Kona Krazy Goes Live! (sort of)

Hello all!

Its been a while but I’ll keep this short, will have a longer one over the next couple of days. Having finally decided on a name (which could quite possibly change, and which is a bit of a bold statement) I am slowly getting round to migrating round to my site. As part of his I have moved by blog to wordpress at http://konakrazy.wordpress.com/ as it offers more tools and pages etc etc. More will be updated over the coming weeks and I’ll add pages and training plans among others as I get round to them. It’s not quite my own site yet, but is a work in progress! I might add a couple more posts on here but for now, head to http://konakrazy.wordpress.com/

Tim

Knees - passive, reactive, proactive

Well it is the weekend, I can't train, there's nothing good on tv for a while so what better way to spend it than update my blog!

My knees seem to be a recurring theme, no matter what I do, and have plagued my training ever since I started training in a serious way 5 years ago as a rower! Genetically I'm screwed, it's an old family problem, but despite this and all the signs I get from my body, I'm going to pummel it into submission until it accepts the fact that it is going to have to put up with this for a while!

Anyway, my knees... well rather unlike me, my recovery from this injury has been rather slow, even compared to my fracture! It has been nearly 2 weeks since IMUK, and it still has major problems. Though to be fair, it was swollen up massively, and in all the knee injuries I've had, I've never had swelling. It doesn't bend very well due to the suspected torn tendon in the back of my knee, but this is slowly healing, mainly helped by a decent massage from Ambulant Physios in Preston. The massage therapist really knew her stuff, and forced my leg to bend, really loosening it up and has doubled my comfortable ROM. The other way, straightening it, is not going well. I still cannot fully straighten it, and despite all the swelling going down, it is showing no signs of improvement, and feels like there is something blocking it under the knee cap, which is starting to make me worry now, and I am really hoping it doesn't need surgery. I've got an MRI on Monday to see if they can find out what is actually wrong with my knee, and will know the extent of the damage by then.

So instead of sitting on my arse, waiting for it t heal, I have decided to do something about it. Funnily enough, I have found I am not a 9-5 guy, and do not enjoy sitting behind a desk all day, as much fun as the work is. However, it is what pays for my triathlon adventures, so I don't have a choice. I just wish I had an extended lunch break to get a good swim/ride/run in...and then a meal...and then a nap... So I am trying to help my recovery along, forced in part by the fitness testing I am supposed to be having next week at the University of Chester for a Sports Science study, the Manchester 100 which I want to do, and St Anne's Triathlon (in Fleetwood!) which I have promoted around the office, and now everyone is expecting me to storm! More importantly, I am now desperate to get training again. So I will hopefully get on the turbo tomorrow to see how my knee holds up, and then back in the pool with a pool bouy on Sunday. I will also start my strengthening exercises on my knee to kickstart the recovery and try and avoid a repeat. When I was doing them and in full training I had no problems from my knee, even clocking up 20 hours weeks with 250k on the bike and 70k running! The reason for the problems was my crash, which meant I stopped doing my exercises and stopped training, so all the strength my knees had built up was lost, and my stamina faded and then I did an Ironman! Should have seen it coming really....

Anyway, as soon as I have my results from my scan I will know what to do to fix it. More than likely, it will include more physio and ultrasound, but I am hoping to be back training in a couple of weeks, ramping up for a good solid winter, assuming no surgery is required! Once I am back, I will continue to do my exercises to keep my knee strong, and assuming no more potholes I should have a good solid base of training come next year!

Given the chance to go back to my Ironman to the point where my knee went, I'd do it all over again though. I said from the start giving up was not an option, and I meant it! Hopefully next time I won't have busted knees and broken collar bones to overcome!

Speaking of next time, I am entered into IM Switzerland 2010 for the 1st August! I got paid today and took the plunge. Wow the exchange rate is poor! Cost me an extra 70 quid than it would have done this time last year I reckon! As mentioned before I have the Manchester 100 and Fleetwood Tri lined up, depending on my knee and then it's time to muscle down for the winter. Next year I have got IM Lazarote penciled in, assuming there are still places left when my Student Loan comes through and I can afford it (it's for 'educational' purposes, honest!). This is probably the 2nd toughest IM there is, second only to Hawii, with a killer combination of wind, heat and hills and it will be a real test of how my winter went, and how I perform in the heat, which will be a good indicator of how I would perform in Hawii (which is on my long-term goals, before I leave my age group). I would also like to get an early marathon in, sometime around march, early april as a standalone. Other races I have in view are Weymouth Middle Distance (unfinished business), Oswestry Sprint (home town and a final bit of speed work before Switzerland) and preferably another middle at some point.

I am currently in the process of using up all the free time I have from not training putting together my training plan for next year, using Joe Friel's Training Bible, which although taking a VERY long time, is very concise and will give me a very good training plan for next year. I just need to know my race calendar and knee implications! Once I have done this, I plan to get what every self-respecting athlete has... his/her own website! Seen as I am spending my life at work redoing the department website, I thought I would put my own together! This will include my usual blog, and also race diary, results, pictures, other info and I will try and get my training plans up, which as I will be doing it on my laptop, means lots of graphs to look at and compare!

Another thing that I am looking at implementing in the coming months is a new diet. Now I am not one for diets, fads, silly lose 20kg in a day eating cucumber smoothies all day type of diets. To me, it is simple science, Don't eat junk, and more calories burnt than calories in and you WILL lose weight, just do some exercise and have the willpower not to reach for the biscuits. But there is diet called the Paleo Diet that has been gathering momentum for a few years now, and especially amongst athletes. It is based on the assumption that we have evolved over the last 250,000 years to be suited to what was around, and then all of a sudden we discover agriculture and started piling processed carbs into us. Basically it involves lot of fruit (yey!), vegetables (ah), salad (hmm), good lean meat and fish and that's about it. You get all the carbs you need from the fruit and veg and other things like nuts that were readily available to cavemen and the results seem astounding. Obviously the rules have to be bent for athletes before, during, and after exercise to get the carbs in for the exercise. From what I can work out from it, you have the carbs to fuel your exercise, lots of protein to help muscle repair and then so much fruit and veg to have enough calories, you have ridiculous amounts of vitamins and minerals you feel great! This is going to present a problem, however, in that I don't like vegetables, and have far too a great a liking for milk, yoghurts, cereal, pasta, biscuits, sweets and chocolate. However, I am prepared to stick it out for a month, and if it is a good as I have heard, well, looks like I am going to have to make the most of junk food during exercise!

Tim

Reflection

Well now that I have had time to recover and reflect on my finish at IMUK, I thought I'd put some thoughts done about the race, my body and the future.

Firstly the race. I am so glad I finished it! I know if I had dropped out, I would never have forgiven myself and it would have constantly worn me down. Stubborness pays out at some point! It's nice to be able to say I do Ironman triathlons, rather than I am training for one, though it still hasn't really sunk in that I have finished, and to be honest I don't think it ever will. The 2 reasons for this are first, I didn't physiogically push myself to the limit because of me knee. I know I could have pushed harder on the run if I had been able to, and so I don't feel like I gave it everything. But I finished so I can't complain! The second reason is I don't think I'll have my PIB Post-Ironman Blues/Depression) pick up where I finally realise what I've done. This usually happens after an Ironman when the athelte has been training constantly for however many months and then all of a sudden they have this void. Once the elation has dropped off, you can get quite depressed. This is also partly physical as your hormones return to a new normal which can cause havoc to your mood. Once your hormones have stabilised and you have got used to the lack of training, you feel normal again and come to terms with what you have done. However, for the last 9 weeks I haven't had any structure to my training, and have had a lot of time off due to my crash. I had my massive mood crash after this, and never got back into proper training due to my IM being too close, so I've already had mine, which also makes it feel like I haven't done my race. But I will realise soon enough, and when I have my tattoo done, I'm sure that will help as a constant reminder! The race itself I was quite happy all things considering. The swim was quite a bit slower than I expected, but I have heard that it was substaitally longer than 3.8k so I managed more than that and still no problems with my shoulder, which makes me very happy! The cycling was going well til my knee went, so I can take a lot from that. I do need to practise my pacing though, as I would have blown up if my knee hadn't have gone I suspect, so that is something to learn from it. I also need to improve my descending (*eek!*) and general endurance for holding a good pace. Finally some extra power to give me that speed boost would be nice too! To run a 5 hour marathon on a busted knee I was actually very surprised by, and was expecting more like 6 during that race. However, I really need to work on my running off the bike, and running properly than just shuffling. My endurance is good, but I need to do speed work to get a good marathon time.

Right well my body is not too bad! My legs are still quite tired, though starting to recover fairly well, and I feel fine in my upper body. I haven't really slept enough due to making the most of being able to go to bed late, and then realising I have to get up for work, but that should improve. I am certainly making the most of no restrictions on my diet, so am eating anything and everything! I have weight to loose anyway, so what is an extra kilo or so...
My knee on the other hand is ruined! As a result I can't stretch my right leg, so my calf feels like it has been actually halved in length, so I think baths and a massage are in need. The knee itself is slowly starting to heal up. I have never had a knee injury that has lasted this long, so it is a new experience. The swelling has now gone down, from having it nearly double to size to looking remotely normal, though there is still a lot of liquid in the knee, so it doesn't bend or straighten very well, and I have a ROM of about 30 degrees. However, I can now sort of walk on it, with the help of my crutches, and it is very, very weak, and I still get the pain in the back of my knee that I had during my IM. So hopefully, the specialist will be able to tell me what is wrong with it on Monday. Though I am not too bothered, as I have a long time to recover and it is not getting in the way of any major races, so I am perfectly happy to let the body do it's thing, rather then when I did my collar bone.

