Start Of The Ironman Training

2 weeks into the training plan and thing’s could be going a tad better. Week 1 was compromised by a stomach bug and week 2 by the works Christmas party which carried over a couple of days. Better to have a few dodgy ones early in the plan rather than later I guess.

I decided to use Don Finks Competitive 30 week training plan along with the other guys from Walden Tri club. Initially I was going to do the intermediate plan but, if you’re gonna be a bear, be a grizzly! Week 27 and 20 hours training that week looks a little daunting but I’m sure if I follow the plan I’ll get there in one piece. A few of the Ironmen at the club have told me to “expect to be tired constantly” and that “training is not an option”. Wise words I’m sure and ones which will serve as good motivation. It’s good that there are a few at the club that have already done the big one to tap up for advice as things get tougher next year.

So into week 3 we go, Christmas week. I see a few obstacles here too with festive cheer to be had but will get done as much as is possible.

    

Song of the week - The Doors - The End (live in toronto 1967)

Strolling down Sunset Boulevard (as you do), 1998, on holiday with my old pal Tev doing San Francisco, LA and Vegas in 3 weeks. Great great time. We came across the Whiskey a Go Go, legendary music venue for various bands and especially The Doors. 


We'd already done SF and next up was LA. Got a flight to LA and had nowhere to stay as we'd only sorted flights and decided to just find a motel/hostel to stay in when we reached each city.  Much to the annoyance of immigration when we got to SF and hadn't filled in anything in the 'where are you staying' section. A quick flick through the Lonely Planet guide and pin the tail on the donkey choice of digs soon sorted that though. 


Flying in to LA at about 9am from SF we decided to head for Venice Beach. That turned out to be a great move as the hostel was nice and was about 50 metres from the beach. Look out of the window right and there was sand. Look out left and there was the famous mural of Jim Morrison on the side of a building. 


I was a big Doors fan back then, still am. Have got an old work buddy to thank for that around the early 90's, playing Doors records in his car on TAPE! Became a little bit of an obsession to be honest and I read 6 books  on them including Morrisons poetry book on which the majority of Doors songs were based. A fantastic book though was Danny Sugermans Wonderland Avenue. He was The Doors and Iggy Pops manager and the book has some cracking stories. Might have to re-read that one! So which Doors tune? The End is one of their famous/infamous songs for that line towards the end which I won't put down in print. Watch The Doors film which explains it.        


   

Ironman World Championships

M-dot racing as it is otherwise known. Marketing for you! This Saturday sees the Ironman World Championships from Kona, Hawaii. 140.6 miles of racing through lava fields in heat more oppressive than that which we have seen the last few days. Not for the faint hearted. Nor for those that haven't qualified for it throughout the year in races around the globe. This is Top Gun for triathlon, and Kona is Miramar, California.The best of the best. Who will be Maverick Mitchel though? My money is on 2 time champion Craig 'Crowie' Alexander in the absence of Macca and several other past top 10 finishers. No doubt Lieto will race the only way he knows how to off the front of the bike and then hold on for dear life on the run. Just like Radcliffe and Farah used to do and so often fail. No Terenzo Bozzone who I'm sure will get a win sometime. He's young though compared to some so has plenty of time. Just as with the last few years though I'll be watching it live online for the best part of 10 hours until the winners are crowned. An ironman of watching!

      

Song of the week - DJ Shadow - Warning Call (ft. Tom Vek)

This won't be one for many. Heard it on Zane Lowes show on Monday and it's stuck so it get's the nod for the week.Vocals remind me of Ian Curtis, that monotone delivery which I've never really got into but I like this. I've actually been a fan of DJ Shadow for a while now, having bought Entroducing and The Private Press and also Psyence Fiction, his collaboration with James Lavelle.  
    
No official video that I can find so this will have to do. Thoughts?

Shuffle

Coming across a tune you haven't heard in an age is great. I had the ipod on shuffle when this little gem came on. At first I didn't have a clue, having not heard it for about 10 years but then it came back to me. There are times when a tune comes on shuffle that I swear I've never heard before. Is it my ipod!?! One of the nice things about maxing out your gb. The downside being having to fork out for a new ipod with a bigger memory. I can't bring myself to delete any!        

Itchy Feet and a Big Belly

I’m getting itchy feet. No, I haven’t got athletes foot, (some would say I’ve not even got athletes feet!) it’s just that I’ve had 2 weeks without running or cycling after my last triathlon of the season, The Vitruvian Half Ironman and I’m taking some time out to let my poor old body do a spot of recovery. That Vitruvian sure did hurt and now that I’m 40 years old it takes a little while longer to recover than it used to. You have no idea how difficult it is for me to type that number! But that’s the case and so I have to manage things differently than I did when I was in my teens competing at swimming and triathlons. But I’m itching to get back out there.

