Laurence Pidcock Triathlete

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T18:58:00.001Z

Happy New Year, and what better way to welcome 2012 than with some sunny bike miles.

Last week was the north island now it's the turn of the south. Last weeks adventure didn't quite go to plan, but what a ride. Time was always going to be against me as I raced to get to Wellington for NY eve and this mornings ferry to the South island. After a 200k first day my planned 4 day 1200k ride was a bit optimistic.

Day two I got from Papamoa Beach (just east of Tauranga) all the way around the Cape to Hicks Bay. 275k of ever increasingly beautiful and remote road. The sun was out and with some decent distances between shops and cell reception having no accommodation and a single water bottle kept me pushing all day.

A room, roast lamb, pavlova and a hot shower at Hick's Bay Motel was very welcome I can tell you.

Day three was just a blast all the way down the east coast, it was going to be over 400k to get to the target Napier and with my legs tired from the proceeding 500k I took a decision to go a bit more sensible. Still an early start and a miserable 80k in the rain through to Tokomaru Bay before the sun came out, the tailwinds were on my back and I met a friend from Gisborne for the spin through Gisborne (cheers for the advice, company and ice cream Nathan). Leaving Nathan on the southern outskirts of Gisborne, early afternoon, it was a 60k tired slog (there is a big hill through Whararata) over to some wonderful hot pools at Morere.

40mins of hot pool soaking, cold pool plunging and I happily rolled the last 3k down to old school friend Jo's farm, finishing the day a touch under 250k. Another friendly face, great accommodation and being spoilt with a huge home cooked meal I was a happy camper. Thank you Jo, Hilton and Harrison.

So that just left me 480k to get home to Welly on Day 4. Yea right... With motivation, better lights and car I could have done it, but frankly the promised rain had arrived I having the option of a lift from Napier meant I just wasn't feeling it. So Day 4 was a slightly grim 6hr push through the rain and the devils elbow (a big gorge that thankfully wasn't as bad as the numerous warnings had led me to expect) to Napier. Even in the rain Napier was warm and inviting and the trip was over.

Four days and nearly 900k, the legs were battered but not perhaps as bad as on last years John O'groats to Lands End. I should learn to take these rides slower, the East Cape was spectacular, with bay after bay of deserted beaches, I'll be back to enjoy at leisure.

Back in Welly for a quiet NY Eve I've swapped bikes and am now cruising out of the harbour on the ferry to Picton for a much more sedate 7 days ride down the East Coast to Queenstown.

It's going to be an interesting contrast comparing last weeks lightweight touring (BMC time machine, small backpack, credit card and toothbrush) with this weeks Cannondale tourer, rear panniers and a handlebar bag. Riding the 'dale to the ferry this morning, it's so different, no acceleration, high bars, tonnes of momentum, triple chainring. It's a treat not to have anything on my back though and panniers have loads of room so I've even bought runners.

This week I'm going to trial a new concept, a touring training camp. Unfortunately I drew the line at a wetty but shorts, goggles and runners are in the bag. Hopefully we can cruise through 700-800k of riding whilst still getting in a handful of runs, a few swims and it feeling like a bit of a break.

I need the running and swimming as Challenge Wanaka Half is just 2 weeks once I return for Queenstown.

A few miles

2011-12-27T21:16:00.001Z

Eight weeks of running and speed and I've been getting pretty sharp. It's been great to mix up the training with a block of higher intensity stuff. I reckon my running is down towards 5/10k PB territory, which is a first since I've come to NZ.

Now with 9 weeks to IM Taupo it's time to get those longer endurance sessions in. Unfortunately, I've taken the extended Christmas Hols and summer sun to get some longer runs in and gone a little off programme (sorry Dave).

Last weds, after a pub (albeit not drunk) conversation the week before, Chris Swallow, local off road run star, and I hatched a plan to try and do something a bit special before Christmas. Earlier in the year I'd missed out on racing the local Southern Crossing mountain race as I hadn'trun the route before. After a pint and some banter it seemed a great idea to try and run the point to point route twice. At 36k+ for once over it was always going to be a big day.

Anyway 16hrs was all it took! And we made the local rag

http://i.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/6193484/Lunatics-run-double-Southern-Crossing

After some RnR over Christmas I flew up to Auckland yesterday to try and ride home,via the East Cape, in 4 days. The route is around 1200k and I only pushed out 200 yesterday after a late start. So that's over 200 miles (320k) a days to do the next three days.

Right now I'm I. whakatane having second breakfast, 80k into day 2. Every inch seems to be headwind so here's hoping when I get up to the top of the cape it'll be on my back.

More later
LP

Back to Work

2011-11-25T09:15:00.001Z

Summer is approaching in Wellington (although you'd never believe it looking out the window this evening!) so it's time to do some race planning.

Post Hawaii I had a fantastic holiday and have been just getting back into things over the last few weeks. A rib injury has stopped me in the pool but I've been ticking over on the bike and losing some holiday puppy fat with steady running, 105k last week seems to have got things under control.

It's a great feeling having bagged Kona, chasing that slot is no longer the goal and I can enjoy my racing a little more. I've been chatting to coach Dave Parry as I fancy really giving Taupo (Ironman) a nudge in March. We've tweaked the plan from the normal Ironman build and I'll be hitting some speed work through to Christmas. Then an accelerated 8 weeks Ironman build, on top of the speed might leave me with a enough sparkle on top of the endurance to go for it at Taupo - well that the plan 16 weeks out!

On the way I'm going to try tick off some of NZ's finest racing...

Through to March I'll do various bits of racing in Wellington, be it Splash n Dash events at Oriental Parade (don't miss these fantastic Wednesday night sessions) or some Scorching triathlon fun at Scorching Bay.

Then I'll get serious and hit two half Ironmans before the big one in March

21 January 2012 - Challenge Wanaka Half

12 February 2012 - Wells Half Ironman

3 March 2012 - Ironman NZ (Taupo)

Finally, with the ITU World Champs in Auckland next year it'd be a travesty to not try and get an AG slot, so I've had to enter the Wellington Qualifier the weekend after Ironman...

All I need now is Capital Cycles to take stock of some BMC TT01's and I'll be all set....

Ironman Hawaii 2011

2011-10-31T08:39:00.000Z

Four days later (or 3 weeks!) and it's time to write up the experience, maybe make some notes for next time, or at least offer some thoughts for other first time Kona athletes.

For me qualifying for Kona was the really tough part. Since before I started training for IM Arizona in 2008 I have been dreaming of getting to the Big Island. Qualification this March in New Zealand (Taupo) was one of the most satisfying days of my life. To an extent it felt like the job was done.

In preparing for the race I was eager to be as fit as possible, but didn't have any expectation around time, or finish position. I was always going to be mid-pack, at best I could hope to be towards the front of the middle! The goal was to get through the experience without any painful blow up on the run and be fit enough that I could enjoy the experience.

Largely I achieved these goals. Racing in the heat of Hawaii, especially coming from the cool New Zealand winter, added uncertainty to the race planning as there was a large unknown around my reaction to the heat and humidity.

Coming into the race I've not had the long specific training period of some of my other Ironamn efforts, I had a very good base. I was fit for Taupo in March and ran consistently through to April when I ran 100k. Late April I had just a few weeks rest and then got back onto it in May training for Gold Coast marathon in July.

The plan was to have a good 12 week block of IM Prep, post marathon, through July - September.   This was going to plan until early August when I was hit with a nasty winter(man) flu. I ended up not training for 16 days and really August was a month standing still, it took the second half of August to get lost fitness back.

Excuses, excuses..! From Mid August to race day I had faultless training. I was swimming (in the pool) as well as I ever have and although I had some concerns about missing bike volume the bike felt strong.   My run at Gold Coast was disappointing, but I knew I wasn't going to be be running at the same pace as Taupo out here.

My biggest unknown coming out here was the heat. Being a heavier guy (80kg or just under)I knew the heat would impact me, especially on the run, so I had to moderate effort and do whatever else possible to keep my my core body temperature down.    I did some great, albeit tough, sessions on the wind trainer to simulate the heat, which I'm sure helped; 30-35 degrees, with no air flow for 2hrs+ certainly got me used to the heat.

Getting out 10 days before race day also undoubtedly helped. The first run I did in Kona my HR was elevate by 20-30bpm compared to a similar run in Wellington 48hrs before. However, by day 7 or 8 my HR was almost normal and although it would rise quicker if I pushed the effort I knew by race day I was relatively well acclimatise.

I decided to ride the bike leg in a short sleeve jersey and white arm protectors, fully covered up and with air flow the bike was a lot easier than I thought it would be, I never felt hot or uncomfortable.   Tests in the days before the race, in Kona, I knew I could maintain the intensity I needed for a reasonable time at a sustainable heart rate, however, I also knew that pushing on the bike, even a little, would very quickly elevate my heart rate. I also found that once my HR was up it took a lot longer to moderate again. All to be expected with the conditions.

Similarly, in the days proceeding the race my heart rate on the run settled and I got a good gauge of what I was going to be able to do and importantly what would cause effort to spike too high.

Going into the race I made a clear plan for the day. The swim course in Kona is incredible, the water is crystal clear, full of fish and warm like a swimming pool. Watching the race in previous years I knew the start was narrow and was nervous of the 1000+ athletes who would be swimming 56-70 minutes. I planned to start on the left of the start, perhaps swimming a few extra metres, but getting cleaner water whilst still having the chance for decent feet. Considering how I've been swimming in the pool I was confident I could get close to, or ideally just under, the hour.

I checked out the bike course over the days before the race and, conditions apart, it really isn't that tough; 10k looping around the town/village of Kona, then onto the Queen K all the way out and up to Hawi. The road up to Havi is long, 25k+, but the actual discernible climb is only the last 10k to the top, where the prevailing wind seems to be on on your nose and the gradient ramps. Once you get to the top of the climb you're at 60miles and have an 18mile decent ahead of you, mentally a great place to be. A two mile climb and from 80miles you're back on the rollers to town, there are a couple of reasonable drags and the wind seemed to be all over, shifting from cross head to cross tail as you get closer to town.

While the run course isn't overly hilly - it's probably similar to Ironman NZ in terms of topography - the issue is the heat and exposure. The first 16k, out and back on Ali'i drive is hot, although there is a little shade. It's the remainder that's really tough. A one k loop and climb through town and then you're back on Queen K highway for the 25/26k out and back to the Energy Lab. Out here it's rolling highway with no shade and only a little wind. This is where they talk about the 100 degrees+ reflected heat.

The Race.

As normal I set myself and early alarm (3:30am) to get some brekka and go back to sleep before leaving for the start at 5am. Unfortunately I set the alarm for 3:30PM so slept straight through to my second alarm at 4:30am. I was a little pissed to have not eaten as planned but pleased to have got a decent sleep. The local knowledge of our fantastic host Drew meant there were no worries about getting to the start, he efficiently got me down to the pier for soon after 5am, I got numbered, pumped the tyres and milled about with the masses. We watched the Pro's get off and everyone headed for the water, there was a bit of a bottle neck but I had no trouble getting into the water by 6:45 for a decent warm up. I'd opted for comfort rather than transition speed and was swimming in retro Hawaii speedo style!!

I stuck to my plan and lined up on the left on the front of only about 4 rows of people. We had a 3 minute warning and before I knew it the canon went off. I felt fantastic. I'd spent a lot of anxious hours thinking about this swim and it was awesome. I had clear water for 10 minutes, got some feet and we slowly drifted to the right and the main field. By about 20mins I was at the buoys and I continued to swim well to the turnaround, a peek at the watch and it clicked over 32mins. Not too bad. Unfortunately the return swim wasn't so great. I struggled a little to maintain focus, dropped off some good feet and the last few hundred, as we battled a bit of current / swell off the harbour wall, was a pain. I wasn't too upset to exit the water in 67 mins, a personal worst IM swim (well since 2005), but it was under my 70min worst case target.

I wasn't going to win any transition prizes but Drew the local legend was there to assist again and helped me cruise through a complete change in just 4 mins and I was onto the bike in 71 mins. All good.

The bike plan was to ride super, super easy keeping the HR at 135-140bpm, I'd estimate that with moderate conditions this should equate to a 5:10-5:20 split. Compared to previous IM bike legs this was low intensity (IM Switz and Taupo 2011 where 145+), but hopefully it would lave me better able to run well. It's hard going so easy when everyone was going mad in the first loops about town and onto Queen K with a tail wind, even though I was rolling at a good pace I was still going back through the field. But I stuck to the plan, ate and drank plenty, poured water over me to keep cool and started to feel good again.

The bottom of Hawi came quickly, not having ridden this section I stuck to my 150bpm HR cap and started to roll. As we gently climbed and drifted to the East the wind came on our noses and the gradient increased. The last 10k to Hawi the wind was rouring and the lightweight whippets and girls were struggling. Here the 80kg rouler comes into his element! I was easily keeping my HR were I wanted and cruising through the field. I must have taken 100 places in 10k. At Hawi I turned in great spiritis, picked up all the fluids I could and rocketed down with tailwinds, the first 10k off the turn I averaged over 50kph, there were minutes of spinning out at 70kph+. The lower slopes turn away from the tail wind, but it's still basically a descent all the way to 78miles, I hit 80miles at about 5:20 pace and thought I'd just keep that up. Which is what I did. The HR was still low, I was feeling good and I was rolling through the field. I went past all those that had gone past me at the start and another 50. Bike split 5:19 and an average HR of 138bpm. Job Done.

Another 4 minute transition and I jogged out onto the run at a total time of 6:35 on the clock. A 3:25 marathon and I could still sneak under 10hrs.

All i needed was 4:50k's. After a few k's a little fast I settled into 4:45's and got into a routine of taking cool sponges and putting them into my race suit every aid station, sipping a little water and getting the gel down. 8k turnaround on Ali'i drive and I was on pace, I nipped for a loo stop and lost a minute. However, as I got going again on the return to town I slipped to 5min k's. They felt comfortable and it kept my HR low (under 150), which I was very conscious of keeping down as I didn't want to get the core heat too high.

Uber support camped at Lava Java all day

The first 10k I went through in just under 50mins, and coming back through town at 16/17k was fantastic, all my wonderful supporters were at Lava Java (air horns blazing) and I felt fantastic. If I could keep to 5 min k's until 30k I might be able to do something special in the last 10k (Of course i was dreaming!). Through town and onto the Queen K it's another story, a miserable battle of will. The second 10k went by in just under 51mins, I was slowing but not badly. By 24k I couldn't get the gels down I forced a few energy shotz down and promised myself coke from 32k. I hadn't checked out the Energy Lab out and back and couldn't believe how far it seemed, but it was good to see Wellington athlete Deano Gaskin as I went onto this section, he was only about 20mins up on me. Maybe I could claw him back with that fast last 10k!!

The Queen K road is not a nice road for running on. It's bleak. A rolling highway through bare black lava fields, there are no land marks, nothing to aim for but the next aid station, a few new cool sponges and then the same again. I've no idea how hot it was on the day, probably not worse than any other year, but compared to Wellington it was insane. Thankfully at about 30k it clouded over a little, for the first time in 9 hours I rolled my arm coolers down, and although I felt terrible I started to believe I wasn't going to blow up and I could finish respectably. the third 10k went past in 52:30, slower again but no catastrophe.

Long way to come to break a foot!

There was no way I was going to get back those minutes and sneak under 10hrs now but I could still be close. I hit the Cokes, which as always tasted so good, and I plodded on. Around 38k I overtook someone who seemed to be struggling, as I went past he picked up his pace and got on my shoulder.
"you're just what I needed" he said.
"no problem" I said "aren't you Ken Glah?"
"what's left of him!...never do this race without training"
I told him I was planning on walking the next aid station and then running it home. He was up for it so that's what we did. Some coke, new sponges, and we started to jog out of the station. 15secs later he turned to me and said to go on, immediately he was bent double turning himself inside out. Must have done him some good though as in the end he was only a few mins behind me.