So the future. Well first I am hooked! Next year I want to do 2 IMs if I can, finances and logistics permitting, and then actually do some local halfs, especially Weymouth, which I hace some unfinished business with! I would also like to do a stand alone marathon and see how I do. Long term, I want to break 5 hours for the bike, though may need a tt bike for that, get close to an hour or break it from the swim and break 3.30 for the IM marathon run, and 3 hours for the very long term as a standalone.
In terms of the next 6 months or so, it all depends on my knee. If it is better in a week, then I'll do a couple of sprints in September and the Manchester 100 bike ride, to have a bit of fun. Over winter I will then take a bit of a break for triathlon itself, and split the 3 sports up. I am hoping to join a swimming club up here, to get some proper lessons and this will drastically improve my swimming, although will be a killer at first. You never know, I might actually be able to do tumble turns consistenly by the end of the winter! Cycling over the winter will all be about logging the miles, and I'll go out with the local cycling clubs to get some company and push myself a bit more, and hopefully the same for running. So hopefully by next year I will come back fitter and stronger and faster than ever! Plus I also need to get back down to racing weight, which I never lost since my crash. I'm sure all the long weekend bikes will help, I really need to get used to doing 4+ hours on a bike.

I know people usually treat themselves after they do an IM, but I am going to hold off. I will certainly get some new cycling kit as I need it, new trainers as my are worn and some new sunglasses, because although mine are great, I look a complete twat in them! They are too big and too flat for my face, so stick out far too much. But I really like the Specialized glasses so will get another pair of those, just a different design. The adaptalite lenses are fantastic and mean they can be worn are day and all year. However, I am holding back as next year I am planning on building a tt bike. Come feb/march I will start to test ride some tt bikes to decide what to have. I am probably going all out, so looking at the P3s, transitions, Boardman elite if I can summon up the courage to turn up in that, or another high end one, and then will build it up with SRAM red, and probably get a disc wheel and aero helmet. My 404 front is great and I will probably stick to that, though if my speed improves an 808 front may need to be brought...

In terms of races for 2010, I am looking at lanzarote and switzerland as possible IMs, though I need to sit down at some point and decide. We shall see. However, my 5 year plan is to reach Kona, ambitious but I have 4 years left in my age group, so aim high! Remeber, anything is possible...

That's enough from me now, my blog will become more sporadic, but plan to keep it updated as I recover from my knee and go for more Ironmans. Plus it gives me something to do when work is slow....

Tim

I am an Ironman!

Right well let's get the first thing out of the way... I am an Ironman! After all the training, set backs, sacrifices, and everything else, I have done it. I can now stop correcting everyone who has nicknamed me Ironman! But it was not easy, and in hindsight, I should have expected it (more later).

Having gone down on Thursday to register, I had a nice swim on Friday morning, and then drove the course again with Ollie, went home and slept for most of the afternoon, which turned out to be a mistake as I couldn't sleep that night! The saturday was a nice short 15 min swim, and then I had a short brick planned to check everything over for the last time. But due to a poorly placed massage, meeting up with people, mud and having to get to the Reebok at last minute notice, this all went out the window, and I racked my bags and bike. The athlete briefing actually made me more nervous than I was before it, though I didn't hear anything useful. Then it was off home, check I had everything, go to the shops to get a couple of soreens for my emergency bags and then bed at 7. It took me a while to sleep but once I did, I slept solidly until midnight, then the usual up every half hour until it was time to get up (quarter past 3), including 2.30, 2.45, 3.00, 3.05, 3.08, 3.10, 3.11 at which point I just got up. I had a good few bowls of coco pops and a bottle of gatorade, and then it was time to get to the car park for the coach.

Having arrived late, queuing for the coach I quickly checked my bike over and pumped my tyres up and then was rushed down to the start. I put my wetsuit on and got in the water, which was actually really nice! Once everyone was in the water the commentator got everyone doing 'oggy, oggy, oggy' and then everyone started cheering/screaming which was the most surreal thing I've ever experienced. Having 1400 people in a reservoir at 6 in the morning cheering sent shivers down my spine. Next thing I know every one is thrashing about, and it was time to go.

The swim was actually really nice, and I really enjoyed it. Having done nothing more than 2500m in a pool since my crash and fracturing my collar bone, and nothing more than 1500m at once, I wasn't expecting much and came out at 1:26, a good 15/20 mins down on what I was planning on before the crash, but just to finish with an intact shoulder was good enough for me. I walked up to transition, got my wetsuit off, put my arm warmers and helmet on, and then applied copious amounts of DZ Nuts to help the 180k in a tri suit. I had a quick loo stop, then grabbed my bike, and jogged cyclo cross style with it on my shoulder to the bike start. I had a bottle of water in my T1 bag, which I used to clean my feet once on the road, before I put my feet into my shoes and it saved me sharing my shoes with a ton of mud!

Once out on the bike, I started to settle down, and then the main climb came, which I raced up, feeling really, really good on the climb, but it was probably a mistake. The first lap was pretty much OK, I started to eat fairly soon, and made sure I was drinking enough, though I was still a bit cautious on the decents, which reminded me far too much like the roads I broke my collar bone on, and in all honesty I made the classic rookie error of going off too hard, and getting carried away with the crowds. My legs started to feel a bit sluggish, mainly from not having been on a bike in a few days, but I concentrated on keeping my HR down and finished the first lap in 2 hours 5, on track for around 6 hours 20/30. On the 2nd lap I was still feeling good on the climb. I was going well on my 2nd lap when all of a sudden, with no warning, my right knee just gave way. It felt like a mixture of cramp and complete weakness. I tried to ride it off, but it just wouldnt go away, and within 500m I had to stop. Looking back, I should have know this would happen, it hasn't been an easy run up to the IM, with knee problems for the first 2 months, shin splints, and then my collar bone, I should have known something like this was bound to happen. I stretched it out and got back on my bike, but it just wouldn't stop hurting. I had pain everytime I bent it, and everytime I straightened it. I tried to continue, but the pain was just unbelievable and I started to consider stopping. I carried on for about 10k, having to stop every couple of k to stretch and relieve the pain. I dropped my saddle a fair amount to avoid straightening my knee too much and it helped, but within 5k the agony was back. It was at this point, having considered everything, that I made the decision to pull out, as I physically couldn't use my right knee. I would get to the next aid station and find a doctor and stop. I felt like s**t, with all my friends and family waiting out on the run course to watch me, and everyone who sponsored me expecting me to finish. But with still 70k to go and then a marathon to do, there was no way it was going to happen. So unable to find another aid station, I somehow finished the lap, and was all ready to pull out and stop when I got cheered by the crowd and thought there was no way I could pull out in front of everyone, so I carried on. Unfortunately, the crowd went all the up the main climb from there, so it looked like I had the climb to do. However on the climb I felt good, at the angle and just hammering on the quads I powered up the hill, and then went past a friend watching, asking what the cut off for the bike was, 10 hour 30. I did some quick calculations, I had about 5 hours to finish the lap and then the marathon would play itself out. Having bombed it down the descent, on the other side of the climb, and then having another climb straight after, I gave myself a good talking to and told myself to man up, deal with it, and at least finish the bike. So I had a lap of powering up the climbs, single leg on the flat, then getting as tucked as possible on the descents, and somehow came off the bike in 7 and a half hours.

I know now that I have probably strained the tendon in the back of my knee and strained or possibly ruptured my ACL, though the doctors can't be too sure until the swelling goes down as it has ballooned up to the size of a mini-football from all the fluid and I am resided to hobbling around on crutches for a couple of weeks. I've had a few x-rays, and there is nothing seriously wrong, so I was lucky to get away with no long-term damage. I did consider it, halfway though the 3rd lap, whether I should stop anyway to avoid completely ruining my knee, but unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you see it!) I'm too stubborn, and after recovering from my collar bone enough to race having been told there was no way I would be able to do it, and it being my first one, there was no way I was not going to finish as soon as I knew I could do the bike. I was also lucky not to find a doctor, even if I just asked to be strapped up, they would have taken one look and told me to stop.

Anyway, I went into T2, put my running shoes on and limped out on to the run. After about 500m my knee started to bend a bit and I started a sort of shuffle with a limp. At this point I knew I had about 8 hours to walk/shuffle a marathon and I could do it. The marathon itself was OK, with thousands of people supporting. It was a good morale booster to see my mates in the park, and I ran and walked round the course. I had to walk a good few miles at the start of the 2nd lap, as my knee stopped cooperating, but as soon as I was told I had 5 miles to go I just went for it. The blisters from my shuffling were huge but I just enjoyed the finale. The finish line was just incredible, with thousands of people screaming/cheering and clapping as I effectively hopped past them until I heard the words, "You are an Ironman" after 14 hours 18 mins. It was an incredible feeling, and still hasn't sunk in that I have finally done it. My first thought, "wow, I don't believe it". Second thought, "Which IM shall I do next"! Having had time to think about it and reflect, would I have continued if I had done it again. Well if it wasn't my first, I think I would have probably pulled out for the sake of my knees. But for my first Ironman, I said nothing would stop me, and I would do it all over again, regardless of my knees. My doctor hates me for it, but that's just me. My advice to anyone in the same position, (doctors look away!), carry on until you are forced to stop by someone else as you miss the cutoff. If I hadn't finished because I had missed the cutoff, then I would have been upset and annoyed, but I know I couldn't have done anything else. If I had found a doctor and pulled out, I know I would have regretted it for the rest of my life.

