Well after a worrying few days - will I, won't I do the run at the 70.3 on Sunday I am happy to report that I survived the test run yesterday morning!
Basically this week (touch wood!!) has been going fairly well. I am a little pressed for time today (as I have a load of work to do and I still need to pack! So just a quick update on training -
Monday - Power hills on the turbo (basically 350W for 1 min/off for 1min x lots) – went really well – got the saddle position dialled in (I think...)
Tuesday – Swim 10x100s and 6x50s – all around 1:16-1:19 and 37s, felt a little fatigued but still good – managed 2x4mins deep water running too
Wednesday – make or break day – turbo was a good set – all nice and smooth followed by a 20min out and back run....I kept the pace to waterver felt good – and although the HR was a little high (155-160) the pace was fine (5:45-6:00/km) and as for the ankles...well no needle pains apart from one bit where I went from pavement to road – ankles a little stiff and calves were stiff in the evening but otherwise good so I think the run at Wimbleball is on...in the evening I spent 40mins or so working out the niggles with my grid roller – ooooow!
Today – deepwater start 5x200s – all in around 2:46-48 felt super good – I pushed the first 100 and cruised the second at race pace – then 3x4min deep water running and just been for a quick 10km spin to sort out the bike – all good although I did spend a few mins trying to work out why I could not go above 25kph – my brakes were rubbing! indexing and brakes sorted....
Overall feeling I am feeling pretty good – I am icing and ultrasounding my calves nightly and (almost) generally feeling ready for Wimbleball....
I have a meeting en route and will be staying Friday night with the folks in Truro but I am camping on site Saturday night. If anyone is about at the Race I will be around from about lunchtime Saturday probably wearing an IMCH finishers shirt - I will be the short stocky one with a naked carbon Isaac bike :-) – maybe see you there!!
If not - check back Sunday/Monday for a race report - wish me luck!!
Later
I.
Swimming and a good end to week one of the taper!
12 June 2011
So the theory goes that tapering is all about winding back the distance so you don't hurt yourself before the race whilst uping the tempo a little to push yourself and reinforce the neuromuscular pathways you will be using in race....
Well I hope I haven't peaked a week too early is all I can say! Yesterday was one of the best races I have ever done, swimming or tri! I entered the Great East Swim (GES) 1 mile swim (1600m) on a whim a couple of weeks back just to hone the competitive swimming element of tri. During Marshman I had a panic attack, the start was more challenging and competitive than IMCH and other more recent tris combined with having my goggles pulled off, so I decided I needed more OW swimming and racing practice so two weeks ago when I managed one OW swim (the second this year) I thought well lets combine an OW swim with a race - the GES looks good :-)
Wind forward to yesterday morning and we (the family) arrived at Alton Water for the GES, my first competitive swim since I was racing Masters pool swimming during my PhD - nearly fifteen years ago! The onsite organisation was a bit of a cluster - lots of tents and signs for spectators but a lack of direction to the start....anyway I eventually found it and waited to be logged in. Our warm up time arrived and we got into the (frankly tiny) patch (about 10mx10m) of water to try and warm up - we had a whole resevoir why such a small warm up area???? I kept waiting for more orange hatted people to turn up for our wave but we ended up with most of the 60 entered in the wave - apparently I had entered the top Age Group (AG) wave - the next wave was the elites....as far as I know I was the only triathlete there all the others were OW swim specialists...oh dear, this could be a disaster I thought.....we had an "interesting" warm up led by a fitness instructor and the starting klaxon was set off (by the German chap who came 2nd in the elites). Prior to the race I had not really thought about the difference of swimming races vs triathlons that much, i.e. in a triathlon the klaxon or gun starts the time for everyone, in this OW race the time started when an individual went over the timing mat - hence I could have waited at the end and gone over on my own and into clear water, but I didn't instead I was in the second row and sprinted in to the water. A short session of aqua-ruck later I was in clear water and heading for the second buoy. After a pretty uneventual swim - which involved a fair amount of drafting two other swimmers and trying not to kill people from the previous wave (who were soooo slow and just appeared from nowhere doing breaststroke....) I rounded the last buoy and headed for the exit chute. In a triathlon I would have controlled my pace a little more and thought about T1 from about 400m out but this was a straight thrash for the end (and it shows on the video) - I jumped up onto my feet as soon as my fingers hit the bottom and sprinted for the mat - over the line in 24:44! Sub 25mins is a pretty good time for an OW 1 mile race to give some idea I was 38th overall out of 1285 swimmers, 32nd Male and 4th in my Age group (and gender), all without specific training for the race - I guess if I get bored with triathlons I could always make a go of racing OW swimming!!!
