“I am taking a breather from long distance triathlon in 2012...”
These were my words at the end of 2011 - well it is true I am taking a bit of a breather from IM length racing but I have signed up for the IM 70.3 in Galway again in September, Windsor in June and a 1.5km open water swim race in May – so still keeping active. I also said I would be taking a lower key approach to fund raising this year, and that was the plan, however back in February, during a 24 hour turbo fundraiser, I met Andrew Howden (another member of the BCTTT triathlon club) and he inspired me to try and raise a little cash for the charity that supports his daughter, Beatrice.
Beatrice has Type II SMA – Spinal Muscular Atrophy. This amongst other things means she will never walk, run or play in the same way other children do. She is bright and into everything, eager to explore the world around her and she is always happy and ready to greet everyone she meets with a big smile and a wave.
Unfortunately, Government funded departments do not offer funding for the powered chair that was designed specifically for what Beatrice needs to be mobile at this early age. The early years for Beatrice, as with all children, are very important in learning and development, therefore early access to mobility is imperative. One of the key attributes of children with SMA is that they are exceptionally intelligent. Limited mobility at an early age, however, can limit opportunities for learning and exploring the child’s environment.
So why am I telling you this? Well, every year since I got serious about triathlon I have tried to raised a little cash for good causes –in total this is now over £3200 (with GiftAid), and this year is no different. Despite the ecomonic downturn over the past couple of years I have still managed to raise close to a thousand pounds each year. Please help me to do the same this year.
I am not keen of sending money to an anonymous organisation who loose significant amounts in admin costs and don’t pass as much as they can onto those who need it most, but instead I prefer to find a charity which is small and needs support for the hard work they do. I am raising funds to support Beatrice and her family through the charity A Smile for a Child (Charity Registration No. 1123357).
Any amount large or small will help this small charity immensely so (if you can) please be generous! Please go to my just giving site (http://www.justgiving.com/DoingGalwayforTeamBea) and donate. You can also follow me on twitter @isainsbury.
Thank you in advance,
Go raibh míle maith agaibh arís! (as they apparently say in Ireland)
Best wishes,
Iain.
Eyes, turbos and enforced rest....
24 February 2012
I am writing this at 36,000 feet in the front of a BA flight to Israel - somehow I managed to get an upgrade and the view is pretty nice from my office today.
Believe me sometimes my job is rubbish - lots of travel, time away from home - but today is pretty special, never having travelled First Class before I can tell you it is pretty special - if you get the chance jump at it!
Anyway back to the blog post I was going to write. Again it has been a while since I last posted, in that time a lot has happened, I have been recovering from manflu (for the uneducated - any mild illness is worse in men and serious), I have finally had my squint sorted and I have helped a friend achieve 24hrs riding constantly on a turbo trainer - awesome. I have also visited France (lots), Spain (twice), The Netherlands and Canada and now Israel....as I said - busy!
What about my squint operation - an interesting experience, painful, frustrating and sore but brilliant at the same time. The procedure was fairly standard but I had a mild post op infection which made bright sunlight sore. the wierdest effect though was the slightly drunken feeling that comes from having the muscles of the eye moved...very odd. I am now fourteen days out from the procedure and should finish the eye drops this week which means I can start to swim again :-) - I have missed it!
This weekend and the 24hour turbo torment. On Sunday, I supported a friend in his aim to complete 24 hours (yes that is right 24 hours) riding on his turbo - which for the uninitiated is a form of rolling road for a bike...I could only help with riding a couple of hours with James so I chose the hours I thought he might really need some support - 6.30am until 8am on the second half. I finished a little over 2hrs 20mins (including some OG efforts) and I ached - he started at 1200 on the 18th and finished on the 19th. An awesome, unbelievable effort, made more impressive as he completed all of the sufferfest videos, plus extra shots of TT sprints (think the worst, most painful spin class ever) in the first day! Details can be found on his website of his chosen charities which include those that support the children of two friends, Ben Laws and Andrew Howden, please have a look (http://www.twentyfourhourturbotorment.co.uk/).
Also this weekend I managed to get in a 45min run and 2hrs on the bike - outdoors!! It felt great but wow am I unfit...need to put some serious work in before the season. below is the trace from my Saturday ride including the biggest hill I can find....it is not very big....hence I used the turbo for strength sets a lot!
Training has been a challenge with work - the silliest trip so far is a 1.5 day trip to Montreal and Toronto - out Wednesday back Friday...plays havoc with your body clock! Last week i managed seven hours, a whole 7hrs....when I was training for IM that would have been a long day...and it shows - the weight has gone up a bit...need to get that under control over the next few weeks...
Finally one quick recommendation - go and see the new muppet movie if you get a chance it is very funny :-)
Later
I.
Believe me sometimes my job is rubbish - lots of travel, time away from home - but today is pretty special, never having travelled First Class before I can tell you it is pretty special - if you get the chance jump at it!
Anyway back to the blog post I was going to write. Again it has been a while since I last posted, in that time a lot has happened, I have been recovering from manflu (for the uneducated - any mild illness is worse in men and serious), I have finally had my squint sorted and I have helped a friend achieve 24hrs riding constantly on a turbo trainer - awesome. I have also visited France (lots), Spain (twice), The Netherlands and Canada and now Israel....as I said - busy!
What about my squint operation - an interesting experience, painful, frustrating and sore but brilliant at the same time. The procedure was fairly standard but I had a mild post op infection which made bright sunlight sore. the wierdest effect though was the slightly drunken feeling that comes from having the muscles of the eye moved...very odd. I am now fourteen days out from the procedure and should finish the eye drops this week which means I can start to swim again :-) - I have missed it!
This weekend and the 24hour turbo torment. On Sunday, I supported a friend in his aim to complete 24 hours (yes that is right 24 hours) riding on his turbo - which for the uninitiated is a form of rolling road for a bike...I could only help with riding a couple of hours with James so I chose the hours I thought he might really need some support - 6.30am until 8am on the second half. I finished a little over 2hrs 20mins (including some OG efforts) and I ached - he started at 1200 on the 18th and finished on the 19th. An awesome, unbelievable effort, made more impressive as he completed all of the sufferfest videos, plus extra shots of TT sprints (think the worst, most painful spin class ever) in the first day! Details can be found on his website of his chosen charities which include those that support the children of two friends, Ben Laws and Andrew Howden, please have a look (http://www.twentyfourhourturbotorment.co.uk/).
