So I had got the Thunder Run out of the way and despite my foot being quite sore, I had been pleased with how the running had gone. I had covered the 42km marathon distance in a tad over 3:25 on fairly patchy and low quality running and done another 8kms and felt pretty good at the end. The next day was about getting the car packed ready to catch a late night ferry to Calais. Ten hours later after driving through torrential rain the whole way we were on the edge of the Alps, with a daughter puking into a carrier bag that had holes in the bottom of it and a lost toll ticket which had been whipped out of Sue's hand by a rogue French mistral. That was a bit of a low point. Thankfully as we pulled into the campsite in the pretty little village of Venosc, the rain stopped and the sun came out. It looked like the camping and triathlon Gods might be on our side.

Wednesday was my first view and ascent, in a car, of Alpe d' Huez as I had to get to the top to register and collect my number. Oh blimey. I looked at the first couple of ramps and my heart sank. I might just have bitten off more than I could chew here. This was a most definite obstacle in my path. A very big obstacle. I should explain that my last long training ride had been a couple of weeks before with Simon where we did a solid 90 miles with an ascent of Ditchling Beacon that had been awful. The flat bits were fine but the hills were very slow and far below what I would normally be like on hills so I was not feeling particularly positive about going up the Alpe. Anyway, I collected my number and had a load of pasta and decided to use my usual tactic of having a beer and burying my head in the sand.

The race start was a very sociable 2pm so we had plenty of time to get ready. Sue and the kids would spend the day at the top of the mountain where there was a great sports centre and they were going to do a bit of indoor climbing and swimming. All I had to do was set up T2 (put my run shoes on the floor) and then cycle down to the start. I was a bit stressed about this beforehand but I need not have been. All I had to do was take my swim gear in a rucksack with me to set up T1 and get to Lac Du Verney. to get there I had to descend Alpe d' Huez to hairpin 5 which is 5kms from the top (all the hairpins are numbered) and then turn off for the village of Villard-Reculas. It was stunning ride in its own right, mainly freewheeling in a small group with people called Jean-Luc, Yvette, Phillipe, etc. It just put the most enormous smile on my face and really got me prepared for the day.



At the lake they had put nationalities together so I was able to while away the 45 minutes before the start chatting to a few other Brits. The main topic of conversation was of course the climb and people were talking about 60 minutes being a really good time for the climb so in my mind I prepared myself for 80-90 minutes.


Ready to roll to the start
Swim
The other thing I had not prepared myself for was a 1200 person mass swim start. I was breaststroking around and the water was quite chilly (13.3 apparently) and loads of other swimmers swam across to the far side and then immediately got out to sit on the side, which I found rather odd. I was having a look around and christening the wettie with a super long wee when the hooter went. Queue 1000 athletes jumping into the lake and all heading for the first turn buoy. It was a complete bunfight. I was punched, kicked, held, dragged back and generally royally interfered with. I didn't find any feet to draft off at all; no one was swimming straight so I just had to sight as best as I could and hope for the best. On the odd occasions when I did get some clear water I knew that I was pretty slow anyway so I just tried to take it easy and save something for later on. I have to say that despite all the biff, I enjoyed it and it was a beautiful lake to swim in. T1 was slow and by the time I jogged out of T1 I was well down the field.


Bike
The first 15 kms is a flat warm-up to the bottom of Alpe d' Huez and it was a blast. Out of T1 is a drop down to the dam on the lake before heading out on the long straight valley road to the town of Bourg d' Oirsans which is the town at the bottom of the climb. It was an absolute blast. We were all drafting on this section, there was no way that you could avoid it with so many bikes on the road at the same time. I was floating along at the back of a peleton of about 40 riders when a referee on a motorbike gave me a long hard stare, so I dropped back a few metres until he roared off up the road, completely ignoring the other riders all in a bunch. Idiot. That said, the organisation was great. The police stopped the traffic and the drivers had all got out of their cars and were clapping and cheering us on, something I doubt that the nimby brigade in this country would do. Love. It.



Cycling doesn't get much more fun than this
So we made our way through Bourg before taking the left turn onto the D211, the iconic 21 hairpin bends to the top of Alpe d' Huez. As soon as I hit the first bottom slope I snuck the gears into the small chainring, found the largest sprocket and started to spin my way up. Within seconds I just knew it was going to be ok. The good thing about having such a rubbish swim was that I was able to overtake a steady stream of riders which gave me people to chase and the first 10 hairpins flew by. The big hairpin bends gave a brief respite from the climbing before it ramped up again but in the main it was just a steady grind/spin. Like Boxhill but just about eight times longer and a lot more spectacular. By this time the temperature had really got up and I used the 2 feed stations on the Alpe to pour water over my head which helped a lot to cool me down. Between 10 and 5 was tougher, I think I was running on empty so got some energy drink in which perked me up and from 5 with the top getting nearer I was able to pick up my cadence a little again. The hard thing was getting to 0 only to find that there was still a little bit of climbing to get you into the ski town and T2 on the football astro pitch. The climb took me just over 70 minutes which, on reflection, I have to be happy with.

