Essar 4 Villages Half Marathon and week 7 of training

So week 7, and the build up to the first race of the season. As I’ve said I have reduced the other sessions of swimming and biking in prep for Helsby. I freely admit that over the past 3 or so years I have done anything rather than run. It was getting jaded with running that got me into triathlon in the first place!

But as part of my promise to Sue, I have been hitting all the run training sessions and trying my hardest to enjoy them.

Monday got stuck with work things til late, and felt really tired so rested. Tuesday and back feeling great, and not just cos it was 9 years to the day since Sue and me moved into together! Celebrated with a new PB on the expresso bike at the gym followed by 45 mins swimming. See I know how to push the boat out.

Wednesday and another quiet day in the office, I’m between bids and it won’t last. Home and managed a great 6 miler out thro Helsby and back.

Decided to make an effort to taper and took Thursday / Friday off training, did put a coat of paint on the kitchen as part of the remedial work to cover where the boiler had been. Starting to look quite good.

Saturday and get all my gear together and try and relax watching rugby all afternoon, that has to be perfect tapering, although could have done with a Guinness or 2

Sunday morning and… Yuk blowing  a gale and pouring with rain, of course staying in bed isn’t an option and for once I do feel trained up enough. Decided to run in tights, No silly not those tights! I have a couple of pairs of Sub 4 running tights very lightweight and easy to run in, and following the Pirate ethos of try something new on race day I slipped my new 2XU calf guards on underneath. Large bowl of bran flakes and wheetabix minis and off to the start. Well at least it’s stopped raining, but still blowing like mad. Loads of club mates around for a natter, long chat with Colourin and found my step-son Jon’s wife’s  sister  Xana… who also runs for Chester Tri, sadly she wasn’t looking too good. Bit of a shame as we are fairly evenly matched.. In terms of speed I mean, I will never look like a 20 odd year old party animal again!

 Lined up ready to start and no rain, but still blowing. Away on time and headed out onto the closed road for the first uphill mile easing myself in gently, over the first hill and on the long gentle descent towards the lake we use for open water swimming had a quick flash of a Pirate cycling top as Cougie went steaming past, Looks like his legendary alarm clock had worked it’s magic again.  Helsby is the area I cycle all the time, so I know the roads really well and the scenery isn’t bad, just struggling to make headway in the wind. Needed a quick trip behind a hedge, so at least I was well hydrated (teehee), round the corner and the first drinks station, caught Xana up at this point and she wasn’t looking at all well, ran alongside her for a few minutes but she got going OK and was happy for me to push on.

The next 4 or 5 miles felt really good. I have had a quick look at my splits for each mile and all seem OK, I need to edit them as whilst chatting with Xana I forgot to hit the button at 4 miles, so need to sort that out. Another drink and a quick gel and ready to face the final hill at 10 miles. A shout of Colourin is just in front from Sally our club swim coach and up school lane, Seems a long time since Rob (Fat Face) was standing at the top shouting abuse on my first Helsby. The top road was really exposed to the wind and got a bit of a battering. The left turn down the hill of Towers Lane and there’s Sue with the camera, Good she can take my gloves. 2 minutes later the rain came lashing down… Hmm shame I haven’t any gloves teehee.  Towers Lane is usually a great downhill blast, on the bikes I can get over 40 mph but running into driving rain and a gale force wind wasn’t quite so nice, back on to the main road for a quick right left to the finish another smile to Sue and the camera I’m actually smiling for once and a quick sprint to the line. 

Felt fairly easy at the finish and more than happy with 2hrs 5, Helsby is a bumpy course and with the wind and a few minutes driving rain I was more than pleased. Grabbed a drink and a hug from Sue.  Quick chat with a few club mates and time to see Xana make it over the line in 2hrs 13, looking very green around the gills but she had made it in one piece, nice one mate.

Grabbed my fleece, and at least the great thing with Helsby is its only 2 miles from home! So time for a hot shower and lunch. Spent the afternoon putting up shelves before finally treating myself to a long soak with a nice pint of Jennings Snecklifter before a rather large T bone steak.

Monday and no aches and pains at all, I suppose I shall have to admit to Sue that keeping to a proper training schedule and cutting out the booze is making a difference!

So next on the agenda a Mountain Bike Duathlon called The Fearless, I think it’s 5km run 18km bike 6km run, Should be interesting as I have only ridden the course once and I’ve done less than 50 miles ever on a mountain bike, Still life is all about learning !