Also this weekend I managed to get in a 45min run and 2hrs on the bike - outdoors!! It felt great but wow am I unfit...need to put some serious work in before the season. below is the trace from my Saturday ride including the biggest hill I can find....it is not very big....hence I used the turbo for strength sets a lot!
Training has been a challenge with work - the silliest trip so far is a 1.5 day trip to Montreal and Toronto - out Wednesday back Friday...plays havoc with your body clock! Last week i managed seven hours, a whole 7hrs....when I was training for IM that would have been a long day...and it shows - the weight has gone up a bit...need to get that under control over the next few weeks...
Finally one quick recommendation - go and see the new muppet movie if you get a chance it is very funny :-)
Later
I.
Now a RoadID Affiliate :-)
16 January 2012
So another update so soon - I must be getting back into this :-)
I got an email today I have been accepted onto the affiliate program for Road ID which means I can put their banner onto my website. Why am I happy about this? Well I use RoadID both when training and in general life...
I have a red full size RoadID which I use when I am training because it is reflective and hopefully if I should ever need it it is pretty visible!
In my normal life I wear a RoadID slim:
Why? Well for one thing I have an allergy to penicillin and it is always good to have a tag saying that somewhere, but also I travel alone a lot - both short and long haul and should the worst happen I would like Lizze to know!
I must admit that when I looked at their web page I was a little sceptical about quality (as I had never seen one "in the flesh") and the customer service - I can safely say I now have NO issue with either.
Their quality is first rate, the materials, laser etching and finish is excellent, and their customer service is fantastic - they are fast to delver and communicate really well. I wish all products I had purchased "blind" on the Internet were as good!
So please, please, if you don't have ID which you carry when you train, go and have a look on their website, just click on the banner above - it may save your life!
Raving about RoadID apart, training is not going particularly well....
Saturday - Evie woke up early on Saturday and as it was dark and über-icy I went for the turbo - 1.5hrs and 50km of the Ireland 70.3 - 1.87W/kg happy with that.
Sunday - this was meant to be an escalating aerobic run but I was not feeling up for it so I did a core session and a short 30min/5km run instead
Today - I managed to get to the pool for a swim
300 EZ and 100 pull w/u
3x100 drills (catch ups/fists/thigh touch/lowest stroke count)
1x400 moderate
2x300 tempo
3x200 tempo+
4x100 max effort
50 EZ c/d
I timed the 100s - all of them in on 1:27 - consistently poor about 10s off my usual 100 time. Not sure why probably due to the single swim per week rather than 2 per week which is what I was doing.
Then this afternoon I went and saw the orthopaedic surgeon about my knee...hmmmmm. Basically the outcome of my MRI is....they can do nothing about it...it looks like a small area of delamination of the cartilage on the back of the patella in the area of Hoffs fat pad - unfortunately to do an arthroscopy at the moment would be more damaging than leavening it alone and would probably increas the pain beyond where it is at present. Anyway below is a nice picture showing the delamination - it is the red arrow if you are not that good at reading MRIs ;-) :
It probably is the beginnings of patella femoral OA but I am just in denial :-) I will not succumb to age just yet!!
Anyway run or bike and core tomorrow before heading off to Barcelona on Wednesday.
Later
I.
I got an email today I have been accepted onto the affiliate program for Road ID which means I can put their banner onto my website. Why am I happy about this? Well I use RoadID both when training and in general life...
I have a red full size RoadID which I use when I am training because it is reflective and hopefully if I should ever need it it is pretty visible!
In my normal life I wear a RoadID slim:
Why? Well for one thing I have an allergy to penicillin and it is always good to have a tag saying that somewhere, but also I travel alone a lot - both short and long haul and should the worst happen I would like Lizze to know!
I must admit that when I looked at their web page I was a little sceptical about quality (as I had never seen one "in the flesh") and the customer service - I can safely say I now have NO issue with either.
Their quality is first rate, the materials, laser etching and finish is excellent, and their customer service is fantastic - they are fast to delver and communicate really well. I wish all products I had purchased "blind" on the Internet were as good!
So please, please, if you don't have ID which you carry when you train, go and have a look on their website, just click on the banner above - it may save your life!
Raving about RoadID apart, training is not going particularly well....
Saturday - Evie woke up early on Saturday and as it was dark and über-icy I went for the turbo - 1.5hrs and 50km of the Ireland 70.3 - 1.87W/kg happy with that.
Sunday - this was meant to be an escalating aerobic run but I was not feeling up for it so I did a core session and a short 30min/5km run instead
Today - I managed to get to the pool for a swim
300 EZ and 100 pull w/u
3x100 drills (catch ups/fists/thigh touch/lowest stroke count)
1x400 moderate
2x300 tempo
3x200 tempo+
4x100 max effort
50 EZ c/d
I timed the 100s - all of them in on 1:27 - consistently poor about 10s off my usual 100 time. Not sure why probably due to the single swim per week rather than 2 per week which is what I was doing.
Then this afternoon I went and saw the orthopaedic surgeon about my knee...hmmmmm. Basically the outcome of my MRI is....they can do nothing about it...it looks like a small area of delamination of the cartilage on the back of the patella in the area of Hoffs fat pad - unfortunately to do an arthroscopy at the moment would be more damaging than leavening it alone and would probably increas the pain beyond where it is at present. Anyway below is a nice picture showing the delamination - it is the red arrow if you are not that good at reading MRIs ;-) :
It probably is the beginnings of patella femoral OA but I am just in denial :-) I will not succumb to age just yet!!
Anyway run or bike and core tomorrow before heading off to Barcelona on Wednesday.
Later
I.
Wow another post this quickly?! Its a long one!
