TRIing again and building in excitement

There has been some training since my last post ... nothing too spectacular ... another 5k run (sub 28mins - which for me is ok) and another session on the spin bike (40 minutes to be precise) ... and just to add some spice to the mix I proceeded to stub my blessed toe while releasing my leg from a quad stretch on Wednesday which aggravated the pain that was going away ... nevertheless, I will soldier on and I will race tomorrow.

Yep indeed, 8am tomorrow sees the start of my second triathlon. Once again the aim is to finish, not to finish last, and if at all possible to finish in a sub 1:20 time.

The distances are 550m swim, 15.4k bike and 5k run. When you consider that I finished a 550/16/5 sprint in 1:21:05 ... and that this race will be 0.6k shorter (on the bike ride) it isn't too ambitious to try and chop off at least 1 minute off that time and set a new PB (it'll obviously be a PB for that distance coz its different from the distance I've done before).

My only concern is the nutrition pre-race, especially because its an 8am start and I need to fuel up properly very early in the morning.

On another note, my race number and race time have been published for the London Triathlon ... very exciting ... it'll be 2 weeks away tomorrow!!!

I'm racing at 3pm on Saturday afternoon which is fantastic because it means I can take it easy and there will be no need for those awful early morning wake-ups and I can have an early lunch and head to the race. For those of you who have been reading regularly my goals are still the same though I have a feeling it'll be difficult to beat my bike split goal ... I'll sure as hell give it my best shot though!

Of being remiss and other issues

Its been a looong loong time since my last post and last time around I was grumbling about motivation ... well ... plenty has happened since then, and here's a small summary of it

1. Holidays :) - Clare and I went to Malta on the 27th of June (until the 5th of July). It was hot, good fun and I did exercise ... indeed I went for a couple of swims (one sea based, the other pool based ... there were jellies so I didn't go for any long sea based swims) ... and 3 good 5k runs ... then I decided to add some spice to my training (you can spot the bad idea miles away can't you) and that spice (a.k.a. the bad idea) consisted of a football game with some friends ... and the result was an afternoon at A&E taking x rays of my right foot (the first metatarsal). Nothing broken but the first metatarsal is badly bruised and more than a week later still hurting.

2. Injury induced laziness - I've been limping since (shoes hurt but its bearable) but that shouldn't stop me swimming or even cycling really ... but it did ... I finally got my act together and got back to training yesterday (with a couple of swims in the lake) and today with a 30 minute stint on the spinner, a 400m swim and ... wait for it ... a jog. Yes I decided to try out the toe with running and it seems to be holding up fairly well ... so no more excuses (or at least limited ones). Its not exactly ideal to be taking a week off training three weeks before race day I know, but it has now happened and I have to deal with it ... and dealing with it I am ... this week will be getting back into the swing of things with training to ensure the fitness is up to scratch again.

3. Getting old - I turned 30 last Friday ... I'm not particularly hung up about it but it is quite a milestone ... it went off with a bit of a whimper to be honest ... not sure how I feel about that ... the work drinks were cancelled coz everyone was too busy, the dinner clare and I had planned was a bit of a disappointment (the restaurant wasn't quite up to expectations) and most of my friends are in malta so the celebrating wasn't exactly on the agenda ... on the upside ... I got some fantastic gifts (Clare got me a wonderful book about my favourite yacht, The Maltese Falcon ... look it up, its worth it ... my parents got me a Garmin Forerunner 50 with an HRM and a footpod as well as a bike computer, and my cousin got me a nice book about Foodies) and we've had a really chilled weekend (training apart).

oh, and by the way ... if you have some time and are not easily offended by stereotypical comedy, watch "Bruno" ... not as good as Borat but still funny in an 'oh my God I can't believe he's just done this" kind of way

I should be updating more often now we're back from holidays and I'm back in training ... till the next one

Motivation Check

I once belonged to a student organisation (marginally ... I wasn't particularly active but my girlfriends at the time were) that had motivation checks during long(ish) meetings to ensure that the participants were still on the ball, still thinking straight and that they all hadn't lost the will to live. While I found those humorous at the time I find myself in need of one at the moment.

