Andy B Blog

5km challenge: Weeks 7-10

2013-03-26T04:13:00.000-07:00

Despite a blogging break, I've not not stopped rowing....well not entirely. On reflection things had gone well during the first 6 weeks, but trouble was ahead. I heard from Jeremy that his row had been postponed to next year, somewhat removing a large part of the rationale for the challenge. Nonetheless, we decided to carry on. Jay continues to take more of a cross-training approach (i.e. rowing irregularly and mostly working out with his PT, and myself, following the Pete Plan and actually rowing- boring as it may be!!)

The Pete Plan for weeks 7-10

Week 7 (w/c 25th Feb)

For this block (weeks 7, 8, 9) I had decided to head out for all reps sub 1.51/500m. In week 7 I managed to hit all the reps just fine. The change I had made to my approach from earlier in the programme was to just get the session done, and not really go for the kill in every workout. So whereas before on the last rep of each session I had gone for a near max effort, I just went for a bit more control. As such, my 3 x 2km (with the middle 2km a sub maximal effort and the other two on 1.59/500m) wasn't the fastest it could have been, but it left more in the tank for the next weeks workout.

I also did my usual 2 weight sessions (full body 5 x 5 workouts) and ran for about 50 mins on Thursday and for 90 mins on Saturday. Although it didn't feel like it, I was only just past half way, and didn't want to compromise further sessions, either in the programme, or my other training. Especially since it was starting to feel like the 1 second drop in splits each 3 weeks was getting a little tougher. To look at my programme as a whole, it has quite a lot of intensity in it, and so this is why I am probably starting to find it difficult. That said, I've been keeping a close eye on my recovery with both restwise and Ithlete, and just about holding things together! I am always ready to take a rest day as required to keep things on the straight and narrow. Below is a summary of week 7 sessions.

Week 8 (w/c 4th March)

Again I got through this week ok. Hitting all the sessions. With an ultra coming up on the 23rd March, I wanted to start to get a bit more regularity in my running, and so ran easy for 50 mins not letting my HR go above 150 the morning before 8 x 750 and 4 x 1500m sessions. On the weekend I ran with lotte for 3 hours 20. Also did the usual 2 sessions at the gym (Tues and Fri), which goes roughly as follows:

5 sets of 5 repetitions with approx 1 min rest between sets. The aim is to lift a weight with good form, as heavy as you can manage for 5 reps. If you successfully complete all 5 sets, the next session, you add weight. The links aren't necessarily the best form so please get some instruction from someone who knows what they are doing, but just to give you an example (no idea why most of these guys can't afford t-shirts!)

Standing arnold press (25kg)

Dumbell bent over row (60kg)
Axle-Deadlift (115kg)
Swiss ball dumbell chest press (35kg)
Safety bar squat (75kg)
Ab-work - various

Week 9 (w/c 11th March) & 10 (w/c 18th March)

These two weeks for me were Jury duty!!! Although I had a relatively interesting case, the times I had to be in court were pretty unpredictable, being sent home early one day, then staying in most of the day the next. As can be seen from my timetable for March, from the 11th onwards, the workouts were starting to look sparse. In fact these two weeks, I only managed 2 of my 3 sessions!

I still managed a couple of runs, my long run (2.5 hours) at the weekend and a gym session. Worse still in week 9 I missed my first intervals of the entire programme. On tuesday, I was doing the 6 x 1km with 1 min rest (a toughie if ever there was one) and on the penultimate rep, I just lost it. My mind faltered for a few strokes, and with the fatigue from the session up to that point, there was no bringing it back. So for that rep and the final one, I called it a day and coasted in on 1.59/500m. I went for a short 2 mile easy run after. I went for the 5500m straight hard effort row as my other workout on Friday and just completed it by feel, not absolutely killing myself in order to try to claw back some recovery for my ultra the following week. This worked well and I kept my hr down to peak at 177 (about 185 is about as hard as I seem to have gone on any of the intervals).

Week 10 was the week of the ultra. In the end, with the terrible conditions in general lotte and I bailed after 1 lap of the revised route, and so only ran 13 miles. Still this took 3 hours. So although my conservative 2 of only 3 sessions approach wasn't necessary. However, on the upside, this means I can hit the final 2 weeks of the programme with wreckless abandon!!

Although I did miss the intervals and an entire session in week 9, week 10 signalled a new 'block' with the splits decreasing once again. I decided to aim for 1.50.5 (only taking 0.5s off the previous split) and just seeing how it went. During the first session, I did feel like I needed to really get my head back into it, so went full bore the last rep. I really feel like these shorter harder efforts really suit me. Either way, I easily managed the 1.50.5 target, coming in on sub 1.50 on all reps.

As a 'key' session in the programme, (and knowing I was only going to get time to really do 2 sessions before the race in this week) I went with the 3 x 2km session again as opposed to the 4 x 1500m. This went pretty well as I came in on 7.15 for the middle rep with I reckon another 10% to give across the rep easily.

So I am now into week 11 and I've decided to stick with sub 1.50s for the final two weeks. Next up I've got my nemesis - the 6 x 1km with 1 min rest - I WILL COMPLETE YOU! I'm going to sink everything into this, and hopefully that will really give me the confidence to go for it for the remaining sessions.

I am still yet to decide upon a strategy for my final 5km attempt. If any rowers have any insight into this, it would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully I will get together with Jay to attempt it, and we can do some filming. At the moment I want to at least set out for a 1.52.5 or 1.52.0 split for the piece, and will happily go down in a blaze of glory should it start to fall apart! ;-)

The sessions so far have given me a lot more to think about in terms of my mental approach to training, which hopefully I can go into a little more in my final blog. The next two weeks, rowing is my focus, and I am going to take it easy on the weights (just 1 session a week) and easy intensity running.

Wish me luck. Neale - you are GOING DOWN!!!!

5km challenge: Week 5 and 6

2013-02-24T09:23:00.002-08:00

So I thought it best to leave it a couple of weeks before my next update. The weekly trudge was getting dull.

Things have been going well, but still lots to learn. Weeks 5 and 6 were supposed to look like this:

However, because I transferred all these sessions to my handwritten notebook (incorrectly!) several weeks ago, last week I started out and did the first two sessions of week 6 instead of week 5! I did these on Monday and Friday, and perhaps because I jumped ahead a week in the programme, or perhaps the change to a 5 x 5 protocol in the gym which I did on Tuesday and Thursday - by Saturday I was wiped, and I couldn't bring myself to doing the 5km 'hard' session.

I took a day of rest and went to run for 3 hours on the sunday (it was pre-organised and after a day rest I felt good) but by Monday I was starting to feel it. By this point I still hadn't noticed that I was performing the wrong sessions, so went ahead with the 10 x 600m of week seven. Gym on Tuesday and put the missed 5km 'hard' session in on Wednesday. I wanted to do this session as the longer stuff seems an integral feature to the programme. However, I set out to do this on 1.54, and in my rather fatigued state, it was 'v.hard', as opposed to just 'hard'! I held the split and made the set in 19 mins dead (already 10 seconds off my baseline time), but come Thursday, I was exhausted. My 5 x 5 in the gym started BADLY, and I cut the session relatively short.

Lotte somehow managed to make it into work with my HR monitor and so the day after the 5km I had no Ithlete score which would have been interesting, but my restwise was telling me I was down to 60%. I took Friday and Saturday completely off as m Ithlete score was significantly down. But today it was back to normal I felt rested. I managed the 3 x 2km today, but to continue my catalogue of errors I did this with a 4 min rest interval not 3.

So lessons learned?

1) CHECK THE PLAN! I will do week 7 as intended, even though there will be some repetition. I have no intention of squeezing in the missed session now. Although I did think of doing 4 sessions this week (come on - we all know its wrong, but who doesnt think about getting that missed session in somehow!) Obviously it better to do the remaining ones correctly though, than compromise the general quality of the programme, so I'm glad I've come to my senses!

2) ENSURE THE QUALITY OF THE SESSIONS! This means, not doing the wrong amount of time for a rest interval, and not putting in too much intensity. The last two 3 x 2km sessions I have done have had a near maximal middle piece. This should be sub-maximal. I'm not doing myself any favours and just need to trust the programme. I've already taken 7 seconds off my 2km time from the session at the end of week 3, so the improvements are coming, I just need to hold it together. Likewise, the 5km session was too 'hard'. I will carefully evaluate the aims of each session, and enforce strict HR caps going forward if needs be!

So there we go. Still clocking along, despite a minor wobble in terms of consistency and execution. 6 weeks to go....its all downhill from here! :-)

Week 5 - 5 x 1km at 1.52/500 with 1 min rest

Week 5 - 4 x 1550m at 1.52/500 with 4 min rest

Week 6 - 10 x 600m at 1.52/500 with 1 min rest

Week 6 - 5km on 1.54 - too 'hard'

Week 6 - 3 x 2km - 4 min rest - 1st and 3rd on 1.59/500 and 2nd all out (7.02.9)

Not sure where to take the next 3 weeks....I think I'll of for 1.51/500m, the 2 second jump between week 3 and 4 was hard work. If its too conservative, I can always go harder in week 8! However with the progressive nature of the 5 x 5, recovery is becoming the limiting factor. I have a feeling it will make or break how I get on from here on in!

5km challenge: Week 4 update

2013-02-09T07:46:00.001-08:00

So, before this week, I was somewhat lacking in motivation. I knew this would happen. This week has really just been about getting on with it. But thats one of the great thing about goals - they're great at increasing persistence.

Taking 2 seconds off the splits I used for the first 3 weeks was guided by my final splits from sessions I have done so far. I feel that if I can complete the 1st week of sessions on that split, I can get through the next 2 weeks of each phase (they are only a little longer, and its more of a psychological barrier than physical one).

10 x 500m on 1.52 - 1 min rest

4 x 1250m on 1.52 - 4 mins rest

Initially the 10 x 500m on 1.52 felt too easy and I thought I'd undersold myself. That feeling soon dissipated towards the end of the session though ;-) Again the 4 x 1250m were suitably challenging, but its important to feel that. Its hard to describe, but in subjective terms, working around your threshold (which these sessions are designed to do) should feel something between 'comfortably uncomfortable' and 'quite uncomfortable'. Generally painful is probably a little bit too far above threshold, not in the sense that it won't force a desired adaptation, but spend too long there and you pay for it in increased recovery time.

4500m 'hard' on 1.54

I was considering only doing the 4500m straight session on 1.55 but decided to extend the 2 second decrease in split and go for 1.54. I'd managed a 1.55.1 split for 5km in my baseline test and know I've been improving so thought it should be ok. Conversely I didn't want it to be too hard, as being in a state to complete the next session of the programme is vital. It was just about right.

Peak Training Effect of all sessions so far - I'm aiming for between 3-4.

It was good to confirm this with my suunto training effect score which I think is a really valuable tool. Every session from the Pete Plan lite 2007 has given me a peak training effect score of between 3 and 4 for every session. Which is 'just about right'. Enough work to create continued physiological change, but not too much to leave extended recovery. If I had kept the splits the same as the first three weeks, it is likely that I wouldn't be doing quite enough work to continue improving. You can see below a bit more precisely what the scores mean.

Suunto Training Effect guide

So onwards I row. Not missed a session yet, and I'm a third of the way there. Consistency is key for me - and as an update - if I extended the 4.5km split I completed today, I'd have taken 15seconds off my 5km time already. Its hugely unlikely I can keep the gains constant, but I'm just going to try to focus on each session and see where it takes me.

5km challenge update: Week 3

2013-02-05T01:55:00.000-08:00

So its the end of the first 3 week block and it certainly ended well. I found out that when I started to push on the final rep of each set and especially on the paced 2km set I did on Friday, that I had a lot more in the tank than I thought.

5 x 1km with 1 min rest on 1.54

4 x 1500m with 4 min rest on 1.54

3 x 2km with 4 min rest. 1st and 3rd on 1.59 and middle rep sub-maximal 2km piece

I managed to pull out a 7.10.7 middle 2km which is starting to look like a much more reasonable 1.47.6 per 500m split. I've no idea how long the improvement will keep going, or what I will eventually manage come the final test, but I'm interested to find out.

After the session on Friday I spent the weekend in Exmoor with Lotte. We did nearly a 5 hour run on Saturday and a 4 hour walk on Sunday. I rested on Monday as we travelled back, but will probably take 1 more day to recuperate before hitting the next 3 week block of sessions.

Again I may be demonstrating my naivety with regards to what I can or can't achieve, but will be aiming for a 'conservative' or perhaps 'foolhardy' 1.52 per 500m split for the baseline of these next 3 weeks of sessions. :-s

5km Challenge update: Week 2

2013-01-26T09:40:00.003-08:00

Well I've heard nothing from Jeremy so far, I can only assume my last couple of posts have him cowering in fear....either way, I've been plugging on with the task at hand. Still yet to see much evidence of others who have said they'd give the challenge a go. To be honest, I can't blame them. Already this week I've started to find the whole process a bit of a chore!

I've done a couple of things this week to help my training. First was clarifying with Pete (the author of the Pete Plan Lite) the exact nature of some of the sessions. He suggested for an indication of the direction of my training, pushing the last split of the multiple interval sessions. He also clarified that the 4km set I had this week was just 'hard' as opposed to an all out time trial (phew!).

Second I've taken on some advice from some fellow club members and ex-rowers. Dan suggested upping my stroke rate to better maintain power, and Martyn gave me a few hints and tips after the Tri London strength and conditioning session.

So on Monday I did the shorter interval session. 8 x 625m on 1.54 with 1 min rest. Over these shorter intervals I found it relatively easy to maintain 25 strokes per min and could definitely feel the benefit in terms of maintaining the momentum on the fan. I built the intensity over the last interval, but felt like I had a little more left.

8 x 625 on 1.54 with 1 min rest

Full body weights on Tuesday, but went out for a couple of drinks in the evening, which left me pretty lethargic on Wednesday when my second session was planned. I bailed on exercise totally on Wed, and set out to do my 4 x 1350m with 4 mins rest on Thursday. Unfortunately time got away from me so decided to sway in my 4km hard session instead. I wasn't entirely sure on how quick to go to get 'hard' but went for 1.56 (again at 25s/m). I did find it a little harder to maintain this stroke rate over a longer interval. Perhaps it was the speed I was aiming for was too low for that stroke rate. Whatever the case, there is still work to be done to really embed a slightly higher stroke rate.

500m wu and cd - 4km hard (aiming for 1.56)

With a long run planned today (Saturday), and a weights session still to do from Thursday, I planned a double session on Friday. I did weights in the morning, aiming to do the remaining 4 x 1350 session in the afternoon. Unsurprisingly I quite tired after the weights, but dragged myself back to the gym and got on with it. I hit the first 3 splits well, and surprised myself a little bit with the 4th interval. Despite my legs being quite toasted from deadlifts and squats in the morning, I felt like I was just getting into it. It ended up being one of those really feel good/confidence booster sessions, just what I needed after a bit more of an apathetic week with regards to the challenge. Only 10 more to go! uggghh.

4 x 1350m on 1.54 with 4 min rest

Next week is my final week on 1.54/500m pacing....and will then decide what to take that down two for the 2nd three week block of the programme. I hope to post a little bit about how I incorporate both music and recovery into my training over the next few weeks too, as this reads back about as dull as the sessions themselves!

5km Challenge update: Week1 (Help me Rowers!)

2013-01-18T05:03:00.002-08:00

So, for those that care (which will be few, if any) I've done my first week of ergo sessions, as part of the 5km challenge I've got going on with Jay and a few others. As I mentioned before I only wanted to do three sessions a week, and even squeezing one in last week, with adequate rest, I can see that it will require quite a lot of discipline to hit every session.

I managed to find a pretty simple training plan online for free called the Pete Plan blog which is 3 sessions a week for 12 weeks. As an idea its posted in below but do check out his plan! Hopefully I will be able to adhere to it pretty stringently and let you know if it works. FYI I have donated to his PayPal, even though I am a scroungy student at heart. :-) That said, the donation is not entirely selfless - being the scrounger that I am, now I've chipped in some cash - I feel like I need to make it worthwhile.

The Pete Plan Lite 2007! Thanks!

So I logged my 5km baseline test on Wednesday the 9th and using the momentum of the novelty of the challenge ahead, I got straight into my first session on the Friday. I did a full body weights session on the Thursday. I did a long 3 hour run on Sat. I'm hoping that this longer running will be the only endurance session I need each week. As much as I love a challenge, I'd much prefer to run for 3 hours than grind out 10k+ on an ergo. There are limits to my stupidity. Monday and Wednesday this week were weights and I did another ergo on Tuesday and today. I took a rest day on Thursday as after the weights, I was quite tired, woke up really groggy even after 10.5 hours sleep and my HRV IThlete score was way down. I'll do a post about how I track recovery later.

Training so far...

As an idea the programme works in 3 week cycles. As you can see, for each session (1 short, 1 medium and 1 longer interval session each week) the reps get longer each week over 3 weeks then reset. The aim is to hit a split, and maintain it for the 3 weeks. The next three weeks, you reduce the split, and repeat. Simples.

Having managed my 5km piece with an average 1.55.1 per 500m I decided to aim for anything under 1.54.0 for the first week's set of sessions. That said on reading in a bit more detail about the sessions, I don't think that the different sessions necessarily need to be the same split. So for example in Week 1, I'm not sure the 2km intervals are necessarily supposed to hit the same splits as the 500m intervals. If anyone has any advice on this it would be much appreciated. That said, I've done them all on sub 1.54 and today I did manage 3 x 2km with the 3 min rest under that too, so I feel confident I can continue to hit at least 1.54 for the sessions in weeks 2 and 3. Any rowers out there. What should I do the two shorter interval sets on, or just keep it the same?

Hopefully I can take 1 second off each 3 week cycle. But am aware of the greatly diminishing law of returns. Is this wildly optimistic? If (BIG IF) I can hold that for 5km, I'll end up with an 18.30 split which I think is reasonable. Time will tell? If I'm under 75kg by then any idea what a good time would be? Rowers out there?