13 January 2012
So I find myself actually wanting to start writing again. Towards the middle of last year I lost enthusiasm as I had been keeping a training blog for the best part of three years, since I started triathlon, and writing came at the bottom of a long list of things to do. However I think it is important partly for me so I can brain dump without having to bore the family completely with tri stuff - they put up with enough of it already, but also for you, the reader. Why do I think this? Well, if you are reading this you are either a friend (I do have some!) who is interested in finding out what I spend my time doing, or you are a triathlete who is probably struggling with some of the same challenges I encounter - in which case I might either help or be of no use whatsoever - it is your view!!
So why am I rambling on about this? Up until now this blog has always been about training for an event, either Wimbleball in 09, IM Switzerland in '10 or three 70.3s in '11. This year, 2012, will be a little different - why I hear you ask? Well, I have no big goal. For the first time since I started this triathlon lark I am not going for a BIG race this year, I am just looking for consolidation and a relatively easy year. There are sevel reasons behind this, the main one is in the photo below:
Evie or Evelyn Charlotte Iona Sainsbury (to give her her full name) is our yougest of three, born last year in November. Since then she has not slept much - I think Lizze and I have managed a maximum of 4.5 hours in any one stretch since! Even when I go away on work I still wake up as I cannot hear her on the monitor!!
When Anja and Julia were born I was still very much involved with the Reserve Forces and missed a lot of time with them at this age, and with my new role I am away a lot (between now and my birtheday in March I am going to Paris (lots), Amsterdam, Barcelona, Montreal, Toronto, Israel, Chicago and maybe a few other places) so I am keen to spend time with the family - enjoying our new member. Therefore something has to give and this year it is triathlon.
In addition, I am seeing a orthopaedic surgeon on Monday for the results of an MRI on my knee to try and work out why it is painful (I reckon Posterior Cruciate Ligament damage) and at the beginning of Feb I am finally having my (worsening) squint sorted out (only 30 years after first diagnosis!). So lots of things going on!!
So where does training/racing fit in.....hmmmm...tricky!
At the moment I am doing a winter program - which is mostly long tempo or short interval work on the turbo, long(ish) hard swims and lots of running (aerobic tempo work). This seems to be improving my running/maintaining my bike and the swimming has fallen back as I struggle to get to the pool in the morning with trying to get the kids to school!
The solution I have found is 5.30-6am get up and train for the bike/run, however this us unfed and not ideal, but it works...I am still working on the swimming but on days where there is no time challenge in getting the kids to school (no tutoring or choir) I can sometimes get away...
Where this is failing though is on the fatigue (and waistline) front - having a little one is draining and trying to get longer run/bike in is hard. Also Christmas was fun but bad for the waist and I am back up above 92kg :-( something to work on over the next few months...
This was highlighted when I tried to do a field testing week this week....OMG....utterly failed at it! On Monday I managed to do the swim test:
300 w/u EZ
100 build 75-95%
1500m TT
400m TT
50m TT
all with 2mins rest between and a 50 EZ
100m CD
The 1500m TT I managed in 23:15 - although I had to stop for about 15s to check that one of the other swimmers was okay - she swam into my tumble turn...muppet....the 400m in 6:10 and the 50 in 38s. All respectable but not my best efforts!
On Tuesday I tried to do the Bike test on the turbo:
10m EZ spin @65%RPE
3x1min 110RPM spin up +1min rest in between
5min @65%RPE
5min TT ALL OUT (max effort)
10min @65%RPE
20min TT (hold a high pace)
It was all going well - good pacing, the 5min effort was mostly >300W - happy with that, right up until the computer that runs my Tacx I-magic froze - 10mins into the 20min TT....I was so hacked off....
On Wednesday I was out in Paris so I had a fab 30min steady run from the Arc d'Triomph, Eiffel Tower and Champs Elyssee (one benefit of travel - I do get to run in some nice places!) Unfortunately my Garmin refused to pick up the GPS satellites until part way through the run - the green line - the red line doewn Avenue Kleber to the Trocadero was the route I took...
I thought I would rerun the bike test on Thursday - completely failed on that one....my max W were down in the 260s and I died completely 10mins into the 20min TT..... the feedback from my fab coach Mike Redshaw (@Mike_Redshaw) from The TriLife was take a rest day today, Friday, and come back to it fresh next week - sounds like a plan...of course the only challenge is next week I am in Paris for one day, Barcelona for two and Amsterdam for one...oh well time to start juggling balls or spinning plates again I guess!!
That is it for now...rambled on too long...fingers crossed for Monday and the surgeon...
Later
I
So why am I rambling on about this? Up until now this blog has always been about training for an event, either Wimbleball in 09, IM Switzerland in '10 or three 70.3s in '11. This year, 2012, will be a little different - why I hear you ask? Well, I have no big goal. For the first time since I started this triathlon lark I am not going for a BIG race this year, I am just looking for consolidation and a relatively easy year. There are sevel reasons behind this, the main one is in the photo below:
Evie or Evelyn Charlotte Iona Sainsbury (to give her her full name) is our yougest of three, born last year in November. Since then she has not slept much - I think Lizze and I have managed a maximum of 4.5 hours in any one stretch since! Even when I go away on work I still wake up as I cannot hear her on the monitor!!
When Anja and Julia were born I was still very much involved with the Reserve Forces and missed a lot of time with them at this age, and with my new role I am away a lot (between now and my birtheday in March I am going to Paris (lots), Amsterdam, Barcelona, Montreal, Toronto, Israel, Chicago and maybe a few other places) so I am keen to spend time with the family - enjoying our new member. Therefore something has to give and this year it is triathlon.
In addition, I am seeing a orthopaedic surgeon on Monday for the results of an MRI on my knee to try and work out why it is painful (I reckon Posterior Cruciate Ligament damage) and at the beginning of Feb I am finally having my (worsening) squint sorted out (only 30 years after first diagnosis!). So lots of things going on!!
So where does training/racing fit in.....hmmmm...tricky!
At the moment I am doing a winter program - which is mostly long tempo or short interval work on the turbo, long(ish) hard swims and lots of running (aerobic tempo work). This seems to be improving my running/maintaining my bike and the swimming has fallen back as I struggle to get to the pool in the morning with trying to get the kids to school!
The solution I have found is 5.30-6am get up and train for the bike/run, however this us unfed and not ideal, but it works...I am still working on the swimming but on days where there is no time challenge in getting the kids to school (no tutoring or choir) I can sometimes get away...
