Given that my last race was Auckland 70.3 at the end of January I appreciate that this is long overdue. Since then other priorities have been keeping me busy and the enthusiasm to write this hasn’t really been there…
It is with a sad but content heart that I’ve decided to retire from racing triathlon; at any level for now at least, but certainly for good as a ‘Pro’ (in the loosest sense of the word – more on that later). Auckland was the final “test” to see what condition my body was in and what kind of performance level I was able to achieve with the heart, lungs and legs that have served me so well for nearly a decade in triathlon. Sadly though, the answer I got was a very clear “no” in terms of reaching anything like or beyond the levels I’ve seen in the past. I’m simply not able to compete at the world class level anymore… not even close!
Having finally got to the bottom of my health issues, allergies and such I had strung together a very strong and solid 5 months of training under the fantastic guidance and support of my coach Tom Bennett (from T2 Coaching). I was hitting PB’s in the water, as strong as ever on the run and working consistently and hard on the two wheels. However, despite all of this I just wasn’t able to get anywhere near previous performance levels, in particular on the bike (stagnating at roughly 60-70 watts lower than I’ve previously hit). The sessions were spot on, the work was being done, the guidance from Tom was world class but the body simply wouldn’t respond… and to be honest as time passed by, the heart began to weaken too. The desire slowly began to dissipate and the motivation became harder and harder to maintain.
I’m not saying I’ll never race again, I still LOVE the sport and will be keeping myself more than fit in the gym and in the pool; but in terms of dedicating myself to it full-time and trying to earn a living from it, that journey has ended. I’ll still be coaching with Windrush Tri Club and frequenting the Surrey hills on a bike too.
I’m happy to say that I’m very content with the decision. It is only sport after all and has never formed my identity or self-worth. Win or lose, train well or not, I’ve always known it need not affect who I was and what’s most important in life. Whilst I genuinely know that there is a lot more that I believed I could have achieved in racing, I’m immensely proud of what I have achieved in the last 10 years, even just finishing my last race in Auckland. I’m also eternally grateful for the incredible lifestyle I’ve had during this time; the amazing places it’s taken me and especially the people I’ve met along the way.
I’d like to take this opportunity to extend an enormous “THANK YOU!” to my amazing sponsors that have supported me for so long and in particular, stuck by me over the last 2 years of ups and downs. Powerbar, CompresSport, VO2 Performance Bikes, Profeet, Greepers, The Athletic Edge, FreeSpeed Bike Fit and my amazing coach & manager, now friends Tom Bennett and Luke. I wish I could have done more performance wise in the last two years to repay your support, but thank you!
And finally as a parting vote of support for the struggling Pro’s out there and maybe more importantly, some very important advice for anyone considering ‘going Pro’, a little note on that word ‘Pro’… ha… how to keep this short?
It is nigh on impossible (especially as a male triathlete) to earn a decent living from this sport. Very, VERY few do. Prize money is rare in the UK (though this would be easy to change at most races I believe) and where it is, it’s simply not enough to live on for more than a few weeks with the diet, travel and training required of a Pro. Even if you head abroad it’s difficult to turn a profit, unless you’re consistently placing top 3 in every race you enter; and that’s bearing in mind that at most 70.3’s nowadays the men’s field is at least 35 deep and sometimes 20+ of those men are truly world class. Any… ANY sub-top class performance and you’re nowhere other than a negative investment in going to and doing the race.
As an (excited) soon to be husband, I simply don’t want to be “Peter Pan in lycra”, and not accept my responsibilities, living off my wife’s income whilst I struggle to achieve results. I accept that I’m not (as already stated) able to perform at that level anymore; hence why I’m calling it a day. I have a great amount of respect for those who can and do earn a decent living from triathlon, but for the majority it’s simply not a viable “job”. Only the very few can call this a job when you compare it to other jobs, even sports-based ones. To give a little perspective, I’ll earn more in a month at my job now than I would have done if I’d WON in Auckland, beating Olympic medallists and world champions in the process. After tax(es), exchange rates and expenses, you’re left with nothing more than a below average month’s wage… and that’s for beating the best!!! I’ve never been here for the money and I’ve been in the sport long enough to know I’d never be able to afford to buy my fiancé an Aston Martin, but we can all hit a point where we consider or question just how fruitful and satisfying our work is and when it feels like you are voluntarily killing yourself at ‘work’ whilst actually earning so little. Then you know it’s definitely time to make some changes.
But rather than go on anymore, I’ll let two other great athletes put it better than I:
Rachel Joyce in a recent tweet wrote “At my US visa interview “you’re telling me you came 11th at the world champs and won nothing? I know people who win more in carpet bowls”
And Matty White wrote a great blog about it all which can be found here: http://firstoffthebike.com/news-and-features/its-not-just-about-the-t-shirt/
And just as if to ram the point home… this rather timely news broke this week..
http://www.trizone.com.au/20130403/hy-vee-professional-prize-purse-halved-to-500000/
Triathlon is a great, great sport filled with wonderful and inspiring people. But its potential is nowhere near being realised which is a real shame for all involved, at every level and age.
@JonHotchkiss
Friday, April 05, 2013
Friday, June 15, 2012
70.3 Switzerland - Fed up with feeling fragile
Training leading into Switzerland 70.3 had in general, been going really well. Some great, solid sessions had been logged and both Tom (my coach) and I were looking forward to progressing in terms of result in my next 70.3 of the season.
Race morning arrived grey and damp but nothing too bad for us Brits. The only surprise for me was just how many Pro's there were lining up on the start line... Nearly 100! As the start gun went a pretty hectic and rough first 500m then ensued but I felt ok as things settled down and was happy with where I appeared to be (2nd main pack I thought). I stayed there until about 300m from the end where I seemed to drop off the back for some reason; I didn't loose too much time though and by the time I was through transition and on to my VO2 Victory TT I'd caught up the guys just ahead.
We all settled in after the first 5km or so and I tried to stick to my planned wattage goal that Tom and I had discussed. It was however, harder to do that it should have been, but I pressed on.
The bike in Rapperswil is a fantastic 2 lap course with two serious climbs including some pretty solid 15%+ sections. After Majorca 70.3 we'd agreed it was worth pushing a little harder on the climbs and so I upped the effort considerably as we hit the first climb and again, although this felt harder than it should, I stuck with it and pressed on staying nicely with the 4 other guys I was riding with. Having ascended the 2nd and longer hill, gone down the other side and headed back towards the turn around I was fully expecting to see Michael Raelert fly last any time soon; much to my surprise it wasn't until about 2km from the turn that he went passed in the other direction. The gap to him was only 6minutes and the rest of the bunch were less than 5minutes up the road. Considering how I felt I was riding, this was a nice boast to me... But I've learnt not to gauge my performance by others so I out it out my mind and got stuck into the 2nd lap. We caught several other guys during this time, but personally (and sadly rather forebodingly I was increasingly finding it harder to hold my target power levels. On the plus side (ALWAYS look for a positive) my fellow competitors weren't dropping me... But it also meant that I SHOUKD have been dropping them if I was riding properly.
The rest of the bike leg passed in thus vein... Not feeling great, but not loosing time to my competitors. By the time 2 approached my legs felt nicely spent and I was very interested to see how I'd run given the effort level I'd felt on the bike. Hopping off the bike and the signs weren't good... But once the shoes went on and I headed out transition I was delighted to feel some.serious spring in my step.
Give how I've been running recently in training, we had some serious targets for the run and I was pleased to see that I was actually ticking along nicely and a fraction faster than this; I backed off a touch and focused on the physical queues Tom and I have worked on... Relax, how can can hold this speed for less effort? Very quickly 3 of my fellow bikers were passed and it was now just me and an Australian guy who’d finsihed 3rd at Majorca to my 14th... this was a good place and pace to be. We maintained this pace up until about 7km when I began to struggle to hold the effort... My failure to properly fuel in the latter stages of the bike and the start of the run had caught up with me and I began to slow. Determined not to stop and walk I set my sights mentally on making it passed halfway and the 1st aid station thereafter. It's amazing how long these few K's can feel when you're hurting and by the time I eventually hit that aid station, I was seriously struggling; my "easy speed" was now sluggish jog.... But, I determined myself to deal with it properly and walked the aid station and took on as much as I could continuing to walk for 500m beyond too just to ensure the stomach could absorb it as much as possible. This was hard to do and I hard to let a number of my competitors pass me. However it paid off as soon as I started to run again; the legs felt much better and I was able to hit close to planned pace again. I began to catch back some of those lost positions, but I was running out of road and the damage had been done. At this level, these kind of mistakes can't be fully recovered from and my little jog/walk mid-race period had cost me dearly. I held on just about to the end crossing the line as 20th.
So where on earth does the title of this report come into it... where’s the fragility i’m fed up with? Well...
Asside from a shockingly bad week at work leading into this race, I've been struggling with my allergies for about 2-3 weeks. The fatigue, physical and especially mental impact this has on my is huge. Consistent training is hard, but in a race of this nature my bodies ability to function properly is drastically reduced. However the frustration lies not in this any more, as i’ve been dealing with this for a number of years now; its now in the fact that i seem less able to control it. Sticking to a strick gluten free diet nolonger appears to be enough to keep the symptoms at bay and despite my best efforts before the race even started i knew i was going to struggle immensely to just even finish. Its proving very difficult to keep going when we’re all working so hard and making some really great improvements, only for things to be completely de-railed by something that i now feel is completely out of my control. I’d just like to, for once, have a race where my body actually turns up even at 80%.
On the positive side though, in times gone by, I'd have quit... possibly not even bothered starting but now i dont quit and i do push through it. The mental improvements that working with Tom has given me this season are certainly helping and thats the only way i got to the finish line at all on Sunday. I’m looking forward to a race where i can use these tools agressively though, instead of damage limitation and survival.
Thanks for reading and see you at the start line soon!!!
Race morning arrived grey and damp but nothing too bad for us Brits. The only surprise for me was just how many Pro's there were lining up on the start line... Nearly 100! As the start gun went a pretty hectic and rough first 500m then ensued but I felt ok as things settled down and was happy with where I appeared to be (2nd main pack I thought). I stayed there until about 300m from the end where I seemed to drop off the back for some reason; I didn't loose too much time though and by the time I was through transition and on to my VO2 Victory TT I'd caught up the guys just ahead.
We all settled in after the first 5km or so and I tried to stick to my planned wattage goal that Tom and I had discussed. It was however, harder to do that it should have been, but I pressed on.
The bike in Rapperswil is a fantastic 2 lap course with two serious climbs including some pretty solid 15%+ sections. After Majorca 70.3 we'd agreed it was worth pushing a little harder on the climbs and so I upped the effort considerably as we hit the first climb and again, although this felt harder than it should, I stuck with it and pressed on staying nicely with the 4 other guys I was riding with. Having ascended the 2nd and longer hill, gone down the other side and headed back towards the turn around I was fully expecting to see Michael Raelert fly last any time soon; much to my surprise it wasn't until about 2km from the turn that he went passed in the other direction. The gap to him was only 6minutes and the rest of the bunch were less than 5minutes up the road. Considering how I felt I was riding, this was a nice boast to me... But I've learnt not to gauge my performance by others so I out it out my mind and got stuck into the 2nd lap. We caught several other guys during this time, but personally (and sadly rather forebodingly I was increasingly finding it harder to hold my target power levels. On the plus side (ALWAYS look for a positive) my fellow competitors weren't dropping me... But it also meant that I SHOUKD have been dropping them if I was riding properly.
The rest of the bike leg passed in thus vein... Not feeling great, but not loosing time to my competitors. By the time 2 approached my legs felt nicely spent and I was very interested to see how I'd run given the effort level I'd felt on the bike. Hopping off the bike and the signs weren't good... But once the shoes went on and I headed out transition I was delighted to feel some.serious spring in my step.
Give how I've been running recently in training, we had some serious targets for the run and I was pleased to see that I was actually ticking along nicely and a fraction faster than this; I backed off a touch and focused on the physical queues Tom and I have worked on... Relax, how can can hold this speed for less effort? Very quickly 3 of my fellow bikers were passed and it was now just me and an Australian guy who’d finsihed 3rd at Majorca to my 14th... this was a good place and pace to be. We maintained this pace up until about 7km when I began to struggle to hold the effort... My failure to properly fuel in the latter stages of the bike and the start of the run had caught up with me and I began to slow. Determined not to stop and walk I set my sights mentally on making it passed halfway and the 1st aid station thereafter. It's amazing how long these few K's can feel when you're hurting and by the time I eventually hit that aid station, I was seriously struggling; my "easy speed" was now sluggish jog.... But, I determined myself to deal with it properly and walked the aid station and took on as much as I could continuing to walk for 500m beyond too just to ensure the stomach could absorb it as much as possible. This was hard to do and I hard to let a number of my competitors pass me. However it paid off as soon as I started to run again; the legs felt much better and I was able to hit close to planned pace again. I began to catch back some of those lost positions, but I was running out of road and the damage had been done. At this level, these kind of mistakes can't be fully recovered from and my little jog/walk mid-race period had cost me dearly. I held on just about to the end crossing the line as 20th.
So where on earth does the title of this report come into it... where’s the fragility i’m fed up with? Well...
Asside from a shockingly bad week at work leading into this race, I've been struggling with my allergies for about 2-3 weeks. The fatigue, physical and especially mental impact this has on my is huge. Consistent training is hard, but in a race of this nature my bodies ability to function properly is drastically reduced. However the frustration lies not in this any more, as i’ve been dealing with this for a number of years now; its now in the fact that i seem less able to control it. Sticking to a strick gluten free diet nolonger appears to be enough to keep the symptoms at bay and despite my best efforts before the race even started i knew i was going to struggle immensely to just even finish. Its proving very difficult to keep going when we’re all working so hard and making some really great improvements, only for things to be completely de-railed by something that i now feel is completely out of my control. I’d just like to, for once, have a race where my body actually turns up even at 80%.
On the positive side though, in times gone by, I'd have quit... possibly not even bothered starting but now i dont quit and i do push through it. The mental improvements that working with Tom has given me this season are certainly helping and thats the only way i got to the finish line at all on Sunday. I’m looking forward to a race where i can use these tools agressively though, instead of damage limitation and survival.
Thanks for reading and see you at the start line soon!!!
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Majorca 70.3 Race report
There’s something very amusing about travelling to a race on a 6:30am flight, all concerned about compression, hydration and stretching whilst half the passengers are already getting boozed for a stag or hen do. Powerbar drink or double vodka… hmm?!
The season proper (post the San Juan 70.3 test race) kicked off for me at the 2nd 70.3 Majorca and I was not only looking forward to the race, but just to get some warm sun on my back. My girlfriend Jen had also travelled out with me (and organised travel/accommodation for us) so short though the trip was, it was exciting to be heading to the beautiful port of Alcudia for the race.
I knew the course from a previous training trip back in 2008 and was looking forward to a hard fought race in a big and strong men’s pro filed that included the current Ironman distance WR holder, Michael Raelert. Everything leading up to the race had gone well (ignoring the previous weeks food poisoning) and my coach and I were very happy with where we were at physically. The mysterious leg shut down of San Juan had been resolved and power on the bike was returning. It was time to see exactly what I could do.
The swim was reasonably un-eventful, with me sitting towards the back of the second pack. I’m swimming averagely at the moment and there’s more to come, but I felt comfortable all the way and possibly on reflection should have pushed a little harder to at least try to be further up the bunch.
We exited the water and made our way from the golden beach to the 2nd longest transition area I’ve ever raced in (Galway 70.3 being the longest). I’d made the choice to put my helmet in the Bike transition bag and not leave it at my bike (unlike ALL the other Pro’s) and was able to use the 500m run from tent to bike to don my helmet and simply grab my bike and go… 15s advantage to me right there!!!
Out onto the bike course and the first 15km we had to cover was flat and fast before we hit the major mountain of the course up to the St Luc Monastery. I was feeling great sitting on the watts we’d targeted for the ride and once my breathing and stomach settled down after the swim, I got two Powerbar gels inside me well before we hit the foot of the mountain. A group of about 8 of us were together when this happened, but very quickly this broke apart. The upper limit for my watts meant that I dropped off the back of the front 4 guys but my legs felt good, so I decided to adapt the plan a little and allow a slightly harder effort on the way up hoping that I’d recover sufficiently on the long technical descent. I still ended up climbing entirely on my own, but caught and passed 3 other guys on the way up. About 45mins of solid climbing later and I took the left turn to begin the descent.
One of the great things about Majorca, is that the road are all perfect. The surface is immaculate and you never have to worry about pot-holes or loose gravel; nice to know as you’re going round the endless switch backs down the mountainside. The views are stunning if you can take your eyes off the road for a second, or more importantly the edge of the corners and what you CAN’T see over the edge!!! This section of the race was the killer for me however. I’m not too bad at descending…I thought, but 2 of the guys I’d passed on the way UP the mountain, caught me back and despite my best efforts to follow their routes around the corners, they steadily pulled away and by the time I’d got to the base of the mountain, they’d put another 90s into me. I’d probably lost over 3minutes to them (and the leaders) on the way down!!! Not good! But thankfully, the point of leg failure in San Juan came and went without all power disappearing and I was once again back sat at race pace watts and feeling fine. The rest of the ride was largely flat and fast, but it took me till 75km to catch back to anyone and by the end of the 91km I’d only gained back about 5 places. I was happy though as I was right at the point where I wasn’t sure if I’d ridden too hard or not… the run would tell, but I knew at least I’d been able to ask the question.
