Swashbuckler - never say never again

In September last year I did my first ever half ironman/middle distance event in the New Forest. I swore I'd never do another one again. Then, a month or so later, Rhiannon announced that she was going to enter the Swashbuckler middle distance. She was trying to convince the rest of us intermediate riders that we should enter. I wasn't convinced but at some point I must have told Thea that I wouldn't enter unless she entered as well, thinking that she would never enter. Then she surprised me one day and told me she'd entered. Damn it, I thought. So of course I then had to sign up. We were joined by Tamara, Emma D, Harriet, the Lizzies and Lindsay.

The training was inconsistent, and just seemed to involve a lot of activity interspersed with exhaustion, the horrible cough/cold combo and an inability to run further than 14 km and not much faster than around 7 minutes per km. I was tired, slow, aching and was very nervous running up to the event. Everyone kept telling me that I'd done it before, I should be OK, but I wasn't sure whether it made it better, or worse!

The day arrived, one of those beautiful English mornings that start with mist and promise to be nice later. We were all nervous, and there were several hugs exchanged. Six of us were in the second swim, and that was the last I saw of most of them for the rest of the day...

The swim was a lot saltier than I expected. I didn't really think about the fact that it would be high tide, thus the river would be full of sea water. It was extremely buoyant as well, which isn't something I've experenced a lot. It wasn't as much of a moshpit as I'm used to with open water races, which was nice, and I managed to get into a rhythm, even if there was this guy who seemed determined to backstroke across me (it seems backstroke is now allowed). It did start to feel like hard work and the water tasted HORRIBLE (I really thought I'd be sick!) but my overriding issue was the swim cap. Several times it felt like it was about to slip off (the issue is I have a large head and normal caps don't really fit), so I had to stop and tread water at least twice to try and fix it - very annoying! By the time it came to the end of the swim, it was pretty much fallen off... I was happy to be out by 41 minutes, but it seemed that everyone else had made it out. I faffed far too much in transition trying to sort myself out and getting ready for the bike.

On the bike the views were glorious. It occured to me that I should have a race in the New Forest every year, it's such a beautiful area. The ride was quite flat and I enjoyed the majority of it. The only issues I had were that I'd lost the straw to my magic handlebar bottle, so I'd had to improvise with a couple of ordinary straws, which kept floating to the top of my water bottle, not great. I had to keep pushing the straw back into the bottle so that I could have a drink...
There are moments when you cycle that you end up in a dark place, which is full of pain and profanity. This was mostly directed towards my saddle, which felt after a while that I was sat on a metal bar... perhaps it's time to get a new saddle. The marshalls were absolutely brilliant, especially the one near where I'd stayed the night before, who was so full of enthusiasm it really helped keep me going. I was desperate to stop for a rest, but I decided to get to the half way point before stopping. When I got to 45 km, I was in the middle of a village, so of course I didn't want to stop. In the end I didn't stop and kept going through the pain and the annoyance of having to sort out my straw throughout the whole ride. I kept thinking of my difficult climb in Malaga where I just kept going through the pain and the desire to stop. It was so good to finally come round towards Beaulieu for the final time and then into Buckler's Hard. It took me 3 hours and 42 minutes, a PB for me for the bike.

On to the run, and the sun had finally come out, of course. There were loads of people doing their second lap as I started off, after grabbing some water and "energy drink" from the aid station. The energy drink they gave us was a bizarre mixture that tasted weird but did help a little on my run. I essentially ended up running between aid stations and stopping at each one for a bit of a pep talk. Again the marshalls were just lovely and brilliant. I had both Harriet and Lizzie run past me cheering me on, and near the end of the first lap, many people saying "not far to the end". I had to keep telling them that I still had another lap to go, sadly! I had to struggle back up the hill in Buckler's Hard past the finish line and carry on to the aid station at the top. That was tough. I had a nice chat with the aid station marshalls, said "Let's do this" and started on my second lap. I knew this was going to be lonely, and it was. It felt like there was nobody else on the road left, they'd all finished already. I spent a lot of time trying to convince myself that I could do this, but at around 14 k I met a dark place again and had to stop to walk for a bit. It didn't help that my hips were absolutely killing me by this stage (what I used to call a "pain party"). I decided that I would walk for a minute and then carry on running. At around this stage a guy with a yellow shirt came past me, and I finally realised it wasn't just me on my own on the second lap. I struggled on, convincing myself that I could do it and slowly getting past the mile markers and on to the next aid station. For some time I followed a guy with a red cap. Earlier on, the faster swimmers were wearing red swim caps and in my slightly beleaguered state I was convinced this guy was still wearing his red swim cap! He was slowing down so I actually ended up going past him and finally found out that he was wearing a red baseball cap as opposed to a swim cap! I made it, somehow, to the last aid station. I was so glad I was almost in tears they were still there, and worried I was going to get cut off. They tried to encourage me that the finish was still there at the end and I was nearly there. The final bit of the run goes through the forest and the trail goes in a straight line. I didn't realise how long this path was from the first trip around and ended up shouting (when nobody was around) "Will this path EVER end?!?" I was having real trouble breathing and had to try and calm myself down so I didn't end up panic breathing. After quite a lot more plodding eventually the masts of the boats at the harbour finally came into view. I was so glad to see these! And so I made it through the marina and the people clapping, actually running up the hill to the finish... I was through to the end!

I couldn't quite believe I'd finished it... again! All that pain and endless training for seven hours and 50 minutes of effort.

Afterwards, I couldn't help but feel a bit low. I don't normally like to talk about this, but I started wondering why I am a triathlete. Why I continue to put myself through these things when I am clearly absolute rubbish at it (3 hour half marathon... some people can finish a whole marathon in that time). Whether I should just give it up as a bad job. Wondering whether I deserve to call myself a Triton, and why nobody has taken me to one side and asked me to leave (like they did at a badminton club I was once a member of). I just thought about the fact that half the Tritons I was with had left by the time I'd finished, and this made me feel unworthy. However, then I got a couple of messages who said that they were so proud of me it helped me feel a bit more proud of what I'd achieved - I'm now a double half ironman!

Now, when's the next one?

Pedalling the boards

Out of the three disciplines, cycling is my favourite – I just love to get out on my bike and escape the city to get into the countryside. My only issue is that I suffer from a lack of balance or perhaps confidence in my balance, so I can’t really signal very well or reach for food during a long ride. I don’t ever ride on the drops and my hands are always placed firmly over the brakes!

The only time I’ve ever ridden a fixed wheel was somewhere in Mexico which I didn’t really enjoy and was quite glad to get off the bike at the end. This was an extremely short trip up to the top of the river on a mountain bike with no brakes, only the fixed wheel to stop you.

So the prospect of getting onto a fixed bike with no brake, and having to ride on the drops was extremely daunting. It was only the thought of getting to cycle in the Lee Valley Velodrome (where Olympians have raced!), Thea signing up and several people telling me that if they could do it, so could I that made me change my mind. I guessed I could give it a go and see how I got on.

Having to get up at 5:30 on Sunday morning wasn’t brilliant, as we were due to do another event that morning – my first duathlon. So Sunday was a day of firsts, a duathlon (which I didn’t really enjoy, and I don’t think I’ll be taking up any time soon!) and then the track session in the evening.

Things didn’t start particularly well. I’d been watching a movie at home and thought I still had time to make some lunch for the next day before I left my house. I didn’t, and ended up leaving home a little later than I should have. By the time I got to the station I was starting to panic a little and decided to take the tube where I had to change as opposed to the direct tube, which wasn’t going to arrive for another 10 minutes. I had to change at Canning Town and reckoned that if I caught the Jubilee line I would be faster getting to Stratford. Unfortunately, at Canning Town, I ran down to get the Jubilee train and all I saw was “St” at the front. Jubilee trains going the other (wrong) way go to Stanmore, and I ended up at Canary Wharf before I realised my mistake. Finally I got on the right train and ended up in Stratford, with about 10 minutes to go and about a 15 minute walk to the Velodrome (why is it soo far away from the station?!?). This ended up being a run/fast walk through the dark and gloom (it had been foggy all day) which was a bit scary on my own. I made it, a couple of minutes late, but the lady still let me through. Everyone was still getting ready and getting their bikes from the hire area so it was OK in the end. The guy I hired the bike from even said my shoes were OK, even if I might need to change my thoroughly worn cleats sometime soon! 

