Some time to relax

I have been in northern California now for 5 days. I flew out to San Francisco on the Tuesday from Heathrow and up to Thursday hadn't done much other than work; absolutely intentional. It's always good to get some time off after a period of build|peak|race.

I hired a road bike locally on the Thursday. It turned out to be an Saxo Bank Specialized Tarmac S-Works SL2 ex-team bike that belonged to Jurgen Van Goolen. BLING! I rode it to work and back on Friday; my second ever bike commute (first was many many years ago)!

After dumping my bag back at the hotel on Friday I explored the local area by bike. 
Saturday was the big tourist day and I went in to San Fran by the BART - Bay Area Rapid Transit. Even though the sun was shining I'd chosen to not wear shorts, and when I got to the coast it paid off as it was a little chillier. I walked from the Embarcadero, past the San Fran Ferry Terminal (below) and I had some lunch at the famous Bubba Gumps on Pier 39, then took an open bus tour around the city. 

By the time we got to the Golden Gate bridge I was freezing. Note: I am no longer known for my photographic skills. The towers of the bridge were enveloped in fog.

The bus rolled back in to town, and I jumped off at Pier 33 and wandered through Union Square. As I was still cold I got back on the BART to go home. Once I was back in the car I drove to the ASICS outlet in Livermore where i picked up some Tri Noosa trainers for racing in. I also got a couple of shirts. Dinner was a large Pizza Hut meat feast (or local equivalent). This would last me until Sunday's dinner too. Don't fret my suite has a kitchen with fridge.

Sunday I braved the waffle machine at breakfast, then drove to Pleasanton (nice place!) to meet with the Tri-Valley Triathletes crew for a swim session. They're all tapering for the WildFlower next weekend so the swim session was a chilled one. More so for me as it was in an outside pool, crystal clear water, hot hot sun and the smell of sun cream all around. Fantastic!

Back to the hotel for a quick lunch, then bike in the car and off to Livermore to meet the Tri-Valley team again for a bike ride. I'd planned a fairly long bike ride but the temps were hot so we did a shorter route through the local vineyards of the area. Pretty cool.

ETU European sprint duathlon champs race report.....long overdue

I've finally had a chance to sit down and write my race report!

I spent most of the morning before the race stewing in the hotel. I'd have liked to go in to town earlier but I had a transfer package booked with Nirvana, so waited with a few others for the transport. I took great delight in seeing that Sufferfest had changed their Facebook banner to my picture below.

We were dropped off, and made our way through the town to transition, where we showed our numbers and were allowed in. Bike were racked using the upright gaps in crowd fencing. To keep the bikes upright we had to push them quite far in, which made it difficult to get the bike in/out with shoes attached. We were also each given a transition box, similar to the WTS. Plenty of faffage ensued. Had a gel 30 minutes before the start, then joined up for the team photo.

A good run warmup was had. Taking in some of the run route and seeing the elites and juniors do their thing. Plenty of pickups and strides. After dumping my last bits of kit I wandered to the start and found a quiet back street to do some heel flicks, high knees and more pickups. Soon I was surrounded by other athletes doing the same.

We got to the start line, but the race was delayed as the female junior race had over-run. Not just over-run but run-past; the marshalls hadn't clocked 2 Russian Federation athletes miss the finish chute! Once they were correctly herded, the start horn went off. I'm not sure anyone was expecting it!

The run course was 2 laps of a twisty-turny 2.5km course. The starting gate was some 3m wide, and it was cross-country rules. So many people in such a small space. 

As the athletes spread out we took up the width of the road and pavement. It was like a parcour run. We streamed around bollards and jumped over kerbstones. As the run went on the field began to thin out. First km was 3:30. There was a part of the course where the run went through a grassy area with path. I stuck to the path but saw that a few were running a straight line on the grass.

Throughout the run I kept the pace strong and stuck with those around me. The first run in a duathlon is tricky - too slack a pace and you lose a lot of places. To fast a pace and there is nothing left for later. Run #1 for 18:26.

