Suffolk Sunrise 2013

Having my hand forced by injured participants, I nervously jumped up a group, from Slouch to Fast and we set off about 20 minutes after the Elite group. I very quickly found the pace too much to sustain and had pains, with only 10 miles completed and a decision I might regret, I persuaded Steve and his group to completely desert me. 1 mph slower and my stamina seem to recover, but the pain seemed to continue until, cursing my pre-race tinkering, I noticed my saddle was 2 inches too low.  It was like a different set of legs had taken over, well for another 10 miles or so, just coming in towards the 1^st stop, my legs felt heavy once again, looking down I now realised that the saddle was actually slipping down until it hit the reflector bracket. Had someone had oiled my shaft the night before! Just like when you are camping a couple of big leaves, seem to wipe most of it off, clamp up super tight and why, why did I not do that earlier.

My target time was eight hours with 7 hours cycling, averaging 15 mph seem possible and now checking with my only friend left, Mr Strava, he was telling me it was possible, but tight. I started to feel more confident, but knew all too well what the last 10-20 miles would feel like, also knowing the wind had little affect so far, so I knew it would not be long til it did. After lunch at 47miles, I managed to get in a little group and stayed with them for 5 or so miles, which was a welcome relief, but apart form a few more short tows that was about the only drafting I got.  I bimbled on, cursing a bit and enjoying it at times, but the last 35 miles were windy and tough, the last 20 very tough, but I could not give up, after all, I am a Gauntleteer. I had 3 stops, drunk 4 litres of fluid and gel ran through my veins, bowl of spicy pasta for lunch and 4 bananas saw me through.  If it had gone slightly better, yes I could have gone maybe 1mph faster, if I had not mended someone’s chain I could have saved some time and yes if I had not stopped at all I could have shaved off another 50 mins, but incredibly even with all this, I would still be a full hour slower than the Elite Surfer group – Very Impressive.  That will be difficult to pull back in the 10K.

Highlight, the fool who thought he could keep up with me down a steep descent with a tight sandy corner at the bottom. I got the turn-in right, hit the apex as my Rossi gate leg clicked back on to the pedal, giving me enough time to turn and see him cross the road and use the opposite bank to stop himself. I did warn him and getting my foot down must have given him a clue.

Lowlight, realising I have not trained enough and as always, the last 10 miles, although there were still some to overtake this year. 

I was not quick, but some 40 mins quicker than last year, mainly pushing forward on my own, so a great sense of achievement and as always, well organised and well catered, way of seeing our lovely county.

DH

Wattisham Tri 2013

T-Shirt

Saturday 11th May.

Despite vivid recollections of my last outings to windswept Wattisham I decided to give it a go again this year. Forecast wasn’t brilliant for later on in the day but if all went according to plan, I’d be safely in a tent with a cup of tea and a burger when the bad weather arrived.

The sun was out and fooled by the transition area being in the lea of the Physical & Recreational Training Centre and out of the wind I set up and began to feel hopeful that the Met Office had, once again, got the forecast wrong and that I was in for a nice, warm and calm event.

Nice and Sunny

Briefing was over at 12:30, first swimmer scheduled for 13:01 and I was off at 14:42 – so loads of time to relax and mentally prepare. I almost sound like I know what I was doing.

Watched the first few swimmers set off then outside to watch the T1 activities and was treated to the most casual transition I have ever seen. Watched by 30 or so spectators this guy comes out of the pool and calmly walks to his bike. He then starts to gently towel himself down like he was at a beach and had just got out of the sea. The similarities didn’t end there – once dry he wrapped the towel around his waist and proceeded to wriggle out of his shorts, one handed, just like you would at the beach. Then on went the cycle shorts in the same careful way – top marks for not letting the wind flap the towel and expose his tackle. On goes a nice cycling top then a sit down on the grass to dry his feet properly, bit of the old talc, before pulling on socks and finally some cycle shoes. Sorted. Must have taken over five minutes. Walked out of T1 to a round of applause. Epic.

Now time to go get ready and implement the “just smash it” plan for this year. The two spaces in front of me were empty so I had a free pool in front of me. 14:42 and off we go. Steam up and down the first 4 lengths far too fast and have to hang on for the remaining 8 and extremely glad to see the final length stretch out in front of me – complete with single old guy pool side spectator clearly visible on every other stroke as I gulped in air – smiling at me – bit weird.

Out we get in one jump in a plume of water and run outside with water pouring off me like Poseidon rising from the deep. Helmet on – shoes on – glasses on – GO and over the T1 mat and off in 6:30 – so far so good.

