At the finish line of the Lincoln Tri last weekend I saw a guy from work who was there supporting his son. I spoke to him about my terrible swim and he invited me along to his masters swim session tonight at a local school, where the Lincoln Pentaqua squad train.
I went down and was a bit in awe of the guys going up and down consistently like a train. I followed the board of drills as best as I could, with the coach watching me and giving me tips. I used floats for the first time and learnt some helpful drills with getting my elbow high and getting the 'catch' better along with the roll of my shoulders.
Obviously Rome wasn't built in a day, and it will take a lot of time and effort to see results but I could already feel that I was a bit faster in the water and more confident.
Already looking forward to next weeks session! Even if it is bloody hard work!
Friday, 26 April 2013
Monday, 22 April 2013
Lincoln Sprint Triathlon - 21st April 2013 - Race Report
Yesterday morning saw me compete in the Lincoln Sprint Triathlon run by One Step Beyond events (Here) at the David Lloyd Gym in Lincoln (here)
I cycled to the start and although it was sunny it was freezing! I was praying the air temperature would warm up as I was not looking forward to stripping down to my tri-suit (incidentally the first time I've worn it for a race.) After I'd got registered and attached my race number to my bike and to my tri-belt I set up my kit next to my bike and avoided stripping down for as long as possible. After a quick race brief I made sure I had everything ready for T1 and walked across the car park to get ready for the swim. (Sidenote: I much prefer transition areas on grass rather than stony carparks.)
After waiting what seemed like an age I got lined up on the side of the pool and got in 30seconds before my start time. There was some dickhead in my lane swimming recklessly but luckily he had been in a while so would be getting out more or less as soon as I got in. The timekeeper shouted go and I was off on my 16 lengths of the 25m pool.
The first length seemed to be going really well - it was the best I'd felt swimming in a while until, oh no, my goggles started leaking in water. I got back to the other end of the pool and had a quick adjust - this happened again two lengths later before I finally got going. I couldn't hold on doing freestyle longer than length 7 so I breast stroked for the rest bar the last length, getting out of the pool in a respectable 12:36 (7 minutes and 24 seconds faster than the Southwell Tri 6months ago.)
Into the car park and I found my bike first time - result! I got my helmet on, tri-belt on and finally my shoes. Running out of the car park I got on my bike and I was off for the 24k route. Luckily I knew the route really well so knew where to pace myself and where I could afford to put the hammer down. Being one of the slower swimmers I had plenty of people who I could pass on the bike. I passed half a dozen going through Burton Village and a further 4 on the climb who were walking as I edged past. Along Lincoln Edge I caught and passed a few people although annoyingly my Garmin had stopped working - frequently showing speeds of 0.0mph and not recording the distance properly which was unhelpful to say the least.
As I headed down the hill towards Sturton I passed a couple more cyclists before taking the corner wayyy too wide, I was glad there was no oncoming traffic. Over the next few miles I was passed by number 94 - my first experience of being overtaken on the bike in a triathlon. I couldn't keep up with him and as drafting was not allowed I watched him sail off into the distance - his time was 4 minutes faster than mine so fair play to the guy. The straight down the A57 back to the gym was fast as I knew it would be and before I knew it I was back at the first roundabout. This roundabout was marshalled brilliantly by the guys who ran the day and as far as I know there were no incidents with people leaving for the bike course, returning from it or with any of the cars who graciously waited behind the STOP/GO boards held by the marshals.
I came in off the bike in a time of 49:41 which is a bit slower than I'd have hoped but still averaged 18mph which is okay considering the big climb at the beginning. I got into T2 quite quickly but struggled with tying my shoelaces up which was a bit annoying. I got out on to the run course but forgot to stop my watch after the bike and before the run so I was running 'blind' with no idea what time I was going for. This was probably a good thing as I thought I was doing quite a slow run but actually I kept a decent pace. I overtook plenty of people on the course with numbers lower than mine (meaning they started before me) and the only person I saw higher than mine was 94. The run course was left for 1.25k, turnaround, past the start and then right for 1.25k, turnaround and back to the middle to finish. It was along the river which was beautiful in the early morning sunshine and it brightened up to be a really nice day. I came in feeling fairly strong and I was disappointed not to have given it something extra in the final 100m or so as I did not realise the finish line was so close. I crossed the line with a PB of 23:16 (previous 23:20) and a total time of 1hour 28minutes 47 seconds. Good enough for 289th overall from 494 finishers.