Going forward the plan is to do the sessions Mon, Wed and Fri. With 3x full body weights sessions spread across the week, and a long run at the weekend. I also fully intend to keep up my POWERbreathe sessions - 30 breaths twice a day until week 8. Then I'll shift to some functional work specifically for rowing. I can already feel it helping! We will see how it goes!

So a few of you out there have hinted at taking up the challenge yourselves, which is nice to hear. Jay has been keeping his training top secret thus far. I however am aiming to mercilessly crush him with relentless consistency ;-). I want him to see me coming!

Here are the session readouts, just to prove I'm doing it. I always do a 500m warm up and 500m cool down (easy), with rollering and stretching (plus some glute activation work pre set.) I did miss the first and last split on my 8 x 500s which is annoying, as it was more due to rowing related retardedness than an inability to hit the splits!

8 x 500m - 1 min rest

4 x 1200m - 4 min rest

3 x 2000m - 3 min rest

I'd love to hear how you are all getting on! Any help or advice is welcome!

A New Challenge (and a really bad idea?)

2013-01-09T05:02:00.004-08:00

So my friend Jeremy, who I participated in Polar Challenge 2011 with, has a new challenge on the horizon - and that its to race around Britain in a boat. Check out the team and their plans here. Unsurprisingly, considering the scale of the task, and his previous rowing experience (none), he has been focused and hitting the gym with dedication and consistency. He often he posts up snapshots of the readout for 60 or 90+ minute rows. While I now think nothing really of a 60 or 90 minute run on trail as something that is difficult, the idea of spending it indoors on an ergo couldn't be more off-putting. I haven't sat on an ergo since 2003, and even then I didn't enjoy it. When I saw the tweets and posts of his efforts, envy was not something I felt.

I would consider myself a goal-oriented individual. I like having goals, I respond well to them, and I certainly enjoy achieving them. That said, the most rewarding ones are not easy. At the moment, physically speaking, although I have a few goals based on hitting certain strength standards and a few races/challenges on the trails scattered over the next year, I have been somewhat lacking in inspiration. Nothing really seems to appeal.

Taking a look at some year totals. It is relatively clear that I've managed to put in some consistent work. (I've only used Movescount since March 2011 so there is some overlap here but it gives a reasonable indication of a rolling 12 month average in March 2012 and now. Excluding the weight training, I think the averages from the year before should be similar too.)

March 2011 - March 2012

Jan 2012 - Jan 2013

Now I've pondered this for a while, and came to the conclusion that until I find something that REALLY grabs me, I should just do something. I also felt I needed to shake things up. I wanted something that was difficult, and something that would be good for me. I don't know why I thought of indoor rowing, but here goes.

So at the moment, it is me vs Jay. The challenge is a 5km ergos. We clocked one this week, and have 12 weeks to improve our times by the most. So starting next week, we have 12 weeks to boost our time. The 'winner' is the one that improves the most. At some point in the first week of April, (if I make it that far) we will both put in another 5km effort.

Now the challenge isn't perfect, Jay has been rowing for a couple of months now, and so within 12 weeks might find it harder to improve. That said, relative to me, he probably still has some gains in his general aerobic capacity to be made. Despite its imperfections, it is a challenge that matches us both.

It will push me mentally, but will also give Jay some added motivation, albeit extrinsic motivation. As we are both in it together it will boost relatedness on the task. We should improve, therefore fostering a sense of competence, and there is certainly NO ONE that is making me do this and so it ticks the autonomy box too. On top of all this, its direct relevance to Jay's circum-GB row, adds meaning (for Jay). For me, the meaning derives mostly from the sense that I can help out a friend. Its also bit of curiosity - Have I still 'got it?' - namely, is my general apathy toward tasks that once appealed a sign of a deeper change? It should also definitely add noticeable boost to my threshold fitness, so mental jiggery-pokery aside, should serve to benefit my wider athletic goals.

Jay's first attempt - 08/01/2013

My first attempt - 09/01/13

Having posted my initial 5km effort this morning, I am even more intrigued by the task ahead. As I walked to the gym I was not looking forward to the effort. My fears were quickly realised as I definitely didn't enjoy it. I also massively regretted doing no threshold/Vo2 work over the last couple of months. I think JFK had it right though when he said that we choose to do these things...

...not because they are easy, but because they are hard.

I will do no more than 3 sessions a week as I wish to work on my other goals concurrently, but won't disallow Jay from doing more should he so wish. Hopefully I can use my training nouse and experience to 'out-improve' him, but at the end of the day, it is a challenge with an outcome that is beneficial and positive for both of us. That said, I'll certainly be dusting off the old POWERbreathe. Game face on!!

I tweeted about the challenge before I did my session this morning and a club member commented on the task:

It reminded me of an interview I read about Morgan Spurlock who on recalling when he came up with the idea for "Super Size Me" a friend had commented:

"that sounds like a really great, bad idea!"

If this goes anything like I remember the film, it could be an interesting 12 weeks. Hopefully it won't involve vomiting, the general onset of organ failure or any other long term risks to our health!

Piece of String Fun Run - Unravelling the paradox

2012-11-30T01:24:00.002-08:00

I've been holding back my opinion on this race for a while now, partly because as usual, I hadn't really made up my mind about it. If you haven't got anything useful to say......;-)

However, some of the recent discussions and race reports from the event itself have given my ideas a bit of context. I thought perhaps that now might be a good time to get them down. As a very poor analogy, I suppose my aim of this blog is to unravel and straighten out the this conceptual 'piece of string' through the medium of my theoretical knowledge of sport psychology. Lets hope the collective mass of my theoretical approach is greater than that of a piece of string! (for reference check out the below video - a funny little link included at the end of Mimi Anderson's report on the race - I love Stewart Lee).

The Concept

So if you are interested enough to have read this far, you will know what the concept of the race is. If you don't, here is a link to the race description. In short, it is a race where the end point is not known. The theory behind this, as discussed by James in his pre-event blog, is that this format will:

reduce certainty, thereby inducing anxiety and hinder performance
undermine the credibility or confidence in ant given pacing strategy
disarm the influence of any beneficial outcome motivation (i.e. 'only x more miles to go!!!')

In addition, there was also an:

4. application process

where applicants had to submit a detailed explanation for 'Why you are qualified to run this race' including a photo of you at your most miserable/worst.

The Paradox

For the reasons detailed below however, I think that the race turned out to be a different beast than perhaps first intended.

1. Did the race actually reduce certainty?

Granted, competitors would not have known the precise end point but I would go as far as to say that it was relatively clear the race was going to be of the 'ultra' variety. Although this doesn't narrow it down too much, it probably puts it in the realm of somewhere between 50-150 miles. Taking into consideration the calibre of the field and the their athletic résumés, you might also assume that it could be towards to the top end of this. (I appreciate this is very easy to say in hindsight - and I could well be wrong). On a more practical point, I felt another giveaway was the clear effort and dedication put into the race by the race directors (RDs). For all accounts they put on a fantastic race - but let's face it, after all that effort, how funny would it actually have been if it was just a 5km or 500m?

From a more technical perspective, removing all certainty of the end point could theoretically assist by removing an unnecessary distraction. If you don't know when the end is, it cannot lead you from the task at hand (or at least it shouldn't!). In a competitive sense, what often separates winners from losers is the ability to stay in the present and focus on what they can actually do in that moment, rather than speculate what might happen in the future (Moran & Kremer, 2008) - I'll talk about how much this matters (or doesn't really) later on. But in short, such a format I think should actually help the competitors to focus on the controllables. That said, just by removing the end point doesn't mean people will necessarily focus on what they can control. You still have to decide to concentrate!

It seems relatively clear that in this instance, the more successful attempts at this race were in part helped by the more elite navigation skills. Based on Mimi's report, tricky navigation at times resulted in a slower pace and the difficulty of staying warm and eventual withdrawal. Sam also seemed to have had these problems, but at times when he used his Garmin, he showed marked improvements subjective evaluation of his performance at these times. Wouter seemed to be able to use a map well. Effective navigation in this event was one of the only things that competitors could control - it seems like those that did it better.....did better.

2. Pacing and wider strategies

Here is a quote from the FAQs:

"We don’t expect people to run the trails like Ian Sharman but neither do we want people ambling around at 2mph. You will be informed along the way how “close” you are to cut-offs."

This I feel was another indicator about the length of the race. Take into account the terrain in the area, and start from a 2mph cut off and you have a very rough estimation of how far you might have to run. Research conducted by Sam and James Elson gives some insight into pacing strategies at the SDW100 over such distances, but it is clear that the strategies are not homogenous. Another piece Sam did on the Western states also indicates that there is no clear cut answer to pacing anyway. I feel here that the format again, can only serve to remove something else that you might else 'worry' about. I don't know if anyone did it, but a good way to gather feedback on pacing would have been to go really slowly (and wear loads of clothes!), the race organisers would then inform you that you were close to the cut offs. Simply move a little quicker for a short while and then when you felt like it, slow down again, until warned. This way you wouldn't be going any faster than you really needed to. In a race with no finishing times, this seems like a good way to promote longevity.

Another quote from the race description:

"All the rules of pacing, nutrition and mental focus will go out the window in a race where you just don’t know how long you have left to go"

Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water - I'm not sure how or why the fundamentals of mental focus would go out the window, nor the principles of nutrition if we can assume its going to be an ultra?

3. Outcome motivation

This comes back to the assumption that the end (lets call it the 'end concept') is one of the major motivating factors factors for ultra runners. This is a really complicated topic and ties in with a whole load of stuff. The fact remains that motivation is a personal construct and removing the end concept will mean different things to different people. I think that in this context, that it is an idea of overstated importance (feel free to disagree - and I would be interested to see any research on this in ultra runners - how many actually predominantly hold onto the thought of finishing as their true source of motivation?).

If I were to classify this in as general sense as possible I would describe the idea of the end concept as an extrinsic form of motivation, albeit one that is very recognisable and familiar. Extrinsic motivators do not play as significant role in self-determination as intrinsic factors, and so I think here that removal of such a motivator probably won't/didn't/shouldn't have had that dramatic an effect. Just because something is familiar or obviously noticeable, doesn't confer significance. It all comes back to the old, what people think they do and what they actually do being different things. That said, remember its personal, as different situational and personal characteristics mix and collide, entirely different reactions and thought patterns can surface!

Yoinked from http://runningduo.blogspot.co.uk - i hope you don't mind!

Humans are also quite an adaptable bunch. When something doesn't quite cut it, they'll grab on to something else. Rasmus Henning talks a little about his 'motivational pyramid' here, the two main points being that forms of extrinsic motivation (e.g. money) only goes so far, and depending on the situation he'll focus on another motivating factor to get him through a training session, or race. Sam's experience at the Piece of String fits with nicely he cited one of his reasons for pushing on was:

I found this pretty unusual. If you are to look at the motivation continuum (this was the shortest most succinct explanation I could find) Sam's reason above sits somewhere between external or introjected regulation, and is certainly not what you'd expect. More classically, you might imagine he'd have said:

"When all is bleak and lost - I just carry on in order to go on experiencing the fundamental joys of the running experience, nothing else matters"

But in Sam's case, he cites a main motivator as an extrinsic factor, not specifically driving his wife bonkers, but more insinuates that he uses how he WOULD have felt if he had quit.

In line with Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2002) this isn't thought to foster self-determination. Moreover, using Need for Achievement Theory (Atkinson 1974; McClelland 1961; McClelland et al. 1953) it suggests avoidance failure (as opposed to striving for success) which is associated with low achievers. Further still, its a form of emotion-focused coping, not problem focused coping. The latter is associated with confidence, and in turn, persistence. The former is not. Theoretically, I might argue that the end concept, although motivating in some ways, could also work against you through distraction. The term 'arrival syndrome' sums it up quite well - although its great to stop and smell the roses once in a while and revel in your achievements, doing it too much (or before you've got there!) can distract you from doing the very things that will get you there in the first place!

So how the hell did Sam finish, having turned the rule book on his head in using such an 'off-piste' motivator? I don't know. Is there something about ultra running, that having run yourself into the ground, under extreme fatigue and impaired cognitive function that makes more simplistic recognisable motivators (albeit extrinsic) more potent? Is it an adaptive mechanism as a function of the weird race format? In the absence of the finish line being a motivator, did he just use other extrinsic factors in their place. Possibly, it would be interesting to know if Sam always uses this as his prime motivator. Perhaps it just goes to show that under extreme circumstances, there really are no rules. Or maybe, if you have an extrinsic motivator as powerful as 'the wife' - a man might need nothing more ;-)

4. The application process and applicants

I think if anything this was something I didn't like but could see why it was there. I didn't like it because it felt almost elitist, and on first glance seemed to promote or was at least centered around ideas of an 'achievement' culture (I briefly discussed these in my last blog). I've certainly never liked to think of ultra running as a meritocracy.

I do however understand how the application process fits within the concept of the race. If you were going to put on a ridiculously difficult race, as a race director you'd probably want to ensure that the participants could at least look after themselves! I think there is a collective responsibility of those in the endurance running community however, not to espouse the message that 'what you do says anything about who you are'. I think its something that is often misconstrued when we get lost in discussions of races and experiences past. Encouragingly though, I'd also like to say that its seems relatively obvious to me the position of the race organisers:

"The exact distance, finishing times and awards are all irrelevant here."

Its really refreshing to see this in an event!

I also couldn't think of a better example that undermines the idea of such an achievement culture. What better way to disprove the idea that past achievements count for anything than by selecting a field of high-achieving individuals and seeing how they do in extremely purified form of competition. 2 from 10 finished. With a skewed competitor pool, selected for insane acts of persistance and 'mental toughness', might one not assume that you'd get a higher finishing rate than 2 from 10? Taking this further, you also might expect that if the race was really hard, the finishers would be the more decorated of individuals than those that didn't, which wasn't the case (although this experiment doesn't really tell you much when the whole field are high achievers - you would need some ultra runners with no track record to say anything about that!).

If we could agree however. that they've mostly all completed 'harder' or 'tougher' races, and the difficulty wasn't a limiting factor, then surely the difference between those that finished and those that didn't must come from somewhere else? This all ties into another blog by James about whether its always the same people that finish. I could disagree - and sit on the fence and say 'it depends'. Obviously there is a multitude of other factors to consider when looking at performance in an inaugural and novel ultra such as this - but this is neither the time nor the place!

N.B. for all those who are shouting in disgust at the computer screen having read the above two paragraphs and other sentences throughout, please understand I am merely attempting to probe at the conceptual limitations of the race and playing devil's advocate. I don't necessarily subscribe to any or all of the points I put forward....or do I?!?!?

Anyway, I'm sure the RDs have received plenty of suggestions for improvement, but for a true psychological experiement, my suggestion would be to send out a questionnaire profiling the would-be applicants against an inventory of skills. Then, individually give participants a race format that challenges their individual psychological 'shortcomings'. I should turn out a bit like that bit Bill and Ted - a bogus journey....

In terms of research, I would have also personally loved to have seen the applications of the competitors - a thematic analysis of how these type of athletes value themselves would be very revealing! In developing their own personal hell....;-)

Conclusions

So while I think that the concept has its limitations, doesn't everything? Even though it didn't necessarily turn out as planned perhaps from a psychological perspective, that is not to say that it wasn't a success, nor that we can learn from it! By their nature 'experiments' rarely tend to give the results that are expected, and if they do, be suspicious!

It seems like the race has turned out almost a bit like a CPD workshop for ultra runners. In tweaking the rules, I'm sure it has given those involved a lot to think on. From an outsider looking in, if nothing else, it seems like it might have tested a few of the less well practiced but clearly crucial skills that every ultra -runner should have. Maps Schmaps! ;-)

What I personally also like about it is that is a great example of how someone from within the community can take an idea like this and contribute in a worthwhile way. It serves as a valuable reminder that its not just about racing, but that any investment of time (whether its organising, volunteering, or crewing, participating or even just talking) can be equally valuable in the wider context. I personally am looking forward to seeing this event evolve and all that it brings with it. It is obviously also important to recognise the tireless efforts of James Elson. Its been said before but the fact that he managed to safely host 2 races in spite of the conditions is nothing short of remarkable. The community is lucky to have such an excellent character (and team of people) out there organising great events throughout the year. Thanks guys!

Again, all comments and thoughts welcome.....

Achievement motivation in ultra running, ironman and endurance sport

2012-11-21T12:28:00.001-08:00

I've not written a blog in a while, and for the masses that are wondering what happened in Transalpine 2012 after my last post - I'm going to be lazy and refer you to Lotte's race report (part 1 and part 2) :-)

The seed for this post was actually planted during my participation Transalpine this year, and relates to that of achievement motivation in endurance sport. Its a topic that I have been chewing over for a while now, and even after extensive thought, I'm still not sure I've got to the bottom of it. Anyway, here goes:

What first appealed to me about endurance events (ultras, marathons, ironmans etc) is that to just to finish was an achievement. The battle to be had was with the race itself. Not that there isn't a competitive aspect to every "race", but there was fundamentally something welcoming and encouraging about the fact that my performance wasn't going to compared so much with my competitors (a competitive climate) but with myself (a mastery climate).

The fact I, (and many others) have been drawn to this aspect of endurance sport isn't surprising. There is research to suggest that mastery climate fosters task involvement, where persistence, and personal improvement are rewarded. In competitive climates however, only the best prosper and it can be an extremely debilitating environment for those who are less able.

According to Nicholls' (1984) Achievement Goal Theory, there are two basic stable personality orientations: task or ego-oriented. The former prefers to participate in a given activity more for the opportunity for self-improvement, whilst the latter head out and like measure success relative to those directly around him/her. Although this is a somewhat simplified description of the theory, I think its enough to go by. Cury et al. (1997) showed how task-oriented people are far more likely to select challenging tasks so that they have the opportunity to assess their development that they have achieved through persistence. It follows, that those who tend to participate in endurance events, are likely to be task-oriented the scraps of research that have been conducted on the topic would seem to point in this direction also; Krouse et al. (2011) found that female ultra runners had a tendency to be task-oriented.

