As I mentioned in a previous blog, September had been a good month, filled with great memories, October and November however were challenging months to say the least.
With the hip pain post IM Wales, I had chosen to not run for about 7 weeks and had been having physio on my hip flexor. I was able to wake up without any hip pain or discomfort and thought the rest had certainly done me good. I had been swimming well and the bike sessions were starting to ramp up a little bit so fitness seemed to be going in the right direction. One evening, on getting back from work late and not really being able to fit a bike session in, I decided to try a little run to see if the hip issue had been alleviated with the rest and physio. My hip flexors were sore from the off, but I wasn't totally surprised by that, and although I managed to do 6km, the hip pain was making itself known throughout most of the run. The following morning getting out of bed was painful and I was hobbling around for a couple of days again, well at least I knew rest wasn't going to cure the issue.
Luckily I have BUPA as a work perk, so I used this to go and get the hip issue checked out as quickly as possible. The consultant on examining me indicated he thought it was hip impingement and ran through the available options should that prove correct, but he would need to see X Rays and scans to give me the full picture. I had to wait 2 weeks before I could get the scans, but in the meantime I spoke with a few people that had gone through a hip arthroscopy, thanks very much for all your advice, to get a better idea over recovery times. I also googled a lot and read quite a few articles about Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) over the 2 week period. I had sort of resolved myself to only having the surgery as a last resort and set about trying to solve the potential issues myself in the meantime. At the end of the day I was shit scared of surgery and the chance of post surgery complications and I knew I just had to do all I could to avoid it.
In all honesty although I was told my hip flexors were tight, doing the stretches they seemed pretty much OK, but one area where I was massively tight was the quads, I couldn't even get into some of the more extreme stretch positions. I decided that this could be a likely issue with these pulling my pelvis out of a neutral position and causing potential issues with tight hamstrings. I had in the past had other left glute issues and I did wonder if they were all linked. Now I am not the best for stretching but I set about daily stretching especially of the quads and slowly I was able to get into the more extreme stretch positions and generally started to feel overall less discomfort around the hip.
Throughout the 2 weeks of waiting for scans, my motivation plummeted off a cliff, I wondered if Kona was just going to end being a waste of time and money, and I questioned if I would ever be able to actual run properly again. I guess if I had the surgery that would have happened all OK, but the recovery might have ruled out Kona anyhow. This period also coincided with Heather going away for a break with a friend so I had to stop swimming for a week to look after the morning chores, and then I couldn't be bothered to train in the evening after work so it meant a week or so of complete downtime, that doesn't help with motivation either. At least I did stretching and S&C work so not a total loss.
The night before my scans I thought I would try another run, this went better, my left hip flexor started hurting a little after 1km but the hip in general seemed OK. The post run pain was virtually non existent however, progress had certainly been made and it did fill me with a little hope. The scans went well and I actually looked forward to seeing the consultant. I did another run the night before seeing the consultant and this was even better than the one a few days earlier, so this lifted the mood even further. It was obvious that the stretching was helping a fair bit, but was that going to be a false hope.
The scans did reveal I had a pincer type hip impingement in my left hip with some cartilage damage, but the consultant said he didn't think it was bad enough to warrant surgery. I explained about the stretching and the runs I had done and he was of the view that surgery should only be used as a last resort. The earliest I could even think about surgery would be in January and then the timeline for recovery meant Kona would likely not happen. I decided to try and manage it with rehab alone. I was advised that a steroid injection could be a possible short term solution, but I am very reluctant about this as I am not sure how this would affect any potential drug test.
I have done a few runs since and the hip flexor pain is getting less and less with each run, and so far not post run hip pain. The furthest I have run is less than 7km so a long road to go yet, but with regular physio and stretching I hope to be able to manage the problem for at least 2017, what happens after than is anyone's guess. The news and the improvement in the pain has helped massively with motivation so I am back on the wagon and again starting to see a slow improvement in fitness, let's hope things continue to go in the right direction.
Bastion
Friday 9 December 2016
Monday 3 October 2016
A True Hero
September was a pretty good month for me, but for me the best day has to be seeing my friend and the man I have coached for the last year cross the finish line of the Castle Triathlon Hever Castle Gauntlet, well maybe IM Wales eclipsed that a little, but we won't tell John LOL.
When John, who I had only really met a few months previously when swimming, told me he had entered the Gauntlet at Hever Castle and wanted me to train him I was a bit taken aback. Yes I could coach him, I was pretty confident of that, but could I motivate him when training got tough, could I actually turn someone that didn't even have a bike at that stage into a half decent cyclist (the Hever course is a pig), and could I get someone with a dodgy knee running consistently enough to complete a half marathon at the end of that pig of a bike. All these questions were on top of not really knowing John that well. I did know that John was doing for his friend Hayley who was suffering terminal cancer, I mean how could I refuse. I am so glad I didn't refuse as it has been a wonderful, yet challenging journey.
John was already a half decent swimmer, and another friend took care of the swim coaching and training sessions, though I always did invite John to join in with my sessions, for some reason he always declined. Obviously the first thing to sort out was getting John a bike, that wasn't a problem, John has a knack of buying stuff, and some bloody good stuff as well. We were helped along the way by Richard at Freespeed helping John out with a bike fit and then getting a frame sorted out for him, not any old frame but a lovely Cervelo P5. John also got a cheap road bike as well for training on. So bike was sorted and that start of the bike turbo sessions began. John also went and got his knee sorted by a physio friend and we started with short easy runs, everything seemed to hold up OK which was a great start.
So now we had bike, and the ability to run. I set about the training and slowly the fitness started improving, and John decided he wanted to do a local half marathon, OK no worries, but this is in March and now we are in December, this doesn't give me much time to get the training mileage up, and yet keep his knee holding together but we did it and a good sub 2 hour half marathon was a goal achieved. John did make coaching difficult, he did go on a few holidays which was challenging, but I have to give him massive credit for getting out training whilst on holiday, Ruth, John's wife, must have felt he was nuts, but the support she gave him was absolutely vital, Ruth really has been a rock for John.
Both bike and run fitness were really improving when John had some pretty devastating news, he had to go into hospital for an operation and would be out of action for 6 weeks. I just saw all the hard earned fitness going down the pan, but this is where being able to motivate and encourage your athlete comes to the fore. Chatting on a near day to day basis I kept John motivated and calm, I kept telling him we still had plenty of time, yet knowing it takes plenty of time to get the bike fitness where it needs to be, and we probably didn't have enough of that. Luckily he was able to get back on the turbo for easy sessions so that eased some bike worries. The weeks actually flew past, and it wasn't long before we were able to ramp it up again and John really got into the swing of things quite quickly.
John's plan originally was to make the Gauntlet his first triathlon, I suggested he do a shorter event first to get to grips with how triathlon worked, so he did the Tri Spirit Events Owler Standard distance race which he really enjoyed (I think). It also showed where we needed to work, which was the bike. We did a recce of the Gauntlet course together and I think John suddenly realised the scale of the challenge he had taken on, I had warned him the bike course was tough, but he said he wanted a tough challenge, this course certainly is a tough challenge. This again highlighted the amount of bike work required and I vowed to get out on the bike with John to help him get that fitness. Sadly this didn't happened as on a holiday (I did say he likes holidays) John managed to slip on some stairs and in trying not to take others out with his fall, he landing badly on his hand and managed to break a couple of fingers.
Obviously with 6 weeks to go this was a huge setback, it meant no swimming and no outdoor riding for a while, and even the runs left John with some pain as he had hit his knee as well. I did subsequently ban him from holidays LOL. John being John however was soon back on the turbo, trying to swim with paddles and the knee cleared up pretty quick, so although by no means perfect at least the fitness was being maintained, though I know he did long for the road especially after 3 hour turbo sessions.
The day came however and although I had planned to race as well, I still had an injury from IM Wales so I opted for just the swim. John was nervous but excited, I was just a bag of nerves for him. The swim went well and John loved it.
Into T1 and he sorted himself out pretty quick for a novice and with lots of supportive encouragement he was out onto the beautiful but brutal bike course. His first lap went well up until the 40km mark when his knee started to get painful as he passed the front of Hever Castle he shouted he would need some tape for his knee in T2. I went looking through his kit for some, - NONE, went to the Six Physio guys - NONE, asked at all the trade stalls - NONE, I even asked other athletes if they had any, still none. This wasn't looking good but there was nothing else I could do.
After 4 hours on the bike John hobbled into T2, I told him I hadn't been able to locate any tape and I half expected him to pull out, he looked like he could hardly walk, let alone run a half marathon. But that isn't John, he got all his running kit on and went out on the run, my admiration for him went up even further, I knew what a tough run course this was and I feared it might be a very long afternoon for him.
