As I mentioned before, I'd had a busy week. I'd not had time to get nervous about Grendon. Strange, as I had thrown my £10 in the BTF aiming to qualify for the 2014 European champs. Whilst I knew getting in the top 4 of my AG would be very tough, I was aiming for the sub 120% of AG winner time. This would put me in the rolldown list.
Kit was packed up the night before. I was picked up my some club members at 0530, and the journey up was uneventful. Registered, racked and ready to go. Last minute toilet stop, then wetsuit on.
Swim - 750 m
I was in the green-hat wave: M35-39 & M40-44. We got into the lake and had a few minutes warmup, then were called back to the start line. The water was very cold, but the warm up helped to control the breathing. Plenty of face splashes to get used to the cold!
Once the hooter went there was some biff, but not too bad. Managed to get on to some good feet and sighted towards a pylon in the distance. Got to the first buoy, assuming it to be about the 350m point. We had been instructed to turn 3/4 of the buoy then head towards the fallen-over orange buoy. It was hard to see and certainly not 3/4 of the way round the first buoy. At some point between the two buoys I was caught in a gap; the front swimmers had moved ahead and I'd pulled away from the group behind, but not as much as the people following. In short, no drafting! At the final turn buoy we went round and I picked up the exit arch in the distance, with the sun shining in to my eyes. Kept plugging away and the swim seemed to go on and on and on. Finally to the exit ramp and then out on to the matting. A long run of a couple of hundred meters to T1 followed. Including run 16:57 unsure what the actual swim time was.
T1
I knew with the long run that the water would drain from the wetsuit. This often gives the opportunity to get rid of the suit by the lake then run, rather than de-suiting in T1. I chose to go to T1. Of course, my suit got stuck (despite having removed inches of leg from the suit last year). Once I was out of my suit I put my helmet on, grabbed the bike and ran to the mount line. 1:30 shocking.
Bike - 23 km
Elastic band trick worked well.
The road out of Grendon lakes had many sharp speed bumps, so took it easy. On to the main road and up the first hill. Immediately I felt like I had nothing to give. My legs felt tired. I remained positive in my mind but was definitely struggling. A few downhill and downwind sections made me feel a bit better but ultimately I wasn't on form. It was also unusual to ride in sunny and warm conditions. I had pre-empted this and had a bottle on the bike. Not for drinking during the ride, but for the beginning and end, to save time drinking in T1 and T2. Average Power 245 W.
A depressing 42:33.
T2
LuckilyT2 was a bit swifter. My new ASICS race shoes came with their own elastic laces which I used in preference to the ones I had used many times before. I struggled to get my feet in to my trainers quickly, but got them in, grabbed pirate visor and off I went. A glacial 1:03.
Run - 5 km
The run course was a 2 lapper. Out from T2 past the lake to a pylon, then back diverting past another lake, then through the finish area to restart. The surface ranged from tarmac to gravel to stones to grass. Very interesting. The loop by the second lake also had a lump in it. After the usual jelly legs I got in to a good pace. Of course I knew that I wasn't going to qualify but still aimed to hit the 120% time. Even so, the body once again failed to react. I did manage a final sprint to the line. Run time a leisurely 22:47.
All in for 1:24:52. Was aiming for something a tad faster, Safe to say I missed the 120% time.
Reflection
The event, course and organisation were great. I cannot fault that at all, it was really good.
So was sitting in the car for 1000 miles the week before beneficial? We all have to work. Was I fully recovered from the 8 days in California challenge? Was running 3 times in the past 4 weeks ideal (one of which was a poor 10km race)? The lack of adrenaline and nervousness the week before and the day before are interesting.
So onwards and upwards. Swimming won't improve too much, but let's stay regular. Running off the bike must improve and I think some rest and easy cycling will solve the bike problems. Let's build towards Bristol tri in June, and then the duathlon qualifiers at the end of the year.
Think positive.
Showing posts with label ASICS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ASICS. Show all posts
Sunday, 26 May 2013
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
Shinfield 10km race report
Landed back home on Satruday morning. Rain and traffic on the M25 - welcome home! Family were very glad to see me, and the kids were trying to break in to my suitcase to see if I'd brought them anything.
Usual Saturday afternoon at the in-laws for tea and cake, followed by a very early night. Sunday was a local Christening followed by a quick 4km run to test out the new ASICS.
Monday was the bank holiday 10km at Shinfield - very local to me. I'd signed up before I flew out to the US. I thought it would be good to benchmark where I am for that distance. I've not run a 10km race since last July, when I was on the back of Ironman, so it hurt. I PB'd the year before (2011) at 46:04 so was looking for some improvement.
