Hayle Sprint Triathlon - 2008

This is August, apparently.  I thought August was sunny and hot, but not today, overcast is the best you could say about the weather this morning.  Still I got to the pool in good time and set up my transition.  Bike racked, fiddle with box of stuff, check stuff.  Ohhhh, ohhh dear, stuff missing.  No timing chip.  Aghhhhhhh, what, no!  Quick run back to the car, check car, no chip.  Jump in car and start to drive out of car park.  Blocked in.  Ohhhh no.  Ohhh well, have to do it without timings, bum.  Walked back to the registration desk and asked them if they had a spare timing chip, but no they didn't.  They did let me use their mobile to phone home though, so I phoned Sarah and had the house and shed searched, still no joy.  So at 7:50 I jumped in the water with everyone else, except I did not have a timing chip. 

Me before the start, see, calm, not bugged by no timing chip!

 

 

Oliver got this picture of me going off to the start.

 

 

 

 

At the start, a water start, I got in behind the bouy about 3 people back from the start line, lay in the water, as I remembered Rick Kiddle telling me to do.  

The horn went and we were off.  Unlike last year, when I lurked at the back, today I was in the middle of it all.  I was too far forward really, people were swimming past me left and right, but not over the top.  The start was like a sprint, and soon my body was complaining, 'too fast, not enough oxygen, can't carry on', I thought I was going to pull up and start breast-stroking!  A look up for the racing buoy, it's nowhere in site, all I can see is white water.  Ahhh well, no choice now, keep going.  I saw a lot of white water, but I was on course, very good course actually and got around the first buoy, a bit of bunching, so I was strong and kept going, don't get pushed around!

The second buoy and I did a 'Rick Kiddle racing turn', ohhhhh, get me! Then back along the edge of the pool.  I saw Sarah and the boys taking pictures, even managed a wave at them. 

 

 

 

 

 

Here I am sighting on the last leg, I'm sure it shows terrible technique! But I was still going and felt stronger at this point than earlier on when I was going too fast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

More pictures of me, on the return leg

 

 

 

 

 

Out from the swim and into T1, (no timing), then putting on my bike shoes I found the timing chip.  So T1 took a tad longer as I struggled with the timing chip and my shoes.  I only have proper 'roadie' cycle shoes, so have to crank them up, not just velcro them.  This takes a little longer but is OK.  Maybe I should put talc in them to help me slip them on.  Slipping them on is also a problem when your toe joint does not bend and quite painful.

Note nbr 44 in the background.  His chip timing for the swim was 13:30 so I must have been something around that time for the swim, which would be about 7 minutes better than last year.

 

The bike was good, seemed like a lot of hills and seemed like I was being overtaken by a lot of people, but they all seemed to be 'guns', so I should not feel too bad about that.  I had a bit of a battle with Nbr 83, who I passed and he passed back several times.  He eventually got ahead on the bike.  Then into T2.  Not a bad T2, except I forgot the gel I was going to have at the start of the run.  Out of T2 and I caught Nbr 83 again, but he got away again, he slowly drew out the distance between us. 

In the final straight of the run, I had my mind on a big finish.  The final straight is about 1km long and as some chap came past I fell in behind him, right on his heals, drafting from the slight wind.  I started to match his stride and as we came to about 300m I came out from behind him and started to come forward, he sped up and I thought about all the racing tactics I had read about.  'You have to pass someone commandingly, so they don't feel they can stick to your heals', so I sped up again and saw him drop off.  Next in my sight was the guy in front and to my right, he looked over his shoulder, saw me coming and sped up, I was still drawing him in, and as I past him I kicked again to leave him behind.  He dropped off behind me and I stormed on.  Had I gone too soon? Could I last the final 100 metres?  I did not slow and pushed on with everything I had left, dreading him catching me before the line.  He did not and I crossed the line well ahead.  Chuffed and pleased!

I think I had a final time of 1:20ish, thats 10mins better than last year.  Need to go get the results and check them over.  When I can I will get more pictures off Sarah's camera.

Timings are in.  I ranked 80th overall, (161 in total), 11th in my category (15 in category) and my time was 1:20:07 the only time I can see is the run at 24:47

The Week Before Hayle Sprint Triathlon

On Sunday I will do my 2nd ever triathlon.  It's a sprint tri, and some might say, 'it's not a proper distance'.  Well get over it.  I reckon that with a 750m open water swim, a bike and run course with hills that its a serious sprint tri.

Unlike last year I do not feel worried about the swim.  I now have a proper tri wetsuit and have been swimming in open water/Dorking pool enough to have gotten over a concern about 750m.  So I am hoping to better my swim time this year, the proof will be in the times.

Weather wise it sucks.  Right now its as windy as can be and raining as well.  Is it really the end of July?

The primary thought on my mind is not about this triathlon, it's more about the New Forest Middle Tri in Sept and the amount of training I'm not doing for this event, but even more than this is the constant thoughts about my left big toe. 

Everyone has an Achilles' heel (well maybe Chris Mac Cormack doesn't) and this is mine.  I have been ignoring it for 3 years, moaning about it but doing nothing about it.  But it's definitely worse now.  I'm not going to whinge on, but I will be going to the doctors and getting something done. The time has come.

hallux rigidus

The Boxhill Challenge

The Boxhill Challenge has been met by Ollie Curtis.  On his last day at school before the summer holidays, Ollie took on the challenge and successfully set the course record. Riding his new GT Avalanche 2.0 MTB, he cycled from the bottom of the zig zag road to the tea shop at the top.  The sweat dripped from the gelled up spikes in his hair and his face flushed at the effort in the heat, yet he pushed on and gave a final push to speed his way to the tea shop. 