Well I hope I haven't peaked a week too early is all I can say! Yesterday was one of the best races I have ever done, swimming or tri! I entered the Great East Swim (GES) 1 mile swim (1600m) on a whim a couple of weeks back just to hone the competitive swimming element of tri. During Marshman I had a panic attack, the start was more challenging and competitive than IMCH and other more recent tris combined with having my goggles pulled off, so I decided I needed more OW swimming and racing practice so two weeks ago when I managed one OW swim (the second this year) I thought well lets combine an OW swim with a race - the GES looks good :-)
Wind forward to yesterday morning and we (the family) arrived at Alton Water for the GES, my first competitive swim since I was racing Masters pool swimming during my PhD - nearly fifteen years ago! The onsite organisation was a bit of a cluster - lots of tents and signs for spectators but a lack of direction to the start....anyway I eventually found it and waited to be logged in. Our warm up time arrived and we got into the (frankly tiny) patch (about 10mx10m) of water to try and warm up - we had a whole resevoir why such a small warm up area???? I kept waiting for more orange hatted people to turn up for our wave but we ended up with most of the 60 entered in the wave - apparently I had entered the top Age Group (AG) wave - the next wave was the elites....as far as I know I was the only triathlete there all the others were OW swim specialists...oh dear, this could be a disaster I thought.....we had an "interesting" warm up led by a fitness instructor and the starting klaxon was set off (by the German chap who came 2nd in the elites). Prior to the race I had not really thought about the difference of swimming races vs triathlons that much, i.e. in a triathlon the klaxon or gun starts the time for everyone, in this OW race the time started when an individual went over the timing mat - hence I could have waited at the end and gone over on my own and into clear water, but I didn't instead I was in the second row and sprinted in to the water. A short session of aqua-ruck later I was in clear water and heading for the second buoy. After a pretty uneventual swim - which involved a fair amount of drafting two other swimmers and trying not to kill people from the previous wave (who were soooo slow and just appeared from nowhere doing breaststroke....) I rounded the last buoy and headed for the exit chute. In a triathlon I would have controlled my pace a little more and thought about T1 from about 400m out but this was a straight thrash for the end (and it shows on the video) - I jumped up onto my feet as soon as my fingers hit the bottom and sprinted for the mat - over the line in 24:44! Sub 25mins is a pretty good time for an OW 1 mile race to give some idea I was 38th overall out of 1285 swimmers, 32nd Male and 4th in my Age group (and gender), all without specific training for the race - I guess if I get bored with triathlons I could always make a go of racing OW swimming!!!
Lizzie recorded a videos of the swim finish http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150284244735522&comments - and a photo too!:
A good day's work! Very happy and slightly surprised!!
So why is this blog post not just entitled - a good swim? Well this morning I did a turbo 10mile time trial, basically a 25min warm up and then flat out for 16km of the last section of the Marshman route. My previous best for 10mile TT was 27:42 this morning I managed it in 26:01 :-) Okay it was the turbo but I have it fairly well dialed in for accuracy as I managed 535W max/237W av and HR 186 max/162 av which is pretty close to what it should be!!
So there you go - taper 2/52 done - two swims, three turbo sets one rest day and a race - DONE! Next week is the final taper week to UK 70.3 IM in Wimbleball - turbo x2, swim x2 and 1 road session to test the bike. Also I have my mid week test run - my biggest fear.....why well three weeks ago I put some small tears in my Achilles tendons and I have been icing/ultrasounding/resting them as much as possible - if they are not 80% on Wednesday then Wimbleball will be a swim/bike and probable/planned DNF on the run....it was my A race but it is now my B race with Ireland 70.3 as my main focus....fingers crossed.
Finally if you find this interesting and want to sponsor my efforts please go to http://www.justgiving.com/Iaindoesthreehalfironmanracesin2011 and donate some money for the Urostomy Association - they helped my mother - a really worthwhile cause!!
Keep well
Iain.
So tomorrow is the Great East Swim....
10 June 2011
For me it is really a bit of a training session with added adrenaline. I needed to do another OW set before Wimbleball next week and venues around here are hard to find, also I it has been ages since I just raced a swim race - so why not....Mike thought it was a good idea :-)
This week has been pretty good - still no running - next Wednesday is make or break day - if there is pain...no UK 70.3 8-O :-(
....but the swimming is going well - today was a sprint set in prep for tomorrow main set was 10x100 (all between 1:14-1:19) and 6x50 (all between 34-38sec)....and the cycling seems better as the power based turbo sets seem to be getting easier :-) 350W seems accepable rather thasn impossible now!
As far as next week goes - it looks like I will be driving down on my own and camping overnight the night before the 70.3 - I have my camping comfirmation :-) so at least that is one thing sorted out!!
Anyway - the taper continues - no alcohol since last weekend (wow alcohol free beer is missing something!!) and the attempt at sorting out my ankles continues with a new ultrasound machine and a roller - The Grid - which hurts....
anyho...I will update after the race tomorrow - my wave goes at 1130 BST - wish me luck!
later
I.
This week has been pretty good - still no running - next Wednesday is make or break day - if there is pain...no UK 70.3 8-O :-(
....but the swimming is going well - today was a sprint set in prep for tomorrow main set was 10x100 (all between 1:14-1:19) and 6x50 (all between 34-38sec)....and the cycling seems better as the power based turbo sets seem to be getting easier :-) 350W seems accepable rather thasn impossible now!
As far as next week goes - it looks like I will be driving down on my own and camping overnight the night before the 70.3 - I have my camping comfirmation :-) so at least that is one thing sorted out!!
Anyway - the taper continues - no alcohol since last weekend (wow alcohol free beer is missing something!!) and the attempt at sorting out my ankles continues with a new ultrasound machine and a roller - The Grid - which hurts....
anyho...I will update after the race tomorrow - my wave goes at 1130 BST - wish me luck!
later
I.