Jumping off the VO2 Victory TT as I headed into T2 and the legs felt pretty average, but not shocking and certainly not dead. I had plenty of time to “gently” ease them in between my bike and the T2 change tent that’s for sure! Trainers on, I grabbed my visor and two PowerBar gels and headed out onto the flat but now pretty HOT run course; Time to see how the great recent training form could translate into a tired half marathon.
One of the great things about this race is that it's so popular with British athletes and the crowd support on the 3 lap course was awesome! Jen had found a great sport where she could walk a short 200m between the road and the path of two parts of each lap of the run course, meaning she could see me loads and give great updates and support too… much needed as the mercury started to hit the 30 degree mark.
I’d started the run as planned -nice and steady. The plan was 5k like this, then raise it slightly for the next 10k, then look to increase and hang on as much as possible for the last 6km. The guys I’d left T2 running side by side with were now no longer within earshot which always helps you relax that little bit more. Focussing on the technical pointers my coach Tom has been helping me with, I felt pretty good as I headed out towards the turn around point at about 4km. This out and back section was a great chance to gauge my position, but I was slightly confused to only pass by the bikes leading 2nd and 3rd place males… then it sunk in –WOW Raelert was clearly MILES (literally) in front of everyone!!!
One of my pre-race goals was to finish 1st Brit and I could see that Mark Threlfal was having a great race and currently running in 4th place, about 6minutes in front. I’d have to work HARD to achieve that target, but I was still feeling pretty good and focussing on my lean and depth as I ran was giving me a pace that was slowly reeling guys in front in. Passing Jen at about 6km, she said I was in 17th. Clearly a lot of guys were having great days! Out onto the 2nd lap and the heat was starting to hit home to lots of us, but my pace was holding, just, and I was gaining on guys in front. Mark was now just over 2minutes in front and I’d passed a couple more guys by the end of 14km and was hanging onto 1h15min pace. The last lap however and the pain started to tell. I was holding my form together, but just couldn’t quite hold the same pace. I caught and passed 2 more guys, but then with only a km to go, I was caught napping myself and passed before I could respond and try to go with him. Mentally I gave it a shot at catching him back, but the legs wouldn’t respond. However, this is a good sign as the mental side of things last year was something I’d realised had begun to weaken, so I was pleased to see some fight returning when things got tough.
The last turn and a short run along the beach, beside all the bars and cafes with willing supporters tucking into full English breakfasts and early lunch Paellas took us up and over a short foot bridge and down the packed finishing shoot. I crossed the line, totally spent and a full 20minutes behind Raelert… but more importantly less than 8 minutes down on 2nd place. Raelert aside, it had been a close race in the top 20 and I was delighted to have been able to execute a solid race. Though not the result I was looking for, it was a race I’m happy with. The plan was followed, the body held strong and there’s a lot more fitness and strength to come. I’m excited about racing again, which is a good sign and the improvements made with my “team” so far can only continue to bring increasingly positive results.
A huge thanks as always to those who help and support me so much: Jen for being amazing both at organising me and cheering for me. VO2 Performance Bikes, Powerbar, CompresSport, Greepers, Tom from T2 Coaching, the guys at “The Athletic Edge” and Luke my manager.
The season proper (post the San Juan 70.3 test race) kicked off for me at the 2nd 70.3 Majorca and I was not only looking forward to the race, but just to get some warm sun on my back. My girlfriend Jen had also travelled out with me (and organised travel/accommodation for us) so short though the trip was, it was exciting to be heading to the beautiful port of Alcudia for the race.
I knew the course from a previous training trip back in 2008 and was looking forward to a hard fought race in a big and strong men’s pro filed that included the current Ironman distance WR holder, Michael Raelert. Everything leading up to the race had gone well (ignoring the previous weeks food poisoning) and my coach and I were very happy with where we were at physically. The mysterious leg shut down of San Juan had been resolved and power on the bike was returning. It was time to see exactly what I could do.
The swim was reasonably un-eventful, with me sitting towards the back of the second pack. I’m swimming averagely at the moment and there’s more to come, but I felt comfortable all the way and possibly on reflection should have pushed a little harder to at least try to be further up the bunch.
We exited the water and made our way from the golden beach to the 2nd longest transition area I’ve ever raced in (Galway 70.3 being the longest). I’d made the choice to put my helmet in the Bike transition bag and not leave it at my bike (unlike ALL the other Pro’s) and was able to use the 500m run from tent to bike to don my helmet and simply grab my bike and go… 15s advantage to me right there!!!
Out onto the bike course and the first 15km we had to cover was flat and fast before we hit the major mountain of the course up to the St Luc Monastery. I was feeling great sitting on the watts we’d targeted for the ride and once my breathing and stomach settled down after the swim, I got two Powerbar gels inside me well before we hit the foot of the mountain. A group of about 8 of us were together when this happened, but very quickly this broke apart. The upper limit for my watts meant that I dropped off the back of the front 4 guys but my legs felt good, so I decided to adapt the plan a little and allow a slightly harder effort on the way up hoping that I’d recover sufficiently on the long technical descent. I still ended up climbing entirely on my own, but caught and passed 3 other guys on the way up. About 45mins of solid climbing later and I took the left turn to begin the descent.
One of the great things about Majorca, is that the road are all perfect. The surface is immaculate and you never have to worry about pot-holes or loose gravel; nice to know as you’re going round the endless switch backs down the mountainside. The views are stunning if you can take your eyes off the road for a second, or more importantly the edge of the corners and what you CAN’T see over the edge!!! This section of the race was the killer for me however. I’m not too bad at descending…I thought, but 2 of the guys I’d passed on the way UP the mountain, caught me back and despite my best efforts to follow their routes around the corners, they steadily pulled away and by the time I’d got to the base of the mountain, they’d put another 90s into me. I’d probably lost over 3minutes to them (and the leaders) on the way down!!! Not good! But thankfully, the point of leg failure in San Juan came and went without all power disappearing and I was once again back sat at race pace watts and feeling fine. The rest of the ride was largely flat and fast, but it took me till 75km to catch back to anyone and by the end of the 91km I’d only gained back about 5 places. I was happy though as I was right at the point where I wasn’t sure if I’d ridden too hard or not… the run would tell, but I knew at least I’d been able to ask the question.
One of the great things about this race is that it's so popular with British athletes and the crowd support on the 3 lap course was awesome! Jen had found a great sport where she could walk a short 200m between the road and the path of two parts of each lap of the run course, meaning she could see me loads and give great updates and support too… much needed as the mercury started to hit the 30 degree mark.
I’d started the run as planned -nice and steady. The plan was 5k like this, then raise it slightly for the next 10k, then look to increase and hang on as much as possible for the last 6km. The guys I’d left T2 running side by side with were now no longer within earshot which always helps you relax that little bit more. Focussing on the technical pointers my coach Tom has been helping me with, I felt pretty good as I headed out towards the turn around point at about 4km. This out and back section was a great chance to gauge my position, but I was slightly confused to only pass by the bikes leading 2nd and 3rd place males… then it sunk in –WOW Raelert was clearly MILES (literally) in front of everyone!!!
One of my pre-race goals was to finish 1st Brit and I could see that Mark Threlfal was having a great race and currently running in 4th place, about 6minutes in front. I’d have to work HARD to achieve that target, but I was still feeling pretty good and focussing on my lean and depth as I ran was giving me a pace that was slowly reeling guys in front in. Passing Jen at about 6km, she said I was in 17th. Clearly a lot of guys were having great days! Out onto the 2nd lap and the heat was starting to hit home to lots of us, but my pace was holding, just, and I was gaining on guys in front. Mark was now just over 2minutes in front and I’d passed a couple more guys by the end of 14km and was hanging onto 1h15min pace. The last lap however and the pain started to tell. I was holding my form together, but just couldn’t quite hold the same pace. I caught and passed 2 more guys, but then with only a km to go, I was caught napping myself and passed before I could respond and try to go with him. Mentally I gave it a shot at catching him back, but the legs wouldn’t respond. However, this is a good sign as the mental side of things last year was something I’d realised had begun to weaken, so I was pleased to see some fight returning when things got tough.
The last turn and a short run along the beach, beside all the bars and cafes with willing supporters tucking into full English breakfasts and early lunch Paellas took us up and over a short foot bridge and down the packed finishing shoot. I crossed the line, totally spent and a full 20minutes behind Raelert… but more importantly less than 8 minutes down on 2nd place. Raelert aside, it had been a close race in the top 20 and I was delighted to have been able to execute a solid race. Though not the result I was looking for, it was a race I’m happy with. The plan was followed, the body held strong and there’s a lot more fitness and strength to come. I’m excited about racing again, which is a good sign and the improvements made with my “team” so far can only continue to bring increasingly positive results.
A huge thanks as always to those who help and support me so much: Jen for being amazing both at organising me and cheering for me. VO2 Performance Bikes, Powerbar, CompresSport, Greepers, Tom from T2 Coaching, the guys at “The Athletic Edge” and Luke my manager.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Thames Turbo Sprint Race 1
After San Juan 70.3 a couple of weeks ago, we’d (my coach Tom Bennet) and I had sat down to talk about what it meant for the first main goal of the season, Ironman South Africa. We decided that one good way to check up again on the body would be another short race such as the first Thames Turbo Sprint, which would be two weeks before IM SA, on the Easter Bank Holiday Monday. These races are local to me and always fantastically well organised by Thames Turbo Tri club. They offer a great way for novices to dip their toe into the water (literally speaking, in the nice and warm Hampton Lido swim) as well as attracting plenty of local high calibre athletes too. I’d raced it at the same time last year too and won, so I’d have a great marker against which to compare my race this year.
It was a pretty cold and drizzly morning, but with me going in the 2nd wave of the race for the 426m swim, things had warmed up a little… at least that’s what I convinced myself of before the start. I was 7th to start in this wave, with a 10s gap between each swimmer. The ZeroD ‘O’ tri suit was made for this and I settled into a comfortable but solid pace and caught the swimmer in front by about half-way. Without exerting myself too much and trying more to focus on a solid tech, I hit the steps at the end of the swim in a comfortable 6mins. Not the fastest of the day and I knew this, but I wanted to see what this kind of effort gave me and was happy enough and now ready to open the legs out properly once if was aboard my VO2 Victory TT.
I’d already decided however, that today wasn’t a day to get too cold and therefore make myself sick, so plenty of time was taken in transition to put on arm-warmers and a gillet. A small sacrifice I thought… it would come back to bite my in the butt later on however.
Out onto the flat (in terms of profile at least) 20k bike course that includes a small part of the 2012 Olympic cycling TT course too and I started off strongly but again, kept it measured. Once I was happy I felt properly warmed up I started to open up the legs, but the numbers on the power metre were not showing good things. The legs felt OK… but only OK, certainly not strong and I was seeing this in my pace as I rode parallel to the Thames out towards Chertsey. Now whilst the profile might be “flat” the road surface is rougher Dan Dares chin… thankfully my VO2 bike is super comfortable, but the road surface continually saps all the speed from you the moment you switch off any power. Despite the cold and how my legs were feeling, I was pushing myself hard, which is something I’d mentally struggled to do last year and proof that much of Tom’s work with me was having benefits on the mental side too. However at about the 13km point, I got a shock… I got over-taken! This is something that hasn’t happened to me in any race in the UK for… well as long as I can remember, and hardly ever in big Ironman or 70.3 races even; the bike has always been somewhere that I’ve gained time and places, not lost it! But, again, mentally, it was nice to see I took it onboard and used it in a positive way, targeting the guy who’d just caught me and determining myself to stay with him (at a legal distance of course) to the end of the bike leg… I felt sure I’d gain the time back on the run at least. This I managed to do and so once the 20k bike was over, I span back towards the transition area to prepare for the run (N.B. this race is slightly different to most other triathlons in that after you complete the bike, because of traffic lights and junctions, you have a 2km “dead” zone which you can take your time to ride through and wont count in your “total” race time.)
My plan to spin those 2km’s quickly changed however, when within a minute of finishing the bike, I was already seriously cold and shaking like a washing machine on super-spin cycle. I got myself back to transition ASAP and started with my now arctic like numb fingers to slowly put my socks and trainers on.
As soon as I started the run however, it all slotted nice back into place. All the work on running form of the last months has recently really felt like it was falling into place and I felt great as I left the pool car park and headed up towards the entrance to the Royal Bushy Park for the 5km run. I knew I needed to put a very fast time in to claw back my swim time and terrible bike time too, but the way I was feeling, this seemed possible. Shoulders back, arms relaxed, hips “proud” and with “depth” to every stride I felt great as the first 3k’s flew by, even on the bumpy, un-even surfaces of some parts of the course, I kept the rhythm and was enjoying really burying myself into the “hurt-box”. I maybe pushed this a little too far though, as with about 400m to go, the legs seemed to switch to resembling more jelly-like properties than strong Ironman runners, but with the finish in sight I dug deep to the line. I turned quickly to check to see where my cycling assailant was and watching him cross the line, I knew it would be close. I’d not had a great race, but I hadn’t expected it to be this close.
Little did I realise that actually my pursuer, was the least of my worries. When the results came out, it wasn’t even a battle between me and him… I’d ended up 4th!!! On reflection, my OAP like desire to wrap up warm had cost me 3 places, though this didn’t hide the fact that I’d ridden like a toddler on a tri-cycle. My bike split was about 4 minutes slower than I’d expect and over such a short race, this is night and day!
Whilst the result means nothing in terms of goals for me, it was a shock to perform so badly. However, I shouldn’t deflect high praise from the guys who finished ahead of me; they all raced hard and fast and thoroughly deserved their brilliant results.
For now, it's a case of figuring out what has happened to my bike fitness in the last 8 weeks. The watt’s I was hitting on the bike back in February are nothing like what I am now and we need to try and work out why. For an Ironman bike leg, I can’t afford to give 3-4minutes per 20km to my rivals, especially when it's ordinarily a strength and weapon to use instead of a weakness to try and limit. But this is the beauty of both sport and the body. We don’t always get what we expect or even sometimes deserve, but we can always keep working harder until we do. It's not simply about results, but about being the best I can be and being happy with that.
It was a pretty cold and drizzly morning, but with me going in the 2nd wave of the race for the 426m swim, things had warmed up a little… at least that’s what I convinced myself of before the start. I was 7th to start in this wave, with a 10s gap between each swimmer. The ZeroD ‘O’ tri suit was made for this and I settled into a comfortable but solid pace and caught the swimmer in front by about half-way. Without exerting myself too much and trying more to focus on a solid tech, I hit the steps at the end of the swim in a comfortable 6mins. Not the fastest of the day and I knew this, but I wanted to see what this kind of effort gave me and was happy enough and now ready to open the legs out properly once if was aboard my VO2 Victory TT.
I’d already decided however, that today wasn’t a day to get too cold and therefore make myself sick, so plenty of time was taken in transition to put on arm-warmers and a gillet. A small sacrifice I thought… it would come back to bite my in the butt later on however.
Out onto the flat (in terms of profile at least) 20k bike course that includes a small part of the 2012 Olympic cycling TT course too and I started off strongly but again, kept it measured. Once I was happy I felt properly warmed up I started to open up the legs, but the numbers on the power metre were not showing good things. The legs felt OK… but only OK, certainly not strong and I was seeing this in my pace as I rode parallel to the Thames out towards Chertsey. Now whilst the profile might be “flat” the road surface is rougher Dan Dares chin… thankfully my VO2 bike is super comfortable, but the road surface continually saps all the speed from you the moment you switch off any power. Despite the cold and how my legs were feeling, I was pushing myself hard, which is something I’d mentally struggled to do last year and proof that much of Tom’s work with me was having benefits on the mental side too. However at about the 13km point, I got a shock… I got over-taken! This is something that hasn’t happened to me in any race in the UK for… well as long as I can remember, and hardly ever in big Ironman or 70.3 races even; the bike has always been somewhere that I’ve gained time and places, not lost it! But, again, mentally, it was nice to see I took it onboard and used it in a positive way, targeting the guy who’d just caught me and determining myself to stay with him (at a legal distance of course) to the end of the bike leg… I felt sure I’d gain the time back on the run at least. This I managed to do and so once the 20k bike was over, I span back towards the transition area to prepare for the run (N.B. this race is slightly different to most other triathlons in that after you complete the bike, because of traffic lights and junctions, you have a 2km “dead” zone which you can take your time to ride through and wont count in your “total” race time.)
My plan to spin those 2km’s quickly changed however, when within a minute of finishing the bike, I was already seriously cold and shaking like a washing machine on super-spin cycle. I got myself back to transition ASAP and started with my now arctic like numb fingers to slowly put my socks and trainers on.
As soon as I started the run however, it all slotted nice back into place. All the work on running form of the last months has recently really felt like it was falling into place and I felt great as I left the pool car park and headed up towards the entrance to the Royal Bushy Park for the 5km run. I knew I needed to put a very fast time in to claw back my swim time and terrible bike time too, but the way I was feeling, this seemed possible. Shoulders back, arms relaxed, hips “proud” and with “depth” to every stride I felt great as the first 3k’s flew by, even on the bumpy, un-even surfaces of some parts of the course, I kept the rhythm and was enjoying really burying myself into the “hurt-box”. I maybe pushed this a little too far though, as with about 400m to go, the legs seemed to switch to resembling more jelly-like properties than strong Ironman runners, but with the finish in sight I dug deep to the line. I turned quickly to check to see where my cycling assailant was and watching him cross the line, I knew it would be close. I’d not had a great race, but I hadn’t expected it to be this close.
Little did I realise that actually my pursuer, was the least of my worries. When the results came out, it wasn’t even a battle between me and him… I’d ended up 4th!!! On reflection, my OAP like desire to wrap up warm had cost me 3 places, though this didn’t hide the fact that I’d ridden like a toddler on a tri-cycle. My bike split was about 4 minutes slower than I’d expect and over such a short race, this is night and day!