I'd run the fourth 10k in 56mins, the last few k are a bit of a blur, getting back into town and hearing the crowds and Mike Reilly hollering in the distance was a awesome but the filthy dog leg they take you on away from the finish is just rude. Crossing the finish line in 10:12: 54 I just felt relief. I didn't race Kona I survived it, I had a plan that I thought would get me around, I stuck to it and it worked. I certainly could have pushed the bike a little more, 5:05-5:10 would have been easy enough, but who knows what it would have done to my run split. I'm proud to have got to Kona and I'm pleased with a sensible, controlled, effort on the day. Seven years of your advise has obviously taught me something Dave.

Could I have done more this day? Who knows, probably not much.
Can I go faster? Undoubtedly.
Do I want to try? Yes, but maybe not next year.

I've some ideas for what i'll do next year but I've had a few weeks of holiday and non-triathlon life and now isn't the time to rush into any plans. Mel has been incredible in her support but I'm not sure I can ask her to do it again. That said if she gets another 2.5weeks in Hawaii afterwards it may be more tolerable!!

I had so many kind wishes and messages, leading up to, during, and after this event. I do realise how lucky I am to have had this experience and thank everyone for their support, every bit of encouragement helped me to the line.

If you are on the Kona qualification brink, like I was for several years, don't give up and if you get the chance to go this race grab it. It is an experience I will never forget.

Sorry for another digest. Back to work. Laurence

hot and windy...

2011-10-03T05:17:00.002+01:00

...it's a whole lot better than wet (cold) and windy!

Hawaii is delivering. Within 24hrs I told Mel I wanted to come again next year.

Everything you hear, everything you read, everything you see; Kona delivers. It's a small town but in Ironman week it delivers Supersize. The leanness of everyone is what gets you first, but the tans are a close second. You'd imagine it to be feel of fast triathletes, and I guess it's just that it is.

Day three and I've got over my first sweat-fest run (with a HR 20bpm elevated) and had a couple of decent turns out on the bike. Plus an incredible swim in the Aquarium that they call a swim course.

Yesterday was a decent ride out in the lunch sun to check out Queen K. It's long, hot and windy, however, it's super smooth, like glass compared to Kiwi heavy chip and the course seems rolling rather than hilly. Mind you I haven't been up to the hilly bit yet. With massive winds and an elevated HR from the heat it's going to be really hard to gauge effort. This is one bike course a power meter would be nice.

Mel and I joined some masses this morning for Chris Lieto's Path 10k down Ali Drive, thankfully at 7:30am and I jogged it with Mel, but even then the core temps rise pretty quick. Lunchtime I went out on the Queen K again for the last effort 90mins on the bike a 45min run. Felt great but after the 45min run I was cooked. Lot's of white is going to be in order for next Saturday,

Without doubt I'm nervous and the heat is going to play a huge factor in my race, but I'm here for the experience, if I can enjoy the swim and bike and get into T2 as fresh as possible I'll just cold on for as long as possible in the heat. I'm in good shape but not going to be nudging any records this year...

We've a day of sight-seeing tomorrow and then Tues is the parade of nations, registration, underpant run, etc, etc. So expect a few more blogs and pics over the coming days.

LP

4 weeks 'til I fly

2011-09-01T10:02:00.000+01:00

Hawaii count down is now really on. The race is 5 weeks on Saturday and we fly 4 weeks today. Since my last post I had a serious dose of man-flu; 16 days off training was a bit of a confidence knock.

However, the last couple of weeks I've concentrating on getting stronger every day doing a little more. I'm starting to feel ok again now, 20 decent hours last week and i'm closer to where I'd like to be.

T - 86 Days

2011-07-13T11:11:00.000+01:00

With the big run block done it's into a solid build phase to Hawaii.

86 days to go is pretty terrifying. Especially, as this was the week when Wellington decided the mildest autumn / early winter on record should come to a stormy end and she's throwing all sorts of horrid dark weather at us. Well me.

Thankfully I've secured the hire of a Taxc Fortius VR (wind) Trainer. It was cheaper to rent this for 3 months than buy a bottom of the range turbo and frankly it's got enough bells and whistles to almost make training indoors fun. You can even steer it!

Thank you to Elite Race Rentals for the quick and efficient service.

So this week the hard bike miles have started. I'm not feeling as weak as I was worried I would, so there is a little confidence I can be in pretty average shape in a month or so. The swimming has been ticking over on 2 or 3 swims a week and the running, although no fast, is feeling good.

So actually, with 86 days to go, I'm shaping up ok to not embarrass myself too much out in the sun with the best in the world :p

P.s If anyone has a Fortius and can give me tips on how the hell it all works, please get in touch!

Gold Coast Marathon

2011-07-07T22:10:00.000+01:00

Not the best day, but a great reminder of just how tough it is to race a marathon.

Flying out of a cold and damp Wellington it was a very pleasant surprise to see some sun and experience Gold Coast winter. Longer days and 20 degrees in the depths of winter, no wonder it's such a popular winter retreat for athletes and everyone else.

Mel and I were lucky enough to be put up by her cousin Cam and wife Emma - thanks guys. Cam, along with his training mate Justin was also racing. After a lazy Saturday chatting running and watching movies it came to light the three of us were gunning for 2:40 to 2:48 pace. It was going to be fun.

On the back of my legacy marathon PB I'd scored a priority start, this I thought would at least give me a few seconds on Cam and Justin. I was wrong. We all lined up together and it was worthless, apart from the extra weight of the sticker on my number! Gold Coast is a pretty decent marathon, 5000 runners and a cracking flat fast course. I decided to take the first 5k steady, the plan was to run 39min 10k's (3:54 k's) and see how I was doing at 30k, if I felt average or better I'd try to push on and dip under 2:45, otherwise I should at least hold on for 2:48.

Within a k Justin caught me off the start and we watched Cam trot on up the road. He was hoping for a 2:39 so I was happy to let him go. Justin and I went through the first 5k in 19:30 and the same for the next. This was a little behind the pace I was hoping for, but it felt about right and we had a decent little group. Plus the first 16k of the course were into a light headwind, so I though I'd let it fly and maybe pull back a few seconds once we turned and had the wind on our backs. The next 10k was slightly slower but still I was very happy to go through half way in 1:23 and small change This put me on for a 2:46 and I still thought a negative split could be possible.

Unfortunately, the wheels started to come off pretty quick after halfway. I'd mentally prepared for it being tough from 30k. But battling for 4k pace from the 24th kilometre wasn't what I was expecting. At 30k I was still holding a fair pace; 2hrs for 30k was still 4min k's and I was hopefully I could hold on for a 2:48 and I'd be happy enough with that. But I'd done too much to hold the pace to that point. With the heat coming into the sun I was really battling. Once I crept over the point that 2:50 was lost I relaxed and pretty much jogged it in.
The last 10k still hurt like hell but I knew I’d easily get under 3hrs, so I rolled it home for a 2:58 and third place of Cam, Justin and I!
A coke and a brief collapse and I hauled myself into the stands to watch Mel finish. After a confident start she too faded slightly in last 10k but still ran a great race to finish her debut marathon in 4:16. Sub 4 is in the bag next time Mels xx

One week to the Gold Coast Marathon: Stick or Twist?

2011-06-26T06:53:00.001+01:00

Just a week to go until the Gold Coast marathon and although I'm really looking forward to racing again I'm not sure what to expect.

The last two months has seen some of my most consistent quality running in a couple of years, in fact since my marathon PB in Barcelona in 2009 (2:44:44), but I feel I might be missing some top end. I've not been doing the regular speed session which have been a significant factor in all my previous good spells of running so it'll be interesting to see what decent volume and tempo running will generate.

Over the previous 3 weeks I've done two 10k time trials to try and gauge fitness and have been pretty disappointed to be struggling to get under 37mins. Yet during my long runs I've been comfortably doing multiple sets of 5k's at a marathon race pace only slightly slower than that 10k speed. I'm happy the strength endurance is there, so next week will highlight what the lack of top end means.

I'm not confident to make a prediction. Sub 2:50 and something towards the PB would be great as a confidence boost heading into my pre-Hawaii block, but of course you always want to break the PB and Gold Coast should be a quick course.

Maybe it's time to take a risk and dice with a melt down!?...

more this time next week

Up to date

2011-05-30T09:12:00.000+01:00

I've been quiet for the last few weeks (months!) but i've not been sat on my ass the whole time.

After taking nearly a month off after the 100k I got back into a short intensity block. After catching up with coach Dave (HPU) in early April we made a plan. A short intensity block through the end of April and early May before a run block up to the Gold Coast Marathon (3rd July) and then a 3.5month block up to Hawaii.

The intensity block fell nicely with the disappearance of the sun in New Zealand so although it was fun to be doing something a bit different I struggled with motivation.

However, now I'm a month in the swimming is starting to get back to where it should be, the biking is ticking over and I'm start to get the running to where it needs to be.

I've been playing at a few running races, for motivation and to mix things up as much as possible, as well as some decent off-road strength endurance runs and the odd bit of speed work.

Nothing flash in the races but the post-ironman puppy fat is shedding and I'm hopeful of being in pretty good shape in 5 weeks time for a PB course marathon at Gold Coast.

Munter Recce

2011-05-28T09:52:00.000+01:00

Saturday morning Wellington turned on Autumnal charm and eleven of us headed up the coast to run a recce of the Mukamuka Munter course.

It had been in the diary for a few weeks and to get such clear still skies was lucky to say the least. I billed the run at 29k but the Garmin is saying it was more like 33 and with a 600m ascent of the Southern Saddle and the terrain you have to scale a steady 5hrs doesn't seem too bad.

There are a bunch of pics at Flickr - but here are a selection.

Warning: Exercise may cause premature ageing

2011-05-24T09:14:00.002+01:00

Voseller Shield (the most hideous 10k in the World?)

face of an 80 year old...

After vowing never to do this race again, I was talked into having another crack at the Vosseler Shield a few weeks back. Ten tough kilometres and 280m of vertical ascent on a bush clad hill (Mt Vic) in Wellington. Last year I managed to complete this run w ascent in a terrifying 51 mins, this year I pulled some faces and dragged my not quite race weight body up and down to a long 47. Pretty good improvement but still a long way to go.

Oxfam 100k (not race) report

2011-04-17T09:52:00.000+01:00

Earlier in the year my friend Dee got a bunch of us together for a coffee to talk about running a 100k for charity. Four weeks after Ironman and I wasn’t planning on taking anything too seriously, a bit of a road trip up to Taupo and the chance to tick a 100k run off the bucket list seemed a good idea.

Fast forward to last Friday and I was rushing out of work to drive 4.5hrs to Taupo in time for a compulsory briefing at 9pm, followed by a 7am start the next morning, and that was just after landing from six days in the UK the day before. Suddenly running 100km didn’t seem quite the cruise I had hoped for.

Coming out of a decent Ironman training block I’d been a little complacent about training. Individually we’d done a fair amount, but as a team we’d hardly run more than 10k together. Three of us had done 35k on a Saturday and 25k on the Sunday a few weeks back, but that was the peak of our training / adaptation.

Of the team Dee has done 10+ Ironman, me half a dozen, Steve a fair amount of running, including a 60k earlier this year, and Tom although a newbie triathlete, has a marathon and few seasons of rowing under his belt. For all of us this was a step into the unknown.

Thankfully the team had managed to keep my enthusiasm (competitiveness) in check and my 10hr aspirations had quickly been knocked back to around 14hrs. We’d had a good chat about nutrition and all knew to keep at each other to keep eating and drinking. Probably most importantly we had a fantastic support team. All our respective partners (Mel, Mike, Sarah and Cat) were along for the ride and we’d loaded up the station wagon with food, beach chairs and spare clothes.

Along the 100k way there were seven aid stations, so the longest leg we ever had to run was 20k. Then we could have a sit down, change our clothes, reload camelbacks and stuff our face with whatever would get us through the next leg.

After my good day at Ironman this year I have been thinking about the impact on performance that positivity seems to have (certainly personally) so I consciously tried to keep positive throughout the day. My positivity may have appeared as an irritating and persistent nagging at time – sorry about that team – but the intent was to try and keep moral high and not let doubt and negativity take over, which it so easily could for this sort of challenge. At the back of my mind I was pretty convinced we’d have at least one crashing low point during the run, probably once we hit survival mode which we anticipated would eventually come about. Incredibly, although we had some low points and we were all exhausted there was never any team-wide negativity.

Our race started at 7am with the second half of the field and the first leg from Kinloch towards Taupo was stunning, a beautiful 16k trail around the headland with the lake in view the whole way. We whooped, sang and hollered our way through the other teams to the first stop. Only 16k in we all felt great, took a quick feed, kissed out partners and fired through for the second and hardest (as billed by Oxfam) leg. There was quite a bit of climb in this leg as we rose up to the days highpoint somewhere around 600m. That said, we were buoyed on as we realised we were in the top 5 or 6 teams by checkpoint two.

As an indication of pace we’d been on our feet for nearly 4 hrs when we got to 30k, already my longest run (duration) since Ironman in 2010. The day ahead was starting to dawn on me, we weren’t even a third of the way in I’d run longer than pretty much ever before!

Out of Stop Two we had probably our biggest low point. I was leading the team out and wasn’t following the map, relying instead on the trail markers. A few kms on we turned off road and came face to face with the lead team (from the 6am start) going in the opposite direction. They helpfully told us we were going the wrong way - thankfully we only had about an 800m backtrack, but losing over a km and realising the leaders had hit 49k in 5hrs was a bit of blow.

The day was also starting to get hot. Although we were thankful (probably nearly as thankful as the support team) that it wasn’t raining, 20+ degrees was a bit more than we’d expected and we were drinking a lot and had to keep topping up the sun tan lotion. We got into a great habit of shouting at each other every time we ate or drank to make sure each other were doing the same. I think I actually put on weight through the day from eating so much.

The rest of leg three and leg four passed without incident and we tramped on at a pretty consistent pace, occasionally trading places with two or three other teams. Checkpoint 4 was at 52k and we had scheduled a decent rest. The timing plan we’d drafted before the race had us leave here at 2pm, in the end it was about 2:30 when we left, I was certainly pleased that we’d got this far pretty much on target.

One of our supporters was allowed to accompany us for one leg so we picked up Mike at this checkpoint and had him to entertain, map read and open gates for the next 13.5k. For me this was probably the hardest leg, crucially we passed through the point where we had less than a marathon left to go which was broken into one big leg (19.7k) followed by two short legs of 8km and 6km which seemed like nothing. For me the back of the race was broken. We had a good break at checkpoint 5, the girls (support team) were in great spirits which undoubtedly lifted ours and although we headed out to start the next 19k pretty slow, spirits were high. Apparently we looked pretty beat up by this stage but actually we were moving nicely.

The first 10k of this leg seemed to pass ok, both Steve and Tom were starting to feel their feet but a little open shoe surgery got them going again quick enough. I’d swapped shoes at 30k and again at 66k, the change seemed to have done enough to avoid any blisters and although my feet we tired there was no pain. We got to Huka Falls for the second time, snapped a few pics and kept rolling up the valley in the dying evening light hitting the first aid stop at 80k. On with the head torches and we set off for the last 6k over a bridge and back down the other side of the valley to our fantastic support crew at checkpoint 6 and 86k.