So it's 11 days to go to Wimbleball....
7 June 2011
Well do I feel that my last four weeks have gone well building to my "A" race - UK70.3? in one word "NO!" the last few weeks have been a bit of a step backward (with a few small shuffles forward too).
Why is this? Well last year one of my biggest challenges was reaching the start line for IMCH healthy, something I almost managed except I damaged both of my Achilles tendons just before my warm up 70.3, these than plagued me through the rest of the training season and nto the race itself, ultimately requiring a fair amount of rest, recovery and physio afterwards. Unfortunately I have managed to damage them again :-(
Unfortunately during my disasterous week in London at EULAR I had no gym or pool to go to so I overdid it running - I ran 5 days back to back finishing with a run which I did at my friend's pace not mine and I pushed it a little (5.11km in 25mins). As a result the following day when I tried to do a brick set everything hurt, but mostly my Achilles, small needling pains down the middle of them - a sure sign of acute tendon damage....As a result no running since, nearly two weeks now. I am speaking to my coach later but I think it is going to mean shifting my "A" race priority from Wimbleball to Galway in September....
On the plus side my cycling is improving - I managed a 40km TT effort in training in 1:14:23 - on an undulating route, on my road bike with my training wheels on - a new PB by 4mins pretty happy with it as my previous best was at Dorney Lake on my TT bike with deep aero wheels 8-)
Also I am out getting some OW swim training in - I managed to get to Datchet Lake last week (see my previous post) and I am entered into the Great East Swim (http://www.greatswim.org/Events/British-Gas-Great-East-Swim/) at the weekend - a straight 1mile OW swim - I am in the fast wave (under 30mins) which should make it interesting! My next OW swim race is Henley Challenge (http://www.henleyswim.com/challenge.asp) a 1 mile upstream swim on the Henley Regatta course on the 10th July.
My totals for the last 90 days had me amused...1102km on the bike, 81km running and 52km swimming - I didn't think I had trained that much!
And finally it was announced today that NYC will host the US Championships for IRONMAN next year (http://ironmanuschampionship.com/) - looks like we will have to look at budgets but maybe Roth has some competition as my "A" race next year...
I'll post an update after the swim - wish me luck!
Later
I.
Why is this? Well last year one of my biggest challenges was reaching the start line for IMCH healthy, something I almost managed except I damaged both of my Achilles tendons just before my warm up 70.3, these than plagued me through the rest of the training season and nto the race itself, ultimately requiring a fair amount of rest, recovery and physio afterwards. Unfortunately I have managed to damage them again :-(
Unfortunately during my disasterous week in London at EULAR I had no gym or pool to go to so I overdid it running - I ran 5 days back to back finishing with a run which I did at my friend's pace not mine and I pushed it a little (5.11km in 25mins). As a result the following day when I tried to do a brick set everything hurt, but mostly my Achilles, small needling pains down the middle of them - a sure sign of acute tendon damage....As a result no running since, nearly two weeks now. I am speaking to my coach later but I think it is going to mean shifting my "A" race priority from Wimbleball to Galway in September....
On the plus side my cycling is improving - I managed a 40km TT effort in training in 1:14:23 - on an undulating route, on my road bike with my training wheels on - a new PB by 4mins pretty happy with it as my previous best was at Dorney Lake on my TT bike with deep aero wheels 8-)
Also I am out getting some OW swim training in - I managed to get to Datchet Lake last week (see my previous post) and I am entered into the Great East Swim (http://www.greatswim.org/Events/British-Gas-Great-East-Swim/) at the weekend - a straight 1mile OW swim - I am in the fast wave (under 30mins) which should make it interesting! My next OW swim race is Henley Challenge (http://www.henleyswim.com/challenge.asp) a 1 mile upstream swim on the Henley Regatta course on the 10th July.
My totals for the last 90 days had me amused...1102km on the bike, 81km running and 52km swimming - I didn't think I had trained that much!
And finally it was announced today that NYC will host the US Championships for IRONMAN next year (http://ironmanuschampionship.com/) - looks like we will have to look at budgets but maybe Roth has some competition as my "A" race next year...
I'll post an update after the swim - wish me luck!
Later
I.
Today's swim at Datchet
2 June 2011
More analysis to follow - pretty happy with the sighting tho especially as my goggles were fogged for the entire time....
A reminder of the justgiving site!
31 May 2011
In response to a request below is the link to the justgiving site for sponsoring me (at the bottom of this post), also I have attached the latest email I sent out to sponsors and supporters.
I just wanted to give you an update on progress so far. Well one half ironman down and two left to go to reach my goal of three in 2011!
I finished The Marshman at the beginning of May in a new personal best time of 6:35:24 taking a massive 25 minutes of my previous best. What made it more memorable for me was the fact that I had a challenging swim (one of my fellow “competitors” pulled off my goggles) and then I snapped my bike chain 500m onto the course, meaning I had to spend about 25 minutes repairing it – so in reality I would have taken nearly an hour of my previous best if those had not happened!