Whilst the result means nothing in terms of goals for me, it was a shock to perform so badly. However, I shouldn’t deflect high praise from the guys who finished ahead of me; they all raced hard and fast and thoroughly deserved their brilliant results.
For now, it's a case of figuring out what has happened to my bike fitness in the last 8 weeks. The watt’s I was hitting on the bike back in February are nothing like what I am now and we need to try and work out why. For an Ironman bike leg, I can’t afford to give 3-4minutes per 20km to my rivals, especially when it's ordinarily a strength and weapon to use instead of a weakness to try and limit. But this is the beauty of both sport and the body. We don’t always get what we expect or even sometimes deserve, but we can always keep working harder until we do. It's not simply about results, but about being the best I can be and being happy with that.
Friday, March 30, 2012
70.3 San Juan 2012 Race Report
They say in life that “when you get lemons, you shouldn’t be “sour” but instead make yourself some lemonade”. But what happens when you make sure you buy apples and oranges and then you open the bag back at home, you’ve still got lemons!?
San Juan 70.3 was a bit of a last minute race choice. After a long winter of working full time and training as much as this would allow (circa 18hrs a week), both my coach (T2 Coaching) and I wanted to race to see exactly where we were at in our preparation for the first important race of the season, Ironman South Africa at the end of April. It was a long way to go for a “test” but we needed a decent standard or racing and a 70.3 distance race to really ask and answer some questions. We had worked very hard in the previous 3 months and expected to see some fruit from this labour.
The week leading into the race went pretty well with the exception of having my credit card details stolen and ripped off!!! But physically, everything over in Puerto Rico was good. A recky of the swim, bike and run aspects of the course told me it would be a hot and fast swim and bike, with a brutally hard and hilly run; the perfect test for me!
Race morning came and went with no fuss and I was soon lined up on the shore of the lagoon ready for the non-wetsuit 1.9km swim to kick things off.
As the hooter sounded for the 25 or so Pro men to start the pace was solid, but nothing beyond my comfort zone and I was quite happy to settle into a good pace at the back of the main pack. My new ZeroD tri kit was super comfy and fast in the water; helping me without the normal wetsuit we have in most races. The first turn point at 700m, however, proved to be the point where I answered the first question of the winter’s training. The pace didn’t increase, but I just started to drop off the back of the group. Nothing felt different; I simply wasn’t holding the same speed. My swim time all winter has been most affected and 50-60min swims just wasn’t enough to give me the race pace and speed endurance I needed to swim well for the duration. I swam most of the remaining 1km on my own, still feeling comfortable, but losing serious time with every stroke.
As I climbed the steps from the tropical lagoon and looked at my watch I knew it hadn’t been a great swim. 28mins non-wetsuit 2 years ago would have been good for me, but nowadays it didn’t cut it and I knew I must be at least 3 minutes down on the main group. A long run to transition, helmet on and I grabbed my VO2 Victory TT and was running out towards the exit still quite happy to see how things would pan out; there was over 3hrs of racing left and lots can happen.
My coach and I had a very set plan for the bike and I was to look to average a certain power level (watts) for the ride, without ever exceeding serious “spikes” in this effort. We knew I could hold this level and then run well so we just wanted to see how this placed me in a big race.
Things were going well up to the half-way point. My watts were solid and I felt really comfortable. I wasn’t gaining on the lead 2-3 guys but the rest were slowly being caught. I knew if I could hold this for the rest of the bike and then unleash the run we expected to then we’d have some great answers to our questions. However, this very quickly changed from being the situation. I started to lose all power in my legs and the effort that had felt comfortable 5 miles earlier now felt hardly reachable. My watts started to drop and I was losing time considerably; this certainly wasn’t part of the plan. It felt like I limped back to T2 having ridden nearly 10minutes slower for the 2nd half of the 56mile ride than the first. The run was going to be interesting…but I was still keen to see if the new run speed would still turn up even if the bike legs hadn’t.
As soon as I jumped off the bike we got that answer too. The lack of power and energy from the bike was still there once I was upright on two feet too. I racked my bike, pulled on the CompresSport compression and running shoes, grabbed the caffeinated PowerBar gel and set off out onto the run with the hot sun beating down.
Mentally, I felt pretty good and I focussed on the technical work we’ve done on running form; “Lean, drive with the hips, depth…” I’d simply run at what felt like the right effort and see what my split was after the first mile. We knew what I was capable of running and I had a very firm figure in mind. Glancing at my watch as I passed the 1mile marker I was disappointed but, (given how my legs actually felt) not entirely surprised to see my split nearly 50s slower than we’d expected. But… it's so often about context and 1 mile isn’t always the same as another, especially on a race course I hadn’t been on before. I wanted to see how things compared the other guys on the course; it was possible of course that this simply was a very slow hard run and actually I wasn’t going that slowly compared to my competition. The 3.1mile turn around point was the next target. So I just got back to focussing on me and my form.
The run course, was two 10.5km laps, which went up to the historical and beautiful old fort area of San Juan, including two seriously steep and cobbled hills that both needed to be ascended and descended each lap. Though never feeling like I was striding along like I have in training, I still felt pretty good in terms of run form and as the turn around point approached and I clocked each of the guys in front of me, I could see that other than the lead 2-3 guys, I wasn’t in bad shape at all and was running as quick as the rest. As I turned and headed back up one of the cobbled hills to start the journey back to the end of the first lap, I knew I was both out of the money and the World Champ qualifying points. The poor swim and bike had left me too far back and though I was gaining some time on lots of the guys in front, it wasn’t significant enough.
I made the call to simply run the rest of the first lap well and then call it quits. The final 6.5 miles that the 2nd lap contained wouldn’t tell me anything I didn’t know by now and wouldn’t see me break back into the top 10, but it would sap a lot of energy out of my legs that would take additional time to recover from. We’d asked and answered the questions… and now clearly had more that needed to be answered too (like why had I so suddenly lost my power and energy on the bike and not performed even close to my training levels); so the race had served it's purpose.
I never like quitting a race and especially after working so hard in the last few months, it hadn’t been an expected outcome at all. In this case though, as a professional, it was the right thing to do in the circumstances. We like to think in life that we get what we deserve when we work really hard for something, but life’s not always like that. Though on paper, the actual “result” of the race would suggest it a failure, as an exercise to prepare for IM SA, it had in a weird way, been a success. There’s a lot still to be done over the next 5 weeks to finish getting ready for South Africa and clearly a few things that need to be cleared up so that we do reap the rewards of the hard work, but that’s part of the beauty and value of achieving anything - the harder you have to work the more satisfying the outcome is. As my current favourite saying goes “Think relentlessly positive!”.
San Juan 70.3 was a bit of a last minute race choice. After a long winter of working full time and training as much as this would allow (circa 18hrs a week), both my coach (T2 Coaching) and I wanted to race to see exactly where we were at in our preparation for the first important race of the season, Ironman South Africa at the end of April. It was a long way to go for a “test” but we needed a decent standard or racing and a 70.3 distance race to really ask and answer some questions. We had worked very hard in the previous 3 months and expected to see some fruit from this labour.
The week leading into the race went pretty well with the exception of having my credit card details stolen and ripped off!!! But physically, everything over in Puerto Rico was good. A recky of the swim, bike and run aspects of the course told me it would be a hot and fast swim and bike, with a brutally hard and hilly run; the perfect test for me!
Race morning came and went with no fuss and I was soon lined up on the shore of the lagoon ready for the non-wetsuit 1.9km swim to kick things off.
As the hooter sounded for the 25 or so Pro men to start the pace was solid, but nothing beyond my comfort zone and I was quite happy to settle into a good pace at the back of the main pack. My new ZeroD tri kit was super comfy and fast in the water; helping me without the normal wetsuit we have in most races. The first turn point at 700m, however, proved to be the point where I answered the first question of the winter’s training. The pace didn’t increase, but I just started to drop off the back of the group. Nothing felt different; I simply wasn’t holding the same speed. My swim time all winter has been most affected and 50-60min swims just wasn’t enough to give me the race pace and speed endurance I needed to swim well for the duration. I swam most of the remaining 1km on my own, still feeling comfortable, but losing serious time with every stroke.
As I climbed the steps from the tropical lagoon and looked at my watch I knew it hadn’t been a great swim. 28mins non-wetsuit 2 years ago would have been good for me, but nowadays it didn’t cut it and I knew I must be at least 3 minutes down on the main group. A long run to transition, helmet on and I grabbed my VO2 Victory TT and was running out towards the exit still quite happy to see how things would pan out; there was over 3hrs of racing left and lots can happen.
My coach and I had a very set plan for the bike and I was to look to average a certain power level (watts) for the ride, without ever exceeding serious “spikes” in this effort. We knew I could hold this level and then run well so we just wanted to see how this placed me in a big race.
Things were going well up to the half-way point. My watts were solid and I felt really comfortable. I wasn’t gaining on the lead 2-3 guys but the rest were slowly being caught. I knew if I could hold this for the rest of the bike and then unleash the run we expected to then we’d have some great answers to our questions. However, this very quickly changed from being the situation. I started to lose all power in my legs and the effort that had felt comfortable 5 miles earlier now felt hardly reachable. My watts started to drop and I was losing time considerably; this certainly wasn’t part of the plan. It felt like I limped back to T2 having ridden nearly 10minutes slower for the 2nd half of the 56mile ride than the first. The run was going to be interesting…but I was still keen to see if the new run speed would still turn up even if the bike legs hadn’t.
As soon as I jumped off the bike we got that answer too. The lack of power and energy from the bike was still there once I was upright on two feet too. I racked my bike, pulled on the CompresSport compression and running shoes, grabbed the caffeinated PowerBar gel and set off out onto the run with the hot sun beating down.
Mentally, I felt pretty good and I focussed on the technical work we’ve done on running form; “Lean, drive with the hips, depth…” I’d simply run at what felt like the right effort and see what my split was after the first mile. We knew what I was capable of running and I had a very firm figure in mind. Glancing at my watch as I passed the 1mile marker I was disappointed but, (given how my legs actually felt) not entirely surprised to see my split nearly 50s slower than we’d expected. But… it's so often about context and 1 mile isn’t always the same as another, especially on a race course I hadn’t been on before. I wanted to see how things compared the other guys on the course; it was possible of course that this simply was a very slow hard run and actually I wasn’t going that slowly compared to my competition. The 3.1mile turn around point was the next target. So I just got back to focussing on me and my form.
The run course, was two 10.5km laps, which went up to the historical and beautiful old fort area of San Juan, including two seriously steep and cobbled hills that both needed to be ascended and descended each lap. Though never feeling like I was striding along like I have in training, I still felt pretty good in terms of run form and as the turn around point approached and I clocked each of the guys in front of me, I could see that other than the lead 2-3 guys, I wasn’t in bad shape at all and was running as quick as the rest. As I turned and headed back up one of the cobbled hills to start the journey back to the end of the first lap, I knew I was both out of the money and the World Champ qualifying points. The poor swim and bike had left me too far back and though I was gaining some time on lots of the guys in front, it wasn’t significant enough.
I made the call to simply run the rest of the first lap well and then call it quits. The final 6.5 miles that the 2nd lap contained wouldn’t tell me anything I didn’t know by now and wouldn’t see me break back into the top 10, but it would sap a lot of energy out of my legs that would take additional time to recover from. We’d asked and answered the questions… and now clearly had more that needed to be answered too (like why had I so suddenly lost my power and energy on the bike and not performed even close to my training levels); so the race had served it's purpose.
I never like quitting a race and especially after working so hard in the last few months, it hadn’t been an expected outcome at all. In this case though, as a professional, it was the right thing to do in the circumstances. We like to think in life that we get what we deserve when we work really hard for something, but life’s not always like that. Though on paper, the actual “result” of the race would suggest it a failure, as an exercise to prepare for IM SA, it had in a weird way, been a success. There’s a lot still to be done over the next 5 weeks to finish getting ready for South Africa and clearly a few things that need to be cleared up so that we do reap the rewards of the hard work, but that’s part of the beauty and value of achieving anything - the harder you have to work the more satisfying the outcome is. As my current favourite saying goes “Think relentlessly positive!”.
Monday, January 02, 2012
The G-Factor
After last weeks little “miss-hap” I thought it was about time I explain it all a little more. If you’re not a twitter follower (@JonHotchkiss) then just to explain, the miss-hap wasn’t anything to do with failing to make it to the toilet in time but rather a nutrition related problem.
For about 5 years now I’ve suffered with an intolerance to gluten. It first arose shortly after I went through a very intense 6 or so months, where I basically stretched my body beyond its limits and something “gave in”. As an endurance athlete, I was rightly subscribing to the school of thought that I needed to “fuel the engine” and this meant loads of carbs. In our western diet this tends to equal, bread, pasta, cereal etc etc. When my body began to give in to the demands I was placing on it, the excess of carbs and in particular wheat based carbs, resulted in my body beginning to reject things. Some people are born with this, which is known as Coeliac’s disease; others like me develop intolerance to it. We (the latter group) can grow out of it, but it takes a lot of time and isn’t always possible.
Fast forward to last week and I’m now what I would consider a fairly well educated (in coeliac terms at least) a gluten-free savvy chap. Gluten is a protein found in certain grains (most commonly known being, wheat, rye and barley(malt), though there are many others too. It is basically the thing which makes bread and cakes hold together in a nice squidgy, soft and elasticated way. To those of us [sufferers] who an eat it, the damage caused by gluten to our bodies is in the simplest terms focussed on the intestinal lining. Back to biology now… stick with me… The intestines (small and large) have a folded structure all along the inside to maximise the surface area and consequently the ability to absorb all the good stuff from what we chuck in our mouths (hopefully this food actually contains good stuff – Christmas pudding sadly doesn’t fall into this category!). When gluten does its damage, it basically erodes these folds in the intestines and increasingly damages the body and its ability to absorb anything from food. Over time, with continued exposure, this damage can be substantial and incredibly dangerous to people’s physical health (and as you’ll see, mental health too).
What this all means in real terms is that the body isn’t getting the fuel… or anything it needs to keep itself operating properly. Now where an added complication comes in, is the wider, more external and internal symptoms that sufferers experience. Coeliac’s disease is often referred to as the chameleon disease, because it can have many different and changing symptoms and different people suffer some different ones. Often confused with IBS, eczema, fatigue, depression, vitamin deficiencies and more, sufferers can spend a long time treating those issues without realising the real cause.
My landlady (who is also gluten intolerant) will get severe stomach cramps and start throwing up if she gets gluten in her and will feel ill for 2-3 days. For me personally, it's longer lasting and in what I do (the whole triathlon malarkey) very damaging. Some of the symptoms will be itchy rashes (oddly only on certain parts of my body like my face, feet and knees), poor hair and nail condition, bloating and extreme fatigue!
You see, it's not only the calories from food that I’m not absorbing, but the vitamins and minerals too. So all the things I need to actually do anything, like create energy (remember the Krebs cycle from biology???) create new skin cells, maintain hair colour or create chemicals in my body like hormones simply aren’t getting absorbed into my body enough. It's basically an extreme example of what bad or malnutrition does to you body. The problem I face is when I accidentally get gluten in my system, (provided it's only a short term exposure to it) the damage is done, and it takes quite some time for my body to recover. The erosional damage that’s been done, needs to be repaired and this takes time and of course energy, proteins, minerals etc… all of which, I’m already not absorbing enough of anyway.
So last week, when I accidentally bought some nut and dairy (but not gluten) free muesli, within 12 hours of eating my first bowl, I was already noticing the tell-tale signs appearing. Falling asleep during the day, itchy knees and a complete lack of metal motivation led me to retrace my eating steps and discover the killer muesli lurking like a “free-from” assassin!!!
The reason why this is so bad for me and triathlon though is that I simply cant and also don’t even want to train. More than an hour of hard exercise and I’m shattered for the next 2 days. Mentally, I loose almost all motivation, concentration and focus. On Friday morning, my turbo session warm-up felt like a threshold set, and less than 5 minutes into the first interval and all I wanted to do was fall asleep on my bike. I literally could rest my head on my handle bars and doze off! This is neither good for training, or for functioning generally as a human!
The good thing is it's not permanent, though I’m sure every time I suffer from it; the damage isn’t quite fully repaired to its previous state. It's normally about 4-5 days before I start to feel an improvement and can begin to train again; 2 weeks later and I feel back to 100% and can train and function in general, like I would expect to.
However, I’ve learnt that what's important when this happens is to make the most of it. Just because I can’t physically get fitter doesn’t mean I can’t be getting better! My coach (@T2Coaching) reminded me of Kipling’s epic “If” poem; and adapted my training so that we still used the time effectively. Things that didn’t require motivation to endure, such as flexibility and conditioning work; technique work and also mental skills are all still possible and easier to accomplish when it's only 15-20 minutes of focus that’s required. I read recently (vague paraphrase here) that the best athletes are the ones with the best “Plans B’s”. Hopefully the last weeks worth of plan B has been pretty good and effective in still improving and moving forward without wasting anything. In the mean time, I’m going to check labels more than the price when it comes to buying from the “Free-from” section.
For about 5 years now I’ve suffered with an intolerance to gluten. It first arose shortly after I went through a very intense 6 or so months, where I basically stretched my body beyond its limits and something “gave in”. As an endurance athlete, I was rightly subscribing to the school of thought that I needed to “fuel the engine” and this meant loads of carbs. In our western diet this tends to equal, bread, pasta, cereal etc etc. When my body began to give in to the demands I was placing on it, the excess of carbs and in particular wheat based carbs, resulted in my body beginning to reject things. Some people are born with this, which is known as Coeliac’s disease; others like me develop intolerance to it. We (the latter group) can grow out of it, but it takes a lot of time and isn’t always possible.
