph) but I had climbed most of the rides 7,300ft of ascent.
Saturday was my big Ironman training/viewing brick session and it's wiped me out!! (course below)
First up was the training. The weather forecast was good and there was no great rush to leave the house so I chilled and prepped my bike for most of the morning before heading out for what was only my 2nd century ride this year. I needed to make it a good one and wanted to make it a harder, longer ride than Florida will be. There was only one thing for it, Exmoor here I come!! I planned to hit the hills early and give myself the option of wimping out with some flat stuff towards the end and that was exactly what I did. 3hrs later and I'd only covered 49miles (16mph) but I had climbed most of the rides 7,300ft of ascent.
The following 53miles took 2h50m (18.7mph) which I was happy with, especially as my back was killing me after all the climbing and because I blew a gasket at 90miles and pretty much bimbled home. A fresh and tapered pair of legs on a nice flat course will hopefully see me faring a whole lot better.
There was the tinyest thought in my head that maybe, just maybe I'd pop out for a short run when I got home, but as the return home coincided almost exactly with the starting cannon at IM Hawaii the run was immediatly out of the question. Leg 2 of the brick was about to begin...... almost 10hrs of Ironman Hawaii coverage.
As always Hawaii was great, it's just such a pity that the time difference means that it starts at 5:45pm and every year and I don't get to see my bed until almost 4am. Still at least next year I know the race will be at a sensible time for me and I'll have all my family and friends staying up until the early hours watching out for me (ok, I know!!!!!! Don't ruin it, I've only another 3 weeks to dream). Chrissie was awesome yet again and I think her appearence on the scene will be great for both genders. The women now have to raise their game considerably to get anywhere near her and I can see the men lifting their performances equally in fear that she'll start beating them. Take off the 10mins she spent at roadside with her puncture and she'd have finished in the top 25 overall, that's just scary.
Enough for now.
Train hard folks.
Friday 10 October 2008
It's nearly taper time - should I train first?
Race Day is getting ever closer and the nagging doubts are already there.
Why have I been so lazy at times?
Why haven’t I got more long stuff in?
Why is my nutrition not nailed down yet?
How the hell am I going to get through this race in a decent time?
So many more questions but it already feels as though it’s too little to late.
Since the last post I’ve got some decent running done (14.5, 13.5 & 10.5miles) and a solid swim (4k TT), my bike is still the weakness though and the thought of going out for 5-6hrs is still a thought that fills me with dread. The amount of times I’ve planned a century+ bike ride and wimped out far exceeds the amount I’ve done. This weekend is planned to be my final long bike ride and I really need to try for 100+ miles just to ease my mind. I feel that when it comes to the crunch I know the swim won’t be a problem, I know I can knock the run out fairly comfortably, but that damn bike…………… 112miles is so far and to get round the distance and still have my running legs attached is my biggest downfall and the cause of all my failures so far. Maybe if it’s playing on my mind come race day I’ll actually err on the side of caution where the bike is concerned and take it even easier than I need to.
I’ve been having a weekly massage, which may or may not be working but there are no injury worries at the moment so I’ll take that as a good thing. My lovely pain mistress Maria seems constantly amused at the state of my legs though. I think she secretly wonders how someone with so many knots and so much lactic build up can actually move their legs up and down. Thankfully though she doesn’t nag me to stretch, she doesn’t nag me to warm up and down and she doesn’t even nag me to shave my legs.
This weekend will hopefully be a century bike ride on Saturday followed by an evening (and early morning) watching Hawaii on the internet. If I get my backside out of bed early enough on Sunday morning then I’ll jump in the car and head off to Wadebridge for the last local Triathlon of the season. It’ll be good to give the muscles a good blast out after what seems like months and months of plodding along at Ironman pace. I might even sneak a bit of extra training in pre-race as there’s bound to be a big wait between registration and my swim start.
Why have I been so lazy at times?
Why haven’t I got more long stuff in?
Why is my nutrition not nailed down yet?
How the hell am I going to get through this race in a decent time?
So many more questions but it already feels as though it’s too little to late.
Since the last post I’ve got some decent running done (14.5, 13.5 & 10.5miles) and a solid swim (4k TT), my bike is still the weakness though and the thought of going out for 5-6hrs is still a thought that fills me with dread. The amount of times I’ve planned a century+ bike ride and wimped out far exceeds the amount I’ve done. This weekend is planned to be my final long bike ride and I really need to try for 100+ miles just to ease my mind. I feel that when it comes to the crunch I know the swim won’t be a problem, I know I can knock the run out fairly comfortably, but that damn bike…………… 112miles is so far and to get round the distance and still have my running legs attached is my biggest downfall and the cause of all my failures so far. Maybe if it’s playing on my mind come race day I’ll actually err on the side of caution where the bike is concerned and take it even easier than I need to.
I’ve been having a weekly massage, which may or may not be working but there are no injury worries at the moment so I’ll take that as a good thing. My lovely pain mistress Maria seems constantly amused at the state of my legs though. I think she secretly wonders how someone with so many knots and so much lactic build up can actually move their legs up and down. Thankfully though she doesn’t nag me to stretch, she doesn’t nag me to warm up and down and she doesn’t even nag me to shave my legs.
This weekend will hopefully be a century bike ride on Saturday followed by an evening (and early morning) watching Hawaii on the internet. If I get my backside out of bed early enough on Sunday morning then I’ll jump in the car and head off to Wadebridge for the last local Triathlon of the season. It’ll be good to give the muscles a good blast out after what seems like months and months of plodding along at Ironman pace. I might even sneak a bit of extra training in pre-race as there’s bound to be a big wait between registration and my swim start.
Wednesday 1 October 2008
One little tiny month
Today is the 1st of October and one month from now it will be race day!!! Holy Cow where has the time gone? It only seems like yesterday that I was frantically emailing NAS trying to get an International Entry because the race had filled quicker up than I could type. Now I'm getting to the point where I start thinking "Why haven't I trained harder?", "Why have I allowed myself to be so lazy and have so many days off?", "Is that just a tired muscle or an inury appearing?", "Can I finally justify myself by doing a decent Ironman?" along with all the other questions that pop into your head as the race draws closer.
I the coming month however there is still the possibility I might get a couple of races in. This Saturday is the Bude Quadrathlon (Swim/Bike/Kayak/Run) which I did last year. Nobody there is going to have to suffer the sight of me in a kayak again but depending on how things pan out I may well head down there to have a play as part of a relay either doing 2 or all of the other 3 disciplines.
I the coming month however there is still the possibility I might get a couple of races in. This Saturday is the Bude Quadrathlon (Swim/Bike/Kayak/Run) which I did last year. Nobody there is going to have to suffer the sight of me in a kayak again but depending on how things pan out I may well head down there to have a play as part of a relay either doing 2 or all of the other 3 disciplines.
The following Sunday is the Wadebridge Sprint Tri, the last local event of the year. It's one of those races that you always hate when you're there because there is so much hanging around, but it's the last chance saloon if you want to pit your wits against the locals and your clubmates. I've a plan this year 'if' I go, I'll take 2 bikes so that while one bike is stuck in T1 while I'm waiting 3hrs for my start time to come along I can go out on the other one and get some training in. We'll see!!! The biggest downer for this race is that it's the day after Hawaii and last year I only had around 3hrs sleep because I'd been watching the live feed all night/morning.
Well it looks as though Summer has finally left us. We've had out 2 weeks of decent weather and now we're back to howling gales and driving rain. Ah shucks :(
The Countdown in ON!!!
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