Since that race I have spent the time recovering and training for my next race, possibly the most challenging of the year – the UK 70.3 based at Wimbleball Lake in Exmoor. This race has been described as one of the toughest half ironman races there is and having done it in the past I can vouch for that. Not only do you have to swim 1.2 miles, cycle 56 miles and then run a 13.1 mile half marathon, you also have to do it over a hilly course that can only be described as evil. The bike route climbs more feet (5905ft) than most full (112 mile) ironman courses and the run includes 1323ft of climbing on tired legs...hard work! In 2009 I was the last person across the line in 8:54 this year I am aiming for sub 7 hours (and not last), fingers crossed!
After the UK 70.3 I have the new IRE 70.3 in my sights, this race is based in Galway (the swim is in the Bay....), but that is not until September, so between now and then I have decided to do a couple of open water swims. I have the Great East Swim in Alton Water on the 11 June (a week before UK 70.3), this is a 1 mile race, I am in the sub 30min wave – so that should be fun, and finally (for now) I am entered into the Henley Swim Challenge on July 10th, a 1 mile upstream (River Thames) swimming race, held on the Henley Royal Regatta course! Wish me luck!
Now for the other main reason for this email.
Whilst I do these silly endurance events to keep myself healthy and fit I also try to raise money to, in some way, offset the time and effort I put in. So far, if I am honest, the response to my first email was not stellar, but, I really, REALLY appreciate the donations from those who have already sponsored me. For those who have not yet been able to I like to ask you if you could spare even £1 to support my chosen charity for 2011, the Urostomy Association. They are a fabulous small charity who assist those who are about to undergo or who have undergone surgery which results in a urinary diversion, such as a urostomy, continent urinary pouch or neo bladder. In addition they assist carers in the rehabilitation of people with a urinary diversion and improve the quality of life of people who have undergone urinary diversion surgery and those who care for them.
So why them? Well, about seven years ago my mother had a urostomy, subsequently followed by a colostomy. It is a major surgical procedure which very nearly killed her, due to the post op infection. If you do not know anyone who has had either of these procedures you will not realise how life changing they are. There is a whole realm of challenges and difficulties they present. The members and staff of the UA were of great help to my mother and my father in that learning period and in the years that followed. I simply want to show my thanks to them by “doing my bit”. Any amount large or small will help this small charity immensely so (if you can) please be generous! To donate please go to:
http://www.justgiving.com/Iaindoesthreehalfironmanracesin2011
Finally, please feel free to go to my blog (http://iaindoestriathlon.blogspot.com) which I update infrequently to see how I get on over the season, also you can follow me on twitter @isainsbury.
Thanks for reading and best wishes,
Iain.
I just wanted to give you an update on progress so far. Well one half ironman down and two left to go to reach my goal of three in 2011!
I finished The Marshman at the beginning of May in a new personal best time of 6:35:24 taking a massive 25 minutes of my previous best. What made it more memorable for me was the fact that I had a challenging swim (one of my fellow “competitors” pulled off my goggles) and then I snapped my bike chain 500m onto the course, meaning I had to spend about 25 minutes repairing it – so in reality I would have taken nearly an hour of my previous best if those had not happened!
Since that race I have spent the time recovering and training for my next race, possibly the most challenging of the year – the UK 70.3 based at Wimbleball Lake in Exmoor. This race has been described as one of the toughest half ironman races there is and having done it in the past I can vouch for that. Not only do you have to swim 1.2 miles, cycle 56 miles and then run a 13.1 mile half marathon, you also have to do it over a hilly course that can only be described as evil. The bike route climbs more feet (5905ft) than most full (112 mile) ironman courses and the run includes 1323ft of climbing on tired legs...hard work! In 2009 I was the last person across the line in 8:54 this year I am aiming for sub 7 hours (and not last), fingers crossed!
After the UK 70.3 I have the new IRE 70.3 in my sights, this race is based in Galway (the swim is in the Bay....), but that is not until September, so between now and then I have decided to do a couple of open water swims. I have the Great East Swim in Alton Water on the 11 June (a week before UK 70.3), this is a 1 mile race, I am in the sub 30min wave – so that should be fun, and finally (for now) I am entered into the Henley Swim Challenge on July 10th, a 1 mile upstream (River Thames) swimming race, held on the Henley Royal Regatta course! Wish me luck!
Now for the other main reason for this email.
Whilst I do these silly endurance events to keep myself healthy and fit I also try to raise money to, in some way, offset the time and effort I put in. So far, if I am honest, the response to my first email was not stellar, but, I really, REALLY appreciate the donations from those who have already sponsored me. For those who have not yet been able to I like to ask you if you could spare even £1 to support my chosen charity for 2011, the Urostomy Association. They are a fabulous small charity who assist those who are about to undergo or who have undergone surgery which results in a urinary diversion, such as a urostomy, continent urinary pouch or neo bladder. In addition they assist carers in the rehabilitation of people with a urinary diversion and improve the quality of life of people who have undergone urinary diversion surgery and those who care for them.
So why them? Well, about seven years ago my mother had a urostomy, subsequently followed by a colostomy. It is a major surgical procedure which very nearly killed her, due to the post op infection. If you do not know anyone who has had either of these procedures you will not realise how life changing they are. There is a whole realm of challenges and difficulties they present. The members and staff of the UA were of great help to my mother and my father in that learning period and in the years that followed. I simply want to show my thanks to them by “doing my bit”. Any amount large or small will help this small charity immensely so (if you can) please be generous! To donate please go to:
http://www.justgiving.com/Iaindoesthreehalfironmanracesin2011
Finally, please feel free to go to my blog (http://iaindoestriathlon.blogspot.com) which I update infrequently to see how I get on over the season, also you can follow me on twitter @isainsbury.
