Kicking it Old Skool.

I've got my training plan for between now and next September sorted out. However like all good battle plans, I doubt it will survive contact with the enemy. 

As part of the training I've started spending more time on my swimming. I really enjoy the swimming but its probably my weakest discipline. I've got a pretty good breaststroke but although I think you're allowed to use it at Ironman, it 'll look a bit pants and mainly be knackering. Throw in the fact that it's slower than desired, I need to sort out my Frontcrawl for the big event. Also after watching the Huntsman Triathlon on TV, one chap had to withdraw from the race as he took too long on the swim. I do not want that to be me, I do not want to be falling at the first hurdle.

I've got my bilateral breathing sorted for a pools length at least, I've got some sort of arm motion going but my legs are dragging behind me like a injured jellyfish affixed the underside of a pedalo. Enter my floaty friend, as seen above and at the bottom of the pile.

It is so tiring just kicking your way across the pool. It also makes you feel a lot like a child taking swimming lessons again. It does seem to be helping, despite the odd bit of frog kicking every now and then.  Only time will tell however if I can kick it.

                                  

Ironman Wales 2015

Ironman Wales 2015, took place on Sunday 13th September. Myself and Rhys had both registered to be a volunteer on the day, but through a lack of communication on the organisers part, this fell through. If I'm honest, I was quite glad of this as I got to just sit back and watch the spectacle that is Ironman Wales and all I can say is... wow!

My family and I headed back home to Tenby on the Friday night, excited about the weekend ahead; not only about Ironman itself but also the fact that my eldest son, Madoc, was taking part in Ironkids on the Saturday. He had been registered for this race way back before the summer and had gradually become more and more excited the closer it got to race day.

Saturday morning, we headed down into the town to pick up Madoc's race number and soak up the event atmosphere. I knew it was going to be buzzing around the town but I wasn't prepared for just how much it was. The town was rammed with athletes; supporters; holiday makers just down for the hell of it; volunteers; kids in their Ironkids T-shirts and bikes! Oh so many stunning bikes. I had a severe case of bike envy.
We headed to the main event village to pick up the race number. The place was awash with bike maintenance tents, massage tents, food stalls and one massive tent full of merchandise and kit.
I was in awe of everything that was going on around us. The range of kit and clothing for sale was amazing (some of which was damn expensive as you can imagine). I invested the princely sum of £7 for a nice T-shirt then went collecting freebies including some decent tyre leavers and a buff/bandana type thing. I was after a new pair of cycling shorts, but after deciding not to re-mortgage my house to cover the cost of them I stuck with the free stuff (I love free stuff).
As the morning went on, I was getting more and more excited for next year. So much so, I was actually starting to envy the athletes taking part, wishing I was one of them.

Madoc's race was due to start at 3:30pm, so after a bit of lunch, he put on his kit, including a very smart Ironkids T-shirt given to him, and I took him to the start line. Being in Year 1 meant that adults had to run with their children and I remember thinking "Brilliant, I'll get a chance to cross the Ironman finish line at least once in my life!"
The hooter went and we were off. Madoc was amazing. The distance for his age group was 500m, and he didn't stop once. The crowds were out in force all showing their support for the kids. I was worried he might have been overwhelmed by it all, but he took it all in his stride. Literally! We rounded the last corner and before we new it we were on the red carpet heading to the finish. Madoc had a huge smile on his face all the way round and it became even bigger when he crossed the line and was presented his medal by the Mayor of Tenby (I found out later, that minutes after Madoc finished, Shane Williams, welsh rugby legend starting handing out the medals. Gutted)
Lucie and I couldn't have been more proud of Madoc, he was absolutely amazing. A true Ironkid.

On to race day.

Sunday morning, we were up at the crack of dawn in order to watch the swim (Its not often we have to wake the kids up). We left the house by 6:15 am and headed to the beach. We arrived and there were thousands of people already there lining the streets and the beach. It was an unbelievable sight and again, the atmosphere was electric. Only problem was, there was no where left with a decent view. Cue my Dad. My dad is chairman of Tenby Male Voice choir (A fantastic choir I must add) and it just so happens that the building they rehearse in over looks the race beach. So, he unlocked the door and we headed up to the top floor which has huge windows. Perfect. We could see everything. Nice call pops!

The Swim
After a passionate rendition of the welsh national anthem, the athletes prepared for the start. The pros set off at 6:55am sharp. The course looked so much bigger seeing it for real. The first of many worries arrived. This year, the organisers decided to implement a rolling start rather than a mass start. This meant that the athletes lined up in and entered the water in predicted swim time order. I liked the look of this start and hope they stick with it for next year.
The thousands of amateurs set of at 7am and so began the swim and what a sight to behold it was. Thousands of people swimming in fairly close proximity; front crawl carnage!
Within 10 minutes people were pulling out and being taken to shore by the rescue team. Some with cramp, some being sick and some who had clearly been kicked in the face. The second of many worries arrived. All that training and money only to pull out in discipline one. I felt so sorry for them and I can't imagine how they must have been feeling.
As the second lap of the swim began, we left the building to find a spot by the road to watch the swimmers coming out. We found a great spot with a perfect view and at a time of just over 51minutes, the first of the pros immerged. 51 minutes! The words: "you're having a laugh" came to mind. I'd probably still be on my first lap after 51 minutes. Anyway, as the clock ticked on, more and more competitors came by on their 1km journey to T1. The support was fantastic and must give you a real boost when running through the crowds. The swim was amazing to watch, what its like to compete in remains to be seen.

The cycle
This section will be brief as we didn't see much of the cycling, seeing as it spans 112 miles through the Pembrokeshire countryside. We watched some leaving T1 for their long journey and watched some returning many hours later. What was a nice touch was the ability to track an athlete online. After heading home after the swim, I opened up the tracker to see how people were doing. I knew many of the local competitors and it was interesting to see how they were getting on.
At about 3 o'clock we headed back out to see what was happening. At the bottom of the hill where my house is, was part of the running route and part of the cycling route. The pros were already on the run, and the cyclists were coming in thick and fast. It was the poor buggers going past at 5:25pm and had to be at transition by 5:30, who I felt bad for. Going all that way, making it around the gruelling 112 mile course only to miss the 5:30 cut off by seconds. More worries now developing.