Tuesday now, and no reactions at all, no stiffness and just a slight tenderness in my left calf.

So it’s back to the pool this evening.

Week 6, Running and hot air

So week 6, I signed off last weeks Monday morning blog report with “Should be a rest today, but as I’m going to be in the office late tomorrow I will train tonight”  Well as usual the best laid plans, got home from work and was absolutely shattered, Tried to motivate myself, But it wasn’t  going to happen, and as I have no intention of killing myself along this journey, I slobbed in front of the TV ! Tuesday was a very long day in the office, but the meeting I was facilitating went really well. I’d like to think after 4 months here I have settled in well and am making a useful contribution to the team.

Got home later than usual, Don’t think it made the blog, But our central heating boiler finally  gave up the ghost the day after Boxing Day, so although we have had hot water (thank god for the immersion) the house hasn’t been a great place to be ! So although it was late Sue and me decided to go and have a swim and warm at the gym. Not the biggest of pools at the gym, but for once the lane ropes were coiled up and there was just 4 of us all swimming crawl and having great fun.

Wednesday and back to running, With the run up to the Helsby 4 Villages half Marathon, this Sunday the biking has now gone the way of the swimming and a weeks solid running is on the schedule. Nice easy 5 miles on Weds. Thursday and a massive improvement… a new boiler ! we have heat… yippee

Set off for an easy run round the village, but interrupted with the news my Dad had been rushed into A&E again, So a fun evening was had by all… He had been over doing things again and it seemed to be an angina attack, anyway they threw him out at midnight… But not before I’d met a club mate who had gone over on his ankle and put himself out for 6 week. Been there done that.

Friday Skived off work for the day and spent it repairing the damage from the boiler installation, To be fair no great mess, It was more having to re-arrange the house to give the fitters access, and then put everything back.  Ran a good couple of laps of the village before settling down  to watch Leicester thrash Ulster.. Nope that didn’t go to plan either.

Saturday, a traditional family day, B&Q and Ikea, The boiler has gone where we have had shelving for the over flow of books, and we decided to stick a proper bookcase there instead. I’d never realised there were so many rough looking women at Ikea in Warrington, must be something to do with being that side of the river ?

Sunday morning, looks freezing out there, But it has to be done, Really good 6 miler out on part of next Sunday’s half marathon route, did the run back with a runner from the organising club, He wondered why a couple of old blokes weren’t sat in front of the fire reading the Sunday papers on a cold morning like that…. No real answer, apart from a total lack of guilt when I attacked the full cooked English !  Few more jobs around home, before settling down to Saracen’s v Biarritz, Not a bad way to spend Sunday afternoon.

Plans for this week are a gentle taper down towards Sunday

Week 5, Running, kerbs and getting muddy in the country

So week 5 of the training schedule, and of course complicated by being back at work. Meeting in the office in Birchwood Tuesday morning, then jumped in the car at lunch time and headed off to West Cumbria. Weather terrible, so took it steady. Meeting with other members of the team over an evening meal, so no chance of training but after last week’s heavy training load enough was enough ! Wednesday in meetings all day, and then a nightmare drive home as it went dark, pouring rain on the M6 all the way home.

Thursday, busy in the office catching up on writing all the minutes from the previous couple of days, But home at a sensible time, Wet and windy but decided to head out for a run, It is only 2 weeks til the Helsby 4 Villages half marathon after all. Had a really enjoyable run, just taking my time and listening to some music on the head phones, just thinking about sprinting for home when I caught a foot in the kerb and ended up on my knees, Patch of skin missing from the left one… Still no great problem. The Curse of Helsby ???

Friday, short day at work, so took off for a swim,  Few hotel guests splashing around, but swam over a couple and they got the hint.

Saturday morning off into town for the usual shopping and stuff. Got home and decided to ride out over the marshes on the MTB, Sue still commenting she is a little concerned I have entered a MTB duathlon called the Fearless when I have hardly ridden an MTB… The marsh is a great place to play, it’s the flat area between the M56 and the Manchester Ship canal, decent tracks, bits of gravel and at this time of year loads of water, Before leaving I had set up the turbo, so arrived back and jumped straight onto the turbo for another 45 minutes of punishment, even tho I was soaking wet and very very muddy.