Another super slow T2; no quick laces and a bit of cramp. Doh.

Run
I bounded out of T2 feeling absolutely brilliant. Only 7kms to go. The first kilometre was really good as I went out onto the trail path at the top of the mountain, but within 7 or 8 minutes I found myself very out of breath, like I couldn't fill my lungs with enough air and I could feel myself getting very hot again. I can only think it was the altitude kicking in, making my heart rate go through the roof and I just had to stop and walk for a bit until I had got it under control. It was a bit of a shame as my legs felt great but I couldn't hold a pace that only a few days before had been really easy. It was quite a tough run being very exposed and on some lumpy trail paths, but eventually we turned back downhill, into the centre of the ski resort, across the football pitch before turning right down the blue carpet. Lots of high fiving, a shout out from the announcer and the best after race buffet I've ever had.




This was a great event. I was worried about all the effort of getting me, my stuff and my family all the way to the Alps for an Olympic-ish distance event, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. To have ridden arguably the most iconic climb in cycling in a race is something that I will always remember and I really hope that I get to do it again in the future.

Thanks for all the replies :)]]>
My year has once again consisted of no triathlon. The plans I had for World (age group) domination remained precisely that, plans and I never really got going. The first couple of months of the year was focused on running and I knocked out a 1:27 half marathon at Watford in preparation for a sub 3 attempt at VLM, but then a back injury a couple of weeks later saw that plan dashed too, with me unable to run for 8 weeks. I was not going to run London but then Boston happened so I decided to run anyway as a show of solidarity and got round in 3:45. My slowest marathon but a really lovely experience.

Since then I have mainly been on my bike, owing to yet another running injury and I have had a good TT season, setting pbs at 10, 25 and 50 miles on my road bike. As a result I have just put down a deposit on a new tt bike for next year. I really enjoy tt ing and I hope to be doing it for many years to come.

Other news, I have employed the services of Russell Cox for coaching as I am hoping to do Embrunman next year and want some help to achieve some consistency, which he is helping me with already. All in all, enjoying myself and not worrying as much about injuries. They are what they are, I'm not as young as I used to be and I need to adapt my approach somewhat.

Magpie, The Iain, Carlito and KP. Thanks guys :)

Www.wheezystriathlonanddwblog.blogspot.co.uk]]>
I've made a few big changes. First of all I have stopped paddling. While I enjoyed it, it was just one thing too much and I needed to focus back on my running and tri which has taken a back seat for a couple of years. I have decided that next year I am going to focus on Olympic distance ri, rather than long course. It will suit me better and play to my strengths a bit more. I am also hoping it will mean that I will race a lot more. I am going to enter the Dambuster tri to see whether I can get anywhere near qualifying for the World AG Champs next year. It's a very big ask, but hey, it's worth a shot. If nothing else it'll give me a focus over the long winter months.

Replies.
Sue and Pip - Thanks :)

www.wheezystriathlonanddwblog.blogspot.co.uk]]>
A post about some of the Olympic events that I was fortunate enough to see over the last couple of weeks at;

http://wheezystriathlonanddwblog.blogspot.co.uk/

Hpe everyone's doing ok and will catch up on a few blogs.]]> here.

In terms of tri, I've decided to take some time out. I will do an IM again but not looking at a start until at least next year now. I've been constantly frustrated with my foot which is becoming more and more bothersome and I need to get fully recovered. I have set myself the goal of a sub 3 marathon so that will be my main aim for the forseeable future therefore I'll be spending a lot of time on the Sub 3 thread and stretching, strengthening and conditioning in orderthat I can run fast. I really miss not being able to do intervals, hill reps and the like.

My other main achievement of note is that I have finally got my post count over 1K but in over 4 years I think I must try harder.

Still keeping up with all your blogs and achievements and I enjoy reading about how it's all going. Hopefully I'll have some more positive news regarding my running in the near future.]]>
Ideally I was looking to aim to beat my previous time in this race (69:xx) and while my training had been unfocussed over December I had been getting three to four runs in per week so I felt confident that I could beat that time. It was a big field and once again I was too far back. The klaxon went and I immediately ran into the back of a girl who didn't hear it at all because of her ipod. Grrr..... As we dropped down and then back up Ebbisham Lane, trying to hop over enormous puddles from the previous day's downpours that I found myself overtaking a steady stream of runners and it was a good 2 miles into the first lap before I was where I should have been. Most of the first lap was run at an extended but comfortable pace and towards the end of the lap I found myself running on my own, with a small group containing the lead female some 50 metres up on me. I resolved to try to keep them in sight and then if possible work my way to them over lap two. As I hit the descent in Tadworth I felt the first twinges in my left foot, signalling my plantar fascia was working harder than it would have liked but soon enough we were on the next hill over the back of the downs to start lap two.