The run

The marathon was great to watch. We took a stroll all around the town, following the route round the cobbled streets where the support and atmosphere continued to be second to none. We finally settled down on a grassy verge at the bottom of my hill and watched hundreds of runners pass by, then half hour later pass again going the other way with an extra band on their arm showing how many laps they had done. Music was playing, beer was flowing and every runner I saw went past with a smile on their face (especially the locals). Fair play to them!

I knew this was an amazing event and had seen it on the telly many times, but nothing quite prepared me for how awesome a spectacle it was. The buzz around town, the atmosphere, the sense of achievement, the heartache and the pride all crammed into one weekend makes for an unforgettable experience.

So what do I take from this? Well, firstly 99% of me can't wait until 18th September 2016. To be part of Ironman Wales as a competitor will be proud moment for me and I'm sure for Rhys as well. That leaves 1%. 1% filled to the brim with worries! Will I be prepared enough? Can I complete the swim? Will I make the cut off times? Will I finish? This last one is the biggest worry of them all. With people already starting to donate money, I would hate to let them down. Also, with a lot of family and friends already planning their trip to Tenby, I would hate for them to have a wasted trip. But mainly, I really want to this to prove to myself that I can. I can't speak for Rhys, but our texts over the last few days suggest he may be feeling the same. But with all these worries has come a reinvigorated sense of determination. The inspiration gained from watching Ironman Wales 2015 has brought me to one conclusion: failure is not an option.

ALEA JACTA EST!

Just a really quick post to say we've signed up, both me and Dan has signed up with SCOPE to take part in IronmanWALES 2016. It all just got that little bit realler. Uh Oh. What have we done?

Okay, I've calmed a bit now so I can tell you this.

You can find the links to our sponsorship pages to the right. Mine is the Just Giving one, Dan's is the Virgin Money one. Please dig deep, it'll be much appreciated.

I'm off to Carbo load now, never to early right? And keep your eyes peeled for Dan's report on this year's Ironman WALES.

13th September: Chesterfield Aquathlon

 

Place: Queen's Park Sport's Centre, Chesterfield

Organisers: Chesterfield Triathlon Club / GoTRI

Distance: 512M Swim, 4k Run

Severn Bridge Half Marathon

It's been a week since I ran the Severn Bridge half marathon and I would have written this post earlier if it hadn't been for a broken phone and a change in broadband supplier, so apologies for the delay. It's good to have the internet back (how did we ever cope without it) and it's time to review the race.

As the title suggest, the race took place at the old Severn Bridge, just outside of Chepstow, on Sunday 30th
August. My entry to this race was an anniversary present form my wife way back in June, a bloody brilliant present I must add, leaving plenty of time to prepare for my first half marathon since 2009. All in all, my training for this race went well (I'm ignoring the Race for Men blip) and for the first time in a long time I was running 10 miles or more on a fairly regular basis. A PB was a distinct possibility as back in 2009 my time was two hours thirty-something and as I wrote in my last post, I was aiming for under two hours.

On the Day:
About a week before the race, the final details were emailed out explaining all the procedures for the day. This year, the organisers decided not to send out race numbers in advance but hand them out on the day, or day before, instead. This worked out ok for myself, as I managed to get mine on the Saturday before so no problems there however there were problems to come. The race was due to start at '9am prompt' according to the email and that there would be ample parking and directions to the car park and race village. Lovely. We left Gloucester at 7:15 which we thought would be plenty of time as it's only a half hour or so drive. This is where the problems came. The 'clear directions' they mentioned turned out to only be present if you were coming from a completely different direction. To make matters worse, there also happened to be a cycling sportive on at the same location on the same day. So when we arrived at Chepstow, there were signs with red arrows up everywhere which I thought were the 'clear directions' I was looking for. Nope. These were the route arrows for the cyclists. To say my road rage was tested is an understatement. After asking for directions and finally finding out where to go, we were then greeted by a monumental queue for the 'ample parking'. We were moving at a snails pace, getting nowhere, and the clock was getting ever closer to 9am. Stressed? Oh yes! The organisers underestimated the amount of parking they would need. In the end they had to delay the start-for which I was very grateful-as there were so many runners still stuck in traffic .  After finally finding a space, I left my family to sort out bits and bobs and made my way to the start, which was about a mile walk, a perfect distance to de-stress.

Walking up the Seven Bridge with nearly three thousand other runners was a hell of a sight. The atmosphere was electric and the stress from earlier quickly dissipated. Unfortunately, I timed my final toilet stop before the race all wrong and needed to go again. Now, I'm sorry to lower the tone to 'toilet talk' but it's not everyday you get to say this. I peed on the Severn Bridge! Don't worry, there were plenty of others doing it before and after me (not that this makes it ok). But when you've got to go you've got to go. Bladder empty I positioned myself in the 1hr50mins section of the line-up. I felt excited and ready. The announcer gave us a one minute warning, just time for a 3000 strong group photo and before I knew it he was counting down from 10.

The hooter sounded and we were off. It took about a minute or so to get over the start line. Once over I set off at a decent pace and started making my way through the crowd quite quickly. I was surprised at how much space there was to run considering how many runners there were. I soon settled in to a rhythm and cracked on. My Garmin buzzed showing a first kilometre time of 4:29 and I was worried I had gone off too quickly. That said, I didn't slow down. I decided to see how long I could keep this pace up for. The next few kilometres went by at paces ranging from 4:32 to 4:40 and I was feeling comfortable.

The first mile marker I saw was at 4 miles which was a nice surprise. The route was turning out to be a lovely run through some country lanes with plenty of people out, showing their support. Water stations were well placed throughout, and it was nice to see small bottles of water being handed out instead of in plastic cups which I always spill when trying to drink when running.