A really enjoyable morning and I look forward to doing the course again next year if I'm still around and haven't made the step up to Olympic distance. Plenty of improvements to be made across the board I hope so watch this space!
My timesheet looks like this:
Swim: 12:36
T1: 1:46
Bike: 49:41
T2: 1:30
Run: 23:16
Total Time: 1:28:47
I cycled to the start and although it was sunny it was freezing! I was praying the air temperature would warm up as I was not looking forward to stripping down to my tri-suit (incidentally the first time I've worn it for a race.) After I'd got registered and attached my race number to my bike and to my tri-belt I set up my kit next to my bike and avoided stripping down for as long as possible. After a quick race brief I made sure I had everything ready for T1 and walked across the car park to get ready for the swim. (Sidenote: I much prefer transition areas on grass rather than stony carparks.)
After waiting what seemed like an age I got lined up on the side of the pool and got in 30seconds before my start time. There was some dickhead in my lane swimming recklessly but luckily he had been in a while so would be getting out more or less as soon as I got in. The timekeeper shouted go and I was off on my 16 lengths of the 25m pool.
The first length seemed to be going really well - it was the best I'd felt swimming in a while until, oh no, my goggles started leaking in water. I got back to the other end of the pool and had a quick adjust - this happened again two lengths later before I finally got going. I couldn't hold on doing freestyle longer than length 7 so I breast stroked for the rest bar the last length, getting out of the pool in a respectable 12:36 (7 minutes and 24 seconds faster than the Southwell Tri 6months ago.)
Into the car park and I found my bike first time - result! I got my helmet on, tri-belt on and finally my shoes. Running out of the car park I got on my bike and I was off for the 24k route. Luckily I knew the route really well so knew where to pace myself and where I could afford to put the hammer down. Being one of the slower swimmers I had plenty of people who I could pass on the bike. I passed half a dozen going through Burton Village and a further 4 on the climb who were walking as I edged past. Along Lincoln Edge I caught and passed a few people although annoyingly my Garmin had stopped working - frequently showing speeds of 0.0mph and not recording the distance properly which was unhelpful to say the least.
As I headed down the hill towards Sturton I passed a couple more cyclists before taking the corner wayyy too wide, I was glad there was no oncoming traffic. Over the next few miles I was passed by number 94 - my first experience of being overtaken on the bike in a triathlon. I couldn't keep up with him and as drafting was not allowed I watched him sail off into the distance - his time was 4 minutes faster than mine so fair play to the guy. The straight down the A57 back to the gym was fast as I knew it would be and before I knew it I was back at the first roundabout. This roundabout was marshalled brilliantly by the guys who ran the day and as far as I know there were no incidents with people leaving for the bike course, returning from it or with any of the cars who graciously waited behind the STOP/GO boards held by the marshals.
I came in off the bike in a time of 49:41 which is a bit slower than I'd have hoped but still averaged 18mph which is okay considering the big climb at the beginning. I got into T2 quite quickly but struggled with tying my shoelaces up which was a bit annoying. I got out on to the run course but forgot to stop my watch after the bike and before the run so I was running 'blind' with no idea what time I was going for. This was probably a good thing as I thought I was doing quite a slow run but actually I kept a decent pace. I overtook plenty of people on the course with numbers lower than mine (meaning they started before me) and the only person I saw higher than mine was 94. The run course was left for 1.25k, turnaround, past the start and then right for 1.25k, turnaround and back to the middle to finish. It was along the river which was beautiful in the early morning sunshine and it brightened up to be a really nice day. I came in feeling fairly strong and I was disappointed not to have given it something extra in the final 100m or so as I did not realise the finish line was so close. I crossed the line with a PB of 23:16 (previous 23:20) and a total time of 1hour 28minutes 47 seconds. Good enough for 289th overall from 494 finishers.
A really enjoyable morning and I look forward to doing the course again next year if I'm still around and haven't made the step up to Olympic distance. Plenty of improvements to be made across the board I hope so watch this space!
My timesheet looks like this:
Swim: 12:36
T1: 1:46
Bike: 49:41
T2: 1:30
Run: 23:16
Total Time: 1:28:47
Sunday, 7 April 2013
Lincoln 10k - Race Report
I completed the Lincoln 10k today! I did the entire distance without stopping and it was quite a successful morning if I do say so myself!