Running in the dark took a bit of getting used to, we were still off road and although the trail was perfectly marked with glow sticks and reflective tape, with very tired feet and legs it was pretty draining knocking over the uneven surface. The support team had rang in to see if we wanted pizza and although it was getting a little cool by the time we arrived it was the most welcome Hell’s pizza ever. We noshed down and I adopted official ‘pain in ass’ status by telling everyone we were only stopping for 10 minutes. With only 14k left to run I was hoping to be done in an hour, in reality I knew we still had close to two left ahead of us.

It was now properly dark and with the cool and the fact we could smell the finish line I was feeling pretty good and perhaps a little more empathy could have been in order. Testiment to Dee for her strength of character, and many thanks for not punching me in these last couple of stages!

The two or three k out of checkpoint 6 to the 90k mark were tough, we headed into pretty deep push and the path was off-camber and wet so we were reduced to walking alot. The call of ‘jog-on’ was adopted (pronounced “yog-on’), once we’d negotiated a tough section or steep hill the call would be made and reluctantly we’d up the pace to a slow jog. At 89k we meet up with the tail end walkers who were about 45k behind us working their way to the 52k checkpoint 4 which was also the finish line. It was great to see some others, but I felt pretty awful overtaking these guys know we had 10k to go and they had over 50 and had nearly 15hours of tramping ahead of them.

Another 4k and we hit our final checkpoint (6) at 94k, heading indoors to a cosy rugby clubhouse, with a tv and sofas I continued my motivation campaign and didn’t let anyone get to comfy. We could have all rested there indefinitely but with 6k left I wanted to just get it done.

The last leg there was probably more walking than running, 10min km’s meant it was another hour on our feet. Once we got into the outskirts of Taupo and down a miserable flight of steps we just a km jog along the river to the finish.

It was a pretty emotional finish, it was fantastic to see the support team again, sit down and not have to get up again. We all grabbed a free massage, nursed a beer and then departed for some hot food, hot tubs and warm beds.

Turned out our time of 15:11 gave us the 4^th team finisher and 3^rd mixed team with the team ahead of us (who started an hour up) only seconds ahead. The winning team we met at 49km did a fantastic 11:13, easily finishing in daylight.

We smashed our $2k target and are still taking donations, so please if you meant to donate visit our page and give a dollar or two - http://www.oxfam.org.nz/events/teams.asp?a=show_team_pages&eventid=28&teamid=4994

I’d been pretty concerned about the damage a 100 km was going to do - the day after I was stiff, but it was my hips and feet that were especially sore. Muscle damage wasn’t as bad as Ironman; I guess the intensity is much lower. After a week’s complete rest (I’ve certainly been very tired), I feel I could ease back into training now.

Would I do it again? A lot of people have asked that this week. Dee announced the day after she would definitely not, but has been the only one this week who has mentioned it seriously for next year. I’m not sure. One day I could be tempted to try and race the distance, but that would be a very different day. What made the day for me was doing it as part of a team and having such an incredible support crew. The mental side of a solo 100k would be very different and not something I’m in a hurry to try…

Thanks again to our fantastic support crew, especially Mel – I owe you.

Good luck to everyone in the UK running London Marathon today.

Officially entered 2011 Ironman World Championship, Hawaii + Final Scorcher

2011-03-27T05:23:00.000+01:00

Ironman Hawaii - the gift that keeps giving.

Although I paid the money at Taupo I still had to register for the event, during a 10 day window, otherwise I'd miss my slot. Thankfully I remembered and just went through rego, so that's it I'm officially entered for the World Champs in October.

Now I just need to work out how to get the there. I think there may have to be a couple of flight fund raising sausage sizzles!!

I also raced the last Scorching (olympic) tri of the year today. Pretty uneventful and certainly I was a little lacking in sparkle. A super long swim (it was around 2k after the buouy drifted during the race) left me way back. Although I had a reasonable bike leg it should have been a couple of mins quicker. Onto the run and I didn't feel bad, just a bit flat. Probably the result of a lot of slow (Oxfam training) running over the last two weeks, including 2.5hrs yesterday and only 3 rides since Ironman. 5th place and 2:17 with a 30minute swim is what I expected.

It'll be great to get Oxfam 100k done in two weeks, have a little rest and get back into a routine. I'm pretty excited about the shape I could have next year after a decent winter of work.

Oxfam Trailwalker 100k Run

2011-03-17T18:57:00.000Z

As most of you know I like to do the odd endurance challenge for my own personal satisfaction. Well for the first time in 8 years I'm doing something for others and asking for your support in the form of a few dollars sponsorship for my latest escapade.

A few months back one of my Ironman training buddies mentioned that she was a man short for her Oxfam 100 team. I'd heard of the event but not given it much attention, when Deb told me the deal I couldn't say no. The walk / run must be completed by all members of a four man team and it covers 100k weaving cross-country around Lake Taupo, central North Island, NZ.

So it is that in 3 weeks we'll be toeing the line for a 62 mile run. Thankfully I've managed my aspirations (thanks team for getting me in check) and we'll not be going for any records, however we do hope to run as much as possible. This is not an insignificant challenge, it's 2.5 marathons, off road, without a break. Undoubtedly there will be tears, twisting, chaffing, swelling and all other unmentionable ailments you can and can't imagine. True this is the stuff I do for fun, but I hope you'll agree it's worth a few of your dollars to know I am doing this for Oxfam and all the fantastic work they do around the world. Every penny of your donation will go to helping those that need it the most.

I appreciate the timing of this isn't the best, there a lot of terrible things happening in the world at the moment and we are all torn on where to send our bit of help, but if you can spare a few dollars/pounds please do make a donation at our team page here;

http://www.oxfam.org.nz/events/OxfamTrailwalker2011/OTW11_206 ) - note to the Poms: NZ$20 is about 10 quid.

Thank you in advance

Laurence

Finisher Pic

2011-03-10T19:53:00.000Z

A classic shot. One for the grand-kids...

Ironan New Zealand 2011: HAWAII QUALIFICATION

2011-03-06T08:01:00.000Z

Ironman New Zealand 2011

First time I’ve managed to get online properly for the weekend and even now I’m on a dongle in the car, so just a quick update.

Hopefully the tweets kept everyone posted on how yesterday went, but here’s a quick overview from my point of view.

After the run collapse demons of last year I needed to go out and have a clean, level race and that’s exactly how it went. The swim was good, a solid 56mins with no drama. Quickest T1 of my AG and out onto the bike. I felt fantastic on the bike and was able to ride within myself and still cruise through the field. I got into a pace line of about 8 guys and we rolled through the first lap, picking up a few as we went. When I checked the watch after the first lap I was on 2:25 for 90k. Terrified I’d gone to hard (I rode 5:18 last year, so 4:50 seemed a bit eager!) I dropped off and rode almost the whole second lap on my own. I eased my HR down under 140 and rolled through the rain. I couldn’t stop smiling, it was just like I’d run through so many times in my head. I kept thinking how the rain was upsetting everyone else and I was loving it -21 degrees and a bit of rain is a great days riding in the UK!!

I’d hope to hit T2 in 6hrs but wasn’t disappointed to have slipped back to just 6:04 but I needed the confidence that easy lap on the bike gave me. Another quick transition and out onto run. Now I was danger zone with no idea if I’d collapse. I kept reminding myself the race doesn’t start until 10miles into the run so I took it super easy. I let half a dozen guys (and Jo Lawn) run through me and I settled into 4:30 pace for a 3:10 ish marathon. I hit the 10.5k turnaround and started to feel really good. Running back into town with a bit of headwind I was in an incredible state, it just felt easy. I was holding myself back at 20k – what a difference a year makes.

Out onto the last 21k lap I took a body check and everything seemed ok. The legs were tired but didn’t yet feel really damaged, I was still getting the fuel down me and I just needed to keep moving. I think I negative split the 2^nd and 3^rd 10.5k’s. I’d told myself I just had to get to the 31.5k turnaround and then it was so close to over it didn’t matter. In the end it pretty much worked, k’s 30-35 were tough but I treated myself to loo stop at 32k just before the largest hill, a drag up to the airport, and new I”d feel great after that. I lost 70secs but it made all the difference as I had a spring in my step as I hit the hill. From there it was just holding on until 36k when I let myself go and gave everything I had left. The last couple of k’s I got down to about 4:30 and I was killing it. That’s what 226k does to your legs I guess.

At no point did I have any idea where I was in my Age Group. I was counting people at the turnarounds and I knew I was in about 50^th place after 10k of the run, but I wasn’t able to spot who I was overtaking as everyones body marking had washed off in the rain. I had it in my mind that 9:29 was good enough for a slot last year so I was pushing for sub 9:20 and just doing everything I could. Turns out I caught 6 guys on the run and just missed the 7^th who finished 5^th 8 seconds ahead – perhals I shouldn’t have been showboating on the finish line.

It was an anxious night last night as we didn’t know for sure how many Hawaii slots would be allocated in my age group. In the end the pro-rata distribution ended up giving 6 slots to 30-34 age group and when we went to check the results this morning my name was in highlights!

After nearly 4 years chasing this slot it was a pretty emotional moment and it’s still not really sunk in. But I’ve paid my money, and got my certificate. Funny, suddenly it seems so easy…

I’ll write again soon and will try to get some decent pictures online.

All that remains now is to work out how the hell I pay for this and how hard I want to train this NZ winter.

Thank you all so much for your on-going support I would not have achieved this without the friendship and love of so many people.

Thank you Laurence x

Rhythm and Flow

2011-03-04T06:12:00.000Z

For me the highlight of last nights pasta party and race briefing was the local Maori Kapa Haka group - this year they had time for a decent performance and the group leader finished with a blessing for all athletes. As well as wishing that our paths were as smooth as greenstone (love that) he also hoped that we would find our own rhythm and flow to take us through our journey.

For me these two words have a lot of harmony with the on-going advice from Dave Parry and the mental preparation I try to adopt coming into an Ironman. Don’t fight it, find your own race, accept there will be some suffering, but that it will be temporary.

As much as I would love to be blasé about the event, unfortunately it’s not in my nature and I find the week prior takes a great deal of emotional energy. As with my last 2 or 3 Ironman races I have done what I can to simplify life leading to the race day and prepare as much in advance so I’m not wasting anxious energy this week. After a busy few days I was able to get out of work on Tuesday night and we got up to Taupo in good time Wednesday lunchtime. Mel and I have rented a house from some friends about 3miles south of town, its quiet and away from the Ironman circus.

Apart from requisite registration and briefing, etc. and a quick emergency tubular purchase (after all the rear wheel drama last week my front popped on Weds) we’ve been holed up out of town.

I rode the bike into town earlier today to drop it off and it feels incredible. The new 1080, two new tyres, new bar tape and a service at Capital (thanks Paul, Mike and the team) and she feels better than new. I don’t think I’ve been this comfortable on my race bike before, it’ll be another story after 5hrs aero tomorrow, but having confidence in the bike is half of the battle.

The forecast for tomorrow isn’t ideal. Looks like northerlies and heavy rain. That should mean a flat swim, a tailwind back to town each of the two laps of the bike and a headwind back to town each of the two laps on the run. Apart from the heightened chance of a flat in the rain it makes little difference, it’s always (very) windy in Wellington so I’m used to a bit of wind and as a Pom I must be happier in the rain than most of these fair weather antipodeans!!

As always I received some sage advice from Mr Parry this morning; play the long game, remember the race doesn’t start until 10miles in the marathon and that then it’s going to hurt. Unlike last year, I’m going in with suitable respect for the distance and I’m prepared to suffer to realise my goal. I must remember to separate the emotional response from my physical condition and not fight the pain as it’ll be over shortly (the quicker I go the sooner it will be over!).

All to do now is try to get some rest and get out there. I can’t wait.

Mel is going to try and get some tweets onto the feed (on the right) and as always you can track on the athlete tracker at www.ironmanlive.com (I’m number 406). Thank you all for your support over the last few months (years) and the messages this week. I’ll update as soon as I can with results…

Laurence

Raring to go

2011-02-27T03:20:00.001Z

Thanks for all the notes and suggestions over the last week re my knackered 808. Thankfully the insurance came through, and yesterday I picked up a shiny new wheel from the ever obliging Capital Cycles. So the bike is ready for next weekend.

I've made quite a few changes to the bike over the build, changing to a tri saddle whilst dropping it down a touch and forward a long way. Also I've moved my cleats back on my shoes so the pedal axle is behind the balls of my feet. There's been a lot trialing but it's been locked in for over 6 weeks and I've not ridden anything but the TT rig since Christmas so it's feeling pretty comfy. Importantly I feel like I can stay on top of a bigger gear now.

This week I'll try get some pics of the full bike and maybe even some of the newly logo'd race strip.

This morning was my last decent session before race day on Saturday; a race sim of 1.5hrs bike and 30mins run both, at race pace. The legs are starting to feel good and the apathy and tiredness I've come to expect from the start of a taper is wearing off.

I got some advice from an ex-pro Kiwi long distance triathlete the other day. She said "when it comes to taper whatever you think you should do, do less and make sure you have loads of energy on race morning". Sounds simple ;)

For once I'm managing not to gorge myself and put on a couple of last minute kilo's during my taper. Two more days of work and then it's up to Taupo for the Ironman Circus. Seems like everyone in Wellington is going to be up there next Saturday so fingers crossed this year I'm in the mood for a party come Saturday night.

Good stready half marathon

2011-02-20T08:20:00.001Z

New Balance Half Marathon (Wellington)

not looking too bad for 19k

Not quite the 1:12 PB of Mr Vaughan at Wokingham but I was still satisfied with today's run out.

I just checked back and this was my 25th Half Marathon. If only I'd followed the pattern of the first six and pb'd every time I would be running sub 60 by now...

Today was probably the best day in Wellington this summer, mid twenties and still - as in no wind!! Well there was a bit of wind, Aucklanders probably would have complained about the roaring gale, but for those conditioned to force 6 as a normal day, it was super.

I did this race last year as a sharpener for Taupo and came away a little disappointed, it was my first half marathon in New Zealand and was expecting to run 1:16-18 easy enough, but somehow halves are harder here (that's the excuse I'm sticking to). The courses don't tend to be designed for speed and they are always honest. Garmin had the clock at 21.5k today.

Last year I went out hard looking for a 1:15, held that for about 5k, and then started going backwards, finishing in 1:21:30 ish and pretty unhappy. This year I didn't go out with too much of a target, I wanted to try and beat last year and to go under 1:20 would be great.

I warmed up well and it all rolled out to plan. I hit 10k in 37:18 and felt like I was cruising, the course is a partial out and back and at the 13.5k turn I was in 6/7th with another chap. Shortly after that we got overtaken and I jumped on to this guy to hold on to 7th place and we moved away from the 8th place guy. Around the 18k mark I was still holding the 6th place shoulder when we both got taken and I couldn't hold on to these two as their pace picked up. The last 3k were pretty tough but I went through 20k with a second 10k of 37:54. A push through the last k and I crossed the line somewhere around 1:20:15. I'd been checking the pace through the race and was confident I'd be under 80mins, probably around 79. But I hadn't allowed for the Garmin being so far off reality. RUN THE RACE LAURENCE!!

Time to chat?!

I worked hard today, the course is almost pancake flat and with only light winds it was a consistent effort, my HR went from 172 to 182 rising by a bpm every k or two. Mostly I was pleased with how easy it felt. The pacing was probably about right, I was shot at the end, but I was able to mentally stay on top of the race. Two guys came through me in the last 5k, but they were better runners (on the day) and it didn't impact my pace.

Prior to Taupo it was great to hurt myself a bit, be faced with the option of slowing, and still push on through to a good result. I wasn't expecting to PB today, the last months of running have been around consistent volume and preparing for 4:30k's when I'm ruined, not smashing out 3:35's but it's left me confident and I don't feel I did too much damage. Perfect.