MICRO

Now not to get too far into this, but musings have led me to consider the bigger picture. I believe within each race (lets call this the micro-level) a mastery climate is more or less predominates. On any given day, while the ego-oriented amongst us are free to look at just how far up the 2nd from last page or results they came, most will contextualize their performance relative to their personal goals, reminisce and head home. Only a small percentage really seem to care that much about how they did relative to others, and thats perfectly ok.

MACRO

When you zoom out a little, I think the mastery climate is somewhat diminished. People naturally begin to compare between races (lets call this the macro-level). You get all the talk of the toughest, the hardest, the longest etc. (a blog post in its own!) In doing so, I don't think its unfair to say that maybe what an individual has achieved say in a less difficult race, might often be overshadowed by more 'impressive' achievements, even amongst those in the know! Personally however, I like to think I value some of my less notable achievements far more than some of the more "impressive" ones. A good example of this came up at a recent race I attended. During the race briefing, the organiser spent a few moments welcoming the group, then went on to specifically mention a few of the more outstanding achievements of the competitors toeing the start line. I'm all for celebrating success and was it inspiring? Sure. Also, was it important to recognise the influential names who's opinions might help define the success of the event in future years? Definitely. But I can't help but think what those taking part in their first ultra may have thought when the goliath challenge ahead of them was effectively devalued amidst the trans-national and trans-contienental accolades of their very immediate others. It reminded me of animal farm a little actually.....

"All ultra runners are equal, but some are more equal than others"

Ok, maybe that was a bit far, but hopefully you get the jist? Now there was no negative intent at all in the organiser's words, quite the opposite, but I think it shows how when you look at more than just one race, the aspects of a competitive climate begins to surface. Needless to say, this comparison of races is a bit of a pet-peeve of mine, and something that I think is kind of missing the point! (but thats just my opinion - each to their own).

META

The final level it made me consider was the contrast between those who participate in endurance sport and those that don't participate at all (let's call it the meta level). Here, I think the balance between the mastery/competitive climate is heavily in favour of the latter. Even though all your mates might ride 100 miles every weekend, get up at 5.30am to go running all the time, or train 15 hours a week, you are in the minority. I suppose it feels like a collective narcissism of sorts, where it the 'why' and 'how' of what you do are lost, and people 'looking in' only see the number....... 26.2, 112, 50, 100.....

I've tried to conceptualise the three layers below. Red denotes a competitive climate, and blue a mastery climate. The Micro-levels are the races, where the mastery climate predominates. In the context of this environment, for the most part, the task-oriented can thrive and prosper. As you begin to look at the broader picture and the wider endurance scene, denoted by the pill shaped area - the competitive climate starts to make itself known. Here the substance and value of personal goals can be lost amongst someone who has gone harder, faster and longer. Finally, at the meta-level, where those that do and those that don't are compared, the entire world of endurance sport is nearly enveloped, where what you do, seems to start to say something about who you are.

As far as I can tell, I'm task-oriented, which might explain why the comparative nature of the ego-oriented types, and their influence on the endurance environment bothers me a little. This post didn't turn out how I expected it to, and its pretty loose on the ground in terms of theory. It's certainly not watertight and I've not even really touched upon achievement motivation in competition - a pretty relevant topic. I've more tried to explain my perspective (very crudely) of how the dynamics of competitive and mastery climates interact in different contexts within in endurance sport.

If you want to test whether you are task or ego oriented you can do so here. Doesn't mean much on its own, but might explain why its important to you that came 655th NOT 656th in your Age-group.....in the 12th wave.....on the Saturday, not the Sunday......

I hope you enjoyed reading, and welcome all comments.

Final Preparations - The Gore-tex Transalpine Run 2012

2012-08-30T02:56:00.004-07:00

So the final preparations are more or less complete, and somehow, against all odds, Lotte and I will seem to be on course to toe the start line in Ruhpolding in a 2 days time. Training this year has gone well, more so for myself than Lotte, who was hampered by a couple of issues (back and foot) post Roth. Despite this, we have got in a good amount of running together at the weekends with Lotte coping well with the consistent running.

For myself, after 7 days complete rest post-Roth, I've managed to get back into the swing of things pretty quickly. I've got to the gym for 1-2 hours each week which keeps things ticking over nicely, and got through approx. a 15 hour week of running with no niggles of note. The last couple of weeks, I've focused on consolidating that bigger week and staying supple (by my standards). I've had a couple of massages and things are looking good. I think its funny when you put the time spent training in the context of the race, which this year I estimate might take up to 50 hours; the larger volume week (week 4 - approx. 90 miles) is completely dwarfed.

Transalpine run-in, and predicted run 2012

I feel I've managed my recovery well since Roth too. I did nothing for a week, and despite a wobble at the end of July (stag-do for a friend), I've managed to get enough rest to prevent major deterioration. As you can see, having rested up this week, I'm now feeling pretty good heading into the weekend.

Restwise score - Roth to Transalpine

Compare this approach from 2011, where after running the NDW (week 4) and pulling out due to a knee issue, I did very little approaching the race. Wise to rest up perhaps, but I've certainly noticed I run best when carrying a little more consistency and form into a run. That said, almost anything can happen in stage race of this proportion, so I guess we'll have to wait and see as to whether my approach has paid off. In 2010 I completed the race off just 18, 25 and 30 miles in the 3 weeks leading into the race, so maybe its actually really easy and you don't need to do any training at all ;-)

Transalpine run-in 2011

In addition to the higher volume I've managed this year, I've complemented my training with my POWERbreathe device. I'd like to say I've really gone to town on the functional strength work whilst using it over the last 6 weeks, but in reality, I've just made sure I kept things ticking over. With only a couple days work a week (morning and evening sessions 30 breaths, twice daily) I've easily managed to sustain the level I reached from my foundation training before Roth. Its encouraging to see that the gains I made have stuck, and are so easy to maintain. Although everyone is different, for me, anything above 2,200m seems pretty noticeable, so I'm looking forward to the benefits that the POWERbreathe training should bring with it.

I can't wait to get back out there, and as there is a good group of us going out together, there will undoubtedly be some good memories to remember for several years to come.

The photo below is from part of the route on stage 7, and a view I remember well. Its also been my desktop background since 2010. Let's hope the weather is just as good when I return (hopefully), with Lotte (hopefully) Saturday week!

If you want to follow us during the race, please go to http://www.transalpine-run.com/alps_cross_start.htm and they have pretty good coverage of each stage! We are Team POWERbreathe UK - number 90!

Swimming & POWERbreathe

2012-07-17T03:38:00.003-07:00

I only needed to read one of yesterday's posts on the POWERbreathe facebook page to remind myself of the potential benefits of using the a POWERbreathe device to improve swim performance:

“Increased swimming performance by up to 3.5%
Improved inspiratory muscle strength by 31.2%
Improved inspiratory muscle endurance by 27.8%
Reduced whole body effort during exercise
IMT improves 100m(1.7%) & 200m(1.5%) swimming performance*”

Its not to say that I haven’t put in a good deal of work to my swimming this year. In fact I’ve swum a lot (by triathlete standards), consistently hitting 15km+ a week for the 6 weeks leading in to the race, which culminated in 55.28 near-solo, traffic ridden swim split at Roth. Nothing unbelievable, but enough to place me in the top 5% of the men (inc. pros) at one of the most competitive Iron distance races on the calendar, something I am certainly proud of, and am sure that many of my quicker cycling and run-discipline tri-colleagues would want ;-). Anyway, this post isn't to brag, I just want to talk a little about my experiences with how POWERbreathe has helped my swim training.

Swimming in Zug lake

I'm not for one moment suggesting that my swimming hasn't been influenced by an immeasurable variety of factors, but in line with the extant research, I would certainly suggest that there has been a improvement in my swimming that co-incided with a focused regimen of inspiratory muscle training (IMT). After about 3 weeks of training I began to notice how:

· Sets with fins were noticeably easier, in particular dealing with the underwater fin-kicks off my turns. Normally managing at best a couple of kicks at best at full throttle, I comfortably began to manage 3-5.

· My breathing and perception of effort also decreased across the fins sets (where I most noticed breathing discomfort), off the same or faster times at which I had previously plateaued.

· For the first time in my swimming it felt like my breathing had ceased to be the major limiting factor to my speed and effort level.

The rationale for Inspiratory muscle training (IMT) training to improve swim performance is three fold.

First, improved inspiratory muscle strength and endurance mean that you can fill more rapidly and maintain lung volume, thereby enhancing one’s buoyancy in the water.

Second it also helps you to keep more stable trunk for longer, which further minimizes the disruption to body alignment. Both the added buoyancy and ability to maintain posture (with good technique) will decrease drag.

Finally, the more generic benefits of reduced breathing effort from IMT also hold true; through decreased activation of the metaboreflex, you can continue to send blood to the muscles under exertion - the normal reflex being when oxygen deprivation is detected, the brain will restict blood flow to the limbs, to enable you to slow down, use less oxygen and recover – no wonder exercise feels hard ;-)

Leading out the swim at Hercules triathlon

I am certainly aware that in the context of my training that the measurable performance benefits that I can entirely attribute to my IMT are all but impossible to prove. Qualitatively however, I feel that both my enjoyment and confidence in the water has noticeably increased, and for me, my POWERbreathe training has undoubtedly been a part of that. If you struggle with your breathing during swimming, as I think many do, I would strongly recommend IMT. If you don't, no reason not to swim faster :-)

Having now completed a solid foundation phase of IMT training (8 weeks), and a short respite around Challenge Roth, I am now looking forward to incorporating IMT into my functional strength work that specifically targets my running in the lead up to transalpine. Again, the run-specific benefits I won’t be able to accurately measure, but that doesn’t mean I won’t continue to accrue the psychological, physical and physiological benefits associated with knowing that I am putting in the hard (and smart) yards!

And hey, even if you don’t believe me, the training is so minimal, why wouldn’t you give it a try?

*See Breathe Strong, Perform Better (McConnell, 2011) for critical evaluation of data

Challenge Roth Race Report - Sunday 8th July, 2012

2012-07-12T06:58:00.002-07:00

Swim - 55:28

T1 - 2:53

Bike - 5:49:05

T2 - 3:03

Run - 3:59:00

Total 10:49:27

First things first. I really enjoyed the whole week, largely due to the fantastic company of Tri Londoners, but also because it is a fantastically organised race! I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone.

If anything, this race has made me appreciate a few things. First, in iron distance races, (barring illness/mechanical misfortune etc.) you get what you deserve. Second, it is crucial to contextualize your race, and the preparation required. It is easy to be influenced by the goals of others, and fall into the trap of assuming that what is important to someone else should be important to you. Moreoever, I think we can also too easily assume that what we intially think is or should be important, actually is.
We all place value on different things, which is fine in its own right, but I believe however we should all challenge these assumptions on a regular basis. I certainly have learned that many of things I once thought I placed value on, perhaps are of lesser importance than I first thought. Finally, I think that endurance challenges - as bad as they may be for your short/medium term physical health, are a great way to focus one's perspective.

Anyway, the race.

My bike, does that rear tyre look flat to you?

I had put a suggested 'best time' of 10 and a half hours when I signed up for the race, which put me in a start wave at 07.10am. The girls were starting at 06:45am and a few Tri londoners in a couple of the waves before me. My plan was to really go for it on the swim. I've put in a good amount of work in swimming this year, and its something I'm proud of. I wanted to see what I could do. As an indication, I've swum a little over 200km this year up until the race, and 100km of these have been done since mid-late May. I acheived my goal of 15km a week for the 6 weeks preceding the race, and had seen my times come down and down. After a good swim at Wimbleball, I certainly felt very confident going into the swim of a time around 55 minutes, with a draft maybe even faster.

The girls entering the water

Having watched the previous waves go off to the second that they were scheduled, I knew I needed to get to the front row of my wave of approx 250 swimmers, to be ready for the start and have a chance of getting the feet of any fast swimmers in my wave. I eagerly waited in the holding pen and made my way right to the front of the swim start. A guy asked me in German my predicted swim time to which I responded funf un funfzig (55). He said something back I didn't understand but slowly tread water backwards away from me ;-)

Nervous smiles before the swim?

The girls....

The gun went and I went "f****n' mental" (as was the plan). I pushed as hard as I could, until I could barely breath, and settled into some feet just ahead, but this guy wasn't settling and sped off into the distance. I merged across and swam alongside 2nd in the wave for a good while and then settled onto his feet. Within 4 or 5 mins we were starting to swim through the waves ahead and the guy I was drafting was obviously doing a fair amount of navigation to steer through the crowds. I would have personally chosen a line closer to the buoys, but I preferred the draft. After the turnaround and more of the same, other than feeling incredibly hot, I decided to go it alone. I veered left and took a line closer to the buoys leaving the guy ahead of me on his own to the right. A couple of guys were on my toes and followed me. I continued to work hard all the way in, remembering all the training I'd put in, the moments at Cally where I could barely breathe, and what I would feel like knowing I'd slacked off at the end of the day when there was nothing to do but rest. The second turn around seemed to take a while to come, but the satisfaction of smoothly cruising past the stuggling swimmers ahead was great, (in fairness some of them were probably swimming around the hour mark ;-)).

I kept pushing and felt tinges of cramp in my calves, which stimulated thoughts of 'oh my god, I've done a lance!' (re: Lanza 2010). I felt ok getting out the water and charged through transition. I did have trouble getting my suit off as my arms were aching pretty bad, but with only a number belt in my bag, was away pretty quick. I saw Tomas in transition, faffing around, and gave him a shout (sadly I'd not managed to make up the ten minutes in the swim and 'dunk' him as had been bantered earlier in the week, but I'd take leaving transition before him - beggars can't be choosers and all that). I was pleased with my swim having done a least half alone, considering the traffic, dead pleased with 127th fastest men's swim (inc pros) out of 2570. I was 20 out of 160 (inc pros) in my AG. I ended up 4th in my wave too.

To the bike. Tomas soon screamed past me shouting something, it was presumably in Irish and about potatoes?! I was taking it steady to start, and stuffed down a daim bar in a bid to recover from the swim. I noticed the wind on certain parts of the course, and was pleased to have been lent Chris Wilson's disc wheel. I felt pretty good, and was pushing with a cap of 150bpm on the flats and a cap of 160 on the hills. I soon passed Ana and gave her some encouragement. She certainly seemed to be having fun. I saw a lot of people get pinged for drafting and was careful to ease off or make a concerted effort to pass around the many risers that caused the field to bunch. By the Solarerberg I saw my brother who told me Lotte was just ahead and before the end of the first lap I passed Roz, Lotte and Naomi in quick succession. Jokes about whether it was a club ride were exchanged.

Coming round past T1 again, I got out of the saddle on one hill and noticed my rear tyre seemed a little soft. I ignored it, but soon it was clear it was really down. A slow puncture.....hmmm, thoughts rushed through my head, do I use a canister to refill it and hope it holds, then my second canister to change it later if necessary. I stopped, busting for a pee and got that out of the way first. I decided, no, I've got to change it. Do it once, do it right. I only had one small valved inner for the disc on the back and one long for the rim on the front. I had to get it right, as the pump I had wouldn't attach to the right-angled adaptor for the disc either. I checked for the puncture but it wasn't noticeable. Shit. No real guarantee this just won't pop when I fill it, or go down slowly again. Deep breath, and inflate. It worked!!! I didn't fill it all the way, and left a little splurge of gas in the canister in for emergency refill. By this time, Naomi, Lotte and Roz and Nick had now passed me all asking if I was ok. I got back on the bike and worked hard to catch them again in the hope that if I was ahead and I punctured again, at least they might be able to lend me a canister or tube or something. It had taken me exactly 10 mins to change the tyre, but I wasn't riding angry - these things happen. I remained positive and thought, better to get one in a long race than write-off a short one.

My brother and his wife warming up for their support act (mit der Tri London tea towel)

I soon went past Nick and had a chat, who said he was having an awful race struggling to keep nutrition down. I peed again, he repassed me, and then I went back past him again, exchanging stupid banter once again, but also telling him to stick with it! I then found Lotte on the big descent then Roz again. They seemed happy enough, and it took me another 10 mins to catch Naomi. I told her of her gap to Lotte and Roz, and to keep up the great work. She even repassed me as I stuck to my cap on a steeper hill, to which she gave me a "come on Andy". Not rising to the bait lasted about 3 seconds as I ignored my cap and pushed past. ;-)

I did feel like I had overcooked the bike a little (thanks Naomi), but had done well with nutrition and soon enough I was onto the last stretch into Roth. My calves had continued to cramp a little, but other than a few aches I felt good. Looking at my splits I had slowed on the second lap of the bike quite dramatically, which is an honest reflection of the long rides I've done. Only 2 rides of over 100 miles in May, and reduced cycling volume through June as a result of a knee niggle from using someone else's bike in Geneva. Estimations from the pros of the bike were 10-15mins slower compared with other years due to the wind, and 10 mins for my puncture, puts me around the 5.30 mark on a good day with which I would have been happy before the race, so all things considered I am pleased with that leg.

In T2, the little kid struggled to find my bag, and I went for another pee costing me precious time on the split competition.