Thanks for reading and best wishes,
Iain.
A week in Portugal
20 May 2011
Well not a full week but a Tue-Fri business trip....it was fun and hard work (well except for an afternoon of Dolphin Safari (where we didn't see any dolphins....)
I managed to get some training in - not enough around 3km of swimming a longish run and a turbo(ish) session in the hotel gym. Below is the GPS trace from my run - it was seriously hot - I could feel the heat reflecting off the tarmac - and the lizards! WOW all over the place, red and green beasties - amazing...
As for the weekend - I have just looked at the programme and it is a 4hrbike and a 1hr run followed by a 2:15 run......not sure if I will manage to get that all in - we will have to see!
Later
I.
I managed to get some training in - not enough around 3km of swimming a longish run and a turbo(ish) session in the hotel gym. Below is the GPS trace from my run - it was seriously hot - I could feel the heat reflecting off the tarmac - and the lizards! WOW all over the place, red and green beasties - amazing...
As for the weekend - I have just looked at the programme and it is a 4hrbike and a 1hr run followed by a 2:15 run......not sure if I will manage to get that all in - we will have to see!
Later
I.
The road to recovery...
15 May 2011
Well today is a week after Marshman and I am just about back to normal, the legs are still a little tired but they are coming back - what REALLY helped was two complete days of recovery - no training just living life, getting up a little later (well 7am) and walking the girls to school, etc just not stressing about training...
Since Marshman I have run a little, swum once and turbo'd twice...below is the trace from this morning's efforts...as you can see pace is a little down:
I have yet to look at the plan for my 5 week build to IM UK 70.3 but that is in the diary to do today or tomorrow....
I think the biggest challenge is going to be work...next week I am in Portugal Tue-Fri and then the following week I am at a conference from Tue to Saturday....I think training might be about to take a hit....not good in the build for my A race.....and then there are the logistics....Wimbleball is a nightmare to get to/accomodate at and get back from....I have a feeling I will end up driving myself down there and TravelLodging it the night before....and driving myself back...at least Team Sainsbury will be with me in Ireland....plus M&D might be out for that one too!!
Later...lunch is ready :-)
I.
Since Marshman I have run a little, swum once and turbo'd twice...below is the trace from this morning's efforts...as you can see pace is a little down:
I have yet to look at the plan for my 5 week build to IM UK 70.3 but that is in the diary to do today or tomorrow....
I think the biggest challenge is going to be work...next week I am in Portugal Tue-Fri and then the following week I am at a conference from Tue to Saturday....I think training might be about to take a hit....not good in the build for my A race.....and then there are the logistics....Wimbleball is a nightmare to get to/accomodate at and get back from....I have a feeling I will end up driving myself down there and TravelLodging it the night before....and driving myself back...at least Team Sainsbury will be with me in Ireland....plus M&D might be out for that one too!!
Later...lunch is ready :-)
I.
Marshman 2011 – A mixed bag....
13 May 2011
Preparation
Before I start this race report please understand it is for you to read as much as for me to keep a record of my race (hence it includes lots of detail you probably don’t want!!).
The equipment I used for this race included:
Swim – Orca Alpha wetsuit + Predator Flex Goggles
Bike – Isaac Joule-Aerotic /S60 wheelset (11-28)+ Speedfil+ two bottles on X-lab wing
Run – Fuelbelt with two bottles/Brooks Summon running shoes
So the prep for the race didn’t actually start on Sunday morning but two days before. My single biggest challenge in racing anything over Olympic (1500m/40km/10km) distance is nutrition, on all of my major races (UK70.3/WCMD/IMCH) I have had nutrition disasters that have ranged from bloating to nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, cramps, etc they normally start about half way through the bike and continue throughout the run. I have tried various High5, Powerbar, Maximuscle, Buzzbar, Nakd products for nutrition but every time I have had the same issues. This time I wanted to crack it, so I started by thinking about my prerace nutrition slightly more. My main consideration was getting carbs and some protein in with limited amounts of fat and foods that are known to cause bloating/gas. Basically this meant a really boring diet for Lizzie for the two days before the race!
On Friday I started to reduce the amount of fibre in my diet (cutting out uncooked fruit/veg) and started to up the fluid intake (using half concentrate (1/2 a Nuun tablet in 500ml water). From Saturday am it was limit fibre as much as possible and focus on consuming carbs and some protein. Breakfast was poached eggs on white (no wholemeal at all) toast, lunch was a challenge as we were out at a brasserie, so I opted for beer battered fish and chips (minus the peas and tartar sauce) with water. In the evening we had pasta with green pesto and I made sure that this was all finished by 7.15pm (just under 12 hours before the race) – all the way through the day it was dilute nuun to drink (triberry flavour). No alcohol within 72hrs of the race (hard as we had a birthday party to go to the night before it!). I slept surprisingly well on Saturday night – going to bed by 10pm up at 3am 8-O to eat breakfast and head out.
