Marks Training and Weight Loss Blog

Back Posting

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 15:04:00 +0000

It's been a while I have posted for various personal reasons but back again.

Over the next few weeks I will update on parkrun tourism trips I have done and other races that I have done. A group of races are in an exotic location.

parkrun clubs

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 21:15:00 +0000

After all the endurance events from last year just concentrating on the parkrun 5km's doing new events and revisiting old events I had done along with some follow parkrun tourists on some of these. Ranging from a new one in my home town plus day trips to Scotland and Wales from the south coast of England.

I also maintened volunteering at the events and have now got my volunteer t-shirt from 25 volunteering events :-)

Plus some an unofficial target of 50 different events and I have set some new PB's on some of the courses.

My next parkrun target is the 250th parkrun.

Review from 2015 races

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 21:08:00 +0000

From the Ironman and Treble Marathon I did during the year there were a few things that need to be addressed.

I need to lose some weight as not helping with the endurance events I completed.

To review the course more, even if it is in a flat location double check there are no hills.

The weather conditions I prefer the warm weather such as at the ironman but not the wet and cold as in Dublin. So I need to do more of these cold runs, possibly with different kit options to help me.

As the distances and events had different nutrition I felt I coped with them well apart from on the Ironman run which I could not stomach any gels perhaps due to the amount of drink (salts and energy) on the bike as it was hot.

Pacing on the longer events when there is subsequent part to follow or the next day I need to improve on, single events my pacing is pretty good.

As part of my training I need to do other sessions such as weights and cross training such as cycling when doing running phase of training.

My logistics from driving to Netherlands and the Treble marathon were all great (99%) with only a minor item missing from each event. This included taking al the possible kit needed for the ironman and having multiple race kits packed for the Treble luckily including long sleeves and waterproof jacket.

The importance of recovery was placed particularly on the Treble where I had to physically recover as much as I could and also drive me to the next venue. This also includes adequate sleep in the build up plus as much sleep as I can get between the events, even a quick nap on the short flight to Dublin helped.

Lastly but not least the support I got from other runners and the spectators at these races were great and gave you encouragement when starting to struggle. This was the same from the middle of Ireland at Athlone Middle Distance Triathlon, Ironman Netherlands from the multi language of triathletes and supporters to the Treble marathons. Without these I would have not finished the Treble.

3 Marathons in 3 Days

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 20:52:00 +0000

To end last year's running season I did 3 Marathons in 3 days.

Day 1
It started at the Beachy Head Marathon, this is an off road marathon starting and finishing at Eastbourne. With the last last few miles alone the Seven Sisters. I have done this race 2 years ago so I knew what it was like. This year it was a dry race but windy. I finished the race a few minutes slower than the previous time I have done this race, possibly too quick pace for the rest of the running.

After the race I then drove over 4 hours to the next race in Bristol. I had a 30 minute stop at my home on the way to get rid of the first race kit and pick up the next two race kits and something to eat.

Day 2
The next day I did the inaugural Bristol to Bath marathon. It was a a cold start especially getting the park and ride bus to the start but there was a good atmosphere.

The first half was in Bristol and was quite nice as you ran under the suspension bridge from both directions which looked impressive and high on the cliff face either side of the river avon.
It then headed out in the countryside to Bath, then the fun of all the hills started. Everybody was saying it was tougher than expected from Pink Panther to Army Squad. Tried the race gels which were quite nice and refreshing lemon and lime flavour. I was walking any hill from this point in the countryside. When we got to Bath you did a look around the town and you could hear the finish line announcer from a couple of miles away. From here I started to pick up the pace and was overtaking a few runners.

I was glad to stop running at this point and hobbled to the baggage trucks and then to the changing tent which was on the scenic green of a Victorian crescent of houses. I then got the park and ride back to my car in Bristol. There I had some more food and drink and changed some clothes to travel to the next race.

I then headed to Bristol airport and took out the next set of kit and trainers. As I was flying to the next race I had a basic kit in my hand luggage in addition to my suitcase, just in case. As I had plenty of time I could get my dinner here due to the time I would get to my hotel plus I could watch the end of the rugby cup final.

When I landed in Dublin it was only a few minutes wait to get the coach in to the city and before I knew it we where there. Then it was just a 10 minute walk to my hotel, were a person had kindly got my race entry pack after agreement with the race organiser. I had booked a hotel within 1/2 mile of the start and finish plus a quieter area as I would need some sleep.

Day 3
I have done Dublin marathon a few times the last being a pacer, so I knew what to expect. However it was wet and cold I had the right kit with me so I was ok for the race. However I had forgotten a bin liner for the start, kindly an Irish runner gave me his spare as I was preparing for the race near the baggage area.

The course had changed a bit at the start and finish 2 miles but I knew the area, however when our wave started I was going with a faster pacer group than I should basing it on a a slow time for me single marathon and not on tired legs.
This was fine until 10 miles when the wet and cold was starting to get to me. By the time I got a few miles further to the half way point it had mentally broken me and if they offered to drive me back out of the wind and cold I would taken it. However at this point I started to talk to more of the runners who were at my pace that along with the crowd and the Craic got me round the last few miles. They also had a number of dj tents which the music motivated you.

At the end I crossed the finish line in my slowest ever marathon (including at Ironman) but I had completed the 3 marathon in 3 days (The Treble). However the time didn't matter I had done it and accomplished my goal of completing them!!

The walk/hobble back to baggage tent was slow and then I managed to put on some warm clothes before heading back to the hotel very slowly. After a shower at the hotel it would have been rude not to have some chips in a hot chilli sauce from a local chip shop and then a few well deserved Guinness.

Time to gear up for the 2016 challenge.

Ironman Maastrict - Race Report

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Tue, 22 Sep 2015 23:16:00 +0000

This year I decided to do the inaugural Ironman Maastrict in the Netherlands and thought how tough could that be in the Netherlands. Then I found out it had not sold out as a lot of the local tri clubs thought it would be a tough course, I think it was about 60% of the normal amount of Ironman entrants.

Any photos are by me (pre and post race) and my relatives during the race unless otherwise mentioned.

To add a bit extra I decided to drive their which increased my continual driving from a few miles to a few hundred miles, although I have still cycled more miles abroad than driven.

This was a good idea as I could pack my car out with more stuff than I could possible need at the Ironman.

The day before the race I went to the registration and expo in glorious warm sunshine and looking at the forecast it will be even warmer on race day :-)

As part of this I walked the area of the finish and the swim start and transition area. My major concern was how big the concrete steps were, I was struggling in my jeans let along a wetsuit!! The transition run was quite long as well with a hair pin bend at the far end which I thought might get wet and slippery during the race.

We also walked around part of the city centre which I noticed that most of this area was cobbled and I could see the Ironman route arrows!!

After registering and getting the massive Ironman Maastrict ruck sack (I can fit a laptop bag in it) plus all the race numbers and stickers we headed of to the race briefing

Race briefing in sunshine, I was tempted to get a beer from the bar but thought I better concentrate on the briefing as there was some parts I was unsure of from the course details.

The swim was a 2.4 miles (3.8km) effectively an out and back swim with getting out half way to cross some land near the council offices which are some are built over the river. The bike course was described as a 2 laps 182km (113 miles) which is 2km longer than the standard distance (there is a tolerance on the course distances). Then the run was a marathon 26.2 miles (42.2km) which was made up of 3 laps.

The main differences I had noticed from other races I had previously done, was the swim start was effectively staggered by reducing how many people could get in the river at the start but had a timing mat immediately before so you time would be based on when you started.

The other different course option was a bridge they had made near the end of the lap to go under in one direction and over on the way back, how big could that be I thought?

At the bicycle check in they were giving plastic covers out despite it being 25c+ and the lowest was going to be 12c overnight. I decided to use it as everybody else had and thought there must be a strange cool mist near the river.

I also deflate my tyres as it was warm and sunny plus clipped on my cycling shoes. So the next morning I would just need to add my food and drink.

I also familiarised my bike position in transition and transaction bags, to hopefully make it easier to find during the race .

It was a more relaxed atmosphere staying 5km away from centre of town staying with relatives I was seeing a lot cycling in general going up the hill. I was also watching a lot of Peppa Big (Peppa Pig in Dutch) and playing with toys, so I was nice and relaxed.

Race day

It was strange finding way around somebody else's kitchen in the dark at 3:30am for breakfast, luckily I didn't wake anybody. Breakfast Cereal, sports drink and beetroot gels to start the morning, mmm.

Then it was an early drive in the morning (5:30am ish) no other cars on the road, which they had never seen. I handed my bags in for special needs cycle and run hopefully I put the right things in each bag. I had learnt from other races not to put in anything that could melt like ride shots. I then added my drinks and food for to my bike so they would be cool as long as possible before the heat started. I then borrowed a track pump and inflate both my tyres.

Then it was the compulsory three trips to the portable toilets which were not in a good state this early in to day.

I then got the final part of my wetsuit zipped up with some help from person next to me, who turned out was another English person who now lives in the netherlands.

The start of this race we were standing in swim time order and there was a narrow entrance to the river to control swim start that they said should make it safer. They had added extra steps on the concrete steps added along with carpet to make it easier to get in and out of the river area.

The race started with a canon, we thought we were under attack as wasn't expecting that.

Not sure if this person started the race or was just out for a sunday morning stroll along the river?

Swim

After a bout 5 minutes of organised swim start I finally got in to the river for the first time. I decided against going in the practice time as you had to come out and wait for 30 minutes getting cold.

The water was clear and as only a few around you it was a nice swim for about 1 mile in clear water. The swim was on the left of the yellow buoys and underneath the 3 or so bridges. There was support along the river bank and across the bridges which you could hear when you turned your head during the swim stroke. I only had a few hits in the first mile compared to the 100s normally.

As we got near the turn point the water became murky (sand in the water) enough so you could see the weeds that you were swimming in to. Then was starting to get hit by other swimmers more due to narrower and a few smaller bridges to go through.

At the council offices we got out cross the land and back into the river, there was a bit of a step to get out. Think this due to safety reasons of the water/river bed in that area. The land was a bit steep and uneven which couldn’t be seen under the carpet which made it a bit interesting to walk over.

The next 100m were murky and weedy but then in the cleaner river water on the way back. Then headed on the other side of the buoys (still on the left side) returning along the same route, still with plenty of support.

I was then starting to get a bit of a head cold after 1 hour of swimming, so I stopped and treaded water while adjust swim caps and goggles and a mental refocus as was thinking of stopping. Then I remembered the training with 3 year playing with minions which looked like the yellow buoys they had marking the swim route which made my smile and thought I better carry on.

You then swam past the exit for a 200m to a turnaround point which looked like a PG tips prymaid bag (I was mentally gone at this point). You then swam back to the swim exit ramp where you got helped/pulled out of the water.
Then was a few meters up the steps followed by a 300m carpeted section to transition. I got the top half of the wetsuit down and some how found the energy to run in to the transition area.

I finished the swim in 1:27:40 which was about the same time as the previous weekends 3.8km swim in a rowing lake as part of a relay team with my brothers.

T1

I took my time as usual about 10+ minutes!! It was a long transition of over 1/2 km in total from swim exit to mount line.

I had dried off (had packed a towel) a bit and got cycle kit on including some arm warmers and sweatbands as was a chilly start to the day but forecast for warm weather. Taking the extra time also allows me to mentally refocus for the next stage.

Cycle

I ran out with my bike to the mount line (shoes clipped in) and then moved off with feet on top of shoes and gradually put them in once got some momentum.
The roads are closed so not a big issue if I forget which side of the road I am meant to be on.
This is a 2 lap course so first lap is to find out the route then the next lap you know what is next.

The first part of the cycle round some industrial estates which was fast but with a few 90 degree turns, it then went out in to the countryside next to some rivers, fast section on aerobars. I was regularly going over 20mph and thinking that's going to hurt at some point. Plus the temperature was also starting to warm up.

Then on some sections you where back on the wrong side of a main road (left) which took you to a football stadium which had another aid station and a lot of supporters. The road was closed and marshalled but the big difference the people in the cars were giving you encouragement not shouting at you.

The course then was an out and back to Sittard town centre past a number of cafes where people were cheering you from. However there was a few hundred meters of a coble section including a 90 degree turn for a bit of fun.

Then the course went through some residential areas with a few more short inclines not that steep but was still well supported. There was also some traffic traffic calming sections even on some bends I soon realised the triangle markings on the road meant there was speed bumps even thought it didn't look like there was due to the very smooth road surface.