Sunday morning, legs feeling so heavy, But both Sue and Annie were up for a run so set off towards Helsby on the main road, we have all the distances from home plotted from when Sue did the London Marathon and trained on that road, The girls got to the petrol station (2 miles from home 4 mile there and back) whilst I carried on to the 4 mile point and made it home in 71 minutes having completed 8 miles. That’s my longest run since 12^th June and the Bala Half Ironman. Rewarded with a full cooked English… Well has to be some benefit to all this training.

The Fink plan has today as a rest, But I’m stuck in meetings til late tomorrow so will run again tonight and rest tomorrow. Letting the swim slip for a couple of weeks til after Helsby. I did stick an interesting entry in last week for the Oulton Park duathlon in March, 2 laps running round the race circuit, 9 laps cycle and then 1 more run, and it’s the week after we get back from Tenerife so should be in reasonable shape. Might even have a tan !

Christmas, New Year and all that

So back at my desk after what seems like an age, But perhaps it was time to get back to the real world..
Chilled out couple of days in the office before we broke up, not much on the go, so able to head off on holiday without thinking about piles of work to head back too.
Good turbo session on Friday 23rd, Spent Christmas Eve wrapping presents and cooking in prep for Christmas day, and then managed to run 2 laps of the village before supper and to await the arrival of Santa…
Christmas morning swapped presents, and then as none of the kids were with us til later in the day, we headed off to the gym… Yep Christmas Day training, Did a really good 45 minutes swim session, before heading home to stick the turkey in the oven.
Boxing Day and our usual festive frolic, The Chester Round the Walls 7km race, and for the first time we were joined by Sprog 4 (Annie), Bit fresh on the fingers and of course all the fun of dodging the bargain hunting shoppers whilst running the walls. Managed a semi respectable 46 mins, Whilst Annie managed to hold off her Mum by 2 places and 4 seconds. Followed by another great afternoon when Sprog 1 (Sam) brought the new man in her life over for a meal. And very nice he is as well.

Tuesday and my local bike shop had a decent sale on, and even stuff not marked in the sale was subject to a bit of a haggle. Sue headed off to help paint at Sprog 2’s new house, so I did a full on 60 min turbo, 5km run followed by a 45 min swim, Felt really strong and no pains from my shoulder, which is always a bonus. Weds and Sue back at work, so I headed for the gym and did another turbo session, followed by a weights sesh and a half hour swim. Thursday starting to feel knackered, but did manage to swim for 45 mins.
Friday, Lunch time picnic at Sprog 2’s building site, sorry I mean new home.. Then called at the gym for another turbo, weights, and swim combination. Really a heavy training work load, But once I get back to work I will be busy and of course travelling to Cumbria, so I will be limited to running and having a week off work was a great opportunity to put a solid block of training in.

New Years Eve, lazy start to the day followed by a late brunch in town, but home in time for another running lap of the village.
Finished off the holiday by a final run round the village on Monday night, Legs feeling really heavy and dead, But I’m hoping that a sustained block of training will pay off in the long term. Less than 3 weeks now til the Helsby 4 Villages half marathon so a couple of weeks solid running might see me make the start line…

Ending the week with a change of scenery

Week 2 then of the Outlaw Training program, and managed to stick to it reasonably well.

I have had a fairly major tender response ongoing for a couple of weeks and Friday 16^th was submission day, but looked ok for training.

Monday, again swapped Mondays rest over to Tuesday, and made it down to the gym at a sensible time, 30 minute run along the greenway, a disused railway line running thru the middle of Chester, and followed that by a 30 minute swim. Tuesday really busy in the office pulling together the final sections of the bid and a chilled evening in front of the TV.

Wednesday over at our head office in Knutsford to print and bind the response, but went really smoothly so home early for a change, Grabbed my kit and managed 45 minute turbo and 30 minute swim, Went well and felt OK at the time, but seem to have pulled something in my left shoulder, been popping ibuprofen all weekend since.

Thursday evening packing, The tender was due for delivery to the client in West Cumbria Friday lunch, so the plan was for me to drive up early on Friday and Sue to join me at our cottage Friday evening, (the best laid plans etc etc). So packed the car with walking gear and laid out the office kit. Managed an easy 5km run round the village before an early night.