Where this is failing though is on the fatigue (and waistline) front - having a little one is draining and trying to get longer run/bike in is hard. Also Christmas was fun but bad for the waist and I am back up above 92kg :-( something to work on over the next few months...
This was highlighted when I tried to do a field testing week this week....OMG....utterly failed at it! On Monday I managed to do the swim test:
300 w/u EZ
100 build 75-95%
1500m TT
400m TT
50m TT
all with 2mins rest between and a 50 EZ
100m CD
The 1500m TT I managed in 23:15 - although I had to stop for about 15s to check that one of the other swimmers was okay - she swam into my tumble turn...muppet....the 400m in 6:10 and the 50 in 38s. All respectable but not my best efforts!
On Tuesday I tried to do the Bike test on the turbo:
10m EZ spin @65%RPE
3x1min 110RPM spin up +1min rest in between
5min @65%RPE
5min TT ALL OUT (max effort)
10min @65%RPE
20min TT (hold a high pace)
It was all going well - good pacing, the 5min effort was mostly >300W - happy with that, right up until the computer that runs my Tacx I-magic froze - 10mins into the 20min TT....I was so hacked off....
On Wednesday I was out in Paris so I had a fab 30min steady run from the Arc d'Triomph, Eiffel Tower and Champs Elyssee (one benefit of travel - I do get to run in some nice places!) Unfortunately my Garmin refused to pick up the GPS satellites until part way through the run - the green line - the red line doewn Avenue Kleber to the Trocadero was the route I took...
I thought I would rerun the bike test on Thursday - completely failed on that one....my max W were down in the 260s and I died completely 10mins into the 20min TT..... the feedback from my fab coach Mike Redshaw (@Mike_Redshaw) from The TriLife was take a rest day today, Friday, and come back to it fresh next week - sounds like a plan...of course the only challenge is next week I am in Paris for one day, Barcelona for two and Amsterdam for one...oh well time to start juggling balls or spinning plates again I guess!!
That is it for now...rambled on too long...fingers crossed for Monday and the surgeon...
Later
I
First update in ages!
7 January 2012
It has been nearly three months since I have even looked at the blog - partly due to the reason below, partly due to work commitments (I travelled 47000 air miles in two months at the end of last year) but mostly due to the software I write with not working! The following entry never got posted but summarises a day after the week before in November last year :-)
"Well it has been a fairly long amount of time since I updated this blog - there is a reason :-)
Last Saturday night at 8:45 I became a father again for the third time. Evelyn Charlotte Iona Sainsbury was born naturally with no problems, both she and Lizzie are doing really well - all very happy and came home the next day. Now obviously this will (and has) had a profound impact on my Training and aspirations for 2012. At the beginning of 2011 I was planning to go long again, probably at Roth or Austria, that has all now gone to the left and my intentions for 2012 are to build a bit of speed and go short - ie Olympic distance - although depending on how life plays out I might put in an end of season middle distance.
As for training well for the past couple of weeks swimming has gone out of the window, firstly because of the distance to travel and secondly as Lizzie is out of action feeding a lot I am doing drop off for the kids. So, I am doing a lot of running (short loops round the village) and turbo work - trying to find time/flexibility to get out on the road is proving challenging....
The final thing that has put a spanner in the works is a knee injury I picked up in August. "
So has anything changed since I wrote this?
Not really....swimming has been non existent since Evie arrived as I have been helping get the other girls ready for school in the morning but running and riding (or turbo'ing as it seems to be) are going okay :-) overall though my training is holding my fitness in check - at least I am not getting slower!! I did 400m in the pool on Wednesday ((as 100s @ EZ/IM/70.3/sprint pace) as part of a longer program) in 5:38 so the rest has helped a bit. My running is improving with my slow pace now being sub 5:45/km (at peak IM training i was doing 6:45/km!!) and I reckon at race pace I would do around 26-27:30 for a 5km now - faster than I have been since I started this tri lark! Unfortunately, though, my bike has suffered - mainly on endurance (as I have not had the time for volume) but also on road time - as I can do almost no road riding - the only chance I get to ride is early in the morning and it is pitch black then - so the turbo is being used lots!! The weight is up too...I have put on 3kg since end of season - I am hoping that changing to in season training will sort that in March.....hmmmm....
My plans for next year are firming up a bit - Windsor olympic in still on and I have entered the IM 70.3 race in Ireland again (great course - hard sea swim, rolling bike course and flat run - it really suits me) but as yet nothing else is confirmed...
Now that the software I use (Blogpress on the iPad) is working again - they finally fixed the bug that caused it to crash with iOS5 - I will try and keep this a bit more up to date!
Away, later....
I.
"Well it has been a fairly long amount of time since I updated this blog - there is a reason :-)
Last Saturday night at 8:45 I became a father again for the third time. Evelyn Charlotte Iona Sainsbury was born naturally with no problems, both she and Lizzie are doing really well - all very happy and came home the next day. Now obviously this will (and has) had a profound impact on my Training and aspirations for 2012. At the beginning of 2011 I was planning to go long again, probably at Roth or Austria, that has all now gone to the left and my intentions for 2012 are to build a bit of speed and go short - ie Olympic distance - although depending on how life plays out I might put in an end of season middle distance.
As for training well for the past couple of weeks swimming has gone out of the window, firstly because of the distance to travel and secondly as Lizzie is out of action feeding a lot I am doing drop off for the kids. So, I am doing a lot of running (short loops round the village) and turbo work - trying to find time/flexibility to get out on the road is proving challenging....
The final thing that has put a spanner in the works is a knee injury I picked up in August. "
So has anything changed since I wrote this?
Not really....swimming has been non existent since Evie arrived as I have been helping get the other girls ready for school in the morning but running and riding (or turbo'ing as it seems to be) are going okay :-) overall though my training is holding my fitness in check - at least I am not getting slower!! I did 400m in the pool on Wednesday ((as 100s @ EZ/IM/70.3/sprint pace) as part of a longer program) in 5:38 so the rest has helped a bit. My running is improving with my slow pace now being sub 5:45/km (at peak IM training i was doing 6:45/km!!) and I reckon at race pace I would do around 26-27:30 for a 5km now - faster than I have been since I started this tri lark! Unfortunately, though, my bike has suffered - mainly on endurance (as I have not had the time for volume) but also on road time - as I can do almost no road riding - the only chance I get to ride is early in the morning and it is pitch black then - so the turbo is being used lots!! The weight is up too...I have put on 3kg since end of season - I am hoping that changing to in season training will sort that in March.....hmmmm....
