Since my last blog I've raced at the Inter Services Standard distance and just recently, the Beverley Sprint.
The Inter Services at Belvoir Castle back in July was not a good day at the office for me, hence the long time its taken for me to face my demons and blog about it! Also, I've had a better race since then and it's a lot easier to write about the good ones!
I went into the Belvoir Castle race having not ran for 2 weeks due to my 'glass' calf playing up (again!) and so was not really in the right frame of mind to embrace the race pain, especially as I was about 2 kg over the weight I would normally be (injuries = depression....depression = comfort eating!).
The swim was a right old fight! I didn't get any clear water until half way round the first lap and did not enjoy swimming through the gritty, silty, muddy puddle!
Once out the water I was hit with nasty cramps in my hamstrings which stopped me dead and took what seemed like an age to calm down.
The bike was a bit of a slog too. I just couldn't find my bike legs at all.
Once on the run I just concentrated on looking after my calf as much as I could. Surprisingly, I completed the race but at the expense of a strain on my other calf! Overcompensating I guess.
I did manage to come away with a bit of glassware thanks to Sags and Matt who both raced really well and finished 1st and 2nd vets, with me bringing up the rear as 7th vet overall and 3rd RAF vet, which bagged us the vet team title.
I enjoyed the course, I just wish I could have done it justice!
After a wee bit more rehab on the calf, I was keen to put that race to bed by performing better at my next race.
Thankfully the Beverley sprint was a considerably better outcome!
My 400m pool swim was pretty standard for me at just over 6 mins out the water (6:22 over the timing mat).
The 20km bike was pretty flat with only a few lumps but it was big ring all the way despite the tasty winds. I had a bit of a ding dong battle with another vet all the way round the bike which helps to keep the hammer down and entered T2 about 10 secs ahead of him.
I felt good on the run and managed to put a minute on the other vet bloke behind me and so was hopeful of a vet podium.
I actually ended up 2nd overall and 1st vet! Came away with some nice prizes (wine x 2, Udo Choice Oil x 2, vouchers and a cheque!).
It's always great to win stuff but what was really pleasing was that my run time was still decent and no calf issues! Pure relief.
With only one more race before I head out to Spain for the World Du Champs, I feel good again and much more focused. I just need to maintain run fitness i.e. NOT GET INJURED, and go wild on 2 wheels.
Train well.
Monday 8 August 2011
Sunday 10 July 2011
Good Day At RAF Sprint Champs
Last Wednesday was the Sprint Champs at Cranwell and I had a pretty good day!
The rain stayed away but there was a stiff breeze to contend with and to be honest, I was a little worried that my 80mm front wheel was going to be a bit tricky to keep in a straight line on any fast descents with the crosswinds, thankfully this wasn't to be the case.
After a mediocre swim (climbing out of the pool on 6 min 09 sec) I had a decent T1 and hit the new Cranwell cycle route with the wind slightly behind. The new route is an improvement on last year and allows you to get down on the bars early and stay there for the vast majority of the 25k. There were a few slight inclines, some of them into the wind, which made it testing! I knew I had to push hard on the bike to have any chance of squeezing the vet race win and I was pretty much in pain the whole way round! However, there was one part of the route where the wind was right on your back for about a mile or two and it felt great to get into top gear and still be spinning at about 95 RPM!
Out of T2 on to the run I felt pretty tired and had a sore gut, so it took a wee while to get into my run rhythm. Once in the groove I started to push on..., that was until we popped out of the shelter of the woods and onto the open fields where the wind smacked you in the face! It was a bit of a slog from then on and I was more than happy to run under the finish 'bouncy castle'! Once we had all finished, the usual 'competitor time checks' commenced! I realised it was going to be close for the vet title after Matt and I had compared our own watches and there was just a second in it! It wasn't until we checked the official timings that I realised I had beaten Matt by a mere 6 secs! How close was that?!
It was a good day at the office for me, taking the vet race, (albeit by the smallest of margins) and I even took 2nd overall behind 'Fast Daz' which was an unexpected bonus too!
I took 2 days off after the race as I had a bit of a dodgy tummy and felt really tired and weak. Thankfully by Saturday I felt a lot better and did a long swim in the morning and an 'hour of power' on the turbo in the evening.
Today was a 2 hour tempo ride (got very wet!) followed by a 9 mile run. This was hard! I am now writing this wrapped up in as much compression gear as I can get on...no pain no gain!
Train smart.
The rain stayed away but there was a stiff breeze to contend with and to be honest, I was a little worried that my 80mm front wheel was going to be a bit tricky to keep in a straight line on any fast descents with the crosswinds, thankfully this wasn't to be the case.