Friday off at sparrows fart and would have made Whitehaven easily before 8:30 if it hadn’t been for the boys with the blue lights pulling random cars over to chat and explain Cumbria Constabulary’s winter driving safety campaign, and have a quick sniff of the breath ! Tender delivered on time and under lovely clear blue skies drove off over Cleater Moor to Keswick unpacked the car and went off for a wander round the shops, only for Sue to ring up and tell me at had taken over an hour to get home from clinic (usually 15 minutes) and there was a blizzard blowing in the village so she might not drive up til Saturday morning…… Did a bit more Christmas shopping and kept myself amused looking in gear shops, Bought a superb Pearl Izumi soft shell for way less than half price Bargin…

Phone from Sue to say she was staying put… I stayed put in the Dog & Gun !

Saturday Sue arrived with tales of ice and accidents on the M56, But no snow on the ground in Keswick, So did some food shopping and strolled down round the lake for an hour taking photos, Before retiring to the cottage to do the Xmas decorations and of course watch Strictly !

Sunday stunning blue sky, so a lovely easy walk in Borrowdale along an old toll road from Keswick to Honister, some  dare devil mountain bikers also making the trip…. Few more photos and back down the M6 to civilisation, (or was it away from civilisation ?)

Still struggling with my left shoulder. Very tender again this morning. Not helped by the fact if I sleep on my right side I snore, If I sleep on my left it aggravates my shoulder, I can see me sleeping in the spare room ????

The training plan says swim / run tonight, But I’m going to let the shoulder settle down for a few more days, so turbo and run more likely.

Rest day tomorrow, and of course tomorrow I go up an age group.

Buff or naked ?

So that’s week 1 of the 30 week Fink program for The Outlaw completed. What is more amazing is that I did all but one session. It was a 15 min Z2 (Z2 refers to the target heart rate) run session.  It’s sadly a function of my job, although having just had 7 months without a job, I’m more than relieved to now have one to get in the way, But I’m currently responding to 2 different tenders each requiring submission before Christmas, and work tends to come before training so a 15 min session lost out.

The whole issue of Ironman racing is the balance between work, home life and training, and when you leave for the office at 7:30 in a morning there isn’t much chance of getting a 45 minute training run done, and getting home 12 hours later, it would be lovely to go for a run, But by then the body is starting to weaken.  It has been said many times that IM racing is as much mental (yeah you have to be mental to do it) as it is physical. Plodding along in the gathering gloom at the end of an Ironman takes mental toughness, by then the legs have gone every fibre is telling you to stop it’s the brain that demands one foot going in front of another. There is though no substitute for training and putting the hours and miles in.

Had a decent weekend though, Usual Saturday morning in town doing bits and pieces than Saturday afternoon settled down to train, I could easily have spent the afternoon watching rugby but ……….

Really good 60 minute turbo session, nice to be back on a proper bike, rather than the fat tyre’d monster, then a nice easy 30 minutes on the treddie at the gym (watching the rugby  ) before plunging into the pool for a 30 minute session. I can’t have swum that far since the Bala Half Ironman on 12^th June, in fact I haven’t swum any sort of distance since the Bala Olympic in Sept. But I managed a great session,  worked really hard to try and keep some sort of form thro the water, and finished with a long lie in the sauna drinking high 5.  Before heading home, for my favourite Saturday night après training meal. T Bone steak and a bottle of merlot although in the interests of training got nowhere near finishing the bottle even though Sue had had a glass.

Sunday morning started with an easy run round the village (5km) before heading over the Pennines to the wasteland to meet up with Sprog 3 and his g/f. Pleasant wander round the shops before a long long lunch at Jamie’s Diner and then back over the hills to safety.

The title of this missive ?  Well The Outlaw is run by a company called OneStepBeyond and the event is in part sponsored by Buff, The company that makes the strip of cloth of the same name, and they decided that the club with the most entrants would each receive a specially made commemorative buff. You wouldn’t believe the amount of column inches written on the Runners World Forum dedicated to these buffs…… You would have thought that people who had just committed several hundred pounds in entry fee, a fortune in travel and accommodation and thousands of hours training would have better things to write about ? But nope the buffs got all the words.

Right, Well Fink calls for Mondays to be a rest day, But it’s Sue’s long day (she leaves home at 8:30 am and usually gets home at 9pm), So rather than sit around on my own, and go training on Tuesdays when she is home, it gives me a little flexibility as well if work gets in the way later in the week, so it’s Fink swim set #37 and a 45 minute run on the cards for later.

So here we go again !

Just been reading my Ironman UK 2010 report, the last posting on this blog. It of course finishes with the obligatory never again statement, unless I decide to do the Pirate outing…

Well guess what? Yep I’m doing the Pirate outing in 2012!