With John out on the run course I caught up with the other Hayley's Heros supporting John, Ruth his wife, Simon, Penny and Lewis, and we made our way out to the far end of the run course, I just knew John would need all the support he could get. Surprisingly when I first saw him he was running, though struggling and was having to resort to a run/walk strategy with his knee. I think seeing everyone buoyed him up and a km into the start of the 2nd lap he didn't look too bad. As he neared 3km to the finish it was clear he was in a large amount of pain and having to mainly walk now, I told him it was only 3km to go and he was going to finish and I would see him at the finish.
As the time ticked down I knew he was going to be outside the time he really wanted, but soon enough he appeared in the finishing chute to massive cheers from all of the Hayley's Heros. It was a massive pleasure to meet him as he crossed the finishline and present John with his medal. Such a huge achievement, not only to take on such a hard half ironman, but to finish it in just over 7 hours, and to have had to hobble around the last 10km. The words of never again soon faded and it wasn't long before John was trying to plan his next half ironman LOL.
John raised a huge amount of money for the Hayley's Heros charity, and although Hayley sadly lost her battle with cancer before she could get to see John do this huge challenge, I know she was looking down on him with immense pride. John you ARE a hero and you really are a true inspiration.
When John, who I had only really met a few months previously when swimming, told me he had entered the Gauntlet at Hever Castle and wanted me to train him I was a bit taken aback. Yes I could coach him, I was pretty confident of that, but could I motivate him when training got tough, could I actually turn someone that didn't even have a bike at that stage into a half decent cyclist (the Hever course is a pig), and could I get someone with a dodgy knee running consistently enough to complete a half marathon at the end of that pig of a bike. All these questions were on top of not really knowing John that well. I did know that John was doing for his friend Hayley who was suffering terminal cancer, I mean how could I refuse. I am so glad I didn't refuse as it has been a wonderful, yet challenging journey.
John was already a half decent swimmer, and another friend took care of the swim coaching and training sessions, though I always did invite John to join in with my sessions, for some reason he always declined. Obviously the first thing to sort out was getting John a bike, that wasn't a problem, John has a knack of buying stuff, and some bloody good stuff as well. We were helped along the way by Richard at Freespeed helping John out with a bike fit and then getting a frame sorted out for him, not any old frame but a lovely Cervelo P5. John also got a cheap road bike as well for training on. So bike was sorted and that start of the bike turbo sessions began. John also went and got his knee sorted by a physio friend and we started with short easy runs, everything seemed to hold up OK which was a great start.
So now we had bike, and the ability to run. I set about the training and slowly the fitness started improving, and John decided he wanted to do a local half marathon, OK no worries, but this is in March and now we are in December, this doesn't give me much time to get the training mileage up, and yet keep his knee holding together but we did it and a good sub 2 hour half marathon was a goal achieved. John did make coaching difficult, he did go on a few holidays which was challenging, but I have to give him massive credit for getting out training whilst on holiday, Ruth, John's wife, must have felt he was nuts, but the support she gave him was absolutely vital, Ruth really has been a rock for John.
Both bike and run fitness were really improving when John had some pretty devastating news, he had to go into hospital for an operation and would be out of action for 6 weeks. I just saw all the hard earned fitness going down the pan, but this is where being able to motivate and encourage your athlete comes to the fore. Chatting on a near day to day basis I kept John motivated and calm, I kept telling him we still had plenty of time, yet knowing it takes plenty of time to get the bike fitness where it needs to be, and we probably didn't have enough of that. Luckily he was able to get back on the turbo for easy sessions so that eased some bike worries. The weeks actually flew past, and it wasn't long before we were able to ramp it up again and John really got into the swing of things quite quickly.
John's plan originally was to make the Gauntlet his first triathlon, I suggested he do a shorter event first to get to grips with how triathlon worked, so he did the Tri Spirit Events Owler Standard distance race which he really enjoyed (I think). It also showed where we needed to work, which was the bike. We did a recce of the Gauntlet course together and I think John suddenly realised the scale of the challenge he had taken on, I had warned him the bike course was tough, but he said he wanted a tough challenge, this course certainly is a tough challenge. This again highlighted the amount of bike work required and I vowed to get out on the bike with John to help him get that fitness. Sadly this didn't happened as on a holiday (I did say he likes holidays) John managed to slip on some stairs and in trying not to take others out with his fall, he landing badly on his hand and managed to break a couple of fingers.
Obviously with 6 weeks to go this was a huge setback, it meant no swimming and no outdoor riding for a while, and even the runs left John with some pain as he had hit his knee as well. I did subsequently ban him from holidays LOL. John being John however was soon back on the turbo, trying to swim with paddles and the knee cleared up pretty quick, so although by no means perfect at least the fitness was being maintained, though I know he did long for the road especially after 3 hour turbo sessions.
The reason and nervous coach with a nervous John
About to enter the water
The day came however and although I had planned to race as well, I still had an injury from IM Wales so I opted for just the swim. John was nervous but excited, I was just a bag of nerves for him. The swim went well and John loved it.
Flying out of the swim
Always Smiling
After 4 hours on the bike John hobbled into T2, I told him I hadn't been able to locate any tape and I half expected him to pull out, he looked like he could hardly walk, let alone run a half marathon. But that isn't John, he got all his running kit on and went out on the run, my admiration for him went up even further, I knew what a tough run course this was and I feared it might be a very long afternoon for him.
With John out on the run course I caught up with the other Hayley's Heros supporting John, Ruth his wife, Simon, Penny and Lewis, and we made our way out to the far end of the run course, I just knew John would need all the support he could get. Surprisingly when I first saw him he was running, though struggling and was having to resort to a run/walk strategy with his knee. I think seeing everyone buoyed him up and a km into the start of the 2nd lap he didn't look too bad. As he neared 3km to the finish it was clear he was in a large amount of pain and having to mainly walk now, I told him it was only 3km to go and he was going to finish and I would see him at the finish.
Still Smiling
As the time ticked down I knew he was going to be outside the time he really wanted, but soon enough he appeared in the finishing chute to massive cheers from all of the Hayley's Heros. It was a massive pleasure to meet him as he crossed the finishline and present John with his medal. Such a huge achievement, not only to take on such a hard half ironman, but to finish it in just over 7 hours, and to have had to hobble around the last 10km. The words of never again soon faded and it wasn't long before John was trying to plan his next half ironman LOL.
At the finish, and still smiling
John raised a huge amount of money for the Hayley's Heros charity, and although Hayley sadly lost her battle with cancer before she could get to see John do this huge challenge, I know she was looking down on him with immense pride. John you ARE a hero and you really are a true inspiration.
I'd like to say a very special thank you to the Castle Triathlon Series, for making this a very special day for John, you went above and beyond your usual excellence and it really was a magical day.
Friday 23 September 2016
When Dreams Come True
As many have said wow, just WOW. Ironman Wales surpassed all of my expectations, I had heard it was well supported but it was so much more than that. Arriving in Tenby on the Friday there was just a massive buzz about the town. Loads of local businesses flying Ironman Cymru flags from windows and doorways and everyone just seemed so enthused about the event.
The last 2 weeks in the run up to the race had proved to be challenging as after every run I was experiencing quite a sore left hip for a couple of days afterwards, it didn't seem to hinder me much with the short runs I was doing but it did concern me that running a marathon after 180km on the bike might be my undoing. Still it was what it was and on the day I might be all OK. My last run had been the Wednesday before the race and even on the Saturday it was still aching, not particularly good.
I had spent the week before meticulously going through the start list and seeing who might be the fastest in my AG, not that it helped massively in all honesty, the rolling swim start would mean you never truly knew whereabouts you stood once the race started. I had also planned a schedule to determine how long it would take me to reach certain points on the bike course. This wasn't time to aim for, but would useful to determine how the ride was going.
The sole aim for Ironman Wales was to try and qualify for Kona, I had failed to plan properly big time in South Africa in 2015 and I didn't want to make the same mistake again, I knew what sort of swim time that was needed, how slowly I could ride the bike (not my usual how fast could I ride it), and how fast I would likely need to be on the run (and a more realistic time prediction this time). I had figured based on previous races, a 1:05 swim, 5:30-5:40 bike and a 3:30-3:40 run was probably needed to be certain to be in the top 4 (my AG was likely to only have 4 slots). All of those targets were doable individually on this notorious hard course, but could I actually string it together on the day. The biggest worry for me was the run, 100+ metres of climbing every lap and a 3:30 was a tough ask, add in the issue with my hip and it was probably no where near possible. So in short, I had to aim for the podium (4th was the fall back scenario), ideally go 10:30 but possibly 11:00 would be good enough and just hold myself together on the marathon.