My day started off with getting to the location and then deciding I was too warm, walking the 5 minutes home and taking off my underarmour and grabbing an energy gel before leaving the house again to get to the start line.
Victoria was kind enough to come and support me and we stood and waited together until I met with Hayley and walked to the start line. My quads were feeling a bit tight but all in all I felt okay. Being at the start line with 5,499 other people was insane. Amazing but insane. I've never seen so many people engaged in the same activity and I was a bit in awe, if I'm honest.
My mate Pat found me and we stood and chatted before the air horn went off but when it did I put my music in and tried to get into 'my zone'.
Because the crowds were so packed and I was quite far back in the sub-50 section I was weaving about trying to get round some of the slow starts when disaster struck! My elbow/hand go caught in my headphone wire and I pulled my phone out of my shorts and fell to the ground. Some guy handed it back to me and luckily it was unscathed. I tried to pop it back in my pocket safely and jogged on, keeping my arms well away from my headphone wire. The first couple of km passed uneventfully, I was a bit behind my target time of 4:55/km but I put that down to the mass of people around me. I went round the outside of a bunch of people around 2km in and found some space and settled into my rhythm. At 4km I saw some friends on the roundabout and ran next to another for a bit (dressed as a Nando's chicken no less!). I ran past my housemate cheering with her boyfriend and headed to the water station.
Disaster again!
As I was pouring water over my quads (still quite tight!) I got caught upon my headphone cable and my phone went skidding along the tarmac into the gutter and slightly smashing the screen. It's still usable but I was mighty annoyed at myself - I will have to find a better solution for next time I run with shorts and music.
At 6.5km we completed the first lap and I knew there was not long to go. I was still overtaking much more people than were overtaking me and I wasn't struggling too much. I think 6-7.5km was the hardest and I'm glad I didn't stop to walk as I would have found it hard to start again. By 7.5km I was 3/4 of the way round and knew that I was capable of making it. 8km was reached and we took a different route to the first lap towards Lincoln's magnificent Cathedral.
8km was the furthest I had ever run in one session before today so I was proud to have even got that far. As we reached 9km the pace rose and I tried to not give it too much and burn out before the line.
At 9.5km we ran round the cathedral, a magnificent site and onto the ancient cobbles. Here some people went for a sprint finish but I was concentrating on placing my feet and not twisting my ankle. We crossed the courtyard towards the castle and went under the arch to the finish line. I had done it! Unbelievable!
We were ushered through the grounds and picked up our goody bags (Medal, water, foil blanket and entry form for a 3km fun run)
I found Vicci and some other friends and we suffered and celebrated together. My watch said I finished in 48:37 but my official time was 48:39. 100seconds faster than I could have dreamed of.
That time put me in 1,204th place overall. Better than I could have hoped for. Though I'm slightly disappointed Pat beat me by 6seconds, I didn't see him do a sprint finish but be assures me that was what put the time between us.
I'm very proud of my achievement, especially with the lack of training because of my nose and I now have a 10k PB which I will try and beat one day, perhaps by the end of the year!
Considering before my first triathlon I "hated" running I'm quite pleased with how this went though I'm nowhere near calling myself a 'runner' in any way shape or form! As shown by the winner crossing the line today in around 30:30!
Many thanks to all those who came and supported today, especially my future wife who came along and said she was very proud of me :-)
My day started off with getting to the location and then deciding I was too warm, walking the 5 minutes home and taking off my underarmour and grabbing an energy gel before leaving the house again to get to the start line.
Victoria was kind enough to come and support me and we stood and waited together until I met with Hayley and walked to the start line. My quads were feeling a bit tight but all in all I felt okay. Being at the start line with 5,499 other people was insane. Amazing but insane. I've never seen so many people engaged in the same activity and I was a bit in awe, if I'm honest.
My mate Pat found me and we stood and chatted before the air horn went off but when it did I put my music in and tried to get into 'my zone'.
Because the crowds were so packed and I was quite far back in the sub-50 section I was weaving about trying to get round some of the slow starts when disaster struck! My elbow/hand go caught in my headphone wire and I pulled my phone out of my shorts and fell to the ground. Some guy handed it back to me and luckily it was unscathed. I tried to pop it back in my pocket safely and jogged on, keeping my arms well away from my headphone wire. The first couple of km passed uneventfully, I was a bit behind my target time of 4:55/km but I put that down to the mass of people around me. I went round the outside of a bunch of people around 2km in and found some space and settled into my rhythm. At 4km I saw some friends on the roundabout and ran next to another for a bit (dressed as a Nando's chicken no less!). I ran past my housemate cheering with her boyfriend and headed to the water station.