In terms of organisation, I know there have been lots of complaints about it, but excluding the lack of a contingency plan in case of rain for the Iron village and transistion, (which is far beyond an oversight, and pretty disgraceful), I think it was pretty well run. They did the best with what they had, and the finish was amazing.

Finally, a massive thanks to all the volunteers (including my boss!) who came down to help and to the thousands of supporters, including all my friends, family, colleagues and tri friends who came to watch and cheer us all on. I saw some of them consistently for the entire day, from before the start to at the finish line 15 hours later, which is just amazing. And without you, I would have pulled out, so thank you! Also thank you to all the athletes there, from everyone who asked if I was alright and had everything I needed when I was trying to get my knee to work, to all those I met on the run, who provided a good chat to take my mind off the boredom. And thank you to everyone who sent me a good luck/congratulations message. They all helped, especially when trying to finish the bike.

Now it is time to enjoy some time off, catch up on life, and then plan next season, hopefully with a few less setbacks! If anyone is even considering doing on, just find one and sign up, you will not regret it!

The final few days!

Hello all,

Well after 300 hours of training, 30 weeks, 270 training sessions, over 3000k on the bike, 130k of swimming, 720k of running, 160,000 extra calories and one broken collar bone, the day has finally come. In all honesty I am absolutely bricking it (a nice tri pun for you there!) and the fear is at stupid levels. But I am seriously looking forward to it. Despite what many doctors told me 8 weeks ago, I am waiting to start with a fully healed collar bone and in some sort of shape, though carrying a few extra kilos than I was hoping. It has been an incredible journey with so many ups and downs.

Firstly, thank you so much to everyone who has donated some money. (And joe, say bloody hell, thanks to your dad from me!) It is going to a fantastic cause as all the northeners among you will know, and is a really good motivator when the chips are down. And I am going to need all the motivation I can come the final lap of the bike and 2nd half of the marathon. At the time of writing, I have raised £776, with only £224 til I reach my total of £1000, so if you havent already sponsored me, get yourself down to http://www.justgiving.com/timdoesironman and click Donate Now!

I am heading down to the 'Iron Village' as it is called this evening to register, find my way around etc, then tomorrow it is an early morning swim, check I have everything, check out the last of the bike course, get myself even more nervous and meet up with the seemlingly hundreds of people I know who will be down there. Saturday is another early morning swim, quick check of the bike and short run to blow the cobwebs in the legs away, pre-race massage, a few naps, check my bike and transistion bags in then race briefing followed by pasta party!

Race day starts at 3 for me, as I get up and try and pile 1000 calories into me before 4 so I can digest it. I then check my post-race bag and emergency bag in, pump my tyres up, put my wetsuit and then just the small matter 140.6 miles to complete....

For those coming to watch, I don't there are any starters among you, but if there are, the race kicks off in Rivington Reservoir at 6. You will need to be parked at the event site before then if you want a parking spot for the swim or the bike near the start, as the roads are shut from 6 til 1 (postcode is pr6 9hg). They then reopen the car park at 1 if you are coming to watch the latter parts, otherwise find a car park in the town centre or close to the bike route (details on http://www.iron.ironmanuk.com/). The swim is 2 laps of the reservoir, then 3 laps of the bike course and then the run includes a couple of laps followed by the finish going into Bolton town centre, finishing outside the town hall. Good places to watch are (so I'm told) for the bike is Sheep House Lane, a horrible climb for us at the start of the bike lap about 10-15 min walk from the swim start, so I'll be going slow enough to be spotted, or for the run, the Crown Pub, which is as about 20 mins walk from the swim start. For those arriving later in the day, the town centre will be the place to be to watch the finish, which finishes outside the town hall, just follow the noise and the quizzical looks of all the locals. Apparently Queens Park gardens will be very popular for parking on race day.

In terms of time, race starts at 6 and I should be out of the water at around 7.15, maybe a bit before, bit after, depending on how beaten up I get in the aqua ruck at the start. The bike course will take me around 6 and a half/7 hours, so I will be going round a lap every 2/2 and a half hours. So 9.15-10.00, and 11.15-12.15 there or there abouts, finishing around 1 - half 2 depending on how my body holds out. The run is then anyones guess, I should have been around the 4 hour mark, but a fractured collar bone saw to that, so it could be 4 hours, or it could be 8. So I could finish as early as 6, but as late as 11. Whichever it is, keep an eye out!

For those not coming to watch, if you are bored at all on Sunday you can go to http://ironman.com/ and there will be a race tracker online, where you can see how I'm doing. This is updated live as I pass over various timing parts with my timing chip strapped onto me. I'm guessing there will be swim start, exit, bike start, start of every lap (possiby), end of bike, start of run and end of run. I am bib number #236.

That goes to all of those watching too, look out for # 236 and give us a shout! I'll need it!

In terms of afterwards, I have no idea, as long as I finish I don't really care what happens! Most likely I'll need to be carried to the medical tent and have some fluids and my massage and then I will probably stay and watch the finish line for a while. For anyone who has never seen a finish before, go to youtube and search for team hoyt, a seriously moving story, or 'ironman I can' and have a look around if youre bored, some truly incredible stories on there. More than likely, I'll pass out in my car til Monday, but if youre going to be around in the evening, reply to this and we shall sort something out.

So all that remains to be said is thank you to all the support, especially fellow tris and friends for the support after my crash. I went through some bad times after that, but still managed to prove the doctors wrong! Some off you, I'll see you at the start line, others at the finish, the rest probably on facebook! And a final plug: http://www.justgiving.com/timdoesironman

Tim

PS I have bragging rights for at least a couple of weeks after, but after that, if I'm still going on about it constantly, tell me to shut it!

Week 28 - The last of the big training

And that's it. All my major training has now come to and end. 7 months of my life dedicated to this, and it is nearly over! Due to galas and work, my swimming hasn't been all that good this week, but as my cycling and running come to a close, and I FINALLY have a house, I can now concentrate on that this week. I'm sure I can do the distance, especially with the wetsuit on, I just need to build up the distances I do to make it more comfortable, and as it requires less taper time, that shouldn't be a problem.

My running was OK this week, a couple of midweek runs, followed by a half marathon on friday, in which I felt great! As soon as I settled back into my rthym, it was good. I ran it in around 1 hour 50, so am looking at 4/4 and a half hours on the day, not bad considering!

My cycling, well... I did a nice 60k at the start of the week, and finally started to get some sort of feel back for the bike on the ride. I then only had a short ride on saturday to loosen my legs up and then it was Sunday, and time to see if I could fo 180k. And boy was it hard! But I managed it!
Starting fairly tired, with my legs still recovering from my half marathon, and setting off in the pouring rain, it wasn't the best start. But the first 80k were good, less the flat I got about 35k in. It would be this ride that I got my first very flat on this bike, and in nearly 4000k! I did have a bit of a panic when I saw the flat, seeing it had ripped through the entire kevlar strip on the tire, but thankfully Specialized had the forsight to put a tyre patch in the mini pump on my bike! Thank God. So anyhoo, I was climbing well and then my lack of fitness started to show. Thinking I had another 100k left and struggling to lug myself up some of the hills I had flung myself down at 70kph was tough to say the least! I did a 120k loop into the Welsh mountains, then went home to stock back up on food and bottles. Unfortunately I had run out of GO and SiS gels, which are the 2 things I find easiest to stomach. After 10k or so, things started to get tough, but my legs still felt OK, and I could still climb, albeit slowly. I then had problems with my front derailleur (again after the race last week!), and somehow it had managed to tighten the cable when it jumped whilst shifting so was now rubbing. Tool kit out, and a quick adjustment and it seemed fine, though it looks like I have cracked one of the plates that holds the two sides of the cage together, so that may need replacing. Hopefully, when I strip down the bike and replace all the cables etc, it should be OK.
At around the 140k mark, I started to have serious problems, I wasn't eating properly, so my energy dropped and my mood plumeted. To add to my misery, the wind picked up to ridiculous levels, and I was going directly into it and removed any remaining strength and energy I had left. I was swearing and shouting at it, trying to move, but I just wouldnt go anywhere, and my stomach soon stopped accepting food, fed up of all the sugar it had been forced to consume over the last 5/6 hours. It was only pure stubborness that got me too my turnaround point at 150k, something that I am going to need a lot of on the big day!
Naturally the wind got bored when I turned around, so it was a 30k slog home, but it was going home, and so was easier.
I arrived home exhausted, but happy. The physcial, but most significantly, the mental benefits of doing that far outweigh the pain that I endured. And to top it all off, I even managed to run afterwards. Well, I say run, it was more of a shuffle, but I could move and felt much better towards the end, even though it was only a couple of k. But I am still waiting for my groin and stomach to forgive me!