PRE RACE
The walk down to the swim was just superb, the crowds at 6:30am were amazing and the buzz it gave me was something else. As we reached the beach I was able to peel off and get a quick swim in and then made my way back towards the front of the line. I had ummed and errred over to line up with the hour swimmers or the 1:05 swimmers, in the end I think I probably ended up being near the front of the hour swimmers, no going back now. As the Welsh National anthem blasted out there was loads of singing and then we got some thumping music to get us all revved up. First hooter goes and off go the pro men, followed shortly by the pro women. Next up was the AG in a rolling start, I crossed the line about 1 min after the first of the swimmers and we were off.
SWIM
I had swum the previous day and been chuffed at the pace for the little effort, and now I felt I was swimming good, I had some good toes and out to the first buoy I had very little biff even with the sheer number of swimmers around. The first buoy ended up being very congested but after a few mins of slow swimming (why do some swimmers just suddenly stop as they round buoys?) it was across the bay. This had a little bit of swell, but nothing major and then all those swimmers that were around the buoy were suddenly all gone and it was quite a pleasant swim from there on in. The final leg was fast though it never actually felt that fast, and it wasn't long before I exited the water to run around past the start line to start the second lap. I never looked at my watch so had no idea of what sort of pace I was swimming. The second lap I felt the conditions seemed a little tougher with a bit more swell, though to be honest it was great swimming conditions. Again a congested first buoy and then good biff free swimming to the exit. As I started to get my wetsuit off, I glanced at my watch, 59 mins, had my watch stopped, but no it was still ticking along. I couldn't believe that I had just done a sub hour swim, the day had started well.
T1
This deserves it's own section as those that know Wales it is famed for it's 1km long run to transition, with the first part up the zig zag climb from the beach. I found my shoe bag very easily and slipped on my shoes and ran pretty comfortably to transition. T1 went fine and after 8:20 I was out on the bike.
The infamous zig zag climb off the beach
BIKE
Now the plan for the bike was to take it pretty easy, I had done the Bastion bike quite hard so I knew what not to do in terms of power and the hills. The first 10 miles or so to Pembroke were a bit stressful. Even with me riding at a higher power than I really should have been riding, riders were coming past me all of the time, sometimes as solos, more often as draft packs (the first part of the ride is pretty flat). Not so much of a problem if they didn't bloody slow when they got in front, so it meant if I wanted to keep my pace where it should be I was overtaking 6 to 8 riders at a time at well over the power planned, to get back in front and on my pace. A bit of cat and mouse until the road got a bit more technical and then I was free of most of them. The ride towards the Angle was good, but the wind was mainly in your face on the way out there, but I arrived there bang on schedule and feeling good. As I was now mainly on my own with no groups around I was able to ride at a reasonable power and with the wind behind the pace was good. I arrived in Pembroke to masses of support, and it was uplifting to say the least. It wasn't long before I got onto the big loop, again on schedule, and found the course lovely as I made my way through Lamphey, Carew, Cresselly, Templeton and onto Narberth. Narberth is where the first of the bigger hills occur and again the crowds through the town centre was fantastic with music pumping out and just loads of cheers, the climb felt very easy with the encouragement. On leaving Narberth it was down towards Wiseman's Bridge and Saundersfoot, home to the 2 stiffest hills on the course. First you had to go down some real technical descents which did test out your bike handling at times. Down into Wiseman's Bridge and a very short flat section and then straight back up to what is the steepest climb, this went well and I never felt I was struggling, at the top it was down again to Saundersfort and infamous Heartbreak Hill, the bottom section from the shore is the steepest but quite short and it was packed with supporters. The atmosphere here was great and it really didn't feel as steep as it was, after the steep bit the long drag to the top was again spectator lined and a joy to ride up. The drop down back into Tenby gave you a first glimpse of the run course, that hill I was flying down now would be the one I was crawling up later. Reaching Tenby to start the second lap of the big loop and again so surprised at the sheer number of spectators. Still pretty much on schedule I started the second lap, this was a lot more pleasant without the constant battling with other riders, once through Lamphey I started encountering those on their first lap and it was good to have little carrots up the road to chase. I was still feeling good and I was still passing those who had swum faster than me. I really enjoyed the climbs again and the crowds were just as enthusiastic as the first time through. Even towards the end of the bike I felt great and would have quite happily done a 3rd loop, but sadly it was time for the dreaded run. The bike ended up being bang in the middle of what I though was possible with a 5:35 bike, and I did it feeling good.
RUN
After a quick transition it was out on the run and straight away I had some pain in my hip flexors, oh great this is going to be a long painful 42km. First km down and the pace was good, perhaps a bit too good but hey stick with it the next few kms are all uphill. As expected the pace dropped off on the real steep parts, but as the steepness eased the pace picked up. Although I could feel my hip flexors the pain wasn't getting any worse and felt more of a discomfort now rather than pain. The run back into town was good and fast, aiming for 3:30 I knew that I just had to take advantage of gravity and I just let my legs run. As I completed the first lap in under 48 mins I knew I was again below target, but I also knew I would slow at some point. The second lap still felt OK, though obviously running at a pace that was probably a bit too optimistic the fatigue was starting to show. I also really needed a pee, and although I had tried to go whilst running I just couldn't seem to go, so it was a quick stop in a portaloo and then back on my way feeling a bit better. Well that was until I hit the steeper part of the course for the 3rd time, the hip pain was now getting worse and causing other issues, my back was starting to get sore and I was starting to cramp in my hamstrings. I had to resort to a power walk at times, though once running again the pace was decent enough but I had lost the ability to claw back time on the descent, well the time I need to go sub 3:40 anyhow. By the time I got to the town for the 3rd time every little incline was hard work, but I just tried to focus on the knowledge that I had one more time up to the top turn. Nice shouts from Duncan Shea-Simonds saying I was looking good were very welcome, but I certainly didn't feel as I was running that well.
As I started the 4th lap I looked at my time and saw it was on 9:30, bloody hell I only had to get the last 10km or so done in an hour and I would have achieved my 10:30 time, easier said than done though. I was really suffering now and the hip flexor pain was getting a bit unbearable, the drag out to the top turn became more a battle of mind over matter, cramping spasms, even my right arm and leg going numb at points and I started see over 6 min/km for the first time. This wasn't good and although the numbness seemed to pass the pain was still there and only getting worse. The run down into town the last time I threw caution to the wind and got at least one sub 5 min/km in but that last run through town was a killer. I was so much in pain that I even walked on one downhill before I told myself you have 500m to the finish, just get on with it (plus a shout from the Pedalcover guys). As I arrived on the Esplanade for the final time I ran as hard as I could to get onto the red carpet. I had promised myself to celebrate the finish come what may, but it was easy to do when I saw that I was going to get a 10:30 finish. Crossing the line in 10:29:59 meant it was a great day, hearing Paul Kaye say that it was a podium place (or at least I think I heard him say that) had me wondering where I had come. The run was a good one for me considering the hip issue I had before the event, a little sad not to go sub 3:40 but not far off what I thought I needed to do.
Swim: 59:32
T1: 8:32
Bike: 5:35:09
T2: 2:32
Run: 3:44:14
Total : 10:29:59
After a collecting my street gear I made my way to my B&B, all of 100m from the finish, thank goodness, and crashed on the bed. I switched on my phone and was overwhelmed with notifications and messages. I did see one post from Deanna Pennington which was a screenshot of my race splits and then it hit me, according to that I had finished 2nd in my AG. This meant a quick look at the Ironman live timing to double check, this confirmed I had finished 2nd, oh my god, not only had I got the time I thought possible but I was on an Ironman podium and with that I knew I had assured myself a Kona slot. Not too ashamed to say there were lots of tears, but these were pure tears of joy. I had seen friends qualify at Weymouth the week previous, now I would be joining them, and it made it all the more special as Kona 2017 takes place on my birthday.
Checking other results I found out that another friend had finished 2nd in her AG, though it looked as though there would only be one slot, really did feel for her, but you never know what can happen at the slot allocation. I felt so proud to get an Ironman podium and I really enjoyed the experience, but to be honest I just couldn't wait to hear my name called out to accept my Kona slot. As they started with the ladies, the first AG had no takers, so that slot rolled into the 35-39 AG, and bingo, Claire had managed to get her slot as well, I was so chuffed for her. I had no hesitation accepting my slot and with a year to prepare I will be watching Kona 2016 with a huge amount of excitement.
A massive amount of credit must got to Darren Jenkins of Nevagivin Coaching, he has turned me from a cyclist biased triathlete to a more rounded triathlete, I think the results of IM Wales show this, top 30 swim, top 2 bike (I think the first time I haven't been the fastest in my AG), and a top 12 run. The run could have been even faster if not for the hip issue, but I can't blame Darren for that, I just have no idea of why it suddenly flared up 2 weeks out. Thank you so much Darren.