My plans for next year are firming up a bit - Windsor olympic in still on and I have entered the IM 70.3 race in Ireland again (great course - hard sea swim, rolling bike course and flat run - it really suits me) but as yet nothing else is confirmed...
Now that the software I use (Blogpress on the iPad) is working again - they finally fixed the bug that caused it to crash with iOS5 - I will try and keep this a bit more up to date!
Away, later....
I.
Into the off season.....
5 October 2011
So here I am four weeks into a new job, two weeks into the off season...how is it going so far??
Well firstly I have found with nothing on the horizon to train for I am really struggling to fill in my online training diary - @trainingpeaks which I am sure will cause my coach (Mike) endless hassle - that is unless I develop some motivation in the next couple of days!!
Secondly, I have rediscovered the love of just getting on the bike and getting out there - trying out new routes rather than the same old routes - which is something I don't do when I am building. The reason I don't try new stuff during the build is I find that I need to measure my effort and assess it - something which is very difficult to do if you change the one fixed element - the geography! The Aerotic is under wraps until the new year (and no I have not yet cleaned it from Galway) chained to the turbo ready for some abuse during the cold/long winter nights/mornings....so instead I am out on the Protosonic. What an amazing bike it is - fast, agile and light....sooooo light compared to the TT rig. Just need to sort out the winter tyres and skinny mudguards!
In addition to the cycling I have started a lot more running - leaving the HR monitor at home and running on feel (only cadence/time) showing on the Garmin 310. It gives a great sense of freedom - also for some reason I run faster too...I am consistently aiming for RPE of around 11-13 and I am hitting a 5:45/km average - not bad considering that at my peak running in this last year (before i injured myself) I was aiming for that!
Swimming continues...I need to work out if swimming will be a big focus next year (as I am not going long) - the dates/venues for the Great Swim series should be announced soon - I am serious thinking of aiming for top 10 in AG in the series....I managed 4th in AG at the Great East swim and 38th overall so I may be in with a shout...watch this space!
Anyway I will post some pretty graphs later when I get round to it (and fill in TP).
Later
I.
Well firstly I have found with nothing on the horizon to train for I am really struggling to fill in my online training diary - @trainingpeaks which I am sure will cause my coach (Mike) endless hassle - that is unless I develop some motivation in the next couple of days!!
Secondly, I have rediscovered the love of just getting on the bike and getting out there - trying out new routes rather than the same old routes - which is something I don't do when I am building. The reason I don't try new stuff during the build is I find that I need to measure my effort and assess it - something which is very difficult to do if you change the one fixed element - the geography! The Aerotic is under wraps until the new year (and no I have not yet cleaned it from Galway
In addition to the cycling I have started a lot more running - leaving the HR monitor at home and running on feel (only cadence/time) showing on the Garmin 310. It gives a great sense of freedom - also for some reason I run faster too...I am consistently aiming for RPE of around 11-13 and I am hitting a 5:45/km average - not bad considering that at my peak running in this last year (before i injured myself) I was aiming for that!
Swimming continues...I need to work out if swimming will be a big focus next year (as I am not going long) - the dates/venues for the Great Swim series should be announced soon - I am serious thinking of aiming for top 10 in AG in the series....I managed 4th in AG at the Great East swim and 38th overall so I may be in with a shout...watch this space!
Anyway I will post some pretty graphs later when I get round to it (and fill in TP).
Later
I.
Wow how quickly a year has gone by...
22 September 2011
Just totted up the 2010/2011 totals for training...
Swim: 152.8km (54.12hrs)
Bike: 3186.02km (148.04hrs)
Run: 751.5km (83.58hrs)
Other stuff (gym/uncatagorised training/racing):215km (27.17hrs)
Which means in total I have swum, cycled and run 4305km in 312.91hrs (or just over 13 days...)
The graphics below show the whole truth..... :-O
It has been a good year 3 70.3, all had their challenges, now what will next year bring...something much calmer and shorter based on work/family requirements but something interesting I am sure!
Watch this space......
Later
Iain.
Swim: 152.8km (54.12hrs)
Bike: 3186.02km (148.04hrs)
Run: 751.5km (83.58hrs)
Other stuff (gym/uncatagorised training/racing):215km (27.17hrs)
Which means in total I have swum, cycled and run 4305km in 312.91hrs (or just over 13 days...)
The graphics below show the whole truth..... :-O
It has been a good year 3 70.3, all had their challenges, now what will next year bring...something much calmer and shorter based on work/family requirements but something interesting I am sure!
Watch this space......
Later
Iain.
Pictures from Galway 70.3
16 September 2011
OK so first off the people of Galway - WOW - really supportive - this is the welcom banner from Moycullen. This was the friendliest place on the bike route - loads of crowds, noise and cheering (BTW the bike is over 6ft high!)
So onto the race - this is the pro swim start - wow they hit the water fast - just google the race and youtube and there are several videos of them going into the water. Awesome efforts from all of them..I am a pretty good swimmer in lakes, etc doing around 24 mins for a mile, but the sea defeated me and I came out around 20mins (for a 1km distance) - the lead guy did it in 13mins!
So how did I look coming out of the swim...hmmm cold, wet and not looking forward to the 850m transition!BTW that is me on the left - not the fit looking chap on the right!
Out of T1 looking a little stressed - the run was a long one and the arm warmers were a bu**er to put on over damp arms! (note to self wear a long sleeve jersey next time)
Anyway onto the bike - great fun hammering along - just wish I held the gut in when going past the camera men - they always get me breathing in - most furstrating (well that is my argument!)