Onto the run and I planned to take it steady until 30km, put my music in, then see what I could do. Nick came flying past early on with some banter, but knowing he'd not got much nutrition in on the bike, could be a risky strategy. On the first out and back I saw, Jo, then Tomas, with Kris hot on his heels, then I saw Russ all coming the other way, giving them my encouragement. I just tried to keep it rock steady, walking the aid stations to make sure I got on everything I wanted. I'd said to myself before the race I'd rather have a steady yet unremarkable race than blow entirely. My HR was sitting pretty at just under 150 bpm. I saw Nick a couple of times at the turn around and marked my splits to him. By 20km I had reeled him back in, chatted for a short while then pushed on at 21km, he looked like he was in a bad place. Here I took on some bananas, and over the next few km started to feel an horrendous stitch that slowed me to a walk! ARRGH! Take it easy, just recover and get moving again. I walked the 60-70m or so into the next aid station, and had some more coke, but no solids from now on. I stopped for ANOTHER pee!!! and at the final turnaround seeing I had made 4 mins on Nick, but only had 9-10 mins on Roz and Naomi, wanted to really push on. At this point, cramp had returned, (despite) regular salt tablets, for which I stopped shortly to stretch it out just before the 30km mark. This really was a no option rule - I was going to run, and run hard to the end, so thought it best to treat myself to a stretch while I could. I saw Lotte who looked like she was having a bad day at the office, then Ana (WHERE DID SHE COME FROM!) only moments behind. A dark horse indeed! She looked very happy and I screamed some support. Some caffeine pills and my final salt tablet, a coke, some sports drink and a gel, music in. Let's do this.

Early celebrations with 3km to go...

I ran trying to find the limit for the final 12km between cramping completely and speed. The music really helped me dig in and I began to pass quite a few more people (music in sport is the area of my dissertation, and I am utterly convinced of the benefits of its application). If I was in any doubt before I only need to look at the declining trend it helped to halt in my run splits, and the stimulation it provided to my heart rate which had begun to sink. Obviously to be taken with a pinch of salt, but I didn't exactly plan to fade between 20-30km.

km	time	avg/km
10	0:54:04	05:24.4
20	0:56:03	05:36.3
30	1:03:10	06:19.0
42	1:05:05	05:25.4


You can see a in HR recovery at just after the 580 min mark split (where I put my music in)

The time really flew, and soon enough I was back into Roth. I remembered the short hill and ran it all with my bro alongside letting me know the layout of the last 2-3km of the course. I had started to slow a little, as the cramp was now really knocking at the door. Ignore that, and then upped it as best I could until the finish - 3:59. Again, I felt like I executed the run very well, but just my volume of running had let me down a little in the lead up to the race. I had a great April, but after that, it had been a gradual decline in run fitness. Combined with going a little hard on the bike meant I came away with a time I think is quite a lot slower than what I am capable of. I felt pretty sick at the end, but after I'd sat down for a while and had a massage and shower, I felt almost back to normal (if a little tired) within an hour.

Final pep-talk

On reflection, I am utterly confident, that with work I can go considerably quicker in an Ironman. The question is whether I am willing to do the work to get me there, as it would require a financial and time sacrifice I think at this point in my life I am probably unwilling to commit to. Furthermore, would going quicker necessarily make me happier?! It's hard to say. The improvements I have made have certainly been rewarding, and I know I'm a competitive individual, but just how competitive? I raced at Roth without the specfic pressures of a time goal I had previously put on myself, and feel I was better for it. That isn't to say (as is clear from my report) that I still am not naturally drawn to looking at times and those relative to others.

I will race another, of that I am pretty certain, but it won't be without a level of preparation that matches my ambition. We had some in depth discussions of time goals and the reasons for them, and I need to have a long hard think as to what those are, why, and when I might be ready to commit to them.

Next up, Transalpine! :-)

The finish and medal...

IM UK 70.3 - 17th June 2012

2012-06-19T04:32:00.000-07:00

Swim - 27:46 (12 in AG, 65th Overall)

T1 - 4:59

Bike - 3:13:48 (32nd in AG, 274th Overall)

T2 - 2:33

Run - 1:41:28 (16th in AG, 141st Overall)

Total - 5:30:35 (20/141 in AG, 151st Overall)

Barring the organisation of this race - I had a great time. Sadly Ironman has decided that because this race sells out, they'll try to cram a few hundred extra athletes in, keep upping the price and offer nothing extra in return. I had an amazing time two years ago and was really looking forward to going back. Unless things change however (I accrue more money than sense) - I won't be going back.

I felt sorry for the Rotary volunteers who had to deal with hundreds of angry people as we were stuck in the car park for over an hour and a half just trying to leave the venue after registration. The whole system had snarled up, and gale force winds and rain, left inappropriate cars stuck in the mud let right and centre. Add to that the hour queue to get into the car park in the first place, the first day didn't go well. They left people queuing in the rain when there was plenty of room in the registration tent and the desks were hugely understaffed. Race morning was no better - as the race was delayed by 30 minutes - and the two wave start (due to the added numbers of athletes) was no better. The water was cold, yet they still insisted on the unnecessary singing of the national anthem pre-start, which left people around me shivering uncontrollably. There was no starter horn, and everyone just started swimming at the end of the national anthem - perhaps out of sheer frustration - many, myself included, were WAY infront of the start line, as the kayakers made the most apathetic attempts to push us back I have ever seen.

Anyway - rant over. The race:

My bike - ready to roll (really slowly round the bike course)

All smiles (not sure why) pre the delayed swim start - photo courtesy of Tobias Mews

I had grouped over at the front left of the main pack with Amy, Rob and Mel and I swam hard and found no feet whatsoever for the first stretch. It was a 1 loop triangle course that they have reversed from years past to stop one stretch from swimming directly into the sunrise (the only beneficial improvement they have made - shame the sun was hidden behind clouds). Anyway, after the first turn I found some good feet, but ended up going past them as I felt I had started to take it a little easy. On the final stretch I kicked on, and saw another group about 25m ahead - dammit - too far to bridge and I just conserved my energy. At Roth, I am going for glory, and going to swim hard all the bloody way! I came out of the water with 26.30 on my watch - but my split was 27.46 - no idea how that works - as a guess it would be that we all jumped the start and they retrospectively guessed when we had started post-anthem (and got it wrong).


The swim start - photo courtesy of Tobias Mews

Swim exit - photo courtesy of Tobias Mews

Anyway, 20 yards up the steep slope Brundish runs past - (damn, I really thought I'd be able to hold him off to the finish ;-)) gave him a bit of encouragement, and felt like death as I ran the rest of the way up the hill. Changed into arm warmers and was out on the bike in reasonable time. As you will see from Gabriel's report I fortunately had a clear transition to go through. Had I been a reasonable swimmer in the second wave - it would have been utter carnage. At this point, I was happy with my swim - but when I saw the results and that my time was only good enough for 13th in my AG, I was a little surprised - I guess it just goes to show how competitive some races are now.

Bike HR data

Anyway, out onto the bike and took my time up the first hill. Amy flies past me grinning like a looney, she was clearly already having fun, and went on to put together a brilliant race. I am used to the usual flow of bikes coming past me early on, but was suprised to see how many kept coming past. Since Geneva 3-4 weeks ago, I've had issues with my right knee and been riding less than 50 miles a week. I thought it had finally cleared up but after maybe only 10 miles it was already starting to ache. I know the pain doesn't get unbearable, so just carried on, trying to conserve energy in the hope of a good run. I think I could have and should have gone a little harder on the bike - as my avg hr was still about 5 beats below threshold, but it was clear my legs weren't up for it. On the second loop, I did push a little towards the end and I went back past a few who had clearly imploded, and came in off the bike 6 mins faster than two years ago - so not all bad. But still - I had gone out on the bike in 65th overall, and come back in 192nd! Clearly a lot of work to do on the bike.

Lap 2 of the run - photo courtesy of Tobias Mews

Luckily the course was still quite empty - photo courtesy of Tobias Mews

Up yet another hill - photo courtesy of Tobias Mews

A quick pee in t2 and out onto the run, which I left with Gabriel exchanging the odd grumble. I felt good though. Took it steady on the hills and openend up on the downhills. I wanted to hold something back for the last lap. It was muddy underfoot and some trainers with decent grip would have been nice. The racing flats couldn't really cope, so I spent a lot of the time running on thick grassy verges to get some purchase.

What goes up, must come down - photo courtesy of Tobias Mews

Anyway, I think I wimped out a little on the run too, as although I pushed a little more on the last lap avg HR for the section was only 164 and my threshold is 170ish, so again clearly could and maybe should have run harder, by quite a bit :-S. It is a great run though and I think the best thing about the course. The terrain suits me down to the ground. I had a caffeinated gel at the start of lap 2 and then was on coke and water at every aid stop. I seem to have some run strength in me at the moment, so I look forward to leaving it all out on the course come Roth.

Run HR data

I managed to pass 37 on the run, with a comfortable effort, but not close to making up the 100 others that passed me on the bike. Steady improvement over the last 2 years though and 15 mins off my time from 2010. Who knows maybe in another 6 years I'll be mixing it with the speedy ones.....;-).

Well done to all the Tri Londoners (Mel, Lotte, David and Joe) for some great performances, and the other two for their quite frankly ridiculous performances - Amy looks like she had the race of her life, and Rob showed that even without a training plan, or knowing anything about exercise - it is still possible to mix it with the best ;-)

One more week of hard work - then I think thats Roth o'clock......

Why POWERbreathe?

2012-06-07T11:27:00.001-07:00

In spending the majority of our free time with triathletes (who are also our friends), Lotte and I are often found discussing upcoming races, training and the season's plans. This year, the Gore-tex Transalpine run has received more than the odd mention, and along with it, our team name - Team POWERbreathe UK.

On occasion, these discussions then move onto the details concerning our sponsorship deal with POWERbreathe, as people try to extract some of the 'juicy details' of said (assumedly) multi-million pound arrangement - yet the deal isn't quite what they expect.

In return for a POWERbreathe device to help with Lotte's training (I already had one) and a couple of t-shirts to wear out and about at the race, we will blog on our training, race under their name and spread the word where we can.

The reaction from many is almost little disparaging at times, but to me the beauty of the deal is in its simplicity. Just like a POWERbreathe device - its understated, yet functional.

The responsibility of blogging on our training and fulfilling our part of the deal will keep us honest. It will make sure we do the training, and remind us when we let slip, that we have an deal to honour. We talk about our training anyway, putting it into words isn't difficult. Its not even like the training is difficult - 30 breaths, twice a day takes less than 3 minutes! But it still needs to be done! If we put in the work - the results will follow (I believe this because of the extensive peer-reviewed evidence base that exists). Those results, in the scenario I outline below, are worth more than any sponsorship deal money could buy! (maybe if the sponsorship deal involved a helicopter......;-))

I do not need to think for long before memories of the full force of what Transalpine has to offer come flooding back to me; trying to pick my way through technical trail covered in snow and slushy ice at for 10km at 2000m, three-quarters through a 50km stage after back to back marathons, sucking in air but not getting nearly enough. Cursing myself for not training harder as I slow to a stumble, my posture failing with fatigue and with it, the abundant aches in my legs beginning to amplify......

Reflecting on moments like those, I often think "what I would have given to make it feel even 1% easier?" The answer is certainly a lot more than 3 minutes a day for the preceding few weeks, and putting my training in writing.

"Only if the training works!" I hear you say. And you'd be right, it needs to actually have a benefit for this elaborate sponsorship deal-training motivation exercise to pay off. Over some subsequent posts I'll put forward the rationale and evidence from peer-reviewed journals that suggest that it will....and how.

Cyclotour du Leman 180km - 27th May

2012-05-28T10:08:00.002-07:00

Riding time - 4:52

Elapsed time - 5:06

So my brother had signed up to this a while ago and asked me if I wanted to do it, I had 'ummed and ahhed', and without much in the way of money, a weekend foray to Switzerland didn’t seem like the best of ideas. However, after an extremely generous offer from my brother to pay my entry and accommodation, I didn't take much convincing - I booked a flight on air miles and was on my way to Geneva.

The forecast for Sunday during the week had suggested thunderstorms, and as I stepped onto the plane in England, flying away from perfectly good weather in the high 20s a small part of me began to question whether my decision to go would be a wise one.

After a hassle free trip with my Tri London emblazoned Amphibia bag, I arrived in Geneva and made the 40 min train journey to Lausanne, where the event was to start and end. I dropped my stuff off in the hotel and heading off to Bussigny with my brother to register. After catching the final few moments of the penultimate stage of the Giro, I began to feel more up for the event.

I collected my bike (borrowed from my brother’s friend) and set it up as best I could. It was slightly large for me, but a titanium frame with carbon forks and campag chorus groupset was still certainly better than I am used to. We went out for a meal, and a couple of beers, I had steak with vegetable, everyone else ordered pasta as recommended by official event briefing literature.

The route....

After about 6 hours sleep, we were up at 5am for breakfast. Sugar free red-bull, some ‘energy-milk’???, some salami, and a handful of strawberries. Having not ridden 180km before my brother was a little nervous, but I told him he need not be – his only previous sportive experience being a 120km sportive in Davos, in the rain with 2600m+ of ascent – compared with that this would be easy! We rolled down to the start about 4km away and waited in the pen to be let off in groups of 25-30. There were about 4-6 of us that knew each other and the plan was to vaguely stick together. With a supposed 2,500 riders almost all in the same race jersey, this seemed unlikely.

As we set off, our group of 25 started out fairly brisk and soon we had merged into a large group of about 40-50 riders. My brother and I sat at the back and we crusied along at 40kph without much problem. Suddenly as we passed through a small town as the peleton pinched, the whirr of wheels was pierced by the sharp crack of carbon slamming down onto the floor, a lot of groans and the group swerved around a rider who had gone down. The group continued to be trundle along but sadly after 35km my saddle began to come lose, I called back to my brother who waited and I adjusted and re-tightened it as fast as I could. It was gutting to lose such a large group. We set off again and my bro jumped on my wheel, a fast guy came past on his own and I jumped on his wheel and alternated the work with him for a while. I looked back and suddenly there were 10 people stretched out behind us. I kept working until we bridged up to another small group ahead, I was clearly working too hard – but it was great fun. This group then worked well together growing as we accumulated those individuals ahead of us latching on.

Before I knew it we had gone nearly 70km, and my bro and I decided to pull in at the aid station for a quick refuel. I filled up my water and just as we were about to leave a couple of the group we had started with rolled in. We waited for them and head off after a short break. Again we began to build up a group up to about 40 odd people, and suddenly a group of riders in green, obviously some sort of race team, came past cranking it on a mixture of high spec road and TT bikes. The group surged but managed to latch on and so we sped along at 45kph for another hour or so. We pulled in for another stop at Evian where I had some Evian, you know, for novelty value.

Drinking Evian.....in Evian

We carried on at a good pace, round through Geneva and its distinctive fountain that could be seen from miles away. The weather had been perfect 25 odd degrees and not a hint of a thunderstorm. We had set off so early though, so it was still heating up, but I was really enjoying the ride - a far cry from the poor road surfaces in and around Hertfordshire. Eventually we got caught by another huge peloton being led by a scooter and a guy on a recumbent bike. With about 60km to go we decided to take the draft and stick with them not stopping until the end. Another guy went down, taking a girl with her, she was obviously in some distress and it was a stark reminder to keep focused.

The fountain in the distance, its huge!

I kept on taking the gels and cracked out a can of coke I’d been carrying for the last push. I offered my brother some coke which he gladly accepted, and also gave him a caffeinated gel. It was getting hard work as now we were overtaking a lot of those who had started the 110km or 60km events – every time we passed them, the large group pinched and people not concentrating would lose a couple of lengths and the group would fragment. The same happened with the risers and many of the mini-roundabouts. In a couple of instances it required absolute max efforts for 30-60s to latch back onto the group.

With about 10km to go there was a moderate climb which totally split the group. Ten or so riders absolutely bolted off the front and it all stretched out, my bro stayed with me as we pushed over the top, but the next time I looked around he was gone. I waited up, and he told me he had completely blown. I made several attempts to cajole him to stay on my wheel, but each time he just fell off. As the event has gone on he had started to feel a little sick, and stopped eating, thinking there was only about 20km to go, he thought he would be fine....d'oh. He certainly took it in good spirits, and fortunately it was very close to the end. I had certainly worked hard for most of the day, and was happy to roll in with him the rest of the way, on smooth swiss-roads and glorious sunshine. If only I could post that time at Roth!

We enjoyed a free massage and the pasta party in the sun at the end of the ride (if only I could do that at Roth instead of the marathon?!) It was great fun, and I am certainly considering entering the etape come next year. The rest of the day was spent relaxing in the sun down by the lake with a beer.….all in all a great weekend.

Hercules 1.0 Triathlon Race Report

2012-05-22T04:45:00.000-07:00

Swim – 20:32

T1 – 02:25

Cycle – 1:16:08

T2 – 01:08

Run 41:45

Position = 6/68

I had planned to treat this race purely as training. On Thursday I had a massage from Chris, and having not been for one in a good couple of months, there was a lot to iron out. All day Friday I felt that massage and I was a little worried I’d have nothing to offer come race day, I felt sluggish in my swim on Friday morning and certainly didn’t feel much better getting dragged round the Chilterns by a couple of ‘real cyclists’ later that day. Saturday I went for a swim and did feel a lot better and simulated some starts hammering the first few lengths then easing into a more sustainable pace.

Sunday came around and my goals were to get into the front pack with the swim as best I could, bike conservatively and run at my threshold. I wasn’t here to compete, I was here to test my training to date.

The swim was fresh (14.1 degrees apparently), but not unbearable, I warmed up as best I could and kept moving trying to keep the blood flowing. Soon enough we were off and I found myself on the toes of the lead swimmer. A look back and there was a gap of about 3 metres to 3rd by the turnaround on the first lap. It felt somewhat odd, as being so far up in the field was a foreign experience to me. For my swimming companion, sighting was obviously foreign to him – he was all over the place.

There were some buoys for navigation, and it was colder than this looked

I wanted to take advantage of the draft but not at the expense of 200 extra metres on the swim. As I worked my way back down the lap, I decided it was best to take control of the situation. By the start of the second lap, he had merged behind me, and in my childish nature, I couldn’t help but mess around. I put in a couple of spurts, just to see what would happen. He didn’t respond and lost a couple of lengths on me. I thought about killing myself to see how far ahead I could get, then grew up a little, and decided to hold the pace I was comfortable with and swim in. He rolled in 9 seconds behind me. I feel this was a pace I could hold for Half Ironman certainly, and having no draft for the majority, even if it was a little short, am very happy with my swim – you can’t beat first! ;-)

Leading out the swim....ohh yeaaah!