Lap two!! Again, another small hill to run over as we followed to road around Tattenham Corner but this time it was the wind that slowed me up but I gathered myself for the next long climb up Ebbisham. I got about a third of the way up and just imploded. My form disintegrated and I began shuffling. The group in front didn't seem to be pulling away but as I reached the steepest part of the climb I was overtaken by three runners who looked strong. The rest of the climb was damage limitation and while I felt pretty rugged at the top I was able to regain my composure as we hit the flat section out the back of the loop and tried to keep the three runners in my sights. Again, the fast descent had my foot aching but I was determined to use the hill to keep me in touch. During the rest of the loop as I climbed back over Tattenham Corner I felt I was gainimg on two of them but I just coundn't reel them in before the line. It was annoying to find out that all three were in my age group, which dropped me from 6th to 9th in the MV40 (39th/554 overall) with 68.22mins. A good run, but it highlighted my lack of strength when running up hills.

Since the race I have had two day's rest. My foot is extremely sore but I know that it'll get better soon enough, with plenty of ice, stretching and rest. It is vexing because I have been looking forward to the #Jantastic Marathon Talk challenge. When I posted on TriTalk to see if we could put a team together I thought that we would get maybe 10 or 20 people sign up, but to have over 50 members, all encouraging and bantering with each other, and helping each other to achieve their run goals has been really nice to be a part of. I even managed to rope Adam into it, so he's comitted to three runs per week. (currently ahead of me, the swine).

Only 92 days to the DW; where did that time go!!?

Onwards and upwards.

Replies.

Sue- Thanks. :)]]>
Mainly about my crap paddling technique

Replies

Sue & Carlito - Thanks guys :)
the Iain - Cheers mate. Hopefully sub 3.10 at Edinburgh and then take it from there. :)]]> 68:22 39/554 9th MV40

Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race
28hrs 40. 87/161

Edinburgh Marathon Withdrawn

Cotswold113 Withdrawn]]>
As this race drew closer and closer my confidence became a thinner and thinner veneer, but in many ways this was a good thing. Rather than me going out with the intention of smashing a big time, London 2008 and the last 7 miles of that run are still very fresh in my mind, so being conservative became all important. Get round in one piece at a low rpe and take whatever time was given to me. 3.30 or under was going to be nice, but not critical on what is generally considered a fairly slow course. I just wanted a positive experience. The day started well, travelling up to Luton with Simon and the thick fog gave way to blue skies and luke warm November sunshine; perfect running weather. A porridge and banana breakfast had been consumed and I had no aches or pains to worry about so I felt that everything was falling into place for a solid run. Simon and I placed ourselves in the 3.30 area and waited for the gun to go.

As soon as we started, Simon was off and ahead. I should state that he's a very good runner but had not done much specific marathon training in the lead up to Luton and there was a small temptation to go with him but right from the start it was important that I ran my own race. Luton is three laps, so while the first is slightly shorter, it meant that doing the maths was pretty easy; 3 laps, doing each lap at about 1.10 would see me home in 3.30. The lap is in three general parts. From the leisure centre at the start it winds out the back across a large playing field before hitting the 3-4 mile hilly section and then finally turning onto the main road which brings you back into the town centre. This bit is quite dull, eventually looping around another large playing field but the hilly country section was actually surprisingly pretty. As we went through the first couple of miles I could just see Simon pulling out ahead, already some 2 minutes up. I settled into a group and encountered the hills for the first time.