Having done the Big Woody I said that perhaps I was missing an M-Dot event on my palmarés.

Well having now been there done that, I have been thinking I should have done the big Pirate outing. Due to lots of people being involved with the Olympics in 2012 the Pirate massive picked The Outlaw long distance event in Nottingham. In its 3rd year people have lots of good things to say about it.

Following on from the disaster that was IMUK 2010 another long distance was always on the cards, and one featuring nearly a 100 Pirates and forming the Pirate Championship race only 2 hours drive from home had to be worthy of serious consideration.

The London organisers haven’t yet decided where my talents would be best suited, But Sue is involved with both triathlon and long distance swimming in Hyde Park which will use a week’s leave, Sprog 4 is due to graduate so will require our removal talents again, so the thought of a summer holiday was slipping away. What better then than a few days camping in Nottingham, a few beers with some mates and a bit of a race!

So why start the blog now ? Blame Don Fink.. Who I hear you cry ? He is one of the leading lights in Tri training and has written several books on the subject. One of the most popular training plans is his 30 week one, Which starts today Monday 5th, so that must mean it’s 30 weeks to the Outlaw…

A note from the organisers this morning suggested that they have 970 entries with a max of 1000, and out of those some 70 will be wearing the yellow and black.

So time to drag out the turbo, dust off the swim kit and get out on the roads (only 6 weeks to the Helsby half marathon, Not that I ever manage to do it even when I enter)

Ironman UK August 2010

Well after the Big Woody I was more than happy that I had been there, done that and got the T shirt, But watching Min, Holgs and Viking go off an do WTC IM events I gradually decided I was missing out on something.

 So way back last autumn I decided to take the plunge yet again, having sporadically written up my blog, sporadic readers will know of the hassles of the “new bike” and suffering from knee trouble.

 So back to last Sunday 25^th, One last ride out on the Cervelo just to give everything a last shake down… and yet again had another disaster, the P2c frame has horizontal rear dropouts, and uses tiny grub screws to align the back wheel and they had worked loose, the moment I put any power into the pedals, the wheel moved and rubbed on the frame. Struggled home and immediately threw the bike in the car and dashed off to Royles, As usual nothing fazes the guys and within seconds my bike had replaced a P4 on the mechanics work stand and 2 people were stripping it down, 35 minutes later all was well and Matt had even found time to adjust everything up. On a Sunday lunch, that is what great customer service is all about, forget bike shops on retail parks.

 Monday night quick trip out just to check all working.. Yeah Spot on, and the gear change was perfect. Swim and run on Tuesday, this is all coming together. 

Weds thought I would run a rag over the bike to make it look even better and ………

The trip meter is sitting there flashing ”error”, tried to reset, but nada. Dashed into town to the other bike shop I use, Spotty faced assistant “we will send it back and let you know in 3 to 4 weeks” I was just about to unload, when the boss wandered over and asked how my IM prep was going,  Explained about the trip, and he reached over and got another one off the rack and handed it over without comment. There really are some great people out there, see don’t buy bikes and bike kit from car accessory shops. Your LBS understands bikes, and bike racers.

 Thursday drove over to register and pick up all my race info, all getting very real and scary now, spent the night photographing rhino’s in Chester and a nice romantic meal.

 Friday and sorted my gear and packed, tried to relax and watch TV. Saturday drove over and racked my bike, then drove the bike course, so nice of the council to gravel Sheephouse Lane.

Quiet meal in a little Italian place and early to bed.

 Slept really well, so drove off to the start at 4:30am, Sue had volunteered to help drag swimmers out of the water, So last hug and good luck and I went in to transition to check the bike over, Quick word with Slim, Andy and Ladyfe. But I really hate the swim, so was happy to get into my own little world, Into the water and found a good spot to start from, waited for the gun and off,  hit a decent rhythm and settled in,

Quick glance at my watch at the turn and more than happy, as regular’s readers will know, I usually throw up in the swim, but I hadn’t, yippee.  I do wish some people would learn how to swim in a straight line, a guy in a red wetsuit passed in front of me 3 times as he zig zagged down the course, and he must have swum miles further than me. Got a good sight of the swim exit, hauled myself out and had a quick snog with the neoprene babe helping us out….Easy jog to T1 whilst having a drink,

Nice and steady change into bike kit and out onto the bike course.