I viewed my fixie bike with apprehension while Darren took us through the format of the evening and a few safety notes – we were going to start off with a couple of loops around the track, getting ourselves used to the bikes. We had to alert him if our cleats came out of the pedals at any point – spinning pedals and loose feet not being a good combination! We watched the other riders with a mixture of awe and disbelief – apparently this velodrome has the (if not one of the) steepest banking in the world!

We started off all in line hanging grimly onto the rail that separated the riding area from the central area. Darren was trying to explain to us how to start – get your arm as far ahead of you as possible and pull hard to “launch” yourself out onto the track. I was really unsure about this, and as it came to me I almost got off the bike and walked off without even trying it. But Darren said “come on, miss” and essentially pulled me off the wall and got my momentum going. I spent a couple of laps cycling around the inner loop, trying to get used to the bike, and going nowhere near anything that looked like banking or wood! By the time to come in, I was a bit worried about coming to a halt, but I found stopping a lot easier than starting all the way through, just grabbed the side at a slow pace and it was fine. My heart was going 60 to the dozen and I still really wasn’t sure.

We watched the more advanced riders again, and just as they were ramping up two riders fell on the steeper part of the slope. Everyone on the track was instructed to ride above the blue line until the fallers had been scooped up. There had been a bit of slowing down, and of course when you’re on a fixie you can’t slow down quickly, so you fall off. Luckily both riders were fine and got up and started off again.

We were off sooner than we might have liked, and this time it was time to brave the wood. Darren once again got me moving away from the wall and I took little bites off the flat to move onto the wood and then back onto the safety of the flat, only going onto the wood where it was at its “flattest”. I started to enjoy myself a little more and when Darren told us to go past him on the wood I made the effort to try. I made it past him the first time, when he was just a little off the flat, and got straight back onto the flat blue. The second time around, he was a bit higher up and I just completely missed him. The third time around, he was almost at the top and I just decided to go for it and go past him. What I didn’t realise was he’d positioned himself at a point where I would have to go right round the top of the steepest banking before I could come back down to the flat! I shot past him, and he was shouting at me to keep pedalling round… Suddenly I was on the steepest part of the banking right at the top! I kept pedalling as he told me and I finally made it round to the flatter bit, whereupon I immediately got off the wood and onto the flat. My heart was absolutely off the scale! I think that was the round where I ended up doing the “ride of shame” where if you don’t manage to slow down enough you have to do another loop before you stop. That was the only ride of shame for me.

Thea and I in the velodrome!

 By the third go, I was well and truly on the wood, although Darren was still helping me get started. I did get stuck behind one rider at one point and had to pull off onto the flat to stop myself from riding into the back of them! We were supposed to be doing an exercise where the front person goes higher and the rest of us ride underneath, but as I got closer to the front I wussed out and escaped back onto the flat to slow down again… On the fourth go, I managed to stay on the wood for the majority of the session, even getting enough bravery up to overtake someone (on the flatter bit of the wood, not the steep slope!) and tried my best to keep up with the rest of the line. Lots of riders went past me going “Stay!” – instructing me that they were coming past and not to weave, but it kind of made me feel like some kind of dog! I started to feel the wind coming at me and really got into riding round the track, trying to go faster and then, when we had to slow down, trying to slow my pedalling so that I could come to a smooth stop at the end. I never did manage to keep up with the faster riders but maybe next time when I haven’t been cycling in the morning!

I came off the track for the last time exhilarated and wanting more. I think I went home and signed up for the next session straight away! I never thought I would enjoy it that much and actually not be that bad at it either, although I know I have to at least try to start off myself next time. I spent the next day almost walking on a bed of air (even though it WAS Monday) and as I went past the bike shop I even stopped to look in the window hoping to see a track bike… 

New Forest Middle Distance - the top of the triangle

A few facts before I start:
- 5 years ago I was technically obese
- 4 years ago I started the "Couch to 5k challenge" to relearn how to run further than a few metres
- 3 years ago I did my first ever triathlon, the London Triathlon, where I did the Super Sprint that involved a 2.5 km run "because 5k was too far". It took me an hour.
- 2 years ago, after taking a few months off to get married, I did my first two Sprint distance races - Bewl was my first, and as anyone who's done Bewl will know, quite a challenging course. It took me two hours (Leybourne, later on in the year, and much less challenging, took around 1 hour 40).
- Last year I decided to up the distance to standard/Olympic. I decided I needed the help from a coach so I was coached for a couple of months before completing my first (Dartford, a great course) and second (London) standard distances, both within 3 hours.

So late last year I caved to what I describe as "triathlon peer pressure" and entered my first middle distance triathlon in New Forest. Oh, I thought, I've got a year to train, and everyone keeps telling me it's not that much more training than doing a standard. I even did a half marathon in preparation as I was worried I wouldn't be able to run that far.

My preparation went OK I guess - I tried to follow a plan of sorts, but half the time I kept missing running training or swimming due to being exhausted or simply just busy. I could have done more, but I didn't. The date got closer and closer and I did consider pulling out, but I'm just one of those people where once I've committed to something, I go ahead with it. I did manage a couple of 90k bike rides and rack up over 200k of cycling over a week a few times, but I never managed a complete continuous ride and certainly not one with a run straight after it.

The day arrived, freezing cold and dark. I'd kind of forgotten that it might be dark at 5 am as we wound our way from the B&B to Sandy Balls (a silly name for a lodge/campsite!) through the narrow country lanes. One of these lanes we encountered a very furry mammal running away from us. Stu was trying to encourage me to go past it as it had got out our way but I realised it was a badger! I'd never seen a real live badger ever so I watched it scamper away. I hoped that was a good omen for the rest of the day. We also saw a deer as well. I completely missed the turning for the car park and then managed to get myself stuck in very deep grass trying to park (thanks Stu for pushing me out!). As we were driving along my car put up a red warning snowflake on the dashboard - telling me it was 0 degrees outside. Pretty cold!

I dumped my running bag in transition 2 (two separate transitions), we got on the bus and made our way to the lake. The lake I had been to the day before, first to have a swim first thing in the morning to check it out, and second to rack my bike. I'd thought it would get dew over it during the night so I'd just racked the bike up and not left anything else, which was a good thing since there was loads of dew everywhere. I now knew why a couple of the competitors had racked their bikes up covered in plastic! The organisers decided that they would have a mass start so that nobody was waiting around in the cold to start. This was good because we didn't have to wait, but bad because there were over 200 people all waiting to be started off on the race! I got myself into a real tizz before the start and there was a tear or so and I was so glad for Stuart giving me some much needed support.

I'm really not a fan of mass starts, especially when there are people trying to kick you from all sides. The water actually felt warmer than outside, but it was still pretty cold for the first lap. I spent my first lap attempting not to get kicked or hit in the washing machine that was the mass start. It was cold but I tried to concentrate on getting to the next buoy, which never seemed to get any closer! I have a tendency for my mind to wander when I'm swimming and I started to think about writing this blog as well as going through the things I'd used up to get here: my wetsuit, one swimming cap, one pair of goggles, trainers, socks, hundreds of energy gels, Shot Bloks, Trek bars, peanut bars, at least a couple of swimming costumes, trisuit bottoms, cycling shoes, my sanity... The list goes on. I also thought of Paul, the poor bloke who lost his life at Leybourne, and although it might sound a bit odd I felt he wouldn't want me to give up and stop swimming.