Whilst on the route I inevitably encountered some hills and they weren't too bad at all. What was interesting was that at the start of these hills there were some signs. The first said 'This isn't the hill' followed by 'This isn't the hill either'. I was intrigued. After about seven miles other signs arrived: 'The hill is coming', 'we smell your fear' and 'here it is'. This mysterious hill had arrived and it was a beast! Looking up I set myself one goal; no walking. I ploughed on, passing many who had succumbed to 'The Hill' and were walking. Determined not to be its next victim, I put my head down and didn't look up until I reached the top. Needless to say I was a tad out of breath but I had made it. At the top there was one more sign....'Relax, it's all downhill from here'. It pretty much was and I soon got my kilometre times back in to the 4:36-4:42 range. I was surprised I was still managing these times but I kept going and the mile markers went by quite quickly. 8, 9 and 10 miles went by with no drama and eventually I arrived back at the Seven Bridge at around the 10.5 mile mark. The camber of the bridge is a lot steeper than in looks in a car and it was a little tougher than I thought running back over. Add to this that on the way back we had to use the foot path on the side of the bridge. No big deal I hear your say. But for someone with a chronic fear of heights it made for an interesting couple of miles. On the plus side, it did up my pace quite a bit! The last part of the route was fairly flat until with 300metres to go, another sign appeared saying 'This is going to feel like a hill' referring to the slight incline leading back to the race village and the finish. To be fair it felt steeper than it looked but I had no problem getting to the top where you could hear the music and crowds at the finish. This gave me a boost and I wanted to finish strong. Running down the home straight I spotted my wife, two boys and parents cheering me on which was awesome and got me over the line.

At the finish I was given a bottle of water and free lucozade then made my way to collect my goody bag. A decent goody bag it was too, with a cracking running T-shirt amongst other things inside. What I was most impressed with was the medal. Now I'm a sucker for a medal and this one didn't disappoint so I was very happy.

On to my time. My last blog stated I was after a sub 2 hour finish. Well I achieved that, with a time of 1:39:46. I wasn't expecting anywhere near this time so I was and still am one happy chappy!


The Race:

Good points:

• Fantastic route
• Well organised (apart from parking)
• Free lucozade
• Goody Bag
• Drinks stations
• Medal
• Atmosphere

Improvements:

• Parking
• Parking
• Parking

Would I do this race again? Without a doubt and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a great half marathon with a great U.S.P: the added bonus of running over (and peeing on) the Severn Bridge!

Good times.

Big Brutal Lie In 2015

This weekend was due to be my victorious destruction of the longest swim I'd ever done. I'd signed up for the Big Brutal 5K Swim at Llanberis.  I'd booked a lovely little youth hostel for the night before,  More details here.

Now about a week prior to the event, I realised I was in no way fit for 5k so I got in contact with the organisers and saw if I could down grade to the 2.5k distance. They said that would be fine and to mention it at registration on the day.

I left on Saturday afternoon to drive over to the hostel and I have to admit I did not want to be going. I was feeling a bit bluergh and not feeling prepared at all. This was not helped by my front tyre blowing out about 10 miles from Runcorn, going about 70 miles. I pulled over to the hard shoulder and started changing the tyre. It is terrifying trying to change a tyre on the hard shoulder as lorries thunder past. Eventually I got it sorted with a bit off help with some friendly Highways Agency chaps. I thought this was going to mean I was going to be too late to register at the hostel and I'd have to turn around. Sat Nav said I'd still be there in time so I plunged on.

I checked in and got settled in my room and set the alarm for 6.40 so I could be at the lake for about 7.40 the next morning. However, when I woke up in the morning, I felt terrible. I didn't feel up to swimming and this was more than my usual morning malaise. I've been feeling under the weather for a while and I didn't feel like risking it so I stayed in bed and checked out about 9.30am and went home. An absolute fail and I only tell you for the purpose of transparency. But look forward to Dan's report on the Severn Bridge Half Marathon, it should be a good one.

Severn Bridge Half Marathon Hopes

This post will be brief as I just want to publish my aims for my next race.

With the Severn Bridge half marathon only days away, preparation has been much better than for the race for men. 
The last time I ran a half marathon was way back in 2009 so it's been a while. 
My training has dipped away from cycling and swimming a little and focused more on upping the distance of my runs, which has gone fairly well. I've managed some 11.5-12 mile runs and felt ok over this distance so hopefully that extra mile or so will be achievable.

As for my aims for the race itself:
My first and only half marathon distance was completed in a time of 2 hours 31 minutes if I remember correctly.  Back then I was two stone heavier and not very fit at all.
I am a little better prepared for Sunday, so I'm fairly confident of a PB (although I don't want to tempt fate)

What I am aiming for is to finish in sub 2 hours. The further under this time I can get will be a bonus.

So there we go, nice and simple...finish in under 2 hours.

Watch this space...

A Wake Up Call: Race For Men 10k 16th of August

Dan: In my last blog, I said the Severn Bridge half marathon on 30th August would be my next race. An impromptu text from Rhys on Monday 10th asking if I fancied doing the Race For Men 10k race in Gloucester 6 days later changed that.

The three days leading up to this race was spent catching up with family and friends over several beers, so not the best preparation for a 10k I'll admit. Still, this was a completely flat course, running around a field so I was quietly confident of a decent time after the success of the much hillier Tenby 10k, maybe even another PB. How wrong I was.

The race itself was a fairly uneventful four lap course around a flat field. I got off to a decent start and kept up with the front group of 4. These lads were shifting and I was wary that there was no way I could maintain their pace for a full 10k. As it turns out, this group of 4 were only doing the 5k race which is why they were going so bloody fast and the reason I burned out rather quickly. What a numpty!

I carried on pushing as hard as I could and felt I was going at a decent pace, but my Garmin soon corrected that, showing ever decreasing km times. Disheartened by this I plodded on to the end.