After the swim I decided that no matter what happened the rest of the day, I would be pleased with the result. I certainly took my time in transition and put on my jacket, gloves etc etc – I left transition in 4^th – haha. I set off on the bike and tried to keep my heart rate at a reasonable level. I knew I wouldn’t enjoy the ride if I was cold, so no regrets in wrapping up. A couple came past me early on and I caught the girl who had overtaken me in transition. I to’d and fro’d with the swimmer who couldn’t navigate and although the legs felt a little tired, as the second loop was over I felt like I was just getting warmed up. I certainly had a lot more to give on the bike but I definitely need to work on it A LOT if I want to realise my season’s goals – for which there is still time.

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I dismounted before the line, and as I ran into transition, I unclipped my helmet. The marshal shouted, “you, stop there!” As he did so, I clipped my helmet back, guessing what it may have been pertaining to and apologised. I hadn’t intended to cheat and I certainly felt by this point, it was clear I had understood my mistake, and already lost as much time as I could have saved having come to a complete standstill.

I know now that the bike has to be back on the rack before you touch your helmet – but racing the longer stuff I genuinely hadn’t thought about it that much. I’ve even read through the ITU rules now – something I can’t imagine is expected of every triathlete entering a Sunday afternoon run around in Welwyn. (Apparently its illegal to crawl on the run!)

Anyway, the jobsworth marshal was having none of it. As he slowly waddled his slightly rotund frame over to me, he began to question me “How many of these have you done”…..I said “I’ve done one Olympic before”……I looked at my watch and said, “sorry, but can I go?” as the 5^th place ran off out of transition. He said, “look, you can either have me stand here and hold you up for a while or I can give you a two minute penalty”. At this point I bit my tongue, and although many of the things I wanted to say came rushing to me, I just said “be held up for a while?!”. He then waited for a couple of seconds and said, off you go.

On reflection I broke the rules, and I certainly will take heed in future. But where was lotte’s stop and go penalty as stipulated in point 31, Appendix K, number 12, p.126 of the updated 2012 ITU rules for leaving equipment (aerobars) or discarding personal articles on the course? – there is just no justice in the world. What probably bothers me the most is that after all the stick I gave lotte for her Lanzarote transition, it was well and truly returned when she realised she had outsplit me in both transitions. What goes around comes around! See you at IMUK 70.3 Carritt!

RUUUUN!!!!!

Anyway, lesson learned and onto the run, I after less than a lap I had caught the 2^nd swimmer once again, and settled into my pace, I was running at 170 HR and felt I could have held it for a good while. I could see I was very slowly gaining on the guy ahead, but as the laps went on I lost him in the extra bodies on the course. I passed Naomi on my 3^rd lap, and received some encouragement. I carried onto the last half lap as the first lady drew level with me, she had been slowly gaining on me for the run. In no mood to kill myself, as she drew level, I told her she was good to go and I wouldn’t give chase. I mean someone who wears their name on their kit at that time in the morning in rural Hertfordshire is clearly taking triathlon a bit too seriously! ;-)

Some of the run course - it wasn't this nice a day!

Sadly as I rounded the last corner I saw that the guy ahead of me and he was much closer than I had though – maybe with a little more effort I would have had 4^th. But realistically, there was not ability in this field worthy of beating. Even so, I upped the pace in the final 50m – its almost irresistible when you are running towards a finish chute. I was happy with a solid race (bar transitions) and gladly undid all my hard work at Ray’s gathering – as usual……

Lanzarote Summary

2012-05-10T06:18:00.001-07:00

It feels like we were there longer than a week, but Lotte and I are now back in England. All things considered, things probably could not have gone better. I can't speak for Lotte, but I certainly leave Lanzarote more motivated and fitter than when I arrived (I've even got a tan).

I think its easy when you set aside a block of time for serious training to have unrealistic expectations of what you might achieve. Perhaps I would have trained longer and harder had I not had such a debilitating gastric issues in the preceding days before flying out, but as a result I arrived only wanting to get back into training. Therefore, what I considered we achieved over the past week exceeded my expectations. Either way, the outcome has left me pondering this statement:

"Whatever happens is the only thing that could have"

Not wanting to get into a deep philosophical discussion of what that might entail just now, instead, I’ll talk through our week. We arrived on Thursday morning, and instead of renting the bikes from Friday-Monday leaving two days to relax after, we rented them from Saturday-Tuesday giving me and extra day to build my strength for the days ahead.

The long drag up Fire Mountain

On Friday, even though I certainly didn't feel my best on waking, we set off on a gentle 4 mile run in the morning to Puerto Calero and back along some undulating trails. It was great to be out training again, and it was a great way to get some of the cobwebs out of my system. More literally, Lotte and I also ensured we did our POWERbreathe training, choosing to do the 30 breaths after our run, to work the already part-fatigued inspiratory muscles. Not only does this add an aspect of specificity to the training, but it is also a good way to get it out of the way. I tend to do most of my training in one big block in each day, so putting at least part of the POWERbreathe practice actually into that training block seems to lessen the logistics of performing the twice daily regimen.

View of Puerto del Carmen Harbour on an early morning run

On Saturday, Lotte and I slept through and wandered over to the breakfast buffet in a leisurely fashion. We then set out for a 50 mile route of the Ocean Lava bike course and ran for 30 mins off the bike. This was my first experience of cycling in Lanzarote, and it took some getting used to. I haven't been cycling that much of late, coming off a run focus, and I knew my cycling legs would take a while to return. The ocean lava course is pretty cruel, but great fun. I slowly began to get my bearings on the island and lets just say I also began to understand when the wind was going to be helpful, and when the wind was not going to be helpful. Despite my short-lived illness, I also found that I was relatively rested, and perhaps a little over enthusiastic. After a loop of El Golfo as we climbed up into Las Brenas, I pulled away from Lotte, building to threshold and enjoy the silent smooth roads. Then out of Las Brenas, having enjoyed the last little surge I did the same again, this time climbing out of the saddle and pushing on. We re-grouped at the bottom of the next sweeping descent and then turned left up the climb at Fermes. I only had to look ahead to see a small car at a funny angle to know it wasn't going to be pretty. It was most of what I had to hold on to Lotte's wheel for the short but steep climb to the top. Lotte aptly described that climb in a tweet later that evening "#Fermesisabitch". Im inclined to agree (excuse the pun).

View from the top of the "#Fermesisabitch" climb

On Sunday we were to bike the Ironman course, which to be honest I found a bit of a struggle. It was a hot day, and I think by the time we reached the top of Tabayesco, the heat was starting to tell. Not even an arid cheese and ham sandwich (hey Spain, ever heard of BUTTER?!) was enough to bring me back. I stayed alive on some caffeinated gels up to Mirador del Rio, but really blew up on the way back along the LZ1. Even though the wind was behind us, as we moved along at the same speed as the wind, it was as though there was no breeze at all, and I just felt like I was cooking in my helmet. It was over soon enough, and 100 miles with 2000m + of elevation the bag. Even knowing what I know of coping with adversity, this was a great reminder of how easily, when you’re tired you can still lose focus and drift into a more negative mindset. I’m happy to say I took this reflection with me over the rest of the week, and made an effort to actively re-enforce my positive emotions as I trained – I felt much better for it!

Lotte coasting down to Famara

On Monday I had convinced Lotte to take the morning off, to give us some time to recover, and to head out for a late-afternoon ride. Now knowing the island a little better I selected a route that I felt would be about as easy (wind assisted) as we could get. After a little splashing around in the sea in the morning, we got on the bikes and head off up the donkey track and then over Fire Mountain, getting some of the uphill work out the way. Dropped down through Mancha Blanca, Tinajo and into La Santa before a short climb (wind assisted) up to Soo. Dropped down again into Famara, then another (wind assisted) (do you see where I'm going with this?) climb up to Teguise, before coasting back (mostly downhill, wind assisted) home. Despite plotting as favourable route as possible this still gave us another 50 miles and nigh on 1000m ascent. Beacuse it was later in the afternoon, it was also a little windier, which Lotte was quick to point out! Regardless 200 miles and 4000m+ asc in three days and we were beginning to see what resembled some decent training.

Panorama view from Mirador del Rio

On Tuesday we forewent out buffet breakfast in the morning in favour of heading out early. We had got some supplies from the supermarket and had those before getting out the door before 8am. As we set out on sore bums, it was abundantly clear, that it wasn't just tired legs that might slow us down, but a strong wind. Lotte's sister had recommend we see Orzola right at the other end of the island. We plotted a relatively direct route there, but it was hard going. I’m not sure if the 40 min slog into a buffeting wind from Arrieta detracted from the initial impressions of Orzola, or whether a favourable view was soured by the unsuspecting climb out of there, but needless to say I won't be in any major rush to go back. Having taken on another gel, Lotte and I commenced the (in)famous Tabayesco TT. We managed it comfortably in 40 mins. I held back most of the way and enjoyed the climb. It wasn't nearly as steep as I had remembered from descending some of that section on Sunday. I think it was Lotte's time to be wiped, as after a bite to eat she seemed to struggle a little as we made our way back. Instead of a direct route home however we had added in a loop down from Teguise to Tahiche, through San Bartoleme to and back up to Tinajo to make up some distance. This did NOT go well. The wind seemed to have picked u even more and those of you that know, this loop heads north. No hashtag that can be repeated could describe how Lotte suggested she felt. Soon enough the miles ticked away and we were coasting back across from Mancha Blanca towards PdC, on what I think must be one of my favourite stretches of road on the island.

It'd be wrong not to eat some Paella...

Lotte and I managed our POWERbreathe training every morning and evening, and having performed the twice daily breaths before, and also having only ‘dabbled’ before, it is also clear that the rapid progression comes from the regularity of practice. No surprises there then. This time, I have opted to also perform half of my daily practice standing up, without the inspiratory muscles supported. Although these attempts seem significantly harder initially, and some adjustment of the level is required for the standing, I hope that the hard work will pay dividends. For now, I look forward to building on the both the momentum and hard work (21 hours of cycling in 4 days) established out here in Lanzarote.

POWERbreathe UK

2012-05-05T11:01:00.003-07:00

So this week hasn't turned out quite as planned, but it could be worse.

On Monday, I (more or less) completed my 30 days of running. (30 mins running every day for 30 days); a small challenge I had taken up for a good boost to my run training in the run up to Roth. I say more or less as I had technically let slip on the 26th (after zero sleep from a poorly timed uni assignment) but made it up with a double run on the Friday. Technical completion or not, I had achieved the desired outcome, I was running well, and had a good mix of interval work in there too. As I am sure you will realise, April had also been a bit soggy, so I was pleased that I had stuck it out.

All I had to tackle on Tuesday was my final exam of the year, before I could look forward to getting ready for a week in Lanzarote, training (but also relaxing) with Lotte.

However, on Monday night, I came down with a nasty bought of gastroenteritis which I reckon I can trace to an uncharacteristic pastry after swimming on Monday morning. I had an unsettled stomach by mid-morning. By late evening I felt plain unwell, and by 2am, I had lost nearly 3 kilos. I don't think there is ever a good time to get gastroenteritis, but this was particularly poorly timed. Not that I wasn't up for risking an 'inbetweeners'-esque moment in my exam, but I honestly was incapable of anything that day and decided to apply for mitigating circumstances. I just slept.

It was then a race to recover for some decent training in Lanzarote. Although I felt remarkably better on Wednesday, I still felt very weak. Lotte and I decided to push back the 4 day rental of the bikes until Saturday, to give me an extra day to recover, and it seems to have paid off. My stomach seems to have rebuilt itself, the sun is out, and I even felt like a beer yesterday (and today of course).

So having rested up, Lotte and I even managed a run this morning.

After 3 days off, I guess this signals the start of the last big push before Roth, and then of course Transalpine. In relation to the latter, further good news comes in the form of team sponsorship by POWERbreathe. Lotte and I will now officially run as Team POWERbreathe UK and blog on our training with the devices in the run up to the race. I have been using mine for a while, and have noticed significant benefits in my breathing during swimming and during interval work, but really expect to reap the rewards when it comes to running at altitude. Hopefully we will both be able to give a balanced and realistic account of what it is like to train for triathlon and multi-day eventing using POWERbreathe, and also an insight into some useful hints and tips regarding its usage.

Anyway, thats enough for now. Off for some dinner and then to bed before some biking and running tomorrow.

Sussex CTS Marathon (in pictures!)

2012-04-11T07:50:00.000-07:00

So I had hoped to write up a report about this race, but as ever I have found that by not writing something immediately, life gets in the way. My girlfriend however, managed to get something down, so here is a link to her blog. Having run the race with her, although her report offers a different perspective, I would say it is a (mostly) accurate account of events.

http://lotte-carritt.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/east-sussex-cts-marathon-race-report.html

What am I bringing to the party you may ask? (other than my excellent pacing ;-)) - well here are some photos that I did manage to take of the race, and a pictorial account of the day.

Gary gives the race briefing (no new jokes)

Lotte and Gemma at the sunny start...

Lotte steams off early on, the hills soon sorted that out...

One of the hills that slowed her down...

The course cruelly took us back past the start on several occasions...

Spot the clown

Bridget ended up running the last 4 miles of the half without any shoes....

Tomas collects 2nd place in the Half

Lotte collects 3rd place for the Ladies Marathon

A Nepalese goat herder collects 2nd in the Ultra

The Tri London medal haul

My reward after breaking in some new shoes

Yet another fantastic CTS event and in great conditions (as usual). Next up a block of serious training for Challenge Roth....

Wuthering Hike (Haworth Hobble) - 10th March 2012

2012-03-12T09:58:00.000-07:00

Just for a change Lotte and I thought we would put together a joint race report
for the Haworth Hobble. Hopefully it should offer our dual perspective and hopefully make for a nice change.

Short Report - 6.01.29, 10th Mixed Pair (26 total), 119 overall (297 total)

Stats - 32miles, 4,400ft ascent (1,340m)

The Route

Pre-race and start

Andy: Unusually, Lotte arose before I did. We had kindly been put up at Ali and
Emma’s in Hebden bridge, but since Emma had taken Ali off for some more
(undoubtedly hilly) training for her attempt at the Fred Whitton, they had
left us the keys. After a long week at uni, and a long drive, I tried to convince
Lotte of the merits of the ‘John Griffin approach’. It’s a complex method, but
fundamentally involves consuming a bottle of red wine the night before a race.

Anyway, we got up around 5.45am, fed the cats, and the fish (house sitting comes
with great responsibility) and set about breakfast. Coffee with coconut oil, a
berry smoothie and stewed apple with reflex natural whey protein powder
stirred in (yum?)

Those aren't pillows, they are cats!

As we drove over to the race start in Haworth (about 8 miles) the weather did
not look promising. At the top of the hills, there was a thick cloud, it was raining,
and there was driving wind; saw a couple of wind turbines that looked as though
they were about to take off. With a relatively low volume of running, I had that
nagging feeling in the back of my head, “do I REALLY need to do this?”

Having registered and eaten some almond slice, we walked over to the start,
down a steep hill, which as Lotte correctly predicted, we were about to run
straight back up….

The walk down to the start

Lotte: I spent the night acting as a bean bag for the cats whilst Andy slept
soundly beside me. Despite my attempts to deposit the cats onto his side of the
bed they seemed to prefer my company. So I gave in and tried to let the purring
(from the cats, not Andy) lull me back to sleep. It didn’t work. After a cuppa and
some porridge we drove over to the race in miserable weather. Visibility was
pretty bad and I was reluctant to get out of the car on arrival. However, just as
we were walking to registration, the rain stopped and patches of blue appeared.
Our spirits were raised. Little did we know how short lived that would be……...

First 15 miles

Andy: Well what can I say? I didn’t see much. The weather hadn’t much
improved since our drive over, and for considerable sections of this part of the
run, it was worse. The only thing you could really hold on to was the fact that
the run was a loop, and therefore eventually, that would mean we wouldn’t be
running into a headwind. Of course, the wind could change direction with us
and by the way the day had gone so far, that would not have surprised me. I
was settling in for a long day. There was however a long downhill very runnable
section (even with the wind behind us, almost) which I very much enjoyed,
so I can’t say it was all bad. We were however mostly in cloud, which meant
that I didn’t see much more than just a grass verge for a good couple of hours,
which got quite boring. I guess its just lucky the weather wasn’t like this way back
when, or no-one would ever have found Wuthering Heights. We had soon
realised we should stay close to ‘the locals’, with no map of our own, we would
not have stood a chance on the navigation front.

A nice bit of running early on...

Lotte: Yorkshire people are a hardy bunch. Not a piece of Kenesio tape nor
compression sock in sight. Just tough folk with nothing more than a pair of Mo
Farah shorts and a vest sprinting off up the first hill as if the headwind didn’t
exist. We southerners were definitely in a different league to this lot. I felt
incredibly slow, even though our pace was decent and my heart rate was up. I
spent a lot of this first section tucked in behind Andy trying to get some shelter
from the relentless wind. As Andy enjoyed the long downhill section he asked if I
was alright as I was rather quiet. I told him I was bored. Bored of seeing nothing
but his back, there were no views to see (even though a couple of locals assured
us the views were amazing) thanks to the cloud we were running through.
Bored and fed up at 9 miles in. This was going to be a looooong day. The couple
of biscuits from mile 7 check point were wearing off and I had the hump that
the only food there was some broken biscuits. Not what I would call substantial
for a 32 mile run into the wind with 4,400ft of elevation. My 3 gels and 3 Mrs
Crimble macaroons would be gone before half way at this rate. However, as
we passed our 3 or 4th or possibly even 5th reservoir (hard to tell after a while)
and came upon checkpoint 2 @ mile 15 my spirits soared as my eyes beheld
hot cross buns, jam doughnuts, hotdogs, squash, biscuits and sweets. YEY!!!
FOOOOOOOOOOOD!! Even though Andy made me run and eat I don’t think I
have ever enjoyed a doughnut more.