Eventually I rounded the last corner and the last buoy finally came into view and I struck out to the shore. Out into the still-freezing morning and on to transition, trying with freezing hands to get my wetsuit on, my compression guards (aka leg warmers) and socks on over wet feet and my cycling top on. I got out of transition and I was onto the second leg. The cycling leg involved two and two thirds of a loop round the New Forest, navigating a long grinding hill to start with, then a long section that just went on forever, followed by another couple of straightish sections before we got to a mainish road which got us into Godshill and past Sandy Balls, the highlight of the loop as that's where the majority of the supporters were. After that was a bit of a nasty fiddly technical section involving some blind corners and lots of turnings. I managed to power through the first loop but after that it just ended up being a battle against the agony in my legs and hips. The third loop also brought a super lovely headwind which felt like I was going nowhere fast. I had to stop after the second loop to fill up with water which gave me a couple of minutes of respite from the agony. There were almost tears because of the pain. I was watching the clock all the time. My watch kept auto-pausing annoyingly through most of the ride, so I was hoping it wasn't too far behind my time. Part of me half hoped I didn't make the cut off time so I didn't have to do the run, the other part of me wanted to finish what I'd started. It was about the first time I'd been on my bike and actually able to feed myself without stopping, a real accomplishment for someone who doesn't have any balance! I'd learnt that if I break everything up into bits then I can just grab something from the 'bento box' and shove it into my mouth. I had a real mixture of Shot Bloks, cashew nuts and a Trek bar all broken up. I'd get salty Bloks but with the amount I was sweating it didn't matter.
By the last lap I was following a guy with Hope for Heroes kit on. He was suffering - I think more than I was - and had cramp. I mentioned to him when I passed we were getting close to the cut off point and he seemed to think he had lots of time left. I could see from my watch that we had about 10 km and half an hour to go - which is approximately the amount of time it takes for me to do 10 km when I'm commuting to work! I finally turned the last corner and made it back into Godshill.I was so glad to get off my bike but I couldn't run into T2. The marshal told me to take my time but I knew I didn't have much before the cut off. I zipped through T2, almost forgetting to take off my bike top in the process, grabbed some water and finally found a place to have a comfort break - I'd been completely unable to go for four hours! The BTF marshal told me I'd just made the cut off point (I reckon by a minute!) so off to the run I plodded. As I started the run a lady came past me who said "Can you believe we now have to do a half marathon?" I couldn't really but I had to try. I'd taken a small water belt with me that I struggled with for the first 5k or so until I got it and my number belt to agree and stop jostling round my waist. There were also the hills, Oh those hills! My poor legs were tired by this stage and I just struggled, so I walked uphill. One of the people coming the other way encouraged me to swing my arms and powerwalk it which did help. I tried my best to run on the flat bits and downhill, even if it wasn't much faster. I knew by this stage I must be last, even when I said this to one of the supporters who said there were masses of people behind me. At the turnaround point I knew this to be a lie; there was no one behind me. Figuratively speaking it was true due to the number of people who dropped out after the swim/bike, but in reality it just felt like a big fat lie. Ah well, I thought, someone has to come last. I was spurred on by the thought of the next aid station and as much water as they could offer me, as well as the fantastic marshals offering encouragement. By this stage it had gone from absolutely freezing to surprisingly hot and blindingly sunny. I was very glad for my little bottles of water and the aid stations, as I get very thirsty! I was expecting something exciting at the turnaround point, but instead it was just a table for the aid station and a cone in the middle of the road to mark where to turn! I caught up with the lady who'd overtaken me earlier, she was suffering with nausea. The medics also wanted to check I was ok, the only issue I had was exhaustion! I was so glad to be heading back. Even though there weren't runners coming in the other direction, we were still cheered on every now and then by other walkers and the marshals on the way. I did eventually pass two other runners and the girl in the blue top and I exchanged places several times, because she was a faster runner but kept stopping to walk. By the time I crested the last hill I was so glad to see the road again. We'd been running on gravel tracks most of the way, which didn't help. Half way down I spotted my husband who'd come to see where I was after getting worried about me. The strap to his folding chair had broken so he was having to lug it around under his arm. It was still another mile to the end so he then ended up clomping after me in a very distracting way as I was trying hard to finish this race! Trying to run with someone thumping right behind you, especially when once upon a time you had your handbag snatched by someone running up behind you, is a little freaky!
I was so glad to get into Godshill and finally Sandy Balls hoved into view for the final time. There was the end, the finish, and after nearly 8 hours of exercise, sweat and pain, I crossed the finish.

I did it. I can't quite believe it. And no, I'm not doing a full on ironman next year. I've decided to focus on the standard/sprint distances and see if I can get my 10k time to below an hour.

Ride 100 - it's behind you

Well after last year when I couldn't enter the Tritons team places due to not entering the original ballot, I was hopeful of a Ride 100 spot this year. I didn't get a spot in the ballot this year so I began organising the Tritons team. After some list building, endless patience waiting for confirmation and a bit of last minute stress, we were in!
So began the 'epic ride' training. For some reason I seemed to be the only 'intermediate' rider who actually knew any routes so those who were faster than me had to wait for me to give directions. This plus my inability to signal ended up in some interesting rides! We conquered Cudham, Toys, Ide and Star a few times!
Thea and I agreed that we would ride together, as we have a similar pace. So the morning arrived, a little chilly but sunny, and I met Thea in Greenwich after only managing three quarters of my porridge. We seemed to take a bit of a magical mystery tour to the start through the Blackwall tunnel and up and over a few East London pavements! We met up with Bern and Elaine in the holding pen and waited for the off. After an hour or so of shuffling round the Olympic Park it was finally our time to go to "We will rock you".
We wound our way through east London through what would normally be busy main roads and into town. The first few miles seemed to go really quickly, crossing the bridge three times before we were released into Richmond Park, my first experience of cycling there. As we went past Kingston we saw cyclists coming the other way on their way back. Some looked really tired! Further on we saw Thea's parents who'd made signs saying our names. I'd never had a sign made for me before so felt a bit emotional!
We made a pit stop in Pyrford. I overheard everyone saying the hills were next so we steeled ourselves. We shouldn't have worried. The only big problem was the number of people - on Leith Hill this became a real issue as someone just stopped in front of me, almost giving me a heart attack, and then the only place to cycle was a very narrow path on the right hand side, with some bloke behind me telling me to "keep pedalling!" I was trying to get through the crowd without any accidents! Box Hill was almost as bad with people everywhere and I think someone shouted "Slow down!" But there's only one speed I can pedal at, someone else encouraged me to "go for the gap"... I'd like to do those hills again when maybe the world and its wife aren't trying to do them at the same time. I did come a cropper myself one time further along when I didn't change down in time and got stuck in the wrong gear! I made a couple of drink errors along the way by topping my energy drink up first with tropical flavour and then with mojhito flavour - I really wanted something savoury by the end! We started to flag and everything hurt by about 80 miles but seeing the crowds on our way back in to town lifted our spirits. Going through Kingston again lifted our spirits and we made it up the hill back into Wimbledon. Then we knew it was flat back to the finish. The only problem with flat is there's no respite from pedalling and the last few miles just seemed to drag on and on with no end in sight! Finally we turned the corner into the Mall. That was completely awesome as everyone was banging on the boards cheering us in. The finish came and we'd done it! I couldn't quite believe it!

The cold really bothers me anyway

I have a problem with cold. See, when it gets cold, my hands go like this:

 This, I am told, is Raynaud's phenomenon. All I know is it's bloody painful and my fingers can stay like that for ages if I don't warm them up again properly. And, once the blood starts coming back to my fingers, it burns like hell. Like, a hell with chilli sauce and extra wasabi.
Since I am currently working at home (hooray, my old work sent me stuff to do for freelancing!) I get to spend my entire day in a very cold house. I've had to take to turning the heat up otherwise I find that at lunchtime I've got really cold. I've started having to have hot drinks instead of cold water just to try and warm myself up. Plus we have laminate floor so my feet are cold and I have to find myself a spare bit of rug or the table leg to lean my feet on!
The problem with exercise is it's supposed to warm you up. Unfortunately I've discovered that you have to be warm to start off with, otherwise it's infinitely more painful. As doing exercise involves changing into more sporty-appropriate clothing (read Lycra, and no, I'm not going to wear it round the house all day to make sure it's warm), I end up putting cold clothes on to an already cold person. This appears to create a chain cold reaction where I'm cold to start off with, then make myself colder by changing and, just to top it all off, go outside to do the exercise. The average temperature over the last few weeks has been close to freezing. So I start running with frozen hands. Eventually, they will warm up, but - did I mention the burning pain when the blood returns to my fingertips?
Cycling is almost worse. I can get away with more padding and fluffy clothes, so I can start off OK. However, I nearly came a cropper the other day by cycling up Cudham (it's a famous hill near here) whereupon it started to rain. This normally wouldn't be a problem, but the combination of cold and rain meant, when I stopped at the top and started to cycle back down again, I almost froze to death. See, cycling downhill meant I wasn't exercising as much and the cold air was going straight into my damp gloves. Bad times. I had to stop at the bottom of the hill and had a funny five minutes where I had to get any extra layers I might have (small pac-a-mac and bonus Buff) and find some food for myself to eat. It almost felt like the cold in my hands had spread into my core and I could feel its icy fingers round my stomach. It taught me a valuable lesson in keeping local, especially if I'm out on my own in the cold. Since then I haven't really ventured outdoors on my bike, apart from to show a friend the way into town.