At around the 140k mark, the thoughts of doing another 40k on the bike, and then running a marathon sent shivers down my spine, and I was having major doubts. Now I KNOW I can do it. It is going to hurt like hell, but whatever tiny slither of doubt I had about completely it is now gone.
I now have 2 weeks of tapering, reducing the duration of everything and upping the intensity to make sure I am as fresh as possible. At the weekend I will go to the course and do a lap of the bike course to familiarise myself with the course, and then the next time I ride the course will be on race day!!

Bring it on!

Tim

Week 27 - LLandudno Triathlon

Well after deciding last week that I could swim 1500m in the pool and entering llandudno triathlon a week ago, today was the big day. The week had been ok for training, I managed a few good rides on my bike, a couple of short runs and found a pool near me, which will do (providing I go during lane-only times). I wish I had done another swim to prepare myself, but thats life. I also went out with the office, discovering some of the roads round my new home, and there are some great roads! Not quite up to shropshire/wales standard, but hey ho!

So, after having the bike shop bend my hanger back into place yesterday afternoon when the new one failed to turn up in the post, I went out to blow away the cobwebs and put a short run after. In hindsight, I may have overdone it on the bike, getting a bit carried away with my zipps... they are fast!

So I arrived at Llandudno this morning, completely unprepared. I knew it would be a bit hilly, but driving up all I could see was rising land! Just the way I like it! I had no idea where the run was, where transition was, or where the swim was. I found a car park, full of bike, which is always a good thing about tris, easy to spot! Following the crowd, I found the main area and got my transition area set up, then had about an hour to burn waiting for the race brief. I checked over my transition once more, then decided to put my wetsuit on early as it takes me ages to get into that thing! Good job too, as I put it on backwards the first time! After entering the water, I found a space at the edge close to the back, trying to stay in the same position as much as possible, without the sea moving me to where it thought I should be! Then all of a sudden, the horn sounded at we were off. My first OD triathlon!

The swim was everything I expected, 200m of arms and legs all over the place, while everybody found their position. Finally I found some space, and then waited for it to calm down, only it didn't. The sea was ridiculous! For the first kilometer, I was being thrown all over the place, had my goggles knocked off three times, taking air strokes as I was lifted so high out of the water, swallowed too much of the sea, and felt sick from being so dizzy. I was trying to sight, but all I could see was another big wave in front of me. It was impossible to find any rythym, and I had to breast stroke parts to point myself in the right direction. I was having serious doubts about my ability to swim 3.8k in a few weeks. But after a while it soon calmed down, and I actually began to enjoy it! I felt good, settling in to some long distance work, and my shoulder felt great.

T1 was a quick one, whipped my wetsuit off, helmet on and I was gone. Though apparently my bike had changed gear when it was being thrown around in the wind on the rack (deep section rims), and I started off in 53-12! The bike course was about 7k up, 2.5k down, 4 laps and the roads left a lot to be desired. Massive potholes on the steep descent, loose road, uncovered cattle grids, all for me to battle with. But I soon settled in, and my climbing was good. In the second lap I started to notice a grinding sound coming from my gears and saw that my front derailleur was bent. I wasnt sure if this happened in transition on hitting a hole on the descent, but it meant I was wasting energy grinding it down, instead up going up! The flat sections were good, and with a bit of wind behind me and my wheels, I was chugging along comfortably at 50 kmph! I was a bit too friendly with the brakes on the descents, and could have taken a huge chunk of time off, but I still don't have all my confidence back that I used to, from my crash! But better to take 5 extra minutes now than crash and not doing Ironman!

T2 was quick again, though I probably overcooked it on the bike as my legs were dead! But each lap, I felt better and better, and spent the middle 5k with another guy, pushing off his pace. It was around halfway through the run, that I realised if I ran well, I could break 2 hr 45, which for the course, the sea and my collar bone I would be seriously chuffed with! So I pushed the pace up and up, feeling good, but not something I would want to hold for the marathon! But I had 2 hr 42 in the final straight, my visor even flew off and I left it, and clocked 2 hours 43! All in all, I am very pleased! I was 4th in my age group, and 55th overall. Not as good as my last tri, but all things considering! Will be an interesting chat with the doctor on thurs, when he has a look to see if I can go back out on my bike! Haha!

This week is my final heavy week, with 180k ride at the weekend, then I taper down for IronMan!!! Cannot wait!!!

Tim

Weeks 25 and 26 - Mental and Physical Recovery

Well after the last week (24) things really started to look up the week after. I regained all my movement back in my shoulder, it was almost pain free, I was getting back into training. I managed a 45 min run with no pain and then topped the week off with a 3 hour turbo in which I was feeling great. And then it all went downhill.

At the start of this week, I started work for BAE Systems, but don't have a house yet (hence the no week 25 blog), due to injury, exams, estate agents, laziness and much more. This meant staying with family, which was great to have, but when you're not cooking your own meals, it restricts the time you have. I was working 9/10 hours a day, was exhausted and ended up not training for the first half of the week, again. This really started to annoy me but I was ok. Then on thursday, I had had enough and went for a run, and it was good, I was feeling good and looking forward to getting back to some serious training on Friday. However on Friday, after a heatwave all week it pisses it down! What the hell! Was looking forward to topping up my tan! But it was a sign of things to come. I picked my new helmet up (which was blue as they didn't have red, and I didn't leave a phone number, what a tit! That is going to cost me at least 10 minutes on the bike section (a tri joke)), and proceeded to switch out my zipps for my training wheels and then realised that my rear derailleur hanger was still bent. This is the same hanger that apparently The Bike Factory in Chester, not naming any names, had supposedly replaced. I was not happy, in fact I was incensed. I fiddled about with the limits and then went out for an hour and it was not good. My chain was jumping everywhere, I couldn't put any power down and I felt so unfit. Afterwards I went for a swim, but the pool was closed and that just tipped me over the edge. I completely lost it, mainly due to nerves and fear. I am hugely out of shape, and have 4 weeks until my Ironman, I cannot blag this. Mentally I have been all over the place, whilst pleased to be back on my bike and back swimming (the day after, see later) I am pissed off because I am out of shape, have lost so much fitness, and overweight (relatively speaking). But then I am happy when my training goes well.

On saturday, I went for my first swim since the crash and did a 30 min 1500m tt, much slower than how I was but I had no pain. But to show how messed up mentally I was, I was annoyed because it was slow. But then I went for a run, took a minute of my time from the day before and was happy. When you get to the stage where your mood depends on how your training goes then you are in a really bad place, especially as I nearly killed myself 5 weeks ago. To have had the crash I did, and to be back swimming long distances, be back on my bike, running fine is incredible. My healing has been stupidly quick, double what it should have been and I am not grateful, but I am getting there. I need to wrench myself out of this, and concentrate on the final result. Apologies if all of the above makes no sense, but it has been a tough few weeks, coming to terms with what has happened and my head is a bit messed up now.

Anyway, I have 4 weeks left and a lot of catching up to do. I am entered to do llandudno OD tri next weekend as a bit of practise as I haven't actually done anything more than a sprint tri, going against everything you are supposed to do, though I am never one for convention, look and my shoulder. In terms of my injury, I am 99% healed now, the bone hasn't finished knitting together completely yet, so am I taking it slow on the downhills, and laying off putting my rain cape on and off whilst riding til after my Ironman. For swimming I can build all the way up until half a week before then taper. For cycling, I am hoping to do a 180k ride in a couple of weeks, 2 weeks before D-Day and then taper down, and running I want to do a long run (2-3 horus) a couple of days after llandudno to give me a 2 and a half week taper. Then it is time to race. I am ready mentally, to hit this with everything I have, and the next 4 weeks are going to be eating like a monk and training like a pro. Physically I won't be ready, and it is going to be tough, but it wouldn't be an Ironman otherwise! I am going to finish, not to worry about time, and I will do that.

Bring it on

Tim

Week 24 - Frustrating Times

This week has been the most frustrating, challenging and tough week since I started this journey. I have really hit a new low in terms of motivation to train, I just don't want to. While I am very grateful to still be alive having nearly killed myself, I am fed up and pissed off with my shoulder, and now shape. I am out of shape, unfit, overweight and lacking motivation. Not a good place with 6 weeks to go. I am fed up with training on the turbo and indoors; all I want to do is to be able to go for a run, plod up and down a pool or just go climbing in snowdonia on my bike. It is incredibly frustrating. With no training plan to follow, I have let my training slip, so I allow things to get in the way of training rather than making way for my training and fitting my life around it. I need to find a balance.

In terms of my injury however, things are great. I have now got full movement in my shoulder back, not bad for 3 weeks! It is still weak, and the bone hasn't quite finished healing yet, but my neck and trapeze muscle hurt more than my fracture, which I think is them getting used to the new position and being used after a while of inactivity. If you looked at me now, you wouldn't be able to tell I had a fracture in my shoulder, I can just about do everything with my shoulder/arm again, even managed to sleep on it last night. So I am very pleased with this. Also, whilst on the turbo at the weekend, I was able to support my entire body weight with my arm, so as soon as I get my helmet replaced (on my long list of things to do!) and bike back I am going back out on the road. Carefully at first to test it, then will try some proper climbing. I managed to throw my upper body round out of the saddle on the turbo with no pain, but it can never replicated real climbing so we will have to see. I may try running properly this week, and if I can I can slowly start building that up.