Having done less than 250 miles on the new bike, still not confident with the position, But the long straights thro Leigh helped me get settled, Turned right up the hill in Adlington to be met by a wall of noise… That’ll be Holgs, Viking and IronMin then. Felt OK up the hill to the start of Sheephouse Lane. Cheers from the Chester tri crowd, and then turned the corner to more cheers from Rosey, JPenno and others (sorry without my specs your a blur)

Took it steady up the hill, all the time thanking my bike mechanic who found the 29 tooth sprocket. Fast down the other side, and was  passed by the pros on their second lap, The guy in 5th or 6th even had time to shout “come on Pirate”

 Started the next lap and Suzie had by now joined the rabble, Ok up Sheephouse but off the top started to feel decidedly ill. Thought I had punctured cos it felt like I was pedaling in treacle. Just before Belmont I needed the loo… Not sure what was wrong, but my stomach was churning like mad, I was using my usual power bars and gels and have used Gatorade many times. The rest of lap 2 required 2 more visits to the hedge and a pub toilet south of Chorley…. Just hung on and got round to start  lap 3. Sounded like a badly balanced spin drier in my guts, and I was continuing to pour Gatorade and gels down my neck, but my legs were getting heavier and heavier. Made it to T2, But I really thought that was it.

 As has been pointed out 17 minutes for T2 must be a record, But I sorted myself out, used the bath room and got changed into run kit, thought long and hard about chucking it in. Decided I would set off and see how it went, quitting is forever and all that, (Thanks Lance)

 The run was always going to be messy, after having done no running in June following my knee problem, and spending too much time playing with the new bike in July, I always knew it would be the run that would hurt most.

Made it to the feed station at the Beehive and had a chat with Sue and Holgs, Think they had guessed all was not well. Continued into town at a reasonable pace, But feeling really limp. Long chat with Admiral Rosey on the return. Still run / walk and no energy what so ever.

Stopped at the portaloo at Lostock station and what ever had upset me left .. Violently ! Felt instantly 1000 times better, but by then the damage was done, I was drained, literally and nothing for it but to plod on. Made it to the Beehive and another word from Holgs and Sue. Last trip up to the turn round and then it’s back to the finish. Plodding steadily down the main road through Horwich towards the finish, there were a couple of young boys (8 or 9ish) standing watching one of them piped up “Oy you fat bastard” and threw a chip at me, I wouldn’t have minded but by then I was starving and would have eaten a scabby dog let alone some oiks chips ! Back to the Beehive feed station and a last hug from Sue and a ”See you at the finish” and carried on sticking one foot in front of the other.

  Had already decided I was going to give it all for the finish line, so turned the corner and went for it, Passed 2 people in the last 100 yds, Sorry folks… and made it to the line not a moment too soon, my legs were screaming, but just for once I wanted a decent finish line photo.

Went and collected my change bag, and there were loads of texts from everyone who had been following on the web, Sadly my specs were in the car and I couldn’t read them til later. Back out on to the street and Sue standing there looking the most relieved she had all day. She wasn’t convinced I should have even started after all the knee trouble, and then after an iffy bike leg, to start knowing the run would be bad was madness, But this is Ironman, if it was easy it would be called football,

Sorry tho love, it can’t be easy watching idiots try and hurt themselves in the name of fun.(yes and I know I am at that age)

Collected the bike and transition bags and a quick drive home by midnight and a plate of chips and a Guinness for supper…

  All the usual après race aches and pains on Monday, but my guts are fine…..

 And that as they say is that. I do think I have got “it” or should that be “IM” out of my system. I was really rather pleased with myself after the Big Woody, but gradually started to wonder, Trev is a great guy, But his measurement skills aren’t the best, and after everyone else had done a “proper” WTC event, I had a silly notion that I hadn’t really done one, and Sunday was almost trying to prove a point, Yeah ridiculous I know.

But it’s done, The “Dave The Iron Spartan”  t shirt made it’s long awaited return.

Am I disappointed that it didn’t go to plan ? Yes, having spent a load of cash and time on the new bike (Yes Sue, lots too much time on the bike and not enough running) to have the event fall apart on the one leg I wasn’t remotely concerned about is annoying, I had one of my best swims ever, and the run….. Well  I made it to the line is the best that can be said about the run. Am I disappointed enough to wake up 3 years from now and think, I really should go back and do better…. Nope, Been there done that wearing the polo shirt.