So, how do I "fix" or solve this problem? I'm still not sure. I've bought some new shoe covers for my bike shoes (as well as new shoes, but that was a different problem of overuse!). I also wandered into an outdoor shop the other day (as you do when you have a random desire for Kendal Mint Cake...) and found some heat pads. I am going to try these out and see how I go. They even had ones that stick in your shoes. If they work, then I'm sorted. Perhaps I should find my hot water bottle for my feet when I'm working as well... now that's an idea!

Looking forward... to what?

Most people start the new year with resolutions. Mine are less resolutions, more... I don't know... thoughts? Plans?

So, I've finally warmed up to take off the second jumper and the duvet (it gets pretty cold in this house, at which point all you want to do is hide under the duvet) to give you my thoughts for the year ahead.

Last year went pretty well until about half way through the year, we moved into our first owned house, I managed to do my first and second standard/Olympic distance triathlons, and unlike previous form (1 hour to finish the super sprint, 2 hours to finish a sprint) it didn't take me 4 hours, instead just less than 3.

Then things got messy. My work decided to completely change its structure and thus we were out on a limb unless we could get one of the "new" jobs. A couple of months later, I and a couple of my colleagues were out. Since then, I've been looking for new work (so, if you know if someone who needs a nice editor who has 7 years of expertise in the STM publishing industry, why not contact me?). I am bored out of my brain and what interviews I have had I find really difficult [Think of an experience where you've influenced a decision... How would you motivate someone (something tells me that bribe them with food is not the answer here!)]. Plus I've found all that experience of working in the STM industry hasn't really provided me with the experience that people are looking for... I've never had to manage anyone or had a journal of my own to look after (apart from when someone was on leave). So I'm frustrated and bored. The first part of my "plan" or hope for this year is to find a new position. At the moment I've just set myself up as freelance (Tallscientist Editorial) to keep my "eye" in while I try and find something new. So what does 2015 have in store for me? Who knows. I really don't like the fact that I can't see where I'm going. But then again, when I started 2014, I had no idea that I would be in this position.

On the exercise front, however, plans have most definitely been made and are in place for the busiest/craziest year yet. So far, I have a 120 km sportive, a half marathon, a training week, a "non-standard" triathlon and, to finish off my year, the big one - a half ironman in the New Forest. This is not including the sprint and standard triathlons that no doubt I will be entering at some point.

The sportive and training week both are likely to have some serious hills in them, so I started to ask about whether there was any way to modify my bike to make getting up there easier. Trying to haul 15 stone plus up a hill (either on a bicycle or running) is really hard work! Unsurprisingly, the answer seems to be train, train and train some more... so I'm already running up hills anyway, so I guess I am going to start adding more cycle hill work and really trying to push myself up. So if you see me doing reps of Greenwich Hill, up and down, up and down... you know why. I'm trying to improve my power to weight ratio. More power and, hopefully through training and a sensible diet, less weight.

Although I enjoy training during the day when there is actual light, I do long for the structure having a job brings, so I hope this new year brings new opportunities with it.

Edit - after I wrote this post I then spent the next couple of hours worrying about what I'm going to do. I can't help but get stressed about these things. I don't know what I'd do without the support of my husband, friends and family.

I need to start writing again

I keep reading all these running and triathlon books, and I get filled with the urge to exercise and write. So why aren't I writing? It's time I put down the Candy Crush Soda and took up the keyboard again. Plus I've just discovered Blogger has an app for that. Brilliant (although, not so much now, as I discover it doesn't work all that well. Grumph).
 So, let me take you back to late last year. It was a cold Sunday, the last before Christmas, and I'd signed up for the Greenwich 10k merely because there was a Christmas pudding medal and mince pies at the end. Many of my Triton friends had signed up for the same reason, so I wasn't alone in wondering exactly what I was doing. I'd never really done a 10k properly before, the standard distance triathlons I'd done earlier in the year fell a bit short at 9.3 k. I'd also done a 70k bike ride the day before (why not?) .
So there we were, freezing in our Santa hats (there were others in reindeer, snowman and even frog onesies!) being assaulted by Maria Carey telling us all she wanted for Christmas was you, hoping that we could start soon before we froze to the spot. Caroline was having her now usual moment of panicking that she'd be really slow. I did keep telling her I'd be behind her all the way but she didn't seem to believe me.
We finally lined up - a little nearer the start than I would have liked - and set off. I tried for the first few km to keep up with Caroline, and we even had a comedy sing along to Fairy tale of New York, but soon it became obvious that I was holding her back, and I started to think that she was wasting energy checking I was still behind her! Eventually she listened to me encouraging her to go on ahead and I ran on my own. It really helped that Greenwich Park is where we train during the summer so I knew most of the paths we ran along. Plus the big hill I ran up thinking, if I can do this on my bike with loaded panniers I can bloody do it on two legs! I'd also picked up the technique of swearing at the hill after a hill repeat session a week or so before. What I said to the hill in my mind would probably burn this blog and is completely unwriteable!
I couldn't believe that we would have to do another circuit of the hill after the first one and worse that members of my tri club were coming back down the hill when I was only coming up it! I came round the 5k mark just after 30 min so I reckoned I wasn't doing too badly for me. I'd managed to offload my hat and gloves after warming up over that lap! The second lap was hard. There were so many points I wanted to walk, but I managed to convince myself to just keep running, otherwise I'd be disappointed. I tried to cheer everyone I saw from the Tritons on. Even some others who looked like they were suffering up the hill.
Somehow I managed to keep running up that last hill, swearing all the way, promising I'd never complain about it again. I made it up and ran for the finish. There was a bit of a mad sprint off with another runner but I just didn't have anything left. I'd made it! I looked at my watch and had finished in 1 h 3 min. I was overjoyed, I was sure that was faster than anything before and a new PB for me.
The next hour or so was a bit of a blur for me - we found the medals and eventually some mince pies, said our thankyous to the great supporters who had cheered us on, and finally I could get on a bus like a creaky old lady and go home to my sofa.

Me after the race with my pudding medal! I'd managed to put my Santa hat on as well...

When I got home, not only did I discover I had done a PB, but I'd managed to beat my previous time (which I'd inadvertently set a couple of weeks before in training) by a whole 3 minutes!

Running and my first foray into cross country

This was never intended to be a blog post, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to say, so you can have the whole story... or you can go away, that's fine too.

I've never been a runner. My story is not going to be one of "never ran, then did a sub-3 h marathon two years after picking it up" which I find so annoying. I have no natural talent for running and every time I had a choice at school I'd disappear off to the swimming pool. I would be relieved when athletics wasn't running but shotput or discus. I've discovered over the last two years that my running story is going to involve a lot of hard work and effort on my part to even shave a few seconds, let alone minutes, off my time. And it's not going to take weeks or months.

Last year, I was asked if I wanted to do cross country. Faced with the memories of school and how horrible it was back then I declined. However, over this year, a few of my Tritons friends have said that it improved their running and helped their speed. I had a rethink, and then a few more of my friends said they were going to sign up for this winter. So I duly signed up with everyone else. I went out and bought my first pair of spikes (after the lady brought me some trail shoes, I had to carefully explain to her again what I wanted!) and I got myself a cross country vest with the Tritons stripes across it. My name didn't appear on the first list, which worried me a little, but Sarah (the organiser) assured me she had my name down.