I crossed the finish line somewhere between 45 and 46 minutes I think,  I was too disappointed to care.

This was a nice race on a lovely day and all for a good cause and I will do it again but it brought to light a few home truths. We need to take this challenge seriously if we are to succeed. I know it seems obvious, but you can't just rock up to a sportive event off the back of three days on the beer and expect to do well.
In fact, a complete re-think on diet, training, recovery, preparation and lifestyle is needed,  and with just over a year to go there is no time to lose. 

Rhys: Well this race was a disaster and as Dan says it has got me thinking. I'd gotten cocky after Liverpool and mocked the thought of a mere 10K as a stroll in the park. Unfortunately, Strolling is exactly what I did and I didn't even do the full 10k. I think the delay in the report on this has been due to some shame as detailed below.

Held at Plock Court in Gloucester, this was the male equivalent of the Run For Life Events which have been going for a few years now. As far as I'm aware this was the inaugural Race For Men (Edit: Completely Wrong - This is the 7th Year) and it was well attended and well organised. It may not have been the most stunning of courses (4 times round a large playing field) but it was a nice atmosphere and full of enthusiastic folk. Only real downside was they recommended to get there far too early for an 11am start, as such Me and Dan were waiting around from around 9.30 onwards. Still always nice to catch up.

Once the race started, I found myself in the front pack and realised I should have started much further back. I watched Dan hare off in a cloud of dust and managed not to attempt to keep up with him, which would have been a mistake. As the course went on, my legs started to hurt and not in a way of usual running. My legs had been funny all week since running up the hill by my house after a few cheeky pints, in flip flops. I fear I'd done more damage than I'd thought. As such I was walking more than usual and slower than usual. I managed the initial 2.5k lap in 15 minutes but the second lap was just a nightmare. Due to the circular nature of the course, I could keep track of where Dan was and he was doing pretty well. So well in fact that he lapped me on his 3rd lap, before I'd finished my 2nd. As I came to finish lap two, I could see my time was about 35 minutes and I couldn't see the next two laps going any better. As such seeing digression as the better part of valour, I decided I was only doing the 5K and finished. I was hugely disappointed with myself as I'd been hoping for this race to go well.

After having a quick lucozade, I watched the actual 10kers finish and even though Dan was gutted I believe he came about 4th in the 10k and the guy who finished 1st did it in around 41 minutes I believe.

As Dan has said, a reevaluation is needed. We both realised we'd been fairly lax that week on looking after ourselves and as I said I got Cocky. There's a huge need for me to knuckle down now as we approach the 1 year mark., I still need to sort out food, consistency or training. And unfortunately I fell off my booze reward wagon, The current plan is to start again 1st September and to have a semi detailed training schedule from that date too.

Mainly I need to learn that every race should be respected and not to be cocky about the shorter races.

I'd happily do this race again and I want to show it who's boss next time.

Progress

Back when we started this blog, we made some predictions on our expected and hope for times. As part of a semi-regular stocktake, tune in after the jump to see how things are shaping up.

Tenby 10k

With Tenby being my home town, I'm a little ashamed to say that the first time I ran it's 10k was in 2014. However, after doing so it instantly became one of my favourite 10ks around. Last year's race took place on a scorching hot Sunday in July where the heat caused many problems. 
Apart from the month and day, this year was completely different. The skies were grey, rain fell and the biting wind provided a bit of a chill. So much so in fact, that I donned my running leggings for this one (something I didn't think I'd need in July).
What I love about events held in Tenby is no matter what the weather, there is a great atmosphere. Despite the cold and rain, hundreds signed up to race and hundreds came out to watch. There was a real buzz of excitement in Tudor Square and I was eager to get to the start.
Once the competitors are called to the start, they make their way down to St Julian's Street. Now, how anyone who has been to Tenby will know that this street is fairly narrow, so filling it with 600 runners, including a Scooby Doo, was a sight to behold. It was also highly entertaining watching a man trying to drive down St Julian's Street only to be halted by the sea of competitors. Most people would have pulled over until we had past or just turned around, but not this guy. His suggestion was, and I quote: "surely they could just move aside to let me past." Yeah good luck with that...muppet.
Anyway, back to the race. I found myself a good position toward the front of the crowd and awaited the claxon.  By the time the 1 minute warning came I was raring to go. My race plan was simple and what I use for every 10k. Go out as fast as you can for as long you can, keep a decent pace for the rest and save enough for a sprint finish.
After a countdown from ten, we were off. Running up the high street was chaotic but a lot of fun. Trying to plot out a route through all the runners while keeping a decent pace up was challenging, but running up the high street with so many supporters cheering you on, including my family was just brilliant.

I Started off at a really quick pace (for me) and the first 5k came and went surprisingly fast. My Garmin watch displayed lap times ranging from 3:59 to 4:12 for the first 5k. I was really happy with this but realistically knew I wouldn't be able to maintain it for the full distance.
At about 3k in, I caught up with a mate of mine who was hoping to achieve a similar time as me of sub 45mins, so we decided to stick together for a while. This helped a lot in keeping up a good pace. However, when we arrived at the first large hill, he began to pull away and I just couldn't quite reach the same pace. Not that is mattered too much as I was happy with how I was running.
For the second half of the race, my pace did slow a little as predicted. For the second 5k my lap times ranged from 4:23 to 4:36; still a pace I was happy with. The Garmin was a huge help,  allowing me to know when to up and lower my pace if needed.
I got passed the second of the three major hills in the race with no problems and knew it was flat until hill number three at about 9.5k. The route itself is lovely,  running through the town, along side the beach and through a the lush little village of Penally. It also helps knowing the roads so we'll as I knew what was coming up and had time to prepare. 7km to hill number went by with no drama, but as I have mentioned,  I knew what was coming up. Hill number three is a killer! And the fact it comes at 9.5km makes it even worse.
My approach was simple, get up as fast as I could. It was tough, very tough and my pace did slow here. The issue with this hill is that it is incredibly steep to start with, and when to think you're over the worst, there is a subtle gradient which keeps going and going and it drains you. What kept me going was that it was only two more corners until the home straight back down the high street.
Turning the final corner, I was greeted with hundreds of spectators all lining the the pavements. This really does give you a lift, and helped me with one last push and a sprint finish. I even managed to overtake a runner who had passed me in the hill and right on the finish line were my family cheering me on.