One of my many tasks this week (along with finding a house to live in for next week!) is to write myself a training plan. As soon as I have that, I can know what training I have, and make time for it. If time permits, I will be back in the pool next week, (the week I start work, so could be interesting) and then hopefully will be back out on the road. I have a lot of catching up to do. With 6 weeks left, and not too much fitness lost, I should be able to get myself into a reasonable shape. I need to quickly ramp up my long rides, to fit a few 180k rides in before my taper. My running I would like to be running half marathons again in a couple of weeks, depending on my foot and knees. If I can do that, I am in good stead for the marathon. The only problem is the swimming. I have lost a lot of strength in my shoulder, and probably all endurance. So I will have 5 weeks to build up and taper to a 4k race effectively. Luckily swimming only requires a small taper, so I can build right up to race week, hopefully fitting in some OW practise.

6 weeks to go, and hopefully this is my lowest point. The only way is up! And for all those wondering if I am still doing this, and why after my crash. Of course I am still doing this. I am far too stubborn to give up and not let myself do it, despite the fracture and crash. My confidence may be dented when I get back in the hills, but it will come back. And the main reason? I have dedicated the last 6 months of my life to this, there is no way I can stop. I need this, to show that the last 6 months, the changes, the sacrifices and everything have all been worth it. And most importantly, I need this for myself, to prove to myself that I can do it, and that it won't break me. This will be the hardest thing I will have ever done, but I intend to grab it by both horns and wrestle it all the way to the finish line, no matter how hard, how painful, how long, how difficult it is.

Bring it on.

Tim

Week 23 - Good signs

Looking back to where I was a week ago, both me and my doctors are a bit shocked really. To put it into context, for someone my age, I should be looking at immobilisation for 3-4 weeks, then regaining movement for a couple of weeks at around 5-6 weeks, and then another 4 weeks for full strength to return, possibly a bit less. Now whether it has been, the way the fracture was with the two ends touching, diet, all the sleep I have had, fitness, genetics, or more likely a combination of all of them, I had the first bits of movement back in just over a week. By the time I went to see the doctor after a week and a half, I had a fair amount of movement back, and he thought from my injuries that the accident was 3 weeks ago! Now at the end of the week, I have full movement backwards, well above horizontal sideways, and approaching horizontal forwards, all unaided. With a bit of force/help from my good arm I can get close to full movement back in my shoulder. Things are looking very good. By the end of this next week I should have full movement back in my arm. I am already out of my sling, and noticing things getting easier each day, such as reaching for the tap in the sink, or washing my face. Things that were impossible at the start of the week I can now do pain free. This puts my recovery well ahead of schedule, and I might actually get some training in before my Ironman! With the rate I am going, I will be back on my bike in another 2 weeks, and possibly running just before. I could be on my bike by the end of the week, but for once in my sporting career, I am going to be cautious and make sure the bone has fully healed, because if I fall on it again and it is not healed I will miss my Ironman. This week I can begin some intensive physio on my shoulder, to build up my strength again and get the rest of my flexibility back. Due to the crash, my collar bone has basically been pushed out of my shoulder in a 'V' shape, so I have lost about an inch from my collarbone, making my shoulder shorter and meaning everything has moved around. This shouldn't cause me any problems in the long run, however it means I have to get my muscles used to their new positions, and new ways of working, and effectively I have to relearn how to use my shoulder again. It is the weirdest feeling in the world trying to lift my arm. It doesn't hurt, I know how to do it, I remember how to do it, I just physically can't do it. I tell my muscles to lift my arm up, but they just don't know how. It could make swimming interesting... However, all in all, I am very pleased with the way my recovery is going.

My training on the other hand has been crap! I have only done a few session this week due to a combination of terrible rural buses and no car, glass mending men, moving house and now a lack of a turbo for the week. However, this week, with buses and lots of time, I shall be hitting the gym hard, on the bike, cross trainer, weights and flexibility stuff. I should get a good few weeks of solid training before my taper begins, and then it's the big day, only 7 weeks away! Cannot wait! With my crash, finishing my ironman is going to be even sweeter!

Train safe

Tim

Week 22 - Beginning Recovery

It has been an odd week. Admittedly the first few days were quite nice not having to train for the first time in 5 months, but then the frustration begins. By now I should have completed my first half ironman, I should be beginning the build up to my ironman and be training harder than ever, but I can't. I have given everything for this and centered my entire life around it, making sacrifices in all aspects of my life and putting everything into doing it, all to have it taken away by a small pothole and an accident. I could spend hours thinking about the what ifs, but it happened so I just need to deal with it.

But looking back now that I have recovered from the shock, I have come to realise how lucky I am. Yes it was unlucky to have had the accident, but it could have been so much worse. If I had gone over the top of my handlebars I would have broken my neck or back without a shadow of a doubt, and at that speed the odds of me surviving that would not be good. How I didn't break my hip when I landed on it, I have no idea, so I am very lucky to be alive. It certainly makes you think about things!

I went to see the doctor on thursday and asked about my Ironman, and he said that I will be fine to do it! Great news! To be honest, there was never even a consideration for not doing it, right from when I realised I had fractured my collarbone just after I crashed. Ever since I finished my exams, I have had a lot of free time, and everything is centered around healing up as quickly as possible. I am getting through disgraceful amounts of milk and sleeping around 4 times a day and it is paying off. The collar bone is now set and continuing to fuse abd make the join stronger, and I have got some movement back. If I take my sling off I can wander around the house and pretend nothing is wrong (as long as I don't move my arm!). Not bad for a week! My road rash has just about cleared up, so all is looking good. I have already done a session on the turbo, so will have only missed 6 days of training for cycling, the majority of which was probably very good for me! In terms of recovery, it will be about another 3/4 weeks til I am out on the roads, and another couple of weeks before I am able to climb and wrench it around properly. Running and swimming will both be another 4 weeks or so, swimming maybe a bit more depending on how much movement I lose, though I plan to be back in the pool sooner, doing single arm work, on my good arm. I have less than 8 weeks now til the big day.

The one other thing the doctor said is that there is no way I will be fit enough to do an ironman... nothing like a challenge. There is no way I won't finish it, even doing single arm for the entire swim. We wouldn't want to make it too easy! But in all seriousness, it will make finishing it even sweeter and satisfying, coming back from a fractured collar bone in 9 weeks.

Finally I would like to say thank you to everyone for their support, all my friends and fellow triathletes for their well wishes during my recovery.

Train safe!

Tim

Week 21 - A slight change...

I have to admit this isn't how I imagined I would be writing this week's update. As I'm sure most of you now know, I had quite a bad crash this morning out in the Peak District. Basically what happened was, out testing my new wheels, I was descending at about 73kph, 10kph more than normal, took a corner too wide, hit a pothole on the edge of the road and went down. Not entirely sure what happened, but I think the bike went out from under me, my forks took the hit snapping on both sides and my front wheel tub came off at one end and it ended up in a bush down the road, with me following it. More importantly, though I really don't want to admit it, is I took quite a hit. I've ripped the skin off my right elbow, hip, shoulder and back, left knee, taken a chunk out of my left thumb, got some bad bruising and fractured my collarbone. First and foremost, I am very lucky. I was doing 45 mph and had 2mm of lycra protection from the road which didn't stand a chance. My helmet is nearly in 2 pieces and certainly saved me from some serious head injuries. So always, ALWAYS wear a helmet, it is not worth taking the risk.

Now obviously this puts my Ironman in some serious problems. I have no idea how long my shoulder will take to heal. From the looks of the xray it is a clean break, and nothing is out of alignment. I am young and my bones heal quickly, but I will take it a day at a time. Currently I am still planning to compete but will be going for finishing rather than my sub-11 hours time. Hopefully I will be back on the turbo trainer i a week or so, as soon as I can move properly with no pain, and I have built myself a great endurance base, that should carry me to the finish with a few weeks out. Running will take longer as I can't jar it, so that and open roads will be 4-6 weeks depending on what the doctors say. Swimming will be the problem. If I have to do it all breast stroke the entire way, so be it. But it all depends on how quickly I heal. I will update you all as I know more information and get back to training.

Thank you to all of my friends and fellow triathletes who have offered their support, and train safe!!!!

Tim

Week 20 - The End Of The Build Period

Week 20 Totals:

Swim - 5.8k

Bike - 210.84k

Run - 66k

Totals at the end of the Build Period

Swim - 117.2k

Bike - 2624.79k

Run - 676.7k

Commute - 605k

Well I have to say it has been a bit of an anti-climax to reaching 2/3rds of the way there! Exams mean that this will have to be brief, and hence this being late (but training is still full on!) but all in all it has been a successful 20 weeks!

This week was a good week mainly. I missed a swim due to it being the World Paralympic Cup, so the Aquatics Centre was shut on friday, and being bank holiday, the local pool was shut on sunday when I planned to do it. However, my open water swimming is getting better, and I know what I need to work on to make myself more efficient in the water and reduce my swim time. I need to stop crossing my arms!