Once heading back on the loop it was more in the countryside, with some more undulations not sure were they found these in the Netherlands.

Then on one the far corners of the course there was a nice down hill with a 90 right turn straight on to a cattle grid followed by an incline. So was a bit of risk of damaging your bike particularly on the first lap the second I was more prepared and going slower. Then you generally had not momentum up the hill, there was some people cheering you on as they had a picnic.

This was a nice undulating section with trees keeping it cool but also dark so had to concentrate on the road surface in the shaded areas.

You then get to more of a farming area of the country side which was more open space apart from the big climbs on the course. You could see Maastrict only a few km away but they turned you around and made you go out in the countryside again.

This next section is where some of the more famous cycling races use such as the Amstel Gold race and some of the big cycling tours.

The first was after a 90 degree right turn and then a 1km decent hill with about 2 or 3 bars on it!! Once you recovered from that you then had about 10km until you got to the hill at Bemelen which is a few km long plus I was staying half way up it so I had already seen the base of it.

Next was a loop section to get the distance up to the required level and also to get in the famous of the hills in the area, the Cauberg in Valkenburg.

Plus you went under the wooden bridge they had made.

There was some nice gentle country lanes and farm land and was getting some speed and even a downhill until a sharp 90 degree left turn on to the Cauberg. As they had to keep one lane open to traffic you could not take it as wide as they do in the Amstel gold race so lost some momentum at the foot of the climb and had to power up the hill. There was plenty of support all the way up even from those in the café’s plus numerous along the paths.

When you got to the top you were glad to see an aid station to top up food and drinks.

This was starting to warm up so I took of my arm warmers and was making sure I added a salt tablet to each of my water bottles.

You then continued around the next few km and over the fairly large wooden bridge they had made, it was quite steep going up and down. A photographer on a motorbike even got me eating one of my ham rolls at that point, glad they didn't get my race number.

Then you head back towards the city along some country lanes, cycle path and then on to a main city centre road. It was at this point I got lapped by the leader who was over 10 minutes between the next person overtaking me.

Then turning off the city road and along the cobbles on the riverside path.

There was plenty of support along this section but also people walking along not fully aware of what was going on, there was a couple of close calls in between the marshalled sections.

You then completed the lap going past the transition area, now you knew what was coming up and still 56 miles (90km) to go on the bicycle.

About 10km in to the loop was the special needs bags which I had previously packed, but since that morning had forgotten what was in there so it was a nice surprise. It was starting to really heat up at about 30C and lets of people were struggling, so I was sure to get each drinks bottle topped up and salt tablet added to stay hydrated. As I could literally see the sweat fall off me when I had stopped moving.

I then carried on I could feel my legs starting to feel fatigued due to the faster cycle section, there was getting less supporters as it was starting to get really warm or they had headed out on the run course.

Each aid station I got to about 15 to 20 miles apart was getting more important for the drinks in the heat. I was even starting to have some caffeinated drinks to help me on prepare for the second part of the course which had more technical sections along with the hills.

I was really starting to struggle when I got to the hill where I was staying and seeing my relatives gave me a bit extra boost to carry on. At the top of the hill hearing people enjoying a swimming pool in the heat was mental torture. It was then the loop to get to the hills and their made up bridge.

By the time I got to the Cauberg again at 101 miles there was not many other triathletes around me and the support was less up the hill. Others had got of their bike and were pushing it up the hill I was still powering up the hill and then to the aid station.

Going over the bridge they had made I had to concentrate to power up it and control the way down as was step and starting to physically and mentally fatigue due to the heat. Once I was on the city road heading back to the transition I felt a lot better until the last mile and a bit which was on cobbles with people crossing in front of you, luckily I wasn't going that fast but my reaction time would have been longer than normal.

As I got to T2 I got my feet out of the pedals and rested them on top of the shoes and stretched my legs muscles a bit. The turn left of the main road in transition felt so good as last time I had to carry on past it. When I got to the dismount line I got of the bike and was able to run in to transition with my bike.

I finished the 182km (113.5 miles) official distance, in 7:54, at an average speed of 14.3mph for nearly 8 hours.
I had a few extra miles on my GPS and otherw had 6km further than normal but it's the same distance for everybody.

T2

Nearly all the bikes were back by know but at least I had my reference point where my bike had to be racked.

I got my run bag and headed to transition tent. There was a couple of people just lying on the benches in there as the heat had affected them too much and they decided not to continue. I kept to my usual 10+ minutes in transition (it was a long run transition) which helped me cool down a bit before starting the run.

I changed my tri kit to make me feel more fresh. I decided to take some arm warmers and sweat bands with me, as in the previous couple of days the temperature did drop quickly once the sun went down which I estimated I would still be out on the run even though it was 30c when I left.
After a quick toilet stop (mainly due to the heat and smell) I headed out on the run.

Run

The run started following the route from the transition area next to river before crossing a bridge and heading on the loop section. It was 3 laps starting from here.

You turned right and headed underneath the bridge you crossed over but heading up the river on the other river bank from transition, I think it was slightly cooler next to the river but was still hot. As there were people on multiple laps there was plenty of runners you could tell by the number of bands they had on the wrist, I was chatting to a number of them either in English or my limited language skills in a few other languages.

The aid stations were about 1.5 miles apart, so you had to be careful not to have to much. So I was limiting myself to water and tuc biscuits to keep my hydrated and get some salt as I my stomach was already feeling dodgy. At this point my legs were already fatigued so I was doing a run/walk all they way, I have done that in a marathon before but I normally like to get 10 miles in to the Ironman run before doing this.

After about 2 miles you came to the steepest hill on the run course, which was a sharp incline that took about 1 minute to get up. At the top was André Rieu's theatre and house, he was even there supporting at some points to the day. A few hundred meters after this was the special needs bags, I decided to leave mine to the next lap or the last. This section of the run was flat but there was plenty of support from the residents who were having a nice picnic, drinks, party with music.

There was a slight downhill to a bar/pub section not sure if there was an Irish bar there but there was plenty of Irish support, that gave me a bit of extra boost thinking about some my Irish relatives. Then another aid station before turning a corner and another short incline around a park area.

You then went on on another residential area that I think it was Champs elyse road, which I had started the Paris marathon earlier in the year on, it made me chuckle each time. There was a slight incline before a 90 degree turn to the left before just following the road to the turn point about 2 miles away. This section had plenty of support and had a couple of camper vans with loud music to give us support I think they were having a BBQ and lots of drinks :-( they were having a great time.

The next section went out of the city limits in to a more agricultural area which didn't look like traditional Netherlands area. Then there was a nice sweeping downhill until the bottom of the hill where the turn point was which they had a timing mat so you had to go over it!! Then you turned and realised you had a long incline to run up but at least you were heading back in to the city.

You then followed the same route back and was glad of the step downhill section as I got some speed up pity the aid station was so close to the bottom of the slope.

You then followed a different section back in to the city along a closed road. At the end you got your wrist token before entering the city gates. This point it was cobble section (which I had seen the days before) but all the cafes were packed. You followed the streets around and between the two squares there was a slight downhill. After the second square with cafes you had a nice downhill section still on cobbles.

At this point you could hear the loud music and the announcer of the finishers. I however had to run around the town hall in the market place and continue on to another lap. The town square and the buildings around it helped keep the load music in so it was a good atmosphere.

There was plenty of support in this section and the chip shop I had been to on the previous day was open :-(

You then headed on to the lap section starting at the underneath of the bridge as per the first lap.
However there was suddenly a lot less other runners and those who were on the course are also starting to struggle.
At this point onwards in the day it didn't matter you spoke you knew how they felt.

I was starting to have longer walk breaks now even on the flat sections. By the time I got the special needs bag I decided to leave it to the last lap to give me something to look forward to, I know how to treat myself :-)

It was getting towards dusk and there was a nice sunset in the distance but there was still support in this section. I decided to have my first gel of the run some 10+ miles in to the run, it gave my stomach aches so I decided to stick my tuc biscuits and water but now having cola or red bull in addition for some caffeine.

I was glad of reaching the music area at the far end of the course it gave me a boost as you could hear it about half a mile away. This section I was high fiving a few other people either English people who I was chatting to in walk breaks or random triathletes. They had put on the generator lights by now on the course which gave it a different atmosphere. At the turn point they were starting to hand out water as well as the days efforts and hot weather was taking its affect. At this point I roughly worked out I was half way on the run :-)

As the sun had gone in during the walk sections I was getting a bit cold so I decided to put the arm warmers on, which was a good option as if I got warm during a run I could just roll them down.

I was starting to look at my watch not GPS watch to see if I would make the final cut off time of midnight (slightly later due to staggered swim start). In my fatigued state I thought I would but it would be close, I think checked this every walk break from then on when I could see the watchface in the dark.

I got to the turn point and headed back, it seems like there was a lot of English people going by the race number struggling as they didn't believe there was this many hills in Netherlands lot alone on the course!!

I was starting to get to know the people on the aid stations at this point as there was less triathletes than marshals. I was running along the section in to the city centre and a Spanish person asked if I went any of his gels he had as he was on the last lap and didn't need them. I declined as I was no state for any gels. He went ahead and got his last wristband and a few minutes later I got my second.

Through the cobbled street sections I had to concentrate more as it was uneven but lit well, however some sections people were coming out of bars/restaurants straight on to the course. I think I may have high fived some people in the cafe/restaurant section on the way through the city. I then got to the town hall and some the relatives there for the first time on the run, the last time they were having picnic on the grass in the sunshine as cycled up one of the hills but it was about 10c cooler by now.

As I headed on the last lap there was not that many people left with either 100m gaps between us. as I caught up one person he was running leaning to one side and then being sick, he was with somebody so I carried on but still let the next marshal know.

I got to the final steep incline section and knew that was the hardest part done then I got to my special needs bag. Bonus I had put a different flavour tuc bacon flavour in for a change, mmm. I had some gels that I put in my pocket in case I got to a point I needed them plus a plain roll (cheese topped) but I could only stomach one mouthful of that.

I carried on through the residential areas which they still had support despite it getting late and not many triathletes left on the course. There was some police at certain points on the closed roads to make sure no traffic went through them.

When I got to the music area they had put a disco light in the road and a smoke machine plus plenty of support. This was one of my most enjoyable parts of the course.

I then headed out of the city and down to the turn point for the last time :-)

I thanked the marshals there I was on the way back with about 4 miles to go, which I started to get more energy back.

As we were so spaced out they had some marshals on bicycles cycling along. I was chatting to the person with me for a while, he was a runner from the area and was telling me some of the routes they do along the course. As I could see they ideal for training either hill reps or longer intervals sets.
At one section in the darker area there was a person cheering the runners on, I later foundf out it was André Rieu.

Those few miles went past quickly chatting to the marshal, however I forget his name. Just before I got to the city he had to turn off to get back to the start of the loop.

I then carried on and got my last wristband and high fived the marshals there given the bands out.
At this point I was in the finish 1 mile with plenty of time but it felt like I was speeding up and taking less walk breaks, I think as I could hear the finish area music from the cobble section of the city it helped me on.

I got to the last cafe square and my relatives were there so I got some photos as ran along.

I then had to run around the city hall rather than starting a lap it felt so good being on the red carpet and then Ironman carpet running in. Again the high fives started as I ran the last 100m. Still with crowds either side and the grandstands on the last section with Avicii's Wake Me up playing loudly as I crossed the finish line then a few seconds later a Pirates of the caribbean remix.

I was an Ironman again and got the large medal put around my neck :-)

I finished the run in 5:57 (average 13 min/mile pace) which was one of my slowest Ironman marathons.

I finished overall in 15:49 which was longer than expected but I was glad I was able to finish it.

Finish

As my relatives were the other side of the fence I posed for a few more photos.

Then got a foil blanket so I din't cool down too much. Then got my finishers t-shirt and then some pasta and beer from the post race recovery tent it would have been rude not to as they sponsored the event ;-) All before before putting some warm clothes on, got my priorities.

Post race

It was a slow walk back to transition to get my bicycle and transition bags. Luckily the walk from their to the pickup point for my relatives car was short. It was hard just to get in the people carrier's seat as was higher than I used to.

It had felt the toughest Ironman I had done which was strange in a traditional thought flat country but was also an enjoyable race. There seemed to be a lot more DNF's at this race than other Ironman's I estimated about 10% based on number of entries and finishers but not seen any offical report.
Although I think I was one of the heaviest times when taking part in an Ironman triathlon.

I was glad to make it back to England and inaugural Ironman Maastrict finisher.