Training Load is dropping down to half by the end of this week and I travel up to Taupo next Tues / Weds for the pre-race fun. Last few bits to sort (like a race wheel and HPU kit) otherwise I'm ready...

Quick thank you to Mark for taking some great pics today (thanks especially for catching me chatting), more soon, Laurence

Cracked Zipp rim disaster

2011-02-17T19:32:00.000Z

Tuesday night I picked the TT bike up from Capital Cycles, and it was looking awesome, everything ready for Taupo in 2 weeks.

Weds was my last decent long ride and I was really pleased to roll through 5hrs and 177k without too much drama. Drama that is apart from hitting a bloddy great pot hole. A big cracking noise, no hiss and I thought I'd got away with it.

However, I got up for a steady 2hr spin this morning and noticed a slight catch on the rear wheel, further investigation in the dark and there's a decent CRACK IN MY 808!!!

Does anyone know if they can be fixed? And if so does anyone know anyone in New Zealand that could do it in 2 weeks...?

Alternatively, anyone want to lend me an 808 / 1080 for two weeks - I promise not to pull it through any pot holes!

Any great ideas?

Laurence

Valentines Scorcher - Oly tri

2011-02-15T00:49:00.000Z

After my flight cancellation and subsequent cancellation of last months Scorching tri I was keen to race this Sunday to test legs and race gear prior to Ironman NZ (just 3 weeks away)

Unfortunately, this month the race route was changed due to a road closure so they took us over a stupid great hill, twice. Meant for slow times on the bike and a bit of a sense of humour failure from me.
The swim was long - I hope - but I came out where I'd expect in the field. After some really good swim sessions recently I thought I might be a few seconds up, especially as the conditions were great, but I'm pretty happy that with three weeks more swimming I should be able to reproduce, or better, my 57 minute swim last year. Transition was great, no fuss, nothing to think about and I was onto the bike in under a minute from hitting the beach. The transition at Taupo is long, but hopefully I can still cut a bit off last years 4minutes. If I can be on the bike in under an hours I'll be happy.

The altered bike wasn't really hilly, rather in the middle of the ride it had a 2k wall to ride up, twice, that said I wasn't firing on all cylinders on the flat. I was overtaken straight out of transition and it was all I could do to maintain pace with this guy rather than warm up and go through him. After a lot of riding since last October I would have though I'd be a little better, but Dave and I have been working hard on locking in the Ironman race pace, so to expect to kill 40k at the moment is probably mis-guided. Still 4th fastest bike (and one dropped out after the bike) is ok.

I do however need to make sure I have some tactics for dealing with negativity, I let the fact someone came past me really get to me this weekend.

Out onto the run I was in 5th, or so I thought, with the next guy was about 1:20 up the road. I set about trying to run him down; after a couple of 4min k's settling in I easily got into a 3:50k pace which I held to the finish. Didn't catch the guy but I was pleased with my run, a rel. low heart rate and not too much damage to the legs, best of all 38mins felt easy.

4th fastest run and in the end one guy dropped out at T2 and another did a short swim, so I got a 3rd place.

All in all, it would have been nice to smash the bike - it's in there - but I'm very happy to save that for Taupo.

Just a couple more big session over this week and then it's quality sessions, lots of sleep and good food and RACE TIME.

Not quite the confidence builders I was after, but still great to get out and test gear, etc.

Rain Stops Play

2011-01-24T19:19:00.000Z

I've had a fantastic training period through Christmas and was looking forward to the Wellington Day Scorching Tri yesterday to test the legs.

For once I was actually resting down a bit and I had planned to really smack the bike, especially after some promising signs after a bike fit from Paul at Capital Cycles. My folks arrive in NZ on Friday so I took the day off and met them in Auckland, planning a few days touring around Coromandel before I left them in Rotorua on Sunday night to fly back for the race Monday am.

Unfortunately, the weather gods weren't with me and after 3hrs waiting at Rotorua airport the flight was cancelled - the weather in the north hasn't exactly been welcoming to my folks! So I spent another day hanging with the Olds yesterday and resigned to missing the race.

In the end the terrible conditions hit Welly too and the tri was cut to a 15k run, so I was pleased to get extra day with my parents and to play the tourist, admiring Kiwi's and swimming in lush, clear, warm Rotorua lakes.

There is a splash n dash tmrw so I'll give that a bash to test the legs. 750m swim and 5k run is not quite the race I was after but it will have to do...

More soon.

Scorching Tri Xmas Special (Olympic Tri)

2010-12-06T09:12:00.000Z

It was my first triathlon of the season yesterday at Scorching Bay (Wellington) and it reminded me I still have plenty to do before March.

This was my 2nd Scorching full distance (although I also did a cut down 1000m, 35k, 10k) on the same course so I am able to compare to 25th Jan this year.

After an absolute cracker day yesterday this morning was overcast with quite a strong northerly. Good news is that meant Scorching Bay was in a wind shade and the water conditions pretty smooth.

I've taken this last week very light after Taupo double last weekend so managed to get 4 swims in. Including 3 open water, so I was feeling a bit more conditioned for the sea swim.

Having taken my wetsuit in to Snugg, when I was home in October, to get a new panel (I'd ripped it under the arm on my HR strap) and some new fluffy so the closure I was confident I wouldn't have the same trouble I had here earlier in the year with the neck coming undone.

As usual I positioned myself on the outside of the group, just next to Tony Buckingham who is just back from Kona and a great qualification at Ironman Canada. With only 60 or so men in the wave it was pretty quick into open water, I got onto some feet and had a great swim. I've developed a warm up now with some scull drills and some 50m pick ups and it seems to really help me get comfortable in teh water before I start - all those Splash n Dash paying off.

Coming out of the water about 7th I checked my watch and was pleased to see 21:40 odd - not quite as quick as I'd like, but really good considering it's pretty early in the season and I've not been swimming much yet. Apart from my goggles exploding and having to pick up the pieces on the way up the beach and forgetting the way out of transition it was a good T1. Out onto the road in under a minute.

Note to self ALWAYS check the transition layout. They change and going the wrong way is a such a waste of time.

Onto the road and we had a massive northerly wind, the out and back curves around the coast, but it's more tail wind on the way out and a 3k climb up Happy Valley to the turnaround. I came out of T1 just behind Tony in maybe 6th or 7th and we cat and moused all the way through to about 35k. At which point through mindless lack of concentration I let Tony go and never managed to get back onto him. We took a few people on the bike and came in 4th and 5th.

Second Note to Self, maintain CONCENTRATION and don't let people get away unnecessarily.

Onto the run I felt pretty flat and although we had a pretty heavy wind on the out legs of each of the two laps it wasn't impacting others like it did me. The first couple of k I struggled to get under 4min k pace, got taken by a couple of others from my wave and although I started to feel a little better after a few k never got my run legs.

I've been runnign pretty well in training lately and I was running at pretty much my tempo pace in a race. CErtainly I need to do a few more bricks to get the pins used to running off the bike, but I'm going to stick with the Enduro 7 days before as my excuse for a little lack of top end....

Onwards and upwards. In summary I was less than 80 seconds slower yesterday than I was in January this year on the same course in similar conditions. So I'm still encouraged.

This week it's back to some solid training and then a bit of an ease up towards Rotorua Half IM on Saturday the 18th. Then a really decent training block in the sunshine over the Christmas break.

First Day of Summer, First Splash n Dash and a year in Wellington

2010-12-01T08:42:00.002Z

Summer officially started in New Zealand today and it's actually feeling like summer. Which is more than it was a year ago when I arrived in pouring horizontal rain and an antarctic southerly wind!

It's also pretty much a year to the day since my first Oriental Bay Splash n Dash. A 700m open water swim followed by a 3k dash!

Splash n Dash 1st Dec 2010

After the epic ride at the weekend I've been feeling pretty shattered this week. Thankfully Dave (Dave Parry, HPU) was gentle on me and has given me a pretty light week to recover. But even so I've been struggling to get going.

With 320k in the legs and not all that much swimming recently I wasn't too confident going into the dash tonight. Compared to last year I was perhaps a minute faster and the run about the same. Considering the weekend that's pretty much as good as I can expect.

First transition of the yr :(

Fingers crossed by the weekend I'll be a bit more recovered ready for the first tri of the season. I took the BMC (TT bike) out this morning for it's first trip of the season and it sure feels fast having been on the standard road bike for the last few months, I'm hoping my bike will at least will be strong and with fresher legs the run will be a bit better.

Still lots to do but perhaps I'm in a little better shape than this time last year.

Love to everyone at home in the UK. Sorry to hear about all your snow. There's always a spare room in Welly and it's summer now!

Thank you Mels for hanging out on the beach and taking the pics xx

Mexican visitor come to view the racing!

Gun show

3rd place for the Enduro

2010-11-29T08:14:00.000Z

Thankfully I still don't know what 10hrs in the saddle feels like...

The Taupo Cycle Challenge (320k) Enduro on Saturday went great. It was certainly a good confidence booster 3.5 months before Ironman New Zealand. I manged to get around the course in a few mins under 10 hrs. With an average speed of 31.5mph. So now I've 14 weeks to get the speed up a bit for 180k.

It was a really interesting event. Starting at 1:30am meant we had less than 4hrs sleep on Friday night before getting up and heading into Taupo to meet the other 65 mental riders who didn't feel one lap was enough.

The first lap in the dark was a bit different, plenty of lights and very little chat. In fact the group was pretty much silent until 4:30am when the first glimmers of dawn were heading up over the hills behind lake Taupo.

The race tactic was to ride within ourselves for the first lap, hopefully close to 5hrs, in a decent group, then get as far through the hills at the start of the course, on the second lap before the quick one lapper boys caught us up. Roughly it worked.

Three or Four guys stretched the group out for the first 20k before they broke away and ten of us settled down and let them go. We pushed on in silence working nicely together, everyone taking their turn, all the way through to Taupo.

Into Taupo we had to take our timing chips into a gas station to scan them before we could had out on lap two. Several of us had parked cars at this station, while others had support crew meet them there. So at this point the group broke up. Sincere apologies to Mike Osborne, my work colleague and recent training partner on an epic training ride. We had a relatively good transition, loading up our back pockets with another 5hrs of food, stripping off the nightwear and dumping lights. We set off to find what was left of the group on the way out of town. Unfortunately, 100yards away from the car and I realised I'd not put my new bottles on the bike - I'd just dumped the empties...

Of all the things I didn't want to do without, as the temperature was on it's way to the mid twenties, was water bottles. I dashed back to the car, holding up Mike, and grabbed the full bottles.

As we road back out of Taupo for the second lap I saw 5:02 on my watch. Pretty good. I'd hit the gas station in 4:56, so another lap the same as the first and I could nip under my stretch target of ten hours.

We had a pretty pedestrian 30k out of town for the second lap. Picking up another chap from our original ten 'Dave' and the three of us rolled on. Chatting to a few other randons, including the two lads in 3rd and 4th of the 8 lap Maxi Enduro Bonkersride Extra. They'd kicked off Wednesday lunchtime and were well over 60hrs into their ride, on just 5hrs sleep. Having just woken up from a long 2hr rest they were riding really well and tagged onto us for a good 15k before stopping for a refuel.

Around 30k the lead one lappers started to catch us up. We struggled to hold the first group, just getting sucked along for a couple of k before getting spat out the back. The next group I held a little longer and the third group were going at an ok pace and I tagged into their group and stuck in a bunch through to about 85k when we hit Kuratau Hill. I took the decision to save my legs a little. With 70k to go and 7+ hrs in the saddle I think it was the right choice. Unfortunately Mike and Dave didn't catch the same group. And I found out later that Mike hadnt' picked up his spare food at the car. So the poor guy was running without fuel for 5hrs. Sorry Mike - especially after you'd waited for me to go back for my drink!

Once over the Hill and through to the 100k mark of lap two (260k down) I got into a group with 6 or so stragglers and we worked together until the 4th group picked us up on the flat home. 50k out from Taupo we got into a 40 man train, I took on some food and caffeine and got working with about 16 others at the front of the group. I was watching the clock, with about 75mins for the last 40k I knew there was a chance I could slip under 10hrs. I waited for the bonk that I felt was inevitable but the legs held out and the caffeine did it's job. With 10k to go I 18 mins, the adrenaline kicked in and I was able to keep pushing through several yellow capped Enduros and push all the way through to the finish. I guess the leg destruction of JoGLE must have really helped.

As we all got mixed up in Taupo after lap one I had no idea how i'd got on in the competition but a mate told me I was the 3rd Enduro to finish and sure enough I was 30 odd secs behind a local chap in second and 16 mins behind the lead guide who apparently had held onto the first or second songle lap group.

All in all a really pleasing day. Pro Ironman Keiran Doe holds the course record (from last year) of 9:28:36, so I can't be too disappointed with being within 30mins of him over 10hrs. To average 31.5kph (including stops) for 10hrs is pretty good at this stage.

An easy splash in lake Taupo after the ride served as an ice bath and seems to have helped with recovery. A short run today and the legs feel alright.

Race season is now here. Weds night is the first Splash n Dash (open water swim / run) of the season and then Sunday is my triathlon of the season as I test my speed in the Scorching Tri Olympic.

14 weeks of hard work to come!

Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge (Enduro)

2010-11-26T05:38:00.000Z

So it's 6:30pm in Taupo. I've had a few naps today, an easy run and a swim on the IM course. But now it's time to get to bed again.

At 1:30am I start the Lake Taupo Cycle Challange, along with 66 others we are riding it twice, so 320k. Not as mad as those guys that are out there doing 4 laps. Or the real nut-bars who started on Wednesday and are doing 8, 1280k!, but still seems plenty stupid now I'm here...

After the JoGLE ride last month I've backed up with some decent rides, including a 265k a few week back. The bike strength is coming back, but I'm not sure what 10hrs+ in the saddle is going to be like, especially with the first 5hrs in the dark. Guess I"ll know tmrw.

More details when it's all done!

LPx

Lands End to John O'Groats

2010-10-19T23:05:00.000+01:00

Well that was fun!

I needed to get some bike miles in. So that should do the trick to kick things off...

Back to Blighty for a few weeks and I managed to squeeze in John O'Groats to Lands End. 908 miles in seven days with 57 hours in the saddle. Over 10km of ascent and 21k calories and I've still come back weighing 80kg!

More running !! 6th at Abel Tasman Coastal Classic

2010-09-25T00:11:00.000+01:00

Abel Tasman Coastal Classic

So this weekend saw my last big trail run before getting into serious tri training again.

It was an absolutely cracking race down in Abel Tasman National Park in the north of the South Island NZ. This race is a NZ trail classic, following 36k through the national park, along the coastal path, previously run by the likes of Scott Molina and Erin Baker it had to be done.

The blurb said to train for a marathon as the 36k off-road with 1000m of ascent is pretty much comparable. I know I'm not in my best marathon form but I hoped to be around the 2:50. But with a running buddy in Wellington having a PB for the course of 2:57 I knew sub 3 hrs was going to be a challenge.

Before the race starts there's a 30k boat ride from the finish at Marahau to the start at Awaroa, three different boats and some faff and we made it to the beach at Awaroa around 10am. With NZ being hit by a weather bomb (pretty impressive wind and rain) the trip up the coast on Saturday morning was pretty damp and grey. Huddling together in all our warm post race garb was requried.

Once at the start location we had to strip to race wear, then queue on the beach while our comulsory race gear was checked - not the best part of the day. 15mins later we were lined up on the little lodge airstrip at Awaria Lodge and without ceremony we were set off.