I also have to say a massive thank you to all my family and friends, there has been a lot of neglect and stress over the last few weeks leading into IM Wales were I was just so focused on the race I forgot so many things. The unwavering support of Heather has been so needed and I really couldn't ask for a more supportive person. You really can't do this sport without having a supportive family.
Thank you to all those that have helped me throughout the year
Nevagivin Coaching
Secret Training Nutrition
Go Resources
Sundried
Tri Spirit Team
Castle Triathlon
As I started the 4th lap I looked at my time and saw it was on 9:30, bloody hell I only had to get the last 10km or so done in an hour and I would have achieved my 10:30 time, easier said than done though. I was really suffering now and the hip flexor pain was getting a bit unbearable, the drag out to the top turn became more a battle of mind over matter, cramping spasms, even my right arm and leg going numb at points and I started see over 6 min/km for the first time. This wasn't good and although the numbness seemed to pass the pain was still there and only getting worse. The run down into town the last time I threw caution to the wind and got at least one sub 5 min/km in but that last run through town was a killer. I was so much in pain that I even walked on one downhill before I told myself you have 500m to the finish, just get on with it (plus a shout from the Pedalcover guys). As I arrived on the Esplanade for the final time I ran as hard as I could to get onto the red carpet. I had promised myself to celebrate the finish come what may, but it was easy to do when I saw that I was going to get a 10:30 finish. Crossing the line in 10:29:59 meant it was a great day, hearing Paul Kaye say that it was a podium place (or at least I think I heard him say that) had me wondering where I had come. The run was a good one for me considering the hip issue I had before the event, a little sad not to go sub 3:40 but not far off what I thought I needed to do.
Swim: 59:32
T1: 8:32
Bike: 5:35:09
T2: 2:32
Run: 3:44:14
Total : 10:29:59
After a collecting my street gear I made my way to my B&B, all of 100m from the finish, thank goodness, and crashed on the bed. I switched on my phone and was overwhelmed with notifications and messages. I did see one post from Deanna Pennington which was a screenshot of my race splits and then it hit me, according to that I had finished 2nd in my AG. This meant a quick look at the Ironman live timing to double check, this confirmed I had finished 2nd, oh my god, not only had I got the time I thought possible but I was on an Ironman podium and with that I knew I had assured myself a Kona slot. Not too ashamed to say there were lots of tears, but these were pure tears of joy. I had seen friends qualify at Weymouth the week previous, now I would be joining them, and it made it all the more special as Kona 2017 takes place on my birthday.
Checking other results I found out that another friend had finished 2nd in her AG, though it looked as though there would only be one slot, really did feel for her, but you never know what can happen at the slot allocation. I felt so proud to get an Ironman podium and I really enjoyed the experience, but to be honest I just couldn't wait to hear my name called out to accept my Kona slot. As they started with the ladies, the first AG had no takers, so that slot rolled into the 35-39 AG, and bingo, Claire had managed to get her slot as well, I was so chuffed for her. I had no hesitation accepting my slot and with a year to prepare I will be watching Kona 2016 with a huge amount of excitement.
A massive amount of credit must got to Darren Jenkins of Nevagivin Coaching, he has turned me from a cyclist biased triathlete to a more rounded triathlete, I think the results of IM Wales show this, top 30 swim, top 2 bike (I think the first time I haven't been the fastest in my AG), and a top 12 run. The run could have been even faster if not for the hip issue, but I can't blame Darren for that, I just have no idea of why it suddenly flared up 2 weeks out. Thank you so much Darren.
I also have to say a massive thank you to all my family and friends, there has been a lot of neglect and stress over the last few weeks leading into IM Wales were I was just so focused on the race I forgot so many things. The unwavering support of Heather has been so needed and I really couldn't ask for a more supportive person. You really can't do this sport without having a supportive family.
Thank you to all those that have helped me throughout the year
Nevagivin Coaching
Secret Training Nutrition
Go Resources
Sundried
Tri Spirit Team
Castle Triathlon
Monday 5 September 2016
Stunning Location, Fantastic Race
They say you are only as good as your last result, I must admit there is a certain truth about that, well mentally at least. After a few rocky weeks and a couple of less than spectacular races I was struggling both mentally and physically, after last weekend and a great race, those feeling have long passed and I feel on top of the world.
It had been suggested that I didn't race the Gauntlet at Chateau de Chantilly, that in all honesty was never an option, this was a race I needed to do even if it went crap. It ended up being a really great weekend, a great race spent with great people in a real great location. In short it was just the race I needed to get fully motivated again.
The weekend was due to be a scorcher and when we arrived on Friday evening it certain was a little warm. Saturday ended up being even hotter, and most of the day was spent trying to find shade of some sort, as much as I like the warmth, >36 degrees was a touch too hot for me really. Sunday was looking cooler but all I could think about was trying to avoid being cooked on the run, I had visions of a very difficult run.
Sunday dawned a bit cooler than the Saturday and a bit windier as well, in fact I was unsure that I had made the right choice of an 80mm front wheel, but decided to go with it and hope the wind wasn't too bad out on the road.
SWIM:
Since Challenge Weymouth back in 2014 I have been pretty confident in the water, swimming in the rough sea on that day made me realise that if massive waves don't worry me, then mass start lake swims should be a breeze. Things have been great but on race day at Chantilly I had one of my worst panic attacks yet in the water. After 100m I was gasping for breath amongst those swimming around me, and although I hadn't really been hit too much I just really struggled to get into clean calm strokes, tried swimming head up, but still no joy and only getting worse. Luckily I was able to stand and in those 10 secs or so, get my breathing under control and get my head sorted out. I got swimming again and although it hadn't really thinned out at all I felt so much better and for once just started overtaking swimmers left, right and centre. I did think back to all those pro athletes that have mentioned their swimming fears and I realised that the time lost was probably pretty minimal and I could still have a good swim. I felt great overtaking swimmers, and only towards the end of the swim did I run out of feet to swim onto and past. I came out the water in just over 33 mins, for what was a horrible panic stricken start I was over the moon with that.
BIKE:
After a nice step laden run to transition (Brian doesn't like to make these events too easy) it was a quick wetsuit strip and off out on the bike. The first km was down an estate road which was narrow and a bit rough so I took it easy and got myself all prepped for the following 90km. Once out on the road the wind was noticeable but I soon settled into a nice effort. On the first out and back section I could see roughly where I was, and seemed to be about where I expected to be given the swim. I soon started overtaking other athletes and with the superb road management and good quality surfaces the speed seemed pretty good. As we did a big loop the wind changed a fair bit but I was soon hitting headwind and sidewinds, the headwinds just slowed you down but the sidewinds meant I had to keep up my concentration with the deep front wheel. The course ended up being a bit lumpier than I expected, not hilly by any stretch, but with the wind it felt hillier than it actually was. After a pretty lonely first lap, the second lap was a bit more congested with the Olympic distance athletes joining the course. This unfortunately meant a few holdups as cars waited to pass riders safely. Really impressed with the standard of driving around the course and although some of the holdups were frustrating it probably only amounted to a few minutes at the worst. The second lap seemed to fly by and it was just short of 2:30 on the bike that I was heading back into transition.
RUN:
After what seemed a long run through transition with the bike it was off out on the run. I took the first couple of kms steady and tried to get some fluid and electrolyte down me. Being fearful of the heat and how much I sweat I didn't want to start suffering towards the end with cramp. After about 3 km I was passed by a few athletes who I had passed late on in the bike, now this was the time to just run hard and I decided to try and keep pace with them for as long as possible. It wasn't long before one of them dropped away but I felt pretty good and although tapping along at 4:30 min/km was challenging it felt very doable. Eventually it was just me and one other, though towards the end of the first 10.5km lap he had edged away as I just tried to get fluid in and water over me at the aid stations. As we started the second lap I could see another athlete closing in on me, and I could see he was a Gauntlet competitor. He passed me but I started to run with him, the pace still seemed good but he did gradually ease away slightly, never a great distance but enough to break the tow. As I got to 7km to go I decided it was time to just give it everything and if it all fell apart then so what. It was pleasing to see him gradually being reeled in and my pace was getting faster. My feet were in agony with soaking wet shoes giving me blisters that I could feel getting worse with each step, but I could see my target getting closer still and the pace still getting faster. I managed to catch up with a km to go, now it was decision time, do I run easy and have a sprint finish, or go for it. Rather than risk being outsprinted I decided to just go for it and run as hard as I could past him and then just hope he didn't counter attack. It worked and I ran the fastest km of the race in that last km, it only meant going from 20th to 19th but mentally it was massive. This was a really pleasing run with no niggles (apart from my feet), no back pain and I managed to negatively split the run which certainly is a first for me.