I’m taking this as a good thing though. Shows that I enjoy all of the training and competing. But how much longer I can hold out I’m not too sure. I’m writing this whilst watching the Great North Run which always makes me want to get out there and it’s a sunny day too. Maybe just one more week off though before getting back into it ready for the clubs cross country running season and a winter on the mountain bike. Will throw in a few MTB races too. No doubt a few ‘oh my god’ moments to come on the MTB when careering towards a tree way too fast!

For now though, I’ll keep my feet up and work on expanding by belly. 

Song of the week - Kasabian - Days Are Forgotten

Tweeted the other day that this tune was bouncing around my head on repeat. Still is and more than happy....although Gallagher's What a Life is getting in there. (See previous post). This tune needs the Spinal Tap 11 treatment.

Noel Gallagher - AKA... What a Life! (Live Acoustic @ 1Live Radio)

Oasis/Noel and acoustic versions of their tunes. Love. LOVE! Half The World Away, Talk Tonight etc.Listening to Noel do an acoustic version was as good as if not better than their main tunes. Back in the day that is before things went pear shaped. Watching this reminded me of them in the 90's doing the White Room. Classic performance with Weller of Talk Tonight. Although Noel looks like he's been chained to the mirror and the razor blade!
Great to see Gallagher doing an acoustic again. Let's hope there's a whole lot more to come with the release of the new album.   

“Who needs Cantona when we’ve got Barry Horne”

Being an Evertonian is not easy. Nil Satis Nisi Optimum (nothing but the best is good enough) is proudly emblazoned on the club crest. But that is clearly not what we are being served up by Chairman Bill Kenwright. Without doubt one of the most loyal of Everton followers, if one of his team takes a kick on the shin during a game, Kenwright feels it too.

Before Saturday’s game against Aston Villa, the most played league fixture in football, The Blue Noses staged a peaceful protest against Kenwright for his lack of ability to sell the club to someone with more financial clout than he has. A wealthy man he is but he doesn’t have the kind of bank balance required to move the club forward. In a time when the likes of Man City and Chelski have seemingly bottomless pockets, Everton are rattling their piggy bank, and rattling at the door of their actual bank and finding nothing. Kenwright announced some time ago that the club was up for sale to the right man or organisation. So why no sale? Is it because his heart is ruling his head and he is waiting for another Evertonian to take bigger kicks on the shin?

The Blue Noses are right and Kenwright must know it. They want an independent body appointed to deal with the sale of Everton, thus taking the decision away from Kenwright who clearly has a pair of blinkers on from nearby Aintree. It must hurt Kenwright dearly and The Blue Noses have been clear in saying that they have nothing personal against him. I’m sure that it must even hurt them a little to take this step against a man who must look like an Everton Mint on the inside.    

             

“Who needs Cantona when we’ve got Barry Horne” is an old terrace chant referring to an Everton player who was nowhere near as good as Cantona. Probably sung when we were getting beaten by Man United! Typical of that famous Scouse humour.  

But this is no laughing matter and the Everton faithful are well within their rights to protest even if it’s against one of their own. 

Snatch Wars (Snatch Vs Star Wars)

Such a shame that this won't ever make it onto mainstream TV.

Song of the week

Great new online mag - Sidetracked Magazine. Inspiring travel and adventure stories

Sidetracked Magazine. Inspiring travel and adventure stories

The Day After The Storm

That was tough! Then again, it should be. 1900 metres swimming, 85km cycling and 21.1km running isn’t meant to be a tickling competition.

Race weekend started on Friday as I was camping overnight. With a briefing for all athletes at 6am on Saturday it made sense rather than getting up at 3.00am and driving there on the morning. The race was at Rutland Water which has a water sports and cycling centre and enough parking space to cater for some 900 triathletes. Once I’d set up camp at 3pm, pretty easy with a 2 man pop-up tent, I had plenty of time to check out the start/transition area and make sure I knew the routes we had to take when changing between disciplines. Wise to do as it far too easy to get it wrong on the day when adrenaline is off the scale. Registration opened from 5 – 8pm to collect race numbers, timing chips, complimentary energy fuel and t-shirt and it was clear there were already plenty of competitors around based on the queue. With that taken care of it was time to set up my bike in transition and prep equipment ready to go on the Saturday morning. The less to do on the morning the better to avoid rushing and undue stress. With all that done, it was back to the tent to chill out for the evening and have dinner and an early night at about 9pm. By this time the field was full of tents and triathletes in a mini Glastonbury scene.

My alarm sounded at 4am on Saturday morning and was quickly set to snooze for 10 minutes. Even then I could hear people milling about and see torches flashing around in the darkness as people begun their day with a hearty, fuel filled breakfast. I went with peanut butter and honey sandwiches, jaffa cakes, flapjacks, an energy drink and thick black coffee to fire up the system. I then made my way down to transition for 5.30am to make final checks to my race gear and shoe horn my way into my wetsuit for the swim.