Stoodley Pike revisited

Andy: Having sustained myself on 3 gels and handful of biscuits for the first
13 miles, at the 2nd aid station, I refilled my water and grabbed roughly the
equivalent of a whole packet of biscuits, more out of boredom and for something
to do (eat loads of biscuits) than anything else. With no views, the running had
been a little dull. Unusually, however, there was another checkpoint just 2 miles
down the route. More because I couldn’t resist myself, I then had a hot dog and
a hot cross bun – soon, my spirits were beginning to lift, and with it, the cloud
cover.

The ascent before the the climb up to Stoodley Pike

We trudged on, following ‘the locals’ through Todmorden, and lots of turns,
lucky not to get lost. Soon enough however, the climbing began to start proper.
Just before the ascent up to Stoodley Pike there was yet another aid station at
around 20 miles. I was almost beside myself with joy having had a jam doughnut,
some biscuits, and another hot cross bun when I realised there was a man giving
out drams of whisky. A Jura 10 years single malt – nothing special, but hey, it
was free. I’ve never tried alcohol in a race before and I think I’d try it again. It
certainly gave me that inner warmth for the climb up to the pike. We yet again
followed a ‘local’ for the fastest route. As it turned out this guy had come third
in this race 10 years previously in 4.26 – not too shabby. Even if he was a little
slower now, he wasn’t going to be wasting his time with anything but the fastest
route. We made some good time up to the pike and then back down into Hebden
Bridge. When Lotte and I had visited Ali and Emma before IMUK last year, we
had actually run out and back to Stoodley Pike from their house, so this was now
a familiar route!

Stoodley Pike about to disappear into the clouds

Lotte: On a sugar high we strode off enjoying the fact that we were almost half
way and the fog had gone. It was still windy in places, and very muddy. Anyone
who knows me knows how I feel about mud and like a proper girl, I picked my
way as delicately as possible around the worst of it but still ended up submerged
up to my ankles in black mud (and I think a not insubstantial amount of cow
poo). A local man had told us that the first 20 miles were runnable, then it got
hard. Erm…..what? THEN it got hard?!! See? Yorkshire folk. Hardcore. I tried
to convince myself that he had got it wrong, despite this being his 6th race but
had to face reality as we came upon Stoodley pike. Andy had been chatting to
a guy that looked like a pirate and I was a few paces behind when I saw Long
John Silver, Andy and a handful of others leave the path the other runners had
taken and go directly vertically up towards the top. I followed suit and gasped
my way up along side a woman who was actually on her hands and feet crawling
her way up. Steep was not the word. But it was quicker and became quicker still
when Andy got behind me and told me to “hurry up” because he was getting cold.
Yeah, next time Andy, a push up the hill would have been more conducive……..
We reached the top and the cloud again. The wind was howling up there and we
saw some people heading straight on in the distance. We couldn’t see anyone
else and as we’d been up here before and taken the left hand way down into
Hebden Bridge we stopped to wait for someone who did know. Luckily LJS knew
and we were soon running down a lovely gentle descent towards Hebden Bridge
and actually passed Emma and Ali’s house where we were staying. Had I had the
house key on me at that point…

Hebden bridge and beyond...

Andy: As we dropped down into Hebden Bridge (past the end of Ali and Emmas
road!) it was hard to convince Lotte to carry on. I too found it difficult to convince her it would be easy going having seen a sign warning us of giant toads ahead! (Luckily Lotte didn't see this sign, or I think the day may have ended somewhat differently)

GIANT TOADS!!! AHHHH!!!

The climb over to Haworth turned out to be a long, hard, steady and uneven slog for more or less 6 more miles. The final two miles were however downhill, but by now, it was just about getting
it done. Even though the weather had improved, my conditioning was making
itself apparent. My right hip flexor was quite sore and I too was as glad as Lotte
to finish in just over 6 hours.

We didn’t hang around for food, and headed straight back for a shower and a
stretch before getting a pork belly in the oven for a good 3.5hours. Down the pub
for a pint, then back for dinner. All in all, a good day!

Lotte: After the Everest-esque expedition up to Stoodley Pike we of course had
to drop down into the town of Hebden Bridge. By now the downhills were
harder than the ups and I actually had to lean on Andy to make running the long
descent to the town bearable. I even fell over on one of the steeper sections.
The third doughnut high had long gone and I was tired. The sun was now out
and it was hot. Of course because we had dropped back to sea level, we had to
climb back up into the clouds. This was a long long hill which was only made

better by a local man in his doorway offering sweets and juice. Normally my
upbringing would have kept me away from a stranger trying to lure me into his
house with sweets but by this point I didn’t care. The going was tough, the
ground uneven. Andys game for the day was run for 10 mins then we can
reward ourselves with a walk and some food. This seemed to work as before we
knew it a couple more miles had ticked by and we were at marathon distance in
a time of 5:03. Only 10k to go. Only another hour of running…………………. Our
walking time was over on an uphill section that everyone else was walking so as
we were running again now we passed a fair few people here. 2 mixed teams
which pleased Andy (I was way beyond caring where we finished, just as long as
we did soon) and a handful of people we’d be too-ing and fro-ing with. But as
soon as we hit the descent, they more or less all came by us again. This is by far
my weakness and I need to learn how to descend properly, even when tired. At
the bottom of this downhill section was, yup, another up. We walked this and
worked out we had about 2 miles to go. We walked mainly because everyone
else was. In fact, we should have run it as we were so close to the end. But as
soon as we got off that section of road and onto the dirt track we started to wind
it up. I told Andy to pick it up a gear and we started taking some places back.
Unsurprisingly, I loved this section, down hill and a mile from the end. A wiggly
path past a church and we popped out a few hundred meters from the school. A
lovely sunny afternoon and a good cheer from the supporters and we were finished.

Waiting for dinner...

This was a really good value for money race. £10 each and cake at the start,
food galore on 3 of the checkpoints and a hot meal and more cake at the finish.
A tough but rewarding course (well it would have been if we’d have been able
to see the views!) and a better understanding of why they call it the Haworth
Hobble.

Result!

Pilgrim Challenge 2012

2012-02-06T06:37:00.000-08:00

So I had signed up to this race planning to get some 'multi-day' experience in with Lotte as part of our preparation for Transalpine this September. The format is 33 miles out along the North Downs Way (NDW) on day 1, then back along the same route for day 2. I had mixed experiences of the event; definitely well organised, but last time had got seriously lost 6 miles from the end of day two and a little bit lost on the first day too. I was however confident, having run the majority of the course since, that I would not make the same mistakes again!

After a reasonable 6am rise, Lotte and I had some breakfast (stewed apple mixed with whey protein and coffee with grassfed butter and coconut oil) and drove down the the start near Farnham. On arrival it was a chilly -7, which caused all the portaloo flushing mechanisms to freeze solid. Fortunately I had already answered the calls of nature before I left, so it was not an issue. I was cosy and warm in my huge Nanok down jacket from my polar kit and didn't really want to take it off to load into my bag (to be transported to Merstham - where you camp in a school hall overnight)

Over the last three weeks I've been part of some research at the British Olympic Medical Institute, and so have had a 48 hour exercise ban pre-testing before Friday morning each week. As such most of my training has been weighted towards the weekend. Having done little since Tuesday, I snuck in a 30 min run on Friday night to stretch my legs out a little. They were feeling good, having also got in 7+ hours of hilly double run days last weekend in Exmoor on the challenging coastal terrain, I had high expectations for the weekend ahead.

My partner from Transalpine in September (Chris Jenkins) was also running. He had made his excuses claiming to be woefully under-prepared and had also mentioned a slight knee niggle over the last few weeks, He had rested and wanted to see how it went on day 1, hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

We all set off together in the 9am 'runners' start as opposed to the 8am 'walkers' or 10am 'elite runners' start. I knew we would be fast enough to start in the 10am group, but it was good to get off and finish a little earlier (I had my eye on the big crash mat at gym Oli and I had bagsied last time we raced). I suggested to Chris and Lotte we get to the front of the pack to get onto the narrow sections of trail ahead of the majority of runners so that we could go at our own pace. Its amazing how much you can get held up running behind people you think are running at your pace.

I decided to carry the route card just in case but was confident enough to know where I was going from memory. Sadly it turned into a bit of a runner's tour as soon enough 8-10 runners had latched onto our group expectantly waiting for the next turns where the route wasn't that clear. I can't say I overly enjoyed running in a large group, but it was interesting to see how people will hold onto a pace, even if it wasn't right for them. The running was good, with the trail frozen underfoot - it was relatively fast going.

After about 20 miles, the group started to thin out considerably as perhaps the pace was too high for some. Just as we reached the top of box hill, Lotte mentioned that her knee was causing her some problems. About a 7/10 on the pain scale. She reluctantly soldiered on though, torn between stopping and having to wait for an age to get a lift to the finish and finishing and maybe doing more damage than necessary. Chris and I stayed with her, and she held a good pace despite the discomfort. One of two displays of Carritt-hardiness this weekend. When you run a long way, it is sometimes difficult to tell what is an injury and what is your body just telling you that it thinks you are an idiot. I think no matter how much you do, running a long way will inevitably ache. You may think those elites aren't hurting, but I bet they are, they just happen to be going faster.

After we passed the last checkpoint with 3 miles more or less downhill to go, Lotte began to focus on the end (or perhaps everything started to hurt more so as to balance the pain) and her knee didn't seem to be bothering her so much, we held a good pace in to the finish 5.28. About ten minutes quicker than when I had run it a couple of years ago (although that year I had been a little delayed by mis-navigation). This was however good enough to put us about 30th out of 180 odd runners and Lotte 4th lady (I think). As the running was over, she immediately cheered up too (not that she was grumpy at all). Personally I had felt quite tight and cold most of the day, never really finding much flow and was glad for it to be over.

We all showered and Lotte and I got a quick massage before heading to the pub to watch the Rugby with Chris. We were going to head back to the school for the main dinner, but settled on the 'fancy' dinner away from the busier canteen. The real ales, steak and quiet bar unfortunately proved a little too appealing - and before I knew it we were walking back through the snow, 4 pints of Doombar happier. Perhaps slightly merry, I still then tucked into the pasta dinner at the school and some apple crumble as we listened to James Adams talk about how he had run across America last summer - inspiring stuff.

I awoke after not a very good nights sleep. Certainly not made any better by the 4 pints - not the best recovery tactic. The snow was much deeper than I had thought. Just in case any of you haven't seen enough crappy pictures of snow, here is one Lotte took on race morning. We were in the 'late' start initially at 9am. But due to the weather they decided on an 8am mass start and announced the fact as we leisurely strolled back from breakfast at about 7.35am. Giving us about 25 mins to pack up and get ready.

This time with the snowy conditions I suggested it was even more important to get to the front at the beginning, since the compacted snow would get even more slippy underfoot. Sadly however after no more than 200 yards, Lotte straight away mentioned that her knee was causing undeniable problems. I offered to pull out with her (still somewhat apathetic and groggy-headed to the day ahead). She however declined and walked back to the start alone. Difficult, but certainly the right decision - which as I have mentioned before in relation to Chris' withdrawal from Transalpine, I believe is often the braver one to make. "Any fool can suffer".

Chris and I then pressed on now almost at the back of the field. For the first three uphill miles, it was at times tricky to pass the slow train of runners gingerly making their way up the single tracks through the snow. Soon enough however we had fully warmed up and I started to feel good. I had none of the tightness from the day before and I was starting to enjoy myself. Chris tagged on well, just behind me for the majority of our way along the single tracks to the first checkpoint. Most of the checkpoints had been moved to the more accessible main roads, obviously hampered by the snow. The first one, frustratingly had been moved about half a mile down the road, forcing you to do an out and back to get to it. I was however glad to see a couple of runners I knew who had about 15-30 mins on us from the first day just a couple of minutes ahead. One of whom was wearing some Hoka's. We settled into a good rhythm and I enjoyed following their characteristic foot prints through the snow. Despite feeling quite sick for most of the morning (the porridge hadn't agreed with me - or was that the Doombar?) I was confident we could make a time not much more than 30 mins slower than day 1.

It was suprisingly warm thanks to the cloud cover, and slowly the snow around us began to melt leading to random and large clumps of snow to fall from the trees above. Most of the paths were tricky to negotiate with the weight of the snow dragging the branches well down across the paths. The increasingly slushy snow seemed to be taking its toll on everyone one - it was hard-going, if not beautiful running.

Sadly by around mile 20 Chris mentioned that his knee concern was getting a little achey. We still carried our momentum until with about 9 or so miles left he suddenly dropped off behind on some runnable descents. I waited and it was clear he was in a bit of trouble. I was quite frustrated as I was starting to feel really strong and we were reeling people in up ahead. We discussed me going it alone, and as much as I wanted to just run off, whats the point in running 60 miles with someone and leaving them just at the end? I stuck with Chris but we were reduced to a walk on all the uphills. Chris was also visibly frustrated, but determined to finish. With only 1 checkpoint left, it was going to be faster to walk it in than him wait at the checkpoint for recovery so we trudged on. With all chance of a 'good' time out the window, it was hard to find a rhythm or the motivation to keep working.

Slowly the miles passed and eventually we came in around 6.38. Probably losing close to 30-40 minutes with all the hobbling. I still enjoyed the day, and the chance to run in the snow. Taking the positives, it even provided the odd 'polar-flashback' and a nice sense of perspective. Of course the delay offered the usual bonus of some extra 'time on feet' too.

Last night I decided on a much more sensible recovery protocol - wine coolers on the feet!

Round Rotheram 50

2011-10-16T03:55:00.000-07:00

I can't even remember when I entered Round Rotheram, but I think it was during a misguided moment after Transalpine. In fact, on checking the credit card statement it would appear it was about a week after, but for only £13, what could possibly go wrong?

I had heard some, let's call them 'mixed' reviews about the race, but I guess I was really persuaded by the idea that it was a friend's (Titan PT, Paul W) first ultra attempt, and another club member (old smelly little Kev) was already going up to support - safety in numbers. Describing it as a friend's 'first ultra attempt' is actually a bit misleading, in his first season of proper triathlon he's already completed the mammoth task of completing three iron-distance events. Not feeling that this was enough to be able to call himself an real 'endurance athlete', he wanted to top the season off with a 50 miler, in under 11 hours, and in doing so fulfill the requirements to enter the lottery for the famous Western States 100-miler in California.

Paul had mentioned it in passing at the pub one night after swimming and for me, there is something I find quite amusing about sitting in a pub and the conversation that effectively unfolding as follows:

"So, what's next after the Ironman Triology?"
"I'm going to run 50 miles, so I can run 100 miles somewhere else"
"Oh right ok..."
"Where are you going to run the 50?"
"Round Rotheram, wanna join me?"
"Ha.......no........ok.........maybe, go on then."

I was collected at about 3pm on Friday afternoon by Paul, Kev and Sarah B, as we were hoping to miss rush hour and make a relatively painless journey up the M1. Things had obviously gone excellently as we arrived at the Park Inn Rotheram probably closer to 8pm than any of us would have imagined. My attempts to convince everyone to plump for the cheaper (£4) option of sleeping of the sports hall floor had failed miserably, and so I was determined to enjoy the lavish hospitality. We went straight for dinner, and I went for a portobello mushroom burger with fat chips and two pints of Guinness. Paul had obviously left his testicles in London as he sipped white wine (with his pinky raised), but marginally redeemed himself by ordering a Barnsley chop. For dessert, I had an ice cream cookie sandwich - obviously.

After heading up to the room, I managed about 6 hours interrupted sleep before a 5.15 alarm call. I think Kev managed about 6 minutes sleep, but he seemed to be looking forward to the day ahead. I forced down (still full from the night before) a portion of apple sauce with whey protein and custard, and 2 pots of rice pudding. After a coffee, we made the short drive to the sports centre in time to see the early starters head off along the road.

Having been a clear night it was fairly brisk, and I was happy to get running. Having not run at all since Jogshop 20 last week, the plan was just to take it nice and steady to start. I ran with Paul chatting away, and soon enough the first 17km were over. Although cold initially, it was probably close to a perfect day for running.

In fact, the first 40km passed in what seemed like almost no time at all - I guess time flies when you are having fun! After a good feed and refilling our water, we moved away from the half way point with around 5 hours on the clock. Paul Thompson, fresh from racing (and not doing too badly) in a double ironman out in Virgina only a week ago was waiting for us, although he did admit to 'noticing some fatigue' at this point ;-)

As time wore on, it was apparent that Paul W was starting find things tough. Paul T described it well with the question "Are you entering new territory Paul?" "Yes" was the response. It was frustrating, I wanted to help Paul, but knew there was nothing I could do except keep encouraging him as best I could. I reminisced about my first ultra a couple of years ago in the Brecon Beacons. Everything hurt, at only half way I thought I couldn't go on. In so many ways it was utter misery, but I also very clearly remember that when I felt like that, I couldn't possibly imagine that anyone else knew what it was like for - what ever they'd been through, this was worse, no matter what they said. To be fair to Paul W though, he didn't even moan, he just got on with it. I'm pretty sure I whinged all the way round. It also turns out that Paul T raced that year of the Brecon Beacons - small world.

With Paul W valiantly battling his own demons, I spent time discussing Paul T's experiences of his double and triple Ironman's and the tricks the mind can play on you during endurance events. To me it was fascinating, and I was having a great time. Good weather and good company. Rotheram was even pulling out its big guns, as we made our way past the ruins of the 12th Century Roche Abbey. This was a noticeable improvement on the highlight of the first half of the race - the water/sewage treatment works near Elsecar. On reflection, the majority of the first 20km smelled like $h1t, and its probably unfair to blame that entire stretch on just the water treatment works.

Sadly however, time was marching inevitably onward and the 11 hour target was beginning to look in danger. We came out of the second to last aid station where we were told there were 12 miles remaining - we had 2 hours 15 to do it.