Swim: 33:19
Bike: 2:28:47
Run: 1:38:39
Total: 4:46:15
This race meant more to me that positions, it reminded me that I am hungry for success, and that I could hurt myself in pursuit of that success. It also confirmed to me that racing middle or long distance is full of ups and downs, it would have been so easy to give up after the torrid start of the swim but I stuck with it and had a great race.
When I first finished it looked as though I finished 4th in the V40 AG, but by the time the presentations were held I was in 2nd. I actually missed the podium presentation, so my wife, Heather, took pride on place on the podium instead of me LOL. As I said to Darren afterwards, this was the race I needed. It really has put me in a great positive attitude heading into Ironman Wales and more importantly I have a great fun weekend doing it.
As for the race, well wow what a great setting for a triathlon, this really was a fantastic weekend put on by the Castle Triathlon team. For me it ran really slickly and the support out on the race course was superb. This is one event I will be back at next year without a doubt, it is one I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to experience an overseas event that is friendly and so inviting. Thank you to all the Castle Triathlon team for being some welcoming and running such a great event.
It had been suggested that I didn't race the Gauntlet at Chateau de Chantilly, that in all honesty was never an option, this was a race I needed to do even if it went crap. It ended up being a really great weekend, a great race spent with great people in a real great location. In short it was just the race I needed to get fully motivated again.
The weekend was due to be a scorcher and when we arrived on Friday evening it certain was a little warm. Saturday ended up being even hotter, and most of the day was spent trying to find shade of some sort, as much as I like the warmth, >36 degrees was a touch too hot for me really. Sunday was looking cooler but all I could think about was trying to avoid being cooked on the run, I had visions of a very difficult run.
Sunday dawned a bit cooler than the Saturday and a bit windier as well, in fact I was unsure that I had made the right choice of an 80mm front wheel, but decided to go with it and hope the wind wasn't too bad out on the road.
SWIM:
Since Challenge Weymouth back in 2014 I have been pretty confident in the water, swimming in the rough sea on that day made me realise that if massive waves don't worry me, then mass start lake swims should be a breeze. Things have been great but on race day at Chantilly I had one of my worst panic attacks yet in the water. After 100m I was gasping for breath amongst those swimming around me, and although I hadn't really been hit too much I just really struggled to get into clean calm strokes, tried swimming head up, but still no joy and only getting worse. Luckily I was able to stand and in those 10 secs or so, get my breathing under control and get my head sorted out. I got swimming again and although it hadn't really thinned out at all I felt so much better and for once just started overtaking swimmers left, right and centre. I did think back to all those pro athletes that have mentioned their swimming fears and I realised that the time lost was probably pretty minimal and I could still have a good swim. I felt great overtaking swimmers, and only towards the end of the swim did I run out of feet to swim onto and past. I came out the water in just over 33 mins, for what was a horrible panic stricken start I was over the moon with that.
BIKE:
After a nice step laden run to transition (Brian doesn't like to make these events too easy) it was a quick wetsuit strip and off out on the bike. The first km was down an estate road which was narrow and a bit rough so I took it easy and got myself all prepped for the following 90km. Once out on the road the wind was noticeable but I soon settled into a nice effort. On the first out and back section I could see roughly where I was, and seemed to be about where I expected to be given the swim. I soon started overtaking other athletes and with the superb road management and good quality surfaces the speed seemed pretty good. As we did a big loop the wind changed a fair bit but I was soon hitting headwind and sidewinds, the headwinds just slowed you down but the sidewinds meant I had to keep up my concentration with the deep front wheel. The course ended up being a bit lumpier than I expected, not hilly by any stretch, but with the wind it felt hillier than it actually was. After a pretty lonely first lap, the second lap was a bit more congested with the Olympic distance athletes joining the course. This unfortunately meant a few holdups as cars waited to pass riders safely. Really impressed with the standard of driving around the course and although some of the holdups were frustrating it probably only amounted to a few minutes at the worst. The second lap seemed to fly by and it was just short of 2:30 on the bike that I was heading back into transition.
RUN:
After what seemed a long run through transition with the bike it was off out on the run. I took the first couple of kms steady and tried to get some fluid and electrolyte down me. Being fearful of the heat and how much I sweat I didn't want to start suffering towards the end with cramp. After about 3 km I was passed by a few athletes who I had passed late on in the bike, now this was the time to just run hard and I decided to try and keep pace with them for as long as possible. It wasn't long before one of them dropped away but I felt pretty good and although tapping along at 4:30 min/km was challenging it felt very doable. Eventually it was just me and one other, though towards the end of the first 10.5km lap he had edged away as I just tried to get fluid in and water over me at the aid stations. As we started the second lap I could see another athlete closing in on me, and I could see he was a Gauntlet competitor. He passed me but I started to run with him, the pace still seemed good but he did gradually ease away slightly, never a great distance but enough to break the tow. As I got to 7km to go I decided it was time to just give it everything and if it all fell apart then so what. It was pleasing to see him gradually being reeled in and my pace was getting faster. My feet were in agony with soaking wet shoes giving me blisters that I could feel getting worse with each step, but I could see my target getting closer still and the pace still getting faster. I managed to catch up with a km to go, now it was decision time, do I run easy and have a sprint finish, or go for it. Rather than risk being outsprinted I decided to just go for it and run as hard as I could past him and then just hope he didn't counter attack. It worked and I ran the fastest km of the race in that last km, it only meant going from 20th to 19th but mentally it was massive. This was a really pleasing run with no niggles (apart from my feet), no back pain and I managed to negatively split the run which certainly is a first for me.
Swim: 33:19
Bike: 2:28:47
Run: 1:38:39
Total: 4:46:15
This race meant more to me that positions, it reminded me that I am hungry for success, and that I could hurt myself in pursuit of that success. It also confirmed to me that racing middle or long distance is full of ups and downs, it would have been so easy to give up after the torrid start of the swim but I stuck with it and had a great race.
When I first finished it looked as though I finished 4th in the V40 AG, but by the time the presentations were held I was in 2nd. I actually missed the podium presentation, so my wife, Heather, took pride on place on the podium instead of me LOL. As I said to Darren afterwards, this was the race I needed. It really has put me in a great positive attitude heading into Ironman Wales and more importantly I have a great fun weekend doing it.
As for the race, well wow what a great setting for a triathlon, this really was a fantastic weekend put on by the Castle Triathlon team. For me it ran really slickly and the support out on the race course was superb. This is one event I will be back at next year without a doubt, it is one I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to experience an overseas event that is friendly and so inviting. Thank you to all the Castle Triathlon team for being some welcoming and running such a great event.
Monday 15 August 2016
When the Chips Are Down
Just thought I would do a bit of an update, things haven't really been going that well. I seem to be really struggling to get back into proper training, severe lack of mojo there. I keep asking myself why, why don't I enjoy training, why don't I enjoy racing that much at the moment, why did I not just get through the Bastion come hell or high water.
I think it all stems from the build up to the Bastion and then ultimately a massive failure, I was tired but had put in some good training and racing and come race day I was full of joy as well as looking forward to the challenge of the race. The Bastion was going well until I started running, I went from feeling fit and healthy to having chronic back pain for a few weeks. Pulling out of the Bastion seemed to cripple me mentally and I am still struggling with that a bit I think, I keep asking myself "what went so wrong?" I still don't really know the answer to this though hopefully on the way to sorting out the back.
Now having a break from training and then a family holiday doesn't really get your mind back into the mood of full on training but I had hoped that after the Gauntlet at Castle Howard I might start being more enthusiastic. Getting a cold right after the race hindered training yet again and then with another easy week after the cold had subsided meant 4 weeks with no real sustained training. I have sort of switched off mentally at the moment and whilst I will do my sessions there is just no real enjoyment of them in the main. Swimming is actually the one I still enjoy, but I am swimming with friends normally and this makes the sessions more fun and social.
That might point in the direction of the source of the problem, virtually all my training is solo and whilst I think this is by far the best way to train, there is that social factor that makes training a little bit more fun that is missing. I think it says something when you get more enjoyment out of helping at a triathlon than you do racing it.
Things came to a head when I had a disagreement with Darren over some training, issues that I should have discussed weeks ago came out. Not ideal at this point in the training year, but when you are feeling down I suppose timing is not at the forefront of your mind. All in all a silly thing, but I suppose it was the straw that broke the camels back. If you are not enjoying something I suppose it doesn't take much to flick a switch.