Fast forward to last week and I’m now what I would consider a fairly well educated (in coeliac terms at least) a gluten-free savvy chap. Gluten is a protein found in certain grains (most commonly known being, wheat, rye and barley(malt), though there are many others too. It is basically the thing which makes bread and cakes hold together in a nice squidgy, soft and elasticated way. To those of us [sufferers] who an eat it, the damage caused by gluten to our bodies is in the simplest terms focussed on the intestinal lining. Back to biology now… stick with me… The intestines (small and large) have a folded structure all along the inside to maximise the surface area and consequently the ability to absorb all the good stuff from what we chuck in our mouths (hopefully this food actually contains good stuff – Christmas pudding sadly doesn’t fall into this category!). When gluten does its damage, it basically erodes these folds in the intestines and increasingly damages the body and its ability to absorb anything from food. Over time, with continued exposure, this damage can be substantial and incredibly dangerous to people’s physical health (and as you’ll see, mental health too).
What this all means in real terms is that the body isn’t getting the fuel… or anything it needs to keep itself operating properly. Now where an added complication comes in, is the wider, more external and internal symptoms that sufferers experience. Coeliac’s disease is often referred to as the chameleon disease, because it can have many different and changing symptoms and different people suffer some different ones. Often confused with IBS, eczema, fatigue, depression, vitamin deficiencies and more, sufferers can spend a long time treating those issues without realising the real cause.
My landlady (who is also gluten intolerant) will get severe stomach cramps and start throwing up if she gets gluten in her and will feel ill for 2-3 days. For me personally, it's longer lasting and in what I do (the whole triathlon malarkey) very damaging. Some of the symptoms will be itchy rashes (oddly only on certain parts of my body like my face, feet and knees), poor hair and nail condition, bloating and extreme fatigue!
You see, it's not only the calories from food that I’m not absorbing, but the vitamins and minerals too. So all the things I need to actually do anything, like create energy (remember the Krebs cycle from biology???) create new skin cells, maintain hair colour or create chemicals in my body like hormones simply aren’t getting absorbed into my body enough. It's basically an extreme example of what bad or malnutrition does to you body. The problem I face is when I accidentally get gluten in my system, (provided it's only a short term exposure to it) the damage is done, and it takes quite some time for my body to recover. The erosional damage that’s been done, needs to be repaired and this takes time and of course energy, proteins, minerals etc… all of which, I’m already not absorbing enough of anyway.
So last week, when I accidentally bought some nut and dairy (but not gluten) free muesli, within 12 hours of eating my first bowl, I was already noticing the tell-tale signs appearing. Falling asleep during the day, itchy knees and a complete lack of metal motivation led me to retrace my eating steps and discover the killer muesli lurking like a “free-from” assassin!!!
The reason why this is so bad for me and triathlon though is that I simply cant and also don’t even want to train. More than an hour of hard exercise and I’m shattered for the next 2 days. Mentally, I loose almost all motivation, concentration and focus. On Friday morning, my turbo session warm-up felt like a threshold set, and less than 5 minutes into the first interval and all I wanted to do was fall asleep on my bike. I literally could rest my head on my handle bars and doze off! This is neither good for training, or for functioning generally as a human!
The good thing is it's not permanent, though I’m sure every time I suffer from it; the damage isn’t quite fully repaired to its previous state. It's normally about 4-5 days before I start to feel an improvement and can begin to train again; 2 weeks later and I feel back to 100% and can train and function in general, like I would expect to.
However, I’ve learnt that what's important when this happens is to make the most of it. Just because I can’t physically get fitter doesn’t mean I can’t be getting better! My coach (@T2Coaching) reminded me of Kipling’s epic “If” poem; and adapted my training so that we still used the time effectively. Things that didn’t require motivation to endure, such as flexibility and conditioning work; technique work and also mental skills are all still possible and easier to accomplish when it's only 15-20 minutes of focus that’s required. I read recently (vague paraphrase here) that the best athletes are the ones with the best “Plans B’s”. Hopefully the last weeks worth of plan B has been pretty good and effective in still improving and moving forward without wasting anything. In the mean time, I’m going to check labels more than the price when it comes to buying from the “Free-from” section.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Working 9-5.... err more like 5-9!
I recently decided to take the plunge during the off season and head back to a "normal" job. It often makes me laugh when people don't think what I normally do (the lycra wearing, training and self-inflicted suffering that is being a full time athlete) is "work". In truth, whilst I love it and it has many, many great benefits, its the hardest job I've ever done. Don't get me wrong, I'm fully aware that there are jobs that are FAR harder and more demanding -teachers, nurses policemen or being a full time mum to name but a few that I admire immensely- but the demands we must make on ourselves as full-time athletes, both mentally, physically and emotionally are huge and at times VERY tough. But I digress....
After (as you'll know if you read my previous blog) deciding to make some much needed changes for next season in order to get my performances back on track, I needed to put in place a number of things... and some of these, as with most things in life, required money. Hands-up MY fault, I'd not got the results this season to enable me to actually have these finances in place; rather than sulk about this though I decided I had to fix it... my mistakes meant my responsibility. So by Gods grace, at a time when more and more people are unemployed and the financial world seems all doom'n gloom, I find myself back in an IT job and sat behind a desk for much of the day and commuting into an office at rush-hour (on my bike of course).
2 weeks in and I'll be honest, life is now relentlessly hectic! The days are passing without me even noticing. I'm up at 5am (sometimes earlier) and still training at gone 10pm some nights. In a way though, exhausting as it is, its actually quite refining for me. I've been forced to get VERY 'lean'n mean' with my time... no moment can be wasted! Even my love for Masterchef Australia and Grand Designs has been snuffed out in the name of effective time management. My time now can only be divided between Jesus, my girlfriend & family, training and work. Unfortunately there isn't time for anything else.
The interesting thing is, that the result of being SO time starved, is that I'm finding I'm actually getting things DONE! Or maybe that should be the important things done (however as I write, the Christmas shopping hasn't yet made this list yet... GULP!). With no time for dawdling and with all systems "GO" from the moment the alarm goes off, I'm actually not feeling stressed or exhausted but actually (though still tired) quite effective and productive. With the expert and very understanding advice or my new coach Tom Bennett (T2 Coaching) my training is now all about bang--for--buck time effective sessions, no waste or junk miles allowed :-)
The other thing I've realised is that a lot of bad habits that had crept in and I'm sure helped lead to sub-optimal performance, have now been broken too. There's no option to "wait for the rain to stop before i head out for my run"... and then fail to actually get out the door at all; there's no "oh I'll just watch the end of this program and then go for my recovery nap"; and there's no "hit the snooze and take 5 more minutes" when i wake up in the morning. Its quite nice to feel like I've got some disciplined control back. Its not so much a transformation though, as it is conformation.
Having said all this however, I simply have NO idea how people do this all whist also having kids too! I tip my hat to you all because you must have somehow invented the 25th hour in the day or the 8th day in the week.
As Tom recently quoted to me "In every situation there is potential value, believe this then begin looking for it" - Norman Vincent Peale
After (as you'll know if you read my previous blog) deciding to make some much needed changes for next season in order to get my performances back on track, I needed to put in place a number of things... and some of these, as with most things in life, required money. Hands-up MY fault, I'd not got the results this season to enable me to actually have these finances in place; rather than sulk about this though I decided I had to fix it... my mistakes meant my responsibility. So by Gods grace, at a time when more and more people are unemployed and the financial world seems all doom'n gloom, I find myself back in an IT job and sat behind a desk for much of the day and commuting into an office at rush-hour (on my bike of course).
2 weeks in and I'll be honest, life is now relentlessly hectic! The days are passing without me even noticing. I'm up at 5am (sometimes earlier) and still training at gone 10pm some nights. In a way though, exhausting as it is, its actually quite refining for me. I've been forced to get VERY 'lean'n mean' with my time... no moment can be wasted! Even my love for Masterchef Australia and Grand Designs has been snuffed out in the name of effective time management. My time now can only be divided between Jesus, my girlfriend & family, training and work. Unfortunately there isn't time for anything else.
The interesting thing is, that the result of being SO time starved, is that I'm finding I'm actually getting things DONE! Or maybe that should be the important things done (however as I write, the Christmas shopping hasn't yet made this list yet... GULP!). With no time for dawdling and with all systems "GO" from the moment the alarm goes off, I'm actually not feeling stressed or exhausted but actually (though still tired) quite effective and productive. With the expert and very understanding advice or my new coach Tom Bennett (T2 Coaching) my training is now all about bang--for--buck time effective sessions, no waste or junk miles allowed :-)
The other thing I've realised is that a lot of bad habits that had crept in and I'm sure helped lead to sub-optimal performance, have now been broken too. There's no option to "wait for the rain to stop before i head out for my run"... and then fail to actually get out the door at all; there's no "oh I'll just watch the end of this program and then go for my recovery nap"; and there's no "hit the snooze and take 5 more minutes" when i wake up in the morning. Its quite nice to feel like I've got some disciplined control back. Its not so much a transformation though, as it is conformation.
Having said all this however, I simply have NO idea how people do this all whist also having kids too! I tip my hat to you all because you must have somehow invented the 25th hour in the day or the 8th day in the week.
As Tom recently quoted to me "In every situation there is potential value, believe this then begin looking for it" - Norman Vincent Peale
Monday, October 31, 2011
How did I get here…
Once again, the time between posts is too long!!! This time, I think I need to be honest with myself and recognise why this is though. The season from the midway point onwards didn’t go well for a number of reasons and I’ve simply not felt like I had anything that anyone would want to read… that no body would want to bother. It's funny how the brain works sometimes isn’t it, and how easy it can be to let (if and when we choose to) external factors determine our thinking, attitude, actions and reactions. I always say, “You always have a choice, even if you don’t have control” and yet for some time now, I’ve not remembered this for myself.
You see, I’ve been forced to do a lot of what I guess some would call “soul searching”… I’d rather call it honest [very] critical assessment and what I’ve realised isn’t something I’m happy with; not in the slightest am I happy with it! As I’ve looked back upon the last 6 months of racing, training and life, I’ve had to follow the trajectory well beyond that time frame and realise that in triathlon at least, I’ve let things slip in a BIG way. I can see when and why these things started and even appreciate many of the understandable causes behind it. But what I’ve got to accept is that I’ve let all of this germinate beyond simple “events” that I go through (as we all do in life), to become seriously negative impacts that grow to be excuses; that grow to be habitual (attitudes or actions) parts of me that that are quite frankly cancerous to me as an athlete.
It's only been in this time off at the end of the season, faced with the reality of a [poor] set of race results for 2011, that I’ve been able to get any objectivity; in part this is one of the problems. But I don’t want to dwell (anymore) on all of that. Mistakes are only wasted if not learned from and used to make changes for the better in the future. I realise I’ve been un-professional in many ways to training, racing, preparation, structure, support, finances… the list goes on. Watching some of the pre-Kona footage this year I was struck in particular with how methodical Craig Alexander was to every single aspect of his training and racing, but more so, that even he as a 2 x world champion, actually handed over the responsibility for almost everything to other people; to experts!
The hole that I realise I’ve been in, in terms of training and racing has been dug solely by me… largely because I’ve been the only one doing the digging! Not only is this sub-optimal to doing any one thing well and consistently, but I’m also (I guess somewhat arrogantly) thinking I can do as good a job in things like for example nutrition, as a expert elite sports nutritionist. If I want to perform in a world class, professional way, then it makes sense to get world class professional help!
Who knows why or how I let myself get into the rut of doing things in the way I have been (I’m sure some of my friends might cheekily put their hands up and say “err… we knew”). I can see now just how far removed from the attitude I used to have and athlete I used to be, I’ve ended up.
So it's time to change things… everything! No more trying to do everything and actually doing nothing particularly well in the end anyway. It's time to seek out the best and let them take that burden off of me so I can do what I need to do as well as I know I can and must do, which is train and race!
So there are changes afoot for next season. The next few weeks are all about putting the perfect people, support and situations, plans and preparations in place to enable success and achieve it too. I’ve got some incredible sponsors who faithfully look after me and I’m incredibly grateful to VO2 Performance Road Bikes, Powerbar, CompresSport, ProFeet, ProHab Performance and Greepers. There will be more “back ground” people joining the “team” for 2012 and I’m for the first time in a long time, extremely excited about things again. The old enthusiasm is back and with it so too a confidence in myself (and those around me) to deliver what we truly believe is possible.
Pride is [wrongly] lorded nowadays as a positive attribute to have. I think humility is a far greater attribute to have but it's also certainly far harder to truly become. I’m grateful that God, in his grace helps me realise I need help and then also supplies every need to strengthen.
You see, I’ve been forced to do a lot of what I guess some would call “soul searching”… I’d rather call it honest [very] critical assessment and what I’ve realised isn’t something I’m happy with; not in the slightest am I happy with it! As I’ve looked back upon the last 6 months of racing, training and life, I’ve had to follow the trajectory well beyond that time frame and realise that in triathlon at least, I’ve let things slip in a BIG way. I can see when and why these things started and even appreciate many of the understandable causes behind it. But what I’ve got to accept is that I’ve let all of this germinate beyond simple “events” that I go through (as we all do in life), to become seriously negative impacts that grow to be excuses; that grow to be habitual (attitudes or actions) parts of me that that are quite frankly cancerous to me as an athlete.
It's only been in this time off at the end of the season, faced with the reality of a [poor] set of race results for 2011, that I’ve been able to get any objectivity; in part this is one of the problems. But I don’t want to dwell (anymore) on all of that. Mistakes are only wasted if not learned from and used to make changes for the better in the future. I realise I’ve been un-professional in many ways to training, racing, preparation, structure, support, finances… the list goes on. Watching some of the pre-Kona footage this year I was struck in particular with how methodical Craig Alexander was to every single aspect of his training and racing, but more so, that even he as a 2 x world champion, actually handed over the responsibility for almost everything to other people; to experts!
The hole that I realise I’ve been in, in terms of training and racing has been dug solely by me… largely because I’ve been the only one doing the digging! Not only is this sub-optimal to doing any one thing well and consistently, but I’m also (I guess somewhat arrogantly) thinking I can do as good a job in things like for example nutrition, as a expert elite sports nutritionist. If I want to perform in a world class, professional way, then it makes sense to get world class professional help!
Who knows why or how I let myself get into the rut of doing things in the way I have been (I’m sure some of my friends might cheekily put their hands up and say “err… we knew”). I can see now just how far removed from the attitude I used to have and athlete I used to be, I’ve ended up.
So it's time to change things… everything! No more trying to do everything and actually doing nothing particularly well in the end anyway. It's time to seek out the best and let them take that burden off of me so I can do what I need to do as well as I know I can and must do, which is train and race!
So there are changes afoot for next season. The next few weeks are all about putting the perfect people, support and situations, plans and preparations in place to enable success and achieve it too. I’ve got some incredible sponsors who faithfully look after me and I’m incredibly grateful to VO2 Performance Road Bikes, Powerbar, CompresSport, ProFeet, ProHab Performance and Greepers. There will be more “back ground” people joining the “team” for 2012 and I’m for the first time in a long time, extremely excited about things again. The old enthusiasm is back and with it so too a confidence in myself (and those around me) to deliver what we truly believe is possible.
Pride is [wrongly] lorded nowadays as a positive attribute to have. I think humility is a far greater attribute to have but it's also certainly far harder to truly become. I’m grateful that God, in his grace helps me realise I need help and then also supplies every need to strengthen.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
The log in my own eye...
Started this yesterday, but only finished it this evening and decided it was still worth posting :-) ... Hope it is...
I’ve felt moved today to write something in response to one of the major news stories currently filling our papers and TV screens. Whilst the Middle East tears itself up in revolution, we find ourselves oddly miss-focussed on two young sportsmen –Mr Cole and Rooney- and contemplating their recent behaviour.
For simple contextualisation purposes, Ashley Cole, the Chelsea and England defender is currently having to explain how and why he ended up shooting a young work experience kid with an air riffle, at the Chelsea FC training ground. Wayne Rooney, also an England international has been somehow cleared of a clear-as-day act of violence in Saturdays game with Sunderland (?) where he is shown to deliberately elbow an opponent without any obvious justifiable (if there could ever be) motive.
But I don’t want to talk so much about the actual incidents themselves, but more the bigger picture that surrounds it all. Whilst out on my long run today, I was thinking about these things and also the reasons why I myself, do what I do as a professional sportsperson. What's the reason… and I wonder what would be the answer Mr Cole and Rooney would give to this question.
The irony of these two news-hitting incidents is that for all the criticism and “outcry” that we see and hear from the papers and the public, come tonight when Chelsea play Manchester Utd (and both players are allowed to play) there will be nearly 80,000 fans cheering… dare I say it… worshiping these same two men regardless of their personal misdemeanours. Should it strike us as surprising therefore when people in their position do such things when the long term response they get is adoration and love. The perception of the reality of all they have is clearly lost… and it's easy for “us common folk” to sit back and point at them, criticising; yet are we any better? To what end do we do things, what's the reason and how morally superior do we stand up to them? It's easy for us to say “they don’t know what they have” and accuse them of being ungrateful and abusing their privileged lives, but are we so different ourselves?