The last shot really shows how much it was raining - truly horrible!! So off the run (after crashing) and onto the run - I look in pain because I was - my hip and elbow hurt....a lot! It is now two weeks since the crash and there is one line that is excruciating to lean on on my elbow and a lump on the bone - I reckon I probably put a small hairline crack in it during the fall....anyway - some good pictures from the run again like the bike showing off the fab BCTTT club kit :-)
Great running style in those last two....Again in these pictures you can really see how horrible the weather was - it only improved in the last 30mins or so - so in the inish line pictures it looks lovely! And finally the finish line - colours are a bit washed out due to the very green carpet and the bright sunshine! Yet again they miss me going across the line and punching the air instead I look like I am waving...grrrr...oh and the one showing the medal is a bit rubbish....
So finally what did the data look like - for all the Training Peaks Gurus out there here it is for both the bike and run...and yes I did hit over 100kph (60mph) on one of the hills - on the aerobars....scary!! oh and youi can see me die at the end of the run as my cadence drops and the walk/run starts! So here they are, the bike:
and the run:
A lot of photos I know - I hope you enjoy seeing them and they give you a sense of the race. It was a hard, but great day. I was very glad to compete and unlike UK 70.3 I think I will be back for this one in the future!
IRONMAN 70.3 Galway, Ireland Race Report
8 September 2011
Note - Photos to follow - I had no time to integrate them...
Ironman 70.3Galway , Ireland
Where to start
Well I wanted this season to be a little different – in 2009 I did my first 70.3 and in 2010 I did IRONMAN Switzerland, so I decided to do three 70.3 races during the season – The Marshman, IRONMAN 70.3 UK and IRONMAN 70.3 Ireland. The toughest of the year was always going to be theUK Ireland Galway ), etc. When the route was announced as being fast and flat it looked promising, then they changed the route taking out one late hill and putting in another early on in the bike – it looked even better – only 400m climbing on the bike and the run was stated as being flat (no map at that point) – Game On!!
The pre race training went really well, after my various illnesses and injuries following theUK Ireland
Lizzie, the kids and I toured around the Emerald Isle for a week before the race taking in: Slane Castle, the Barony of Slane (on of Lizzie’s Ancestral piles), The Battle of the Boyne, Trim Castle (worth going to), Blarney Castle (not worth going to), Connemara, the only fjord in Ireland and other places to numerous to mention. We also caught up with Fiona, Frank and Grainne at al (one of Anja’s classmates (who recently moved with her family back toCork
On Friday I went for a quick ride down to the Salthill area to check the bike over. My first impression was wow the local community had really got the IRONMAN bug – there were banners and signs everywhere welcoming the Ironmen (and women!). the second thing I noticed was my rear gears were all over the place – a trip to the Bike Doctor before the race would be needed. Later in the day I registered and drove the bike route. It is an out-and-back flatish course with very little technical elements – the biggest challenge was the road surface, in bit brilliant in others awful. After that we went to the Pasta Party – I am not sure I would do this again unless I was on my own – it is a bit odd for families….
On Saturday we decided that I would rack my bike, sort out my transition bags and then we would head out for lunch north ofGalway before the race briefing. This turned into the usual BCTTTesque cluster (“in joke” in the club) – I turned up to the bike doctor to have him look at my bike before racking and was immediately struck by the fact there was only one mechanic…for 2400 competitors..hmmmm…he was Russian (I think) and didn’t speak very good English but was amazing with bikes…he carefully played with the front gears resetting the perfectly and then dismantled the rear derailleur, at this point he mutter something about fishing wire and tried to explain I needed new cables…not good…he asked me to leave my bike with him and come back at 3pm…also not good – transition closed at 3.30pm and the queue to have bikes looked at was getting longer. Against my better judgement I left my bike with him and headed back to the hotel – you could not rack the bags until after the bike. We headed out towards Cong (north of Galway ) realised it was an error (there is nothing, and I mean nothing out there) and headed back. We lunched in Lohans on the seafront at Salthill – quite nice and I went to collect my bike. Except the mechanic had done nothing with it, shrugged his shoulders and kept dealing with the minor issues other people were having. The time ticked on and 3pm came and went, by 3.20 I was getting concerned as the queue to enter transition had gone and the referees were looking like they were going to close the gates. Eventually I gave up checked the bike was roadworthy and took it into transition. I racked my bike in the middle of the longest racking I have ever seen (transition is 850m long – and you run it twice!) and hooked my bags up (well the blue one, my red bag just got dumped in a big pile). After racking we went home, put the girls to bed and I ate my new pre-race food of bean and bacon risotto – yummy!
The Race
Well. I woke up on race morning around 4.45 and looked out the window – not good, strong winds. The weather forecast has been mixed and undecided for the week and so it was very much a “see how it is on the day” race. Regardless I had put the 60mm SRAM S60 spoked front wheel on the bike rather than the HED trispoke – good choice.
After waking up and getting dressed we headed down to the race start – note no breakfast, this is my new nutrition ploy, and it seems to work – no food until needed. Getting to Salthill was challenging due to all the road closures for the race, eventually Lizzie dropped me off and left to find some parking with the girls. I headed in, said hello to my very wet (despite the IM plastic cover) bike, pumped up the tyres, re oiled the chain, filled the speedfil and set the Garmin. After that there was little to do apart from let the nerves build and head to the swim start.
The swim start was onLadies Beach UK Atlantic I think…. I eventually swam in jumped up and ran up the beach access slope after 00:20:05 in 180th place. It was a really hard swim – one of the hardest I have ever done and more physically challenging than the full 3.8km at IMCH.
Once off the beach I started the looooong transition – about a 350m barefoot run to transition (no carpet…) then grab the blue bag – put on every item of clothing I had (including fighting with arm warmers!) – then run to the bike, then run another 500m to the mount line. I am not joking transition was nearly 1km long!