This unfortunately made me even more peeved with training and with IM Wales only 5 weeks away it seems as though I may have just taken on too much this year. 2016 was supposed to be all about having fun and trying to enjoy my training and racing as a lot of my cycling and triathlon friends do. All I have done is made myself more depressed with the whole thing and it is starting to transfer to my every day life. In doing this sport and the training involved for an long distance triathlon I have sacrificed a lot of family time and at times I am selfish which can't be that pleasent for Heather and Killian. I keep asking why should they suffer my tiredness, grumpiness and general unhappiness just for my own goals in life, they have been the most supportive family I could ask for but there has to be a point where the work, family, training, racing balance is more towards the family. My head says forget IM Wales but my heart says that just isn't an option. I will go to Tenby and do IM Wales and hopefully by then I will be in a better mental state to at least enjoy the day if nothing else.
My real aim of IM Wales was to try and qualify for Kona, given how I currently feel that is out of the window and the real aim is just to do the best I can and try and enjoy the day and the atmosphere which I have been told is fantastic. I have been asked why I am trying to qualify for Kona, and what is my driving force, in all honesty I can't say why. I wouldn't call myself a typical Type A person so not overly driven by success. Don't get me wrong I like doing well in races, but I don't need to compete to satisfy me and I have no real need to get to Kona. I guess I am attempting to do something that 10 years ago I wouldn't have even dreamed of, when I was obese and not that interested in endurance sports.
Things do seem to picking up though, the training mojo is starting to show it's head again so things should be OK. Before IM Wales I have a lovely weekend in France planned for the Gauntlet at Chateau de Chantilly, that will be a fun event around friends and family, that should get me excited about racing again.
I think it all stems from the build up to the Bastion and then ultimately a massive failure, I was tired but had put in some good training and racing and come race day I was full of joy as well as looking forward to the challenge of the race. The Bastion was going well until I started running, I went from feeling fit and healthy to having chronic back pain for a few weeks. Pulling out of the Bastion seemed to cripple me mentally and I am still struggling with that a bit I think, I keep asking myself "what went so wrong?" I still don't really know the answer to this though hopefully on the way to sorting out the back.
Now having a break from training and then a family holiday doesn't really get your mind back into the mood of full on training but I had hoped that after the Gauntlet at Castle Howard I might start being more enthusiastic. Getting a cold right after the race hindered training yet again and then with another easy week after the cold had subsided meant 4 weeks with no real sustained training. I have sort of switched off mentally at the moment and whilst I will do my sessions there is just no real enjoyment of them in the main. Swimming is actually the one I still enjoy, but I am swimming with friends normally and this makes the sessions more fun and social.
That might point in the direction of the source of the problem, virtually all my training is solo and whilst I think this is by far the best way to train, there is that social factor that makes training a little bit more fun that is missing. I think it says something when you get more enjoyment out of helping at a triathlon than you do racing it.
Things came to a head when I had a disagreement with Darren over some training, issues that I should have discussed weeks ago came out. Not ideal at this point in the training year, but when you are feeling down I suppose timing is not at the forefront of your mind. All in all a silly thing, but I suppose it was the straw that broke the camels back. If you are not enjoying something I suppose it doesn't take much to flick a switch.
This unfortunately made me even more peeved with training and with IM Wales only 5 weeks away it seems as though I may have just taken on too much this year. 2016 was supposed to be all about having fun and trying to enjoy my training and racing as a lot of my cycling and triathlon friends do. All I have done is made myself more depressed with the whole thing and it is starting to transfer to my every day life. In doing this sport and the training involved for an long distance triathlon I have sacrificed a lot of family time and at times I am selfish which can't be that pleasent for Heather and Killian. I keep asking why should they suffer my tiredness, grumpiness and general unhappiness just for my own goals in life, they have been the most supportive family I could ask for but there has to be a point where the work, family, training, racing balance is more towards the family. My head says forget IM Wales but my heart says that just isn't an option. I will go to Tenby and do IM Wales and hopefully by then I will be in a better mental state to at least enjoy the day if nothing else.
My real aim of IM Wales was to try and qualify for Kona, given how I currently feel that is out of the window and the real aim is just to do the best I can and try and enjoy the day and the atmosphere which I have been told is fantastic. I have been asked why I am trying to qualify for Kona, and what is my driving force, in all honesty I can't say why. I wouldn't call myself a typical Type A person so not overly driven by success. Don't get me wrong I like doing well in races, but I don't need to compete to satisfy me and I have no real need to get to Kona. I guess I am attempting to do something that 10 years ago I wouldn't have even dreamed of, when I was obese and not that interested in endurance sports.
Things do seem to picking up though, the training mojo is starting to show it's head again so things should be OK. Before IM Wales I have a lovely weekend in France planned for the Gauntlet at Chateau de Chantilly, that will be a fun event around friends and family, that should get me excited about racing again.
Friday 29 July 2016
A Bit of a Tough Day
The 2 weeks in between the Bastion and the Castle Triathlon Castle Howard Gauntlet race had been a bit of a mix mentally and physically. I was still annoyed at myself for pulling out of the Bastion with constant thoughts of " I could have got around " swimming around my head. I had a week free of any training the week following, though in all honesty I didn't feel I deserved this, my legs felt OK, and although my back was sore I could have still gone out on my bike. Still I followed Darren's orders and had a week off. After a physio visit and the diagnosis of tight hip flexors I spent the week doing rehab, slowly the back seemed to get better.
The 2nd week was a family holiday up in Yorkshire, plenty of time spent with the family help with the mental side, and a little light training got me back into the training regime, though to be honest when running my left hip flexor and back still weren't right and running felt very hard work.
The weekend of the Castle Howard Triathlon was great, we arrived Friday and after a practise swim I felt pretty relaxed. Saturday was spent helping the Castle Triathlon crew out, and a quick recce of part of the bike course, it certainly wasn't an easy bike course but didn't seem too bad. Saturday evening at the campsite was spent having a few beers and BBQ with the Castle Triathlon crew, and I was in a really relaxed mood going to bed on Saturday night.
The beautiful Castle Howard
Sunday came and after a short ride to transition we were greeted by the news that the lake was 24 degrees, and that wetsuits would be optional though it was highly recommended that we didn't use them. Now not being a fantastic swimmer I was in two minds of what to do, the lake had been 22 degrees on Friday evening and hadn't felt overly warm, but I wasn't swimming at race effort. Others were still donning their wetsuits and after a quick chat with Eleanor Haresign, who just said "if it's optional you have to go with wearing it", I decided that there was no point in putting myself at a disadvantage. and it was on with the wetsuit.
Into the lake and whilst waiting for the start it didn't feel that warm, those that had decided not to wear a suit were shivering, I am sure they soon warmed up though. The swim was a 2 lap affair and went great I got onto some toes and settled in, I managed to start passing people and by the far turn there seemed to be a little line of us. I did try and swim past the swimmer in front, but realised that I just wasn't able to pick up the pace enough to get by, so again I settled in behind and hoped that the pace was good. After the first lap I could see I wasn't too far down the order and decided that I would swim to the far turn again following toes and then try and hit the last 500m fairly hard to try and make up a few places. This went well and I exited the water with a sub 32 min swim, now it was a fairly long run uphill into T1 where the swim time was recorded.
After a pretty quick transition it was out on the bike and feeling pretty good. After a few km's though I could feel my left hip flexor aching, this wasn't a good sign to be honest, but I hoped it would just settle down once I got into the swing of things. I soon started passing the faster swimmers and power seemed OK, just it felt hardish work for the power. After about 10km the flying Matt Bottrill passed me, I was hoping I might hold out for longer LOL. Unfortunately Matt punctured shortly after and I repassed him before the 14km mark, I wouldn't see him again until another 20km later. It wasn't long before I felt it a bit of a struggle to put out normal 70.3 power, and some of the guys I had passed early on were started to gain back time on me. Now normally I would have felt a strong urge just to have a talk with myself and knuckle down, but the various aches were starting to wear me down. The end of the 1st lap ended up being a bit of slog and the seemingly innocuous rollers were certainly challenging to say the least. Power was getting more difficult to maintain and as we were now encountering the standard distance racers I was more mindful than ever to keep the legal draft distance.
One of the Gauntlet competitors that I passed earlier in the race repassed me, now this was a bit of a new experience but I was struggling to ride at the effort I should be able to. I just decided to take a break and get more food and drink inside me. After another short hill one of the standard distance guys came passed, we rode together until the standard distance racer slowly pulled away. I was feeling a bit better by this stage and as I watched the average speed drop I decided to try and make up some lost ground. I eventually got back to the standard distance guy but again the effort needed to go past just wasn't really there. Now I had a decision to make, did I just follow the legal distance back and save my legs for the run ( and yes you still get a hell of a draft being >12m back) or end up playing cat and mouse with the other guy. I didn't really think that was fair for either of our races so I just held back and decided to try and save my legs for the run.