My race analysis from GPS data will follow later.

Included below are two videos fro Youtube that show some more coverage of the race, mainly focused on the winner.

Not posted recently but still been exercising.

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Sun, 20 Sep 2015 20:15:00 +0000

I have not posted recently but have still been exercising, some of my highlights are below which I may add a report in the future.

Nice to Cannes (France) marathon
Paris Marathon
London Marathon
Naas parkrun (Ireland)
Triathlone Middle Distance Championships (Ireland)
Ironman Maastrict (Netherlands) was an inaugural event.
50th different parkrun event.

Getting Ready to Pace Basingstoke Half Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 20:46:00 +0000

After doing a number of runs on the Basingstoke Half Marathon course, meetings, seminar and practicing the required pacing, the race is nearly here as I have created my pace bands.

All it needed was a print out of the required pacing, some multi colour pens, scissors (required adult supervision) and the obligatorily sticky back plastic. I was getting flash backs to watching Blue Peter as a child.

In Blue Peter style here is all the required items that you need to make the pace bands.

After a bit of cutting and taping, here is two pace bands that I made earlier.

You can tell I work with data and reports as each band has a different representation of the same pacing data.

The left band has cumulative total based on the varying splits based on effort (extrapolated from one of the lead pacers previous BHM race times) with a couple of checkpoints highlighted.

The right band has at least three pieces of information per mile. These are the split time for that mile, uphill or downhill (identified by colour and letter) and how steep (based on spark line length). There is also approximate location of the water stations and any significant parts of the course such and the "big dipper" and a tunnel with a sharp 90 degree turn in to an incline.

Strangely the pacing band prints the times out in a small font in grey, so I had to use a black pen and write the times over the top and slightly bigger to make it hopefully easier read when running without require to stop to check.

Along with these I will have a GPS watch (for approximate values) due to hills and tree coverage on the course and another stopwatch, so I should have enough information. The main data will be the mile markers and the time at each which as correctly measured as may not be running on the measured (sometimes marked with a blue line) route.

Due to the course there is no consecutive miles at similar pace, as we keeping the same effort that should not change much but the pace should change by about +/- 1:30 per mile. That means there will be about 14 different pace changes on the course!!!

If it was a flat course I would get the pace in the first mile and that would be it for the race, along with this being not my natural pace this is going to be a bit more challenging.

Although I have paced the Dublin marathon a couple of times with the last having a giant pink weather ballon between the pacing group!!!

All that is required on the day is to the move right foot then left foot repeating about 12,000 times and following the instructions and should meet the target chip based time.

Endure 24 - 2014 Race Report

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 20:35:00 +0000

My Endure24 started a couple of days before the race when I started to pack my car. This turned in to a car full with lots of bags with running clothes, food and drink and camping equipment.

When I got to the event the day before the race it was nice and sunny and warm :-)

I decided to go to solo area (was close to course entrance) rather than my running club which was about 100m away on the other side start/finish area of the course.

I then put up my tent with slight help from my former running club that was nearby about the guide ropes. I kept them low and close to the tent, as I did not need much support from these but did not want to trip over them in the night despite having torches. This was not bad effort for my first attempt at putting a tent up on my own. I then realised in the two person tent there was not enough room for all my bags, so I left most of them in my car that was next to my tent.

Despite it being off road I thought the condition had been dry for quite a while and I have previously ran parts of the course on over races in road shoes without any problems.

I just had to get my race number, timing chips and race t-shirt, no turning back now.

As I had nearly 24 hours to wait until the race I started to chill with my club mates with some relaxing chilled drinks, in what I named CPRC lane due to both side of the access way were the club member's.

There was a food area so I decided to use that if I needed any hot food and drink that I had not brought with me.

In the afternoon I checked the first 1km and last 200m part of the course to familiarise myself with that. As the first part had the biggest hill on the lap and 2 cattle grids (covered during the race).

Race morning

On race day I was up early but there was a lot of hanging around until the midday race start, normally race I have done start 6am to 10am or in the evening so this was an unusual pre race wait.

Then 1 hour before the race start it started to thunder and lightening with torrential rain. I was then sitting in my tent wondering if the race will go ahead let alone what to wear and how many layers.The start was delayed by only a few minutes to check course and marshals.

At the start line there was a good atmosphere with mixture of solo and teams and the other team member on the side lines supporting.

My plan was do 2 laps then 15 minutes rest then another 2 laps then 1 hour rest (kit change) with run/walk strategy all the time (about 1 hour ish per lap) and walking any incline, then repeat as long as possible, simples so I thought.

I started near the back as going to be a long 24 hours and did not want to get my pace carried away with the race start.

The 5 mile loop start with a short grass section before turning left on to the only tarmac, this was a lot of support as running through the main camp area.

Then the first cattle grid covered with wood which then lead on to the first incline which wasn't steep but on for 1km with the next cattle grid then on to gravel footpath which then had some more undulating inclines. Then the last cattle grid on the lap and in to the off road portion of the course.

This narrowed in to a mud footpath and marked the start of the woodland section with a large hedge to the right hand side. There was some gravel footpath sections and rolling short incline and declines before a long steady incline and a steep down hill section between some lakes which there was a number of puddles / mud in this section before another uphill section.

This area I have ran as part of old running club and their XC races organised. Then the course turned through the new path for the race which was nice and soft in the soil /mud, there were a few tree roots to watch out for , especially near the end of this section which reminded me of a Motocross course.

Which then turned on to a clay footpath section which had plenty of puddles and mud.

My road running shoes in a really good state at this point.

It then returned along near the lakes with a flatish 1km run to war the aid station was, had water and some gels.

Then the other hill on the course which was steeper and about half the length of the other hill. However had a lot of mud /liquid mud which made it harder to climb all the way to the top with a bend and steep section at the top.

Then run a long path which narrowed near the turning point which was muddy and there was a vw camper van stuck in the mud I think it was going to be additional aid station.

Then followed yet another muddy path for 1km with a nice long downhill of about 200m, this was my fastest part and best part of the course that did not have any supporters. There was then a flat section along a tarmac path for 500m which lead in to the field and the end of the lap.

Photo (c) Peter Cook.

There was plenty of support as you came in to the field.

Photo (c) Peter Cook.

Then around the numerous S bends to the finish of the 5 mile (8km).

Just another 23 hours to go!!

My nutrition I was using one sports drink and gel plus small ginger nut bar was lasting me two laps, with option top up at aid station on the course (5km). Then a red bull before each change over 4 laps, with water with salt tablet, honey spiced tea as needed during any stopped time at my tent.

The non running relax time in tent gave me time to stretch out, clean myself a bit and change of clothes that made feel more fresher then actually was.

The course marked in km so it seemed to go quicker despite having GPS watch on which showed how long in time and distance I had done. I kept my GPS watch charged using external battery pack which worked for the race.

The first few reps of the course was ok and went as planned.

With the 200 solo and 200 and teams, with the rain it was really starting to get muddy and slippery in places. In the field you had to run round the edge of the course due to the amount of mud even the finish area was getting quite muddy and slippery.

Photos (c) Peter Cook.

When I changed shoes a couple of times had to pour water on them to clear mud of enough to be able to undo the shoe laces.

Then I let kit dry out a bit on my camping chair before packing it away.

Each bag in my car had specific type of kit, so I was taking a bag to pick my kit out of the car was like shopping trip each time. It made it easier to get the best kit for the weather conditions and how I felt.

At the start finish area you could easily see which way the wind was blowing all the clouds and rain in by the number of flags.

Then on 6th lap half way round started to rain really heavily again. I had short sleeve kit on and was getting very wet and cold, which is not good on endurance event.

So I decided to take extra rest and put lots layers 3 or 4 on and sleep in my tent, as my muscles were starting to feel fatigued. I was warm enough with the deep heat, ibugel, cold freeze providing extra heat to my muscles and interesting smell. I had some different food and drink as well compared to when running I think they were scotch egg, hula hoops (salt and vinegar) and protein milk shake.

In the night I could hear the rain, plus everybody running past and those waiting for change over shouting for who they were waiting for. I could hardly hear the announcer over the small electric generator that was making more noise than all the other generators combined. This was a side affect of being that close to the start area, so didn’t get that much good quality sleep but I had done some training on lack of sleep.

I woke up some point after 2am to do a night run with my head torch and hand torch. It was good to do at least one lap in dark and strangely enjoyed it. They had put some battery powered lights (Christmas tree) and glow sticks on some of the course to mark the route. Plus you could see everybody else's head torches particularly from the hill on the first km you could see the lights from the last downhill 1km from the end of the lap on the other side of the field.

The sun seemed to come up quickly as on the second lap around 4am it was starting to get lighter and by the end I did not need the head torches.

Then I was starting to get significant amount of muscle fatigue then had a few 3 to 4 hour rest with my running club area on the other side of the start/finish area.

I then went out on 1 last lap to finish the run after midday and complete the 24 hour race.

There was a lot of crowds at the end cheering you on, and the sun was out again finally.

I completed the 24 hours and did 11 laps at 55 miles.

It was mentally and physically tough but I think I will be back again to take on the challenge.

Included is a CPRC club video of the event which shows the condition changes throughout the 24 hours.

Included below is a video of the event from YouTube.

100th Basingstoke parkrun

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Mon, 26 May 2014 14:22:00 +0000

I finally have done my 100th Basingstoke parkrun, which I was one of the few that was there over 5 years ago for their event #1. I have done a lot of other parkrun events so I already have my 100 club t-shirt and jacket which I had to wear today.

I even beat a minion.

Photo (c) 2014 Emma Brown.

Even the rain and mud did not put me of, I am happy :-)

Been Training

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Sat, 24 May 2014 14:40:00 +0000

It's been a while since I have posted as been busy training for an trail ultra marathon, all 24 hours of it. I should be back posting again more frequently and may back date some race reports.

In the meantime I have won my local triathlon club's male club champion and part of a team that won an award for most active workplace in the county. The county level completion we collected our award at a ceremony which was really inspirational to hear about other sports people in different sports and categories.

Great Railway Run 25km

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 21:53:00 +0000

This was run a nice 25km (15.6 miles) run from Cork (Ireland) along the former railway line (now a pathway) next to the coast to Carrigaline. There was a 5km and 10km run but as I had traveled all that way I had to do longer run really after doing a 5km parkrun the previous day.

I thought this would be a nice way of sightseeing and took a camera as I was taking it easy, all I had to do was finish to set a PB.

The start was in the edge of industrial estate with a registration tent on the grass.

After about 1km we were on the footpath next to the river.

It was still a bit cold after a few miles but was of the beaten track for normal sightseeing. God knows why I was running it.

Castle on edge of river.

Then along the path again.

Even the locals were giving us a strange look.

Bridge of the estuary.

They had used a former railway platform as a drinks stand.

You then headed along the road a bit before joining the footpath again.

The weather was ok up to this point, almost tropical for the area. Although there was plenty of places you can go to from here.

Then after about 45 minutes the rain started and did not stop until after I had finished nearly 2 hours and about 100 photos later.

By the time I got to the hillier section at about 10 miles I was soaked through.

The final section there was a few villages that we ran through. Had to stop at depiction of the town were I first started running when an adult.

I was tempted to buy some Irish Tatoes but still had a few miles to run in the rain.

I was counting the miles (km) down to the finish at this point.

The final straight to finish and then in the dry.

I finished it in 2:30:56.

By the time I had finished I would have been drier swimming but I set a PB!!

It took a few cups of tea and sandwiches which they provided in the sports hall to warm up.

It was a good race with not to many hills but with the expected weather in Ireland in October.

parkrun Castle Demense (Ireland)

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 20:41:00 +0000

The parkrun Castle Demense is in Macroom about 10 miles West of Cork (Ireland).

I got the first bus from Cork on a cold but sunny morning to this town for my 151st parkrun and first international parkrun :-)

This gave me 15 minutes to get to the venue if the bus was on schedule,as parkruns in Ireland start at 9.30am.

Luckily it is easy to find a castle entrance in a small town.

They had the use of the sports hall for leaving barcodes and a change of clothes as was just a few degrees above freezing, plus they had tea and biscuits already setup :-)

The other parkrunners, volunteers and event director were friendly it felt a nice community parkrun.

The 100 parkrun kit was a good ice breaker, as I was the first 100 club member at this venue. I even got a mention before the start of the parkrun, which meant I could not take it easy.

The course was a lap around the GAA (Gaelic football) pitch which even the locals were saying it was cold. You then headed out of the pitch gates on to pathway to the start/finish line.