With 300 competitors and previous winning times of between 2:25 and 3hrs I didn't have a huge idea of how to take the race. It retrospect it's probably fair to say I underestimated the course a little. I took off with the eventual winner Simon Maldon and managed to stay with him for about 500m before he started to creep away on the first climb into the bush. By 2k I'd settled into a realistic pace and had slipped to 7th with the first 3 moving really fast and the 4-6th not far ahead.

At 7k there is a strech running across the beach at Onetahuti, I could see the leaders spread out ahead and I was back in 8th. With the legs already crying out (sand doens't suit us heavier fellas) I didn't want to push too much and recalibrated to a 2:54 pace and made a conscious effort to save the legs - it was going to be a long day. If I had anything left at 30k I could go for it then!

The terrain was pretty specatular, but certianly not forgiving, there were some nice long steady decents, but they all had twin siblings taking us up the other side of the valley - be it sharp and slippery or long and dragging there was a lot of up! Thankfully the weather turned for the good, the sun was out and it was perfect running conditions, cool but dry.

A good proportion of my running in NZ has been off-road and trail, but I still leave a lot to be desired compared to those that have been at this game for years. The few extra kilo's I'm carrying probably don't help much either. I spent most of th run hoping for just a bit of flat where I could open my stride up a bit and get some decent pace going. I was still waiting at 36k!

There was very little company and I ran most of the trail with just one guy either a few paces ahead, or a few behind. That was until around the 2hr mark when he took off like a rocket, passing me like I was standing still. This put me back into 7th I didn't think I'd be seeing him again and from the feedback I was getting from trampers and the couple of aid stations there was more than 5 mins up to the 4th and 5th guys. I concentrated on keeping my pace constant.

At 33k ish, I caught the guy back and passed him straight out, he'd obviously pushed too hard - or perhaps I'd been haivng a bad spell. I was back in 6th and although tired feeling relatively strong still. There was one headland to navigate and then we were at the finish bay. somewhere around this point I stumbled over a root and barely had the stregth to hold my own body weight as I fell forward. You know you're knackered when you can't stand on one leg! It never ceases to amaze me how you can keep running, at a decent pace, when you're legs are so ruined.

At 34k I got some further feedback from walkers that the next guys were still 5 mins up and I just kept plugging away, doubtful I was going to close 5mins in 3k!

The GPS was having a bit of a mare, coming in and out of reception, but the pace seemed to be good in the last 5k, even when I went through 36k and still the finish was a way off I knew I was going to get there without any explosions or catastrophes.

I hit the final 500m of board walks to the finish in around 2:55, I could see the finish chute ahead and had Dave's time of 2:57 in my head. I pushed with all I could but it was a good 500m and my watch finish time was 2:57:55 with the race clock gaving me 2:58 dead. Either way not good enough to beat Daves previous best of 2:56:53, but good enough to secure 6th.

All in all a very pleasing run. Perhaps not up to the standard of my 2:44 marathon before Switzerland IM in 2008, but still a great solid effort. I was able to finish strong after nearly 3hrs of running, on tough terrain and finish 6th amongst a pretty decent field. I'll certainly be consdering this event again next year. I reckon 2:45 is possible.

Home to the UK in 2 weeks I'll be catching up with Dave Parry to plan out the next few months up to IM NZ in March, I've booked a return flight for July 2011, so IM UK is on the agenda, at the very least as a qualifier back up if Taupo doesn't go to plan.

The middle week of my 3 weeks in the UK is a cycle tour from John O'Groats to Lands Ends, 1600k in 7 days should get my cycling legs going again. fingers corssed by the end of October I should be starting to feel like a (tri)athlete again.

(more pics to follow)

Creeping up the ranks

2010-09-05T20:30:00.000+01:00

2nd place at Hawkes Bay Half Marathon

A pretty pleasing race at the weekend in Havelock North, Hawkes Bay.

Going into the race I'd checked the last couple of years of results and last year I would've needed a 1:16 to win, the year before that a 1:21. Considering my form and the amount of fast work I've done I thought I was in about 1:20 shap - so a podium could be possible.

Hawkes Bay was a great excuse for a weekend away and we managed to get out of town in good time on Friday afternoon, ready for a Saturday morning race.

The half marathon followed the 2nd half of the marathon route, so a couple of hundred of us jumped onto buses at 9:30 and were scooted into the middle of nowhere (a windy road with two porta-loos) ready for the 10am start. It was a cracker day with blue skys and low teen temps, but the wind was fairly howling - I thought i'd left that in Wellington!

Onto the start line with 3 seconds to spare, we were immediately off, and I immediately fell into 3rd. Within 500m I took the guy ahead for 2nd and then set about trying to claw back the 10m that 1st place had on me. The wind was pretty strong all the way through the first 12k with relentless rolling hills.

Topo

I kept pushing to try to bridge up to him but by half way mark I was nearly a minute off him. Unfortunatly that's pretty much how it carried on with 1st taking 2:30 out of me by the finish.

A pretty pleasing run, an average HR of 172 represents a good level of effort and although the time was terrible 1:25:13 it doesn't mean much for a half marathon with over 300m of ascent and such strong winds. The guys at the finish were telling us that the course was 7mins off a pb course (with the wind), so perhaps I am in the 1:20 shape I think I am. Certainly the winner (Thomas Bridgeman) should be better than a 1:22 considering he is running 16:30 5ks at the moment.

Interestingly I took no food or energy in this race and felt much flatter than on the Munter. I think a was belt with some a gel bottle is the next purchase.

Two weeks until the big Abel Tasman Coastal Classic (37k trail) run and then back to the UK for some R&R, a catch up with coach Dave and the small matter of a John O'Groats to Lands End ride.


finish straight

Mukamuka Munter Madness!!

2010-08-22T01:31:00.002+01:00

Perhaps there's some fitness coming back - 3rd place and a race I'm proud of...

Description of the Munter from the BetterThanTV website -

"Keen on a real off-road run that is worth the bragging rights on the Monday? Do you miss that feeling of the lungs searing while you are gasping for air and the legs screaming with lactic acid while knowing that you are still less than half way to the finish (and there's the rest of the hill to climb).....?

The Mukamuka Munter is your kind of race which is kinda cool because it won't be everyone's kind of race.

Starting at the mouth of the Orongorongo River, the 29km Mukamuka Munter will take you around the south coast of the North Island, over terrain that your ankles will hate you for and then up the Mukamuka Valley to the South Saddle. From there it's a knee bashing downhill to the Orongorongo River and an exit via the Orongorongo Track to the CatchPool Creek DOC base."

4x4 track along the coast to Mukamuka stream

This race lived up to the hype. About 80 of us rocked up in the middle of nowhere yesterday morning, to pick up our maps and hear out the briefing on how likely we were to get lost and that carrying safety gear was not a joke (my car-share had pointed out people die in these ranges on the way to the race!).

After a mediocre trail run last weekend in Auckland I decided to take my nutrition a bit more serious this weekend and got out my camelback and picked up a few gels, some space rocket (sweets) and some caffeine.

The run follows a 4x4 track 12k around the coast to the mukamuka stream, where we turned in land and literaly ran 6k up a riverbed and finaly a near vertical gully to shoulder the range before dropping down through the bush (there wasn't really a trail) to the Orongaronga stream, where we followed another riverbed for a few k before getting onto a track for the last 8k and then a final 2k dash along the road to the finish.

Damien jsut ahead on an easy bit of mukamuka stream!

I headed out steady, wanting to hold my own but save the legs for the hills, I hit 12k in 55 mins or so and began the slog up the valley. I turned into the valley in 6th with training mate Damien 30 secs ahead with the 4th place guy. I quickly bunched up with these two as we picked out way over the boulder field that was the stream bed. .

Mukamuka stream bed

Entering the gully

Towards the top of the valley, before it turned into a gully scramble I passed these guys and another chap caught me. We scrambled up the gully making the best route we could swapping the 4th and 5th position as we each took good or poor choice in terms of the best way to get up

Looking back down the Muka valley

South Saddle

Orongoronga valley ahead

I was able to take a few pics on the way up the climb but once we started the descent into the Orongorogo valley I needed both hands to stay upright. Dropping down to the valley another guy caught up with us but we over took the guy in 3rd who'd been struggling with cramps.

Out into the open valley floor at last I managed to push on from the others taking 3rd place and pushing away.

Orongorongo river

Unfortunately I looked over my shoulder after 5 mins of good running and realised the others had turned off behind me and I'd missed the exit of the river bed onto the Big Bend track. Retracing my steps I quickly got onto the correct path (checking the garmin I only lost about 2.5mins). Passing a bunch of trampers a few mins later they informed me I was now in 7th...my detour had lost me 4 places. I took a gel and started to work hard on what was at last a good runable track. The remainder of the run was uneventful, it was all I coudl do to lift my legs enough to save myself from tripping over tree routes. I managed to push through 6th, 5th (first women) and 4th then got a few glimpses of the 3rd place guy (the cramp victim) through the trees. I caught him just as we were popping out of the forest onto the last 2k on the road. We ran together for a k and then saw noticed the 2nd place guy up ahead. I knew we had about a k to go and he was about 150m ahead. I pushed on away securing 3rd and ran a 3:49 last k but just ran out of road and couldn't quite make 2nd. 3rd place and 3hrs7mins for a bloody tough 32.5k(Garmin) is good enough for now. Great to feel some strength over such a long event, it just goes to show the difference a few gels will make you.

Two weeks away I've a road half marathon which will be a bit of a shock after all the trail running I've been doing but Dave has me back running on the road and doing some speed stuff so i should be a bit sharper by then.

Time to ride my bike now though!

Double hammy cramp. Go Robin...

Back on it...

2010-08-18T00:20:00.001+01:00

So I've been silent for a while. It's been winter in New Zealand and I've been taking a bit of a break after IM Taupo.

That's not to say I've been doing nothing. I've not been on the bike or in the pool much but I've been ticking over with the NZ winter run scene. There's been plenty of stupid trail running through the bush and a few events, including a couple of podiums and some total spankings!

But now it's time to get serious. Last weekend I got a pasting in Auckland (25k trail run) so this weekend I intend to go for it in the MukaMuka Munter a 29k trail (bush whack!) just north of Wellington - see THE MUNTER

The next few weekends I've a half marathon and another big trail run along the Abel Tasman coastal path in the South Island - Abel Tasman Coastal Challenge

In the meantime i'm back in the pool and on the bike. This March I'll be at Taupo again and hopefully back in the UK for IM UK in July 2011. Then Hawaii 2011!!!

Ironman New Zealand - Race Summary.

2010-03-13T23:25:00.001Z

"Still No Hawaii"

It's a week now since Ironman NZ, and I've had a bit of time to reflect and relax. I suppose overall I am still disappointed with the race last weekend. Disappointed not to have got a Kona slot, but mainly not to have raced to the best of my ability. I’ve had a few days now to think about what went wrong and I’m still not that much wiser!

I think really it came down to a combination of three things

1. Head not there (mental preparedness)

2. Nutrition

3. Short build (lack of run base)

I had played down (in my mind) the task and underestimated just what an ordeal Ironman is mentally and physically. I had it in my mind I’d done 9:48 and 9:29 and so should be able to do 9:15 this time. I’d done the training and it would just happen. Perhaps all the changes of coming out to New Zealand and the time it took to get my bike here and get into a routine may have had an impact on my training. It was only really a 12 week build and although I got some really good volume into that time, it might not have been the best quality. My longest run was only 2:20 and that was a race, whereas last year I ran 1:45-2+hrs maybe 8 times.

In terms of nutrition I didn’t change much in terms of calories and carbs from the last two races. The difference was I didn’t carry all my own food, I was relying on the Powerbar stuff that was at the aid station and not training with that may have had an impact.

In terms of the race everything went great until the run.

There were only 1250 competitors so T1 wasn't as busy as other IM I have done recently and this was te same in teh lake. It was a stunning swim, the sun was rising on a pretty calm lake as we lined up for the 7am start. The helpicopter was out tracking the pro's which always adds some adrenaline. I had some help from my new locals mates (thanks Dee) sneaking into the quiet loo's about 6:40 before quickly heading down to the lake for a warm up. Fresh water swimming is so good compared to the sea and I felt pretty confident on the line.

I got a good start from the front on the inside next to the buoys, so I was able to sight clearly, I had some feet from about 10mins in and quickly settled into a good rythym on calm clear water. I kept those feet or others pretty much all the way around. I checked my watch at the turnaround (bit under halfway) and I was on 27:30. I was stoked and that positiveness kept me pushing all the way home, I got out of the water at 57:30 on my watch which I was over the moon with as I’d been struggling to get the splits I wanted in the pool the last few weeks.

Transition is quite long, maybe 600m including some steps up to the T1 park, I had a good quick transition and was onto the bike in just under 62mins, all was looking great. Out on the bike the legs felt ok, maybe not great, but within 30mins my heart rate settled. I let a lot of guys go, but had it in my mind I would ride 5 and a bit and still be on target. There was a bit of obvious drafting on the way out with the wind, which I didn’t get involved with (maybe I should), but I still hit the first turnaround averaging 36kph. After the first lap I was still on the same pace, I was comfortably on for 5hrs. The second lap the wind had picked up, as I'd anticipated. dave and I had discussed this and I concentrated on eating and took it steady to the turnaround, at which point the wind had changed a bit and I didn’t find it too bad back to T2, I was cruising and rolling through a lot of guys.

I hit T2 in 6:20 ish, a little p’d about the time but remembering your words from Dave not to fret about the time and at this point confident I’d left enough in the tank for the run to be a good one. I nipped through T2 (I think fastest of the day!) in under a minute and although the back was a bit tight I settled myself down into low 4:20 k’s for 3:10 a marathon.

After about 5k I started to slow, there was a headwind, but I just didn’t seem to have my run legs. I kept expecting to get a second wind (I was still taking regular gels at this point), but by 10k I was starting to die on my ass, the 2^nd quarter back towards the finish of lap one we had a tail wind and I kept rolling on, albeit slowing, but once I turned back into the wind for the 2^nd lap the wheels came off. It was a real struggle to get back to the final turnaround and there were spells of walking from about 24k onwards. In the end all times went out the window and it became a battle to just finish.

The 10.5k splits for the marathon were 57mins,53mins, 1:06 and 1:16.

The finish was nothing like Switzerland, I was exhausted, but more mentally. I just felt hollow and ruined and wanted to get out of there. So I did! This is the first Ironman I've left feeling I wanted to do it again, I might have to come back next year and smash it...

My Age Group (30-34) was madness. By far the most competitive of them all, 7^th place in 30-34 (the last guaranteed Hawaii slot) was 21^st overall in a time 9:21 and the last Hawaii slot rolled down to the 11^th in AG who did 9:31. I would have needed to run 3:10 to get that slot.

I've spent more than 2yrs chasing this Hawaii dream and perhaps it's time to take the pressure off myself and have a rest? I know I can do it, but I'd need a perfect day and a perfect build to get one of the slots. BUT I'm not sure I can quit this without achieving the goal I set myself.

In terms of my wider 'life' plans things have taken a bit of a change in the last few months, the work here is pretty great, especially in terms of opportunities. I'll be here until at least Christmas, perhaps longer.

I'm thinking of enjoying some racing for the next couple of months, training hard through summer (NZ winter) and having a crack at Ironman Western Oz (WA) in December. Keeping NZ in the back of my mind.

At the moment my cycling is probably weakest (certainly weaker than I'd like it to be) so a real stint on the bike over the winter as well as perhaps another marathon would be good. I want to be able to do sub 5, even 4:45 easily at WA in December and not feel I've got to kill myself on the run to go sub 9:15.

Thanks as always to everyone, friends, family, colleagues for the incredible support, kind wishes and patience over the last few months (years). This is a very selfish thing I do and I do appreciate the impact it can have on those around me.