And so at 6.30am I made my down to the lake ready for a 6.50am start and met a couple of my Walden Tri Club team mates also in the 40-44 age group wave. Us and about 190 other triathletes all ready for their own race. Some nervous and quiet, some laughing and joking, all dealing with what was to come in their own way. Some lithe physiques as lean as whippets, some less so, all having hopefully put in the required training to get them to the finish line. At a very prompt 6.50am it was time for the B of the bang! Well, not quite, a starters whistle signified the off and the water quickly turned into white water as a mass of arms and legs began turning over. They call it the washing machine or bun fight and with good reason. Fortunately swimming is my best event as so I quickly found some space towards the front of the pack and settled into my rhythm. 2 laps and 29mins later I was out and running into transition to peel off my wetsuit and put on my bike shoes and helmet. Never too graceful an operation given the quick change in position from horizontal to vertical and blood flow. Only one other person in transition before me that I could see and so I knew I had nailed a pretty good swim. Always a good thing with my bike and running ability!

Heading out onto the bike course the weather was gloomy and quite hazy. Not too bad a thing really. It took about 15 mins to ‘find my legs’ and settle into a steady cadence on what was a nice but undulating course. A few reasonable hills that required changing down into a low-ish gear but nothing Alpe d’huez style. Again it was a 2 lap course taking us through transition and out again through cheering crowds and much appreciated spurring on. 2hrs 47mins after starting the bike leg I rolled into transition again, somewhat weary having pushed a little harder than I normally would. Seeing as it was the last race of the season I had decided to give it a little extra and leave nothing out on the course.

Running trainers on, energy gels tucked into my pockets I headed out onto the run course for the half marathon. Seeing as I’m normally spent after a stand-alone training run of this distance, it makes me wonder how the hell and why the hell I choose to do it after 85km on a bike! But if you’ve put the training in, you should get to the finish line. Settling into what is my only pace, slow, I found a rhythm and decided not to try and push my luck by going off too hard. Consistent with the first two legs, the run course was a 2 lap there and back circuit around Rutland Water on a mainly paved route with just a short grass section. Taking us around the lake to the farthest point, it was a scenic run course over a dam to the turning point and back again to the finish area to be cheered on and sent out on a final loop. Due to the design of the course, athletes passed one another the whole time and each time I came towards another Walden Tri team mate we high fived or spurred one another on with shouts of “come on”, “keep going” and “nearly there”. The latter one regardless of how far the finish line was! At the final turnaround point with about 5km to go, my batteries gave out on me as I hit the so-called wall and lifting my legs became a herculean effort. One of my team mates, tracking me for the whole run, eased his way past but not before taking a few moments at the side of me to let me know “nearly there Dave, keep going”. This time it was true! Good sportsmanship. Nearing the finish chute and with the announcer calling people in over the loudspeakers, I gave it that customary sprint over the line with team mates cheering me in. 5hrs 26mins after the starters whistle sounded, I drew to a standstill, received my finishers medal and waded into the lake with fellow finishers to ease our aching muscles and dissect and laugh about the day’s events. A good day at the office.  

On checking the results a day later I find that I finished 393^rd overall. I expected to come around there so all good. Even better though is that I posted the 25^th best swim overall and the second best in my age group of 40-44. 1^st if you consider that the one person to beat me failed to finish the race. I’m claiming it!

Roll on next season. 

Taper before the storm

T minus 4 days to go until the Vitruvian triathlon. Half ironman for those that dont know. 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run. Should be around 5hr 30 mins at the office if all goes well. Which it should. Already got 1 half in the bag this year at the Cowman which I really enjoyed. Still got the scars from it though in the shape of tan marks from my tri suit. Schoolboy error in failing to put on sunscreen before the off but when you start at 6.30am you don't really expect to get burnt. But burnt I was and in a spectacular way. If I dont win a trophy at the annual club awards in January for 'Best Tan Lines" (It's possible, we do have a few fun awards at Walden Tri Club) then I'm making up the award myself! So far as training is concerned it's gone pretty well. Not my finest work but have struggled to peak again after the Cowman in June. Will have to factor that in next year when working out a race schedule.

The best part of the lead up to a race is the taper as all triathletes will know and love. That guilt free resting up period when a few calories extra wont do any harm either. Within reason of course. 

The race is also an unnoficial middle distance club championships with about 15 members of Walden Tri entered. Some first timers at this distance and some seasoned pro's. Well, not quite pro's but some fast guys and girls in the mix. No doubt there will be a little smack talk beforehand but once we're off we'll spur each other on when we see one another. Great thing about the club and triathlon in general.

Will report back after the race with tales of pain and glory.  

Shakespeare I am not...more the Beano

Thought I'd give this a whirl as a bit of an experiment. As if there isn't enough to do already with Twitter and Facebook. But who gives a tiny rats arse?! A  little like writing a diary that's public I guess. But who gives a tiny rats arse?! I could be setting myself up for a job lot of feedback. Just thought about my old English teacher Mrs Bracken and spelling and punctuation and I'm sure she would already be warming up her red pen.