The route then went down a hill before starting a 2 lap section.

This next section was along a footpath.

You had to make sure you did not hit the wall :-)

Then there was a sharp turn on to a hill before and out and back section past a golf course.

You ran than ran back to the footpath and started the 2nd lap which when completed you headed back along the to the finish.

However there was a nice steep hill at the finish which you ran down at about 0.5km. You just got to the top of the hill just about running before turning right and a few steps crossed the finish line.

I completed the parkrun in 22:35 which was a good time for me on a testing course on a cold morning.

I then headed back along the route as a cool down and supporting the other runners, while also taking some photos.

The barcode scanning was in the sports hall which was a bit warmer then a nice cup of tea and biscuits, I think I even saw somebody eat some of the fruit!!

After heading out of the castle gates I found another local cake shop as I was up early this was lunchtime :-)

Along with being one of the friendliest parkruns it has the best entrance to a parkrun being through a castle gate!!!

I think I will be back again when next in the area.

Beachy Head Marathon Review

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 22:49:00 +0000

After years of other runners mentioning this race I finally decided to do this off road marathon, how tough could it be its just 5 and a bit XC races. As I drove towards the area I was seeing plenty of hills and hoping we did not have to run up them, some we did.

Well below is the race profile, just a couple of hills before I nice easy bit between CP (CheckPoint) 4 and 5 before a big hill at the end, simple really :-)

At the end of my race report is some videos found on Youtube of the event, from 4 minutes to 1 hour which give a good overview of the course at all the main parts that I can remember. From these you can see we where lucky it was a dry day but very windy.

Plus more information including official photos are on the event web site at http://www.visiteastbourne.com/events/BeachyHeadMarathon.aspx

A nice look key registration tent the day before the race.

Got my race number.

As it was a cool day I had on long sleeve layers with options to add some arm warmers or water proof jacket along with some food and isotonic drinks. I would use my nutrition every couple of miles except if near a checkpoint.

The race starts with a about 10 seconds running on the road before a nice steep hill to run/walk up. It eases off a bit to the right but still an incline for a few miles. This was already fairly slippery to go up on race morning I was dreading what it would be like in 4 or 5 hours for the finish, just what you need at the end of a marathon a steep slippery downhill.

When I finally got to the top of the hill there was a Scottish (guessing) piper player the bag pipes in full kit, made a difference from normal races.

This wall on grass which then turned in to gravel path after going other a road. It seemed like all uphill for the first 2 or 3 miles. Then went through a wooded section on downhill with lots of stone to watch you did not go over your ankle on. There was a 100m section on road through a village which lead to the first checkpoint, water mars bar chunks and bourbon biscuits, my sort of race :-)

This then lead to a narrow uphill section still in strong winds. There was a distinct groove in the footpath from rain water draining down which was bone dry, so had to be careful of loose stones.

This then lead in to a woodland section which was muddy and slippery but still with ups and downs for 1 or 2 miles. This came out to a path along the ridgeway which the wind was coming strongly up the valleys down to the left of the path. Great scenery though, gutted did not take a camera with me.

After a mile or saw a long the top was a down hill section which there was lot of pot holes and stones to watch you footing on. I was going at a faster speed at this point, as I though there worst hills were in the first half which I had done about 1/4 of the distance already.

At the bottom we reached another checkpoint and feeding station before heading around the edge of a village green and crossing a bridge on to a road around the village. There were quite a few supporters at this section through the village.

When I got through the other side there was another hill which most people had stopped running and walking up. Once got to the top started to run along the trail path again, as we were at the top of the hill the wind was getting quite strong pushing us to the side. After a couple of miles of this we reached the next checkpoint and time for a quick rest out of the wind before turning back towards the coast, this was the furthest west point so we were heading back :-)

A couple of miles heading in to head wind was great luckily part we down there was some tall hedges which took part of the wind strength away. We then turned left in to a field and ran a few miles in this direction, crossing a road and in to another (cow) field where there was a checkpoint.

After running along side a river embankment we then crossed on to a village road to the local hall were there was tea, coffee, soup, hot cross buns and sausage rolls. There was also a band playing an acoustic chariots of fire. I was quite relaxed at this point then realised I had another 10 miles to run. I thought that was the worse done according to the profile but everybody was saying the bit I thought was easy is the toughest part, doh!!

We then headed put of a gate in to a field and up yet another hill. There was a short flat section before a fast short descent with a sty at the bottom. However after a very short flat section this lead to about 50 steps (did not count them). There was then a nice flat and slightly down hill section through some woods it was a bit slippery in places especially were the leaves had fallen.

After going through a other gate at the bottom of the hill there was another set of steps about 100 of them, I was running up them while others were walking. Then at the top after a short flat section there is a stone wall to climb over!!

Then there was a short downhill luckily there was a gate to slow down before crossing a road, I was glad for a rest waiting for the police to stop traffic.There was a lot of support at this section of the park, most had a picnic :-(

We then headed in to the Seven Sisters Country Park which had some impressive Oxbow lake formations, remembered from GCSE Geography. Plus there was plenty of grazing sheep.

After about a mile of running on the grass section up and down a hill towards the coast, we go to my "flat" section. What I did not appreciate was the steepness of the inclines although they may have only been a few 100m at most (apart from first and last ones) the steepness and off road made up for it.

The approach I and most took was run down and walk up the hills. I was getting some good speed on the downhill, possibly a bit risky on the off road sections and pot holes. Luckily one of the hills had a checkpoint at the top, it was a welcomed sight.

After the last of the Seven Sisters hills we then headed down a gravel path to Birling Gap National Trust Park, luckily this was a flat section on grass.

This then heading through some woods in to a nice downhill grass section with a nice looking light house.

I then turned my head to the left and sore the Beachy Head hill!!!

This is the photo you normally see of the race in the running magazines when giving the race at least 9/10, couldn't disagree with that rating. For scale the light coloured dot in the distance half way the hill is a 4x4 vehicle!!

Luckily the wind was coming of the sea but still with a slight headwind, I was staying to the left side taking the shortest route. I know in previous years they have had to change parts of the route due to the weather.

After this last up hill there was a nice flat section alongside the coast road, although I did not need to see an ice cream van in a car park though.

Then you could see Eastbourne in the distance a long way below, the descent was getting steeper and my pace was increasing until the top of the hill from the start. I decided to stay to edges which would have more grass and hopefully more grip, even this route my be more uneven but avoided some of the steps down. At least you had a bit of speed from the downhill when you crossed the finish line.

My finish time was 5:30:10 , the time did not matter as was an hour over my normal marathon time (the race organisers said 3-40 minutes in the race notes). I was more gutted about the 10 seconds I could have got under 5:30.

It was a good enjoyable race which I would do again. Although we were lucky it was a dry day, if it was a wet cold day and muddy all the way round it would be totally different but I think still enjoyable. To put the course in to perspective the first person finished in 2:55 and the last person in just over 9 hours.

You then headed in to the school hall and got a meal and desert along with a nice warm cup of tea. To save time I took the post race meal voucher with me all the way round the course, as I did not want to go back to the car before getting some food :-)

If you then took your finishers medal to a local pub you also got a free pint of the local ale, which tasted great. I then took my photos of the course (no runners left at this point only a few walkers).

From this photo I took along the seafront past the finish line race you would not think it was a cool windy day.

YouTube Videos of this years race are below.

Short 4 minute video found on Youtube.

A 15 minute video found on Youtube.

1 hour video found on Youtube.

Ironman Lanzarote 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:13:00 +0000

The race day started a bit later than at other Ironman races due to the race starting at 7am which meant a 4am breakfast!! Decided not to try anything nutritionally new on race day for breakfast and had porridge and cup of tea.

This gave me about an hour to try and relax before going to the race start area.

I then headed out in the still dark, cold and brezzy conditions, not sure if was early or dark clouds. I had a nice 1km walk to the start area including a steep descent.

I then put the drinks bottles on my bike along with GPS and another cycle computer. I then pumped up my tyres (deflated them while spending a day in the heat) and then handed pump to my support crew.

I then handed my my street clothes (post race) in along with my cycle special needs bag and drinks for the run.

It then RAINED!!

At least it cleared the queues for the toilets, some of the people I spoke to said they weren't expecting that here at this warm weather race. I then put on my wetsuit with still 15 minutes to go, it was so much warmer.

I then had my normal pre-race drink of torro rosso (Red Bull) to fuel up for the next about 90 minutes of swimming.

The start was a lot narrower than normal as you passed through an inflatable arch, rather than the normal wide beach start. So hopefully will be less of a scrum start and swim.

The start of the race by the princess of Greece mentioned the announcer, they must have been on holiday on the island.

The race started at 7am in the light rain and Chariots of Fire playing on the PA system.

A video of the start from YouTube.

It took me about a minute to cross the start from the position I took on the holding area.
took about a minute to cross start. It was a less congested start to an Ironman swim than the others I have done but still got hit and kicked.

The swim was a two lap swim (1.2 miles / 1.9km each lap) with a bit run along beach in between.

I took the start a bit wide to the ride to avoid the worst of the kicking and punches but still got hit a few times particularly near the first turning point.

It was clear blue water and you could see the bottom of the sea until halfway round the lap when it was a bit deeper. Still was a nice dark blue/green rather although did have tinted goggles on.

After the first turn point there was a longer section which I was getting in to a nice swim rhythm but still getting a lot of hits with most at the far turning point.

We then turned back towards the beach and started to see some fish!! Did they not realise there was an Ironman swim :-)

We the turned left back along the coastline. This was a nice swim section as getting hit less often. To help with navigation I was following the small sand dunes on bottom of sea with more strokes between sighting for the buoy and big arch at the swim exit.

I completed the first lap feeling ok. I walked the small section on the beach clearing my goggles and then dived back in the sea to start the final lap. I don't think I got lapped by the leaders either :-)

It was starting to space out now, so less people to hit or draft (following the bubbles). By the time I got to the far end of the swim there was a few shoals of fish (small fish and slightly larger) so I got a bit of a move on at that point.

It was still looking like dark clouds and raining (although had tinted goggles on). As I was also preparing for the next phase I had two ideas of what to wear for the cycle as the first part of the cycle was were the dark clouds were.

At the last turn towards the beach I started to kick a bit to get my legs ready for the walk/run to transition.

Luckily I was not that disoriented from the swim.

I finished the swim in 1:25:53.

I did not push too hard as had the tough cycle and marathon still to do and try to minimise the use of my legs in the swim. However I did enjoy the swim.

I then took the top part of the wetsuit off and walked through the cold showers to get rid of some of the salt from my skin.

I then got my bike bag and headed to transition zone 1 (TZ1) which was the big tent on the beach.

I decided to go with more layers due to rain and was a bit cold, plus the always windy conditions.
The options I choose were light weight and tops had zips so I could adjust to any changes in the weather. I was glad I put the arm warmers and long sleeve cycle top in the bag, its better to put it in and not need it than need it when its in your hotel room or back home!!

The buff scarf I put on my head on head to minmise the wind and rain cooling me down too much after the cold sea swim. I also put on compression socks as I thought I needed all the help I could get for the bike.

For the few bits left exposed to weather I got suncream applied by the marshals. I had a sore neck due to friction burn in swim, I winced a bit when they applied the cold suncream lotion.

I dropped the bag at the exit to the tent and headed up the slope from the beach to the bikes on the road above. I remembered the location due to the landmarks I had picked out and ran with my bike the mount line which was just after the finish line.

The transition took me 16:33.

This is only slightly longer for me than normal due to the long run from the sea to the transition and then to the bikes. I'd rather spend a few minutes ensuring I have everything for the long bike than forget something.

The bike was wet, which the parts that concerned me was the handlebars, tri bar support pads and the cycle shoes that I had left already clipped in to the pedals, hopefully it would dry out later.

I pushed the bike past the mount line with about 5 others around me. So I decided to just put me feet on top of the shoes and pedal to get moving for about 50-100m so I had a bit of space to get my feet in to the shoes. Luckily these were my tri cycle shoes which only had one velcro strip to tighten but also had more breathable which as a side affect had let all the rain in, doh!!

There was still some light rain but the roads looked slippery particularly the painted lines.

The route was out along the main road next the sea which was well supported for a mile or so. There was a few roundabouts then we turned back past the town and the wind hit for the rest of the day, what a shock!!

There was already some people turning back.

I was not going to stop even in the wind and rain, the race organisers would have to pull me out of the race either not getting to the timing point (likely) or injured by falling of bike or lack of training (equally likely).