In the pursuit of “idols” we can all too often I think, find ourselves doing things we try to justify or even choose to ignore and accept as “wrong”; and yet in the grand scheme of things how important are those things that we pursue, crave, follow… live for…worship? I know the word “worship” might seam alien to many, but when we ask ourselves do we sacrifice time, money, friends or family in order to get these things, or for these people? This ‘thing’ might be money, status or clothes; or these people might be spouses, celebrities or sports-people. Either way if the answer to those questions is ‘Yes’, then worship is maybe not so misappropriate a word to use.
Providentially the book I’m currently reading struck me with some quite hard hitting things on this very subject today. It's called “Don’t waste your life” (By John Piper) and here follows a short exert from it that brings some sobriety to some of the things in life that we all end up placing value on, yet find it all too easy to criticise others when they fall:
“At these moments, when the trifling fog of life clears and I see what I am really on earth to do, I groan over the petty pursuits that waste so many lives – and so much of mine… it is like a multi-layered dream world of insignificance expanding into nothingness…
[Contemplating the immense courage and sacrifice of World War II]… I cannot make peace with the petty preoccupations of most [modern] life. Reading [one] story I wanted to speak to every youth group in America and say ‘Do you want to see what cool is? ...Well listen up about Jack Lucas.
He’d fast talked his way into the Marines at fourteen… assigned to drive a truck in Hawaii, he had grown frustrated… stowed away on a transport out of Honolulu.
He landed on D-Day [at Iwo Jima] without a riffle. He had grabbed one lying on the beach and fought his way inland.
Now on D-Day+1, Jack and 3 comrades were crawling through a trench when eight Japanese sprang in front of them. Jack shot one of them through the head. Then his rifle jammed. As he struggled with it a grenade landed at his feet. He yelled a warning to the others and rammed the grenade into the soft ash. Immediately, another rolled in, Jack Lucas, seventeen, fell on both grenades. “Luke, you’re gona die,” he remembered thinking…
Aboard the hospital ship Samaritan the doctors could scarcely believe it. “Maybe he was too damned young and too damned tough to die,” one said. He endured twenty-one re-constructive operations and became the nations youngest Medal of Honour winner – and the only high school freshman to receive it.”
Now whilst that might not straight away seam like it has anything to do with football, or celerity status and lives… or you and me; I feel it actually has all too much to say to us all. As John Piper put it, can we ourselves make peace with the “petty preoccupations of most [modern] life”? How much time do we ourselves waste on things that serve no purpose, or that often actually have underlying damaging implications? Just because my mistakes aren’t so publicly shown and commented on, does this mean I should be any less prudent with the choices I make and the things I do? I would suggest not. Trust me, it's something that’s becoming more and more weighty in the choices I make and hope it will help me to ensure as many as possible are good and purposeful ones.
How easily we can read a gossip magazine and tear apart someone else’s lifestyle and ironically see no fault on our part for doing this. Or how readily do we pay extortionate sums to attain a possession we deeply crave or “need” without a moment of guilt for the selfish use of the money that could have so easily transformed the life of an earthquake victim, or Aids orphan.
This might seam like a pretty big and deep subject for my blog here… but this is what's been going through my head today as I’ve trained. It's certainly spurring me on to try and ensure I don’t waste my life and the gifts I’ve been given. I want to try and use what I do in sport to serve a greater purpose. I hope and pray that every decision and action I take towards this end won’t be wasted and that I too, won’t get caught up in petty preoccupations… or just as bad, pointing the finger at others who might – there might just be a big plank of wood in my eye while I’m criticising the spec in theirs.
While we may feel frustrated with the behaviour of such people as Ashley Cole and Wayne Rooney, paralysed to impact it all in any way, I am beginning to realise that actually we can change it all more than we realise. Though speaking directly to such as these two sportsmen is highly unlikely, we can make changes in our own lives that impact in positive ways beyond simply getting one or two famous people to live lives we would deem “good”. Even that notion of “good” is something to be more closely examined (another day maybe) but for now I think I will start by trying to ensure that each conscious decision I make has a purpose that is greater than my own. If we all try to do this, then I think the difference would be far more profound that one of two sportsmen toeing the line of quiet, peaceful living. Challenging for me… but it's a challenge that has purpose and surely therefore, is worthwhile.
I’ve felt moved today to write something in response to one of the major news stories currently filling our papers and TV screens. Whilst the Middle East tears itself up in revolution, we find ourselves oddly miss-focussed on two young sportsmen –Mr Cole and Rooney- and contemplating their recent behaviour.
For simple contextualisation purposes, Ashley Cole, the Chelsea and England defender is currently having to explain how and why he ended up shooting a young work experience kid with an air riffle, at the Chelsea FC training ground. Wayne Rooney, also an England international has been somehow cleared of a clear-as-day act of violence in Saturdays game with Sunderland (?) where he is shown to deliberately elbow an opponent without any obvious justifiable (if there could ever be) motive.
But I don’t want to talk so much about the actual incidents themselves, but more the bigger picture that surrounds it all. Whilst out on my long run today, I was thinking about these things and also the reasons why I myself, do what I do as a professional sportsperson. What's the reason… and I wonder what would be the answer Mr Cole and Rooney would give to this question.
The irony of these two news-hitting incidents is that for all the criticism and “outcry” that we see and hear from the papers and the public, come tonight when Chelsea play Manchester Utd (and both players are allowed to play) there will be nearly 80,000 fans cheering… dare I say it… worshiping these same two men regardless of their personal misdemeanours. Should it strike us as surprising therefore when people in their position do such things when the long term response they get is adoration and love. The perception of the reality of all they have is clearly lost… and it's easy for “us common folk” to sit back and point at them, criticising; yet are we any better? To what end do we do things, what's the reason and how morally superior do we stand up to them? It's easy for us to say “they don’t know what they have” and accuse them of being ungrateful and abusing their privileged lives, but are we so different ourselves?
In the pursuit of “idols” we can all too often I think, find ourselves doing things we try to justify or even choose to ignore and accept as “wrong”; and yet in the grand scheme of things how important are those things that we pursue, crave, follow… live for…worship? I know the word “worship” might seam alien to many, but when we ask ourselves do we sacrifice time, money, friends or family in order to get these things, or for these people? This ‘thing’ might be money, status or clothes; or these people might be spouses, celebrities or sports-people. Either way if the answer to those questions is ‘Yes’, then worship is maybe not so misappropriate a word to use.
Providentially the book I’m currently reading struck me with some quite hard hitting things on this very subject today. It's called “Don’t waste your life” (By John Piper) and here follows a short exert from it that brings some sobriety to some of the things in life that we all end up placing value on, yet find it all too easy to criticise others when they fall:
“At these moments, when the trifling fog of life clears and I see what I am really on earth to do, I groan over the petty pursuits that waste so many lives – and so much of mine… it is like a multi-layered dream world of insignificance expanding into nothingness…
[Contemplating the immense courage and sacrifice of World War II]… I cannot make peace with the petty preoccupations of most [modern] life. Reading [one] story I wanted to speak to every youth group in America and say ‘Do you want to see what cool is? ...Well listen up about Jack Lucas.
He’d fast talked his way into the Marines at fourteen… assigned to drive a truck in Hawaii, he had grown frustrated… stowed away on a transport out of Honolulu.
He landed on D-Day [at Iwo Jima] without a riffle. He had grabbed one lying on the beach and fought his way inland.
Now on D-Day+1, Jack and 3 comrades were crawling through a trench when eight Japanese sprang in front of them. Jack shot one of them through the head. Then his rifle jammed. As he struggled with it a grenade landed at his feet. He yelled a warning to the others and rammed the grenade into the soft ash. Immediately, another rolled in, Jack Lucas, seventeen, fell on both grenades. “Luke, you’re gona die,” he remembered thinking…
Aboard the hospital ship Samaritan the doctors could scarcely believe it. “Maybe he was too damned young and too damned tough to die,” one said. He endured twenty-one re-constructive operations and became the nations youngest Medal of Honour winner – and the only high school freshman to receive it.”
Now whilst that might not straight away seam like it has anything to do with football, or celerity status and lives… or you and me; I feel it actually has all too much to say to us all. As John Piper put it, can we ourselves make peace with the “petty preoccupations of most [modern] life”? How much time do we ourselves waste on things that serve no purpose, or that often actually have underlying damaging implications? Just because my mistakes aren’t so publicly shown and commented on, does this mean I should be any less prudent with the choices I make and the things I do? I would suggest not. Trust me, it's something that’s becoming more and more weighty in the choices I make and hope it will help me to ensure as many as possible are good and purposeful ones.
How easily we can read a gossip magazine and tear apart someone else’s lifestyle and ironically see no fault on our part for doing this. Or how readily do we pay extortionate sums to attain a possession we deeply crave or “need” without a moment of guilt for the selfish use of the money that could have so easily transformed the life of an earthquake victim, or Aids orphan.
This might seam like a pretty big and deep subject for my blog here… but this is what's been going through my head today as I’ve trained. It's certainly spurring me on to try and ensure I don’t waste my life and the gifts I’ve been given. I want to try and use what I do in sport to serve a greater purpose. I hope and pray that every decision and action I take towards this end won’t be wasted and that I too, won’t get caught up in petty preoccupations… or just as bad, pointing the finger at others who might – there might just be a big plank of wood in my eye while I’m criticising the spec in theirs.
While we may feel frustrated with the behaviour of such people as Ashley Cole and Wayne Rooney, paralysed to impact it all in any way, I am beginning to realise that actually we can change it all more than we realise. Though speaking directly to such as these two sportsmen is highly unlikely, we can make changes in our own lives that impact in positive ways beyond simply getting one or two famous people to live lives we would deem “good”. Even that notion of “good” is something to be more closely examined (another day maybe) but for now I think I will start by trying to ensure that each conscious decision I make has a purpose that is greater than my own. If we all try to do this, then I think the difference would be far more profound that one of two sportsmen toeing the line of quiet, peaceful living. Challenging for me… but it's a challenge that has purpose and surely therefore, is worthwhile.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Race Report - the "bigger picture"
I said after my win at Taiwan 70.3 that there "[was] SO much MORE to last Saturdays win than what simply went on in the 4h09min of racing..." I wanted to write about EVERYTHING that had gone into achieving that result, but decided to wait until after IM Western Australia as this helps give extra dimension and further "body" to all of it, maybe for some of you reading this, extra credibility too. You can read race reports for both those races below & on my website to hear about the race days themselves; what's here though, to me, is FAR more important and significant than the normal post-race waffle I might give about 'race strategy and the nutrition I took onboard etc'.
Both these race performances have been a LONG time coming and despite MANY setbacks, something I always believed I was capable of. Yes there has been a LOT of hard work and perseverance but SO many people have been involved in getting me through some very tough times and to those results... I'll try to mention as many as I can here and explain their significance. I owe a HUGE thanks to them ALL.
I should probably pre-empt all of this too by pointing out that the win in Taiwan on October 30th, was almost exactly 1 year to the day since I’d returned to training after an enforced 10 weeks of complete rest having been hit with chronic fatigue. 2007,08 & 09 had been incredibly draining years for me physically, mentally and emotionally; the stress of which had gone un-acknowledge by me. It all lead to a gradual deterioration in both training and race performance and eventually to me imploding in August of 09. I was an empty shell with nothing left inside but my faith that God was still in control and would use this for good somehow. He was, and did and I’m actually very grateful for this time as I learned some hard, yet important lessons and grew in lots of ways that I needed to. We can learn our greatest lessons from our biggest defeats, and I certainly did, leading eventually to 1 year on feeling like I had been restored and I hope, better for it all.
But back to the race report “bigger picture”…
Undoubtedly, without my parents none of this would have happened; not least because I was at the point where I couldn't actually afford to fully pay for the trip. Without their help I wouldn't even have boarded the plane to get to the race in Taiwan. But far more than this is the unceasing support they have given without hesitation in so many other ways. Always encouraging and believing in me... and trusting in MY self-belief EVEN through the really bad and low times, when MANY others didn't. Last year when I literally fell apart physically and emotionally with chronic fatigue, they never questioned or deterred me for continuing and they did ALL they could to help me try to fully rest and recover. I know I'm INCREDIBLY blessed to always have my mum, dad & brothers behind me. Coming to races to support, help and simply sharing the pressure, the early mornings, feeding me the HUGE quantities of food I consume :-) ...the list is endless, but personally NEVER goes un-noted.
My church 'family' too, have been wonderful over the last few years. Some VERY close friends have supported me, encouraged, prayed un-ceasingly and also believed in/with me when things didn't seam to be going too well. When, at 10.30pm, the night before the race in Taiwan I was STILL waiting for my bike to arrive they were back in the UK praying for me. This kind of support is hard to put a price on... you can't, but knowing I'm never "alone" when racing even when 1000's of miles away has been key to me being able to race closer to my potential. They understand my desire to use sport as a "missionary field" where I can hopefully show and speak about my faith. (You can briefly read more about this at www.ForHisGlory.co.uk ) I know they share in my delight as the results come and it opens doors - such as this blog - to speak about why my beliefs as a Christian are so important... THE MOST important thing. In particular Chris, Linda and Jen, have shared every hard and easy road as I walked (sometimes crawled) on it and I really can't thank them enough.
I'm also very fortunate to have a very big but close circle of friends most of which I've known since I was a very little kid. We've grown up (I hope ha ha) together and they've known me as the Wimbledon tennis ball-boy, footballer, the "lads holiday" boy etc... I know its quite unusual to have a large circle of friends whom have been together for over 2 decades but in recent times, when training and racing has meant sometimes 2-3 months between seeing them, I've realised how close and important they all are to me. They too have understood when it didn't make sense and never undermined what I was trying to do even if the evidence at the time didn't seam to back up what I believed. They've also come to races, helped when money got a little tight and very simply been good, solid, loving mates; even their parents have helped me at times! To quote one of them recently in jest (himself quoting Morrissey) "We hate it when our friends become successful and if they're Northern, well, that makes it even worse..."
Others like Wayne who has been a great mate, fellow tri-geek to waffle tri-world chat to, share dozens of website links about the latest bikes :-) GREAT massage therapist and also massive help during some tough times in the last few years. His treatment of my legs before Taiwan was critical I'm sure, to my legs feeling SO GOOD in that race despite the mammoth journey I made so close to race day. It's little things -well actually to me they're HUGE- like his giving me free treatment and helping so much when I was injured earlier this year, that kept me going when sometimes I didn't feel like it. When I've been feeling a little low, their belief in me has restored mine or simply given it added strength when maybe mine was waning. I know particularly with Wayne that he's struggled himself with his training and racing recently so I hope that my results will give him a little personal satisfaction too and encourage HIM to keep chasing his dreams.
I am also, very blessed to count one of the worlds current greatest athletes (in ANY SPORT in my opinion) as a close and dear friend. It's says something of what she has achieved in triathlon and increasingly beyond it too, in such a short space of time that as I write this she has just received an honorary doctorate from Birmingham University and today is preparing to meet the Queen to receive an OBE! [It's often said that the BIGGEST stars need only be know by their first name so...] Whilst Chrissie has been destroying world records, beating most of the men in the world and racking up World Titles she’s also been a CONSTANT supporter, encourager, adviser and friend. Earlier this year literally HOURS after she broken her own world record she emailed me to wish me good luck for the race I was soon to do! This kind of thing is what all the on-line wana-be's and "haters" don't know about her. They don't see her fighting my little corner whilst they write complete rubbish about her, as they hide behind on-line pseudonyms; but I can't tell you how much it helps to have her also showing complete belief in me, even when things were going REALLY badly at times. Others previously very close to me have ended up very negative and un-supportive, but when I’ve have the best in the world saying otherwise its helped pull me through and I can't thank her enough. She deserves her royal honour and continued success in the future more than anyone I can think of.
The more I think about it, the more people spring to mind. Friends overseas who paid for me to have a holiday with them when external issues left me exhausted and emotionally drained (thanks to my American "family" for that!). There are SO many and it stirs up within me a deep sense of gratitude, love and humility when I stop and take it all in.
Sponsors too, have been very supportive and this year PureTri, Powerbar, CompressSport, ProVO2, Greeper and DC Leisure have really made things much easier when it comes to equipment, kit & nutrition that I quite simply couldn't afford on my own. It's nice to be able I hope, to repay them if only a little so far with the results and increased exposure of recent times.
Finally though comes the single most important influence and helper and the one who deserves ALL the credit for anything "good" I'm ever able to achieve... as a Christian I KNOW (as I wrote in my IM WA race report) its ALL a gift of Gods grace; I simply get to enjoy it... When things have fallen apart, it’s been my faith in Jesus ALONE that has kept me going, given me hope and purpose both in and beyond triathlon. I explain this on the website I linked to earlier and I hope you'll take the time to read it... because its not just what suits ME and helps ME, my faith isn't a crutch I lean on when the #### hits the fan; its truth, its real and I hope I can continue to share this and show it through how I train, race, speak, think and live. The bible speaks very clearly about endurance (Hebrews 12:1-2), but importantly, enduring with a purpose and NOT wasting the suffering that we ALL go through (1 Peter 4:11-16). Knowing this truth makes suffering, failure, hardship and defeat (as well as victories and good times etc) things I'm actually able to rejoice in... I know that seams like a complete oxymoron, but it’s true. And just by way of an example, consider that not less than 7 years ago I did my first ever Olympic triathlon at London finishing not far off 3hrs. A lot has changed since then (I'm nearly twice as fast now and as I write this I'm currently ranked in the top 30 guys in the world for Ironman and 70.3 racing); weaknesses have been turned into strengths (Hebrews 11:34). I've seen so many answers to my prayers and His hand SO CLEARLY at work in my life during this time, but I've only become increasingly humbled by my awareness that its all a gift, and I need to look after each opportunity, this body I've been given, every word I get to speak and use them as God wants me to... to reveal HIS glory :-) Soli Deo gloria
So you see, it’s certainly not as simple as swim, bike, run but nor does it come to watts, heart rates and energy gels :-) I know that Taiwan and IM WA don't make me a big "star"... they are only 2 reasonably decent results, but I certainly hope the start of more. Whatever though, Gods in control and I'm just happy I get to see a little of "the ride". I hope next year I get to share more of this with you all.