 After a great 5 years I have now done more long distance events than I have done Olympics or half ironman, So I will look to rectify that next year, and perhaps 2012 join in a pirate relay team on an overseas jaunt (if they will have me)

 It was great to meet some new people, and will be back next year.. To do some cheering and this weekend out to support Holgs as he attacks the Outlaw long distance in Nottingham.

And to finish with a question……….I was asked 4 or 5 times “Ah you are a Pirate, Do you know Rosey ?”.. What I want to know is do people come up to Rosey and ask “Ah you are a Pirate, Do you know Dave the Ex Spartan?”.. No I thought not

The Saga of Dave’s knee

Saga it’s a posh Norse word that means rice pudding  (Very old Mike Harding gag)

OK So I have been struggling with a dodgy knee, And yes I have been to the Doc’s and yes I am going to get it scanned, But I have solved it.

Go back a few weeks to the saga of the bike…. Had it all custom built and then a full 2 hour bike fit session. The following day I did the Chester half marathon with no issues, Rode the Cervelo on the Tuesday and then dashed off to the Lakes and managed to fall off a mountain. Ever since then I have had knee pain. It did swell up after the mountain episode and doing the Keswick Duathlon the following day didn’t help

Sat down and got a bit introspective last week, and somewhat worried that IMUK wasn’t going to happen. Reading back thro my diary (the hand written for 20 years personal one that will never end up here) and I found a comment and it started a thread running.

Then we were looking at the Bala photos and Sue said, I almost missed you, I knew you were on the red & white Cervelo rather than the grey and red Trek, But your left knee doesn’t stick out so much………….

You getting there yet ? (and anyone who has seen Chris Horner’s foot position was there hours back)

When Graham did the fitting on the new bike, he said your left cleat is in a strange position and did all the measurements and adjusted it….. and of course I only have one really good set of bike shoes, So even if I was riding the Trek on training rides I was using those shoes.

Week last Saturday whilst having  this epiphany I went out and did my long 50 miler down thro Nantwich and Winsford, Using the very old Decathlon shoes I have had for ages (which of course have had the cleats unmoved since the Big Woody) .. and yep no pain…

This Saturday I did the same ride but back in my good shoes, But being a sad sod I had scribed my cleat positions on the sole of the shoes, So I moved them back. and guess what 50 miles, 3hours 1 min and no pain what so ever in my knee. And this evening  just run out over the marshes 7km in 40 minutes and apart from getting soaking wet enjoyed myself.

So I still think Graham is amazing and want him to build all my bikes, But shoe cleat position…. Sod the Q factor on the bike My knees are old and deserve respect !!!

Oh and damn, Thats one less excuse for IMUK !

Bala Half Iron Man 2010

Well having entered 3 times, I finally made it to the start line.

Although after my knee damaging escapade in the Lakes a couple of weeks back I wasn’t looking forward to the run. Never mind, the swimming has been going well recently and of course I now have the new bike. Although with only a total of a hundred miles on it, wasn’t sure if I should revert to the trusty old Trek (Yeah right, spend all that cash and not race it ?)

Early start from home, but made it over to Bala in 45 mins. Went and registered and got numbered up, before getting my stuff from the car and racking. Usual hoard of Pirates cluttering the entrance to transition. Good to meet up with some people after 12 months since the last time we all met up.

Felt OK about the event, but was still trying to decide if I should start the run, need to protect my knee ready for IM UK. So in the best interests of my knee I got a brand new pair of trainers out of the box to use on the run. I decided they would be more supportive than my current pair, and as I wasn’t going to go very fast, they would be OK.

Time to don the wetsuit and jump in the lake, Damn that’s cold, still the tried and trusted way warmed the wettie up a little. Few easy warm up drills and time to go. Now having said that I had been swimming well recently. Not sure what happened, but got a real kicking in the mêlée that’s the start of a mass open water swim, and almost panicked. I was waiting for my breakfast to reappear and there I am worried about swimming in a lake. Had to give myself a swift talking too.

Settled down and really enjoyed the swim after that, Got mown down by one of the wave starting after me, but suppose that was my own fault for not swimming fast enough. Damn stony on the swim exit, But jogged round to the bike and get ready for the cycle. Even tho it was lashing it down with rain just at that moment I stuck some sun cream on.  It didn’t work as I have the impression of my race monaco on my right shoulder.  Had remembered to leave the bike in a low gear ready for the climb out on to the main road. Could hear Viking shouting as I left. Lots of cyclists altogether, How a marshal can give drafting penalties I don’t know (will have to ask Leigh to explain) . Still feeling relaxed and comfortable, munched a gel and got stuck in. Managed to get up and over the big climb on the way out. I admit one of the few things that worried me about the bike change was going from the triple to the double, but massive thanks to Grahame who built the new bike, a 29 tooth sprocket on the back wouldn’t go down well in the pro peloton but I love it.