Got out of the lea of the building and then it hit me. Wind whistling round the buildings like a trailer for Twister – well that’s what it felt like. Out to the south of the airfield against the wind then turned north round the perimeter with a little tail wind – this ain’t so bad after all. Then across and point down the runway into proper wind. Must have been 30mph & gusting so much more that I was honestly almost blown to a standstill. 7-8 mins later got to the other end, turned round and it all goes quiet, and warm and very fast – guessing close to 40mph – fantastic J. Still sticking to the “just smash it” plan and keep my head down and grind out a series of headwind/tailwind encounters ready to unleash my secret weapon – running legs -  in T2.

This is where I had made a small error in judgement. Actually my running legs are the same as my cycling legs which are now completely done in. I transition with no real issues and go over the mats in 48:22 for the bike leg. I’m sure the blood will replace the lactic acid at some stage so bide my time and wait. And wait. And wait. Clearly I’m not about to spring into gazelle mode and it’s about hanging on. Which I do and knock out a 22:17 5K – pah.

Where have my legs gone - why don't they work!

Still – Wattisham=Windy and it’s never going to be anything else. Always underestimated. Always brilliantly organised.

Total time 1:17:35 – 6.5 mins slower than 2010 and 1.5 mins slower than 2008. But it was very windy – honest.

Afan Forest trip - April 2013

Breakfast of Champions, Whistlestop Cafe - check.  Convoy leaves Woodbridge at 8am - check.  Drop three bikes and carrier off the roof of a car and onto the M25 at 65 mph during rush-hour- check.  999 call to the emergency services - check.

This wasn't the start to the trip that I had planned.  When I finished my 999 call and walked up the hard shoulder I fully expected the scene to be like an episode of Casualty.  Unbelievably no others vehicles had been affected, the traffic was following as usual, the bikes had survived, still on the bike carrier, and had been dragged off the carriageway.  The car was scratched, the bike carrier worn away by it's trip along the M25 tarmac and the young driver of the Fiesta, which was immediately behind us, was a little shocked.   We managed to re-load, with two bikes in the car, another on the back of the camper and we set off again.

Fast forward 200 miles and we arrive at the village of Glyncorrwg.  Unload and into our biking gear.  Find the MTB centre and set off on the first trail, Whites Level.  The most technical trail in the area.  Time for some real mountain biking.

Guess who?

The old boys for Suffolk (and their young companion) performed well.  Afternoon of Day 1 - 26km riding, with 650m vertical climbing.  Day 2 - 46km riding, with 1250m vertical climbing and a top speed of 39mph (off road!).  Morning of Day 3 - 17km, with 500m vertical climbing.  One shattered cassette, a snapped chain and a broken brake leaver.  A few "over-the-bars" and"off the boardwalk"moments and one bike park "special".  One badly bruised knee, one badly bruised finger, two cut shins.

Planning underway for the next trip.

2 Gentlemen of Woodbridge

Just a short post to celebrate the 2 chaps who rode 30 miles to meet me last night, and then rode the 30 miles home again, either towing me back or waiting for me to catch up. They did the 60+ miles on fixies/singlespeed, and their return journey was apparently faster than their outward one.

The picture is them at mile 40. I think the standard for the gauntlet has been set fairly high.

Strava shows they did 1,688 feet of climbing, 3:27 hours of riding at an average of 17.9mph. Fixed.

London Marathon 2013

Greenwich Park 8:30am and there were already hundreds of runners preparing for the run.  The park hosts the three separate start points.   The red and the green starts initially take slightly different routes, then merge after 3-miles.  The blue start merges with the green route after 800 metres.  I was allocated the red start and then pen five, based on my expected finish time.   I managed to get into the pen early (too early perhaps?) and was third row from the front.  I still had 45 minutes until the start. The atmosphere was alive with nervous energy.  The 30 seconds silence in memory of those who died or were injured at the Boston marathon was perfectly observed and pretty emotional.  The tapes between the pens were removed and the runners shuffled forward towards the line. 

The race started at 10am and after a slight delay we began to walk.  I crossed the start line after 5 minutes still walking.  At 200 metres into the race there were many runners who appeared keen to ensure the gorse on Greenwich Common was well doused (possibly to reduce the chance of heathland fires?) and I happily joined them.