Race Day
So a 3am get up for a 7am race...early!!! I had to drive to Lydd from Cambridge so I thought I would leave at least 2hrs – plus it meant I could try out my new pre race plan. I got up (and got the dogs up – they were not happy) and went for a 10min walk/jog to wake up, I then had breakfast – 40g/195ml of Scotts Old Fashion Porrage Oats/water with 500ml of Nuun (I tried Zipvit energy drink but it was not nice....). After a quick drive down to Lydd sipping Nuun all the way I registered and racked my bike – necking 2 Zipvit gels at 60 and 45mins before the race. The racking was a mixed affair, part carpeted, part grass/soil - which became mud after the swim :-(, but at least it was numbered. The race briefing was short and then it was straight into the water to go – I was in wave Alpha.
The swim
It was a deep water start and I placed myself as I usually do on the inside path to the first buoy near the front (all of my other races this positioning has served me well). I was about three/four people back from the front as the race started – it was one of the most competitive deep water starts I have done, it was really aggressive with lots of hands and elbows. This usually does not worry me however this was also my first time in the wetsuit for the year (plus I had not sealed it properly so my left arm was a bit full of water) all in all not a good start, it just did not feel right and at 200m I was going backwards....what really did not help was what happened next. I was jockeying for position with the swimmer to my right (oldish chap in a white club swim cap – I had seen him in transition) and he obviously got fed up with it as just as I put my head to the left to breath he pushed me under on his stroke and pulled my goggles off with his fingers (before the race I had tightened my goggles up so I know it was not an accident, ie. knocking them off). I immediately slowed and had to half swim/tread water to empty them (the water quality there is awful – really green and nasty tasting) which meant I got smacked into by the people swimming behind me. Once I had cleared my goggles I started swimming again – my confidence was a little knocked and it was the closest I have been to rolling on my back and putting my arm up in the air and DNFing in a swim – it was that close....
I persevered and pushed through the swim - passing the 300m buoy in clear water I began to pick up pace and chase down the front pack. The first turn was a bit of a mess as was the second (the swim course was a big M – 600m out and back with a 300m stretch making up the middle of the M) but the final turn was a perfect quick affair which took me passed two others. I finished the swim in 29th place in 30:32 – not my worst but not my best 1900m race effort. The exit was a slipway that led directly onto transition. I raced up it and down to my bike (not missing it like at WCMD last year!) and started to de wetsuit, however my bike was in a soil area so it all soon turned to mud – what a mess, plus I was pretty dizzy – T1 did not go well 4:12, it could have been faster – maybe no arm warmers next time (or at least roll them!) – once that was over it was out onto the bike.
The bike
The bike will be the defining memory to me of this race, I mounted well and pushed out onto the course zipping past the spectators and the Race HQ and off towards the course...and a good bike time....and that is how I hoped it would have gone, instead about 500m out from the Race HQ I tried to change up onto the large chainring and all I hear was a mechanical shearing sound and then I was pedalling like a maniac and slowing down...I looked down....no chain....I stopped and got of my bike...and swore at it....jumped up and down and swore some more.....ran back picked up my chain...realised that either end where it had failed had been damaged (the ends were chamfered in so a speedlink would not work)...ran back to my bike and swore a bit more....thought “well that is it game over – 30mins in – bugger” and then thought – multitool – I can take off the broken links and put the chain back on shorter and just race on the gears I can make...sorted! So I got out my multitool with chainbreaker and then realised that you need a no.6 hex spanner to use it – my only one was attached to the multitool...more swearing.....all the time people were zipping past me asking if I was okay...I wasn’t.....after I had sat there for a couple of minutes I realised there was a mechanic at Race HQ it was only 500m (ish) back so I picked up my bike and chain and legged it over the parking field to the HQ. The mechanics were all having a cup of coffee but after some persuading they fitted a new chain and I was sorted...well kind of....I had pretty much convinced myself that my race was over, to then try and psych myself back up to carry on for another 6hrs was tough, and I mean really tough....
I got back out on the bike course and I pushed as hard as I could whilst trying to keep to plan – I was aiming for Z3 throughout (147-160bpm) as it was I kept it near 163-165 throughout. The bike course itself is not challenging on this course – climbing was around 200m and 40m of that is on one hill...there are some fast bits but mostly it was a steady state effort – the biggest challenge being the headwind – it was simply amazing, to give an example there was one bit where I turned a corner and my speed dropped from 34kph to 14.....hard work.
From a nutrition perspective it all felt good – I drank fairly freely (Nuun triberry), making sure I was taking on fluids at least every 10mins and I took a Zipvit gel every 30 mins. For the first time on a 70.3 or IM bike – no GI issues and no cramping!!! However I think I may not have taken enough carbs before the race as everything felt flat – not sure why....also a first on the bike – I was overtaking people...not done that before...all the same I wonder if I should go back to a 54/39 rather than a 50/34 on the TT bike...average cadence 80....
I came back into transition in 3:31 (190th place for the bike) feeling a little dejected but overall at least I had made it round. T2 was smoother than T1. I racked my bike and stripped to my trikit to run – I paused long enough though to clean the mud off my feet (carpeted transition...hmmmm) and put on my fuelbelt and off I went.
The run
The run route has changed from the out and back death march that was apparently last years route. Instead it is a run from Lydd to Brookland and back – it is a pleasant route with several places where you run either side of the road – it was nice to see other people!