So, to the results:
My previous 10km best was 45:16 set at the Westonbirt 10km (another fantastic event).
My aim, as I mentioned earlier, was to go under 45 minutes for the first time.
With the weather as bad as it was, and knowing how hilly the course is, I wasn't overly optimistic about my chances.
However, my final time was 44:48, a new PB. To say that I was happy with this is an understatement,  I was bloody extatic!

Overall review:

The race was well organised with a great atmosphere. The route was excellent,  with clear Km markers and three drinks stations. Results were accessible instantly at the end of the race and we were provided with a T-shirt, water and fruit at the end.

Improvements:

If I'm being picky, I would rather a medal than a t-shirt, if not both. I'm a sucker for a medal.

This was a great race and a great result for me. Next up, the Severn Bridge half marathon on 30 August. I can't wait!

26th of July: Liverpool Triathlon

Place: Liverpool, based at the Echo Arena

Organisers: British Triathlon 

Distance: Olympic (1.5k, 40k, 10k)

Booze!

As you can see from the strapline for this blog, we do like booze. It may differ for you but I tend to find that alcohol is not conducive to training or getting fit. It can also cost an arm and a leg. As such I have a cunning plan to free up more money for Triathlon gubbins, get me to the Gym on the days I don't want to and help me get fitter still. Read on to find out exactly how.

14th June: Swansea Half Marathon

Place: Swansea, South Wales


Organisers: Swansea Half Marathon Limited

Distance: Half Marathon (13.2 Miles)

Ironman on a budget.

Taking on an Ironman is physically and mentally demanding, however it also demands a lot of your wallet too. The reason we left ourselves two years to prepare is not just to have enough to train, but to be able to spread the costs involved. Is it possible to keep the costs down without comprising on quality? Hopefully over the course of the next year and a half, we can answer this question and aid others in their quest for Ironman status.

So far I think I haven't done to bad a job with keeping costs low and I'm sure Rhys is doing well too.

The Bike

This is the one area where it is difficult to get the quality you need without spending a fair bit. However, it's still possible to keep the costs low(er). I spent a long time looking for a bike, and sought the advice of many a bike shop owner. Each gave different answers; some saying buy this bike, others saying no don't buy that, save a bit more and by this. I was getting no where very quickly.

I had a look on ebay and to be fair there were some good bargains on there. This might be a good way to go if your are looking for a bike to train on or even have a spare.

This being my first ever road bike, I was quite keen on buying a brand new one. A friend of mine told me to wait until the end of year when the next year's models would be coming in, thus resulting in the previous year's models being reduced. A good tip. I'd recommend doing this if you are looking for a decent bike at a reasonable cost. I found my bike, the Specialized Allez 2014 model at Evans Cycles with a substantial price cut. I also fully recommend Evans Cycles. Their service and advice was first class. With the money saved on the bike I was then able to buy myself some new cleat pedals and shoes. These were also reduced due to the end of season sale. As a beginner I am not concerned about having the latest model. I asked if I would be able to compete in an Ironman with this bike and the staff members I spoke to (all experienced cyclists, which was reassuring) said yes.

So there you go, the first tip to keep the cost down. Keep your kit a season behind. It may seem an obvious one but when it's saving you a lot of money, who cares!

Who's Reading this?

I love me some stats. And after every new post I spend ages looking at the stats page to see how many hits we've had and where they are coming from. So this is just a short post to show who are audience are at the moment. Please allow me this tiny self indulgence after the jump.

24th of May: Gloucester Sprint Triathlon

The Place: Millbrook Academy, Brockworth, Gloucestershire

The Organiser: Tri Team Glos

Distance: Sprint Triathlon (400m, 28k, 6k)

It's been a long time General...

It's pretty obvious that my blogging has been poor of late, and by poor I mean non-existent. So I'll start with an apology to my Ironman amigo, Rhys, for my lack of effort . He's been keeping the Tinpot dream alive and ticking along nicely.Nice job boyo!
Unfortunately, it's not just my blogging that has been a little inconsistent, my training has suffered too.
Up until I went to Disney Land with my family, the training was really taking off. One week with Goofy and it all goes downhill for a month or so! I have found it really hard to get some momentum going and just when I thought I was back on track, everything ground to a halt. If I'm honest, my head has not been in the game at all. For example, there have been several occasions where I've planned to train but changed my mind because I couldn't get motivated; or planning a bike ride and realising my tyre was flat as I was leaving the house. I didn't have a pump so got in a grump and didn't go training. Another ridiculous cock up came when I went to swim training after missing a week only to get in to the changing room, open my bag and find that I'd left my trunks on the stairs at home. To say I was pissed off is an understatement!
I just couldn't get into it and wasn't enjoying it when I did. Bad times!

However, the last few weeks have seen a real improvement. I've managed to slowly get back into a routine, and build back up near to the standard I was at before Disney. I've joined a running club, which has been brilliant and helped to push myself further. I'm back swimming again and the tyres are pumped up and I've been back out on the road.

Rhys and I have signed up for the Gloucester triathlon on Sunday, which I'm really looking forward to and training this week has been great. I've loved every session.

So, training back on track,  head back in the game and I can't wait for my first race of the season.

It's good to be back!

Why?Why, So Early?

Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm not exactly a morning person. My preferred way to see the dawn is by staying awake all night and collapsing into bed after it peeks its little rays over the horizon. So imagine my surprise and chuffedness when I finally made an early morning gym session. More after the jump

The Best of Friends! The Worst of Friends

Every race I've ever done I've been so happy to see anyone coming out to support the competitors. As I briefly mentioned in my review of the Sheffield Half, the crowds were out in force. And once again thank you to you all. However the crowd are a double edged sword, let me explain after the jump.