If I am honest, they really were not that bad but knowing I would be doing them three times I knocked it right back, conserving myself. I was really focussing on myself and quite simply, if I was breathing hard I was pushing too hard. In spite of this, I found myself passing a few runners who had gone out too hard early on and with only 6 miles or so done looked pretty tired. I came through the first lap and checked my watch to see 65:xx. If I am honest, I was a bit confused. I felt very, very comfortable but yet, hear I was, again going out faster than I had planned. I thought back to 2008 and I remember I was pushing harder than this, so I felt confident that I was on the right effort level and the right pace, but I made a mental note to slow up sooner rather than later if things looked like they were going to turn ugly. As I started the second lap I had a little wave of runners go past me who obviously had finished their warm up and were now going to push on. A wizened old runner went past with a painful yet economic gait, followed by another large bloke who went past me up the big hill. He was breathing hard as he went and I was impressed at the pace he had suddenly found but I felt confident that he probably would not stay away. On an open part of the course I could just see Simon up ahead, probably now some 3-4 minutes up on me and therefore running at around sub 3.10 pace. This was actually the lap where I had to exert the most self control. I was feeling very good and I wanted to start to pick up the pace, but for once I listened to the voice in my head and kept myself in check. If they were that much faster than me then I probably wasn't going to stay with them, and if they were not that much faster then they'll probably come back to me. Time would tell. The wind picked up a bit on the second lap and with the field strung out it was hard to shelter from it, but I found myself gradually pulling in those ahead of me, bit by bit. At 16 miles, towards the back end of the second lap there is a small narrow path that rises and it was here where I first started to feel some aching in my legs; nothing major but it made me keep a lid on it and not get too carried away.

So, I started the third lap and saw that my elapsed time was 2:11, so I had paced it exactly the same as the first. Woop woop me. I still felt really good and now I had another 8.5 miles or so to do and it was really important to me that I ran them well and didn't lose the mental game. Remember, the wall doesn't exist, it's only a badly paced run and I knew that I had paced it right. As the final lap started, I encountered more and more people who had blown up and were walking. Been there; done that; won't do it again. But also, there were other runners who were still running but their pace had slowed drastically, including wizened runner and the big bloke. As I ran around the first recreation ground I caught sight of Simon and I saw that I had almost halved the distance between us in the space of the second lap and I could see that I was catching him with every stride. I caught him at 20 miles as we approached the village of Streakley and the largest hill on the loop. This was where it started to hurt but I was still running at my goal pace whereas everyone else around me seemed to be slowing down and the fact I was overtaking people gave me the encouragement I needed to forget about my legs ('Fooosh my legs' as any Marathon Talk podcast listeners will be aware of) and to keep picking people off. At 24 miles I caught another runner. I had stupidly hit the stop button on my stopwatch at the end of lap 2 instead of the split button so I couldn't work out what sort of time I might be on for, so as he had a Garmin on I asked what finish time we were looking at. He said he thought we would finish in about 3.16. Crikey! While I was running much better than I could possibly have hoped for I really wanted to try to get under 3.15 and so upped my effort level. I felt like I was running quite fast but I had reached that point in a marathon of ever diminishing returns. My arms and legs were going as fast as possible but it didn't seem to be getting me anywhere. I ran into the finishing chute pretty spent and beginning to cramp up and saw 3.18.xx on the clock. Simon held on to finish in 3.23. A great run, on frankly, very little marathon training by him.

So, I am a very happy bunny. I feel that I paced it perfectly. On the day I do not feel I could have gone any faster or better and checking the results I worked out that I overtook 40 runners during laps 2 and 3. I am delighted to have finally laid the marathon ghost of London 2008 and knocked a very healthy 24 minutes from the time I set that day, but I am not satisfied, not by a long chalk. I now know that sub 3 is achievable. 18 minutes is still a lot of time to take off and I envisage that it will take me another 3 or 4 marathons to get there; but get there I will.

I am pooped. I want to sleep most of the time so the next couple of weeks is going to be some rest time, but over the next 6 to 8 weeks I intend to get back into a boat and do some proper all over body conditioning. Running will continue after this week, but very gently along with commuting on the bike and a turbo session once a week. I am basically looking at it as active recovery with a strength and conditioning focus. Then onwards and upwards.]]>

I have finally finished building the mountain bike that I started last month. As expected, Mrs Wheezy blew a gasket when she saw the multitude of ebay and bike shop purchases but she calmed down eventually and my bruises have started to fade. It's a real mongrel of a bike with a mix of old and new equipment and at about £250 not too bad cost wise (best bargain was a set of Shimano SPD pedals for £10 and the frame for £15) I just enjoyed tinkering and putting my own machine together and I'll be able to upgrade further as time goes by. I took it out for a little spin this afternoon along the bridle path to my parents' house and other than the need to tinker with the front mech, all was good.


My main reason for putting it together was to give me another opportunity to get on a bike over the winter and to get out outside when the weather is bad. I just need to mix my riding up; road, turbo, mtb, commuting. The more I do, the more likely that 5.30-40 IM bike split will be next year. There are quite a few off road duathlons in the winter months so they are the main races that I would like to have a go at as they just look like they've got a high grin factor.Add in a lot of bike commuting, the odd long ride and a paddle or two a week, then that basically constitutes the Winter Plan.





Off. To. Bed.

Replies

DCHM - Thanks :)]]>