I came in off the bike in around the time I expected, I had told Heather between 2:35 and 2:40, 2:37 seemed pretty decent enough. Out onto the run and my legs didn't feel too bad, though not surprising really giving the lower power ride. The 1st 3km went OK with it being relatively flat and steady under foot. There was a steep hill just before the 3km mark which I walked, my back was still achy from the bike and I didn't want to make it worse this early into the run. After a much needed fuel and toilet stop the harder part of the run course started, and it was tough with niggling hip flexor and achy back. With the rough edge of an uphill field to negotiate I started to struggle even more and the uneven ground really caused me a few issues. Once over this I ran a bit better but the aches and pains were starting to get a bit more than niggling. I did contemplate ending the run after 1 lap, but then thoughts of the Bastion began to haunt me, I would do 2 laps even if it meant a slower pace. The end of the lap meant a stiff climb to a water tower over looking Castle Howard followed by a steep downhill. The cheers from the crowds drove me onto a 2nd lap and again the first 3km of it went pretty well and the pace was decent enough. As I started counting down the kms I actually felt I could run more and although the pace was slower I actually ran more. As soon as I got into the gardens of the castle I tried to run as strong as possible and actually sprinted across the line as there was someone just behind me.
The run was tough and although a 1:45 isn't fast by any stretch, it was great to get across the line without suffering the pain I did at the Bastion. I am certainly not fixed yet, but at least things appear to be going in the right direction. Not my best of races, but a pretty decent one and one that filled me with happiness. To be honest I never expected to be on fire for this race, I guess if I had completed the Bastion it might have been even worse LOL.
My thoughts on Castle Howard, it is a simply stunning race location. I found the lake nice to swim in apart from one or two weeds right on the edge of the course. The bike course is deceptively hard, especially the "rollers" on the estate roads, but it is a lovely course as the roads in the main are in great condition and the traffic was minimal to what I am used to. The run course is tough but a nice mixture of hard and easy bits. A massive thanks to the Castle Triathlon crew for putting on another great weekend of fun and enjoyment, their races are some of the very best out there and I highly recommend any of the races.
Swim : 34:29
Bike : 2:37:04
Run : 1:44:45
Total : 4:58:43
17th Overall and 5th V40
As usual big thanks to those that help me
Darren Jenkins - www.nevagivin.com/Darren_Jenkins.html
Secret Training - www.secret-training.com/
Go Resourcing - www.go-rg.com/
Hart & Co Resourcing - www.h-cr.co.uk/
Sundried - www.sundried.com
Castle Triathlon Series - www.castletriathlonseries.co.uk/
The 2nd week was a family holiday up in Yorkshire, plenty of time spent with the family help with the mental side, and a little light training got me back into the training regime, though to be honest when running my left hip flexor and back still weren't right and running felt very hard work.
The weekend of the Castle Howard Triathlon was great, we arrived Friday and after a practise swim I felt pretty relaxed. Saturday was spent helping the Castle Triathlon crew out, and a quick recce of part of the bike course, it certainly wasn't an easy bike course but didn't seem too bad. Saturday evening at the campsite was spent having a few beers and BBQ with the Castle Triathlon crew, and I was in a really relaxed mood going to bed on Saturday night.
The beautiful Castle Howard
Sunday came and after a short ride to transition we were greeted by the news that the lake was 24 degrees, and that wetsuits would be optional though it was highly recommended that we didn't use them. Now not being a fantastic swimmer I was in two minds of what to do, the lake had been 22 degrees on Friday evening and hadn't felt overly warm, but I wasn't swimming at race effort. Others were still donning their wetsuits and after a quick chat with Eleanor Haresign, who just said "if it's optional you have to go with wearing it", I decided that there was no point in putting myself at a disadvantage. and it was on with the wetsuit.
Into the lake and whilst waiting for the start it didn't feel that warm, those that had decided not to wear a suit were shivering, I am sure they soon warmed up though. The swim was a 2 lap affair and went great I got onto some toes and settled in, I managed to start passing people and by the far turn there seemed to be a little line of us. I did try and swim past the swimmer in front, but realised that I just wasn't able to pick up the pace enough to get by, so again I settled in behind and hoped that the pace was good. After the first lap I could see I wasn't too far down the order and decided that I would swim to the far turn again following toes and then try and hit the last 500m fairly hard to try and make up a few places. This went well and I exited the water with a sub 32 min swim, now it was a fairly long run uphill into T1 where the swim time was recorded.
After a pretty quick transition it was out on the bike and feeling pretty good. After a few km's though I could feel my left hip flexor aching, this wasn't a good sign to be honest, but I hoped it would just settle down once I got into the swing of things. I soon started passing the faster swimmers and power seemed OK, just it felt hardish work for the power. After about 10km the flying Matt Bottrill passed me, I was hoping I might hold out for longer LOL. Unfortunately Matt punctured shortly after and I repassed him before the 14km mark, I wouldn't see him again until another 20km later. It wasn't long before I felt it a bit of a struggle to put out normal 70.3 power, and some of the guys I had passed early on were started to gain back time on me. Now normally I would have felt a strong urge just to have a talk with myself and knuckle down, but the various aches were starting to wear me down. The end of the 1st lap ended up being a bit of slog and the seemingly innocuous rollers were certainly challenging to say the least. Power was getting more difficult to maintain and as we were now encountering the standard distance racers I was more mindful than ever to keep the legal draft distance.
One of the Gauntlet competitors that I passed earlier in the race repassed me, now this was a bit of a new experience but I was struggling to ride at the effort I should be able to. I just decided to take a break and get more food and drink inside me. After another short hill one of the standard distance guys came passed, we rode together until the standard distance racer slowly pulled away. I was feeling a bit better by this stage and as I watched the average speed drop I decided to try and make up some lost ground. I eventually got back to the standard distance guy but again the effort needed to go past just wasn't really there. Now I had a decision to make, did I just follow the legal distance back and save my legs for the run ( and yes you still get a hell of a draft being >12m back) or end up playing cat and mouse with the other guy. I didn't really think that was fair for either of our races so I just held back and decided to try and save my legs for the run.
I came in off the bike in around the time I expected, I had told Heather between 2:35 and 2:40, 2:37 seemed pretty decent enough. Out onto the run and my legs didn't feel too bad, though not surprising really giving the lower power ride. The 1st 3km went OK with it being relatively flat and steady under foot. There was a steep hill just before the 3km mark which I walked, my back was still achy from the bike and I didn't want to make it worse this early into the run. After a much needed fuel and toilet stop the harder part of the run course started, and it was tough with niggling hip flexor and achy back. With the rough edge of an uphill field to negotiate I started to struggle even more and the uneven ground really caused me a few issues. Once over this I ran a bit better but the aches and pains were starting to get a bit more than niggling. I did contemplate ending the run after 1 lap, but then thoughts of the Bastion began to haunt me, I would do 2 laps even if it meant a slower pace. The end of the lap meant a stiff climb to a water tower over looking Castle Howard followed by a steep downhill. The cheers from the crowds drove me onto a 2nd lap and again the first 3km of it went pretty well and the pace was decent enough. As I started counting down the kms I actually felt I could run more and although the pace was slower I actually ran more. As soon as I got into the gardens of the castle I tried to run as strong as possible and actually sprinted across the line as there was someone just behind me.
The run was tough and although a 1:45 isn't fast by any stretch, it was great to get across the line without suffering the pain I did at the Bastion. I am certainly not fixed yet, but at least things appear to be going in the right direction. Not my best of races, but a pretty decent one and one that filled me with happiness. To be honest I never expected to be on fire for this race, I guess if I had completed the Bastion it might have been even worse LOL.
My thoughts on Castle Howard, it is a simply stunning race location. I found the lake nice to swim in apart from one or two weeds right on the edge of the course. The bike course is deceptively hard, especially the "rollers" on the estate roads, but it is a lovely course as the roads in the main are in great condition and the traffic was minimal to what I am used to. The run course is tough but a nice mixture of hard and easy bits. A massive thanks to the Castle Triathlon crew for putting on another great weekend of fun and enjoyment, their races are some of the very best out there and I highly recommend any of the races.
Swim : 34:29
Bike : 2:37:04
Run : 1:44:45
Total : 4:58:43
17th Overall and 5th V40
As usual big thanks to those that help me
Darren Jenkins - www.nevagivin.com/Darren_Jenkins.html
Secret Training - www.secret-training.com/
Go Resourcing - www.go-rg.com/
Hart & Co Resourcing - www.h-cr.co.uk/
Sundried - www.sundried.com
Castle Triathlon Series - www.castletriathlonseries.co.uk/
Monday 11 July 2016
Almost in Tears
There was no anger just pure sadness when I pulled out of the Bastion on Sunday, it truly was a devastating thing to do, but ultimately the wisest thing to do.