Cycling has been good too, with a massive increase in mileage this week, and some good riding. I am starting to feel a lot more fluid on the bike, and my climbing is steadily improving as I slog around the peak district. Running has been good too, my shins seem to be on and off, especially on at the start of the week, but I can run through it as my calfs loosen up, so I should hopefully be OK. I did a half marathon on sunday, late, after a massive BBQ, and with knackered legs. I clocked 1:50, so was slower than I wanted, but I still have 10 weeks to improve. The only bad side is that I seemed to have picked up an injury on my foot that hurts when I run. It has been agony this week (week 21 - more to follow), and all instincts point to stress fracture, but I really hope not!

As I enter the Peak phase, the training isn't really too different to what it was before. I have a week of basically the same as last week, and then taper down for my half IM. After that it is a week of recovery, and then a 4 week intensive build followed by a 3 week taper til the big day! It's going to go quickly!

Train safe

Tim

Week 19 - Getting the wetsuit out

Week 19 Totals:

Swim: 7.2k

Bike: 183.44k

Run: 62.8k

Commute: 23k

Totals So Far:

Swim: 111.4k

Bike: 241.95k

Run: 610.7k

Commute: 605k

Well, for a rest week it was fairly intense! I clocked up nearly a 17 hour training week! The start of the week seems like an age away, and it wasn't the best start to the week as it has been deadline week at uni, which means that I have been having 3-4 hours sleep a night during the week and catching up where I can! Trying to do this whilst training full time is suicide and my training really took a hit on some days, and was especially apparent over the weekend. However, all in all, it is nice to be back training properly, even if it has just rained most of the week!

After 5 months, I finally managed to try out my wetsuit and get some Open Water practice in. It was weird, and very, very cold! The wetsuit puts your body in the ideal swimming position, so you just glide through the water, and gives you a ton of buoyancy to make it easier to swim. But it can be very restrictive around the chest and shoulders, despite all the innovations they put in it. It will take some getting used to, so I will be down at Boundary Park every week practising, and trying to sort my head position out and stop crossing my arms! I am going to alter my training plan slightly so that I have 2 sessions a week in the pool doing my usual swim sets, and 1 session a week doing a long OW swim, gradually increasing the distance.

My cycling is getting better as I continue to put the mileage in, and I can tell I am becoming more fluid on the bike. My long ride on saturday was a tough one, with winds stronger than I have ever seen before and some crazy climbing! I did a lot in the Peak National Park, including the cat and fiddle, and coupled with the lack of sleep throughout the week, a run the day before that I probably pushed myself too hard on, and the fact that I didn't start eating early enough on the bike (lesson learnt!) I bonked about 80k into the ride. It is a horrible feeling just trying as hard as you can and seeing speeds that I could almost walk at. But it is supposed to be good for you in training, and I have learnt my lesson. Funnily enough, after eating lots, my run after was surprisingly good and the speed was quite high!

Overall, I am really beginning to see the benefits of my training the most in my running, as the speed work has pushed my average speed up and I get used to running for a long time. The only exception was my long run on sunday, where I was knackered from my long bike ride and then stupidly decided not to take any fluids/fuel out with me for a 90 minute run. I really felt it in the last third, so that is another lesson learnt! On the plus side, I was absolutely dead, and I still managed to clock up 17.4k, which is just short of the speed I am planning for, for my IM run so with fresh (well as fresh as they can be after 180k on the bike) legs, fluids and fuel and 11 more weeks of training, I should be fine!

This week is the final week of my build phase, before I start my 10 week peak to my Ironman. This phase includes a week peak, then a week to taper for my half IM on the 7th June, before I have a week of building/recovery then 4 solid, heavy weeks to peak then a 3 week taper to my Ironman. It will be tough. This week the hours increase (as ever!) and I bring my speed work back in to get some high intensity work back in and pick my speed up. My pool swims also increase to 3.5k, which is as long as they go, to help me get used to doing the entire 3.8k 'comfortably'. I shall continue to increase the distance I do in my wetsuit, so hopefully by the time I have done my Ironman I will be doing 4k straight swims. My cycling and running, will continue to consume my life...I should probably stock up on the food then!

Happy training

Tim

Week 18 - Wilmslow Triathlon

Week 18 Totals:

Swim: 4.8k

Bike: 150.5k

Run: 31.7l

Commute: 45k

Totals So Far:

Swim: 104.2k

Bike: 2230.51k

Run: 547.9k

Commute: 58.2

Well it is certainly nice to be back racing! It's the reason why I do this, and nothing can match the thrill of waiting to be set loose on a course, but I shall come to the race later. As a week, it certainly wasn't the best week for training. I was still mentally exhausted, and have been fighting a bit of an illness all week, which has annoyingly involved waking up a lot in the middle of the night drenched due to night sweats. Thankfully however, this seems to be clearing up. To top it all off, I someone managed to go out nearly every night this week (including the night before!) and have my shin splints return.

I started off the week with my usual 3k swim, with a 200-300-400-500 cycle as my main set, but felt terrible throughout the entire thing. My goggles (which were my new back up pair I was testing) were leaking, my arms felt dead and I never found a good rhythm. Being race week, I did no weights sessions, but it also meant I didn't do my usual long stretch after each session. Added on top of this with going out a lot, my recovery really took a hit this week. I wasn't eating properly, I was sleeping enough, and I wasn't resting enough. And it showed. I began to get really exhausted, and then on Friday, my shin splints returned because my calfs were too tired and tight. It was utter agony and left me fearing the worst for Sunday. All the sessions I had that week hadn't felt good, and the best session I had was the 2 hours I did on the bike on Sunday, having just got home from the race! However, on saturday I had a good hour of really easy riding on the bike, just going to watch the Two Cities Boat Race (which Manchester won!), barely getting my heart rate into Z1. I had a good sleep on friday night, and then despite having the end of year rowing ball on saturday night and getting into bed at about half 3, woke on Sunday morning (well got up, I was awake pretty much half an hour as always happens the night before a race) and it was time to race.

I had a quite big breakfast of white jam rolls (I never have white bread any more, but I didn't want any slow release carbs 2 hours before a race!) and packed the car. Arriving, I set up everything in transition just as I had visualised the night before. Again, my preperation was poor so I didn't have time for a warm up ride, but jog round the transition area to mentally prepare myself and see how my shins were, they seemed ok. Then it was time to go to the start. I had my SiS smart gel to give myself a bit of a boost before going into the pool. After the briefing, we were allowed a couple of lengths warm up and then it was time to go. I set off quickly, and soon caught the person who was off 10s ahead of me. Passing him I began to settle into a high rhythm and it felt good. It didn't feel fast but felt sustainable for around my 1.9k pace. I was out of the pool in roughly the middle of the pack, and I nearly did a double take seeing 6:25 on my watch! I certainly wasn't expecting that! I ran into transition, and after fumbling about with my race belt, was soon out, and pleased with a quick transition after lots of practising leading up to it. On to the bike, I sat behind a few people while I got my feet in my shoes, had a quick drink, and then began to put the hammer down. Looking at my bike computer, I soon noticed my cadence wasn't working, great! I must have knocked it when I was cleaning it the night before, more bad preperation! However, I had speed and distance, and within the first couple of k I had caught everyone in my wave and was holding about 38kph for the flats. I had a guy overtake me on a downhill, but I soon caught him on the flat, and then as we hit the first short climb I dropped him and never saw him again. So, with the previous pack 10 minutes ahead, it looked like it was to be a lonely bike ride. I just concentrated on keeping a good rhythm and kept checking round to keep pushing myself to make sure no one caught me. My heart rate was staying high, and with no cadence I only had speed to gearing to see how I was doing. I had to rely on feel and it was probably good training. Despite my HR being high, I knew I could keep at it, so I pushed a big gear and continued to fly down the course. I average 35kph for the entire ride, including the long transition runs so am very happy with that! I was first off the bike in my wave, and had another quick transition to lead out of T2, when I finally saw the others start to come in. However, it was the run that I was let down on. I managed to settle into a good pace, but couldn't push it as I could feel my shins start to tighten up, and I was just hoping that I could finish without them crippling me. Within about 2k I had been caught and now it was just a case of hanging on to whatever time I had built upto on the bike. My run pace was good, but more what I will be running for my IM, rather than 7k. After about 20 mins my shins started to loosen up, so I began to pick up the pace a bit, until I knew I was near the finish where I gave it everything. Unfortunately, due to more bad preperation, I thought the finish was about 500m later than I thought, so didn't get to push it as hard as I could, but my run time was 27:15 for the 6.7k including T2 so not too unhappy! I finished in a total time of 1:16:02, which put me 4th in my age group and 27th overall with the 18th fastest bike split! Makes me wonder how quick I could have gone if my Zipps had arrived on time! All in all, I was very pleased with the result. With the nice wheels and better shins, I might have been able to take a few minutes off, and only 3 and a half minutes would have put me in the top 10, but it was a good practice race. Now I have a week off all aerobic work to recover from the race, (which is good because even with my post race massage, my legs were dead on the climbs on my evening ride!) and then a 2 week build up to my half Ironman before I taper down in week 21 for that! Bring it on!