T1 went very smoothly initially, straight to bike, helmet on, grab bike and go. I got to the end of the bike rack and realised I still had my trainers on. Shit! Leant the bike on the fence and ran back to dump my shoes. I was expecting about 45s for T1, but this schoolboy error cost me 1:31 in total, and 16 places.

Out of T1 and I jumped on the bike, slipping my right foot straight in to my shoe. After a few turns of the cranks I tightened up the strap, span a bit more then got my left foot in to the shoe. Strap tightened again after a few more turns of the cranks. After this phot was taken I turned my race belt round.

Normally at this point it would be down on the aerobars for the next 20km, but Horst had a town centre course. Like the run it was 2 laps, though each was 10km this time. Each lap wound through the town until we passed under the motorway. Then we could nail the bike until the 180 degree turn point, then back in to town. On the return we wandered around Horst again before finally making it back to the centre to start the second lap.

With so many people on the course there was inevitably some drafting going on. The draft police were out in full force, and I saw some people being put in to the penalty box for drafting. Once out on the open road for the first time the field did thin. From this point onwards it was a war of attrition and technique. Pulling close to the bike infront but not infringing the 8m box, then pushing on past for the overtake, before dropping in front of the bike, causing them to drop back out of the box. All whilst not infringing the draft box of the bike in front. At one point I did a triple overtake. Because of all of this, the ride was not a like a true TT and the power was a lot less that I thought I'd do. Average Power was 244 W, and Normalised was 247 W. This gave a VI of 1.01. Cadence was a lot lower than normal at 92 RPM.

I'll happily admit that I am not the best technical rider. I'm fast in a straight line, but corners can be tricky. At one point I was sparring with an Irish guy. He'd overtake every corner and then I'd hammer the exit and overtake again. After many corners I managed to get far enough in front for it not to be a problem any more. One final turn in to town and I removed my feet from my shoes and rolled in to T2. Bike carefully shoved in to the correct fence gap and helmet carefully thrown in to my transition box. Bike 35:20. I'd managed to pick up 9 places.

T2 was happier and I exited after a speedy 48s.

The second and final run hurt.

The pace started off shockingly low, every step a jelly-legged effort, but I pushed on. Out on the run, no longer the parcour course of before but a lonely trudge. I lost a few places initially, but as the legs began to warm up the pace began to increase. This allowed me to edge closer and closer to the pack in front. At the same time I could hear footsteps behind. As we came around the corner past transition I pushed the pace and dropped the GBR athlete behind. The final corner was where the GBR team manager was based, with a large bunch of GBR flags. I fumbled the pickup so continued. I moved on to the finish chute and fumbled another flag pick up, Finally I shouted out FLAG!!! and grabbed a GB flag from a random spectator (Thanks!).

There was another GBR in front, but he seemed out of reach. One last big push and I'd take him. 

All that was left was to cross the line (and stop my Garmin).

Run #2 worked out at 2.8km, as the sprint transition was moved to create more room. The last run took 10:49 and I finished 13th in M35-39 age-group.

So sitting back afterwards, what are my thoughs on the AG system?

I really enjoyed myself. Yes, the cost can take away some of the enjoyment and quite a few in the hotel were eating their home-brought food instead of paying the €14 for breakfast. However we were there representing our country. Pretty much the pinnacle of our athletic careers. I met some great people and had an absolutely fantastic time.

Many thanks to all that supported me, especially TrainerRoad for keeping me true on the turbo throughout my training!

Horst results

A quick update before I jump on a plane to the US. The European champs were great. 
First run lap like a parcour course due to crowding,  but it eased off.
Bike was twisty and technical,  a war of attrition for placing without drafting.
The last run was short and hard.

All in for 1:06:53 and 13th M35.

A great race,  great result and a proud moment.

Full report to follow.