Once on the bike I started to really enjoy things – everything just worked. I saw Lizzie and the girls on the way out of Salthill, gave them a smile and a wave and put the foot down. Now normally every race I come out of the swim and spend the next few hours going backwards – not today!! I was on fire, everything just purred – even the hills were easy on the way out. I finished the first 10km without really getting the HR about 150, and I was overtaking people! Once over the hill at Barna the route opens up into a long out and back to Maam Cross, this is where the benefit of an aero bike really comes in. Head down I pushed the gear to 54-12 for most of the out leg, averaging around 40-45kph – it felt amazing, I should have realised this was wind assisted!! All through the countryside there were groups of supporters cheering us all on – they were amazing – especially the people of Moycullen – big banners, vuvuzelas, the whole works – fab! The nutrition plan for the race was based on the bike. Before the swim I had one ZipVit gel and then nothing until 30mins into the bike. All the time on the bike I had nuun (water+rehydration tablet) and from 30mins, every 30mins I had one ZV gel mixed with 50ml of water mixed in a bottle – it worked fabulously.
The weather started to worsen from just rain to truly soul destroying hammering horizontal rain at about 30km where I saw the first ambulance and casualty . When the pros came past (on their way back) around 40km they were looking fast, and the hail started (I was wondering what the pinging sound on my helmet was – then my arms hurt), I was so glad I had taken the time to put on all my clothing – it helped. The turn at Maam Cross left a lot to be desired though. It was signed from about 200m and it was just a couple of blokes and a van in the middle of the narrowest bit of road I have seen in ages with a cone in front of it. We all had to try and do a 180 round this (I only just managed it) and then push for home. At this point things took a turn for the worse, the tailwind I had became a head wind and even in 54-12 with a cadence of around 80-85 I was only managing 28-30kph – really tough going. The rain continued and the road side support kept my spirits up and I carried on passing people. Eventually after lots of water, ambulances and passing people I made it intoGalway . About 3km from the end the route did a dogleg through the University to avoid closing all of the N6 and this is where my day changed completely.
I guess I just lost concentration but turning left off the uni campus back onto the main road I stacked it. I probably went into the corner too fast (there was no marshal there) and as I went round I lost the back wheel that locked and I went down hard. I hit the ground with my shoulder, elbow and hip and the bike impacted on the handlebars, pedal and bottle holder on the back, somehow I also manged to sand down the top of my helmet! I saw it all in slow motion and as I write this I can see it again. Once I had stopped sliding (at the other side of the road – about 20ft) I got up and was amazed that I had not broken anything. The young marshal who should have been at the corner ran over and checked if I was okay, he asked if I wanted to stop – at which point I might have been a little rude and got on my bike and carried on.
The bike didn’t sound happy as I finished the last 3km, the handlebars were sanded down, the bar tape gone, the brakes rubbing all not good – I had blood running down my arm from the cuts and from under one of my fingernails where I pulled it off, my hip was on fire with pain and I just made it into transition – loads of people cheering. I had finished the bike leg in 2:50:11 in 371st place – a pb (I pb’d the first 40km by 10mins) and great fun – right up to the crash!
As I made my way into transition the bike didn’t want to behave, the wind caught it lots which made pushing it 400m down to my racking slot hard. I racked it and ran/hobbled down to the red bag tent (450m away…). Once there I asked for med help but there was none there, they suggested asking at the aid station. I changed painfully into my run kit grabbed a couple of ibuprofen and ran off to join the run route.
The first 5km of the run was absolute purgatory, I took the ibuprofen at 1km (the first aid station) after finding out they had no med aid either, these kicked in around 30min. the run route was basically a big out and back with some loops thrown in, all on the edge of the coast so the wind played a big role. Up to 5km I felt dreadful but then my legs gradually came back, and I was running well for about 10km. The pace varied from 6:15/km to 7:30/km into the wind – it was hard going. At around 13km I saw Lizzie and the kids and that gave me a huge boost – I saw them again at 14km they were shocked I was on my last lap!
I then started the last lap and that is where the wheels came off the run – I just ran out of energy. The nutrition strategy for the run was water/coke and it seemed to work, I had no GI problems but I just ran out of energy…when I turned the corner at the Spanish Arch to head for home I was reduced to a walk – I walk/ran to the aid station about a km away and took my time to get a gel on board and some fluids. After about 5mins I was running again and I kicked my heels for home – as I came up to the 1.9km turn to the finish line I welt amazing – I was running fast (well 6:15 at this point was fast!) and overtaking people again. I came up the green carpet into the finish cute where there must have been one to two thousand spectators, as I ran down the cute loads of kid put their hands out for “high fives” – who was I to say no so I ran down the cute high fiving everyone. I probably should have gone just a little faster though as my finish time was 6:01:23, my run had take 2:30:30, the last lap around an hour and I came in 1303th for that section. As I came over the line Lizzie and the kids were there – it was a great day.
Final thoughts
Well, it was a tough day at the office - a really challenging race, but finally a race on a course that suited me and with nutrition that worked. All in all, a fantastic experience. Would I do it again? Yes. I think there are areas for improvement but the weather is a little out of their control – if it was easy it wouldn’t be IRONMAN 70.3!
Ironman 70.3
Where to start
Well I wanted this season to be a little different – in 2009 I did my first 70.3 and in 2010 I did IRONMAN Switzerland, so I decided to do three 70.3 races during the season – The Marshman, IRONMAN 70.3 UK and IRONMAN 70.3 Ireland. The toughest of the year was always going to be the
Well everything looked fantastic until we got out to Ireland
The pre race training went really well, after my various illnesses and injuries following the
Lizzie, the kids and I toured around the Emerald Isle for a week before the race taking in: Slane Castle, the Barony of Slane (on of Lizzie’s Ancestral piles), The Battle of the Boyne, Trim Castle (worth going to), Blarney Castle (not worth going to), Connemara, the only fjord in Ireland and other places to numerous to mention. We also caught up with Fiona, Frank and Grainne at al (one of Anja’s classmates (who recently moved with her family back to
We finally rocked up into Galway on Thursday afternoon. We had decided (based on Zurich
On Friday I went for a quick ride down to the Salthill area to check the bike over. My first impression was wow the local community had really got the IRONMAN bug – there were banners and signs everywhere welcoming the Ironmen (and women!). the second thing I noticed was my rear gears were all over the place – a trip to the Bike Doctor before the race would be needed. Later in the day I registered and drove the bike route. It is an out-and-back flatish course with very little technical elements – the biggest challenge was the road surface, in bit brilliant in others awful. After that we went to the Pasta Party – I am not sure I would do this again unless I was on my own – it is a bit odd for families….