There was plenty of marshals at the junctions for directions (was also signs) and traffic control. The police was also there at busy junctions and on motorbikes all around the course. You then cycled along the north edge of Puerto del Carmen up some gentle slopes which already felt tough in the wet and wind. I was starting to struggle a few miles in to the cycle, it was going to be a long day particularly on the cycle.

We then went through the El Golfo loop which had lava fields and coast with the crest of the waves going high in the air, plus also a strong north wind for about 15 miles. The first time I had been to this area of the islands was nice scenery (although similar all the way round this section).

The aid stations where about every 15 miles a bit over 1 hour of cycling for me. So I had a bottle of concentrated energy drink mix, which should last half way round taking sips as needed. The other bottle had water plus a salt (and other minerals) tablet in, this bottle I would change when needed at the aid stations.
The aid stations also alternated between having half a banana or half an energy bar, which ever was available I had.

They also had a red bull and water mix which I had for about 200m from the aid station before dropping in (near) the provided bins. I was trying this new nutrition during the race, surely this would not have side effects. My thoughts were I needed the caffeine to stay focus on controlling my bike in the weather conditions and staying on the road as most places there was either cliffs, lava fields or cactus to land on!!

After this lava fields section there was a long and fairly steep incline, in to wind as well. I was in a low gear doing a max of 8mph!!

We then got to the camels in Timanfaya National Park which was a good point to reach for me as I have done the next 30-40 miles a a few times on the training camps I had been to on this side of the island.

After the long steady climb there was a long steep downhill section with a bend half way down all in a side wind. I was managing over 30mph not check my speed that often as was concentrating staying on the road with tilting my bike in to the wind. The traffic was restricted in this area in to the national park area I could go a bit faster and not brake as much as I dared to.

The next bit is my usual favourite cycle route as a smooth (like most of the roads) and relatively flat after the big downhill which you normally get a good speed going. However it was a lot harder than normal due to the side wind.

At this point we were heading past blanco moutain (white mountain), yet more lava fields and cactus with a few more agricultural land (sheltered areas with volcanic ash soil).

Most villages had support as we went through them and we headed past the football stadium which I think they are called el volcanoes.

There was then the long fairly steep descent in to La Santa village. There was normally a fast section doing 30+ mph with brakes on, however due to the headwind I was in top gear pedaling hard to reach 15 mph.

There were a few speed bumps in the village at the bottom of hill (blue) which luckily I remembered and got over them ok. I then went past the la santa pro bike shop which was closed and then past the edge of Club La Santa which there was some support at the roundabout where there was a sharp right turn.

There was then a short steep incline to Soo, which I always struggle with but was a bit easier with a tailwind. There was also some more speed bumps through this village but these were the last on course.

When leaving the village was a fast and long descent to Famara. I was on the aerobars for bit until the side wind picked up and then hold on tight at a tilted angle. This was the only section of course with a soft landing (apart from cactus) although the sand was likely baked hard.

Then headed through Famara and the sand drift on the road on the exit of the village. Which you then saw the flags on beach out full in the wind and plenty of suffers out in the waves.

The next section was a long incline of about 5km heading inland, luckily it was tailwind not headwind. As this was exposed to the elements apart from the big ridge to the left which had an observatory on top of it. To the right side was a large goat field (sand) that no barriers and was a large area, I think they must have been herded in to the goat farm in land.

We then headed through the old capital Teguise with some short but steep sections through the town narrow roads but did have some support.

It was then out to the BIG Hills / Mountains!!

I had split the cycle course in to 3 sections, a 50 miles warm up, 30 miles of BIG inclines followed by a 30 mile recovery section.

The next section had some long inclines at a steady incline which was just a warm up to the big incline at Los Nieves. It had a nice couple of hair pin bends first so you could not get a good run up the main incline. There was lots of bottles dropped at the bottom of the incline instead of carrying the extra weight up to the top.

I was in good pedal rhythm at the time, I had also done this section a few times before in training. However I was nearly out of drink but I know the special needs aid station was at the top (more motivation to get up)!!

Only a couple of people overtook me up the incline but I overtook more :-)
I was in a low gear doing about 8mph but paying attention for the side wind, as it was a big drop down the cliff edge of a good few 100m.

I got to the top :-)

This was the highest point on the course and biggest total climb as was effectively from sea level, so the rest are easier so I thought. I stopped at the aid station to get my special needs bag (ocho dos nueve = 829). It's amazing how 6 small lemon filled biscuits (mmm) and coke (regular not diet or zero) 500ml tasted at this point. I also had a replacement energy drink (high concentration) there which I was just about out of the previous one.

There was an awesome view from top of towards the south of island while I was having my mini picnic.

It was starting to get warm at 30c, so I was taking my arm warmers off :-) Only to put them back on when the temperature dropped or exposed to wind section.

I was now on uncharted course for me on the island.

The next thing was hair pin descents down the other side of the mountain with wither big drops to the side or 4m high solid rock. There was some longer straights of about 100m inbetween the bends so had plenty of time to get speed and position right for the next hairpin. Luckily the wind was not an issue as mountain side protected us from this.

We then went through the village Haria and some other small villages which there was some support.

Then there was a short sharp hill some people were already starting to walk up, I just made to top without stopping but was out of my saddle plus some zig zagging, I could feel my heart rate was on the really high side and puffing for air. The top was just at the entrance to the tropical gardens, not sure what the difference was to the rest of the island.

Then on to Mirador del Rio which was the second biggest incline (total height) and also the furthest east on course. So we were on the way back then :-)

It was starting to get steep and I was overtaking some more people and putting and big effort in. I then turned a corner and the mountain was three times as long and even steeper than the section I put a big effort in, DOH!!

Using all my remain power at that point as it was the last major incline and got to use some 3d trigonometry (zig zagging to cut the angle of attack) being careful of wind at turning points plus the other traffic (police bikes and doctors cars). There was a steep 500m drop down the cliff if got it wrong or cactus field on the other so no margin of error!!

by Fotoscanon in flickr.

Finally I got to the top wooh and as a bonus there was aid station as well.

It was a great view across to the Isla la Graciosa, looked tropical blue sea.

However was just about moving at this point on top of Mirador del Rio then there was a right turn and start the descent. I had to drop the extra red bull bottle as the road was a bit bumpy and starting to lose control, plus I could see there was a doctor and ambulance up ahead so decided safety first. I had enough fluids with me I thought to the next one about 15 miles away.

The descent from here was long down towards the south coast but the wind was affecting me more than else were on the course so I needed to stay focused on my bike handling which was not helped by now getting fatigued. I managed to get down to a flatter section and could get a bit of a rest from gripping on the handlebars to the aerobars along a long section of main road. After about 15 minutes of not seeing any race signs or others I was thinking I missed a turn. But luckily I then saw another cyclist with an Ironman race number so I was on the right road (or they also missed the turn).

Then turned off this road to Nazaret and was starting to get de-hydrated here as this section seemed longer between aid stations and warmer. In the end was then only 1km away from aid station so stocked up here and took a brief brake from cycling to stretch my legs before the worst road on the course (and island) it was called the donkey road. I was hoping Jesus (there was 9 taking part) would pass me on this section on the donkey road out of Nazaret.

It was a couple of km of bone shaking cycling, I got to the end of this road and my bike was still together. Then the road took us through the middle of the island towards San Bartolome which we passed some vine yards and yet more inclines and even more wind. It was starting to feel close to the end now and I still had about 2 hours to the cycle cut off time :-)

At the last aid station top up supplies and threw my empty bottle in the net and scored (ola) volunteers witnessed and ola'd, I was in a good mood I WAS going to finish the bike in time :-)

Then we turned back towards the coast along a fast but narrow (only a car width) winding road but really enjoyed it. Before we turned back along a main road in head wind towards the town. With the last few km along the seafront with plenty of support, as by now there were people on run with winner already finished.
I just had to be careful that people did not cross in front of me a knock me of the bike but I got through that area.

Not far to the bike dismount line I got me feet out of shoes and on top of them for a quicker transition. I crossed the line well ahead of the cut off time by over 1 hour :-)) I was well happy just a nice marathon left to do, simples!!

I then handed my bike to the volunteer and ran off to the run bags at the far end of transition without any shoes on!!

The cycle took me 8:26:07.

Included below is a video from Youtube that has some more of the cycle course.

I then found the transition 2 more easily than thought in the morning as they previously had some bikes there in the morning.

I changed trisuit and socks with remembering to put on my timing chip again (I have forgot before in other triathlon). I put my hat on but kept the arm warmers in my back pocket as was still hot and sunny. I got lots of sunny lotion applied before I left the transition area and dropped my bag on the exit to the tent and started my Garmin. It was 1/4 mile before got to the finish line from there and that was not the full length of transition.

This transition took me 14:48, it was a long transition area and I made a pit stop.

Now just the marathon to do and my favourite part.

The run course was an out and back laps, with the first being just over 10km each way then two shorter 5 and a bit km each way. The laps were on the same route and aid stations every mile and bit.

There was lots of support along there run start and finish area and even spotted my family in the crowds.

I took my special needs bottle on the first aid station at 1km which was water with salt tablet. I thought being along the seafront it would be flat but there was some short inclines.

The plan was to run as long as I could manage with walking 100m either side of the aid stations to get fluids and nutrition.

However I got to about 3 miles in to the run and I had to start run walking from there :-(
The about two liters of water and red bull (slightly fizzy) on the cycle had given me a dodgy stomach, who'd have thought trying something new on race day was not a good idea.

Plus the bike took out of me and the out section of the run was in to headwind!!
As a bonus as you went past the airport some planes below more air and sand (stuck to sun lotion) on to you.

There was some nice small villages along past the airport past Playa Honda towards Arrecife (capital), plus plenty of beaches with people sunbathing and taking it easy. Not forgetting the numerous pubs/restaurants you went past on each lap but some of the people did cheer you on as went past.

I was so glad when got to furthest point of the run it seemed to be never ending in the distance. At least there was some tailwind to help on the way back. I was starting to take more frequent walk brakes although the run sections was at a faster than marathon pace though.

I got back to near the finish line and was given wrist band and starting the 2nd loop (only a bit over a 5k parkrun each way). I saw my family here and was starting to struggle but not letting them know how bad, as they would have tried to talk me out of continuing. No chance of that apart from in an ambulance.

The walks were starting to get more frequent and longer with a lot of people overtaking me. The sun was starting to set and was getting a bit colder. So I decided to put the arm warmers on over the top of the sun lotion, salt and sand mix that was on my arms at this point.

There was still plenty of people out walking or at bar or restaurants supporting and was even some music at the shorter loop turn around point which you could hear when you got close.

It was starting to become war of attrition, stopwatch gone to clock and how long to midnight and can I make it.

One of the hotels was even starting to give out soup in cups (was not tomato so could not have it).

I got back to the finish area which had a downhill before the more crowded area so I looked better before the slight incline. Then got the final wrist band so only just over two parkruns left which gave me a boost but still had a dodgy stomach.

Once out of the main area I stopped running was was doing more walks now in the dark with street lights marking the route.

You know its near the end or you look in bad state when they were giving me chocolate and salami baguette at one of the aid stations (what they were given) as they all had plenty of food and drink left.

The other triathletes were starting to spread out now as people had been finishing and done their laps and the rest were also suffering.

Finally I got to the far point for the last timed thanked marshals (gracias). Then as I crossed the timing mats, the beep of the timing mats sounded great, ON MY WAY BACK just a parkrun!!!

I started to push myself and take less walk breaks as it will all be over in about 30 minutes and they had a first aid tent at the end.

I walked up the last few inclines and I think I ran the last 1 or 2km non stop, not sure if was adrenaline or thankful it would all be over soon.

There was still lots of crowd left as they had been watching some of the event on the giant tv screen and dancing to the music. I was able to see my brother in the last km and he was just able to run ahead of me to other family.

I think I raised my hands as I crossed the finish line (not exactly sure as I was a bit gone at this point) still managed to stop my Garmin. I got my finishers medal and photo, then the race director congratulated me for finishing.

I COMPLETED IT :-)))

I completed the marathon in 5:28:06

With a total time of 15:51:25

Included below is a video that my brother made of the day.

Included is a long (40 minutes) video of the event found on YouTube, I even on it.

My performance analysis to follow....

Pre Ironman Lanzarote 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 20:06:00 +0000

There is only one way to start the trip for the epic Ironman Lanzarote, a spot of Champagne in the airport executive lounge, the cherry cake was good as well.