Race day wibbles

Yesterday was nice. Bounced out of bed early, sorted my bike. Walked to the local McD for some coffee and ate some croissants and bananas in the sun.

Met up with the team and we cycled to Horst (~10km) for a course recce and briefing. Got registered. Fairly eventful ride around town and course. Rode home.

Pasta party, then a detour to get some carbon brake blocks (don't ask), and in the fitting encountered some safety critical problems with my front brake. Now solved (don't ask).

Breakfast this morning with my parents, and a quick spin on the bike. Sat here in kit waiting for the transfer to Horst to rack and race.

Absolutely cacking it!

Travelling

Thursday at last! After dropping the kids at school I went for my short run, then loaded the car up and drove down to Folkstone to get the tunnel to Calais. Sun was shining, very nice!

On to the train!

Ate some sandwiches during the journey then filled up with cheap French fuel in Calais. The tunnel is a very efficient way to travel.
Unfortunately from this point onwards it was all down to me, so I selected the hotel in my GPS and off I went. All was well until I hit Brussels at about 5pm, and got stuck in the commuter traffic. Lost of people heading home to Leuven, home of Stella Artois.

My car could do with re-gassing the air conditioning. In the static traffic the car began to heat up :(. Once everything started to move a little seed of doubt began to grow in my mind. I shouldn't have been near Brussels. I checked the GPS. Despite selecting the correct town, the GPS had chosen a hotel of the same name some 85km South-East. Luckily I picked this up before the road split, so it only cost me another 60km from this point.

I finally arrived at 7:30 pm, unpacked the car then settled down to some work and a takeaway pizza - athlete food!

Today I visited some customers in the area, and then returned to the hotel to work, via Horst town centre.

 At long last the work clock finished, and I'll be off to meet my GB team mates in Horst for dinner.

 

Almost there

I was working in Essex Monday and had packed my bike and turbo for the hotel. I rode Sufferfest's Long Scream on TrainerRoad. Short and hard.

Yesterday was a short run, some of it with my running club. Some good speedwork in there. Tonight was a quick 20 minute power interval: Half Dome on TrainerRoad. On the past 3 turbo sessions I've set 6 new power records, so it bodes well for the weekend.

Tomorrow is a morning run, followed by the long drive to Horst. Then a day of work in the Netherlands on Friday; which will also be a rest day.

Boston

I've just heard the news about Boston marathon. My thoughts are with those affected by this tragedy.

Lighting the taper, and new trisuit revealed!

It's been another busy week. I got out on the TT bike in the sun last Sunday. It was a pleasure to ride some country routes without wrapping up like an Eskimo.

Monday was going to be busy with work so I went out for an early morning run, in the sun again! I had to pick up a colleague up from the airport and managed to drop in to Blade printing on the way to hand over my Adidas tri-suit for printing, in case the Z3R0D suits were not available. At the same time the team received an email telling us to order the new suits online. After some confusion we were then told to order them direct from the BTF.

Tuesday started at a hotel in Essex where I tested out the gym bike with Audiofuel's Ride Harder#1. 40 minutes of pyramid intervals - good stuff. I washed this breakfast down with a 15 minutes treadmill brick, then went to meet my colleagues for a proper meal. After a couple of busy days I got home late Wednesday, just in time to go to the track. Our club coach had planned 3 reps of the following:

• 1200m at HM pace
• 400m at 10km pace
• 200m at 5km pace

All good fun. Thursday I was going to do the local time trial, and the weather looked ace. Unfortunately work upset the schedule, and having been away a lot recently I decided to stay in with the family, sort the kids out and read them a long overdue story. Turned out to be an impromptu rest day. The aim therefore to be up early Friday to turbo.

That slipped until Friday lunch time. I rode Sufferfest's The Wretched on TrainerRoad. A good way of keeping true to power.

I also received my Z3R0D GB trisuit at last, all printed up. Very proud!