We soldiered on and as the 10 hour mark approached, my feet were starting to feel decidedly achey. The closer we got to the finish, the more it was becoming apparent how seriously close it would be at the current pace. Paul did great to keep running, and was just stuck at turning his legs over across the variety of terrain. The trouble is with races like these is that there is no guarantee that they aren't slightly long or short, having also got a little lost earlier on, we had certainly removed any possibility of being able to make it if we went wrong again. I had the map - the pressure was on.

We got into the last aid station with I think about 10.27 on the clock, grabbed a final bit of fuel and moved straight on. They said 3 miles to go, and although it felt like we were still a little over 10 min miles, I felt that we could do it. Paul was obviously committed to giving it a go, and we pushed on. We got onto a small canal section with perhaps a a little over 3km to go and I stopped to adjust the number on my shorts - the safety pin uncomfortably rubbing, and also to take a photo - I was confident I could catch up. I couldn't have stopped for 30 seconds and set off quickly to catch them.

After nearly a minute of solid running I was only just gaining on them, some-one had pushed the 'go button' on Mr. W and he was really kicking on. As I rounded a corner and finally had them in range, they ran past the next turning, I shouted and they swiftly turned around having gone about 20 yards too far and once again we were together again. I was leading as we rand in a tight 3, and Paul W asked me to up the pace, I edged on, "faster...." ok. I was genuinely running towards the upper edge of what I felt I could manage, and loving it.... Here we go I thought.

There were lots of turnings on the map, and an entire column of directions was assigned to the last kilometre or so - this was pressure map reading at its worst. We were mowing down people ahead of us, and Paul T even began to linger at the back. Paul W was running like a man possessed.

In the end we came painfully close, and finished just 1 minute and 25 seconds over the 11 hour mark. A true sign of character though, is that Paul didn't stop sprinting those last 2-3km even though he perhaps may have known that he was just outside the time he was aiming for. He said earlier the day that he wanted to finish strong - and that he certainly did. As the time was read out, I was gutted for him, for to put yourself through that to miss out by so little is almost comical in its absurdity. I really hope that in time Paul will look back on the day fondly, and not with obvious disappointment he showed immediately after. To complete a 50 mile run is something to be proud of regardless of the time. When you take into account that it was his first attempt at the distance, his endurance career to date and the season he has had so far, its easy to lose sight of the achievement. It may not have been the desired outcome, but the performance was in no way lacking.

After the finish, as the adrenaline began to wear off, we all got showered and changed, hobbled slowly to the car and we began the journey home - not without a stop off for a KFC, which barely touched the sides.

I feel surprisingly good this morning, with no excessive soreness/tightness, but thats not to say I'm 100%, and I certainly enjoyed a massive bacon and egg sandwich whilst watching the rugby this morning. However, I feel this may be different story tomorrow morning, gotta love the 2 day DOMS ;-)

A big thanks to Sarah B for the support at the aid stations and driving us home. Although she did desert us at a couple of aid stations to head off on some girly lunch date?!?!? (which if you ask me I'd estimate this probably cost us about 1 minute and 26 seconds (at least!) in logistical faff), it was great to have the extra support.....

Until the next time!!

Team Endurancelife - The Gore-tex Transalpine Run 2011 Race Report

2011-09-12T06:06:00.000-07:00

Stage 1

27km

asc 1800m, desc 1400m

5 hours

57/78 mens category for stage, 156th overall for stage

I had been looking forward to racing Transalpine again for quite a while, and all of a sudden it was upon me. The camp was unfortunately about 2km from where breakfast was served, but with the race start at 11am, we made the walk in twice (once for breakfast, once for the race – whats 4km on top of 270 odd eh??) I guess we shall see. Once we had returned to the race start area, we took our time to soak up the atmosphere, and enjoyed a coffee in a nearby square and watched the clock tick down – it was a lovely morning. So lovely, that in fact two guys next to us were enjoying a beer at the cafe (it was 9.15am).

After some final checks, lace tightening and kit adjustments we were underway. This year, with no one to make me seemingly run as fast as possible all the time (and given Chris' dubious pacing history) I made sure we set a steady pace. We gradually wound our way up through forest from Oberstdorf (812m) to the first summit (2060m) about 15km in. My effort levels seemed to be a little higher than I would have expected, but I knew that eventually it should settle. There was a descent of about 250m then a short climb to another peak, then a larger descent to the second aid station at about 20km in. As we both became accustomed to the hammering of a technical descent it was starting to heat up, and my effort levels were still higher than usual.

We ate well and then made our way up the final climb of the day from 1298m to 1622m. This one was steep, and all of a sudden my effort level was shooting up once again, it was hot and I soon became faint. I asked Chris to hold back a couple of times whilst we waited in the shade for me to cool down a little. There were a lot of people struggling in the heat by this point, but my pasty ginger companion, strangely remained strong. After a healthy dose of water at the summit (too much) I then struggled down the final descent with a stitch. We finished relatively stronger, in just about 5 hours, and Chris I am glad to say looked like the more experienced partner, stronger all round.

I stuffed down some coke and cakes, and beer, and salami and smoothie at the finish and got cleaned up. We hit dinner as I tried to rehydrate and very slowly ate my dinner. I went to bed a little worried I'd overcooked in the heat. Having felt sick at dinner, I thought perhaps I might have had a little heatstroke, and saw that that others had suffered in the heat. There had been people throwing up a fair few times on the final climb, and all the people we spoke with seemed to have found the day relatively tough – so much for and easy first day.

Stage 2

53 km

asc 2400m, desc 2900m

9 hours

50/70 mens category for stage, 161st overall for stage

Today was going to be a tough one. They claimed the hardest they'd ever set in the race's history. At 53km it would be the furthest Chris had run, yet following his performance the day before, I was not worried as to whether he would be able to cope. The first 10km and more or less continuous climb up from Hirschegg (1122m) to Widdersteinhutte (2009m) was relatively uneventful as we made we just settled into the pace of the group. We had been fairly leisurely in makingour way to the start, and we found ourselves almost last across the start line. Despite making our way through the field, we were still towards the rear of the pack on the first climb, and on the narrow trails the snake of those in front of us moderated our pace. Following the previous day's somewhat over zealous effort, my HR was much more surpressed and it was good to take our time on the first climb for it would certainly be a long day. There was a steep descent, where unhindered by a bloated stomach, Chris and I were able to make much better time, and made our way through the field. We took our time at the aid stations and made good progress over the next 20km of rolling terrain and up to the second major climb of the day (2009m).

At the second aid station I had to make a few running repairs on my heels, with my inov8s not quite as comfortable as the salomons I had worn the previous day. It didnt take long though and we soon were atop the second serious climb of the day. After an aid station just over the summit, we took a deep breath and began the huge descent from 2009m down to 841m. This one was steep, and at times borderline frightening. Our descending ability, relative to those around us meant that we further moved up the field, until towards the bottom, where the gradient flattened right out. On the less steep ground, the effort to continue to keep the legs turning over made my right itb start to tighten, and I had to stop a couple of times to stretch it out. Whilst my knee had held out so far, there was a seriously long way in the stage and the race still to go, I'd known from the start that this was something that was going to have to be carefully managed. To take my mind off my leg, I started to run low on energy, and running down the road to some aggressive oncoming traffic somewhat lightheaded brought me right back into the stage. I was glad to see the third 4^th and final aid station with about 11km of the stage remaining. This race is so fantastic because it is so seriously challenging. As if the uber descent we had just negotiated was not enough, they through in one final climb of 800m in about 2.5km. Chris was once again strong as I fell by the wayside, with my energy levels soon once again depleted by my previous lack of attention to detail with regards to nutrition. The weather was hot and humid, and we made slow progress stopping a couple of times in the peaceful woodland as we made our way up. Soon enough however the climb came to an end (to my relief) and it was Chris' turn to make the repairs, his big toes having been causing him some trouble. Both of his large toenails had started to blacken and he taped them up to try to offer some comfort. The descent, as fierce as the ascent, had other ideas, and Chris was now struggling. Having found some extra reserves of energy, I tried my best to keep Chris' mind off his discomfort by rambling and chatting to him all the way down. There were a couple of hilarious 'CTS-esque' final ascents to be negotiated before we made one last push to try to sneak under the arbitrary target of 9 hours. To our delight we made it by 30seconds, only to realise that we had started our watches as we crossed the start line, so in fact came in on 9.00.32. Ha!

As we finished, it started to come down in buckets, yet I still went to sit in the fountain and try to get my thighs under the stream of water pouring into it. They had taken quite a hammering. I felt very tired at dinner, and was relieved to get to bed after some serious stretching. Although it was a very very tough day and harder than I remember anything being last year, I didn't actually feel too physically mashed up – which I suppose is important considering we'd only done 2 stages!!

Stage 3

42km

asc 2227, desc 970m

6 hours 32 mins

43/68 mens category for stage, 135th overall

At the briefing the night before, they had announced an alteration to the course for stage 3. Due to a poor weather forecast and a stage plotted to twice reach 2600m, with a large proportion above 2000m, it was decided that it would be unsafe to continue to use this route. In taking a safer path, the ascent was changed from 2800m to 1800m and we were told we now only had 970m descent. This was perhaps somewhat of a relief, but unfortunate we couldnt enjoy what was supposed to have been a beautiful stage. I hadn't slept well the night before, and forced down breakfast. It was still pouring with rain from the night before and set to last most of the day. The new stage set up was an undulating climb of about 30km up to 2200m and then the 970m descent into Galtur over the remaining 10-12km.

With my HR now fully supressed, I was able to push on a little more confident that my cardiovascular system would keep my exertions fully in check. We made good progress through the field and tried to keep moving as best we could on the long steady inclines. I always think the worst part of this race are the sections where its flat. At least if its steep incline you can walk, and downhills do the work for you! The aid stations came every 10 or so kilometers and broke the stage up into four sections quite nicely. The first 10km I was pretty full of food, and it took a while to warm up. The second 10km seemed slow (and in fairness was), but at least I had finally got going, and some caffeine pills helped push things along. By the third section I really began to enjoy myself, over some muddy technical trail. It was still raining,and Chris and I commented on how it seemed like running in England. By the time we reached the summit, and the final aid station, the weather had closed in even more. We had some hot soup and then went about finishing the day off. We moved well, and Chris' feet seemed to be holding up. We pushed on and finally arrived in Galtur after 6 and half soggy hours. I felt much less sick at the end of this stage than the previous two, and feel like my body is starting to get acclimatised to running each day. 40Km more tomorrow, and that'll be 100 miles in 4 days, and over half way – happy days!!

Stage 4

40km

2102 asc, 2437 desc

7.5 hours

50/67 mens category for stage, 174th overall for stage

8 and a half minutes, thats how long it took to run the last kilometer of the stage, and it was steep downhill. Whats worse is that the preceding 4 hadnt been much better – yet the stage had started so well.

It was chilly in Galtur, but thats what you get on a clear morning in a town that sits at 1589m. We however set a good steady pace and managed to run the majority of the first 10km that climbed about 550m ascent to the first checkpoint and base of the first climb. Even despite a brief comfort break, it was obvious we were considerably higher up the field than usual by seeing some of the less familiar competitors around us. The day had started off brilliantly, stunning scenery, crystal clear skies and a slick stop at the aid station to boot. We moved on up the climb at a decent controlled effort and enjoyed the surrounding scenery.

As we climbed up to 2760 odd metres the air noticeably thinned and it became harder to concentrate as RPE increased. Soon enough however we reached the summit and made our way down the rocky trail the otherside. We were making great time, yet I had that sinking feeling knowing we would have to stop shortly. My Inov8 mud rocs, whilst offering great grip in damp conditions, are not as comfortable as my salomons that I usually wear. They rub a little on the heel, which whilst this is usually manageable over shorter distances, such prolonged running had begun to take its toll. Despite covering both heels with compeed and zinc oxide tape, the sharp descent had rubbed through onto the skin. Once we reached the bottom, I asked Chris to stop so I could treat them, knowing full well with 4 days to go, a stitch in time definitely saves nine.

As soon as we were off, so were the new compeeds I had attached, we had only made it another 1km or so before my pace was once again slowed dramatically. We made our way to the next aid station, which was about a further 4km along. Once there I really took my time and used bandages to firmly cover all of the exposed skin, so large were the affected areas that conventional plasters wouldnt cover the wounds. It was a little frustrating to watch yet further teams pass as I treated my heels. In playing doctor, I think I probably let my nutrition slip and was playing catch up all the way up the next major climb. Coupled with reaching 2700m plus once again, the way back down couldnt come soon enough, nor could the next aid station. The views were stunning though, and the photos just dont really do them justice.

By now Chris' toes were also starting to suffer once again, although his food management had been better than mine. The next aid station of course didnt seem to come for ages. By now I was sick of bananas and energy bars and craved coke. However, we had taken so long I was restricted to just one glass, and had to force down some iso in an attempt to get some calories in. Already feeling sick, having to drink something which makes me gag at the best of times was not good. I sat in the shade for a while as I tried to hold it all in.

Enough was enough, I just wanted to get down, and so we set out from the last aid station - about 6km to the finish. Incidentally, the aid station more or less marks the end of stage 5 - the bergsprint, and so from then on, we were running the reverse of tomorrows stage.

It was not pretty, despite my heels being quite painful, my lack of energy slowed me right down, which is actually worse when you are descending such a steep gradient. Although I kept running (technically), it was an embarrassingly painful shuffle. Chris' toenails were also taking a pounding on the steep downhill with his feet jarring on every step into the front of his shoes.

After a dismal 45 minutes, we finally made it in, having perhaps lost an hour or more had we been running well. I was once again reminded that these mountains take absolutely no prisoners, and it can be a truly humbling experience when things start to go wrong.

To cap off a rather crappy day, it was 20 min walk to our hostel, 20 mins back for the pasta party, and a final 20 mins back to the hostel to bed. Fortunately with only a Berg Sprint the following day, we still managed a good 10 hours sleep.

Stage 5

5.5km

asc 936m

1.06.31

56/67 mens category for stage, 179th overall for stage

The rest day had finally arrived. Its amazing how much a good nights sleep can do. I taped up my heels with the the proper bandages I had got from the first aid tent, and back into the salomons that I had run all last year of the transalpine in and got NO blisters, it was fine. My legs were still loose andI had good mobility - whilst the slower descent was initally more fatiguing, going slower just doesnt take as much out of you I guess.

Teams set off for this stage in reverse order at 20 second intervals. Chris and I had agreed to stay together and just get up it without too much pain. This stage is a bit of a false economy I reckon, minimal time to be gained or lost relative to your position, but at a high energy cost.

I had obviously blanked out much of the descent the day before, and the 936m altitude gain in what was actually under 6km was fairly savage. Steep steep steep. We took about 1.06 to get up without too much bother, but the stage provides a fantastic example of what sport specific fitness means. Chris and I, although fatigued by now are not unfit by any means, but seeing some of the runners from behind us just jog by as though they are on the flat was nothing short of astounding. Obviously it is in part how hard you are willing to push yourself, but the winners time of 38.xx minutes is quite honestly borderline ridiculous.

After a good feed it was nice to get the bergbahnen back down, which ends right outside our hostel. A quick shower and into bed for a siesta, before trundling out for an hour or two at the nearby spa, before an early dinner and bed again.

Only 3 days to go!!!

Stage 6

37km

asc 1318m, desc1447

4 hours 44 minutes

38/63 mens category for stage, 101st overall for stage

After a slow start to the day in terms of kit admin (I had slept almost too well) we had a late breakfast at the camp, despite having stayed at a hostel away from the main camp in Scuol.

The day started with a rolling descent which was great to warm up the legs, and then gradually climbed the 1300 or so metres of ascent up a narrow, yet stunning gorge. The view s back were stunning, and after the misery of day 4 I made sure I got my calories in.

Once up onto the plateau at around 2200m we stayed there for perhaps 8or so km, which once we had found a rhythm was fairly runnable. I almost stacked it massively a couple of times taking a couple of stumbles, yet we were making good progress.

Soon the 15km to go sign came and despite the weather taking a slight turn for the worse we were into the extended descent. My salomons having taken me through many coastal trail series marathons and all of last years transalpine and so no longer have great grip and at times the steep descent with a thin film of moisture thrown into the mix was fairly treacherous, yet we were making great time. After a short stop at an aid station we were soon starting to move fast (its relative) .

Picking off teams as we went it was difficult to keep the effort levels in check, yet soon we were to pass a mixed team from nzl we had met on the train from munich to oberstdorf, and randomly been placed with at the hostel in Scuol. After some 'chat' about how slow they were moving we passed them, only for them to latch onto us and keep pushing the pace.

With about 7km to go, it started to get out of hand, and despite gapping this pair once again, at the aid station with 6km to go, and just a 30 second stop, they were on top of us.

Despite nothing other than competitive spirit on the line, we both preceded to push each other harder and harder throughout the last 5km. Despite Chris' slight protestations and small grumbles about how much it was hurting, I tried to remind him of how fun it would be to look back at this, and to just try to focus on each step, nothing more. The continual descent, now all on road was starting to hurt, and for this stage of the race we were clocking a decent speed.

What turned out to be quite an advantageous situation for us, we picked off several mens teams over the last two km. It certainly hurt, but it was certainly fun!!!!

Unfortunatley for us, as I sit here listening to the briefing for tomorrows stage, its set to head over 3000m.....if we can make it through tomorrow in one piece, we should be more or less home and dry. Fingers Crossed.

Stage 7

36.9km

asc 2083, desc 2063

6 hours 43 mins

34/55 individual finishers (no overall stage placing)

As I woke, I could certainly feel yesterdays speedy descent in my legs. Everything was more or less in order, except for the further increased levels of soreness in my legs, which was to be expected. This was also a good sign – since last year, after day 2, things didn't get any worse, because they couldn't. A years work has obviously made a big difference to my endurance, which is nice to feel.

Based on my experiences of last year, if I got through today without feeling like I wanted to die, it would be an improvement. Chris had mentioned his hamstring was feeling tight, and so at the start we decided to take it really easy, and just get through the day.