Special thanks to Dave Parry (HPU) for his continuing invaluable advice and guidance and all the guys in NZ that have made me so welcome over the last 3 months and helped me very quickly get back to some good form; Dee, Mike, Mel, Helen... You guys Rock!!

Some pics to follow.

Laurence

Ironman New Zealand T-14hrs

2010-03-05T04:17:00.001Z

I thought I'd pen a few thoughts as I have a few hours to kill, keeping out of the sun and resting up as much as possible before Ironman New Zealand kicks off in 14hrs at 7am, here in Taupo, North Island, NZ.

Another incredible NZ venue (Lake Taupo, 8am Friday 5th March '10)

This time last July I was in another hotel room, keeping off my feet and trying to relax before Ironman Switzerland. Certainly there are a lot of similarities to that day, I'm pleased to say I'm pretty relaxed this time. Experience really does make these things easier.

I went into Switzerland thinking I was in 9:15 shape and in the end just touched under 9:30, albeit with a brief pause to fix a puncture. After missing a Hawaii slot there by 15mins I said I'd come back here in sub-9 shape. Now I'm not sure I'm there, I'm not going to put a time prediction on tomorrow, but I feel good. I've had 12 fantastic weeks of solid training out here in NZ. My mileage and training time is the highest 3 months ever, across all disciplines, so I just hope the 12 weeks build is enough.

Conditions for tomorrow aren't perfect for speed, with a 20mph SE wind, we will get a headwind on the return leg of the two bike loops, i'm not looking forward to the last 45k back to town much! The lake here is incredible, it's crystal clear fresh water. But, as we are situated at the north of the lake there will be a bit of a chop with the wind, that said it shouldn't be terrible and with only 1250 competitors it's not like some of the huge Ironman mass swim starts. The run is also a two lap affair, with some gentle undulations. As we follow the airport road out of town to the South East, at least the last 10k of the run we'll have wind assistance.

There are 162 competitors and 7 World Champs slots up for grabs in the male 30-34 age grouper. The last three years they have rolled down as follows; 2009 - 9:45.11, 2008 - 9:43.23 and 2007 - 10:05:24, so you'd hope sub 9:30 would be good enough for that golden ticket... That's a big ask on a slow(er) course but I've got my support crew trained up as 30-34 male spotters and I'll do everything I can to get the slot...

I'm feeling good, the bike and all the bags are checked in and there's nothing to do but relax, eat and drink well and try to get to sleep in good time. I'll post a note as soon as possible with an update but don't forget you can track results live at www.ironmanlive.com (race starts 6pm GMT Friday 5th March).

Thanks for all the kind wishes, Laurence

3 weeks to Taupo

2010-02-13T03:07:00.002Z

So three weeks to go until Taupo (Ironman New Zealand). It's been a sharp training block this time and I feel good for it. Arriving in NZ on the 1st Dec I was pretty out of shape, so it's been 10 weeks of decent training to get me up and running again.

I've done slightly more volume in all disciplines than I did in the last 10 weeks coming in to either Arizona or Zurich and until this week I've managed to feel fresh throughout. This week it's been feeling tough, (maybe something to do with the huge rugby 7's weekend last weekend), but I'm hoping that just means I've done enough and I'm ready. One more decent week next week, finishing off with a local half marathon on Sunday 21st Feb and then a couple of weeks of taper and I'm off.

I'll be chatting to Dave about the taper, but it seems I don't respond too well to dropping off hugely in the last two weeks, so it'll probably just be a bit less volume and an opportunity for the legs to get fully recovered. Plus it's now I need to start getting my mind ready. I've maintained better training discipline than ever before in this block and I'm feeling more confident in my ability than before. Plus I'm trying not to put a time on my performance expectations. I'm just keen to get out there, get through the swim and bike without any F ups and start running.

Taupo looks to be a slow(er) course, with some undulations on the run and a heavy chip surface on the bike, so I'm probably not going to break any records...

But we'll see...

Tussock Traverse 27k trail run

2010-02-06T19:30:00.025Z

Last Saturday I ran the Tussock Traverse, something a bit different and a great way to see a new bit of NZ, plus it would be a decent training run! This 27km point-to-point climbs through the dip between two active volcanos in the Tongariro National Park, namely Mt Ruapehu on our left shoulder and Ngaruhoe on our right.

It was an incredible event and has opened my eyes to how tough trail / fell racers are, no wonder Brownlee is so damn good.

examples of the crazy terrain...

The first 2k were straight up, see pic below for the start line between two flags, I set out at what I thought was a fair pace (just above walking!), by 2k I was around 5th, then we turned off the 4*4 track and it got silly. Apparently this is a relatively easy course, but I was impossibly slow going down over the scree and rocks. I got overtaken by 4 or 5 others on the downhill and that was pretty much it for the next 25k. Push hard when it was flat and I could actually run and take back a few places then lose them on the downhill.

After about 5k I started to get cocky and decided I this was easy, I looked up for a moment, to see how I was doing and promptly fell flat on my face. It's not like running on the road!

By 20k I was in 4th and I think I just sneaked into 3rd for a few minutes before a local chap from Welly and a 17yr old girl (thankfully she is an amazing up and coming mountain marathon runner in NZ) overtook me heading down towards the finish, I had nothing left and crossed the line in 5th.

Finish time of 2:22 for 27k (5:15k's..) but the most incredible part was an average HR of 174bpm! That's 10k HR for over 2hrs. No wonder I was ruined. It was one of those finishes where you collapse, stand, collapse, and then jsut don't know what to do with yourself. 20min later I pulled myself together enough to cheer Leonie and Helen across the line and collapse again onto the grass with a brew and a sausage sizzle - Kiwi's know how to look after their athletes!

Next day I was in Taupo to check out the IM course and somehow managed a 5hr brick session, including a full lap of the run course (half marathon). Needless to say this week I've not been running much.

I guess it can only make me stronger - as it didn't kill me!

2nd at Scorching Bay - Wellington Day Tri

2010-01-25T09:27:00.005Z

I had a great a local Olympic distance race today. Nice to have no travel stress and to race on home (kind of) roads. I forget how hard it is racing like that short thought, my legs are pretty beat up this evening.

It was another cracking race and mentally much better than last weekend. We had a bit of wind swell in the sea swim and my wetsuit came undone in the first 200m so I had to pause at the first buoy to do it up, I lost maybe 20secs and the back of the 2^nd pack, but was really pleased with how I swam after that. I pushed back through the field and came out about 12^th, still pretty crap (I certainly swim much better in calm seas), but it was a positive swim. And I learnt to double check my wetsuit zip.

After feeling i'd ridden a little beneath par last weekend I just went out to kill it today. It was a normal Wellington windy day so times were down a bit, but I went from 12^th to 3^rd on the bike with the fastest split of the day. HR was constant around 155-160 to the end and I was really pleased with the even effort.

Run was a bit of a battle of wills to start with, just getting the turnover going and keeping form, but by the 3^rd k I was tapping out 3:50’s and finished with the 2^nd fastest run split in 38mins, and 2^nd overall. Time wasn’t great at 2:10, but I was pretty pleased to put in solid race in pretty windy conditions.

It seems there are rarely position prizes in New Zealand, but I won a bag of coffee in the spot prize competition, plus it was a free race, given to me for marshalling last month. Sometimes you've really got to love the way they do things out here!

Everything is looking pretty much on track for Taupo. I've a few big weeks now, plenty of time on the bike and some big 5hr tempo rides. This weekend I'm up to Tongiriro for a 27k trail run and then Sunday I'm nipping to taupo for a 1/2 IM simulation on the Ironman course, so I'm be even more beat next Monday.

Below I've thrown up a few pics from Wanaka last weekend. Check out the hot new Human Performance race Team Kit!

Lake Wanaka Half - Crashing Back to Earth

2010-01-16T23:24:00.009Z

You never stop learning with this sport, yesterday was another tough race and brought my sky-rocketing confidence levels back down to earth with a necessary bump...

(picture of the swim course last night)

Firstly, what an incredible event in a truly breathtaking location. If anyone reading this ever gets the chance to visit or race Wanaka, don't let it slip as this place is stunning and the whole town gets behind the race. The atmosphere for 16+hrs yesterday was exceptional.

I entered the new Lake Wanaka Half event back in the UK before Christmas. Having heard about it last year I pencilled it in as ideal preparation for Ironman New Zealand at Taupo (in 7 weeks). This was the first year they ran a Half event along side the full Challenge Wanaka but the event ran seamlessly so all credit to the Challenge crew.

4 months ago, imagining New Zealand to be a pretty small place I assumed I'd be able to catch a ferry from Wellington to the S.Island and have a simple drive down to Wanaka for the weekend. Turns out it's 3hrs on a ferry and 10hrs driving. So I soon scratched that idea, took a day off work on Friday and flew down early doors to Queenstown. Renting a car I drove the hour over Crown Range and down Cardrona Valley, trying to stop myself being the tourist I am and pulling into every lay-by to take pics...

I got into Wanaka about noon Friday to find this view from my Hotel bedroom window (from my private deck). That'll be transition , the finish line and lake Wanaka on the other side of the road, perfect!

As a 'proper' event we had a full on registration, briefing and bike and bag hand in on the Friday so I got all that sorted, grabbed too much food and hit the sack ready for what was forecast to be a calm, slightly overcast race day.

Race morning came and the weather was awesome, not a cloud in the sky. 6am it was already pleasantly warm, calm and light. Makes a change from UK racing I can tell you.

We'd been advised in the briefing that the lake water temp was not quite 15 degrees and felt a little fresh!! But the reality wasn't anywhere near as bad as the anticipation. The weather being on our side and the very respectable 8:15am start, made it all very bearable.

As I mentioned in my last post I've been swimming a bit better the last few weeks, so I positioned myself on the front of the 250 odd individual racers with the plan to go hard and try to hold onto some good feet. It worked pretty well, the first buoy was a decent way off, so by that turn we'd spread out and I was towards the back of the main pack (with a few driving off the front). I held my own in this group, avoiding my normal fade and apart from a slight lack of concentration at around 20 mins was very happy with my swim. Coming out of the water in 17th and 29mins, not the best of times, but with the fastest only managing a 25mins it seems it was an honest if slightly long swim - I was very happy.

I flew through the bagged T1 (2nd fastest T1 of the day) taking a few places on the way, so was onto the bike course in top 15, or so. Although I could have been anywhere in the top 100 for all I knew as we were mixing up with full Challenge athletes already.

Then things took a slight downwards turn, there was a small climb out of town to start the bike course and I was overtaken by a couple of guys in the first 5mins, my legs just felt weak. I pushed the first 20k and was just about holding my own, but my HR was high, my legs were dying and it didn't feel sustainable. I don't think I can blame the new bike, Mike, Paul and the guys at capital Cycles have done a great job sorting me out there...

...I'm just not where I need to be yet.

The course was tough, there was no let up, rolling and some decent hills, on really slow large stone chip. But it was the same for everyone. I've only been back on the bike since early Dec, so I guess I'm just a bit weak - or maybe Kiwis are just that much better on the bike than us Brits??

(rough stone chip!)

At about 40k I came down a great hill, spinning out in the 53x11 and managed to lose my chain outside my front ring, it then wrapped itself around the rear mech and I had to stop and unhook it, in total I stopped for a minute, but I'd gone from gaining on the guy ahead to losing 2 places. I told myself not to let it get me down and to push it too hard to get back to where I was. But in doing so I think I dropped off the pace, I lost another 5 - 10 places over the last hour and was pretty despondent when I rolled into T2 with a bike split of 2:44 - my worst middle distance bike leg since HIMUK in 2005!

The good news is I came off the bike feeling pretty fresh, I guess because I'd not been riding that hard! Another good transition, this time 3rd fastest of the day. Onto the run and I immediately started cruising through the field. All the eating the day before the race caught up with me and I had to take a pit stop (another minute lost) at 8k, but I was soon back charging through the field. I haven't worked out my position at T2 (I guess low twenties), but I clocked the 3rd fastest half marathon in 1:25 and was really pleased when i heard I'd got myself back up to 10th overall.

I feel like I should have been 10mins quicker on the bike - there is certainly some work to be done there - but it gives me something to concentrate on for the next 7 weeks until Taupo.

Apparently the bike course there isn't quite as tough, surface or hill wise, so 5 hard weeks on the bike and I should be ok.

All in all, an enjoyable trip to a fantastic event and location. A 10th place is ok and lots of lessons learnt to take to Taupo and consider over the next 7 weeks training I'll get proper race pics up shortly, but in the meantime I'm off for a day or so of rest before getting the bike out. A lot.

Laurence

Wellington Splash n Dash

2010-01-14T09:17:00.002Z

Celebrate the small victories!!

6th Overall and 1st in Age Group

Last night I completed my third splash n dash in Wellington (ocean swim and run). The distance of 750m followed by a 3 or 4k run couldn't suit me less - lots of swimming time, no biking and a fast run! The first one I did in December, the night after I arrived in Welly, I struggled home in 11th place in a time of 24:30. Two weeks later on a slightly faster night (there weren't too many white horses) I clocked a 24:25. After a few weeks solid running I'd picked up some pace on the run, but was still disappointed in my swim.

However, a Christmas on the beach (with the wetsuit) and generally putting in the hard yards and my swimming has come on a notch. I was out of the water last night in 7th, a quick transition and I hit the run in 6th. Even with an extra k of running (last night was 750m, 4k) I managed to clock a 26:03. Nearly 2 mins off my swim and T1 time from early December.

The AG group win was nice, and to be 6th behind some Sprint and Olympic specialists is no disgrace . A perfect confidence boaster for the Lake Wanaka Half on Saturday.

I've had a rest day today (treated myself to a massage) and will be heading down to Queenstown and Wanaka first thing tomorrow. The field seems small, with the big guns going long on the full event (Challenge Wanaka), so maybe I can scrap a top 10 or even better!

Will post Sunday / Monday with an update.

Laurence

New Zealand

2009-12-30T21:57:00.008Z

Ok, so it's been a while, nearly 6 months, since my last post but I've not had my feet up all the time.

Post IM Switzerland I had a few plans for some fun racing over the UK summer but 2 weeks of absolute rest followed by a tough 5 days around Mt Ventoux for the penultimate stage of the TdF saw me pretty shattered and with a bit of an Achilles problem. In the end it was September before I was up and running again and with the trip to NZ on the horizon I kept the training light and concentrated on sorting my life out to get everything in order (house rented out etc) to come out to NZ for 6 months.

Flying out Mid Nov I've been here 6 weeks now and Wellington is starting to feel like home. The weather is pretty incredible - howling winds, glorious sun, freezing southerly gales seem to occur in rapid succession most days - I keep being promised it'll settle in Jan. So I'll be out on my bike in the sun tomorrow...

Wellington is more than I could have hoped for in terms of a training location, I have a 33m pool on a beach (Freyberg) 5min jog from the flat so have a choice of open water or pool swims on tap. The running is great with tonnes of on and off road routes and millions of people to hook up with. I couldn't ask for more in terms of riding, in 4 weeks here I've already come across pretty much a group every morning and evening of the week! Sunday group rides from Capital bike shop see up to 60 guys doing a fast 3hrs, with a 30k race back to town on the way home (normally with a tail wind), packs of 20+ racing at 55kph+ seem to be the norm. Awesome.

So 5 weeks of 16-18hrs and I'm starting to feel like my old self. I've been putting off shaving my legs until I was feeling faster but stripped them down this morning, that's going to give me an extra kph this afternoon for nothing!!