Happy training

Tim

Week 17 - A week of Reflection

Totals for the week:

Swim: 5.5k

Bike: 183.02k

Run: 39.2k

Commute: 55;

Totals so far:

Swim: 99.4k

Bike: 2080.01k

Run: 516.2k

Commute: 537k

Well as you can see from my totals, compared to the previous weeks, I was down on what I was supposed to have done. I have been feeling pretty exhausted for the last couple of weeks since I returned from the easter holidays, been fighting a bit of an illness that I trained through, and have been bordering on the edge of over-training. Whilst my body has been recovering enough to cope with all the training I put it through, mentally I was exhausted. I have been training for the last 17 weeks, with only a few days missed due to illness in the first 5 weeks, and have become so obsessed with logging all my mileage and clocking up training hours that I had forgotten to enjoy it. Training was becoming a chore, something I didn't want to do, having to drag myself out of bed at stupid hours to squeeze a training session in before uni, or missing going out and seeing friends because I had to do some training in the evening. I had lost all balance in my life, to the point where I was going on home on friday for a few hours to see a surgeon about my knees, and had to take swimming and running kit so I could get my training in afterwards, then drive back to go out for one of my friends birthday. But I had no motivation to train, and wanted to spend time relaxing at home with my family and see my dogs. So I decided to take the day off training. Whilst I still regret this a bit, mentally I needed the break. Training for the Ironman is like having a job that you do 7 days a week, where you can never switch off, where you don't go holidays or weekends and it is all consuming. This is the life of the athlete, but we all need a break at some point, so I am much happier taking one day off training, than burning out completely and not putting 100% into every training session. Training for countless hours a week on your own, with your goal miles off in the distance is hard, and ebbs away at your motivation. The one day off has given me the motivation to hit back into training again, restart my diet again to ensure I am eating the right amount (rather than too much or too little) and give everything to the last 13 weeks til D-Day.

Well now I have had my moment of self-reflection, it is time to look at the positives of the last week and ahead! This was still a week of milestones (bar 600m in swimming!), with (nearly!) hitting 100k of swimming, going over 2000k of cycling, and more than 500k in both running and commuting since I started this journey! That's a lot of distance! The surgeon also diagnosed a case of mild runner's knee, due to restricted movement in my hips, which is probably due to years of running. It turns out that the original pain in my knee (an imbalance in my VMO) was unrelated, and the ITBS was just due to a big increase in mileage. But over the last week or two, since replacing my trainers, I have had barely any pain whatsoever, so am very happy with that!

My speed work is also beginning to pay off in all 3 disciplines. In swimming, I was leading the lane at the last tri club session, not bad for someone who only started swimming properly in november! My cycling average speed is beginning to creep up, especially on my long rides, and I haven't even got my race wheels yet! I have finally sorted a solid nutrition plan for the bike that appears to be working, and as a result, my running off the bike after long rides is getting easier and I am finding a good rhythm and good pace quickly after transition. My general running is getting quicker, as I appear to run further and further on my runs, with ever increasing high intensity work. I can also run longer and longer, and am still on track for a 3:30 marathon for the final leg.

This week ahead is finally race week! I am a person who trains to race, I live to race, which is why this journey has been another challenge with only 3 races to do over 9 months. Its a bit different to the racing every couple of weeks I was used to form rowing! It may only be a sprint race (I was ideally looking for an olympic distance race) but it will be good to practise transitions at speed, and put everything together. I am not expecting a very fast time as I have been training for long distances, and haven't been concentrating on speed but it will be good to be back racing! My training tapers down towards the end of the week, and it could be the first time in about 17 weeks that I haven't felt knackered! Bring it on!

Happy Training

Tim

Week 16 - Back to Uni

Totals for the week:

Swim: 8.4k
Bike: 160.18k
Run: 57.5k
Commute: 55k

Totals So Far:

Swim: 93.9k
Bike: 1896.99k
Run: 477k
Commute: 482k


Well, in hindsight, coming back to uni after my 3 weeks of hard training, having to readjust my body clock to uni time (i.e. not sleeping properly) reintroducing commuting into my week and reduced rest from work was not the best way to spend a recovery week! In all honesty, at times I was pushing my over-training and illness boundary from sheer exhaustion, though thankfully I now know my body enough to keep on the right side of the line and avoid it. Though on friday I was dead! I am definitely going to have to start to having sports massages to help myself recover! This next week, hopefully I won't be as tired, as I sleep properly and get used to commuting.

It looks like it will be a week of milestones as well, I shall surpass 100k in swimming, 2000k in cycling, and 500k in both running and commuting. The last one is especially meaningful as when I started training seriously for this I managed a week of 24k before my knees gave up and I spent the next 10 weeks trying to recover and catch up. Now fully caught up, I am running more than I commute on my bike! I am also seeing a surgeon on friday to find the root of the problem, and if the signs from this week are anything to go by, (I have had barely any pain from my knees), I may actually be able to run the marathon! Overall the running this week has been good, my pace has been high, especially off the bike, which I am pleased about, though Sunday was quite a tough run due to knackered legs, and dehydration (the last part I should have fixed!)

My swimming has been reaping the benefits from the solid training I put in dodging little kids over the holidays. I have moved up the ranks in the tri club swim, going from last in the 2nd lane (worst out of 4, the people in 4 I swear are fish!) to top 2 or 3 on thurs. I have smashed my 3k PB by 4 minutes, down to just over 54 minutes, which puts me on track for sub-1 hour 10 for the IM swim, and possibly sub 1 hour 5 with a wetsuit and 14 more weeks of training. I shall have my technique looked at when I swim with the tri club next to see where I am losing any of my effort in the stroke and just go from there.

I think I have finally cracked my nutrition strategy for the bike! I finally formulated a plan for the long ride, having a gel and choc/energy bar an hour and 1-2 bottles of GO every couple of hours. For once I didn't feel absolutely dead at one point, didn't have stomach problems and felt great on the run! With all the hills I may need another gel and ensure I drink a bottle an hour, but so far it is looking good.

I have 1 week of heavy training before I back of a bit to have a mini-taper for my race next weekend (finally!). It will probably be the first time in about 18 weeks I won't have tired legs! I may even have my race wheels to test out by then...

I have also tested a lot of kit this week: I have switched my saddle to a tri-speciic saddle (fi'zi:k Arione tri 2 for those interested) to make 6 hours in the aero position slightly more bearable. I tried a 2XU Endurance tri-suit, which although the chamois isn't as thick as some of my usual shorts, I can swim and run in it, saving me lots of changing. I spend over 3 hours testing the 2 together on the weekend on my long ride, and they were remarkably bearable! Though I still need to get used to it if I want to be able to do 180k with them and be able to run a marathon after! I also changed my shoes to tri-specific ones as the race season approaches, these have big single straps so I can get in and out of them easily, rather than having to fiddle about trying to get my shoes on and off in T1 and T2. So far so good. This week I will have my back race wheel, still seeking a front one for a decent price, but they should be FAAAAASSSTTTT.......

Happy Training

Tim

My 'Training Camp' - Weeks 13-15

Well I am now half way through all my training for the IM, scary thought! I have spent the last 3 weeks enjoying the holidays by spending pretty much the entire time by training! Over the 3 weeks I managed to clock up:

Swim - 26.5k

Bike - 531.59k

Run - 152.6k

This brings my totals so far to:

Swim - 85.5k

Bike - 1736.81k

Run - 419.5k

Commuting - 427k

The little training camp was actually quite good fun! Despite having pretty much the entire day to train for the most part, I discovered I still have an uncanny ability to do it all late, even managing a weights session at half 3 at night at one point! On the plus side, it allowed me to spend much more of the day recovering, rather than commuting into uni, working all day at uni, going out and any other stuff that usually eats into my recovery time during term time. This allows me to push myself harder and longer in training as I know I will recover quicker.

My swimming went quite well, despite all the problems faced in the local leisure centre. Boy I missed the aquatics centre in manchester! Having to contend with silly opening times, families who 'didn't seem to notice you' and little kids who thought it would be funny to get in the way so I would wack them over the head, it was definitely the most stressful part of my training! For the most part I was still feeling quite, getting used to the big increase in mileage from my base period of the season. But I have a good 3k swim test (58.26) and was really starting to enjoy the longer pieces. I was also noticing that my technique is starting to hold up, I am getting much more relaxed during the stroke, and am generally getting better (though the ever-evasive tumble turns are still not perfected!). I am looking forward to some solid training in the 2nd half of the lead up as well as speed work with the tri club, open water swimming (finally!) and some races! On the plus side of having to use the leisure centre, it did mean I had access to a decent gym with some decent weights, so my legs took a good battering compared to usual, which should help develop some power to hold higher speeds and power myself over the hills on the bike course.

Speaking of the cycling, what can I say.... wow! I think I found my favourite road in the country! There is a section on the B4961, where after you have passed over the first big climb on Bala road, there is a long snaking downhill part, that twists round the mountain, with some sharp descents, amazing views and the best part is a brand new road surface! I managed to hit some stupidly high speeds in the Welsh mountains and improve my cornering technique. But the views and climbs were amazing! I could ride for a could 3 hours without hitting a junction, climb solidly for 20k, and take on the best the Welsh mountains and Snowdonia had to offer! On the 2nd last day I did a 120k ride followed by a 7k run, with equivalent climbing to what I will have to deal with in the IM and it was actually quite nice. Granted, the run was a BIG shock to the system, but I felt quite good, and although I screwed up my nutrition a bit, I was holding a good pace. The long rides (which build up to 6 hours or around 180k) are there to practice what will happen during the race, so I can be confident I can do the distance, run afterwards, and have a solid nutrition plan that is tested. It is also my favourite part of the sport, and cycling around that area is just amazing. (Though trying to do an easy bike ride can be tough when there are hills whichever way you go!)