The Bear

I've noticed a phenomenon when I'm running a longer distance. The Bear comes out. Let me explain after the jump.

12th of April: Sheffield Half-Marathon

The Place: Sheffield,South Yorkshire  12th April 2015 9.30am,

The Organisers: Jane Tomlinson's Run For All

Distance: Half Marathon

Beforehand: This is my home race, having been a proud resident of Sheffield for nearly 7 years.  As you'd expect for any race in Sheffield, its going to be hilly, as can be seen from the race profile below.

However it looks like it'll get easier after the 5 mile mark, so that's something at least. Being my home race and running past  my workplace you'd think that I'd have checked out the route by now. Au contraire, mes amis. In fact my training has gone belly up recently, as witnessed by the dearth of updates on this blog. Add in was laid up in bed with a bad back on Monday,Tuesday and Wednesday, and this is not looking like the triumphant homecoming I was hoping for.

You may have heard of last year's water debacle so let's hope the same doesn't happen again.  I'm sure it won't and that lessons have been learnt (Its also new organisers this year).

And yes as per usual  I have a social engagement the night before, An Anniversary Party. Truly I am the worst athlete ever.

Prediction:  2hr 20 Minutes - due to training laxity and possible Spinal issues.

The Day: For once, I didn't have to drive anywhere, I just had to make it to the centre of town a quick bus ride away. I didn't have to drive but I did due to oversleeping after some cats had a knockdown brawl outside my window last night. I think it got so epic they knocked a potted tree down.. So I parked up in town and headed for the bag drop buses. Tag attached, I handed it over and started wandering towards the start. At this point I saw the 135 minute pace setter, so I thought I'll stick with this guy, and then I should make my predicted time.

After some warm ups by the Sheffield International Venues team, with some backing (CD) music from Ms. Taylor Swift and an introduction via PA to the celebs who'd be in the first batch of runners sent off. Obviously I'm not quite a local here yet as the only person I recognised was the legendary fundraiser John Burkhill, who you'll often see around Sheffield with his Green McMillan Pram.

The race started a bit late as there were still some cars on the route, which brings me to Thanks. Thank you Sheffield for letting us gum up so many of your roads today and for being out in force to cheer people on. That was one of the great thing about having your name printed on your number, people would cheer you on by name, even if you'd never seen them before. It certainly helps with a bit of motivation.

Its started out fairly gentle down Arundel Gate and we were soon at Eccleshall rd. This was proving a doddle so far, maybe I'd even get a PB. Now many of you are probably familiar with Eccy Rd but you've probably never realised that its all a hill. In the car, I'd never noticed, running up it, oh dear. From there it just got hillier,up until the 5 Mile mark, as can be seen by the break down of my pace. 

1st Five Miles: 11 mins 14 seconds a Mile
Last 8.1 Miles: 9 mins  55 Seconds a Mile
Average Pace: 10 mins 25 seconds a Mile

And the Wind. So much Wind. At one point it blew my foot into my other leg, almost toppling me. And it was blowing me all over the road. But hills with the wind in your face is not conducive to a fast time. 

Still the second part of the race was much faster and I was having to hold myself back from pelting it down the hills on the return into town. Got to conserve that energy.

Strangely enough whilst I'd been in peaks, someone had flattened out Eccy rd and it no longer seemed to be on a slope. Why couldn't they have done that earlier?

Coming up the final hill towards the roundabout by the Moor/John Lewis I was flagging, I was trudging, I was walking. Thank you to the guy at the 400 metre mark who said "Rhys, You can stop when your done, Pick it up Lad". See Peer Pressure even from strangers worked, I ran the rest of the way in. No Sprint finish but I was happy with myself. And look at the swag I got, plus a Mars Bar but I snaffled that fairly quickly.

Finishing Time: 2 hrs 16 Minutes 33 Seconds - So Not a PB but a tough course and did I mention the Wind?

Pros: 
Easy to get too, 
Well Organised Start, 
The Chicken Man I was chasing for most of the race (He beat me), 
The Warm Up, 
Plenty of Water

Cons: 
If you've driven on Sheffield's roads let me tell you they are no better to run on. I'm sure some runners were lost in the potholes along the way. 

The Bag situation after. They appeared to just have emptied the contents of the bus onto the floor outside and it turned into a cross between Bingo and a Jumble Sale. I only found my bag by luck as the tag had come off, one guy had been waiting for his bag for an hour and all that time at the front of the queue. It needs rethinking for next year.

Blisters: Not Many

Do it again? Yeah I would, although I will do much more hill work.

MEA CULPA!

Apologies all round, We've let you down at Tinpot towers recently, with our lack of updates. Its entirely our fault.No real excuses except some of us have been to Disney and some of us have playing more xbox than is good for a lad. However that is the past and we've bout 520 days to go till the big day so coming up we've got some great posts on The Sheffield Half Marathon, Dan's New Bike Review and after Sunday a more focussed ...uh..focus on Triathlon from myself. Let us know what you'd like to see in the comments.

Swimming -Finally

I finally went swimming last night as I had managed to load the Mp3 player with music and bought a new swim bag and some new trunks. However things did not go entirely to plan.

I did a quick 40 minutes on the treadmill beforehand as I'd failed to check when the pool opened.  This was a great chance to try out the Mp3 player and after some rammage into the ears, it was affixed perfectly and giving some good sounds. It was a shame to have to take it off to change for the swim, especially when I saw what else came out of my lugholes.

Here's when the 1st issue arose, I may have over estimated the amount of weight my stomach has lost or the increase in thigh size recently. I was unable to get my new trunks on. I was already concerned they may be a bit skimpy to start with but these bad boys would not be experiencing the chlorinated embrace of the pool for a good while yet. Fortunately I'd brought some board shorts with me, which still fit nicely.