The following day after landing I then had to put my bike back together, some how it all fits back together!!

Not sure what happened to all three of support crew that came over with me at this point, I think they must have been sunbathing.

I even got my hands dirty!!!

Just to acclimatise I was doing 4 a day pool swim sets followed by a spot of sunbathing to get use to the sun, warm and windy conditions.

The next day we had to go to Club la Santa for race number collection and the expo.

Starting to feel REAL now, NO turning back!!

While waiting for race briefing I did a nice run around lagoon at CLS pacing my brother, it was faster than he was used to and in strong wind (as usual). He had nothing left for the 400m sprint finish on the track :-)

I was then representing Team United Kingdom at parade of nations.

It started on the athletics track, through the expo, than the pool bar area, lagoon pool, pasta party before heading in to the stage area in the centre of the complex.

Included below is a video found on Youtube of the parade of nations including the drummers that lead the parade around nearly all of Club La Santa.

In the end I did not win the free bike that you got entered in a draw for taking part in the parade.

On the coach trip back to the other side of the island (where the start is) we saw some of the cycle course, it looked so much easier in an air conditioned coach than cycling.

I then had to pack the race bags with enough kit options for really hot to cold plus combinations in between. I then took these bags to transition area (TZ) along with my bike.

After security and safety checks I got to rack my bags and bike.

The bag locations were clearly located and numbered plus with my pacing strategy I should find mine easier.

I then made a note of the bike location, as can be a bit confused after a long swim. There was only one really tall street light in the area and it was close to my rack to identify it.

The transition 1 area had a long run up beach to the bikes area, the incline was steep without doing a swim first.

Was not exactly sure where transition 2 for the run is as was along the road apparently, however I should easily find it about 10 hours in to the race.

After this all the race logistics had been done, so just had to chillax but starting to get a bit nervous.

For pre-race diner the team chief cooked pasta with some vegetables!! It was nice relaxed eating out on the patio, however still thinking about the busy next day.

Setting the alarms for 4am to get pre race breakfast, I then went to bed early. This was a lie in compared to other Ironman races as was a late 7am race start (normally 6am) but had up to midnight to finish (with varous cutoff times).

I managed a few hours sleep before the alarms went off. After some breakfast and drinks I then headed off in to the early and dark cold morning to the race area to start the sightseeing tour of the island.

Now the Race..

Boscombe Quarter Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 20:31:00 +0000

By the time I had got to this race I had already done 8 miles. After registering for the race I did another 1 mile run to warm up again along the first part of this race. I thought I was seeing things as I saw some goats grazing on the cliff side.

I then got ready for this race luckily I had a spare kit with me after doing the first race and extra miles in the cold.

The route was an out and back going out along the promenade for about 2.5m then a 1 m loop around part of the far end of the town before a 3 mile run back along the cliff top road.

The turn point is somewhere in the distance.

The first 2 miles were flat an in to a slight headwind that was cold, I had lost count how many beach huts we had gone past.

By the time I got to 2 miles I was starting to suffer with the miles already done including the faster pace parkrun and fast first mile in this race. When we got to about 2.5m there was the turn point, you could hardly see the start from here.

This went up a slight incline which felt a lot bigger on to the loop section. I took this opportunity to walk to give me legs a bit of rest and have a gel. I then got going and back in pace for the loop.

At 3 miles there was an water station I was more interested in the chip shop across the road (went back post race).

There was a few inclines on this section which felt tougher with the miles already done.

I had then assumed the cliff top road would be flat like the promenade section. However it was either undulating or always an incline.

The pace was starting to take its tool but I was managing to keep the pace with overtaking some other runners who were suffering more than me, during this 3 mile section nobody overtook me.

You could judge how far from the finish you were by seeing how close the pier was, as you had to run to the pier entrance and back about 100m along the promenade. Luckily the last 1/4 mile was all downhill and fairly steep in places.

The issue was at the bottom of the hill near their pier you had to turn left while missing the bollards and other street furniture plus pedestrians.

There was also a brass band playing on the roundabout near the finish, they should have played the rocky theme.

You can see my pace getting slower for the first 3 miles before leveling out a bit and increasing on the down hill section near the end.

Still not a bad mornings work I got 2 PB’s and 15.5 miles ran all before midday :-)

As recovery I had my normal post run nutrition plus a hot cross that we got for finishing the race (along with yet another medal) and walked a few miles along seafront and pier while taking some photos.

Walking back up the stairs to the car park was interesting after all these miles.

By the time we finished the sun was even trying to shine through the clouds.

Poole parkrun

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 20:20:00 +0000

This weekend I did Poole parkrun to see if it was as flat/fast as people (other runners) say it is, my opinion is at the end.

I got there really early, luckily the parkrun banner was out so I knew I was in the right place, I then spoke to some of the volunteers at the venue. I then had enough time to freedom parkrun which I took the photos during.

It was good to see the park was closed to unauthorised vehicles until after parkrun had finished.

Adidas even had a stand there with their latest trainers.

It's the first parkrun I remember that had a PA system for the pre-race briefing, other have had megaphone (or not so mega) or small enough just to speak to the runners.

I guess this is the Start line :-)

The course is simple, go post the two red phone boxes and litter bin...

Past the fountain on your right hand side...

Watch out for cycles and other park users....

Stay with the lake on your left handside and between the railway fence..

Stopping for extra exercise is optional.

Watch out for the the bollards on THE BIG INCLINE on the course :-)

Keep following the path around the lake.

Follow the path around the lake...

Past the boating club on the corner of the lake.

Then along the footpath..

Watch out for the dragon in the lake..

the eagle on the gate post...

And the swans.

If this is the end of lap 1 turn left and do the same loop again, if not turn right towards the finsh loop.

The finish loop is around the cricket patch.

All the way round the cricket boundary.

With the finishing "straight"..

Finally to the finish line.

They even had a sweeper vehicle :-)

From my run around the course it did seem really flat and fast course but I was taken it easy then stopping and taking photos. It was a bit on the cool side with a slight breeze which be headwind along the far side of the lake from the start.

I started about 1/3 from the front and started off at a fast pace which I hope I could maintain. As there was a lot of people at a similar pace I got in to a good rhythm, round the lake I took it slightly wider than most as the was some debris on the path next to the lake which I did not want to go for a swim on a cold day.

I went round the lake following the path and the 100 other runners that were ahead of me and the next thing I realised I had done over 3/4 of the distance already and was on the last section of the main loop. I picked up the pace a bit along towards were the start line was and then picked the pace up even more around the cricket pitch. This was further than I thought but there was no option of slowing down once I had kicked for the finish.

In the end I finished just over 23 minutes which was good pace for me, maybe it was not good idea as I had over 15 miles to run that day. From my GPS data I can see I went off fast then settled in to a pace before kicking for the end.

It was one of the more welcoming parkrun's that I have done with other 400 runners ranging from 15:20 for the winner to 45 minutes for the last person who completed the course, along with a lot of parkrun first timers as well.

The only problem I had was my parkrun barcodes did not like travelling across the county border and did not work so had to revert to the manual process.

I did not have time to stop and chat to the volunteers that much, as I off to the next race about 6 miles away which I had to register for on the day.

Based on the the winners time and how I felt the course was like, it was the flattest of the 22 different parkrun events I have done and I have done 5 different venues in East Anglia and Bushy Park. The only flatter course that I have heard about but not done is the alternative route at the Gorleston parkrun (norfolk) which is used when it is icy and they then run along the beach, as parkrun must go ahead.

However in ideal running conditions (training and weather) in addition to course flatness and running surface I think Poole would be the quickest.

Cranleigh 15 Mile

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 19:19:00 +0000

Today I took part in the Cranleigh 15 mile race, a few years ago I did the 21 mile race so was good to the other distance. Although on the drive there my car temperature was showing -1c and 0c plus it was snowing a bit.

When we got there I changed the route at the race HQ, as only the finish position had been changed from when I last did the race. The route was one 9 mile loop to the east of the village and then 1 or 2 (15 or 21 mile) loops to the west of the village.

I then went back to the car and put on the remaining layers I was planning to wear for the race, I decided to leave my bin liner there hopefully it would not be that cold.

By the time we got to the start area there was only 5 minutes before the start so not too long but was starting to get cold before the start. I decided to start about 1/3 from the back as I was not going for a particular time but by effort. However for the first 3 miles I was regretting that as I was blocking by other runners even with doing some XC on the muddy embankment next to the road. Once I got in to my rhythm I was ok apart from the snow but due to the layers I was not feeling that cold. I was keeping pace with one of my work colleagues and then one of their club runners for most of the course, they where doing the 21 mile option so was good to keep a steady pace.

When we got to about 4 miles I was prepared for the easterly wind (headwind) but luckily was not as much as forecasted but the snow was more, this was for a few miles until we turned back. At which point we had side wind and snow which was nice going up the biggest hill on the course at mile 7. We then headed through the village high street at the end of the 9 mile section before starting the 6 mile loop on a fotopath. This was next to the car park so was so tempting in the snow cold just stop and go to my car but I carried on.

The next 6 miles the inclines seemed to take more effort despite being not the steep just ongoing. With about 2 miles to go I picked up the pace a bit. With about 1 mile to go I got lapped by the 21 mile winner nobody else in the 21 mile or 15 mile race overtook me from that point. I just had be prepared to turn sharp left in to the new finish in a playing field which I kicked again to the line and was glad my race was over. I completed the race in 2:12 (8:45 min/mile) and went through the half marathon point in 1:55 which I was pleasantly surprised with.

I then just had to wait for my running club mates, get warm clothes on and a nice cup of tea with a homemade cake :-)

Below are my GPS mile split data with the red line the average pace for the race. From it you can see the first 3 miles were the slowest part due to the number of runners and on narrower country lanes. I was then fairly consistent with miles 11 I think there was a big puddle in the road which I had (plus everybody else) went round and mile 13 was I think an incline for the mile. Then the mile splits I picked up the pace and was feeling strong. I was surprised that mile 7 was not the slowest mile as had the biggest hill on the course.

At that pace I would not have been able to do the 21 mile but I am currently training for 4 weeks after most runners doing this race for a spring marathon. I tried some new kit which was ok and kept me warm. I also tried a new sports drink Lucozade Sports Elite , it had more carbs using different sources like some other gels I normally use, it also had a bit more sodium not as much as my sodium tablets though but also had caffeine which helped near the end of the race. Using this drink after properly fueling myself in the morning and before the race I did not need to take any gels that I had taken with me or any water they had on the course.

Overall I enjoyed this race despite the conditions, it is a good race to test your marathon training. The negative part was the queue for the tea and cake afterwards but was nice so was worth the wait.

Club La Santa Half Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 18:48:00 +0000

While on a week's triathlon training camp the morning after doing an afternoon Aquathon and a few days in to training I took part in the resorts half marathon.

This was the Half Ironman (70.3) Lanzarote run route which is based at the resort including the finish line :-)

This was effectively a 3 lap out and back course, which others did not want to do as thought it would be boring. However I was using it as practice for the full Ironman run which is also 3 out and back laps next to the sea on the other side of the island but they would be bigger loops.

The loop started with a run to a turn around cone on the track which was 300m away then back and out the gate and headed to the La Santa village. This was in to a strong headwind and rain, there was even a rainbow between the turnaround point and the edge of the lagoon. You then ran the 1/4 mile through the village up the incline still in to headwind until the turn off down a side road to the end to the turnaround point where there was some water but I had my own drinks with me, at least this road you had side wind. You then headed the same route back and did the 300m loop around the track, at least this was in to a slight back wind.

Despite the wind and rain plus early start it was fairly warm enough for me to even have shorts and short sleeve t-shirt on!!!

As it was not a PB course even without the wind, I was pacing by effort without looking at pace with the aim of getting quicker and also not using much drink or gels. In the end I finished in a time of 1:55 (8:43 /mile) with a kick from 2 miles out and then again on the athletics track.

While also only using 1 gel at the start of the last lap (about 8.5 miles) and finished the drink by the end but this was due to being ready for the next session that day.

Below is my average mile pace for each out and back section, the red line is my average for the complete race.

Interestingly I was getting slightly slower (6 seconds then 3 seconds per mile) on each outward leg, however the wind speed direction and rain may have been different on each lap plus the incline at the end of each out section was feeling harder. However each back section I was getting quicker (4 seconds then 53 seconds per mile). Although at the last turn I picked up the pace with a small bit of a recovery part way back before I final push for the finish. This can be easily seen in the mile splits below with the red line as the average for the race.