At the start of the run I was a bit fed up in general with the whole process. Getting to the first aid station usually entails a fair amount of discomfort in terms of trying to hold down breakfast, and remind your legs that they still can run.

It was relatively stop-start, being somewhat further back in the field, there is generally less running on the more technical aspects of trail, and as we wound our way up the valley on a narrow path, it was difficult to get into a rhythm, but sure enough the time passed as and were soon at the base of the major climb by the first aid station.

Having fuelled up, as we left the station, Chris told me that his hamstring was now really causing him problems. We sat on the side of the trail trying to stretch it out for a while in a vain attempt that it might help. Knowing what was ahead, the signs didn't look good for completion. Even if he were to make it through the stage, there was still tomorrow. I was gutted for him, but knew there was little I could say or do to make him feel any better. Regardless of whether its the right decision at the time or not, just contemplating withdrawal from an event is horrible thing. I suggested giving it a few minutes of walking to see if the steeper terrain might have eased the strain, but it was to no avail. After no more than 10 paces, he turned around and shook his head and started heading back down to the checkpoint.

Almost like a yo-yo, Chris then stopped again, and said that he was determined to give it a go. Having a fairly good idea of the severity of the climb, it didnt look like the best idea to me. From the way he was moving, and the effort required to do so, withdrawal unfortunately seemed like the only viable option.

For the next two hours we slowly soldiered up the climb, and every time you saw what you thought might be close to the summit (even though the altitude on my suunto told me otherwise), the climb just seemed to stretch on again ahead of you. A sense of scale was difficult to grasp, until you made out a small trail of coloured ants draped over the mountain – oh wait, those are people....but why are they so small, oh thats just because you have so far to go....oh ok.

The last section was steep and difficult to get into a rhythm. Locked into the speed of those in front of you, unsure of whether they might stumble and slide back, it was not easy. It was noticeably colder too, and the effort levels increased. Soon we made it to the top and took a moment to enjoy the scenery below, I'd never climbed that high before, it was a rush.

The first part of the descent was amazing, just soft scree where you could dig in your heels and skid down the other side, seriously steep, and seriously fun. Then the descent became a lot more technical as we made our way over boulders and large rocks, resembling more an unforgiving coastline than trail.

Sadly, yet not unexpectedly, with his injury the huge descent was beginning to take its toll on Chris. In compensating for his hamstring, his right knee was now starting to cause him serious problems. IT would be uncomfortable for him whether we went slow or fast and we still had a long way to go, so I tried to keep the pace up, so as to get it over with.

The trail ended and we reached some forest service road alongside a beautiful river – it was hot, and sunny, and had it not been for Chris' predicament, would have been an entirely enjoyable experience.

On the easier service road surface, he began to fall a little further back, and I stopped to wait for him. He wasn't looking happy at all by now, and I asked him if he wanted to stop briefly in the shade (even though we were less than a km from the aid station). After a short sit down, he got up again and began to limp pretty severely at which point he just said, 'Andy I'm going to have to pull out'.

Although the writing had been on the wall for the last few hours, it was still pretty crappy to hear. The reality of this race though is that even best intentions wont get you very far. Any imbalances are magnified and exposed.

I can see why people do hobble around and limp their way to the finish 'no matter what' and of course everyone has different goals, but I believe there is far too much importance placed on 'finishing', especially at an event like this.

Had Chris ignored the pain and hobbled to the end, and finished (which he could have done), what would he have learned? That if he keeps running when something is obviously wrong, he can keep going and finish the race in pieces, but with a t-shirt and a medal? There is going to be pain along the way in a race like this – thats what makes it challenging, but I think it shows a different and far greater strength of character to recognise when enough is enough. Even more so, having sacrificed other races earlier this season for this one.

I'm really glad Chris came to the right decision in the end, and I think he will have come away from this years race with far more having pulled out, than if he had crawled to a mediocre finish. As I once heard somewhere, and said to Chris on the climb up:

'Any fool can suffer'

I dearly hope Chris will go back and do this race next year and finish it in style and in doing so prove to himself that he did the right thing.

It felt strange as I left the aid station alone, not having to look around for a partner. I felt good, having held back for most of the day. I soon caught up with a mixed couple from NZL. The woman of the pairing was in so much pain on the downhill that she had to physically lean on her husband to ease the strain. I thought to myself what damage must she be doing to herself? I ran with them for a while just chatting, to help distract her from her obvious discomfort, I was also relatively demotivated to push on. A 'good time' for the day was out the window, so I decided to just enjoy the day – it was about 30 degrees, there was some great scenery, and a slow jog suited me fine (I'll go hard tomorrow) I thought to myself.

With 3km to go, the descent noticeably steepened, and the lady began to move real slow. I asked them if they would mind if I ran on to the finish alone and they said go ahead. I bounded down the last few km, and thought again how much this would have smashed Chris up even more.

As I crossed the finish line and explained to some people we knew what had happened, I really felt for Chris, knowing he'd have to explain 100 times or more why he'd pulled out - a lot of people just couldn't understand his decision. One lady said 'its even worse because he got so close to the end', another guy retorted 'better he gets to enjoy 7 and a half days than it happen on the first'. I'm with the second guy.

That night we enjoyed a great meal and several beers as Marty from tumbleweed sang the 'keep on running' transalpine theme tune to the competitors (twice, as usual)

Day 8

30km

asc 1807, desc 1882

4 hours 24 minutes

22/59 individual finishers (no overall stage placing)

I started the day with another kiwi pair, who usually finished close to chris and I on most stages. It seemed actually quite a hard day to finish the race, especially so after what was a pretty bloody tough day 7 too.

It was pretty much 1800m of climbing, followed by the same descent, and a tiny little bump at the end of the stage. Frustratingly, Latsch (the end of the stage) was only a few km along the valley from schlanders (the start), why couldnt we just run a flat 8km along the valley – why did we have to climb up to 2,400m only to turn around and run back down again??? ;-)

I was feeling pretty good. I just stuck with the kiwis all the way up, and my effort levels were firmly in check. I kept eating and enjoying what was a beautiful sunny day. I tried not to think of beers and bratwurst at the end of the run just yet, there was still a way to go.

We went through the first of two aid stations about half way up the climb after about 1.5 hours. The number of people out there just to 'get through it' appeared high, and this was just the climb, usually you see people really struggling on the downhills.

We soon summitted, and I stopped to take some pics, made a short 500m traverse along the ridge at the top of the climb, and then took a few deep breaths before the descent. This is it I thought, I'm going to enjoy this!

The descent started with rocky, grassy trail, and soon moved into the forest below. I was feeling good and picking off people with ease. It was 100% enjoyable, and I can vividly remember the soft pine-needle covered trail beneath my feet, the speckled warming sunlight coming through the trees and the smell of the forest.

Suddenly I heard what sounded like a twig snapping and all of a sudden my shoe felt weird. I looked down, and the lacing system on my salomons had snapped. Damn. I had run all of last years race in these shoes, most of the coastal trail series and most of this years race in them. They had taken an absolute beating. I cant even wear them in the wet since the tread has entirely worn away. They were well passed their shelf life even at the start of this race, but after my inov8s had cut my heels to shreds, they were too comfy not to wear. This was going to be their swan-song, yet at the start even I had doubted their ability to make it. The laces were frayed, and so embedded into the shoe that they had worn through the material on the upper of the shoe. Affixed only at one end, they arent regular laces, and they had snapped close to the bottom. I did my best to tie off and tighten the loose end, but the shoe was barely staying on my foot. It was actually pretty difficult to run in, especially given the uneven and irregular nature of the rocky trail. I resigned myself to just getting down.

Soon the trail ended and we were back onto even forest service road, and the shoe seemed to stay on better, with no changes of direction necessary, I could plant my foot in a regular fashion and it was ok to run. I picked it up and was happy that I might be able to get through the stage in reasonable time. I got to the last checkpoint and had caught up most of the people I had summitted with.

I took three banana segments to carry, necked two cups of energy drink and a handful of cake. I put my ipod in for the first time with some angry music on, and set about the last 12km. I absolutely hammered it. I hadn't listenend to my ipod all week, and the sun, the even downhill gradient, the pumping music – I absolutely flew.

I must have passed maybe 20 teams slowly hobbling down the hill as I sped by at way under sub 7 min miles. Seriously aware of the 'little bump' at the end of the stage I tried to ease back a little, continued to eat and drink. Slowly I began to realise I had over done it a little, but now with only 6km to go, I just thought 'F*** it' lets finish this. It was starting to hurt.

As I got lower into the valley, the temperature increased. I hit some more trail, but managed to keep it going, even on the uphill portion of the small bump. A couple of the latter teams I had passed came back by, but I was still passing people.

5km from the end there was a mini-aid station with coke. Yes! Two cups, and the last push. 5Km in the context of this race is such a small distance, yet half an hour can seem like a BLOODY long way. I was soon into the orchards that makes up a lot of the terrain of the basin of the valley (the largest alluvial basin in the alps no less).

I hung with a group of 4 runners as best I could, and I estimate only running 8.5/9 min miles now. I had totally blown though, totally. Quite funny, but I like the pain in some way.

3km to go......2km to go......where is the 1km to go.....there it is, come on!! All the way on the flat it felt like my calves where about to cramp. I just kept saying to myself, hold it together.

Then I heard my favourite sound, the pa system in the distance, and then the increasing noise of the crowd around the final corner. I saw my brother, he started to run alongside, then Lotte, my sister in law and Chris. I was totally pumped, I hi-fived lotte (???) ran past and started to worry that I'd actually I'd hit her hand pretty hard, ran to the finish jumping up and down screaming 'come on!!' like a lout.

It was a great feeling, they gave me some champagne, which I poured into the beer my brother had given me and downed it. It tasted good, it almost came back up though

Luckily it turns out that I didn't hit lotte's hand too hard, and I apparently smelled SO good after 8 days of running that hand contact was about as much as was appropriate at the time.

549 out of 640 runners finished this year, and 245 of 320 teams. 273Km, and in the end with the revised route about 14,600m elevation.

A massive thanks and congratulations to Chris - you were a great run partner. Thanks to Endurancelife for letting us run with the name. I'll pull together a more formal video of the event soon, but for now this will have to do. Photos can be found here.

So....whos up for the Eastern route next year??

Gore-tex Transalpine Run - Prelude

2011-09-01T03:06:00.000-07:00

I just thought I’d put together a brief prelude to this year’s Gore-tex Transalpine run. This year I will be racing as part of Team EnduranceLife. my team partner for this year will be Chris Jenkins. We hope to put together a blog for each day and upload when Internet connections permit!

I’m pretty excited to be racing and have been looking forward to the race more or less since I entered. My experiences from last years race were ones to remember, and at the time, the greatest physical challenge I had taken on.

Although I am sure my recent the trials in the Arctic will provide me with a healthy dose of perspective in terms of the suffering I might endure this time around, I am under no illusions whatsoever as to the difficulties this year’s race will present. As multi-day race, its not just about the moment, where you can hide behind pacing mistakes dig deep and just hope you have enough to get through that day. Personal admin, nutrition and recovery strategies are put under the microscope, and thoroughly tested. I hope to be able to lend just a little of my experience in this regard to Chris as he taking on his first multi-day experience, I know I certainly appreciated it when I took on mine.

Stage 2

The profile of this years race doesn’t disappoint with the intro, and supposed ‘easy’ day of 27km and 1800m asc., 1500m desc. For those less familiar, I list the descent, since this is arguably the most physically demanding aspect of trail running. When Alpine gradients come into play, it doesn’t take much to shred the legs and leave you hobbling for days to come. To put these meaningless figures into perspective, max ascent in a CTS marathon is about 1600m, and the infamous Norseman marathon comes in at 1850m.

Day two looks to be the real tester – 53km, 2400 asc and 2900m! descent. They are calling this one of the hardest stages they have set in the race’s history. Day three offers no respite 43km, 2,600m climbing and 25km of the stage is above 2,000m. This years western route also offers up the Berg Sprint – Stage 5 being a 6km ‘sprint’ straight up 936m of mountain, I hope you can see why I gave it some “ “.

You get the idea. It all adds up, with this years race totalling 273km and 15,436 meters ascent, 14,606 meters descent. An achievement at the end of it, but best to take it less than one stage at a time.

My preparation has been much better than last year, which I only just scraped through in one piece with minimal training, owing to an injury I picked up earlier in the season. I take solace in the fact that this year I have to run 40km less over the same 8 day period, and although more climbing is involved, I am certain that my dedicated strength and conditioning work will help hold me together. My approach has been to run as consistently as possible and not worry overly about the distance I am covering. With no real access to the alpine terrain, it makes it an event that is difficult to effectively train for.

Despite my best intentions, and good levels of confidence surrounding my running coming into the race, picking up a complaint on my right knee (itb related) at the NDW50 from which I reluctantly withdrew after 30 or so miles, has brought the challenge ahead sharply into focus. Fortunately not a chronic injury, it cleared up quickly and hasn’t troubled me since. It did however seem to appear as my glutes tighten up after prolonged runs. Such is the scale and nature of the race, this is something I am not sure is entirely manageable, and once it goes is something that might certainly compromise completion.

After a great massage from Chris at Bodylab last night, and some handy hints and tips as to how I might use kineso-tape to offer some relief, I am feeling more confident, but we will see. From now, I will put the finish line out of mind, and focus on performance related goals, the things I can control. I’ll let the rest take care of itself. I’ll try to remember to look up every now and then and take in the amazing views. I can only but hope I once again hold out long enough to enjoy the awesomeness of the event in its entirety!

Anglesey Coastal Trail Series Marathon 22nd January 2011

2011-01-24T09:13:00.000-08:00

Having managed to negotiate the Christmas and New Year break with a surprising (for me) amount of discipline with regard to diet and my training, this race was preceded by a week of thoroughly enjoyable, yet non-specific, Arctic Survival training skills with the boys in Norway.

I had been feeling fairly strong the week before that running consistently having come off a few days down in Exmoor with Lotte staying at the Blue Ball Inn (I cannot recommend this place enough – if you are looking for accom for the Exmoor race – this is the place, on the course and incredibly hospitable, great food and great atmosphere). Our time had been spent on long walks and runs on the trails that make up and surround the Exmoor marathon course, so my holiday training in that respect couldn’t have been better - it’s a real shame I won’t be around for Exmoor this year – it’s a fantastically challenging and beautiful course, I guess I’ll have to settle for the bleak Arctic tundra ;-)

After the week of training in Norway however, I’d felt somewhat sluggish on my runs, and so little was left to do but to hope that I’d find some semblance of form come the race.

With Oli deciding to recover fully from his injury at Gower (very sensible) it was down to Jay and I to fly the Team Arktix flag in Anglesey. We set off lunchtime on Friday for the long drive up, and camped about 10 minutes from the race start. We caught up with Jack Wilkinson, a member of Team Pole Position, (also racing to the North Pole this April) and went for some food in a nearby pub. After a glass of whisky in the tent before bed we all camped down for the night. Despite a decent frost on the car Saturday morning, we had been more than a little toasty in our nanok sleeping bags and tent. Our gear, whilst perfect for Arctic conditions, and good practice in terms of personal admin to keep using, can only be described as overkill for Anglesey on a balmy January evening.

With ruthless efficiency we pulled pole, and drove over to the race start. Jay set off in the early wave leaving Jack and I to pass time in the car before the main start (unfortunately, we had finished all the whisky the night before).

It was good to see a couple of familiar faces from the Transalpine on the start line, and after the usual safety briefing, without delay, we were off.

I set off at a relatively decent pace, wanting to get a little ahead of the game before the course broke off into more technical trails. Up to the first checkpoint the course was fantastic – slippery rock and uneven winding paths – just my kind of trail! I normally set off fast, settle down and then push towards the end, and so was not surprised to see 4 or 5 pass me over the next 10 or so miles.

A picturesque run that hugs the coastline for the first 15 or so miles before an inland loop, I would have preferred slightly hillier terrain but was feeling relatively comfortable.

Just after half way I caught up with Jay on about 2 hours. He had had a fall, but judging by how long it had taken me to catch him, I knew he must have been going well. He seemed in high spirits and so I moved on, just as Iona (to her surprise leading the women’s field by about 30seconds or so) came alongside.

We chatted for a while and I managed to hang with her for about 30 or so minutes. Her pace was fractionally too much for me (not to my surprise), and so she pulled away.

I had focused quite intently on getting my food in during this race, normally only taking on a handful of jelly beans and a biscuit at each aid station and a gel towards the end, I had meticulously been taking on a gel every 40-45 minutes. Despite the increased energy levels, the flatter terrain in the midsection had taken its toll and I was beginning to tighten up. Time passed quickly and before I knew it ,I was approaching the end facing a steep and prolonged climb inside the last mile.

Great! Finally some of the hills I’d been hoping for! I knew it was just a short descent to the finish, and was looking forward to using my descending ability to good effect and pick off a couple of places in the final half mile. I pushed on up the hill, but started to feel uncharacteristically tight in my calves. I’ve never suffered from full on cramping in my calves and so just kind of hoped it wouldn’t happen. Over the top, and Wham! It felt like someone had taken a baseball bat to my legs. I actually started to laugh, thinking how ridiculous I must have looked, hobbling along, not making it more than a couple of paces at a time before they ceased up again. I tried to curb my laughter as there were some actually quite precarious sections on the descent, and didn’t want to turn this disappointing finish into a DNF! Down the flatter last section that I’d normally fly down I continued to hobble and lost yet another place, getting some quite patronising yet well intentioned encouragement from a runner of the half I’d overtaken on the ascent!

With little more to do than limp home and hope that I didn’t lose any more places I finished in 21^st place and 4 hours 21. Well done to Jay who ran sub 6 for the first time on a CTS course, a fantastic effort. To Jack, a superb first marathon, only 19 and finishing strong not far behind me! Of course congrats to Iona for winning the ladies and Gareth for 3^rd in a competitive men’s field!

Despite small set backs in consistency, my running is continually improving and as ever I look forward to the next CTS race and catching up with you all again! South Devon Ultra next up, see you there!