Also took delivery of my new BMC TT02 on Christmas Eve. Waiting for the Zipp 808's to be swapped to Campy and then I have a race machine... see the little pick below. Thanks to the guys at Capital Cycles for doing such a great job on it.I have a little tester in two weeks (Sat 16th Jan) down in Wanaka where I'm doing the Challenge Wanaka Half distance. So expect the updates to be coming in a bit more regularly now.

Happy New Year

Laurence

IM Switz Analysis

2009-07-15T18:02:00.002+01:00

Results for Hawaii roll down are up for Switzerland. I missed a slot by 15:13, the slowest M30-34 qualifier doing 9:14:09
I just compared it to Arizona last year where I was 14:43 away from qualifying, with the slowest M30-34 qualifier doing a 9:34:13.
Taking into consideration a puncture (which according to my Garmin had me stopped for 4 mins) I just need to find another 11mins and I might get that slot.
Another 8 months of training, a good day and maybe it'll be third time lucky at Ironman NZ next March!!
May as well target sub 9 to be safe !

IM switz

2009-07-13T09:45:00.003+01:00

I'll write a proper report later. But for now just a quick one to thank everyone who supported, on the course and especially all those that mailed, text and posted on our forum.

Offered 9:29 with a puncture on Friday I would have taken it. But offered 34th in AG I might not have been so keen. The standard yesterday (maybe helped by some drafting) was incredible. I had a slightly ropey swim, hitting T1 in 63mins, a quick transition and I picked up a puncture at 15k on the bike. 4mins later I was off again and the rest of the bike was good. A great course of decent hills and mega fast pancake flat lakeside.

Off the bike in 5:06 (about 6:12 on the clock) I hit out at 3:10 pace. This lastest two miles before I setled into 3:15 pace which seemed sustainable. Bumped into Justin Webbs teamate Tim Bishop (Optima Race Team) half way into the 2nd lap (of four) and we ran together for nearly 10miles. Thank Tims, without you I would have almost certainly dropped off more. Tim ran off about 20miles and in the end took me for just over a minute. Well done on the Hawaii slot mate.

The last 10k were pretty brutal, the last 5.5 were impossibly hard - sorry Ed there was no chance to enjoy them! Bu I was really chuffed to dip under the 9:30 mark.

In the end I would have needed to go 9:08 to be guaranteed a slot. So even without the bad swim and puncture I would have been lucky to get within 15mins of a slot this time.

Not sure yet what's next. A week or so of R&R and a 'fun' trip to the Ventoux and I'll start making some plans. IM NZ is looking good for next spring!

Thanks again everyone. Lxx

Ironman Switzerland T - 14 hours

2009-07-11T17:23:00.004+01:00

Another easy day today, plenty of fluids and time off my feet - I could get used to this.

We took an easy swim in the lake this morning and it was clear and warm. Nice place for a bun fight!

Also got driven around the bike course by a teammate. It's a cracker. 30k flat along the lakeside. 35k of hills including a couple of decent 5k climbs and then fly back down to the lakeside for another 20k of flat apart from a short sharp ascent of 'heartbreak hill'. And repeat.

The bike is checked in and nothing more to do but gather my bits for the morning, eat some more pasta and get an early night.

Don't forget you can watch my progress at Ironmanlive.com and I'll post an update soon as I can.

Cheers for all the good luck msgs.

Laurence

Ironman Switzerland T - 2 days

2009-07-10T10:41:00.002+01:00

Arrived in Zurich yesterday. All is well. After a small bag mix up (all my fault) I got to the hotel, set the bike up and went for an easy ride and run.

In contrast to Arizona last year I am not feeling the same amount of pressure for Sunday. I'm genuinely excited about the race. Obviously there are the normal nerves and desires to just be started, but all that's normal.

The course looks fantastic, a warm (ish) clear lake swim, moderate ride - on great roads, and a pancake flat run around the lake.

I'm feeling as strong as ever. So fingers crossed I can do myself justice out there.

Laurence

New Garmin 310XT

2009-07-03T12:00:00.000+01:00

Many thanks to Paul at Garmin UK and Jo at sweatshop for helping me source one of the new Garmin 310's for Switzerland next week. Waterproof and with a 20hr battery life I can take it real slow!!

Harwich Olympic Triathlon

2009-06-22T11:15:00.001+01:00

Another good blast this weekend on the way to Ironman Switzerland.

I've not completed an Olympic distance triathlon since Swanage in 2007 so I was eager to give it a really good crack. Looking at the field I knew local vet Roy Young would be strong and Toby Radcliffe was due to start, so that might be fun! Also my good buddy and training partner George is easing himself out of injury and decided to have a crack, so we were bound to have a decent scrap, especially in the water. Then last minute another training mate Darren Treadaway entered, so things were looking tougher!

With the race kicking off at 10am it was a leisurely drive over (thanks Alex for the lift) and we had plenty of time for a nice warm up run and to sort everything in transition.

George, Darren and I were all in the first wave (of four) and with small number in each wave we were quickly off from the beach start. I few jostles of the beach and I got in a group of three (one George) very quickly.

A solid swim, just losing George at the final turn buoy left me out of the water 5th in our wave. I slipped through T1 though and came out just on Darren's shoulder in 3rd. I watched Darren ease away on the bike for 20 mins and then he seemed to slow, I kept the pressure on and at about 40mins I went past him. Unfortunately that was te kick up the &ss he needed to then charge back through me and take a minute out of me in the last 15k - gutted!

Around T2 Darren took the fast swimmer guy for the lead and had me for a minute or so, and George was maybe 2.5mins behind me battling for 4th. I had 2nd place in my sights the whole run, chipping away at his minute lead as best I could. I found my legs in the 2nd (5k) lap and pushed on, eventually ending in a sprint finish where we finished shoulder to shoulder.

So in our wave Dazzle was first, me joint 2nd and George got pipped back to 5th.

Hanging around for the awards Darren secured the win by a country mile, I got pushed to joint 3rd by local hero Roy Young and George slipped a couple of slots to 7th.

The swim and bike were long, so the time was of no consequence but I was pretty pleased. I clearly have a lot of sharpening to do to be competitive at this distance, but that's not were I'm aiming at the moment!

Weymouth Middle Distance - 4th Place

2009-06-12T07:33:00.003+01:00

It's been a while since I've updated the blog, but then it's been a while since I raced!

This weekend was the first 'tri' of the season, one of only two before I head out to Ironman Switzerland next month.

I wanted to find a middle distance tri early June and in the end Weymouth was the best fit with various family commitments.

After the last few weeks of great weather arriving Saturday afternoon was a bit of a crash back to UK summer reality. 25mph winds, torrential showers and 3 foot of wind swell in the bay were not exactly what I was hoping for. But it would be the same for everybody. I got myself registered into the 7am wave with the quick boys, got my numbers and headed over to Devon for an afternoon 60th birthday party!

Coming back to Weymouth early evening the weather seemed to have deteriorated, my mate Ed and I got some food and an early night.

Incredibly the wake up call at 4:30 brought sun coming through the thread-bare curtains. The sea was gently lapping at the cobbled beach, roads were dry and things looked a lot more favourable.

As I'd moved wave I didn't have a slot in transition, so the Ref placed me against the fence of the tennis court. I set the bike up right next to Bike Out in prime location, pulled on my suit and went for a quick warm up swim.
Apart from feeling like I still had a couple of kg's of carbs sat in my guts I was feeling great.

I lined up with mate and rival Justin Webb (Optima RT) and only 10mins later we were off.

It was a simple swim, out to a buoy, turn right, swim 900m's parallel to the beach, turn-around, swim back, left around another buoy and into the beach. Rather than my usual fight to get clear water and breathing under control I didn't worry. I took a breathe every 2nd stroke and went for it. 5mins in I was top 20 (or so), then got into a rhythm, trying to keep my arm t/o as quick as possible and started to move through the packs. By the furthest turn-around buoy I was inside the top ten. I took some feet for a few mins, then pushed on again. I took one or two more in the last half of the swim and exited the water in 33 mins.

With only one person going under 30mins, I'm pretty sure it was long, so I was very happy with the swim.

A quick fall in transition (slippery steps!) some irritation fumbling with my number belt and I hit the road in 34:54 (my target was sub 35!). My tactic on the bike was to really go for it - complex plan! Not quite the level of my 50m TT last weekend, but certainly pushing it more than I historically do in Middle distance.

The only real climb of the course was the first 5miles out of Weymouth, were I took a couple of the fast women from our waver (Yvette Grice, etc). Onto the dual carriageway and I took a couple of guys and got taken by eventual winner Edward Charlton-Weedy. I stuck within 50 yards of Edward for 15mins but then he started to drift away, finally just before the first turnaround at around 50mins, I overtook Toby Radcliffe and he confirmed I was in second place - I must have taken a few more in transition.

I saw the back of Edward as I came back onto the dual carriageway from the flyover and that was the last I saw of him. From 55 mins I was on my own, I gave a shout to Ed and team mate Adam at various turnarounds and timed to see Justin was 5mins back.

Maybe it was the sea water I drank, maybe it was the extra effort, but I struggled to get any water or food down in until 75mins. I had a bad patch then and forced a gel and some cake bar down.

The rest of the bike was uneventful, rolling dual carriageway in and out of the wind and a shower and then a fun decent back to Weymouth and T2.

Target was 2:14 for the bike and I got through with T2 in 2:15:24, so still pretty much on schedule. As I rode the final 500m's into transition I saw Edward running out the other way (I later heard he was 7mins up) - impressive riding.

Onto the run, the legs felt like lead. It wasn't a hilly run, but was rolling. I'd targeted 6:15/miles but try as I might couldn't get much under 6:40's. My excessive carbo loading was maybe taking the brunt! At 2 miles I got taken for 2nd, and again try as I might I couldn't get back onto the guy. I manged to hold a 30 sec gap for the rest of the first lap, but there was no impression to be made.

The next 10miles I ran on fear, knowing I wasn't running quickly and that Justin and Co. would be chasing me down. Justin was in form to run 6:15's and at 25secs a mile I wasn't sure if he'd quote get me. Toby Radcliffe has run 3hrs off the bike in an IM so he's no slouch.

I pushed on at the same pace to the last mile and rolled through the line in 4:15.11, I'd wanted to go under 4:12, so please enough. It was great to have some supporters at the end and better still to see Justin had worked his way all the way through the field to come in 66 secs behind for 4th (3rd in wave) and Toby another 80 secs behind that.

In the end Matt Hammerton, who went off in a later wave, had a great race to finish in 2nd, leaving me in 4th and Justin in 5th.

Still good preparation for Switzerland. Several lessons learnt.

1. Force yourself to eat
2. Don't kill the bike if you want to run fast! (I had a 154 Av HR on the bike, compared to 155 on the run)
3. You can overdo Carbo loading / race prep eating!
4. High arm turnover makes me fast open water

Harwich Olympic distance on the 21st, then a taper for Switzerland on the 12th July!

New Race Team - University of Essex Human Performance Unit

2009-06-01T07:47:00.001+01:00

After protracted negotiation on package I am pleased to annouce that this year I will be racing for The University of Essex Human Perfomrance Unit

I have been working with Dave Parry and Tom Cudmore over at the HPU since 2005 and am really excited to be part of the race team that they are putting together.

For details on the coaching and testing services available at the HPU, see www.essex.ac.uk/hpu

PB at Barcelona Marathon

2009-03-02T19:12:00.010Z

I’d talked up the fact I was trying to go under 2:50, but I really wanted to go for 2:45, so there was no hiding from the job at hand when I toed the line for Barcelona Marathon yesterday morning.

The plan was simple, run a 1:22:00 first half and then keep going and do another the same. In the end it worked pretty much perfectly to plan.

Up early on Saturday I landed at Barcelona airport late morning, took the train into the city and wandered up to the Expo to pick up my number and get some excellent free pasta. Thankfully my hotel was within a 5minute walk of the start line, so 30minutes wandering around with a map and I was there! A few hours nap, a very short run with some pick ups, some dinner and I was ready for an early night. My first ever night in Barcelona and I was in bed by 9:30pm...

Having a hotel so close to the start took away all the stress of dropping a bag and finding toilets; I went for a warm up run, nipped back to the hotel, stripped to my vest and jogged up to the start line for 8:15. Five minutes later I’d necked a gel and was 12 rows back from the start counting down the last 10 minutes with some very excitable Spanish hype. I was surprised at just how frantic the first couple of miles were, I thought I was far enough forward to avoid the jostle but everyone seemed to go off at 5k pace. Remembering the last time I ran a standalone marathon (3:36 in 2003) I avoided the temptation to do any weaving and stuck to the pace of the pack. My plan was to run under 6:15/Mile pace, the first two miles passed in the high 6:20’s but the legs felt incredible and I kept reminding myself I have over 2.5 hrs to get back a few lost seconds. Concentrating on ‘Loose is Fast’ (mantra of the day – thanks Ed) I started to ease up the pace, mile 3 was a bit quicker and I went through 5k in just over 20mins. By now the crowds of runners had cleared and I was cruising through some heavy breathers - what were they going to be like in 3hrs if they were that knackered at 5k?

I found the course fantastic, a proper city marathon route, big roads, no acute changes of direction and very little in the way of inclines and the views were spectacular. It actually felt like there was more downhill than up. 30k passed without incident, I ran my own race the whole way. I joined a of groups, and a few guys tagged onto me at times, but each time I ended up moving through them. There was one local guy I ended running with for the majority of the last 20miles and a guy from Ely who was also trying to go under 2:45 but we lost him at about 15miles. I was wearing the Garmin but soon found that it didn’t correlate very well with the official k markers, I ended up having to run 6:06/Mile average on the Garmin to stay on target for 2:45 pace. I think my official ½ marathon time was 1:22 and 20 odd seconds, the Garmin had it at under 1:20.

I promised myself a gel at 55mins and 1:50 and I was ready for it at 29k, the caffeine in the SMART gel did the trick and I pushed on from the little group I was running with, again the only guy that came with me was the local chap. We caught a couple more and another group formed as we dropped to the coast and ran into a headwind towards the old town, me leading on caffeine power! About 36k the caffeine started to disappear and I had my only low point, it lasted about a k and my local friend got 15/20metres on me. I went back to the mantra ‘loose is fast’ reminded myself I only had 5k left and that was less than 20mins, you can do anything for 20mins – yea? By 37/38k we were into the heart of the old town, the roads narrowed and the crowds grew, I concentrated on keeping the pace even, not getting excited by the crowds and on slowly reining in Mr Barcelona. The hilly finish I'd been warned about didn’t appear, there was a bit of a drag at 40k, but by then I was home and dry, I pulled back another 4 or 5 in the last k and finish directly behind Mr Barcelona.

All in all a very satisfying day. I felt I was running within myself the whole way, I stuck to within a few beats of my target HR and pace and it paid off. According to the Garmin, I ran 1:20:19 for the first 21k and 1:20:22 for the second, pretty even splits for a marathon. I don’t think I could have done much more without risking an almighty blow out, but there is certainly more to come if I can do a 2:44 off the back of 5 weeks running and 5 weeks eating and holidaying. I guess there is still some good base left from Ironman Arizona.

So now I have a decent standalone marathon in my back pocket when I get off the bike in (Ironman) Switzerland in July. I’ll be trying to ingrain an easier pace so I can come off the bike and get straight into the grove. If I could run 3:10 off the bike in Switzerland going sub 9:15, and that Kona slot, start to look more plausible.

Too much snow...

2009-02-07T16:34:00.013Z

It's been a tough month and I haven't quite had the preparation I had hoped for coming up to Barcelona Marathon. The man flu lingered into the 2nd week of Jan and it was only 3 weeks ago that I really started training again.

I have a few decent weeks in the bag now, the run mileage has crept up to a steady 50+miles and I've picked the bike fun up.