I struggled from the off to get my cadence up – I usually run at 90-95 strides/min but 80-85 seemed to be all my legs could do so I switched of my Garmin alarm telling me my cadence was low and just went with the flow. Everything felt fairly good on the run, nice and fluid no real pain in the legs – I saw Mike (my coach) heading back in (he had a stormer, finishing in 4:47) and the pace felt manageable, if a little slow 6:30-6:45/km – I usually run 5:50-6:00. At about 1:38 into the run the wheels fell off...probably due to too many carbs being pushed or that I had mixed a caffeine Zipvit gel in to see what happened...but I started to develop GI cramp and pain...I took some Colofac (mebeverine – a GI antispasmodic) which started to work around 10mins later but for around 3km I had a completely flat spot – it was a mix of nausea/GI pain and occasional vomiting...however with about 2km to go things seemed to improve and despite having a stitch I pushed through and finished fairly strong (6:20/km pace).
I finished the run in 2:23:22 (182nd place for the run) which I was fairly happy about as my fastest fresh ½ marathon time in 2:14. In total I came in 183rd in 6:35:14, only 5mins slower than my expected time and that included the goggles and chain fiasco, so all in all fairly happy.
As to whether I would do the Marshman again, not sure. It is an okay race, okay swim (although dubious water quality), fairly flat bike and run routes and it has FANTASTIC post race massage (approx 45min massage – although I had to wait about an hour for it!) – but it didn’t give me the same positive feel as the West Cornwall last year (and no beer at the end!).
Overall though - good race.
Iain.
Before I start this race report please understand it is for you to read as much as for me to keep a record of my race (hence it includes lots of detail you probably don’t want!!).
The equipment I used for this race included:
Swim – Orca Alpha wetsuit + Predator Flex Goggles
Bike – Isaac Joule-Aerotic /S60 wheelset (11-28)+ Speedfil+ two bottles on X-lab wing
Run – Fuelbelt with two bottles/Brooks Summon running shoes
So the prep for the race didn’t actually start on Sunday morning but two days before. My single biggest challenge in racing anything over Olympic (1500m/40km/10km) distance is nutrition, on all of my major races (UK70.3/WCMD/IMCH) I have had nutrition disasters that have ranged from bloating to nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, cramps, etc they normally start about half way through the bike and continue throughout the run. I have tried various High5, Powerbar, Maximuscle, Buzzbar, Nakd products for nutrition but every time I have had the same issues. This time I wanted to crack it, so I started by thinking about my prerace nutrition slightly more. My main consideration was getting carbs and some protein in with limited amounts of fat and foods that are known to cause bloating/gas. Basically this meant a really boring diet for Lizzie for the two days before the race!
On Friday I started to reduce the amount of fibre in my diet (cutting out uncooked fruit/veg) and started to up the fluid intake (using half concentrate (1/2 a Nuun tablet in 500ml water). From Saturday am it was limit fibre as much as possible and focus on consuming carbs and some protein. Breakfast was poached eggs on white (no wholemeal at all) toast, lunch was a challenge as we were out at a brasserie, so I opted for beer battered fish and chips (minus the peas and tartar sauce) with water. In the evening we had pasta with green pesto and I made sure that this was all finished by 7.15pm (just under 12 hours before the race) – all the way through the day it was dilute nuun to drink (triberry flavour). No alcohol within 72hrs of the race (hard as we had a birthday party to go to the night before it!). I slept surprisingly well on Saturday night – going to bed by 10pm up at 3am 8-O to eat breakfast and head out.
Race Day
So a 3am get up for a 7am race...early!!! I had to drive to Lydd from Cambridge so I thought I would leave at least 2hrs – plus it meant I could try out my new pre race plan. I got up (and got the dogs up – they were not happy) and went for a 10min walk/jog to wake up, I then had breakfast – 40g/195ml of Scotts Old Fashion Porrage Oats/water with 500ml of Nuun (I tried Zipvit energy drink but it was not nice....). After a quick drive down to Lydd sipping Nuun all the way I registered and racked my bike – necking 2 Zipvit gels at 60 and 45mins before the race. The racking was a mixed affair, part carpeted, part grass/soil - which became mud after the swim :-(, but at least it was numbered. The race briefing was short and then it was straight into the water to go – I was in wave Alpha.
The swim
It was a deep water start and I placed myself as I usually do on the inside path to the first buoy near the front (all of my other races this positioning has served me well). I was about three/four people back from the front as the race started – it was one of the most competitive deep water starts I have done, it was really aggressive with lots of hands and elbows. This usually does not worry me however this was also my first time in the wetsuit for the year (plus I had not sealed it properly so my left arm was a bit full of water) all in all not a good start, it just did not feel right and at 200m I was going backwards....what really did not help was what happened next. I was jockeying for position with the swimmer to my right (oldish chap in a white club swim cap – I had seen him in transition) and he obviously got fed up with it as just as I put my head to the left to breath he pushed me under on his stroke and pulled my goggles off with his fingers (before the race I had tightened my goggles up so I know it was not an accident, ie. knocking them off). I immediately slowed and had to half swim/tread water to empty them (the water quality there is awful – really green and nasty tasting) which meant I got smacked into by the people swimming behind me. Once I had cleared my goggles I started swimming again – my confidence was a little knocked and it was the closest I have been to rolling on my back and putting my arm up in the air and DNFing in a swim – it was that close....