What I came away with was a healthy respect for the 10km distance...
For my warmup I cycled to the event - about 10km away, then did some running with a few pick ups to get going. Much like Horst my legs felt heavy. The sun was beating down and I felt very warm.
I started about 3 or 4 rows back, and saw a sign saying 40-50 minutes. There was not room to move forward to the sub 40 rows, though the start was like a cross country start.
The hooter went and I was over the line 5s afterwards. There were a lot of people trying to get moving and on the first corner I got barged and flew out of the pack, being caught by a fellow runner. Thanks for keeping me upright.
First km was fairly speedy, then we turned on to a gravel track with a slight incline. By the 2km sign my Garmin was beeping way in advance. I was pegging at 4 minutes/km and hoping to get some time in the bag for the second half Unfortunately I hit the 5km sign at 20 minutes exactly. Not good for my goal. From this point onwards the Garmin beeped earlier and earlier and the pace dropped more and more. Throughout I was neck and neck with a guy who was had been employing a run/walk strategy since 1km. He was hurting from the go and hanging on.
The last km was downhill and we put in a sprint. Despite my best efforts I did not overtake him, but gained a place outright and crossed the line at the same time as a female.
Due to the vagaries of the Gun vs Chip timing used in running races I placed better than the run/walker even though I finished after him; he'd taken longer between the start & finish lines. I also finished ahead of the 3rd female. The quality in a running race is often higher than a triathlon or duathlon.
Splits were: 3:43, 3:59, 3:58, 4:02, 4:13, 4:23, 4:12, 4:19, 4:27, 3:56, 0:02
I came in at 41:13 chip time and 69th of 691. A great PB by 4m53s, but not near the sub 40 I was after. Obviously this is because my run mileage has been extremely poor of late - just ticking over for the Europeans. Last week in the US didn't help either. Mental attitude is also another factor; perhaps I didn't want a sub 40.
Still, Yateley 10km series coming up, so a chance to redeem myself.
Tonight's recovery was a tri club chaingang :)
Usual Saturday afternoon at the in-laws for tea and cake, followed by a very early night. Sunday was a local Christening followed by a quick 4km run to test out the new ASICS.
Monday was the bank holiday 10km at Shinfield - very local to me. I'd signed up before I flew out to the US. I thought it would be good to benchmark where I am for that distance. I've not run a 10km race since last July, when I was on the back of Ironman, so it hurt. I PB'd the year before (2011) at 46:04 so was looking for some improvement.
What I came away with was a healthy respect for the 10km distance...
For my warmup I cycled to the event - about 10km away, then did some running with a few pick ups to get going. Much like Horst my legs felt heavy. The sun was beating down and I felt very warm.
I started about 3 or 4 rows back, and saw a sign saying 40-50 minutes. There was not room to move forward to the sub 40 rows, though the start was like a cross country start.
The hooter went and I was over the line 5s afterwards. There were a lot of people trying to get moving and on the first corner I got barged and flew out of the pack, being caught by a fellow runner. Thanks for keeping me upright.
First km was fairly speedy, then we turned on to a gravel track with a slight incline. By the 2km sign my Garmin was beeping way in advance. I was pegging at 4 minutes/km and hoping to get some time in the bag for the second half Unfortunately I hit the 5km sign at 20 minutes exactly. Not good for my goal. From this point onwards the Garmin beeped earlier and earlier and the pace dropped more and more. Throughout I was neck and neck with a guy who was had been employing a run/walk strategy since 1km. He was hurting from the go and hanging on.
The last km was downhill and we put in a sprint. Despite my best efforts I did not overtake him, but gained a place outright and crossed the line at the same time as a female.
Due to the vagaries of the Gun vs Chip timing used in running races I placed better than the run/walker even though I finished after him; he'd taken longer between the start & finish lines. I also finished ahead of the 3rd female. The quality in a running race is often higher than a triathlon or duathlon.
Splits were: 3:43, 3:59, 3:58, 4:02, 4:13, 4:23, 4:12, 4:19, 4:27, 3:56, 0:02
I came in at 41:13 chip time and 69th of 691. A great PB by 4m53s, but not near the sub 40 I was after. Obviously this is because my run mileage has been extremely poor of late - just ticking over for the Europeans. Last week in the US didn't help either. Mental attitude is also another factor; perhaps I didn't want a sub 40.
Still, Yateley 10km series coming up, so a chance to redeem myself.
Tonight's recovery was a tri club chaingang :)
Monday, 29 April 2013
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.
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.
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