After a mediocre swim (climbing out of the pool on 6 min 09 sec) I had a decent T1 and hit the new Cranwell cycle route with the wind slightly behind. The new route is an improvement on last year and allows you to get down on the bars early and stay there for the vast majority of the 25k. There were a few slight inclines, some of them into the wind, which made it testing! I knew I had to push hard on the bike to have any chance of squeezing the vet race win and I was pretty much in pain the whole way round! However, there was one part of the route where the wind was right on your back for about a mile or two and it felt great to get into top gear and still be spinning at about 95 RPM!
Out of T2 on to the run I felt pretty tired and had a sore gut, so it took a wee while to get into my run rhythm. Once in the groove I started to push on..., that was until we popped out of the shelter of the woods and onto the open fields where the wind smacked you in the face! It was a bit of a slog from then on and I was more than happy to run under the finish 'bouncy castle'! Once we had all finished, the usual 'competitor time checks' commenced! I realised it was going to be close for the vet title after Matt and I had compared our own watches and there was just a second in it! It wasn't until we checked the official timings that I realised I had beaten Matt by a mere 6 secs! How close was that?!
It was a good day at the office for me, taking the vet race, (albeit by the smallest of margins) and I even took 2nd overall behind 'Fast Daz' which was an unexpected bonus too!
I took 2 days off after the race as I had a bit of a dodgy tummy and felt really tired and weak. Thankfully by Saturday I felt a lot better and did a long swim in the morning and an 'hour of power' on the turbo in the evening.
Today was a 2 hour tempo ride (got very wet!) followed by a 9 mile run. This was hard! I am now writing this wrapped up in as much compression gear as I can get on...no pain no gain!
Train smart.
Saturday 25 June 2011
Blogging Catch Up...
Since my last blog I've done a few races so I'd better bring things up to date I guess!
Odiham sprint was a couple of weeks ago and this was my first dig at this race. It was surprisingly hilly, both on the bike and the run and then throw in a bit of wind and rain and this was a fairly tough race as far as Sprints go! Timings wise, my swim was good, bike was ok and run was fine...nothing flash, just a solid race for me. 'Super Sags' beat me by nearly 20 seconds to take the Vet race. That was 2 -1 to Sags!
Shortly after Odiham was the Dambuster standard distance. I'm not a massive fan of this race, mainly due to not having had a decent bike leg on this course, it always seems to hurt so much and for seemingly little gain, and this year was no different! However, despite not being my fastest bike split at Dambuster, I managed an overall PB this time around, by about 2 mins! Happy days.
I didn't quite break my long term Dambuster goal of 1 hr 10 mins, but this was the closest I've been to it by just 17 seconds. Hey ho, always next year, again! At least I managed to level the score with Sags... 2 -2.
My third race since I last blogged was today, a local 10k road race. It was a fast start and after 2 miles I was out front with one other runner. I shadowed him for anther couple of miles until finally he started to ease up (thankfully!) and I pulled away and came home to win in 35:21. OK, it's fair to say this was not an extremely high caliber event, what with no Saggers there, and I don't even recall seeing Mo Farah there, but hey, it was good training and a wins a win!
I was also joined today by Max, my 16 year old son, who had a crack at the 5k race. He did really well and clocked a time of just over 20 mins, bagging 10th place!
Odiham sprint was a couple of weeks ago and this was my first dig at this race. It was surprisingly hilly, both on the bike and the run and then throw in a bit of wind and rain and this was a fairly tough race as far as Sprints go! Timings wise, my swim was good, bike was ok and run was fine...nothing flash, just a solid race for me. 'Super Sags' beat me by nearly 20 seconds to take the Vet race. That was 2 -1 to Sags!
Shortly after Odiham was the Dambuster standard distance. I'm not a massive fan of this race, mainly due to not having had a decent bike leg on this course, it always seems to hurt so much and for seemingly little gain, and this year was no different! However, despite not being my fastest bike split at Dambuster, I managed an overall PB this time around, by about 2 mins! Happy days.
I didn't quite break my long term Dambuster goal of 1 hr 10 mins, but this was the closest I've been to it by just 17 seconds. Hey ho, always next year, again! At least I managed to level the score with Sags... 2 -2.
My third race since I last blogged was today, a local 10k road race. It was a fast start and after 2 miles I was out front with one other runner. I shadowed him for anther couple of miles until finally he started to ease up (thankfully!) and I pulled away and came home to win in 35:21. OK, it's fair to say this was not an extremely high caliber event, what with no Saggers there, and I don't even recall seeing Mo Farah there, but hey, it was good training and a wins a win!
I was also joined today by Max, my 16 year old son, who had a crack at the 5k race. He did really well and clocked a time of just over 20 mins, bagging 10th place!
Go on son! 
Looking forward to a 3k wetsuit swim and an 80 mile bike in the sun tomorrow. Summer is here!
Train smart.
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