The day arrived, and I had a terrible blocked nose. My office colleagues as well as my husband had been coughing and sneezing all week so it was no surprise that I'd caught my first winter cold. I had my day planned so I wasn't going to let the grogginess get in the way, and with the aid of a bit of max strength cold sachets I started getting ready and trying to tidy up the house in preparation for Stuart's friends arriving next weekend. They'd predicted heavy rain, but the weather didn't look too bad that morning. Jim called me to ask if I could go and pick up one of the girls from the tea hut, so I left the house and drove up to collect Sophie. Sophie told me she'd been out the night before for a leaving do so was feeling a bit groggy herself! It started raining as we left Blackheath, both of us realising we hadn't brought any raincoats, oh dear. As we got to the park, the heavens quite literally opened! Both of us yelped and I slowed down. We finally found the car park in a little lane which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. We decided to wait in the car until the rain calmed down, then braved the walk to the start. I decided to leave my hoodie in the car to keep it dry, but that meant that I was very cold! By the time I got to the start I was cold, and my middle finger had gone white - lovely Reynauds. I still wasn't sure whether I would wear my spikes until we slid to the bathroom and back. All too soon it was time to go!
I started at the back with Thea and Mel. Mel asked me what time I was hoping to finish in and I said half an hour. She said she'd stick with me, but I knew she'd disappear into the distance ahead of me. And it was the case. I did try to keep up but the uneven ground and their fast pace left me at the back. I found the course a bit confusing. Where were we going? I was glad for my spikes as it did get quite slippery at times!  Coach W was there to cheer us on, as well as Simon and of course the girls going the other way. I even managed to pass a couple of girls who'd clearly run the first lap too fast. I found a pace I was comfortable with and tried to stick to it. The last hill came, and there was the finish! I'd done it in 32 min, which was a bit rubbish really, but I blame my cold and I think maybe a rest day before the next race might help.

I can definitely see why cross country will help me. Having to race regularly gets your legs used to working fast and the uneven ground makes me lift my legs, plus going through the mud is a bit like going through sand, which is supposed to be good training too. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm looking forward to the next one!

Leybourne sprint 20 September 2014 - I'll be back

"There is a tide in the affairs of men. Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune" Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

After doing two standard distance triathlons earlier this year, I was curious about how doing a sprint distance triathlon would feel. Would it be easier? Would it feel just as hard because I'd have to push harder? Would I be able to beat my Leybourne time in April and by how much?

I woke up feeling really nervous. The nerves really hadn't affected me much that week, but there was a lot else going on. Also there had been predictions of thunderstorms and heavy rain, as if the Indian summer that we'd been enjoying for the last couple of weeks seemed to be having a tantrum after being asked to leave. The weather was predicted to be light showers, with a humidity level of 97%. In effect this seemed to turn out to be a very fine mist which turned into quite a thick fog on the motorway - not much fun! I was hopeful that the weather would clear as I didn't really want to be cycling through fog and for drivers not to be able to see us.

I got there in good time though and found a great spot to set up. Coach W had advised us to place our bikes near the bike out section so I found a prop to place my bike next to. I was visited by a few mosquitos, which I tried to bat away, as I set up my transition. There were loads of Tritons setting up at the same time. I dragged on my much disliked wetsuit using gloves (surprisingly easy!) and got to the start. The water temperature was 18.2 C and there seemed to be an awful lot of competitors present, which was quite scary! The race started with both boys and girls, which created quite a melee. I'd never swum with so many people in and around me. I started to panic a bit with all the legs and arms around me. I knew I could do this so I just thought, relax, swim with just your arms and make sure I breathe in and out. Some guy elbowed me in the face and I kept swimming into people. The water was murkier than I remembered from the week before. I got to the final bend and realised this was probably the last time I would get to swim this, so I'd better make it a good one. I got out of the water after 16 minutes, in front of Nadja which surprised me! Normally there is someone helping us out of our wetsuits but Jim was there instead so no help was forthcoming (thanks Jim!).

I tried to get in and out of transition as quickly as possible - I always struggle with my socks and am seriously considering no socks next season.

I'm loving this photo of me coming out of transition - looks like I'm flying! As I got on to the bike course (past the horrid speed bumps!), Butters came past me. I thought I was faster than her, and tried to keep up with her as we carried on down the road. She ended up going off too fast for me, so I hoped that she might tire for the second lap. I also passed Thea, who apparently tried to keep up with me to the first roundabout and then gave up! As we came to the downhill bit, I carried on pedalling. I was sure the last time I went down the hill I braked, but this time I kept on cycling down the hill. Being on an open road, there was quite a lot of traffic but this time wasn't so bad as last, no big trucks splashing us on our way! I had to stop once to let traffic go past. Eventually I did get to pass Butters, on the second lap. She tried to go past me again but I powered on, almost the same as what happened a bit further up the road with Lizzie. I was not letting anyone pass me again! I knew full well when I got to the run they'd go straight past me.

And so it was, when I got to the run, they went straight past me. Coach told me to make sure I didn't go off too fast and so I tried to slow down. I got round the first lap (2.5 k) and didn't want to continue. But I knew Penny and Thea were somewhere behind me and I really didn't want to be overtaken! So I carried on, trying to remember to keep my knees up, something I'm clearly failing at in this photo:

Eventually I finally got round the second lap, and knew that I was nearly there. I could hear someone behind me so I sped up. I was determined not to look at my time until I finished! So I finished in 1:33:45, 8.3 minutes quicker than my time in April! This is mostly due to my super fast bike, and slightly faster swim, transition and run times. My aim for next year is to try and get under an hour and a half, and under half an hour for the run leg! I have to say it's nice to be able to do a triathlon that's actually the distance advertised - the bike was definitely 20 k and the run is 5 k!

I'll be seeing you again next year, Leybourne.

Time for my "A race" - London Triathlon 3 August 2014

Who you train with, remains nearly as important as what type of training you undertake." - Coach W
The last two months I have spent training under the expert tutelage of Bruno, which has had its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages have been my training has been a lot more focused, with new words entering my vocabulary like "critical swim set", "breakthrough workout" and "pickups". I have trained like never before and feel the fittest and fastest I've ever been. But it has taken me away from my Tritons friends and the workout sessions. I would not have made it through the winter and gone to so many running sessions had it not for meeting Thea and us working through the weeks of hill reps and fartleks (which sound so much more amusing than they actually are) with the fast people lapping us. I can see the point of training alone, as in a race you are essentially on your own, but trying to keep up with friends is also very motivating. So the weeks training alone flew past, with endless speed/distance sets and even the odd recce session in the preparation for London. I'd had to leave poor Stu at home making dinner etc countless times and he'd encouraged me to go out and do the activities planned. I'd never have done it without him, so I am so grateful for his support and delicious suppers! I'd done the standard distance at Dartford so I knew I could do it, but the nerves started to ramp up and the dreams of endless cycling started again... I'd been told off by Bruno for planning to go and support my friends at the club champs at Bewl the day before. But if it hadn't been for London being on Sunday I would have come and done Bewl myself (although I was mighty glad that they did clash because I'd done Bewl the year before and remembered the horrible run!) so I asked Dom if he'd give me a lift, so I didn't have to drive. It was great to go and see my friends race and everyone thanked us for cheering them on, but it's so much easier to cheer than to actually participate! The day arrived, and I'd planned to get to the Excel Centre via the ferry. Luckily I'd left early as the ferry was of course not open until 11, so I had to take the tunnel. Unfortunately as they'd closed the roads for the event the sat nav got very confused (and so did I). I ended up almost in Poplar before finally finding a road that had directions. I have absolutely no idea how I found my way in but somehow I found the parking, thank goodness! As I came in I saw Alex going out on the course, which I thought was funny!

I'd got to transition early enough to pick a good spot, so I got nice and close to the bike out and in sections, next to a stand so I could lean my bags against it. I spent the next hour or so wandering around the expo trying various things, setting up my transition area and seeing if I could find anyone. I ended up seeing Alex and Adam out on the run course so I cheered them on. The swim looked like a long old way! I'm not used to seeing it as one lap and it stretched all the way up the Excel building and beyond and then all the way back!

At the start. Yes I am wearing two caps - I have such a large head I need two as my cap is the only one that fits properly!