Disaster again!
As I was pouring water over my quads (still quite tight!) I got caught upon my headphone cable and my phone went skidding along the tarmac into the gutter and slightly smashing the screen. It's still usable but I was mighty annoyed at myself - I will have to find a better solution for next time I run with shorts and music.
At 6.5km we completed the first lap and I knew there was not long to go. I was still overtaking much more people than were overtaking me and I wasn't struggling too much. I think 6-7.5km was the hardest and I'm glad I didn't stop to walk as I would have found it hard to start again. By 7.5km I was 3/4 of the way round and knew that I was capable of making it. 8km was reached and we took a different route to the first lap towards Lincoln's magnificent Cathedral.
8km was the furthest I had ever run in one session before today so I was proud to have even got that far. As we reached 9km the pace rose and I tried to not give it too much and burn out before the line.
At 9.5km we ran round the cathedral, a magnificent site and onto the ancient cobbles. Here some people went for a sprint finish but I was concentrating on placing my feet and not twisting my ankle. We crossed the courtyard towards the castle and went under the arch to the finish line. I had done it! Unbelievable!
We were ushered through the grounds and picked up our goody bags (Medal, water, foil blanket and entry form for a 3km fun run)
I found Vicci and some other friends and we suffered and celebrated together. My watch said I finished in 48:37 but my official time was 48:39. 100seconds faster than I could have dreamed of.
That time put me in 1,204th place overall. Better than I could have hoped for. Though I'm slightly disappointed Pat beat me by 6seconds, I didn't see him do a sprint finish but be assures me that was what put the time between us.
I'm very proud of my achievement, especially with the lack of training because of my nose and I now have a 10k PB which I will try and beat one day, perhaps by the end of the year!
Considering before my first triathlon I "hated" running I'm quite pleased with how this went though I'm nowhere near calling myself a 'runner' in any way shape or form! As shown by the winner crossing the line today in around 30:30!
Many thanks to all those who came and supported today, especially my future wife who came along and said she was very proud of me :-)
Saturday, 6 April 2013
Lincoln 10k - Sunday 7th April
So, the Lincoln 10k is tomorrow! I have been training hard lazy and been out running four times in the past 7 days… 2x outside 5k’s, a gym 5k and I’ve just come back from a 3k in 13:10 outside run 24hours before the start line! I feel under-prepared, especially distance wise, but hopefully the adrenaline will get me through tomorrow. All the crowds lining the streets and being surrounded by thousands of runners… my ultimate goal is sub-50min but I think I’d be happy/relieved to come in under 55mins.
There are 5,500 runners & I’d like to come in the top third defiantly. If I came in at 49:59, apart from being over the moon, I’d be around the 1200 mark based on last years results which would be unbelievable. Top 1500 would still be amazing so I know what I need to do..
Friday, 22 March 2013
Operation nose job is booked! Update: Success!
Well, after an eventful (read: boring) day at the hospital yesterday I now know what will happen to my nose.
It's broken. Obviously.
However the doctor described it as a "good break." This means that the whole nose has been moved, and rather than shattering/fracturing it's moved sideways a good portion and will hopefully be able to be put back in. Unfortunately it's too severe to be done with just a local anaesthetic so I'm going to have to go to sleep for what I'm calling my 'nose job'.
So, i'm booked in for an operation next Tuesday, 10 days after the event, under general anaesthetic which will have me recovering at least Wednesday and Thursday and perhaps into the Easter weekend. (I was planning some long bike rides for that long weekend but we shall see...)
Obviously this ruins my training for yet another week, and the Lincoln 10k is now only two weeks away. However, the nurse I spoke to didn't think it would be a problem for me to compete in this, I guess I will just have to be careful with my training to not do too much too quickly. That sub-50mins 10k is looking less and less likely though. Maybe adrenaline on the day will help out?
In smaller victories though, yesterday I bought a heart rate monitor watch which means I will be able to train in heart rate zones from now on for running and maybe cycling and I also bought some really nice Adidas trainers which actually fit! (Unlike my current running pair) These feel great on my feet and I am eager to try them out this weekend when I go home to visit my family - and crucially, to get something in before my operation and I go back to feeling completely awful.