Both these race performances have been a LONG time coming and despite MANY setbacks, something I always believed I was capable of. Yes there has been a LOT of hard work and perseverance but SO many people have been involved in getting me through some very tough times and to those results... I'll try to mention as many as I can here and explain their significance. I owe a HUGE thanks to them ALL.
I should probably pre-empt all of this too by pointing out that the win in Taiwan on October 30th, was almost exactly 1 year to the day since I’d returned to training after an enforced 10 weeks of complete rest having been hit with chronic fatigue. 2007,08 & 09 had been incredibly draining years for me physically, mentally and emotionally; the stress of which had gone un-acknowledge by me. It all lead to a gradual deterioration in both training and race performance and eventually to me imploding in August of 09. I was an empty shell with nothing left inside but my faith that God was still in control and would use this for good somehow. He was, and did and I’m actually very grateful for this time as I learned some hard, yet important lessons and grew in lots of ways that I needed to. We can learn our greatest lessons from our biggest defeats, and I certainly did, leading eventually to 1 year on feeling like I had been restored and I hope, better for it all.
But back to the race report “bigger picture”…
Undoubtedly, without my parents none of this would have happened; not least because I was at the point where I couldn't actually afford to fully pay for the trip. Without their help I wouldn't even have boarded the plane to get to the race in Taiwan. But far more than this is the unceasing support they have given without hesitation in so many other ways. Always encouraging and believing in me... and trusting in MY self-belief EVEN through the really bad and low times, when MANY others didn't. Last year when I literally fell apart physically and emotionally with chronic fatigue, they never questioned or deterred me for continuing and they did ALL they could to help me try to fully rest and recover. I know I'm INCREDIBLY blessed to always have my mum, dad & brothers behind me. Coming to races to support, help and simply sharing the pressure, the early mornings, feeding me the HUGE quantities of food I consume :-) ...the list is endless, but personally NEVER goes un-noted.
My church 'family' too, have been wonderful over the last few years. Some VERY close friends have supported me, encouraged, prayed un-ceasingly and also believed in/with me when things didn't seam to be going too well. When, at 10.30pm, the night before the race in Taiwan I was STILL waiting for my bike to arrive they were back in the UK praying for me. This kind of support is hard to put a price on... you can't, but knowing I'm never "alone" when racing even when 1000's of miles away has been key to me being able to race closer to my potential. They understand my desire to use sport as a "missionary field" where I can hopefully show and speak about my faith. (You can briefly read more about this at www.ForHisGlory.co.uk ) I know they share in my delight as the results come and it opens doors - such as this blog - to speak about why my beliefs as a Christian are so important... THE MOST important thing. In particular Chris, Linda and Jen, have shared every hard and easy road as I walked (sometimes crawled) on it and I really can't thank them enough.
I'm also very fortunate to have a very big but close circle of friends most of which I've known since I was a very little kid. We've grown up (I hope ha ha) together and they've known me as the Wimbledon tennis ball-boy, footballer, the "lads holiday" boy etc... I know its quite unusual to have a large circle of friends whom have been together for over 2 decades but in recent times, when training and racing has meant sometimes 2-3 months between seeing them, I've realised how close and important they all are to me. They too have understood when it didn't make sense and never undermined what I was trying to do even if the evidence at the time didn't seam to back up what I believed. They've also come to races, helped when money got a little tight and very simply been good, solid, loving mates; even their parents have helped me at times! To quote one of them recently in jest (himself quoting Morrissey) "We hate it when our friends become successful and if they're Northern, well, that makes it even worse..."
Others like Wayne who has been a great mate, fellow tri-geek to waffle tri-world chat to, share dozens of website links about the latest bikes :-) GREAT massage therapist and also massive help during some tough times in the last few years. His treatment of my legs before Taiwan was critical I'm sure, to my legs feeling SO GOOD in that race despite the mammoth journey I made so close to race day. It's little things -well actually to me they're HUGE- like his giving me free treatment and helping so much when I was injured earlier this year, that kept me going when sometimes I didn't feel like it. When I've been feeling a little low, their belief in me has restored mine or simply given it added strength when maybe mine was waning. I know particularly with Wayne that he's struggled himself with his training and racing recently so I hope that my results will give him a little personal satisfaction too and encourage HIM to keep chasing his dreams.
I am also, very blessed to count one of the worlds current greatest athletes (in ANY SPORT in my opinion) as a close and dear friend. It's says something of what she has achieved in triathlon and increasingly beyond it too, in such a short space of time that as I write this she has just received an honorary doctorate from Birmingham University and today is preparing to meet the Queen to receive an OBE! [It's often said that the BIGGEST stars need only be know by their first name so...] Whilst Chrissie has been destroying world records, beating most of the men in the world and racking up World Titles she’s also been a CONSTANT supporter, encourager, adviser and friend. Earlier this year literally HOURS after she broken her own world record she emailed me to wish me good luck for the race I was soon to do! This kind of thing is what all the on-line wana-be's and "haters" don't know about her. They don't see her fighting my little corner whilst they write complete rubbish about her, as they hide behind on-line pseudonyms; but I can't tell you how much it helps to have her also showing complete belief in me, even when things were going REALLY badly at times. Others previously very close to me have ended up very negative and un-supportive, but when I’ve have the best in the world saying otherwise its helped pull me through and I can't thank her enough. She deserves her royal honour and continued success in the future more than anyone I can think of.
The more I think about it, the more people spring to mind. Friends overseas who paid for me to have a holiday with them when external issues left me exhausted and emotionally drained (thanks to my American "family" for that!). There are SO many and it stirs up within me a deep sense of gratitude, love and humility when I stop and take it all in.
Sponsors too, have been very supportive and this year PureTri, Powerbar, CompressSport, ProVO2, Greeper and DC Leisure have really made things much easier when it comes to equipment, kit & nutrition that I quite simply couldn't afford on my own. It's nice to be able I hope, to repay them if only a little so far with the results and increased exposure of recent times.
Finally though comes the single most important influence and helper and the one who deserves ALL the credit for anything "good" I'm ever able to achieve... as a Christian I KNOW (as I wrote in my IM WA race report) its ALL a gift of Gods grace; I simply get to enjoy it... When things have fallen apart, it’s been my faith in Jesus ALONE that has kept me going, given me hope and purpose both in and beyond triathlon. I explain this on the website I linked to earlier and I hope you'll take the time to read it... because its not just what suits ME and helps ME, my faith isn't a crutch I lean on when the #### hits the fan; its truth, its real and I hope I can continue to share this and show it through how I train, race, speak, think and live. The bible speaks very clearly about endurance (Hebrews 12:1-2), but importantly, enduring with a purpose and NOT wasting the suffering that we ALL go through (1 Peter 4:11-16). Knowing this truth makes suffering, failure, hardship and defeat (as well as victories and good times etc) things I'm actually able to rejoice in... I know that seams like a complete oxymoron, but it’s true. And just by way of an example, consider that not less than 7 years ago I did my first ever Olympic triathlon at London finishing not far off 3hrs. A lot has changed since then (I'm nearly twice as fast now and as I write this I'm currently ranked in the top 30 guys in the world for Ironman and 70.3 racing); weaknesses have been turned into strengths (Hebrews 11:34). I've seen so many answers to my prayers and His hand SO CLEARLY at work in my life during this time, but I've only become increasingly humbled by my awareness that its all a gift, and I need to look after each opportunity, this body I've been given, every word I get to speak and use them as God wants me to... to reveal HIS glory :-) Soli Deo gloria
So you see, it’s certainly not as simple as swim, bike, run but nor does it come to watts, heart rates and energy gels :-) I know that Taiwan and IM WA don't make me a big "star"... they are only 2 reasonably decent results, but I certainly hope the start of more. Whatever though, Gods in control and I'm just happy I get to see a little of "the ride". I hope next year I get to share more of this with you all.
Thursday, December 09, 2010
IM Western Australia 2010 Race Report
Having been away from home for so long prior to this race (since just before my win at Taiwan 70.3 back in October) there's a LOT I could write around this race... but I'll save that all for a later post. In short though I'd had a fantastic 4 week build up to this race staying with my good friends Andy and Melissa (and their boys Noah & Lucas) on the Goldcoast. The weather was great - certainly better than the snow back home and with 50m open air pools, runs along the beach and awesome riding up in the hills I couldn't have asked for a better prep for my 3rd and I hoped 1st successful (result) Ironman.
I'd also had a great time with my Homestay hosts Dennis and Liz; who'd welcomed me into their home so warmly and run around after me all week. With the picturesque town of Bussleton as the setting for the race, perfect race conditions and a flat fast course, I had no excuses not to be excited before the race.
With everything going smoothly the morning of the race, I found myself standing on the white sands of the beach waiting for 5.30am and the Pro's swim start. I was putting no pressure on myself and instead of a swim warm-up, chose to stand on the beach and take it all in, reminding myself that success or failure, pain or pleasure it was all a gift of Gods grace that I was blessed to be able to enjoy. This was going to be my approach to the whole day!
So when the gun went and the 50 or so Pro's all launched into the washing machine frenzy that the swim start always is, I found myself incredibly relaxed and calm. I quickly found my stroke and rhythm and settled into the the 2.4mile swim up and around the famous jetty. Crystal clear, warm water meant a great view of the wildlife underneath us including plenty of jelly fish that I kept cupping in my hands as we swam. Finding myself leading a large-ish group that i assumed was the 2nd pack, alongside number 35. He seemed happy to be sighting regularly so I simply swam alongside him, with 10 or so others tucked in behind us both. For the first time in a while I really enjoyed the swim; I felt relaxed and smooth and happy the day was starting under control, so I was really pleased to see the clock still on 52mins as we finally exited the water onto the beach and ran through the crowds into the transition area.
As with Taiwan, I was only focusing on racing my race today, and so even in transition I tried to be quick but calm and relaxed. I lost a little time on my fellow swim companions due to this but quickly caught this back up once on the bike and heading out of town onto the 3 loop VERY flat 112 mile bike.
Sticking with the plan, I actually quickly found myself passing them all and by the first short out-and-back section at mile 8 I was clear of them and pulling away. I timed myself here to the leaders and they had about 6mins on me... that's ok I thought, but as normal now, instantly disregarded this info and just pressed on at my pace. The ceepo venom is such a great stiff bike and MADE for TT'ing on a course like this and it wasn't long before I was already heading back into town to complete the first 37mile lap. By this time I had passed more guys who'd now become shall we say "legal-ish" passengers behind me. Once we started the 2nd lap heading back out of town I caught and passed fellow Brit Scott Neyedli and good friend Guy Crawford (doing his first IM). We exchanged a few funny words as I went by and pulled to the front once again. I was now feeling fantastic on the road and with the wind picking up settled into a nice big gear and just enjoyed the ride. I was extremely surprised to see that within 15mins I'd dropped them all and was now on my own... but more surprising was that I was catching everyone apart from race leader Luke Bell, who wasn't pulling away however. "nice" I thought. The halfway mark came and went in 2h10 and the main chase pack of 3rd-8th came into sight. Catching them again without trying to actively pursue them was a great feeling, not least because current champ Patrick Vernay was leading this group. I decided to drop in at the back, but quickly changed my mind - the pace felt too slow and I wanted to stick to my pace. So I moved to the front and into 3rd place over-all. Now having caught most of these guys for at least 4mins over the previous 100km, I should have been able to ride away, but lets just say the 12m rule the race org was trying to enforce wasn't adhered to by all of them... ignoring this however I stayed true to the plan and just pressed on at my pace, now with a motorized camera crew filming me for company. The rest of the bike went by without an issue. I got all my powerbar nutrition down as planned and happily, eventually got rid of my "passengers" at about the 100 mile mark too. Coming back into town in 3rd place was a REAL buzz and I was now really looking forward to staring the marathon and seeing how my legs had REALLY faired during the bike...
The Newton trainers went on and I headed out of T2 through the massive crowd now packing the new 4lap run course around the town of Bussleton. The first short out and back loop down past the finish on Queen St was a very exciting place to be right now. I clocked the gap to 2nd at about 2mins but was still very happy to run at a pace that FELT right and just see what happened. However my speed work recently has been going VERY well and I knew within the first km I was running faster than I probably should and yet it felt comfortable. I checked my split at 2km... 7m30 WHAT!!! That was WAY too fast... even if it DID feel comfortable; but maybe the marker wasn't quite right or I hadn't started my watch early enough. Luke Bell soon came past on the return leg of the short westerly out-and-back; He looked strong and smooth. I went past the supporters starting to build along this section to first turn around and first aid station packed with super enthusiastic and helpful volunteers and took another split at the 4km mark... 7m40! Ok I was running too quick without question regardless of how good i felt. I consciously tried to ease back as I passed back though town, along the beach path and out to the longer easterly turn point. More and more crowds were lining the course and being in 3rd over-all I got such a buzz from the energy and noise they were ALL giving out. I couldn't help but remember what a privilege it was to be able to do this.
6km point came... and my pace split was slowing though still too fast. I decided to follow my good friends advice at this point and simply "make hay while the sun shines". At the far turn around point though I simply HAD to stop and "make use of the green facilities" -porta loo - hopefully it would help me restart the run at a more sensible pace.
For the first time in an Ironman the run didn't daunt me. I simply concentrated on ticking each lap off as a task in itself rather than a full marathon. As I headed back towards town one of the best parts of the run started... two young ladies at about the 8km mark shouted as I passed "great ass" (insert Aussie accent) I laughed and replied "shame about the coating of salt all over it!" Referring to the nasty white coating all over my 2XU race kit from the sea water... and my sweat.
I passed the transition exit point where I'd first started my watch... the 10.5km mark. 39m30 was showing on my watch and that INCLUDED the toilet break OUCH I'd seriously gone WAY too fast! I made a conscious effort now to run at what felt like jogging pace. Dennis (my Homestay) and his family cheered me onto the 2nd lap and he gave me a split that I was gaining on 1st & 2nd. The atmosphere in the town continued to build as the crowds grew and more runners came onto the course. The 2nd lap went by nicely and included another great boost from my 2 cheerleaders out on the run course. My efforts to slow were working though I still went through 21km in 1h22, still too fast, but i continued to feel ok. In fact for the first time in an Ironman I was actually racing the run and the distance of the marathon wasn't over-whelming. However, not long past the 21k mark, my quads began to say "hello", I could tell my pace was slowing beyond what i wanted and by the far turn around at about 27km I had to walk the aid station. This was the start of a rapid decline in my running and despite more amusement from my new supporters and Dennis still cheering me through town I knew it was now about survival. Marty Whyte passed me and Pete Jacobs and Patrick Vernay had closed the gap I'd built up, VERY quickly. As I started the final lap I was now reduced to walking each aid station and just past the 32km mark both Pete and Patrick passed me with no ability to respond in my legs. My quads were now KILLING me... odd I thought given what a flat course it was. I was now in 6th and it was about hanging on through gritted teeth to the finish. The walk run strategy worked well enough and on the final turn for the finish and 4km to go I had over 6 minutes to 7th place. I could afford to take it easy, which was about all my legs would allow anyway.
It was though, still with great delight that i re-entered the town and ran through the final few hundred meters and onto the packed Queen St for the finish. I died on the run more than I'd wanted for sure, but I'd finished this one, raced it most of the way and in a field THIS strong, I had plenty to be happy about. As I'd tried to focus on right from the very start, it truly was a day to be enjoyed as a gift.
Congrats to the other Brit who raced too (Scott, Jo, Tim and Lordy all had great results) and a HUGE thanks from me to Liz & Dennis, Mel & Andy and all my friends & family back home who were incredibly supportive over the past few days and weeks.
As ever, also a BIG thanks to my sponsors PureTri, Powerbar, CompressSport, Ceepo, ProVO2, DC Leisure and Sanctuary Church Guildford.
Now its time to go home, enjoy Christmas, some great food and times with friends and relax for a few weeks.
I'd also had a great time with my Homestay hosts Dennis and Liz; who'd welcomed me into their home so warmly and run around after me all week. With the picturesque town of Bussleton as the setting for the race, perfect race conditions and a flat fast course, I had no excuses not to be excited before the race.
With everything going smoothly the morning of the race, I found myself standing on the white sands of the beach waiting for 5.30am and the Pro's swim start. I was putting no pressure on myself and instead of a swim warm-up, chose to stand on the beach and take it all in, reminding myself that success or failure, pain or pleasure it was all a gift of Gods grace that I was blessed to be able to enjoy. This was going to be my approach to the whole day!
So when the gun went and the 50 or so Pro's all launched into the washing machine frenzy that the swim start always is, I found myself incredibly relaxed and calm. I quickly found my stroke and rhythm and settled into the the 2.4mile swim up and around the famous jetty. Crystal clear, warm water meant a great view of the wildlife underneath us including plenty of jelly fish that I kept cupping in my hands as we swam. Finding myself leading a large-ish group that i assumed was the 2nd pack, alongside number 35. He seemed happy to be sighting regularly so I simply swam alongside him, with 10 or so others tucked in behind us both. For the first time in a while I really enjoyed the swim; I felt relaxed and smooth and happy the day was starting under control, so I was really pleased to see the clock still on 52mins as we finally exited the water onto the beach and ran through the crowds into the transition area.