It was finally time to set off. I saw Dom at the start and everyone else said they saw me but I missed them! The guy setting us off was brilliant - warming us up, getting us into a rousing chorus of "Oggy Oggy Oggy - Oi Oi OI! and then we went down the steps and into the water. The water was a good temperature and we made our way to the start, although there must have been a bit of a flow/tide as we kept having to swim backwards so that we weren't over the start line! I tried not to be at the front, and not too close to the racing line, but as soon as we were off, there was a bit of kicking and banging into everyone else. I tried to stay out of the way, and if anyone got close to me I just started kicking my legs a bit more vigorously to get them out of the way! The swim seemed to go OK, I was relieved when we finally got to the turning points and then could come back, looking all the way to see where I was going, as I seemed to be getting closer and closer to the racing line... A bit of water got into my goggles which made my eyes water as it was slightly salty, so I couldn't wait to get the goggles off, which made me swim harder so I could get out! Finally we turned around the last buoys and I could see the ramp to help us out. I tried to stop a little before the ramp and some nice lady told me I had to swim a bit further in. She helped me out and even offered to unzip my wetsuit, which of course I accepted!

Wetsuits have to come off in the chute leading to the stairs, and then I saw my cheering friends as well which was great and lovely! I chucked everything in the bag they gave me and started off up the stairs. I'd done the swim in 33 minutes, which wasn't bad, not as good as Dartford. My aim for next year is to get under the 30 minutes. I got to the transition area and to my bike fine, whereupon a bit of the Docks water and some of the peanut bar I'd eaten earlier decided to repeat on me. Not good. But I thought, I've got to keep going, this is my A race after all, and I'll be fine on the bike. I loved the bike course. I love my new bike! The hours that I'd spent training on it, getting faster on it, and growing my confidence with it had really really helped! I spent a bit of time trying to get over the nausea and trying to get myself to drink (the drinks bottle I have attached to my bike is the best thing ever!) and then that song "Search for the Hero" by M People came into my head. I really dug deep and started to chase a lady from Lincoln tri and fight against my stomach. This time I didn't have such bad cramps or numbness in my hands and I whizzed through the bike course in just over an hour and 14 minutes.

Powering through the bike course

Then it was time for the run. The run is always going to be my nemesis. Especially with a dodgy stomach! I hadn't managed to eat any gels or anything since the race had started, the only thing I'd had was the sports drink on the bike, of which I'd only drunk about 400 ml or so. I was afraid to eat anything or take on any more gels in case the rest of whatever was in my stomach decided it wanted a quick exit! I just thought, I'll start running, all I have to do is run. It doesn't matter how fast, just run - don't walk. I thought about Jackie, the lady who was so brave and fought cancer for so long, and I tried to take some strength from that. I was doing the race in her memory, and you can sponsor me through Virgin Money Giving. The lady from Lincoln Tri came past me but I didn't mind. The support out on the course was brilliant. I saw all my friends by the bridge and then we went out along the river past the Chinese restaurant. At the lowest point is when you get the water stations which was good positioning and also a welcome respite in the warm! We were very lucky because the last couple of weeks have been blisteringly hot and thankfully it had cooled down in time for this weekend. It was still warm, but not horribly hot. I saw a couple of people throwing up out on the course which made me realize it wasn't just me who'd suffered from the water.

Must not be sick... must keep running!

So I plodded on, trying to keep my breathing in check as I thought I couldn't breathe, trying not to get a stitch, getting cheers from my friends every time I went past them (thanks guys!) and encouragement from Dom letting me know I was so nearly there! And finally I came round for my last lap (phew!) and made it back up the hill (I never stopped to walk up it! Hooray!) and into the Excel Centre for the last time. As I came past my friends something came over me and I sprinted for the finish! Not sure where that last burst of energy came from but I was oh so glad to finish! 

Yay! I finished in 2 h 58! And that's that Erdinger alcohol-free beer before you ask!

So what now? I finished London in 2h 58, which is a minute faster than Dartford (hey, I'll take that!). I was about half way through my age group and half way through the female group, so I've succeeded in "not coming nearly last" at least! I've got my last sprint triathlon of the season at the end of September but I'm not sure what I'm doing next year yet. London was great and I will most likely do it again but probably not next year. We will see!

One more stroke, one more pedal, one more step - Dartford standard distance

A little bit of back story - my first ever triathlon was the Virgin London super sprint at the Excel centre in September 2012. I then entered the Virgin London sprint distance for 2013, only to discover that this was the same day as my best friend's wedding, where I was due to be bridesmaid. So I deferred my entry to this year. My aim was to enter the standard distance  in 2014, but I wanted to do two standard distances this year. I couldn't find a good one to do in September, so when everyone started entering the Bridge Triathlon I posted on Facebook - do I enter the standard or the sprint? Everyone told me to enter the standard, so I did. I've stopped calling it an Olympic, as non-triathletes seem to assume this means I'm actually an Olympian. Ha. The distances are 1500 m swim, 40 k bike ride and 10 km run.

"think - one more stroke, one more pedal, one more step. small achievable tasks." - Sarah Stewart, member of the Greenwich Tritons.
“I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.” - Bruce Lee (from triswimcoach)

I went to a talk about preparing for race day a few weeks ago and one of the things that was discussed was the use of mantras. I was just like, what? What's the point of that? However, as I got closer to the Dartford Bridge Triathlon, I started to panic. Had I gone a challenge too far? I was worried I'd let my tri club, the Greenwich Tritons, down. I knew this worry was silly, but the whole triathlon started to get to me, started messing with my head. I went out for a run that involved eight fast 1 km laps and by the end of it I wanted to throw my running shoes out the window. I even started to have bad dreams about triathlon. However, by the middle of last week, things started to turn. Sarah sent me a message with the words above. To begin with, I thought, One more step? Is that really going to help, especially if I know that I'm going to have to do several hundred more? Coach (from the club) told me that exercise would help my sleep patterns.  I went out on Wednesday night for more 1 km laps and I felt better. One more step really did help. I coped with the puncture in my commuter bike tyre by getting a new tyre and fitting it myself, and I even slept well.  I read the post from triswimcoach, and realized, I'm not racing this for anyone else, I'm racing this for me. All I have to do is complete it, and I will guarantee I get a PB (given I've never done a standard distance before).

The day started a little misty but well. I'd even managed to sleep through the night, a surprise for me who normally wakes up at 3 or 4 am and then can't go back to sleep. Then again, the alarm did go off at 4:05, but for a change I didn't feel bad, or nauseous, which I normally do at that time at the morning. I even managed to force down a bowl of porridge and a cup of tea before I left the house. I'd packed everything on the Saturday and all I needed to do was make up my sports drink and put everything in the car, after checking my list for the umpteenth time.

We got to Dartford without a hitch and then I noticed that a couple of cars in front of us was one full of bikes. Ah, I thought, I bet I know where they're going. So we proceeded to ignore the sat nav (who was going a bit crazy) and followed them in. My husband Stuart helped me carry everything to the transition, and on our way we saw a couple of our friends who were coming in at the same time. When I got into transition, I looked for a good spot to rack up. Only when I'd selected my place did I notice that they'd numbered the racks so you had to rack up by number. I was 141. As I looked along the rack, it said 139-140-142-143. Where was 141? I went back to ask. It seemed they'd missed me out! But all was not lost, they had a spare rack, and lucky for me, I got to have a massive bit of space and rack all to myself. What a result - my poor friends on the other side were all squashed together! They'd also had to change the number of laps that we did on the bike leg, as part of Bob Dunn way was being dug up because of flooding, so instead of seven laps, we'd be doing eight.

I was all racked up and ready to go. I went out to find  Stuart and to give him my wedding rings (never wear them in the lake, they could fall off and that would be awful!) and waited around for everyone else to be ready. I heard a couple of calls for people with white hats (which I'd managed to cram on my large head over my ordinary cap!) so was anxious to get to the start point. Finally Nadja came out and we walked to the start. Then they started shouting at us that we only had 2 minutes to the start, so we ran to the swim start. We'd missed the briefing, and weren't really sure where we were supposed to be swimming to! Luckily, a couple of people told us that we went left after the first buoy. The water was incredibly murky - I'd never seen so much mud in my face, but I guess that's because we'd kicked it up on the way to the start.