On Saturday we decided that I would rack my bike, sort out my transition bags and then we would head out for lunch north of
The Race
Well. I woke up on race morning around 4.45 and looked out the window – not good, strong winds. The weather forecast has been mixed and undecided for the week and so it was very much a “see how it is on the day” race. Regardless I had put the 60mm SRAM S60 spoked front wheel on the bike rather than the HED trispoke – good choice.
After waking up and getting dressed we headed down to the race start – note no breakfast, this is my new nutrition ploy, and it seems to work – no food until needed. Getting to Salthill was challenging due to all the road closures for the race, eventually Lizzie dropped me off and left to find some parking with the girls. I headed in, said hello to my very wet (despite the IM plastic cover) bike, pumped up the tyres, re oiled the chain, filled the speedfil and set the Garmin. After that there was little to do apart from let the nerves build and head to the swim start.
The swim start was on
Once off the beach I started the looooong transition – about a 350m barefoot run to transition (no carpet…) then grab the blue bag – put on every item of clothing I had (including fighting with arm warmers!) – then run to the bike, then run another 500m to the mount line. I am not joking transition was nearly 1km long!
Once on the bike I started to really enjoy things – everything just worked. I saw Lizzie and the girls on the way out of Salthill, gave them a smile and a wave and put the foot down. Now normally every race I come out of the swim and spend the next few hours going backwards – not today!! I was on fire, everything just purred – even the hills were easy on the way out. I finished the first 10km without really getting the HR about 150, and I was overtaking people! Once over the hill at Barna the route opens up into a long out and back to Maam Cross, this is where the benefit of an aero bike really comes in. Head down I pushed the gear to 54-12 for most of the out leg, averaging around 40-45kph – it felt amazing, I should have realised this was wind assisted!! All through the countryside there were groups of supporters cheering us all on – they were amazing – especially the people of Moycullen – big banners, vuvuzelas, the whole works – fab! The nutrition plan for the race was based on the bike. Before the swim I had one ZipVit gel and then nothing until 30mins into the bike. All the time on the bike I had nuun (water+rehydration tablet) and from 30mins, every 30mins I had one ZV gel mixed with 50ml of water mixed in a bottle – it worked fabulously.
The weather started to worsen from just rain to truly soul destroying hammering horizontal rain at about 30km where I saw the first ambulance and casualty . When the pros came past (on their way back) around 40km they were looking fast, and the hail started (I was wondering what the pinging sound on my helmet was – then my arms hurt), I was so glad I had taken the time to put on all my clothing – it helped. The turn at Maam Cross left a lot to be desired though. It was signed from about 200m and it was just a couple of blokes and a van in the middle of the narrowest bit of road I have seen in ages with a cone in front of it. We all had to try and do a 180 round this (I only just managed it) and then push for home. At this point things took a turn for the worse, the tailwind I had became a head wind and even in 54-12 with a cadence of around 80-85 I was only managing 28-30kph – really tough going. The rain continued and the road side support kept my spirits up and I carried on passing people. Eventually after lots of water, ambulances and passing people I made it into
I guess I just lost concentration but turning left off the uni campus back onto the main road I stacked it. I probably went into the corner too fast (there was no marshal there) and as I went round I lost the back wheel that locked and I went down hard. I hit the ground with my shoulder, elbow and hip and the bike impacted on the handlebars, pedal and bottle holder on the back, somehow I also manged to sand down the top of my helmet! I saw it all in slow motion and as I write this I can see it again. Once I had stopped sliding (at the other side of the road – about 20ft) I got up and was amazed that I had not broken anything. The young marshal who should have been at the corner ran over and checked if I was okay, he asked if I wanted to stop – at which point I might have been a little rude and got on my bike and carried on.
The bike didn’t sound happy as I finished the last 3km, the handlebars were sanded down, the bar tape gone, the brakes rubbing all not good – I had blood running down my arm from the cuts and from under one of my fingernails where I pulled it off, my hip was on fire with pain and I just made it into transition – loads of people cheering. I had finished the bike leg in 2:50:11 in 371st place – a pb (I pb’d the first 40km by 10mins) and great fun – right up to the crash!
As I made my way into transition the bike didn’t want to behave, the wind caught it lots which made pushing it 400m down to my racking slot hard. I racked it and ran/hobbled down to the red bag tent (450m away…). Once there I asked for med help but there was none there, they suggested asking at the aid station. I changed painfully into my run kit grabbed a couple of ibuprofen and ran off to join the run route.
The first 5km of the run was absolute purgatory, I took the ibuprofen at 1km (the first aid station) after finding out they had no med aid either, these kicked in around 30min. the run route was basically a big out and back with some loops thrown in, all on the edge of the coast so the wind played a big role. Up to 5km I felt dreadful but then my legs gradually came back, and I was running well for about 10km. The pace varied from 6:15/km to 7:30/km into the wind – it was hard going. At around 13km I saw Lizzie and the kids and that gave me a huge boost – I saw them again at 14km they were shocked I was on my last lap!
I then started the last lap and that is where the wheels came off the run – I just ran out of energy. The nutrition strategy for the run was water/coke and it seemed to work, I had no GI problems but I just ran out of energy…when I turned the corner at the Spanish Arch to head for home I was reduced to a walk – I walk/ran to the aid station about a km away and took my time to get a gel on board and some fluids. After about 5mins I was running again and I kicked my heels for home – as I came up to the 1.9km turn to the finish line I welt amazing – I was running fast (well 6:15 at this point was fast!) and overtaking people again. I came up the green carpet into the finish cute where there must have been one to two thousand spectators, as I ran down the cute loads of kid put their hands out for “high fives” – who was I to say no so I ran down the cute high fiving everyone. I probably should have gone just a little faster though as my finish time was 6:01:23, my run had take 2:30:30, the last lap around an hour and I came in 1303th for that section. As I came over the line Lizzie and the kids were there – it was a great day.
Final thoughts
Well, it was a tough day at the office - a really challenging race, but finally a race on a course that suited me and with nutrition that worked. All in all, a fantastic experience. Would I do it again? Yes. I think there are areas for improvement but the weather is a little out of their control – if it was easy it wouldn’t be IRONMAN 70.3!
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