As with Taiwan, I was only focusing on racing my race today, and so even in transition I tried to be quick but calm and relaxed. I lost a little time on my fellow swim companions due to this but quickly caught this back up once on the bike and heading out of town onto the 3 loop VERY flat 112 mile bike.
Sticking with the plan, I actually quickly found myself passing them all and by the first short out-and-back section at mile 8 I was clear of them and pulling away. I timed myself here to the leaders and they had about 6mins on me... that's ok I thought, but as normal now, instantly disregarded this info and just pressed on at my pace. The ceepo venom is such a great stiff bike and MADE for TT'ing on a course like this and it wasn't long before I was already heading back into town to complete the first 37mile lap. By this time I had passed more guys who'd now become shall we say "legal-ish" passengers behind me. Once we started the 2nd lap heading back out of town I caught and passed fellow Brit Scott Neyedli and good friend Guy Crawford (doing his first IM). We exchanged a few funny words as I went by and pulled to the front once again. I was now feeling fantastic on the road and with the wind picking up settled into a nice big gear and just enjoyed the ride. I was extremely surprised to see that within 15mins I'd dropped them all and was now on my own... but more surprising was that I was catching everyone apart from race leader Luke Bell, who wasn't pulling away however. "nice" I thought. The halfway mark came and went in 2h10 and the main chase pack of 3rd-8th came into sight. Catching them again without trying to actively pursue them was a great feeling, not least because current champ Patrick Vernay was leading this group. I decided to drop in at the back, but quickly changed my mind - the pace felt too slow and I wanted to stick to my pace. So I moved to the front and into 3rd place over-all. Now having caught most of these guys for at least 4mins over the previous 100km, I should have been able to ride away, but lets just say the 12m rule the race org was trying to enforce wasn't adhered to by all of them... ignoring this however I stayed true to the plan and just pressed on at my pace, now with a motorized camera crew filming me for company. The rest of the bike went by without an issue. I got all my powerbar nutrition down as planned and happily, eventually got rid of my "passengers" at about the 100 mile mark too. Coming back into town in 3rd place was a REAL buzz and I was now really looking forward to staring the marathon and seeing how my legs had REALLY faired during the bike...
The Newton trainers went on and I headed out of T2 through the massive crowd now packing the new 4lap run course around the town of Bussleton. The first short out and back loop down past the finish on Queen St was a very exciting place to be right now. I clocked the gap to 2nd at about 2mins but was still very happy to run at a pace that FELT right and just see what happened. However my speed work recently has been going VERY well and I knew within the first km I was running faster than I probably should and yet it felt comfortable. I checked my split at 2km... 7m30 WHAT!!! That was WAY too fast... even if it DID feel comfortable; but maybe the marker wasn't quite right or I hadn't started my watch early enough. Luke Bell soon came past on the return leg of the short westerly out-and-back; He looked strong and smooth. I went past the supporters starting to build along this section to first turn around and first aid station packed with super enthusiastic and helpful volunteers and took another split at the 4km mark... 7m40! Ok I was running too quick without question regardless of how good i felt. I consciously tried to ease back as I passed back though town, along the beach path and out to the longer easterly turn point. More and more crowds were lining the course and being in 3rd over-all I got such a buzz from the energy and noise they were ALL giving out. I couldn't help but remember what a privilege it was to be able to do this.
6km point came... and my pace split was slowing though still too fast. I decided to follow my good friends advice at this point and simply "make hay while the sun shines". At the far turn around point though I simply HAD to stop and "make use of the green facilities" -porta loo - hopefully it would help me restart the run at a more sensible pace.
For the first time in an Ironman the run didn't daunt me. I simply concentrated on ticking each lap off as a task in itself rather than a full marathon. As I headed back towards town one of the best parts of the run started... two young ladies at about the 8km mark shouted as I passed "great ass" (insert Aussie accent) I laughed and replied "shame about the coating of salt all over it!" Referring to the nasty white coating all over my 2XU race kit from the sea water... and my sweat.
I passed the transition exit point where I'd first started my watch... the 10.5km mark. 39m30 was showing on my watch and that INCLUDED the toilet break OUCH I'd seriously gone WAY too fast! I made a conscious effort now to run at what felt like jogging pace. Dennis (my Homestay) and his family cheered me onto the 2nd lap and he gave me a split that I was gaining on 1st & 2nd. The atmosphere in the town continued to build as the crowds grew and more runners came onto the course. The 2nd lap went by nicely and included another great boost from my 2 cheerleaders out on the run course. My efforts to slow were working though I still went through 21km in 1h22, still too fast, but i continued to feel ok. In fact for the first time in an Ironman I was actually racing the run and the distance of the marathon wasn't over-whelming. However, not long past the 21k mark, my quads began to say "hello", I could tell my pace was slowing beyond what i wanted and by the far turn around at about 27km I had to walk the aid station. This was the start of a rapid decline in my running and despite more amusement from my new supporters and Dennis still cheering me through town I knew it was now about survival. Marty Whyte passed me and Pete Jacobs and Patrick Vernay had closed the gap I'd built up, VERY quickly. As I started the final lap I was now reduced to walking each aid station and just past the 32km mark both Pete and Patrick passed me with no ability to respond in my legs. My quads were now KILLING me... odd I thought given what a flat course it was. I was now in 6th and it was about hanging on through gritted teeth to the finish. The walk run strategy worked well enough and on the final turn for the finish and 4km to go I had over 6 minutes to 7th place. I could afford to take it easy, which was about all my legs would allow anyway.
It was though, still with great delight that i re-entered the town and ran through the final few hundred meters and onto the packed Queen St for the finish. I died on the run more than I'd wanted for sure, but I'd finished this one, raced it most of the way and in a field THIS strong, I had plenty to be happy about. As I'd tried to focus on right from the very start, it truly was a day to be enjoyed as a gift.
Congrats to the other Brit who raced too (Scott, Jo, Tim and Lordy all had great results) and a HUGE thanks from me to Liz & Dennis, Mel & Andy and all my friends & family back home who were incredibly supportive over the past few days and weeks.
As ever, also a BIG thanks to my sponsors PureTri, Powerbar, CompressSport, Ceepo, ProVO2, DC Leisure and Sanctuary Church Guildford.
Now its time to go home, enjoy Christmas, some great food and times with friends and relax for a few weeks.
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
Taiwan 70.3 Race Report Part 1 - "the bare bones"
This is part one of my race report and will be a very simple (but maybe not so short ha ha) "how the race went" type of affair. I'll post again soon with what I'll call "the bigger picture" race report as there's SO much MORE to last Saturdays win than what simply went on in the 4h09min of racing... and there's A LOT of people without who's help i couldn't have got there. Whilst i know this isn't the be-all and end-all in terms of results - its not Kona - it does mark a point (and i hope the start) that I've been working towards for A LONG time and so is incredibly valuable to me and SUPER exciting.
Taiwan 70.3
Riding the short 3 mile trip to race start at 4.30am and actually just happy to even have a bike full stop (mine had only arrived from delayed luggage on my flight at 11pm the night before!) i noticed two things: 1. it was still very, VERY WINDY and 2. my legs felt GREAT!
Having got to the transition area, racked my bike and set everything up i headed off for a short 15min jog to get the blood moving around the body. my observations from earlier still remained... it was still VERY windy and my legs still felt fresh and ready to go. As mentioned in my last blog post, one of the keys i wanted to work on during this race was the mental side of things and i was going to focus on positively impacting what could control and not to "over-think" everything. So with the wind, i simply interpreted this positively thinking that "i like it being windy, it will make the bike tougher, and i want everyone else to have a hard bike" - i couldn't change the wind, but i could change how i dealt with it.
Time past quickly before the race and we were lined up on the beach waiting for the start before i knew it. As we dove into the gorgeous blue, crystal clear waters it quickly became apparent that wearing a wet suit wasn't such a good idea all of a sudden. with the water temp at 24 degrees, it was optional (meaning a DEFINITE for weaker swimmers like me) but i found myself working harder to stay with the front pack than i wanted and i was soon seriously over-heating! i had no choice but to back off a little and conserve energy and try to prevent my race being wrecked in the first 1.9km swim. I tried to carry on the mental approach though and focused on turning this around positively. Swimming as efficiently and controlled as i could, remaining relaxed - positively impacting what i could control.
Not wearing a watch i had no idea of my time as i exited the sea and started the long run to T1. i knew I'd have lost time to the likes of Kieran Doe, but not knowing how much or worse still trying to guess meant i couldn't over-think things and put pressure (negatively) on myself. The 2XU wet suit was off quickly and i was out onto the bike course jumping on my Ceepo, heading up the first (of many) climbs up to the start of the 2 loop, 90km bike course.
The wind was still blowing strongly and gusts making me swerve quite a lot at times as my disc wheel got caught. I wasn't feeling great now and the over-heating during the swim had certainly had an impact, but again i turned this around in my head to simply focusing on riding as strongly as i could until the body recovered. No pressure to catch anyone any time soon, just focus on controlling what i actually could control and doing its positively. I could see my HR was able to get high enough, so i knew my body was OK, it just need time to settle.
After about 10km of the bike there was a short out and back section up a decent climb that would allow me my first change to see how far in front the others were. I as actually really pleased to see Kieran only 4minutes in front and the chasers behind him space between 2-3 minutes. this was less than I'd expected given how the swim had felt and very encouraging. Again it reminded me that who i was "feeling" wasn't always a reflection of the reality of a situation. I stuck to my focus for the race tough, which was "race MY race" and didn't set about chasing anyone down. i wanted to ride my effort level and we'd just see where that got me.
The bike course was relentlessly up and down and the wind continued to blow. According to BG (Belinda Granger) the gust's were stronger than Kona and i certainly felt this when at times, despite riding down hill, i felt like i was toe'ing an elephant! But again, i took this all positively; the harder it was fr me, the harder it was for everyone else. I told myself that it was hurting "them" more than it was me. And so i just keep focusing on riding MY race.
I seamed to be catching and passing guys ahead of me at regular intervals and shortly before the end of the first lap, i caught and passed 5 time Ironman Nice Champion Marcel Zamora. this was a HUGE boost to me, though given how positively i was thinking about everything, somehow didn't take me by surprise. As i hit the turn around point on the out-and-back look at the start of the 2nd lap, i clocked the gap to Kieran as only 2minutes and to the now only 3 guys in front, at just 1 minute! despite once again being hugely encouraged by this, i still stuck to the mental game plan of riding my race. It took me another 20km to catch and pass positions 4th, 3rd and 2nd though and i didn't manage to drop them when i did pass, so spending the last 10km with some "passengers" behind me. the course was a great one and other than nearly getting "totalled" by the occasional wild dog insisting on playing chicken with me in the road, it passed without incident. Turning off the main loop and heading back towards transition on the short 5km stretch my legs felt great, and i was looking forward to seeing how i could run having done exactly what i wanted to on the bike - ride MY race. A ridiculous head wind had one final swipe at us as we headed back to T2, but again, i just told myself that i would "hurt" everyone else much more than me... it was a positive thing (despite barely riding faster than 20kph downhill!!!
As i turned into transition in 2nd place (3rd and 4th just behind me) i saw Kieran heading out onto the run. He looked strong, but ii was now barely 1 minute down on him and HUGELY satisfied to have made up so much time on the bike. my recent bike "companions" were through transition quicker than me, but as with the rest of the race up until now, i wasn't stressed. The newton's went on, Greepers laces tied, visor on and i was off and running about 30m down on them by now. This distance was closed within about 60 seconds though and without letting anything in my approach to the race change ("my race,my pace" i was past and back into 2nd place and began pulling away. I could see Kieran about 500m up the hill, but put no pressure on myself to catch him. i settled into a rhythm and would simply see what happened and if my speed was fast enough to catch him.
The sun was out in full force now and compared to the 0 degree's I'd been running in, back in London only 3 days earlier, the 80 degree's felt like an oven. wit the first 5km almost completely uphill too, the body wasn't about to have it easy. Again though, focusing on just running my pace, i told myself that the harder it was, the better... it was hurting everyone else more than me. Of course at no time in the race, did i know this to be true... but mentally to have this frame of mind really helped me repsond to the tough conditions and course in a positive way.
I knew i wasnt running "fast" and that wit people like Marcel behind me somewhere, it would be a hard 21km run today, but by 7km i'd managed to catch up to and pass Kieran, moving into 1st place!!! this is always a big boost but i tried not to let this change how i was running. i didnt look back to see if/how much Kieran was falling away behind me or if for that matter anyone else was catching me though. I tried to clock off the km's and set the target of the next aid station in my mind and just keep looking at the lead police car escort i was getting at the front of the race (VERY cool!). Despite the heat, i wasnt suffering any cramping issues, which is testiment to my Powerbar nutrition. The race oganisers had done a fantastic job in every way in this race and with aid stations every 2km's it meant i had plenty of opportunities to get fluids on board. the helpers at each aid station seamed more interested in taking photo's of me as i apprached, than handing me cups of water; they found it imensely amusing too as i went through my routine at each station of water > mouthfull > spit > sponge > over head > over back > water gulp... carry on running.
Km's 1-5 flew by, 5-10 were OK to, despite probably 75% of all the running being uphill. 10-15 began to hurt and i knew my pace was slowing, but refused to look back to see if anyone was catching me. From that point on though, km 15-20 it seamed like i was running through treacle! SO much of the course was uphill and the aid stations were coming along more and more slowly. the run course was a point to point course, so didn't finish back near transition and it was only at 19.5km that there was a small loop back where I'd just come from towards the finish line outside the YoYo hotel. This was the first chance i had to see what kind of lead i had and if I'd need to sprint for the finish. with no watch on, i counted my steps until 2nd place went by the other way - 85 meant about 2 minutes... with now only 1km left i was pretty sure I'd done it... i was about to win my first IM 70.3 title. As i rounded the final bend of what felt like the longest km of my life i could see the read carpet of the finishing shoot, which was lined with cheering spectators. knowing i had enough time, i swerved and walked down this "high-5'ing" the crowds as i went and soaked up every second of the victory i could. Crossing the line in 4h09 it certainly wasn't my fastest time over the distance, but on that course, in that wind i could care less it was my first 70.3 win and i was over the moon letting out a massive yell of relief as i crossed the line to the cheering crowds and the bank of photographers and camera crews behind.
As ever, a HUGE tanks to my sponsors who help me SO much - PureTri, Powerbar, CompresSport, Greepers, DC Leisure and ProVO2.
Taiwan 70.3
Riding the short 3 mile trip to race start at 4.30am and actually just happy to even have a bike full stop (mine had only arrived from delayed luggage on my flight at 11pm the night before!) i noticed two things: 1. it was still very, VERY WINDY and 2. my legs felt GREAT!
Having got to the transition area, racked my bike and set everything up i headed off for a short 15min jog to get the blood moving around the body. my observations from earlier still remained... it was still VERY windy and my legs still felt fresh and ready to go. As mentioned in my last blog post, one of the keys i wanted to work on during this race was the mental side of things and i was going to focus on positively impacting what could control and not to "over-think" everything. So with the wind, i simply interpreted this positively thinking that "i like it being windy, it will make the bike tougher, and i want everyone else to have a hard bike" - i couldn't change the wind, but i could change how i dealt with it.
Time past quickly before the race and we were lined up on the beach waiting for the start before i knew it. As we dove into the gorgeous blue, crystal clear waters it quickly became apparent that wearing a wet suit wasn't such a good idea all of a sudden. with the water temp at 24 degrees, it was optional (meaning a DEFINITE for weaker swimmers like me) but i found myself working harder to stay with the front pack than i wanted and i was soon seriously over-heating! i had no choice but to back off a little and conserve energy and try to prevent my race being wrecked in the first 1.9km swim. I tried to carry on the mental approach though and focused on turning this around positively. Swimming as efficiently and controlled as i could, remaining relaxed - positively impacting what i could control.
Not wearing a watch i had no idea of my time as i exited the sea and started the long run to T1. i knew I'd have lost time to the likes of Kieran Doe, but not knowing how much or worse still trying to guess meant i couldn't over-think things and put pressure (negatively) on myself. The 2XU wet suit was off quickly and i was out onto the bike course jumping on my Ceepo, heading up the first (of many) climbs up to the start of the 2 loop, 90km bike course.
The wind was still blowing strongly and gusts making me swerve quite a lot at times as my disc wheel got caught. I wasn't feeling great now and the over-heating during the swim had certainly had an impact, but again i turned this around in my head to simply focusing on riding as strongly as i could until the body recovered. No pressure to catch anyone any time soon, just focus on controlling what i actually could control and doing its positively. I could see my HR was able to get high enough, so i knew my body was OK, it just need time to settle.
After about 10km of the bike there was a short out and back section up a decent climb that would allow me my first change to see how far in front the others were. I as actually really pleased to see Kieran only 4minutes in front and the chasers behind him space between 2-3 minutes. this was less than I'd expected given how the swim had felt and very encouraging. Again it reminded me that who i was "feeling" wasn't always a reflection of the reality of a situation. I stuck to my focus for the race tough, which was "race MY race" and didn't set about chasing anyone down. i wanted to ride my effort level and we'd just see where that got me.
The bike course was relentlessly up and down and the wind continued to blow. According to BG (Belinda Granger) the gust's were stronger than Kona and i certainly felt this when at times, despite riding down hill, i felt like i was toe'ing an elephant! But again, i took this all positively; the harder it was fr me, the harder it was for everyone else. I told myself that it was hurting "them" more than it was me. And so i just keep focusing on riding MY race.