We've seen a load of snow this week, which has hampered things a little, so the mtb has seen more action than normal. The pictures are of my ride to work on Monday!

Just 3 weeks tomorrow until Barcelona, from the point of view that I want a motivator to get the run miles in, it's worked well. In terms of running my best possible standalone marathon this isn't going to be the occasion...

It may be I end up running the race as a long training run. I'll let you know in 3 weeks.

(below: David enjoys the snow - it was fun for a day!!)

2009

2008-12-31T11:03:00.004Z

so to 2009.

I've got through a fantastic period of downtime and Christmas with only a few extra kilo's and hopefully not too much lack of fitness. I picked things up again in mid December with some easy running and swimming. Christmas week I'd hoped to ramp things up a bit in the work downtime but I got a decent dose of Man-Flu, so I've spent the last 5 days housebound.

After a good chat with coach Dave in December the plan is to take the fitness from Arizona, add a bit of strength and then build on it as mush as possible to really race Switzerland. Looking at previous qualifying times (and I have good experience of how dangerous that can be), it's looking like I will going to need to go sub 9:20 and realistically under 9:15 at Switzerland to stand a good chance of getting a Hawaii slot this year. The bike at Switzerland is undoubtedly tougher than Arizona, so I'm looking at having to gain 33 mins over a tougher course.

6 hard months ahead then...

The next 3 months are really going to be about strength, working on my core, running and swimming. To motivate me on the running I've entered Barcelona Marathon on the 1st March, which I intend to run as a confidence booster and a motivator to keep consistent 80k+ weeks going through this tough time of year. If I can run under 2:50 at Barcelona then going under 3:15 off the bike in Switzerland shouldn't seem impossible?!

That just leaves 5 mins to find on the swim and T1 and another 15mins on the bike!

Happy New Year...

Ironman Arizona

2008-12-14T13:45:00.008Z

The days before the race I sorted out a couple of minor problems with the bike (thanks to a local bike shop and the guys at Isaac UK for the last minute headset help!) and I was good to go. Then with 3 days to go I woke up with a stinking head cold. I blame the flight…9 months without so much as a sniff. Then I ease back on the training and bang I’m full of cold. By race day I wasn’t too bad, plenty of caffeine and adrenaline and I certainly wasn’t thinking about it.

The Race
The sun was just coming up as we were called into the water at 6:45am. The locals were moaning about the water temperature, 19C, but it felt fine to me. I got in, got happy with my goggles and took a gentle swim over to the far side of the start. For those that have never experienced an Ironman swim before, imagine 2,500 human sized animals all thrown into a lake at the same point with only have one way out - 2.5miles the other end of the lake. The first minutes can be hell and truly terrifying, they call it The Washing Machine and it is. All of a sudden 2500 friendly swimmers change from chatting nervously treading water shoulder to shoulder to lying horizontal and thrashing like mad to swim in one direction - there is a lot of overlap. And that means punches to the head, neck, back, shoulders, legs, hips everywhere. Your legs get grabbed, other swimmers take a stroke and their hand lands in the middle of your back, in their eagerness to get themselves safe (a natural reaction) they push down into the middle of your back to propel themselves forward.
I’ve done a lot of work on my swimming and I can generally get ahead of the worst of the washing machine. My plan was to take off hard and try and stay ahead of the main bulk. Talking to many other participants after the race it seems I was one of the few for which this tactic worked. I tore off the front at a stupid pace, got 3 minutes out and did everything I could to relax and get into my rhythm without slowing too much and letting the throng behind me swim over my head! Apart from the startled safety canoeist who didn’t hear the hooter that I had to duck dive under. It was a dream swim.

Miraculously within 5 minutes I found myself on a great line, following the guide buoys into the rising sun and spent most of the first half hour in clear water, with the throng behind or to my right hand-side. The course was a huge ‘U’ shape out and back, I hit the turn in 28 mins (just under half way) and was over the moon as I knew if I kept the same pace on the return leg I should exit very close to my one hour target.

The swim back was uneventful, I spent a lot of time trying to keep my breathing regular and maintaining the effort levels. I struggle to maintain pace within the swim leg more than any other time in the race as you get no feedback on pace. No mile markers or bike computer to help.

I got heaved out of the water by a couple of the 4000 Ironman Arizona volunteers at just over 1 hour and crossed the timing chip for a swim of 1:00:31 and 229th overall. I had no idea of the swim position at the time, but judging by the crowds around I knew there were plenty ahead. As the swim is my weakest discipline I was always going to have plenty of work to do.

A quick jog through the park to get my bag of bike clothes, a few minutes in the changing tent and I was out onto the bike course, incredibly I'd moved up to 198th - people really are slow in transition.

The bike has historically been my strongest discipline but the tactic for Arizona was slightly different from normal, rather than using the bike to get back up towards the head of the pack I was to keep it as steady as possible. The target time of 5:15 should have been attainable without taking too much out of my legs, allowing me to hit transition 2 and the marathon fresh enough to run a fast(ish) marathon.

The bike leg at Arizona really suited me, it was 3 out and back lap into the desert, on dual carriageway style roads with only a slight hill in the last 3 miles up to the turn around. I hired an SRM for a few months up to the race and had exclusively ridden my low profile time trial bike so I was conditioned to be comfortable in a low aero position for the duration. It turned out on race day there was quite a head wind going out to the turnaround, making the first half of each lap, up the hill, a lot slower. I used the SRM and heart rate to moderate my effort and took it steady for the whole ride. I went through a lot of riders, but quite a few went through me, noticeably a large pack of riders in a group. I had a good scream at them for cheating – the bike is meant to be non-drafting – so each rider must maintain several meters between them and any other rider. Thankfully several of the cheaters got drafting penalties, including one guy who got a 4min penalty whilst sitting on my wheel.

With the wind behind us on the way back to transition I knew as soon as I got to the 3rd turnaround it was going to be a cruise, so mentally it felt like a 90mile bike leg with a 20 mile cruise, which was fantastic. I stuck to my eating strategy, taking on a gel or bar every 30mins and drinking like it was going out of fashion.

Avoiding the temptation to push the last half of the final lap I rolled into transition 2 with a 5:11 bike split (21.6mph average and 189th overall on the bike). Applauding the crowd and getting a shout from Lynz and Anna boosted me as I quickly changed my socks and got out onto the run.

Leaving transition 2 in 6:18 and 146th position overall and 18th in category. I saw Lynz and Anna again and they let me know I was 18th in my age group, with only the top 7 placers guaranteed a slot at the Hawaii Champs I had my work cut out on the marathon.

After a few hundred meters sorting my number belt and gels out, I took a gel and got down to the business of running 26 miles. The agreed target was to run a 3:30 marathon, so 8min miling, but I’ve been running well through the lead up and thought I might get closer to 3:15 (7:30min miles). After an overly excited 6:10 first mile I settled into averaging around 7:30’s. The run was three laps of 8.7 miles and I couldn't believe how good I felt, I went through the half marathon with a huge smile on my face in 1:39. At this point I still thought I had taken things easy enough to run a negative split in the second half of the marathon and finish in the low 9:30’s.

I’d been running cat and mouse with another guy for most of the run, overtaking him in the aid stations and then he’d catch me in the next mile. We got chatting which helped a few more miles pass, but by 20miles we had separated and I had slowed to 8 min miles - the smile was fading! I struggled for 3 or 4 miles, with the 23rd mile being my slowest, slipping over 9 mins. With 2 miles to go the crowds thickened, the smile returned and I picked things up, taking a few more athletes on the way. I had no idea how many from my age-group I’d overtaken, but I was pretty sure I hadn’t done enough. In the end the 2nd half marathon was 1:51 giving a full marathon of 3:30 and a finish time of 9:48:56, 96th overall and 12th in my age group.

Just 3 mins outside my target time, every part of the race went perfectly to plan: I have nothing to complain about. Phoenix was a wonderful location and we had a brilliant holiday afterwards.

I was 14 mins behind 7th place in my age group and qualifying, at the half way point of the marathon I still felt a 9:30 was possible, but on the day it didn't happen. On reflection perhaps I took the bike too easy. I certainly could have ridden under 5hrs, but how much would that have hindered my run? Maybe the head cold was worth a few mins too?

I learnt a whole lot from the race and getting a sub 10 in the bag has given me the confidence to actually race this distance - rather than survive. I’ve got a place at Ironman Switzerland in July so I can have another crack at qualifying there.

I want to take a moment to thank the loved ones, friends and colleagues who have offered me so much support and tolerance in the last few months/year(s)!

Special mention to my coach Dave Parry and the guys at Essex Uni Human Performance Unit- just 4 years of steady training and we're seeing some results. Ed for being at the end of the phone to hear my constant moaning about everything, especially training in the damned UK weather. George and Helen for making me swim faster, David for motivating me to train, mainly by guilt! Clare for some horrid massages and a dis-proportionate amount of dinner cooking! North Road and Darren for making me ride faster, GCR for making me run faster and my work for understanding my mood swings, tiredness and occasional poor performance!!…but mainly I must thank my fantastic girlfriend Lyndsey and my family for trying to understand something that is incomprehensible and not seeing them as much as I'd like...

See you in 2009!

Arrived in Tempe

2008-11-19T16:31:00.003Z

Just a very quick note to make you all jealous...

The bike and I arrived safely at Phoenix last night. This morning the weather is calm and bright and due to reach the mid twenties. Forecast for Sunday is much the same, althoguh perhaps a little cooler.

My hotel is just the other side of the lake from the start / expo so full of other athletes and very convenient. There is even a gym with an Endless Pool - going to have to give that a try.

After a few weeks of feeling really heavy and groggy in my peak/taper I had a great sessions on Monday, pushing out a really easy hour on the turbo at 250watts, before a fast light run.

Today I'm going to take a little spin on the bike in the sun, get a haircut, shave my legs and generally take things easy... it's a tough life.

Catch up soon. Laurence

p.s. Don't forget you can regsiter to keep update on the blog - see righthand side.

Testing and final preparation for Arizona

2008-11-10T22:46:00.005Z

I took a trip over to the Human Performance Unit at the University of Essex last Friday, to get a couple of benchmark tests done and see if all the hard work over the last year has paid off. Thankfully it looks like it has. i am still waiting for the official results, but my cycle ramp test showed a maximal increase from 435watts in June to 460watts. Better still my run endurance test showed an average increase of 1kph for the same lactate levels and exertion as in the same test in June. Great confidence building stuff for when I need to remind myself I am well trained for a fast Ironman.

Everything is looking good for the race next weekend, which really can't come soon enough. I am starting to lose my sense of humour with the dark nights and wet sessions ! I also seem to be very tired and have several niggles at the moment; a sore hand and a tight hip flexor - I guess it's only to be expected as the volume drops and my body comes goes into a bit of recovery.

I'm ready, the bike is ready, all the logistics are sorted, the weather in Phoenix has dropped from the 30's to the low 20's, so I'm good to go. 12 days to keep out of the way of sick people, wash my hands every 5mins, take loads of Vit C, keep drinking water and sleep a lot...

I'll try to post something ASAP after the race but Lynz and I are taking a few week holiday in Vegas and California, so don't expect too much!

On race day, 23rd Nov, you should be able to keep up to date at www.ironmanlive.com, via their athlete tracker

Wish me luck, Laurence

Stevenage Half Marathon

2008-11-05T17:46:00.006Z

As a final bit of sharpening, before IM Arizona, I raced the Stevenage Half marathon on Sunday morning. At the back of my mind I was hoping I might nick under 75mins (after my 1:16:23 PB in the Spring) and although my running has certainly moved on a level it wasn't to be this weekend.

After a little messing about queuing for numbers and timing chips, which delayed the start by 15mins, the Mayor of Stevenage set us off at the very respectable time of 10:45. I'd hoped the Stevenage route would be 2 fast, flat lap, but straight into it we were climbing and the course remained 'undulating' on cycle paths and included some swift changes in direction. I got in a nice little group, with some clubmates (www.gardencityrunners.org) and others from our intervals session and training mate Pablo (The self proclaimed fasted Spanish

The pack stayed together nicely for the first 8 miles or so, ticking away the miles at 5:50 pace - rather than the required 5:44's. Around 9 miles things started to break up a bit. I'd just taken a gel and felt strong, keeping the pace steady Pablo and I drifted away from the bunch. Going through 10miles in 58:30 I felt great, but knew is was all over for the 75. Pablo and I pushed each other on, running side by side (well me on his heels) for the next 3 miles, taking the 8th place runner, we had a little dash around the track and I surprised myself by having enough in the tank to take Pablo. The last mile was undoubtedly long,taking 40 secs longer than all the others, with that an the extra 0.1 to take us to 13.1 I missed the PB crossing the line in 1:16:52. 8th place overall and a bronze in the county was a nice surprise, the 75 will come in the New Year.

Well done to a teamates and friends who came out and all the finishers (Special thanks to George for being mum; taking photos and holding our bags!).

All in all a great mornings work and good luck to Pablo in the Ballbuster next weekend

Wadebridge Sprint triathlon

2008-10-13T17:00:00.004+01:00

At last, my first win of the season.

Though I had to travel all the way to Cornwall to get it. I went down to visit the parents, on a rest week after Ibiza Long Course and before the last big kick of training to IM Arizona. I took the opportunity to enter my (nearly) hometown sprint triathlon in Wadebridge. Apart from a very spacious, but rather slow, 2 people per lane limit in the 400m swim - which meant I had to wait nearly 3 hours for my wave to start - it was an absolute cracker.

Not knowing any of the names in Cornwall I had no idea what to expect from the competition. So I was pleased to come out of T1 heading up my wave. Within a mile, on the bike, I got into a battle with Rich Brady (www.tri-monkey.co.uk), which would last the rest of the race. The bike course is 7.5miles out and back along the North Coast Atlantic Highway – fantastic name- up on the tops of the north coast overlooking Padstow.

So 7.5miles grinding up hill, and then 7.5miles flying back down to Wadebridge, I was averaging around 21mph at the turnaround and got that up to nearly 25 by T2, which gives some idea of the average speed on the way back, long periods topping 70kmph is a tad dicey with a big offshore cross wind and 808's. After a bit of cat and mouse I finally took the lead back from Rich in the last mile, to lead by 10secs into T2, just taking the fastest bike split.

By this stage it was a two man race, two quick T2’s and we had a 800m downhill run into Wadebridge town itself, over the bridge and out along the Camel trail towards Padstow. I hit mile one in 6 mins and knew that wasn’t going to be enough to hold him off. Sure enough a couple of minutes late he came past me looking to be cruising. By the turn around the he had me for 16secs and my training buddy Darren's comments about me never winning a race were ringing in my ear!!

I tried to relax and pick the cadence up, sure enough I started to creep back at him. I was within 5 secs by the town and then on his shoulder at the bottom of the hill to the finish. I sat on his shoulder for the 1st half of the hill, matching his pushes, then with 400m’s to go I surged as hard as I could. Thankfully I went past with enough pace that he didn’t respond and I was able to cruise home for a 10 second win.

I had a good chat with Rich afterwards and found out he is off to IM Florida in 3 weeks, just 3 weeks before I go to Arizona, good luck to him out there. It'll be very interesting to see how he gets on.

Seems there is a very healthy tri scene at home in Cornwall, I might get back for a few more races next year, if you’re down that way for a break check out www.tri-cornwall.org.uk for great races all through the year.

Me me it was a great confidence builder, it's good to see that even with all the training concentrating on long slow stuff I have picked a bit of speed up too.

Straight back to it now for a few tough weeks; a 200k ride and a 2hr bike, 1hr run, 2hr, 1hr run brick being the fun to look forward to over the next two weekends. Thanks Dave!