I had gone into the race the fittest I had ever been, I was totally chilled out and really looking forward to race with good fitness and knowledge gained in my 2 years of triathlon, for it go wrong when going so well, will take some time to get over I suspect.
One may ask why pull out, why not just get round anyhow? That, to be honest, is a fair question and it is one I talked over with myself for some 30 mins or so before coming the conclusion that I didn't want to get into the state I did after Ironman South Africa last year, as that ultimately scuppered my season.
Yesterday my back was sore as soon as I ran uphill, and on the Bastion run course there is a lot of uphill. I hoped it would ease and ran at a pretty good pace for the first lap, but I was struggling on any uphill section. It got to the point that any slight incline hurt, but the steeper parts I just couldn't run up and had to resort to a walk, it was just getting worse. I tried to make hay on the downhill and rare flattish parts, but soon the downhills were just jarring and it was only the flat parts where I felt remotely comfortable. Even these were slowing down though. I think that settled it for me, to do another 21km in that state was foolish given my race programme and the longer term damage it might have done. It really was a very difficult decision, I have DNF'ed when time trialling and each of those decision I had to wrestle with inner demons, but none more so than this race of any. It is a race that means so much to me and to fail to complete it almost brought me to tears. The fact I was in a very clear 2nd place at the time didn't have any bearing on how I felt.
I now have to try and find out what caused the issue, I have been fine on the Gauntlets, but over 5.5 hours in the saddle over very tough terrain as well as being cold and wet might have been the straw that broke the camels back. It is easy to blame the bike fit but to be honest I don't really think that is the issue, it was only ever so slightly changed in December to give a more triathlon based fit, and I think it has helped my run for it, at least at half iron distance. This was the first iron distance event at race effort that I have used the position, but I have done plenty of training on the bike and not really noticed much of a problem, but long training rides are not done at the same effort.
Late last year and early this year I did have some glute medius tendinopathy, which was eventually cleared up with rehab, or so I thought. Given the complex structure of the glute muscles however there might have been something else going on. I know there is a link between the piriformis and sciatica, could the issues I encountered be a symptom on a piriformis issue. The physio that massaged my back and glutes on Sunday did say the left felt quite tight, and this is the one I have had issues with. I also have noticed a couple of times in the last few weeks of having a achy lower back before early morning swims that didn't ease during swimming. There may well be a underlying issue that only made it's full impact on Sunday.
I suppose the other cause may have just been due to going too hard on the bike, an IF of 0.77 and 330 TSS is a tough bike ride with a marathon to follow, but with a tough trail marathon it was probably over stepping the mark a bit I suspect. In all honesty I had to get into T2 in the lead as with the 2nd place guy (coming into T2) being a faster runner I was never going to be able to run him down, my only hope was to hopefully make him bike hard as well and just hope to hold him off on the run. The thing is my legs didn't feel too bad it purely was my lower back, sure the legs had some grumbles as they usual do, but nothing to suggest I had gone very silly on the bike. I guess that if I had over done the glute muscles then that may well have been the start of the problem and although they didn't feel sore they might have been causing issues elsewhere to compensate. I suppose I know for IM Wales to be more conservative on the bike at the very least, that is a nice hilly marathon as well.
So now the main thing is to get the back sorted, even today sitting down it is sore, goodness knows what it would have been like if I had carried on. The knowledge I did the right thing doesn't make it any easier and all of the Castle Triathlon team were really wonderful. Speaking with Yvonne afterwards and I was almost in tears, never have I been so upset about pulling out of a race, so glad she got pulled away. Massive thanks to anyone that helped out with marshaling, feed stations, cheering and other support jobs, you all did a fantastic job. Many thanks to SixPhysio for helping ease the pain on Sunday.
So do I do it again next year, I know the Castle Triathlon team want me to do it and Heather is happy for me to do it again but I had said I wouldn't make any 2017 race plans until after September, I guess I really do have demons to crush now. I am pretty certain now where I will be in July 2017 ;). Plus the goody bags given out at this year's Bastion were the best I have ever seen, they really did make some of the bigger IM brands seem pathetic with what you get, thanks again to Castle Triathlon, Kitbrix, dryrobe, Speedo, Vita Coco for your generosity.
Also last but by no means least many thanks for your support and to Darren for the great training, and there was me worried about my biking, still as good as ever ;)
Secret Training
Sundried
Go Resourcing
Hart and Co
I had gone into the race the fittest I had ever been, I was totally chilled out and really looking forward to race with good fitness and knowledge gained in my 2 years of triathlon, for it go wrong when going so well, will take some time to get over I suspect.
One may ask why pull out, why not just get round anyhow? That, to be honest, is a fair question and it is one I talked over with myself for some 30 mins or so before coming the conclusion that I didn't want to get into the state I did after Ironman South Africa last year, as that ultimately scuppered my season.
Yesterday my back was sore as soon as I ran uphill, and on the Bastion run course there is a lot of uphill. I hoped it would ease and ran at a pretty good pace for the first lap, but I was struggling on any uphill section. It got to the point that any slight incline hurt, but the steeper parts I just couldn't run up and had to resort to a walk, it was just getting worse. I tried to make hay on the downhill and rare flattish parts, but soon the downhills were just jarring and it was only the flat parts where I felt remotely comfortable. Even these were slowing down though. I think that settled it for me, to do another 21km in that state was foolish given my race programme and the longer term damage it might have done. It really was a very difficult decision, I have DNF'ed when time trialling and each of those decision I had to wrestle with inner demons, but none more so than this race of any. It is a race that means so much to me and to fail to complete it almost brought me to tears. The fact I was in a very clear 2nd place at the time didn't have any bearing on how I felt.
Looking jolly, but not feeling jolly
Thanks Deanna Pennington for the photo.
Thanks Deanna Pennington for the photo.
I now have to try and find out what caused the issue, I have been fine on the Gauntlets, but over 5.5 hours in the saddle over very tough terrain as well as being cold and wet might have been the straw that broke the camels back. It is easy to blame the bike fit but to be honest I don't really think that is the issue, it was only ever so slightly changed in December to give a more triathlon based fit, and I think it has helped my run for it, at least at half iron distance. This was the first iron distance event at race effort that I have used the position, but I have done plenty of training on the bike and not really noticed much of a problem, but long training rides are not done at the same effort.
Late last year and early this year I did have some glute medius tendinopathy, which was eventually cleared up with rehab, or so I thought. Given the complex structure of the glute muscles however there might have been something else going on. I know there is a link between the piriformis and sciatica, could the issues I encountered be a symptom on a piriformis issue. The physio that massaged my back and glutes on Sunday did say the left felt quite tight, and this is the one I have had issues with. I also have noticed a couple of times in the last few weeks of having a achy lower back before early morning swims that didn't ease during swimming. There may well be a underlying issue that only made it's full impact on Sunday.
I suppose the other cause may have just been due to going too hard on the bike, an IF of 0.77 and 330 TSS is a tough bike ride with a marathon to follow, but with a tough trail marathon it was probably over stepping the mark a bit I suspect. In all honesty I had to get into T2 in the lead as with the 2nd place guy (coming into T2) being a faster runner I was never going to be able to run him down, my only hope was to hopefully make him bike hard as well and just hope to hold him off on the run. The thing is my legs didn't feel too bad it purely was my lower back, sure the legs had some grumbles as they usual do, but nothing to suggest I had gone very silly on the bike. I guess that if I had over done the glute muscles then that may well have been the start of the problem and although they didn't feel sore they might have been causing issues elsewhere to compensate. I suppose I know for IM Wales to be more conservative on the bike at the very least, that is a nice hilly marathon as well.
So now the main thing is to get the back sorted, even today sitting down it is sore, goodness knows what it would have been like if I had carried on. The knowledge I did the right thing doesn't make it any easier and all of the Castle Triathlon team were really wonderful. Speaking with Yvonne afterwards and I was almost in tears, never have I been so upset about pulling out of a race, so glad she got pulled away. Massive thanks to anyone that helped out with marshaling, feed stations, cheering and other support jobs, you all did a fantastic job. Many thanks to SixPhysio for helping ease the pain on Sunday.
So do I do it again next year, I know the Castle Triathlon team want me to do it and Heather is happy for me to do it again but I had said I wouldn't make any 2017 race plans until after September, I guess I really do have demons to crush now. I am pretty certain now where I will be in July 2017 ;). Plus the goody bags given out at this year's Bastion were the best I have ever seen, they really did make some of the bigger IM brands seem pathetic with what you get, thanks again to Castle Triathlon, Kitbrix, dryrobe, Speedo, Vita Coco for your generosity.
Also last but by no means least many thanks for your support and to Darren for the great training, and there was me worried about my biking, still as good as ever ;)
Secret Training
Sundried
Go Resourcing
Hart and Co
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