I seamed to be catching and passing guys ahead of me at regular intervals and shortly before the end of the first lap, i caught and passed 5 time Ironman Nice Champion Marcel Zamora. this was a HUGE boost to me, though given how positively i was thinking about everything, somehow didn't take me by surprise. As i hit the turn around point on the out-and-back look at the start of the 2nd lap, i clocked the gap to Kieran as only 2minutes and to the now only 3 guys in front, at just 1 minute! despite once again being hugely encouraged by this, i still stuck to the mental game plan of riding my race. It took me another 20km to catch and pass positions 4th, 3rd and 2nd though and i didn't manage to drop them when i did pass, so spending the last 10km with some "passengers" behind me. the course was a great one and other than nearly getting "totalled" by the occasional wild dog insisting on playing chicken with me in the road, it passed without incident. Turning off the main loop and heading back towards transition on the short 5km stretch my legs felt great, and i was looking forward to seeing how i could run having done exactly what i wanted to on the bike - ride MY race. A ridiculous head wind had one final swipe at us as we headed back to T2, but again, i just told myself that i would "hurt" everyone else much more than me... it was a positive thing (despite barely riding faster than 20kph downhill!!!
As i turned into transition in 2nd place (3rd and 4th just behind me) i saw Kieran heading out onto the run. He looked strong, but ii was now barely 1 minute down on him and HUGELY satisfied to have made up so much time on the bike. my recent bike "companions" were through transition quicker than me, but as with the rest of the race up until now, i wasn't stressed. The newton's went on, Greepers laces tied, visor on and i was off and running about 30m down on them by now. This distance was closed within about 60 seconds though and without letting anything in my approach to the race change ("my race,my pace" i was past and back into 2nd place and began pulling away. I could see Kieran about 500m up the hill, but put no pressure on myself to catch him. i settled into a rhythm and would simply see what happened and if my speed was fast enough to catch him.
The sun was out in full force now and compared to the 0 degree's I'd been running in, back in London only 3 days earlier, the 80 degree's felt like an oven. wit the first 5km almost completely uphill too, the body wasn't about to have it easy. Again though, focusing on just running my pace, i told myself that the harder it was, the better... it was hurting everyone else more than me. Of course at no time in the race, did i know this to be true... but mentally to have this frame of mind really helped me repsond to the tough conditions and course in a positive way.
I knew i wasnt running "fast" and that wit people like Marcel behind me somewhere, it would be a hard 21km run today, but by 7km i'd managed to catch up to and pass Kieran, moving into 1st place!!! this is always a big boost but i tried not to let this change how i was running. i didnt look back to see if/how much Kieran was falling away behind me or if for that matter anyone else was catching me though. I tried to clock off the km's and set the target of the next aid station in my mind and just keep looking at the lead police car escort i was getting at the front of the race (VERY cool!). Despite the heat, i wasnt suffering any cramping issues, which is testiment to my Powerbar nutrition. The race oganisers had done a fantastic job in every way in this race and with aid stations every 2km's it meant i had plenty of opportunities to get fluids on board. the helpers at each aid station seamed more interested in taking photo's of me as i apprached, than handing me cups of water; they found it imensely amusing too as i went through my routine at each station of water > mouthfull > spit > sponge > over head > over back > water gulp... carry on running.
Km's 1-5 flew by, 5-10 were OK to, despite probably 75% of all the running being uphill. 10-15 began to hurt and i knew my pace was slowing, but refused to look back to see if anyone was catching me. From that point on though, km 15-20 it seamed like i was running through treacle! SO much of the course was uphill and the aid stations were coming along more and more slowly. the run course was a point to point course, so didn't finish back near transition and it was only at 19.5km that there was a small loop back where I'd just come from towards the finish line outside the YoYo hotel. This was the first chance i had to see what kind of lead i had and if I'd need to sprint for the finish. with no watch on, i counted my steps until 2nd place went by the other way - 85 meant about 2 minutes... with now only 1km left i was pretty sure I'd done it... i was about to win my first IM 70.3 title. As i rounded the final bend of what felt like the longest km of my life i could see the read carpet of the finishing shoot, which was lined with cheering spectators. knowing i had enough time, i swerved and walked down this "high-5'ing" the crowds as i went and soaked up every second of the victory i could. Crossing the line in 4h09 it certainly wasn't my fastest time over the distance, but on that course, in that wind i could care less it was my first 70.3 win and i was over the moon letting out a massive yell of relief as i crossed the line to the cheering crowds and the bank of photographers and camera crews behind.
As ever, a HUGE tanks to my sponsors who help me SO much - PureTri, Powerbar, CompresSport, Greepers, DC Leisure and ProVO2.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Update from Taiwan
I'm sat on the bus leaving T1 heading back to the race hotel for the "carbo dinner" and thought I'd use the time for a brief blog update.
I'm in the first few days of a pretty long trip away, culminating I hope with a great performance at IronMan Western Australia in December. That race is the main focus of this trip, with 4 weeks of training prep in Australia near Brisbane leading into it, but first I've "stopped off" in Taiwan for the 70.3 race here this weekend.
I've not "tapered" for this race and as IM Oz is the focus, nor has my training focused on a "peak" performance. However IF I can have one of "those days" that you sometimes get during training (when you feel really good) then hopefully I can have a decent race.
The last 2 days haven't in truth been ideal for a great race though. A LONG journey in time, distance, flight changes and energy drain so close to a race isn't the best. Worse still is that as I sit here now, my bike STILL hasn't arrived. Building my bike (assuming it gets here tonight) at near midnight, then racing on jet-lag and hardly any proper sleep, well its about as poor as preparation can be. BUT I'm not bothered by any of that and certainly won't be using it as excuses for whatever happens out there tomorrow. One of my favourite sayings is "you always have a choice even if you don't have control". It's about making choices with what I CAN control. So I'll do all I can, to do everything as well as i can. And most importantly, I'll do it all with a positive attitude and expectation.
I've been trying in the last few weeks to really work on getting "mentally fitter", having realised that this was an area I'd grown weak and sloppy in. Tomorrow should serve to really test all of that and I'm quite looking forward to it. Keys to this will be not to over-think and over-analyse everything, especially external factors. And if/when the tough moments come, just to try and focus on positively impacting what I can control.
So... food (i hope at least some of it gluten free) awaits and then a night of as much sleep as possible and bike building, followed by a really great race. I'll report back soon on how it all works out. :-)
Blogged VIA email...
I'm in the first few days of a pretty long trip away, culminating I hope with a great performance at IronMan Western Australia in December. That race is the main focus of this trip, with 4 weeks of training prep in Australia near Brisbane leading into it, but first I've "stopped off" in Taiwan for the 70.3 race here this weekend.
I've not "tapered" for this race and as IM Oz is the focus, nor has my training focused on a "peak" performance. However IF I can have one of "those days" that you sometimes get during training (when you feel really good) then hopefully I can have a decent race.
The last 2 days haven't in truth been ideal for a great race though. A LONG journey in time, distance, flight changes and energy drain so close to a race isn't the best. Worse still is that as I sit here now, my bike STILL hasn't arrived. Building my bike (assuming it gets here tonight) at near midnight, then racing on jet-lag and hardly any proper sleep, well its about as poor as preparation can be. BUT I'm not bothered by any of that and certainly won't be using it as excuses for whatever happens out there tomorrow. One of my favourite sayings is "you always have a choice even if you don't have control". It's about making choices with what I CAN control. So I'll do all I can, to do everything as well as i can. And most importantly, I'll do it all with a positive attitude and expectation.
I've been trying in the last few weeks to really work on getting "mentally fitter", having realised that this was an area I'd grown weak and sloppy in. Tomorrow should serve to really test all of that and I'm quite looking forward to it. Keys to this will be not to over-think and over-analyse everything, especially external factors. And if/when the tough moments come, just to try and focus on positively impacting what I can control.
So... food (i hope at least some of it gluten free) awaits and then a night of as much sleep as possible and bike building, followed by a really great race. I'll report back soon on how it all works out. :-)
Blogged VIA email...
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Getting Retul'd
Those of you that follow the world wide side of triathlon will have heard the word “Retul” a lot recently. Over the past couple of years it has been more and more widespread to hear of some of the best athletes in the world seeking out the advice of the specially trained Retul bike fitters to tweak and perfect their positions. The likes of Norman Stadler, Craig Alexander and Mirinda Carfrae cant be wrong and more recently the newly formed Trek / K-Swiss Triathlon team (including top Brits Julie Dibens and Fraser Cartmel) have been publically showing off their new bikes whilst receiving the Retul treatment.
But what is all the fuss about and what exactly does it involve? Fortunately, through my new sponsors this year ‘PureTri’ I was recently able to head up to VeloMotion in Milton Keynes and receive a Retul bike fit for my Ceepo Venom. Right now in fact, PureTri are offering either a FREE Retul bike fit with every “Blue Triad & Triad SL” or a discount of £40 with all other “Blue” Bikes purchased from them. Check out www.PureTri.co.uk for more details.
It's been a long time since my last proper bike fit and in that time, like most people, I’ve slowly tried to get lower, narrower and more aggressive in my position in the pursuit of being more aero and therefore, I hoped, faster. I was interested to see what the initial assessment of my position would be.
So having arrived at the fitting centre, my Ceepo was put onto a platform on a turbo and I was donned with numerous small sticky balls all linked together by a wire. Sitting side on to the measurement camera I pedalled at various intensities whilst the camera took thousands of readings from each sensor, every second and began to calculate various measurements and angles. I repeated the procedure facing the other direction so that both sides could be analysed and calculated. (We DID turn the bike around too of course!)
But what is all the fuss about and what exactly does it involve? Fortunately, through my new sponsors this year ‘PureTri’ I was recently able to head up to VeloMotion in Milton Keynes and receive a Retul bike fit for my Ceepo Venom. Right now in fact, PureTri are offering either a FREE Retul bike fit with every “Blue Triad & Triad SL” or a discount of £40 with all other “Blue” Bikes purchased from them. Check out www.PureTri.co.uk for more details.
It's been a long time since my last proper bike fit and in that time, like most people, I’ve slowly tried to get lower, narrower and more aggressive in my position in the pursuit of being more aero and therefore, I hoped, faster. I was interested to see what the initial assessment of my position would be.
So having arrived at the fitting centre, my Ceepo was put onto a platform on a turbo and I was donned with numerous small sticky balls all linked together by a wire. Sitting side on to the measurement camera I pedalled at various intensities whilst the camera took thousands of readings from each sensor, every second and began to calculate various measurements and angles. I repeated the procedure facing the other direction so that both sides could be analysed and calculated. (We DID turn the bike around too of course!)
Once this had been done, Mike, the Retul engineer let the system process all the data and then brought it all up on screen. There was an abundance of numbers, angles, graphs and lines displaying knee tracking and every little movement I’d made during the testing. He then began to very precisely explain to me what each number meant and represented and most importantly if things needed to change and why.
He explained that I was riding too low at the front, preventing my hips from being open enough on the down-pedal stroke, and too closed when at the top of a pedal stroke. This would lead to un-necessary fatigue in these muscle and a reduction in run performance… crucial for race results where increasingly, even at 70.3 and IM races, it really is coming down to running FAST off the bike. Interesting I thought… I’ve long had cramping issues when stretching these muscles and if I swam the same day as I’d already ridden.
He ran through everything that needed adjusting specifically for me and (without me now giving away too much info) began to outline all the changes that he felt needed to be made. Interestingly enough, some of them would undoubtedly reduce my aerodynamics, but the increased run performance, lung capacity and nutrition absorbance of the stomach that would be achieved would more than off-set this reduction in pure speed from wind resistance.
I jumped off the bike, sat on the sofa and mike set about working on it all. He changed my saddle height by a fraction, put a new stem to change the reach at the front end and made some adjustments to my cleats too. 15minutes later and I was back on the bike trying out all the new tweaks and the Retul sensors were pulling in the data once again.
After a repeat spin from both sides, the same data was reproduced but with slightly different numbers. Just as Mike had said, I now had more open hips and could feel less “cramped” around my mid-rift. I was also much more relaxed in my upper body; both the ease with which I now felt I could breathe and also the comfort of my arms and shoulders at the front end.
I left a short while later with high hopes for the impact the changes would make on my race performance and particularly my run speed off of the bike. Having raced a Sprint Triathlon (F3 midweek Sprint) the night before the Retul fitting and with a Human Race ‘Eaton Super-Sprint’ coming up at the same venue in the next 3 days, I would have the perfect opportunity to see how the changes felt and improved (hopefully) my race performance.
Prior to that though and with bad weather hitting Putney for a couple of days I was back on my turbo in “Hambro Institute of Sport” for a couple of bike sessions. Being someone (maybe the ONLY one) who actually enjoys turbo sessions… my 3 hour ride with half ironman race pace intervals was a great first eye-opener to the improvements of the Retul changes.
I instantly noticed that there was NO saddle soreness kicking in like usual after the first 45minutes. I was able to happily stay on the aero-bars without even shifting my weight around and remain completely comfortable for ages! This was really good sign! Having been in Mike’s words “toe-y” in my pedalling style, due to my cleat position, the new more central i.e. further back cleat position took a little getting used to, but even here I could feel that the leg muscles I wanted to remain fresh, were now getting a little reprieve that they hadn’t done in the past.
So with two very encouraging and PAIN free turbo sessions done, I headed to Eaton for the race on Saturday morning. After an “OK” swim, I hit the bike course with the same aggression as I had on the previous Wednesday evening. Riding my same, slow cadence and grinding the big gear I was delighted to find that I was riding faster, the legs felt fresher and the back was perfectly happy to remain tucked on the aero-bars without any stiffness throughout the hard riding of the 20k flat, fast course. As I racked my bike in T2 I knew that the run would be were I would hopefully see some of the biggest gains… or at least feel them. And true to Mike’s prediction, the legs felt great. I was able to run seriously hard, but felt in complete control all the time, largely I’m sure because my legs (and particularly the hip-flexors) were in better shape after the hard bike. I managed to polish of the 5k run in 16:29… about a 15second improvement on Wednesday night. Not huge you might say, but over 5k that’s pretty significant, but most importantly for me and the longer distance races I’m focusing on, I knew my legs would be in MUCH better condition for a 21 or 42km run in my forthcoming “A” races.
I really can’t stress enough… if you can’t stay on your aero bars for more than 15 minutes without your back aching, or if you REALLY struggle with saddle sores, or if you find certain muscles such as hamstrings, hip flexors or calves get tight, cramp or tired… then you really need to consider getting a proper bike fit done.
And of course, if you’re considering a new bike any time soon, why not get it with a new bike from PureTri!!!
I jumped off the bike, sat on the sofa and mike set about working on it all. He changed my saddle height by a fraction, put a new stem to change the reach at the front end and made some adjustments to my cleats too. 15minutes later and I was back on the bike trying out all the new tweaks and the Retul sensors were pulling in the data once again.
After a repeat spin from both sides, the same data was reproduced but with slightly different numbers. Just as Mike had said, I now had more open hips and could feel less “cramped” around my mid-rift. I was also much more relaxed in my upper body; both the ease with which I now felt I could breathe and also the comfort of my arms and shoulders at the front end.
I left a short while later with high hopes for the impact the changes would make on my race performance and particularly my run speed off of the bike. Having raced a Sprint Triathlon (F3 midweek Sprint) the night before the Retul fitting and with a Human Race ‘Eaton Super-Sprint’ coming up at the same venue in the next 3 days, I would have the perfect opportunity to see how the changes felt and improved (hopefully) my race performance.
Prior to that though and with bad weather hitting Putney for a couple of days I was back on my turbo in “Hambro Institute of Sport” for a couple of bike sessions. Being someone (maybe the ONLY one) who actually enjoys turbo sessions… my 3 hour ride with half ironman race pace intervals was a great first eye-opener to the improvements of the Retul changes.
I instantly noticed that there was NO saddle soreness kicking in like usual after the first 45minutes. I was able to happily stay on the aero-bars without even shifting my weight around and remain completely comfortable for ages! This was really good sign! Having been in Mike’s words “toe-y” in my pedalling style, due to my cleat position, the new more central i.e. further back cleat position took a little getting used to, but even here I could feel that the leg muscles I wanted to remain fresh, were now getting a little reprieve that they hadn’t done in the past.
So with two very encouraging and PAIN free turbo sessions done, I headed to Eaton for the race on Saturday morning. After an “OK” swim, I hit the bike course with the same aggression as I had on the previous Wednesday evening. Riding my same, slow cadence and grinding the big gear I was delighted to find that I was riding faster, the legs felt fresher and the back was perfectly happy to remain tucked on the aero-bars without any stiffness throughout the hard riding of the 20k flat, fast course. As I racked my bike in T2 I knew that the run would be were I would hopefully see some of the biggest gains… or at least feel them. And true to Mike’s prediction, the legs felt great. I was able to run seriously hard, but felt in complete control all the time, largely I’m sure because my legs (and particularly the hip-flexors) were in better shape after the hard bike. I managed to polish of the 5k run in 16:29… about a 15second improvement on Wednesday night. Not huge you might say, but over 5k that’s pretty significant, but most importantly for me and the longer distance races I’m focusing on, I knew my legs would be in MUCH better condition for a 21 or 42km run in my forthcoming “A” races.
I really can’t stress enough… if you can’t stay on your aero bars for more than 15 minutes without your back aching, or if you REALLY struggle with saddle sores, or if you find certain muscles such as hamstrings, hip flexors or calves get tight, cramp or tired… then you really need to consider getting a proper bike fit done.
And of course, if you’re considering a new bike any time soon, why not get it with a new bike from PureTri!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)