For someone who has knees that no one can work out what is wrong with them, I think 150k of running is pretty good! My running is getting better and better, and I am really starting to get into the rhythm of the long distance running. On the last day I did an 18k run at nearly race pace and felt great during it, knees held up well and I reckon come race time I should be on track for my sub-3:30 marathon (though after 180k it could be a different story!). I am getting used to running of the bike and with tired legs, and find that in the shorter brick sessions I am no longer affected on the run, and with long bike sessions, I can find my running legs after about half an hour or so and then hold a good pace.

All in all, everything is looking good (touch wood!), I have amended my projected times/goals (from the original sub-12hr), to a 1 hour 5 min swim, 6 hour bike, and 3 hour 30 marathon. Now this would give me a sub-11hr IM which would be incredible, and with more bike work and race wheels this could come down further (depending on the course, which I will reccee soon) but this is my first IM and you CANNOT underestimate it. It is the hardest single day endurance event on the planet, and there is no telling how my body will hold out after 8/9/10 hours. So my goal is still to get sub-12 hours, if I can do this I will be happy and satisfied. If I go sub-11 hours, or even sub 10:30 I will be exstatic! We shall see how I feel after another 15 weeks of training! The next 15 weeks continue with increasing the mileage until I am clocking up 25 hour weeks at my peak I suspect, and along with this there is more speed work to up the pace, increase my muscular endurance and reduce my times. Also I am finally racing!!! I live for racing, and it has been tough this year with only having one A race of the year and only another 2 built into the training plan. But I can race more after my IM. Currently lined up are Wimslow sprint tri at the end of week 18 (10th of May), which is a definate, I would have liked to have done an olympic with an OW swim, but there are none close on that date. Also I have a half-IM on the 7th June, end of week 22, and it looks like this will be Weymouth Middle Distance Tri. Was hoping to do the Dorney Middle Distance, though it appears this has now been cancelled, so Weymouth it is (if they sort their online entry problem out!). This includes a sea swim, which could be fun...

I now have a rest week, with a reduced mileage to recover from 3 hard weeks of training, and then it builds up again. Thats all for now,

Happy Training!

Tim

Week 12

Totals for week 12:

Swim: 8.5k

Bike: 122.45k

Run: 36.5k

Commute: 60k

This puts the running totals at the end of week 12 as:

Swim: 59km

Bike: 1205.22km

Run: 266.9 km

Commuting 427 km

And he's back!!! Well it has taken 3 months, but finally I have caught up with my training plan for running. My knees are a little sore, but it seems to be going ok! The progression over the remaining 18 weeks will be a bit slower than what I have been doing over the last few months, so hopefully they should hold up well! The running has been fine this week, the speed work is gradually increasing (which my knees don't like as much) and as I am back home, I get to run alongside the canal, which is a mixture of path/stone/grass, which should be good for me knee and help strengthen them a bit more.

The swimming is plodding along nicely and the training with the tri club was easier this week. However, being the holidays, I am at home, so it's back to training on my own in the local leisure centre (get to dodge little kids!), so my mileage will increase a bit, but I won't get pushed as hard.

The bike again was its normal self, with the rides being shorter due to the recovery week, and noticeable improvements in climbing and battling the wind.

Being a recovery week, this week, means I had to take it easier to allow my body to recover from the last big training block, which due to injury/illness has effectively just been increasing since week 1, so it was nice to have a bit of a lighter week, and I certainly made up for it by going out lots! But I am looking forward to getting out on new roads at home, going to the welsh mountains, and 3 weeks of solid training with no distractions, in the sun! So hopefully, I will come back with a nice tan and a dusty turbo! I'm raring to go to up the mileage and increase the intensity, and being the holiday, I can get lots of rest so bring it on!

Week 11

Totals for week 11:

Swim: 8.5k

Bike: 133.34k

Run: 40.65k

Commute: 55k

This puts the running totals at the end of week 10 as:

Swim: 40.5k km

Bike: 1082.77km

Run: 230.35 km

Commuting 367 km

Well it was a tough week for swimming. The first swim of the week was fine, given the move up to 3k, but the session on Thursday was a tough one with the tri club. Moving up a lane was tough, and the pace was very high and I was knackered! That set finished at half 9 that night, then 15 hours later I was back in the pool doing another 3k swim set! Was tired, but managed to get through it and found my form after the first km. The training with the tri club will be good for getting my speed up in the pool and a bit of coaching to help remove the bad bits of my stroke. Really need to concentrate on my head position.

Cycling was a good solid week, enjoying getting outside on the thursday! Lovely weather, though need to get my tan back quickly, black bib shorts only help show up my white legs! The long bike on sat was much better than last week. It was 15k shorter as I had a run after but even so, I managed to keep my heart rate down on the climbs, and took a lot more to eat and as a result was feeling much better even going into the wind on the way back home.

The run after was surprisingly good having been on my bike for 2 and a half hours, and the whole week itself was good for running! I nearly ran a marathon over the course of the week, 1 hour 15 today (sun), longest run for about 5 years and feeling good, and running fri, sat and sun and my knees are still intact! All in all, very pleased with this week!

This coming week is now a recovery week, where I cut back the training by about 10% to allow my body recover from a hard 4 week block of training, and although I was looking forward to it at the start of the week, I have recovered quickly towards the end and would rather train hard, but I know my body needs a good rest, and it will still be around a 12 hour week. My running has also nearly caught up with where I should be according to my training plan! This week was supposed to be 4 hours of running and I managed 3 hours 20, which is more than what next week is supposed to be! So hopefully within a couple of weeks I should be caught up and on track!

My blog, (another way to waste time and avoid doing work) at http://timdoesironman.blogspot.com/, has all my weekly updates on to check back on, so have a look! But it is mainly so I can look back at my training, without having to trawl back through twitter or my training diary.

Thanks for all the donations so far! And keep them coming in, Christie's do a great job, and rely on your donations to make life easier for those living with Cancer, and helping them grow towards a future without cancer. And remember to GIFT AID it people!!

Also, if youre bored, keep popping back to my Twitter page http://twitter.com/agent_ti I usually post a couple of updates a day on there, and put every training session up when I've done it, if you want to see how much training I have to do! And see how quickly it builds up!

10 week update!

Well I have come to the end of my 10 week base period training block, so I thought I'd send you all a little update! The 10 weeks have flown by, and so far I have clocked up 950k cycling, 312k commuting, 190k running, and 42k in the pool, clocked up 80 and a half hours of training is 93 sessions, and burnt 40,000 calories (not including the calories I've burnt in the pool!), and that doesn't include the hours I've spent in physio and rehab, doing knee exercises!

Training is going really well, in all 3 sports! Swimming and cycling are their usual solid selves and plodding along nicely, with distance and times steadily increasing towards the ridiculous, except of course my ride this saturday. A bad ride was always going to happen at some point, and I'm sure there will be a few more but in hindsight, I should have prepared better, dieting and riding long don't go well together! Basically I bonked (ran out of energy/hit the wall/etc) big time! It was ridiculously windy, and as a result the first 45 minutes I was flying along to the pennines, averaging 35-40kph, and then hit the climbs. I did about an hours solid climbing, which when dieting isn't clever, but doing 14% gradients into strong winds is always going to hurt. The climbs got harder and harder, and then finally it was time to head back, except it was all into the wind and I didn't have any energy left. I was working as hard as I could, only managing 25kph, just completely drained. I arrived home dead, completely drained and the thought of having to run a marathon after double what I did, made what I've undertaken hit me! I have a lot of work to do! But I'm glad it happened, I know my limits a bit better, know how to spot the signs and it was probably a good workout!

I'm sure most of you know the fun I've had with my knees, which when training for a marathon isn't exactly helpful! But (fingers crossed/touch wood) they seem to be getting stronger. I am running 4 times a week, up to an hour, and times and distances are steadily increasing. I am only about 5 weeks behind where I would have been without any problems so am very happy! I have been hit by illness once, though this was through lack of sleep, which with current sleeping of 8 hours a night plus naps most days shouldn't happen again!

I am now moving into the build phase of my training plan, another 10 week block. This adds an extra swim a week, and all my swims increase to 3k a session. I have an extra bike a week and another run, which happens after my long ride at the weekend to get used to running with nothing in the legs having cycled 100-180k, which as any triathlete will tell you is an interesting experience! This takes my weekly sessions to lucky 13 including weights, and will have me doing 2-4 sessions a day, 6 days a week! But it's great fun and I love it!

Thank you so much to all those who have donated so far and keep them coming in! It is for a great cause, and really helps me keep going when the training gets tough! I'm hoping to have raised £1000 by the time my Ironman comes around, and so far have had nearly £400 pledged/donated. So if you haven't already go to http://www.justgiving.com/timdoesironman and give what you can! And remember to gift aid!

Also if you're avoiding doing any work, keep popping back to my twitter page http://twitter.com/agent_ti to keep up with my training, and my blog at http://timdoesironman.blogspot.com/ for weekly summaries!

Happy Training!

Tim