Now I've expressed my worries about the massed start of the Ironman before and yesterday was great practice for that. The pool was heaving and everyone was staying in lanes about as well as a drunken toddler behind the wheel. I was no different, dodgine and ducking to avoid swimming into anyone and having to dive underneath at times to avoid collisons. I think a child hit me in the head at one point but I thought it best not to look back.

The player worked great and gave good sound, until it fell out my ears, I'd not managed to get such a tight fit as when I was running and within 3 metres was diving to the floor to retrieve it. After a few more false starts, it seemed to be firmly attached. However after a pretty good kick off, it was floating again. Deciding to cut my loses, I made a beeline for the exit and a night on Improv fun.

It was great getting back in the water again and I think with a bit more moulding and maybe smaller buds the player will work out a treat.Also some day I will go swimming before work.

Off The Wagon!

I have a confession to make ladies and gentlemen. I fell spectacularly off the wagon. Not the booze wagon, which I've factored into this thing but the doing anything else wagon.

I took a week off to allow my blisters after Liversedge to heal and now have a couple of nice calluses to show for it. Never mind, you need to rest and recuperate at times. This then stretched into another week, and I was ill. Nevermind, Microbes happen.

There was however no excuse for the 4 or maybe 5 McDonalds (I lost count) or 2 pizzas I ate over the last weekend of February. Now everything in moderation, but that diet in the previous sentence is not moderation.

This has the wonderful knock on effect that I felt sluggish and a wee bit depressed (Blog Post for another time) and that doesn't help get you back out on the training. So I'm going to start looking into food for Ironman over the next few weeks and hopefully get more of a balance. I'm not cutting out the junk entirely yet, as cold turkey may not be the best idea ever.

Anyway after some very sluggish times I finally made it back to the Gym yesterday for a quick run and some weight work. Nice and gentle back into the fray. The weekend holds doing some more, as I've wasted nearly 3 weeks of training time. That counter to the right is ever smaller every day. 

The Last Two Weeks

As Rhys said in his last post, It's been quiet on the old blog front lately. My last entry spoke of my high hopes of getting plenty of training in during the half term holiday. It didn't quite work out like that. Ironically, the week I returned to work I managed to get a lot more done. So here goes, the last two weeks in review:

Monday 16th February - As mentioned in my last post, I did manage to complete a 7 mile run which felt good. What was really frustrating was, on return from said run I realised my Garmin GPS watch had been in swim setting which meant my timings were all over the place. So, according to my stats, I swam 7 miles around the streets of Gloucester in less than an hour. Brilliant.

Tuesday 17th February - Lucie and I decided to take Madoc fossil hunting along the Jurassic coast and it was brilliant. We hired a chisel and goggles for the boy and when digging. Charmouth was a great beach to find fossils. Just wish I realised that at some areas I was chiselling away at, it was actually an offence to do so. We'll say no more about that and pretend it never happened! Although I didn't train on this day, we did walk a lot of miles and it was great.

Wednesday 18th February - Today was meant to be a scheduled return to swim coaching but I missed another session. This time for good reason. Today was the day I picked up my new bike from the shop. Oh yes! I was ridiculously excited about this. We spent a little longer in the shop than planned as they made sure the bike was fitted correctly to suit me. To add to the excitement, Lucie bought me some new clip-in pedals and cycling shoes with cleats (something I have never used before) and I can't thank her enough for all this new kit. She's awesome!

Thursday 19th February - The maiden bike voyage. I was very nervous but very excited about embarking on the cycling element of my training. Not only had I never used clip-in pedals before, I had never actually ridden a road bike before (jumping straight in the deep end a little doing an Ironman). The weather today was shocking; bloody freezing, windy and wetter than an otter's pocket. Not ideal for a road bike virgin. I'll admit, I was bordering on scared during the ride. The difference between road and mountain bike is massive. I was wobbly, on the brakes every five seconds and slow. In the end I only went 10 miles, but for a first time and with the weather as bad as it was I was fairly happy with that.

Friday 20th February - Swim? No.

Saturday 21st February - Lucie's parents came to visit in the morning, so although I didn't get out to do the 8 mile run I had hoped, I did have a hell of a sweat on from all the vacuum cleaning! In the afternoon me and some friends went to watch Gloucester play rugby. It was a good game with a few cheeky beers thrown in so inevitably not training was done today.

Sunday 22nd February - Nout!

As you can see, half term didn't entirely go to plan from a training perspective.

Moving on to week two. A much better week despite a slow start.

Monday 23rd February - Today was my birthday and doing no training because it's your birthday is as good an excuse as any not to do any training. So I didn't! Despite it being the first day back at work after the holiday, I had a really nice day and an even better evening with my family. Watching Madoc street dance to my new CD was classic!

Tuesday 24th February - Back to the gym today for a good hour of high intensity cardio and sprints. This felt really good.

Wednesday 25th February - An overdue and very much welcome return to swim coaching today. I hate missing weeks as it feels like starting from the beginning again when I go back. However, today wasn't too bad, despite missing three weeks. It was just great to get back in the pool and focus on the discipline which is worrying me the most.

Thursday 26th February - Back to running today. With my GPS set back to run I was raring to go. I set out at a good pace and covered 10k in a respectable 46 minutes. I was pleased with this seeing as I hadn't run for a while.

Friday 27th February - Another opportunity to swim today. No drills or exercises, just a chance to swim. I covered 1.1km but with only one stop which is real progress for me. Happy days!

Saturday 28th February - No training today. Although I did burn a lot of calories through the stress of driving through Shepard's Bush, London on a busy Saturday morning, as we were collecting a new Buggy Lucie had found online. Road rage was tested to the max!

Sunday 29th February - Bike ride number two. The conditions today were much better. No rain, dry roads and blue skies. However, it was still chilly and blowing a hooley (or hoolie there is some debate on the spelling, I looked it up haha). Even on only my second time out, I felt so much more comfortable, confident and stable on the bike. I absolutely loved it. I had better speed on the down hills and straights, and at the moment taking on the hills is brilliant. I'm feeling a lot more positive about road cycling after this. Today's distance was 12.1 miles in a time less than that of the 10 miles I covered in bike ride one.