I got a bit carried away in the first mile as it is a bit faster than the average as each section was about 2.21 miles you can see which where the outward sections (above the average) and back sections (below the average). You can clearly see where I kicked from 11 miles with the pace for the remain of the race being 8:07, 8:01 and 5:59/mile. The last part of the race was on an athletics track so I gave it a bigger effort which the last 0.28 miles was at a lot faster pace per mile.

Below is my average mile pace for each half of the race, the red line is my average for the complete race.

Based on the GPS information I hit my main targets of getting quicker and negative split. The only slight issue was getting slightly slower in to the head wind outward section, however I am not sure if the wind speed changed or it was fatigue on the incline at the end of the section although my back speed was quicker so it is less likely was fatigue. For the outward section there was a variance of 4 seconds per mile on average between the 3 loops, so not a really massive difference.

Afternoon Aquathon

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 17:39:00 +0000

While on a week's triathlon training camp at club la santa in Lanzarote after a few days of early start swims followed by multiple other sessions I took part in the weekly aquathon the resort organised which had an unusual start time of 2pm.

It was listed as a 200m swim and a 3km run although I think it was a bit further but my GPS had lost the GPS plot.

The swim was in the outdoor 50m pool, so was only 4 lengths :-)

However it was into a headwind so there was some small waves on the outward part. The left lanes were meant to be the fast and the right the slowest so I went near the right as not so many people and easier to get out. Luckily we had organised the people in our lane to stay on the right hand side and I followed somebody slightly quicker than me. Other faster lanes people were swimming slower breaststroke and people were getting knocked.

I got out of the pool in 4:23 which was a bit slower than planned but trying out different swim technique and the few days exercise already had fatigued me a bit.

The transition was from out the pool which I had some running shoes ready passing my swim hat and goggles to somebody I knew. I then carefully ran along the top poolside which was already quite wet and up the steps to the left of this photo where the timing mat was. This took me 1:02 which quick for me which I was pleasantly surprised with. I had also tried some different kit options as was a short race.

The 3km (2 miles) run then ran post were this photo was taken, then carefully down some steps and out of a resort gate. The route was then a loop around the lagoon and back in to the resort finishing with about 300m on the athletics track. However the first km was in to a strong headwind, at least it dried off my tri suit a bit.

The next km was alongside the lagoon with a side wind which you had to be careful the wind did blow you off the path and give you an additional swim!!

The next half km you had a back wind but then a short incline towards the resort complex (in the photo background) which was sheltered from the wind. You then ran through the main gates and on to the track for about 300m to the finish. Nobody overtook me on the run but I overtook a few and was running strong all the way to the end.

The 3km run took me 14:14 (7:38/mile) which I was pleased with due to the weather conditions and the training I had already done that week.

It was a good race which I learnt some different kit options in T1 and felt strong on the run.

I was planning to do the sprint triathlon in 36 hours after this but with a half marathon between this my legs did not feel up to it so I decided recovery was a better option.

Back posting again

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:37:00 +0000

Finally back blogging.

After my first ever DNF at Ironman Wales last year I was not a happy person for over a week. So within a month I had entered another Ironman then last month I entered another long distance triathlon just 7 weeks after the first this year.

After last years issues I have learnt from my mistakes and have bought a Ironman training plan which has been going well apart from the cold and snow that we have been having in the UK for the last month or more. In this time I have done a few parkrun's, a 10 mile race and and a half marathon with the my pace and endurance is improving at the end of these runs.

The only problem is the lack of cycling outside due to the weather conditions, so I booked a week at a Spanish sports resort. Typically this was windy than normal and also rained a lot more than normal, this meant we could not do much long distance rides due to safety mainly on the descents back to the resort. However learnt some more details about part of the Ironman location their and bike handling, plus some more drills and technique improvements for both swimming and running. I also took part in an aquathon and half marathon they organised there which happened to be on a wet and windy day. In between sessions I also did 4 hour stretch (yoga, pilates or stretch) sessions in the sunshine and wind.

In the end I learnt a bit more things about my training and main Ironman event but not as much cycling as would have liked but my training is not peaking for another 2 months yet.

Ironman Wales 2012 - Race Report

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 20:20:00 +0000

Pre Race

I got to Tenby on mid morning on Saturday which allowed meant I did not had to rush around. I leisurely walked to the Ironman Expo, had a look round the stands and got my registration bags. I then went back to the car and packed the bags and got my bike ready. To save time I had already packed my kit into separate bags so it was a matter of transferring them in to the official kit bags with my race number on and put the number on my kit belt and bike.
The only thing I would need to do in the morning is add my race nutrition to the bags and gps devices. I then headed back with my race kit packed and checked it all in, we even got a bike cover not sure if that is a good sign in terms of the weather.

I noted where my bike was compared to the transition in/outs and any surface issues as there were a lot loose stones on the car park surface.

Also noted were my bags were, luckily they were near the end of the racks.

I then headed round the town taking some photos of key areas of the Ironman (used in the race report), the only difference was the sea was at low tide but would be at high tide for the race.

I then went the few miles to the hotel to just relax for a few hours before going back to the expo for the race briefing. The key points I noted was only 350,000 ironmen on the planet out 7 billion (0.005%), this one of the toughest Ironman and T1 and T2 bags cannot be accessed until the race!!

The last comment meant I would have to change my plans even before the race started, which give me a bit a minor pre race panic!!

Race Morning

As the race start was 7am on a Sunday I had a nice lay in till 4am for breakfast!!

This gave me an hour to eat, wake up and get ready for the day. When I went outside it was still quite dark, when I got to the race car park I could have done with a torch to get to transition it was still that dark.

I got to my bike took the cover off and put on my gps device and drinks bottles. I then put as much of my nutrition in my bento box and even some in my repair kit. The rest I left in a carrier bag and put on my aerobars with handles going round the aerobars so it should not full off. This would mean I would have take a few seconds to put the nutrition in the cycle shirt pockets. As long as they did not think I was leaving that to identify my bike, which is not allowed, I took the risk.

To the Swim

At 6:15am we had to leave transition and then there was a procession though the town to the swim start. I had put on the bottom part of my wet suit leaving torso and arms exposed to the elements, this would ease getting in the sea. I also had my trainers on loosely for the run to transition of the swim. While walking along I recognised another Ironman who runs a local parkrun 5km run, I thought what a small world. There were a lot of people at the top of the cliff to watch the swim and the fast part of transition.

I then racked my yellow bag (run to T1) to on my race number which was only a few away from a turn in the zig zag path up from the beach to the promenade on the cliff above.

Then I fully put on my wetsuit after some acclimatising and my 3 swim hats and goggles. I decided against using my swim watch as I did not think the sea water or the potentially getting knocked about in the swim would be good for it.

By the time I got to the beach there was only a few minute to go so I got a brief dip in the sea, just enough to check the kit was ok and so it was not a shock when we started the swim. Was a bit concerned by seeing the biggest lifeboat I have ever seen and at least 30 people on surfboards and/or kayaks.

I lined up on the right side of the starting line up of 1,500 people as I thought it would be less agro in the swim and better swim currents. They played the Welsh national anthem which was sung with strong feeling by a few near me, I thought we are really here. With that the start gun went off.

Swim

If you have not seen a mass swim start it is quite an awesome sight. Included is a video from youtube of the start.

For the swim we headed straight up for about 200m before turning to the left diagonal the turn buoy. All this time I was getting hit, kicked and punched more than normal and swallowing a bit of sea water, it was great. I thought I must be going faster than normal as there is a lot more people around me. I got to the turn buoy which is about a 135 degree turn to the right, the waves were really small if noticeable but people decided to stop before turning which created a pile up. This was a bit interesting trying to find some gaps and get swimming again.

The next 700m was straight along to the fair turn buoy, there were boats out to see and people in kayaks along the route to ensure that people did not get massively off course. I was using a house in the distance which was painted white, as the rest were other colours. Again at this turn buoy the same bottleneck occurred, I could also smell the cooked breakfast that the cafe’s nearby must have been cooking for all the spectators. It was then a 400m swim to the swim exit for the first loop. This was just to the left off the big rock (Goscar Rock). This bit was less busy until the shore line when I was getting hit more. I swam until the water was about knee height as I can then easy stand up and run out of the water. This was 1900m (1.2 miles) swum only another 1900m to go and I was feeling really great.

There were a lot of people at this point so I could not run the 20m as fast as I would like so I checked my goggles and swim hats were ok. I then ran in to the sea and then dived in and swam off on the same route. This lap there was a lot less swimmers around the first lap so I could get into my natural swim rhythm better.

I completed the swim in 1:16:23. This is 3:50 minutes faster than my previous 2.4 mile best (in a lake) just a few months earlier and 9:49 minutes than my quickest 2.4 mile swim in a sea.

T1

The T1 transition was a split area, which was officially 1km but felt like 1 mile from the swim exit to the transition tent. This included a run up the beach then up a zig zag path to the top of the cliff then a run through the town to transition.

The first part of the transition I got the top part of my wetsuit off easy and then ran up the beach and the first slope. I saw somebody seat down on a seat to get the wet suit off I thought that was a good idea, somebody got up from there just before I goto there so I thought I might as well. Although sitting down it still took me as long as normal to get the wet suit off. Then I ran up the next path and just around the corner to my bag. I had put in the bag a flannel to get most of the sand of my feet so less likely to cause any blisters as I would not being wearing any socks for the run in. I got my trainers on, wetsuit around my neck and my swim hats and goggles and started running. When I got to the top of the path I drank the small can (150ml) can of coca-cola I had also put in the bag to get all the taste of the sea water out of my mouth.

I was running fairly fast through the town and even overtaking some people. There was a lot of people cheering us along the route in to the town.

I then got to the change tent and got my bag was close to the end and went to the change area as I would putting on cycling specific kit different to the swim. This was a small space they had section off with only 3 seats in their, I timed it well and got a seat as somebody left.

On the swim and then the run in to transition I decide what I would be wearing for the cycle and some kit I would take with me. I decided on 3 layers with winter gloves but taking fingerless gloves and a light waterproof jacket with me. This took me as long as normal, although I was not thinking straight as I was trying to put on my right cycle shoe on my left foot, in my defence it did have an shoe cover on but it took me a while to work this out!!

With that I headed out to my bike which I easily found, I did not run that fast as there was a lot of loose stones in the bike area. When I got to my bike I my nutrition bag was still there so I put the nutrition in my cycle shirt back pockets.

Cycle

I then started the 112 mile cycle ride, it was one larger loop of about 70 miles then a small loop of about 42 miles on the same part as the bigger loop. Based on the Ironman distance triathlon I did 2 months previous to this race I went off a bit slower than normal, just one gear easier. This also took in to account the big hills were at the end of the loops.

I was also eating solid food on a regular basis, on the half hour a brioche and on the hour half a sausage roll, with drinks in between and when needed. I only skipped one rep of this as this was too close to one of the aid stations which I got extra food (bar and banana) at. With the plan being the last 60-90 minutes switch off solid food to liquids and gels, to nutritionally transition for the run.

The first 15 miles were in to the wind and a bit more exposed to the elements but were relatively flat with moderate up and down sections. We then got to the furthest west point which had a sharp 180 turn, it made me laugh it was at a place called Angle. This then had a bit of climb next to the beach which you had to be careful of the sand on the road for tyre traction and gaps in the hedges for the wind.

I was keeping as much as possible on the aerobars to be more aerodynamically efficient.

At the 25 mile point we got to the first bike aid station which I changed the drinks and got the food I needed. This was the second out of three times I would go past my hotel. This point it got more undulating and hilly in places with some narrow lanes. Going through these narrow lanes the leader went past with a motor cycle following, as the lead car/van could not get past all the cyclists.

It also started to drizzle and wind to pick up a bit, this made bike handling skills even more important when getting fatigued. I remembered the pro who fell (slide off) at a corner last year on the tv review of the event so I knew when there was a big warning signs for the event and road signs take a bit more care. Based on the marshals and first aid it looked like a few people already had come off their bike.

At about 50 miles I put on my water proof jacket as it was getting a bit wet and colder which is not a good combination on an endurance event in particular a cycle. Then within 5 miles I got too warm and had to take it off.

A couple of miles before the the big hills at about 56 miles and 97 miles (more about this later) there was a few decent warm up slopes in Narbeth, below is a video from there.

Then at 60 miles the first big hill came it was a 16% incline which was in shade and about quarter a mile long. I had to get out of the saddle up this hill but was overtaking a few people, with the last quarter of the hill I had to use my 3D trigonometry skills to get up the hill (zig sagging, this was a closed road and there was no event vehicles around), it reduces the angle cycling but slightly increases the distances cycled.