Saturday was an early run before a wedding. It was my turn to drive as it was a friend of my wife. Next time she can drive! Today was finished off with a good session on the TT bike.

Taper time now. Shorter sessions but just as intense. Heading out to the Netherlands on Thursday.

Testing times

So following on from my last post I said I would take a week or so from running, which I did. I also did the early morning Threshold turbo session - TrainerRoad's Goethe.

It was strange doing such a session first thing, a few minutes after waking. This season most of my training has been in the evening and my body had to wake up rapidly this time. HR was lower than usual but was to be expected. It was nice to know the workout was done and out the way. This freed up the evening to go to a tri-club curry night, with a coaching discussion.

Wednesday was an active recovery turbo in the evening, followed by the first cycling Time Trial of the season on Thursday. I woke with a sore throat, and it had got worse by the evening. Work had overrun, and I left the house in a panic. I'd planned to cycle a lap of the course as a warmup, but in the end did some small loops. Not enough unfortunately. All I could do was shiver.

I signed on the line and was given #22. The first lap was OK even though I knew the last part of each lap was in to wind. The second lap became a lot harder halfway through. Post-ride analysis from my PowerCal shows the best 20 minute power was minutes 0-20! It was a real struggle to put out any power towards the end. Normally a TT is hard, but this was something else. After crossing the line I had an easy pedal up the road and back again, got in the car and went home, still cold. The time was horrendous and not what I had expected.

My NP for the TT was 259W and the AP 256W. More than both duathlons but not by much. Overall I was 10th of 22 riders, and the 14 knot wind didn't help. On the plus side I tried out a visor I'd bought for my TT helmet back in August! Reminded me a bit of flying, with the visor that far from my face - I'm used to riding in sunglasses.

All evening I was shivering and my muscles were sore. Friday I awoke with a headache, sore throat and sore muscles. Not happy, and didn't do any training.

Today was much better and managed to get out in the sun (yes, sun!) for a nice run, mostly track and trail. A bit further than 8km; some tenderness in the Achilles to begin with but it soon dissapeared. A tad tender afterwards but nothing to write home about. 

Next week is a busy week with travel so aiming to bike long tomorrow, bike Monday before work then run Tuesday before work. Back to track on Wednesday, though not too hard a session.

Quarterly review

2013 - what a year, and we're only 3 months in!

It seems that January was mostly spent indoors though the number show otherwise. A minimal amount of running, most off-road due to ice and snow including a good XC league race at Tadley. Lots of turbo cycling though - great quality and quantity. 

February was an improvement in running volume and quality though the biking was reduced due to tapering and racing. Some good duathlon race results at Dorney and Althorp and of course qualifying for the ETU champs.

March was a bigger month all round with some great quality bike (road and MTB) and run sessions. The month was finished nicely with a ~4 hour club ride finishing at the cafe at Dinton Pastures, where I refulled with a sausage roll, chocolate fudge cake and a coffee.

With hindsight I wish I'd had some quick tracker so I can separate turbo and road rides. Perhaps something for me to add to my TrainingPeaks metrics.

April started with an easy 30km road ride, where I took in a lap of the HCC234 time trial course. My TT season starts there this Thursday. Tomorrow morning will be a good threshold TrainerRoad turbo session and Wednesday will be a 30 minute recovery ride to spin the legs out in readiness for Thursday. I'll swim Friday.

No running for me this week. A tight calf has caused my Achilles to become sore. Knocking running on the head for a week will not affect the goal for me. I will also stop my daily hamstring stretched as I have an inkling that the stretches are also contributing to the problem. Shame, as I was enjoying the track sessions. More time on the foam roller needed.

Even though it was a busy training weekend, the extra two days holiday meant some really good family time was had. We didn't do much - visited the in-laws Saturday for more cake, and then back over for Sunday lunch. Friday and today we chilled at home. Daughter leant to play draughts and is already beating me. One day I'll win against my wife too. Here's hoping at least!