I persevered and pushed through the swim - passing the 300m buoy in clear water I began to pick up pace and chase down the front pack. The first turn was a bit of a mess as was the second (the swim course was a big M – 600m out and back with a 300m stretch making up the middle of the M) but the final turn was a perfect quick affair which took me passed two others. I finished the swim in 29th place in 30:32 – not my worst but not my best 1900m race effort. The exit was a slipway that led directly onto transition. I raced up it and down to my bike (not missing it like at WCMD last year!) and started to de wetsuit, however my bike was in a soil area so it all soon turned to mud – what a mess, plus I was pretty dizzy – T1 did not go well 4:12, it could have been faster – maybe no arm warmers next time (or at least roll them!) – once that was over it was out onto the bike.
The bike
The bike will be the defining memory to me of this race, I mounted well and pushed out onto the course zipping past the spectators and the Race HQ and off towards the course...and a good bike time....and that is how I hoped it would have gone, instead about 500m out from the Race HQ I tried to change up onto the large chainring and all I hear was a mechanical shearing sound and then I was pedalling like a maniac and slowing down...I looked down....no chain....I stopped and got of my bike...and swore at it....jumped up and down and swore some more.....ran back picked up my chain...realised that either end where it had failed had been damaged (the ends were chamfered in so a speedlink would not work)...ran back to my bike and swore a bit more....thought “well that is it game over – 30mins in – bugger” and then thought – multitool – I can take off the broken links and put the chain back on shorter and just race on the gears I can make...sorted! So I got out my multitool with chainbreaker and then realised that you need a no.6 hex spanner to use it – my only one was attached to the multitool...more swearing.....all the time people were zipping past me asking if I was okay...I wasn’t.....after I had sat there for a couple of minutes I realised there was a mechanic at Race HQ it was only 500m (ish) back so I picked up my bike and chain and legged it over the parking field to the HQ. The mechanics were all having a cup of coffee but after some persuading they fitted a new chain and I was sorted...well kind of....I had pretty much convinced myself that my race was over, to then try and psych myself back up to carry on for another 6hrs was tough, and I mean really tough....
I got back out on the bike course and I pushed as hard as I could whilst trying to keep to plan – I was aiming for Z3 throughout (147-160bpm) as it was I kept it near 163-165 throughout. The bike course itself is not challenging on this course – climbing was around 200m and 40m of that is on one hill...there are some fast bits but mostly it was a steady state effort – the biggest challenge being the headwind – it was simply amazing, to give an example there was one bit where I turned a corner and my speed dropped from 34kph to 14.....hard work.
From a nutrition perspective it all felt good – I drank fairly freely (Nuun triberry), making sure I was taking on fluids at least every 10mins and I took a Zipvit gel every 30 mins. For the first time on a 70.3 or IM bike – no GI issues and no cramping!!! However I think I may not have taken enough carbs before the race as everything felt flat – not sure why....also a first on the bike – I was overtaking people...not done that before...all the same I wonder if I should go back to a 54/39 rather than a 50/34 on the TT bike...average cadence 80....
I came back into transition in 3:31 (190th place for the bike) feeling a little dejected but overall at least I had made it round. T2 was smoother than T1. I racked my bike and stripped to my trikit to run – I paused long enough though to clean the mud off my feet (carpeted transition...hmmmm) and put on my fuelbelt and off I went.
The run
The run route has changed from the out and back death march that was apparently last years route. Instead it is a run from Lydd to Brookland and back – it is a pleasant route with several places where you run either side of the road – it was nice to see other people!
I struggled from the off to get my cadence up – I usually run at 90-95 strides/min but 80-85 seemed to be all my legs could do so I switched of my Garmin alarm telling me my cadence was low and just went with the flow. Everything felt fairly good on the run, nice and fluid no real pain in the legs – I saw Mike (my coach) heading back in (he had a stormer, finishing in 4:47) and the pace felt manageable, if a little slow 6:30-6:45/km – I usually run 5:50-6:00. At about 1:38 into the run the wheels fell off...probably due to too many carbs being pushed or that I had mixed a caffeine Zipvit gel in to see what happened...but I started to develop GI cramp and pain...I took some Colofac (mebeverine – a GI antispasmodic) which started to work around 10mins later but for around 3km I had a completely flat spot – it was a mix of nausea/GI pain and occasional vomiting...however with about 2km to go things seemed to improve and despite having a stitch I pushed through and finished fairly strong (6:20/km pace).
I finished the run in 2:23:22 (182nd place for the run) which I was fairly happy about as my fastest fresh ½ marathon time in 2:14. In total I came in 183rd in 6:35:14, only 5mins slower than my expected time and that included the goggles and chain fiasco, so all in all fairly happy.
As to whether I would do the Marshman again, not sure. It is an okay race, okay swim (although dubious water quality), fairly flat bike and run routes and it has FANTASTIC post race massage (approx 45min massage – although I had to wait about an hour for it!) – but it didn’t give me the same positive feel as the West Cornwall last year (and no beer at the end!).
Overall though - good race.
Iain.
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