With less than a mile recovery came the next bill hill of a similar steepness but about 2 or 3 times longer through Saundersfoot. This was also through a town so there was a lot of support in this section. I made it all the way to the top without stopping. However at the top it was starting to rain again a bit harder so I put my waterproof jacket back on.

The next few miles were the cycle back to the Tenby to start the second smaller loop. I was starting to feel no energy in my legs and a bit cold but I carried on round. The second lap I was going significantly slower than the first lap and normal at least 4 mph slower but there was a stronger wind and rain. I was noticing the road closure signs and the time that the road reopens, they were getting closer. I went passed the hotel for the third time and I could have easily stopped there but I carried on. This next section was the hilly and more technical handling part of the course which was now wet, this was not a good place to be when mentally and physically fatigued.

For the previous 2 hours each time I got to marshal point I was thinking about stopping, so I was glad in a way when the pulled me out at 97 miles as I missed the cut off time, to the point. At that point was just less than 8 hours of cycling which averages at 12.2mph which was 2 to 3 mph slower than average at an Ironman event.

The above graph shows my split time from my gps per 5 miles, the red line is the overall average and the green line is the start of the second lap. From this the first 50 miles were significantly faster than the rest, the big hills started 10 miles after this. Also the start of the second lap was done a lot on the first lap (same part of the first lap course for 10 miles then missing the next 30 miles) and down a lot of normal rides and Ironman triathlons.

Overview

Included is an overview video of the event to give an impression of the whole event on the day.

The swim went better than planned and is still improving and the extra T1 went well, the day just went downhill from there on. The cycle was significantly slower, although I was performing well on the steep hills it was just the rest of it.

The support and marshals were great around the bike course, with more people in certain hotspots, such as the steep hills even in the poorer conditions.

I should not have bought anything from the expo as that jinxed the race. The event support was great all weekend, I will be back at some point.

This was my first DNF which I was more annoyed with myself for not training specifically for this event.

From the official results there was 1317 people registered at the weekend, so I think this was already down on the number who entered. Then on the race day 112 people DNF or DQ’d which is 8.5% of the participants. I think this is a lot more than normal.

In the end stuff happens on Any Given Sunday.

Lessons Learned

There was a lot lessons learnt the hard way from this event, most I already knew but had ignored them.

The main one is to practice/train on the course or similar to the course and likely weather. I did this for the swim and extra T1 and cycle nutrition which went well but did not for the cycle which went wrong big style.

Next thing is train and then train some more.

Next is read the race instructions, the bit about the T1 and T2 bags was at the top of a page in bold and red font, I must have skipped over this information to the maps section.

Check course maps, verify on race day for the swim or last minute changes. The swim had a straight bit fast and not just a triangular route.

Mentally on the bike I lost it on all parts apart from the big hills where I was overtaking people. I need to cycle more and in different weather conditions other than sunny and calm day.

Significant changes need to be made to my training, including planning training which I did not do this year and more weight loss.

Bring on the next Ironman race, only 8 months to go.

Outlaw Triathlon 2012 - Race Report

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 21:41:00 +0000

Outlaw 2012 – Race Report

Pre race

The race day started with an early breakfast at 3am on a Sunday!! Luckily we did need to leave to much early as were fairly close but there is not much traffic on at 5am on a Sunday, until we got to the venue.

When I got there I put my drinks bottles on my bike and also checked the tyre pressures and other mechanics. I also made one last check where my bike was compared to the T1 entrance and exit, as you can be disoriented after the swim.

To Bike from entrance

From Bike to exit

I then went to the transition tents and put my nutrition in bags for cycle and run. Then I visualised my bags from different t1 and t2 entry points with everybody’s kit bags in place. My bag position reminded me of a double length bendy bus, as there was two tents with the connecting section covered but narrower.

I also made a mental note where there was some hidden metal drain covers underneath carpet.

I then headed out to get my wetsuit on for the swim and the nice 6am start.

Swim

The swim is 2.4 miles (3.8km) in a rowing lake and navigationally is simple, swim 1.2 miles up on the left side then swim the 100m across the lake and then swim the 1.2 miles back. The only issues were the buoys in the lake for the rowing lanes which were all the way up the lake and the yellow turn buoys in the sunrise. You could not see the turn around buoys from the start.

For the start there are 4 start bays, so I decided start at back of 2nd instead of 3rd bays as previous years. This pace should be 3 minutes faster than my PB so should have plenty of swim space, plus they mentioned in the race briefing a lot people last year went to the back of the 1st group as the fast people swam off leaving a lot of space.

As the start siren went off the fun of the swim started, with 1,000 people in 100m width that narrowed to about 20m after 250m.

Its quite an impressive sight seeing that many swim off at the start of a race.

For the first half a mile I was being hit and kicked a lot and could not get in to a good swim rhythm. After this I was being hit a lot less but still more frequent than normal. When I did get in to a good rhythm I swam a few meters past the turn buoy and then got hit a lot more when crossing the lake and then hit again for the next 1/4 mile. I was glad I did not put on my GPS swim watch as it might have got knocked off in the “fun” of the open water swim.

At this point I was mostly on my own and not able to draft of anybody at my pace or slightly faster. This meant I put in a bit more effort than I could have got away with by drafting.

When I got out the swim I could see the race clock which I completed the swim in 3 minutes quicker than my PB and 2 minutes ahead of my brothers previous best time but I was not sure of his time today.This added an extra spring to my step and I ran in to T1.

I felt good with technique improvements even with only 1 lake swim of 1.5km just 5 days before.

T1

I decided to change in to cycle specific kit and not tri kit as this is a long ride. I took my time (as much as normal) but then I was prepared for the cycle ride ahead. I easy found my bike thanks to pre race checks plus the lack of bikes left helped. When I was going to my bike I noticed my brother’s bike had already gone, I was a bit gutted as I thought I would beat him out this year.

Cycle

The cycle is 112 miles (180km) which started with a loop on the path around the lake (not hitting any geese), then cycle out to a north loop (done once) and then cycle to a south loop (done twice) before heading back to the race venue, simple.

Unlike last year’s race I had done up the handlebars tight on to the headset and did not fall down like last year, so that was a good start.

At about 15 miles I caught up to my brother, I found out I beat him out of the swim and overtook me in T1. So that meant I had the fastest Long Distance swim time in the family, I just needed to complete the event for the time to count.

For the first 30 miles I going fast and staying mostly on my aerobars. Then when we got to the one big hill on the course a 11% incline I was overtaking a lot of people going up it and nobody overtook me.

For cycle nutrition I was trying to stick to the new nutrition that I was trying out on the race day (not a good tip normally). This was jam sandwiches (was interesting getting them out of the bag while cycling), then in my sports drink I had added some green tea powder to give some extra kick and caffeine. From the race aid stations apart from swapping out bottles as needed I had bananas until they run out and I had to switch to gels to get some more calories.

The south loop was meant to be fast but in the wind it felt a lot harder, at least I saw the leaders as they lapped me on this section. There was plenty of support in the villages along this loop. The second loop in addition to the wind it started to rain. At this point I was starting to feel fatigued mentally and physically which was not helped by being overtaking by people every mile.

My knee had been feeling sore after about 50 miles and the last 10 miles the sole of feet felt sore. At this point I would have gladly swapped my bike for left back in the warmth of a car.

More people kept overtaking me and I was not a happy triathlete and was considering not doing the run.

Then with a few miles left to go a person fell a few 100m ahead others there to help, not sure if it was due to the wet or fatigue.

I finally made it back and I was glad to get of my bike not sure if I would even start the run.

T2

At this point I was seriously thinking about stopping as knee and my soles of me feet were sore. I took my time (again) just going through the motions of getting ready for the run I put on 3 pairs of socks with talcum powder as my feet were sore.

While getting ready I saw another competitor eating a small pork pie, I like that style I may have to use that on another race.

I thought I could not quit just because of some discomfort on a bit of a swim, cycle and run, thinking about the charity I was raising money for others go through a lot more pain.

At this point I mentally and physically zipped up my Ironman tri-suit, I was back in the race.

Run

My plan was to start at a comfortable pace for the marathon and maintain for as long as possible with walking through aid stations I got stuff from. The route was effectively 3 loops of lake and out to the city centre and back along the riverside path and then 3/4 of the lake to the finish.

For the first half of the race I was overtaking a few people and slightly less were overtaking me but they could have been on the same or 8 or 16 miles ahead of me but I felt good. There was good support around the lake and at the other end of course near the city centre (past the Nottingham forest football ground).

As the was aid stations about every 1.25 miles I was planning to have something every 2 aid stations and not an endurance picnic like I did in previous years having a few things at each aid station.

I was trying to alternate between sports drink and cola and then water if I was feeling thirsty, then a jaffa cake or some crisps with a gel about every 5 miles. I felt ok until 16 miles when I had to start to walk due to fatigue and stomach issues.

As there was three out and back loops could see where my brother was, so I was mentally working out could I beat him if I walked the rest and he ran the rest based on my calculations in my fatigued state I thought I could.When I got to any slight downhill section (only 2 from memory) I jogged that and I also walked faster when there was more support. In my last hour there was more people walking with every passing minute.

Then for the last few miles (from the last turn around) I jogged 100m walked 100m all the way back, as I thought I could make it under the next hour mark. When I could hear the finish line crowd in the last 1/4 mile I started to jog all the way to the finish.

I finished it and ahead of my brother!!

My times were.

Overall = 14:57:01

Swim =1:20:13 (2.9 kmph)

T1 = 13:52

Cycle = 7:18:27 (average 15.3 mph)

T2 = 13:12

Run = 5:51:13 (average 13:17/mile pace)

You can see on a map of the route with my average pace for each section, I quite like this feature.

From my GPS data the average speed per 5 miles. The red line is my average speed for the cycle, which I got to about 65 miles before the pace started to drop of a lot.

From my GPS data the pace per mile. The red line is my average pace for the run, which I was doing ok to 16 miles and then I hit the wall big time until the last mile and a bit.

Summary

I was glad I got the quickest swim time in the family and did not need to visit the first aid tent this year.

This year apart from the swim time I was not aiming for a particular time, this was mainly due to the
lack of training. This was apparent on the cycle which I felt the worst from any race that I have done.

There is still more things for me to learn about long distance triathlons.

My official photos and videos can be seen here.

The race highlights will be shown on Channel 4 on Sunday 12th August nice and early at 6:30am.

There was plenty of support for Pirates (triathlon group) from the spectators and follow triathletes, there was no place to hide in the yellow black kit, aargh!!

Lessons Learnt

Some of the additional things I learnt from this Long distance triathlon, some of them the hard way.

Train for more than half race distance would be a good idea. The cycle course was no worse than where I train although the new section was more undulating than expected. The run was virtually flat and I have done this course 3 times and parts on a marathon. For other races that I have not done before I may need to simulate the course as best I can before race day.

The swim technique changed helped me be more efficient on the swim, there would have been more effect if I had done some long swims.

My core muscles helped a lot with being on the aerobars a long time and in the swim and run, in addition to the core workouts I think the pilates sessions helped a lot with this.

The jam sandwiches worked on the bike as was something different than a pure sugar of a gel or sports drinks. Perhaps I should have practice eating them from a sandwich bag while still cycling before race day. I need more race nutrition practice which ties in with doing more training.

For the cycling I should have managed my effort/pace more evenly instead of going out to fast for the first 2 hours and really struggling in the last 2 hours.

For the marathon instead of running to fatigue, I may consider a run/walk approach which I have used in an ultra marathon (39.3 miles).

Taper Weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 12:12:00 +0000

Despite the lack of intended training volume I have started to taper the last few weeks.

In the last 2 weeks I have gained 1/2 lb but I am 8lb (3.5 Kg) lighter than the same race last year which should help.

Weekly Update

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:39:00 +0000

This week my training was down to 8 1/2 hours, this was due to tapering for an event over the weekend which I did not do or even travel to due to the very poor weather conditions. However below is my training percentages by time.

Bike	75%
Run	21%
Swim	3%
Cross	1%

The bike included a long (100km) hilly group bike ride. The runs were just 3 of the 4 parkruns done over the extended weekend which were fast paced which 2 of this weeks runs were course pb's. Then I did a regular parkrun this weekend.

The swim and cross training were after the double parkrun's on Tuesday.

So after an early taper week I will up my training this week (subject to weather).