The klaxon went off, and it was time to swim! I went for the first buoy, desperately trying to get myself into a rhythm, probably because I'd set off too quickly. I suddenly realized that we had to go round to the right of the buoy before we turned left, so I had to make a quick change in direction (whoops!). I think I almost swam over someone as well (sorry!). We made it round the buoy, and then we were in the main lake and had to go round the square circuit twice. The first time round, I found someone to swim behind, but I decided they weren't going very fast, so I ended up pulling ahead of them and essentially swimming on my own for the majority. My sighting was pretty rubbish for the first route around until I settled myself down and made sure I had a look where I was going when I took a breath. I finally managed to get myself into a rhythm and swam, trying desperately not to get distracted by the bottom of the lake (it had got a bit clearer once we were out in the middle) or if anyone was behind me. By about half way around the second lap, I got a bit fed up of the swim, I just wanted out of the water. I knew I had to keep going, though, and almost went straight into a kayak on the final exit around (he was probably trying to protect the corner!). As I got to the end, a couple of fast green-hatters (the sprint group?) came past me, and finally I was at the waters edge, feeling a bit disorientated. I just about managed to scramble out of the lake and pressed my watch. 32 minutes for the swim? I was really pleased with that! Definitely a PB for me!

Transition 1 was rubbish. I think I was still a little disorientated from the swim, but my husband was gently trying to talk me through it, telling me I was doing really well. Bless him, I really appreciated it. I wasted good time in transition, even putting on cycling gloves that I really didn't need. Finally I got out, and it was time to test out my new bike. Eric is a full-on carbon bike, nice and light for the hills. Not that there were any on this course. There was a gentle downhill, yes, and a gentle ride back up to the start, but nothing really to write home about. The road was called Bob Dunn Way. I couldn't help but wonder all the way round and round and round and round a bit more, "Bob Dunn what?" (I later looked him up. Bob Dunn, rather dully, was a Tory MP for Dartford).

On my third lap around, I noticed that someone had come off their bike near the bottom of the hill. It's never nice to see anyone come off their bike, but as I went past, I recognized the person lying on the floor obviously in some pain as my friend, Dominique. It's even worse if you know the person who's been injured. When I went back round the loop I passed Stuart and Coach and told them that Dom had come off. As I came past again (after we'd had to make way for the emergency car!) he was up and on the central reservation. I was glad to see there were a few people taking care of him. Another lap went by, and this time another sad cyclist at the side of the road caught my eye. It was Marc, and as I went past him, his front tyre just exploded! Kaboom! It later transpired that his back one had done the same thing and catapulted him off near the start. So I had more news for Coach and Stuart when I went back to the start. By about the sixth lap my legs were starting to ache and my backside was really sore (still haven't got used to my fancy pants new saddle). There started to be fewer people on the track as the fast ones who had gone past me (and made me polite and get out the way, should have been racing, tut!) finished their ride. It was a lot nicer once everyone had gone, but by the seventh lap I was getting a bit worried. My Garmin only told me I'd done less than 30 km - but wasn't this a 40 km course? As I came round on the 8th lap, I was like, I'm sure this is number eight, but why am I only on 30 km? There were about maybe 10 people behind me, including Penny, and we cheered at each other as we went past each lap! I thought, this is wrong. I can't have another lap if there are so few people left on the course. I was also getting quite sore now, and fed up of being on the bike. I thought to myself, well, if the person ahead of me goes into transition, so will I. And they did, so I did. T2 was fine until I forgot to take my helmet off and had to go place it on my bike (d'oh!), which again wasted time.
The run was the bit I'd been dreading - I'd never run a full 10 k properly before. I ignored the water stations as I didn't think I needed water and just thought, well, just try and get into a rhythm again. I started to try and relax into the run and just try and get a good pace going. 10 minutes into the run I realized that perhaps not getting water was a bad idea - it was getting hot and I started to feel like I really needed a drink! I saw a couple of people out with running race belts with water bottles in them and I was really jealous. I also thought about the fact that I didn't think I would need a cap as it wouldn't be that warm - silly me! I saw Alex, Lizzie, Tina, Nadja and a couple of other Tritons out on the course, and we all cheered each other on. When I came back around the first loop, I saw Penny come the other way. She went to give me a high five, and the clap of our hands together was so strong my hand really stung for a couple of seconds! I even said "Ow!". We had to do three laps, and I almost missed the turning off from transition the second time around. Penny's mother and a couple of other people were cheering us on by the bus station which was really helpful. That was about the 5 k point as well. I thought, well, now I have to do that distance all over again. The second loop was probably the worst, I was tired, really thirsty. I ran past Stuart and asked if I really had to do the loop again? Of course I did. I made sure this time I grabbed two cups of water from the station before I set off round again. My last lap, thank goodness. I was tired, hot, and the guy with the massive beard that I noticed on the bike ride had come past me on the run and was fading into the distance. But Penny hadn't come past me, which surprised me. She was still about a kilometer behind me. Marc had come racing past me, after having had two punctures and a big crash, I was so impressed he was flying round the run! I got round - having avoided a massive lorry going into Sainsbury's - and finally into the final straight. There was my husband Stuart, running along next to me despite the terrible pain in his foot. That gave me the final push to the end, and finished! Looked down at my watch, didn't believe it - 2 hours 59. I'd done my first ever standard distance in under three hours! That was far better than I would have ever planned or imagined, I was thinking more around the 3 h 30 mark!

The Tritons after the race, just about in one piece!

The guy doing the timing told me I'd come eighth in my age group. I thought, nah, he's having me on. So when the results came out I had a look. I was eighth - out of eight. But, hell, I'll take that!

It's all becoming Crystal clear...

Crystal Palace Triathlon - 18 May 2013

The Crystal Palace Triathlon is one of the most popular triathlons and sells out within hours of entries opening. I guess this is because it's a pool swim, closed road for cycling, really good for supporters and a good start for beginners. 

I entered because a lot of my friends had and I'd never done a pool swim triathlon before.  Here's my report.

I arrived just after 8 on the morning so I was there in good time (didn't need to be in the pool before 10!) and unpacked my bike (which I'd had to take the wheel off to fit in the car) and took it and my things towards the start. This seemed to involve an awful lot of carrying the bike down the stairs (remember the stairs for later). On our way in we'd been warned that there was a Mini rally. What I didn't know was that the rally was also starting in the grounds of Crystal Palace itself, so we ended up wheeling our bikes past some amazingly classic Minis - beautiful cars!

I registered, took my bike off to transition and then found a good spot next to a fork in the bike rack - I like to put all my stuff between my bike and a fork. The transition area appeared to be full of sand - I guess the volleyball courts next door had travelled some of their sand over. In racking up and sorting all my stuff out I managed to get sand all over my hat and goggles. I was looking out for my fellow Tritons, and finally figured out the guy a rack away from me was John from the group. 

Once I was ready, I went into the pool area. I was amazed at the breadth of Crystal Palace and the facilities on offer - pretty much any sport you might be into is catered for here. A lovely 50 m pool, with people already swimming in (they started just after 9). I went up to collect my chip and was told to hang fire, so I watched the current swimmers to see where they were swimming and then decided to go back out to transition to see whether any of my friends had arrived. By this stage they had and were setting up their bikes. Thea bless her was looking distinctly nervous, this being her first triathlon, so we were trying to encourage her. My nerves were jangling too! We walked back inside and cheered Thea on as she started. 

Soon it was my time to start. I hung around the start, received my timing chip and got into the diving pool for a quick practice swim. That helped to ease the nerves, it was good to be in the water again. I don't know how people who don't really like the swimming bit can do triathlons - I love to swim and being in the water makes me feel relaxed (most of the time!).

Getting ready for the swim

 Alex went off a few people ahead of me and then it was my turn. I quickly got myself into a rhythm and started swimming. The swim went OK. I spent a bit of it feeling a bit sick and hoping people wouldn't overtake me. I had to overtake someone and then I could see people coming up behind me. One woman overtook me and then slowed down as she had to take on the full force of the water without streamlining behind me. This was frustrating as I was pretty much on her toes all the way after that, to the point where I wanted to overtake her but I just wasn't fast enough to get past her and it was too much effort. At least it distracted me from my nausea! At the end we got out, and after being strictly told no running, walked out of the building to transition. 