After the great high of the race, and a couple of days' rest I'm finding it difficult to get back into the swing of things. I had a good 1.5 hr session on Sunday (1 hr of swim sprints with my coach) followed by a 2.6km run in under 14 minutes (which I'm happy with). After that I'm struggling. I had to wake up early to go to the gym on MOnday and failed miserably to heed the call of my alarm. All was not lost, I did play 40 minutes of 5-a-side football ... as a goalkeeper but you'd be surprised how much jumping around gets done in those 40 minutes. I reckoned I'd get my run in the evening. But during the course of the afternoon I realised that I'd tweaked something in my lower inner thigh so I decided (as much to do with laziness as with treating my body as a temple) that I'd best not aggravate it by running. Session missed and plan made to train Tuesday morning, where another woeful response to my alarm meant I didn't get up either. Its becoming a habit and one I need to break. I'm stiff and sore after all the jumping around, my leg still aches etc. but I'm headed to the gym this evening. I must do. To make up for it I'm going to do Bike/Run Brick Sessions ... 3 sets of 10 minutes in large gear on the bike followed by what will hopefully be a good 10 minute tempo run. That's the plan ... the mind is willing but the body is weak (well the mind is a bit weak at the moment too).

The come down from the race high has been quite shattering, and a busy Saturday which knackered me hasn't helped (see Clare's blog for further details). AND!!! I'm sooo looking forward to our summer holiday in Malta (during which I will be training).

On the bright side I am now the owner of a brand new bike computer (thanks to my parents and my wife who together co-operated to get me this rather useful birthday gift). My birthday isn't for 2 weeks but we all reckoned that the quicker I start using it the better it is so I got it early. I'm also the proud new owner of a Garmin Forerunner 50 with footpod. That'll be coming on holiday with me to accompany my training.

I'll be turning 30 in 2.5 weeks, and though the weight of the significance of turning 30 hasn't yet settled upon my shoulders I'm sure it'll hit at some point and that's where Triathlon comes in. Something to keep me going and keep me healthy for the next however many years.

So to all you AIESEC ppl out there who remember (or still do this) ...

"MOTIVATION CHECK ...!!!" ... to which the standard reply was (once you'd recovered from your moderator's shout giving you the fright of your life) ... "YES! WHAT!!"

Race 1 - Race Report

Its a day late I know but for all of you who were wondering what actually happened at the race here goes -

(Race minus 2 hours) - "HOly crap I'm nervous, my stomach's doing somersaults like an olympic gymnast and I can't settle down. Breathe ... concentrate ... and visualise ... you can do this, you will do this ... and sod it if you come last, you'll still have done it ... now go check your equipment again, make sure you've got everything ... shit, hydration, better go get those bottles ready, you're gonna need something to drink before and during the damn thing"

(Race minus 1.5 hours) - "Why is there shitloads of traffic?! I just wanna get there, settle down, take in the course and get ready ... what?!?!? can you see all those cars lined up on the bike course in traffic? how the hell am i supposed to get through that at speed?!"

(Race minus 1 hour) - "Great I'm the only one here ... so much for making it to the race with two hours to spare ... at least I'm registered ... the weather isn't too nice is it? i hope it doesn't rain, my riding's crap enough as it is without the rain ... water looks cold ... will need to acclimatise well before we go off ... ahhh, ppl getting here ... jeez, look at the size of him, did he pump himself with a track pump before he came here? ... crikey that's an expensive bike ... he's gonna go faster than me without even pedalling ... ok, breathe ... oh my God there's a 65 year old man ... I hope he doesn't beat me!! ... let's set up transition ... quick drink ... will get into the wetsuit with 20 minutes to go"

(Race minus 20 minutes) - "I've spoken to noone and I probably look like a lost little rabbit ... confirmed by Clare ... ph well ... here we go, friendly face, making conversation about wetsuits, here we go, Marshall's prep ... breathe, breathe, quick drink ... time to get into the water .... you can do it mate, you can see yourself doing it so now just put that into practice".