So hopefully the plan will be to go on a run this weekend, as well as hammer my brother at badminton, and then try and recover speedily after the operation on Tuesday.
Then that should leave me with one big week to be ready for the 10k and then I will have two weeks decent training for the Lincoln Triathlon.
Can't wait for injury problems to be over now! Luckily the hockey season is finished for me so no more contact sports for at least 6 months!
---------------------------
EDIT:
Operation successful! Should be back to normal in 5 days. So after Sunday I can get back and concentrate on running for a week before the 10k, see if that sub 50mins can be a reality...
Here's a picture so you can imagine me looking ridiculous for the next 5 days:
It's broken. Obviously.
However the doctor described it as a "good break." This means that the whole nose has been moved, and rather than shattering/fracturing it's moved sideways a good portion and will hopefully be able to be put back in. Unfortunately it's too severe to be done with just a local anaesthetic so I'm going to have to go to sleep for what I'm calling my 'nose job'.
So, i'm booked in for an operation next Tuesday, 10 days after the event, under general anaesthetic which will have me recovering at least Wednesday and Thursday and perhaps into the Easter weekend. (I was planning some long bike rides for that long weekend but we shall see...)
Obviously this ruins my training for yet another week, and the Lincoln 10k is now only two weeks away. However, the nurse I spoke to didn't think it would be a problem for me to compete in this, I guess I will just have to be careful with my training to not do too much too quickly. That sub-50mins 10k is looking less and less likely though. Maybe adrenaline on the day will help out?
In smaller victories though, yesterday I bought a heart rate monitor watch which means I will be able to train in heart rate zones from now on for running and maybe cycling and I also bought some really nice Adidas trainers which actually fit! (Unlike my current running pair) These feel great on my feet and I am eager to try them out this weekend when I go home to visit my family - and crucially, to get something in before my operation and I go back to feeling completely awful.
So hopefully the plan will be to go on a run this weekend, as well as hammer my brother at badminton, and then try and recover speedily after the operation on Tuesday.
Then that should leave me with one big week to be ready for the 10k and then I will have two weeks decent training for the Lincoln Triathlon.
Can't wait for injury problems to be over now! Luckily the hockey season is finished for me so no more contact sports for at least 6 months!
---------------------------
EDIT:
Operation successful! Should be back to normal in 5 days. So after Sunday I can get back and concentrate on running for a week before the 10k, see if that sub 50mins can be a reality...
Here's a picture so you can imagine me looking ridiculous for the next 5 days:
Sunday, 17 March 2013
Injury #2
Well, I played hockey yesterday and not only did we lose 3-1, potentially ending our promotion hopes but I also took a ball to the face and broke my nose. Ouch!
Spent the evening at the hospital and there's nothing they can do until Thursday, once the swelling has gone down. Obviously this will hamper my training for a few weeks until it is sorted. Great. 2013 is not going well for me so far...
Spent the evening at the hospital and there's nothing they can do until Thursday, once the swelling has gone down. Obviously this will hamper my training for a few weeks until it is sorted. Great. 2013 is not going well for me so far...
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
Recovery - finally
Well, it's been 3 weeks and I'm 90-95% fit again. Hurrah! Played a couple of games of hockey at the weekend (scored in both!) so can't be doing too badly.
On the training side of things last week was a complete write off as I was away in Germany with work and spent pretty much all my time eating biscuits in meetings or eating out at lush restaurants!
Apart from the running at hockey I've not done anything structured in a while so with the missus tied up doing final year Uni work I'm hoping to get in at least 3swim sessions this week and a couple of late evening runs.
I also found out that a friend used to swim to a fairly high standard so going to sort out her coming to watch me one day (embarrassing!!) and see if she can give me some tips!
Until then though, I'll just keep splashing along at my 3min/100m pace, hah!
On the training side of things last week was a complete write off as I was away in Germany with work and spent pretty much all my time eating biscuits in meetings or eating out at lush restaurants!
Apart from the running at hockey I've not done anything structured in a while so with the missus tied up doing final year Uni work I'm hoping to get in at least 3swim sessions this week and a couple of late evening runs.
I also found out that a friend used to swim to a fairly high standard so going to sort out her coming to watch me one day (embarrassing!!) and see if she can give me some tips!
Until then though, I'll just keep splashing along at my 3min/100m pace, hah!
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