Transitioning without a wetsuit on is a lot easier and a lot faster so I was two minutes faster than normal getting out of transition. Off out on the cycle course I went. The cycle course comes out of the stadium and almost immediately straight up a rather nasty hill. We would have to climb up this hill nine times to get round the course. The hill's not long, just very steep, and I could see everyone struggling up it and we all bunched up as we heaved ourselves up it every time. There were loads of people round the course, a few of them friends who were cheering me on every time I went around, which was great impetus to keep going. Of course going uphill means going downhill and to be honest I don't know which one I dislike the most, and I'm sure I shouldn't have been braking down the hill but I didn't feel very safe coming down it!!

Cycling around the course

 As I went round the course I decided that the socks I'd put on in transition were uncomfortable and baggy. I also noticed that a few of the other cyclists had very sandy bottoms - I guess a few of them had put on cycling shorts for the bike leg or perhaps had sat down to put their shoes on. I lost track of the number of trips I'd taken around the course so had to use my Garmin to try and figure out how far I'd gone. When it got up to 19 km I reckoned I must be on my last lap, thank goodness. Looking at my times now it seems I was pretty much consistently about 5 minutes 30 per lap, so at least I'm consistent.

Coming into transition 2 I decided to take the socks off

Off on my least favourite section, the run

 as it was getting hot and I knew the socks made my feet get too warm. 

The run is always going to be the hardest part and it being hot didn't help. I was determined to run the whole way and not walk, as I saw a few people doing, so I started back up the hill (again! that blasted hill!) only to be greeted at the top by people brandishing water. Oh, that water was good, but trying to drink while running is always a bit of a struggle for me. I made it round, to be cheered on by the Tritons telling me I was looking relaxed (is this a good thing?) despite the fact I had a terrible stitch and was suffering and then I had to go up the hill again. There was also a rather evil car park that we had to run up and down again which felt a bit daft! I'd guessed that I'd managed to get some sand into my shoes as they were rubbing quite hard on the way around, but the second time round was easier than the first (I almost felt like I could go round again!) and finally I came into the stadium (where some racing greats have run) to do my final run. I was tired, but having everyone cheer me on gave me the impetus to try and get a bit more speed up round the final bend and come in... at 1:45. 

 I was dehydrated, sore and almost boiling from the heat. Then I decided to take my shoe off to inspect the damage to be greeted by a large popped blister... that almost brought me to my knees. Being hot and injured almost always makes me pass out so it was a good thing that Carol was there to feed me water until I felt better. 

Finished at the end... relieved it's all over!

Everyone was standing around in the hot sun, but I felt like I'd had enough exposure for the day, so I went off to sort out my transition area. I was very grateful that I'd brought my flip flops so I didn't have to put my shoes back on over my horrible blister. Taking the bike back to the car almost felt like a workout itself - we had to carry them back up the stairs we'd carried them down earlier, but this time in the blistering midday sun. We waved goodbye and discussed maybe meeting up later on in the day. By the time I'd got home, had something to eat and a shower I realised I was not going anywhere and was completely exhausted! What a day, although I don't think I'd do it again - I think I prefer open water events.

P.S. Thanks to Nadja and Thea for the great photos!

Are we having any fun?

I'd decided that this year was going to be the year I went for an Olympic distance triathlon. In order to work myself up to this particular crazy feat I felt like I should do a couple of sprint distances to start off with. My last triathlon of last year was Leybourne. So it was due to be my first of 2014. I'd chosen it again as I knew it was a nice mostly flat course that would be a good start to my year.

Leybourne lakes lie near Maidstone in Kent and are where we go to train for open water swims. The water is clean but very murky at this time of year. I'd gone down to the lake a couple of times before the race to get myself acclimatised to the temperature - a shocking 11.5 degrees on my first trip out, enough to make me seriously consider running out of the water again, but didn't as I had people watching me! I was very grateful for those practice swims as it meant I was used to the distance and the temperature before I started.

The day started as it meant to go on for the next couple of hours. Rain, cold and miserable! I picked up Nadja and Jennice on the way to the race and unfortunately got caught in a bit of traffic on our way to the lake. This meant we were one of the last to rack up and I didn't get a chance to grab my favourite area next to prop spaces. Didn't really seem to affect me much really. As it was so cold the difference between the air and the water (which had now risen to the heights of 13.5 degrees) wasn't so bad. They'd also managed to get some timing chips so we didn't have to shout our number out to someone. We were set off in the water. At every buoy I turned to look and figured I wasn't at the back, which was good. I also missed the sunken car which I know is there on the way back in but had still given me a fright the first time I'd gone out.



Waiting for the off - I'm the tall one right in the centre with the blue cap on.

On your way out of the water the Leybourne race gives you a real help I've never seen anywhere else: they unzip your wetsuit and pull one shoulder down. Brilliant for transition! I ran to my bike and sorted myself out, teeth chattering. I even put a long sleeved top on to try to keep me warm. Out on the bike course it was chucking it down. This was not helped by the giant lorries and trucks spraying water over us as we went round the course. My top got soaked and so did the rest of me. As I came around the first time I recognised a familiar plait and as I passed Jennice I said,  Are we having fun yet? We had a fun few minutes jostling for position before I managed to pull away from her, then I managed to manoeuvre round a lorry and get round the roundabout for the second lap, I could see her still stuck behind it. I guess that's where commuting into town and back really has its advantages!

Coming back into transition I couldn't really feel my quads or even my feet. I was numb from the cold. There was even a volunteer offering to help unclip our helmets!  I soldiered on John Wayne style and started out on the run, conscious that Jennice might catch me at any moment. About five minutes into the run I realised I must have picked up a stone in my shoe in transition and if I didn't take it out I'd get a blister. So I had to stop to sort my shoe out. It had almost stopped raining, but because it was cold my glasses had steamed up - I couldn't figure out whether it was worse with or without them! Near the end of the first lap Debbie came up the track having finished her race. I called her a few choice words for finishing already but she kept pace with me and let me know that Jennice hadn't passed me yet.  She also geed me on by saying I was running really well and to keep going at the same pace for the second lap. Thanks Debbie.

 

Having gone past everyone cheering me on for my second lap, I dug in and tried to keep at the same pace. It was quite lonely for the second loop given most had finished by that stage so I spent most of it trying to decide what my Strava title would be and whether my glasses were helping or hindering my run, as well as trying to avoid the odd dog and pedestrian. I also saw a lady with a fluorescent jacket who I mistakenly thought might be Jennice on her first lap. Finally I got to the end and I simply didn't have anything left to sprint finish. I ended up doing a time of 1:42, which is pretty much the same as last September, which I was a bit disappointed with given the training I've done. Looking at my splits it looks like the bike was slower - probably due to the weather - and I made up the time in the run leg, which is great.

Jennice never did pass me to my surprise and she came in a couple of minutes later running the last few metres with her daughter which was really sweet!

My Asics

I've been trying to get myself motivated into training for the last bit of my standard distance triathlon in August - the 10 k run. If you've been reading my blog ever you'll know that running just doesn't agree with me. The furthest I've run is 9 k and I was getting worried that I'd never make the 10. Especially after swimming and cycling. So I was discussing this with the guys at the cycle shop. Luckily for me they are ironmen so they also have lots of running experience as well as cycling. So one of the guys recommended My Asics to help with my training. So I duly headed over to the site. This gives you lots of options, letting you set your goal and suggesting a training schedule. You can set the number of days you can train and which days you can train on. The site reckons I'll be able to do a 10 k in 1 hour 10 minutes given a 5 k time of 30 minutes. Which sounds good to me.
This week is meant to be easy - the next few runs are meant to get my body used to training,  which is good for me. So this morning involved a slow and easy 8 k. I'm up in Blyth for the weekend so I left my husband asleep while I trotted off to the riverside. Lovely morning and I was supposed to run about 9 min/km but managed at least a minute faster. Feeling shattered now but happy with that.