(On your marks ...) - "Deep breath, here we go, you're at the back of the field, take it easy, don't blast out, its all about rhythm ... regular breathing ... every 3 strokes, then every 4, occasionally every two ... see?! you're already practically at the first buoy ... and you're overtaking ppl ... come on son! keep it steady ... straight ahead ... where's the flipping second buoy?! just follow the splashes ... damn I wish this guy would just get out of the way ... will have to swim round him ... ... close to the end now, use the legs a little bit, occasional kick to get the blood flowing ... and ... stand up, get ready to come out ... they've pulled your wetsuit zip down and opened the wetsuit, get your arm out quick ... Shit, its not budging, its closed again, just get to transition and deal with it then ... come on!!! come off you bugger of a wetsuit ... ppl are blasting past me, damn thing, stretch it, stretch it ... finally! velcro off ... christ that took nearly a minute!!! BUT!!! i'm only 13 minutes into the race ... 550 in under 12..5 minutes ... that's good, now keep it up ... there's still a few behind you ... helmet, gloves, sunglasses, drink, grab the bike and off we go ... skip on and we're off, 16km of this and then the run, take it easy, save the energy, we're ahead of schedule ..."

(During the bike ride ...) - "damn my legs feel like I can't push a high enough gear, tone it down, don't knacker yourself ... ppl are lapping me but I don't care ... I knew he'd be fast on that bike, bloody hell ... ... can't find a comfortable position for my feet on the pedals ... really need to invest in cleats ... stop thinking about post race, concentrate, breathe, up a gear, push push ... keep pedalling, its downhill, let's make some time ... damn she's passed me ... ok, still 3 ppl behind me .... fuck ... he's passed me too ... where do I go now? I think its a left at the lights ... why's she going straight? ... dammit, I'm going left anyways, I'm sure the lake's that way ... oh well, at least I passed her now ... here we go, i can see the lake ... a marshall ... I made it into T2, good stuff, still going and the legs don't feel too rough ... there's 2 ppl behind me, let's keep it that way, helmet off, gloves off, bike racked, quick drink and off we go ... 5 km away ... you can do it mate .. come on ... here comes the winner already finishing his run, geez he's fast"

(The run) - "regular breathing, keep the legs pumping, short strides ... crikey they feel like jelly, come on, keep going, crap a stitch, keep braething deeply come on, it'll go ... blue vest ahead, the guy who passed me on the bike ride, come on can catch him, keep it regular, he's going slower than you are ... breathe, breathe ... encourage ppl coming the other way, thumbs up to nice guy who was chatting to me before the race ... here we go, 10m, 5m, past him ... now keep him there, keep steady"

(Lap 2) - "damn the stitch hurts, but a bit less than before, keep those legs moving and the breath regular, look back, that guy's nowhere to be seen, well done ,,, turn round the cone and back again ... you can do this, 2.5km to go ... breathe ... I can see someone ahead ... can I catch her? ... don't do anything stupid now, keep it steady, you're 2k away from the finish line, don't blow yourself out, keep steady and kick in the last bit ... ok, it hurts but there's only 200 to go, when I get round that bend I'll be visible from the finish line so I'd better kick a bit ... go on, kick ... pathetic effort at a sprint but sod it, 15, 10, 5 ... finish line ... OH MY GOD I've done it!!! Fukc I'm tired ... but it feels good, my first tri! ... there's definitely 2 ppl behind me ... where did that woman go? I didn't come in last!!!! ... need a drink, need a rest ... sit down, most of the others have all left but who cares ... I've finished :) ... need to check the time, by my calculations I did it in less than 1:30 ... 1:25 maybe ... sod that, I'm just happy I finished."

And so it went ... final finishing time well within the 1:30 at 1:21:05.

Splits were as follows :

Swim + T1 - 13:53
Bike - 38:24
T2 + run - 28:48

The Tri-Man Cometh ...

Today is a good day, nay a great day ... today I completed my first tri.

I did it, I did it and I did it ... going under my target time to boot.

I'm still buzzing from the excitement and soon gonna crash but suffice it to say I really enjoyed the experience and I'm sure I'll be doing many more.

Full race report tomorrow :)

I can't believe I can officially call myself a Triathlete now ...