On the training ride the other week I had touched 50 MPH on the descent to Trawsfynnd, but yesterday was quite windy, and I was getting an education into light carbon fibre bikes and deep section rims…. Scary. Getting blown about a lot, and hands felt along way from the brakes when down on the extensions.

More rain on the section of the A470 past Coed y Brennin, at least it wasn’t snow and hail like the last time I was riding  here. Reached the turn round point and did a quick bottle swap. Eeek it’s only a little bottle and I only have one cage on the bike. I have bought an aero bottle for the bars, but have been unable to get a mounting bracket and it won’t stay put. Back up the A470 and then turn right and head up the mountain, just drop it into bottom and spin gently up, not the quickest trip up, but it didn’t hurt which was the objective. More munching on power bar, sadly tho the small drinks bottle was empty. Must sort out the bracket before IMUK.

Very wet on the descents back towards Bala, But the appearance of Sue and Annie at the road side brightened things up, Really do need to instruct Annie in the fine art of the “magnetic bottle” as I could have done with a pull up the last hill into Bala, rather than a big silly grin out of the car window as they sped past.

Last right turn was very slippy, could feel the bike moving around a bit, But held it upright, The last right turn by the garage it really stepped out on me and I thought I had punctured, Wasn’t going to stop in the last 500m’s, but backed right off for the turn down the hill into transition, Could have given the Pirate massive a real laugh. (oh and no puncture, must have just been the rain and drop of diesel from the petrol station ?)

Into transition OK, and racked the bike up. Felt really good so after a quick word with myself to pull out if the knee gave any pain I set off onto the run.  Usual shouts from the Pirate massive and even some from the Chester Tri crew, Struggled to get going over the rough ground at the start of the run,  once out on to the road it was ok. Sue, Annie and Viking just before the first mile marker cheering me on, Sue then drove up to the mile 3 marker, causing much hilarity by leaning out of the window as she drove past asking if I was OK… Comments from all around went from “If I was ok I wouldn’t be doing this” to “only the wife could ask that and not get a thump”  and finally “I do hope  she will make it up too you later” Still if it raises the spirits. Some rather nasty little climbs along the side of the lake, But the knee was feeling OK, lots of encouragement from Pirates on the return as well as other competitors, There seems to be a massive amount of admiration for the Pirates and what it stands for. Struggled up the last hill to the turn around, Cheery not far now Dave from Squish as she shot back down. Quick slurp of High 5 and downhill. Yippee this is nice, until crested the rise at 7 miles and you could see all the way down the lake, even the finish line arch. Seemed a very long way away. Still this is Half Ironman racing, if it was easy it would be called football. Carried on sticking one foot in front of the other. I had forgotten to hit the lap button on my watch at T2 in or T2 out so I hadn’t a clue how fast I was going, Felt about 2hrs 45 / 50 sort of pace, all that really mattered was not doing any damage to my knee. Last cup of High 5 and it was back over the bridge and it was back over the rough ground to the finish. Cheers from Swiss Mummy and abuse from Nam & Calf. Before the wonderful right turn into the finish funnel. What seemed like thousands of pirates all cheering and  over the line to stop the clocks.

Again messed up killing my own watch, That said 6hrs 41 and I was more than happy.  Even happier when the official timing gave me 6:32. With a 2hrs 26 half marathon to finish with. I only did 2hrs 4 at Chester a month back with a perfect knee ( well as good as they will be at my age)

Hugs and kisses from Sue and Annie and time to swap tall tales with the other Pirates.

Long chat with Caroline (Colourin) who although she had set a PB, and only did the Beaver (HIM) 2 weeks ago didn’t seem happy, Once she had checked the numbers she cheered up.

Placed everything carefully into the car, (yeah with the trek I would have chucked it in) and set off for home. Arrived just in time to see Sue & Annie heading out to run a couple of laps of the village, I on the other hand decided it was time for Guinness and the hot tub.

7 weeks to  IMUK, Need to look after the knee, happy tho that the swim and bike are achievable. Chilled evening tonight and then back to Manley tomorrow for OW swimming

Descent into Bala

3 miles heading out on the run

Last 50 metres into the finish