At the tea shop, expecting a large ice cream, I had to confess to not having any money on me.  Ha ha, his reward disappeared, ha ha, what a wicked daddy I am!  He had to go another 1.3 miles home before getting a reward from the freezer at home.

It's all good training for him.  Hopefully we should do more of this during the summer so when the football season resumes he will be fit and fast.  Ohhhhh I feel a plan coming on!

No work, no excuses

Agents.  They string you along then drop you. So when I thought I was going to start a new contract last week, I was mistaken. On the upside though I have been out on the bike to clock up over 6 hours.  Wed was Sophies sports day.  What a great day and Sophie did really well in her races.  Sophie is an Irongirl.  Well done Sophie, her second places helped the team win.  Go Sophie, go Sophie, go Sophie

Thursday I did a ramp test to get a decent figure for my Anaerobic Threshold.  That was hard work, I did not expect it to be quite so painful, but it revealed my AT as 154 and my max as 160 on the bike.  So now I know if I keep my HR below 154 I can keep going through that 1/2 Ironman and make the finish.

Friday, Martin had come up with a great idea of going to Worthing for a swim.  At about 10:30 we inched our way into the water.  Colder than we expected, and what looked pretty flat, turned out warmer and rougher.  Swimming was tough going, well for me anyway, the lake is easier.  (watch out for those sea swims).

Saturday and Sunday were no training days.  Daniels party, (7 eleven year old boys in a cinema, when the couple in front start having some 'pash'), well you can imagine how the boys giggled and jumped about.  Sunday, after sending all the boys home, they slept over, we then had a BBQ all afternoon.

Roll on next week.

I support double yellow lines for the zigzag road

Last Saturday I had a great 40 mile ride, out down through Pixham, Punchbowl Lane and south through Newdigate until I was completely lost.  Nothing new there for the man who does not take a map with him.  On South I went until Crawley.  Here I turned North and headed back through Leigh, Betchworth, Brockham and back to Pixham and back along past Denbies and yes, up Boxhill again, and yes I got overtaken by 2 people, ... again .... I looked at the lead bike and it said Rocco Forte on the downtube.  Now my theory is that the chap pedalling was the real Rocco Forte.  I did an internet search and did not find a bike called the Rocco Forte, but who knows.  He was going well.  The second guy with him also left me standing, so I put my head down and huffed and puffed a bit more to catch him, (I did at the top of the hill).  Half way up the 2nd zigzag, head down, pumping the pedals, doing about 9mph (not bad for me), I hit a motorbike.  Well I glanced it.  Some chap on some old WW2 mudplugger of a bike was parked on the edge of the road.  Well I did not see him until the footpeg and my shin collided. 

Owwww, but still wanting to catch the guy in front I kept going.  So now I have a footpeg dent in my left shin.  For a moment I thought I would stop and give him a mouthful, but then I thought it was my own fault, I should have been looking where I was going.  So I didn't and he did not say anything to me either as he overtook me a minute later.  Note to me, 'keep looking up, dumbkopf'.  But then, you, well I, just don't expect someone to park half way up a hill.  Ummm dumbkopf, he was probably picking up roadkill.

So, finally not a bad week, training wise.  I feel good too, I feel like there is some strength in my legs.  Must keep it up.  Swimming has suffered a tad and I should go back to the lake sometime soon.

Sophies school sports day coming up this week, I'm on the bench so have time off to fit in some training. 

School Sports Day

It use to be that there was a dads race and all the dads could establish a pecking order for when they passed by dropping and picking up their kids from school.  Now that I have been running for a few years, 'I fancy my chances!', but they don't do it in Brockham middle school, probably because its a bigger school and maybe because of insurance! I'll just have to settle for the 3rd place Personal Best set a few years ago at Daniel's primary school.

Daniel did 'stormingly' well in his races.  2nd in the obstacle race and 2nd in the running race.  I'm convinced he could easily have come first if he had not been watching the others in the race and had focused on the finish line more.  Ohhhh now I'm sounding a little like a 'pushy daddy'.  Well done Daniel, 'You will be an Ironman'.

Sophies sportsday is scheduled for Wednesday, but Wednesday is a total washout.  I guess/hope it will be rescheduled.  'Come on Sophie'.

I have added my training plan for the New Forest Middle Distance Triathlon at the top of the sidebar

Blah blah blah ......

Another week, more swimming, more turbo training and a little bit of running.  Who would have thought that in July I would be on the turbo trainer in the garage? 

 Come Sunday I was going to go biking no matter what, drink, shoes, socks, shorts, new shirt, new jacket, helmet, stuff, gear, HRM, more stuff, more stuff in the pockets and I was ready.  'Ohhhh darling, could you get 2 packs of butter and a milk fro the shop?' 'but, but, but ..... I .... yes of course darling'.  Right, I'll cycle to the shop, get the butter and milk, come back and then go.  Great. Clip, clap, clip, clap around the shop. Have you tried walking in cycling shoes?  2 packs of Stork, big milk, in the rucksack, pay and back home.  'Darling, butter delivery'. 

'Noooooooooo, urghhhhhh, thats not butter, its margarine.' 'But its a block, its in a packet, it says great for making puff pastry, it has to be butter', 'no its margarine'.  'dohhhhhh', quick, back to the shop. 'sorry, blah blah, butter, blah blah, wife, blah cooking, blah no good, blah', got a refund, went to the other shop, 2 blocks of butter.  It's yellow, its a block, it says butter on the packet.  I can't believe this is not butter!  Pay, back home, 'darling, butter'.  Right I'm off, turn around and the heavens open.  Rain?  Rain, its bloody July, whats going on?  The bike on the turbo trainer thats whats going on.  Back in the garage, sweat, sweat, pedal pedal, grrrrrrr turbo trainer ..........