I didn’t really know what to expect, having never run a marathon or been part of such a massive event.  Given my training I was confident that I could run 4:15-4:30.  Maysty ran the race a few years ago and finished a few seconds over 4 hours and I secretly wanted beat that time and go sub 4-hours, so I went for it.  I set off well under sub-9 minute mile pace.  My plan was to keep going at this pace for as long as I could, get away from slower runners, to latch onto the 4 hour pace makers when they caught me and to then stay with them to the finish.

The plan worked.  For the first 18 miles.  Then it fell apart.  I should perhaps have slowed my pace when it took quite a while for the 3:45 pace maker to pass me!  Between 18 and 20 miles was very tough.  My thighs were very painful.  No gradual change, they just started to hurt.  A lot.  My pace dropped considerably and I lost interest in my finish time and was more concerned about completing the run.  I carried my own sports drink from the start of the race and had taken a sip at each mile marker, but I had had enough Lucozade Sport by mile 20 and decided to stop for water.  There are water stations after each mile marker.  I drank water while I walked and then tried to get back into my stride.  I did this at every mile marker until mile 25.  I also took a gel at mile 20 and 22.

Spectators lined the whole course, but coming out of Docklands the crowd was unbelievable.  Running along Embankment and the crowd was even larger and even louder.  Incredible.  I didn’t stop from mile 25.  I turned the final corner and the finish was a blur.  Over the line, walk over a ramp, timing chip cut off, medal around my neck, goodie bag presented, my bag handed to me as I arrived at the baggage re-claim (very impressive), then to the meeting area.  This was like an out of body experience.

I’ll be honest.  I wasn’t feeling 100% at this time.  I was having difficulty walking, I was light-headed and my stomach was churning.  I sat down at the pre-determined meeting point and waited for friends and family to arrive.  I shut my eyes and concentrated on not being sick.  I won’t give you the detail, but that plan fell apart too.  Maysty and Fiona and her family arrived, followed by Melanie and my children and then Alok and Ian. 

I began to feel better and it was only then that the post-race euphoria kicked in.   I had finished the run in 4:16, having burned almost 4,000 calories.  Just 14,381 runners finished ahead of me and another 19,788 finished behind me.

This event is mind-blowing.  The size and scale is unbelievable.  The crowd amazing, the atmosphere electric.  There are so many highlights, but the noise from drum band as I ran into an underpass at 5-6 miles (the first big live music event) was amazing and running over Tower Bridge was a truly unforgettable experience.   

 

If you get the chance, then do it.  But it is very, very tough.

Smack Your Titch Up

The only part of DH that wasn't protected, and mother nature found it.

Silverstone Half Marathon 2013

So after a few weeks of unusually consistent training and setting a few PB's on the weekend before things were looking good. Then the aches and bunged up nose started on the Thursday and I had to invoke the infamous Rule #5 - and stocked up on paracetamol and nasal spray.

Organisers suggest you get there for 10:30 to allow time for parking and the 20 minute trek from the car park to the baggage area and start. Left Woodbridge at 7:45 and hit the A43 tailback with 7 miles to go at 10:15. Eventually parked and turned the engine off at 11:40 - 20 mins to race start ! Very quick blood sugar check, change, wee in the bushes, flapjack and warm up consisting of a slightly stressful jog to the drop off and start at the end of the old main straight on Copse Corner. Still - at least the weather is good - sunny, no wind and about 10C.

Start just before Copse Corner

Looking back down the old start straight

Have to start near the back of the field and revise the race plan to go out a bit smartish to get past the plodders and hunt down the 1:45 pace runner, hang with them for a while then go for it once into the final lap inside the circuit again - 3 miles to go.
Catch the 1:45 group after about 5 miles and stay with them, recovering a bit. Have time to admire the new pits complex which we get to run past a lot closer on lap 2 and even take a snap while racing...

New pits complex just after Club Corner - action photo!

Grind out the mid section of the race and feel pretty good going round lap 3 on the outside service road and start getting ready for the final push. Time looking just right and as we enter the circuit again for the last lap round the track the wrong way the music goes on and I can start to wind things up and start picking people off as the pace goes up. It's clear I'm going to monster 1:45 and unofficial target of 1:43 soon looks achievable as well. I clear the back of the track and go for it up the Hangar Straight - Airbourne and Offspring doing the motivation. Finish appears after Becketts and it's time to empty the tank over the line.

A bit chuffed

Get in. 1:41:05.

854 out of 6188

33 out of 303 in M50-54 group

A few more stats here

Time to treat myself to a huge bacon baguette and coffee while listening to a really good live reggae band.
I love it when a plan comes together - TShirt was pretty cool as well