Well there we are; up to date on the last two weeks training and as you can see, week two was definitely the more productive. I hope to keep this up for the week ahead, but the best laid plans and all that......we'll see.

Healing and Lazing

It has been a quiet few days here at Tinpot towers. After the Half Marathon I intentionally took the week off to allow for my huge blister to heal. Its all fixed now, so there is no reason for why training hasn't begun again.

Apart from it been a week of illness and busyness, so training has taken a back seat. However next week, back in action.

Review of the week 9th February and plans for w/c 16th February

It seems like it's been a long time since I have posted any update on training, but after my week off mentioned in my last post I was raring to go come Monday 9th.
However, my enthusiasm was short lived as I completely forgot that this week was parents evening week which effectively wiped out two days of training opportunities. So this is how the week panned out:

Monday 9th - The first of two parents evenings, so after a late finish I really didn't have the motivation to go training.....so I didn't.

Tuesday 10th - A better day. A good 1 hour session of high intensity cardio at the gym, which felt great, as this was my first attempt at exercise in over a week.

Wednesday 11th - The plan was to go to swim coaching straight after parents evening 2. However after an even later finish I was back and forth on whether to go.  I went back. Home. And had a curry. Good times!

Thursday 12th - Nothing! However this was a very exciting day. This was the day my amazing wife ordered my brand new road bike for my upcoming birthday! Very excited and will write more about that when it arrives.

Friday 13th - A nice 6am run to start the day. I covered 8km at a fairly decent pace. It felt good to get running again.

Saturday 14th - Headed to the pool for an early morning swim. The aim was to cover a mile. I managed this in 49 minutes but with stops. Not a great time if I were to do the Ironman today, but with over a year to go, its not a bad start.

Sunday 15th - Back to the gym today. I started with 20 minutes of sprint intervals, with speeds changing from 10kph to 17kph every minute. This was followed but high intensity cardio and bodyweight workouts.

So the week ended better than it started. I've missed the last two weeks of swim coaching which I am not happy about so I am really looking forward to getting back to it next week and with it being half term, there is no excuse.

Plan for next week is as follows:

Monday - 7 mile run. (Already done as I am posting this on Tuesday)

Tuesday - Didn't do anything today as my family and I went fossil hunting along the Jurassic Coast which was awesome. More about that later.

Wednesday - Swim coaching.

Thursday - Maiden bike voyage. Damn excited about this one.

Friday - Swim

Sat - Run (8 mile target)

Sunday -  ??? Going to watch a rugby match on Saturday evening so not holding out much hope for Sunday.

Looking forward to this week.  Watch this space for a bike review!

15th February: Liversedge Half Marathon

The Place: Liversedge, 11am, 15th Feb 2015

The Organisers: Robert Town Road Runners

The Distance: Half Marathon (13.1 miles)

Beforehand: I  know nothing about Liversedge, I'm sorry to say. I signed up for this as the weekend I had planned to do a half was unavailable. Liversedge is about an hours drive from my house in Sheffield. I'm fairly confident about this distance. I'm not looking to break records, just finish. I've made the decision to head out the night before for a few waters with some friends, although knowing me that will develop into something other than water.

Prediction: Sub 2 hrs 30

The Day: Well what do you know if developed into cocktails and dancing. Its a good job I know myself, so I interspersed booze with soft drinks. I woke up clear headed with a huge amount of Fog covering Sheffield. Definitely not weather that you want to head out in, but I'd curtailed my Fred Astaire like moves the night before and if I didn't go, then that would have been for nothing. So dragging myself out of bed, I pulled on my running tights, shorts and a long sleeved running top, before remembering to plaster the old nips. That is very important for long distance races, I sense a future uncomfortable post about that.

Getting to Liversedge ,or  I suppose to be technical Roberttown, was not difficult at all. A quick nip up the motorway and then some nice country roads. I had however neglected to realise what a popular race this was and had to park a good half a mile away from the start. Not too bad when you're starting but so far when you are finished. And once again after Cardiff Half, I made sure to park my car right by where I'd be running at the 12.5 mile mark, just to add a extra frisson of self control for the end.  Fortunately this time I didn't notice it, as I was in full on push to the end mode.

The registration, chip and number collection was in the church hall and went off without a hitch. I struggled to get my timing chip attached to my shoes, but that had nothing to do with the chip.

I ambled out into the cold, again and once again thought of another fine mess I'd got myself into. There was some warms up aerobics going on by the start but I didn't want to waste energy on that. I had 13.1 miles to warm up over.

The gun went off and all 600 of us begun. And oh the hills, so many hills. The entire first mile was down hill, which is nice to start but then you realise its a circular course. What goes down, must trudge up.

I've not been able to find a profile for this year's but last years looks pretty similar. (Thank you to @halfmarathonmad for the photo). As you can see lots of big drops then lots of climbs. I believe it was on the second big drop that someone raced passed me, making worried noises as he seemed to be out of control. I'd hope to give you a mile by mile account but its all a bit of a blur.

 I'll be honest with you I may have walked up some of the later hills, at least partly. However I ran the 1st 8 Miles in 75 minutes, according to the marshalls who I kept using for time checks. I find not havine a watch with me helps as I have to listen to my body rather than a ticking clock and  it also gives me an excuse for a quick chat with another person.

Towards the end I was spent, I was so tired, as I had had no idea of the hilliness of the course before starting. I'd not looked at the course, figuring each Half will be fairly similar to the last. Alas, twas not so. This was much more challenging course than any I've done before, still hopefully good practice for Sheffield Half in a few months.

I finally finished and well it was  A PERSONAL BEST. Somehow despite the hills and the odd bit of walking I had trounced my previous best time. I even managed a sprint finish, just to overtake the lady in front who'd I'd been trailing for miles. So I finished with a chip time of 2 hours 12 minuts 18 seconds and 2 miliseconds.

I got a so delicious bottle of water and a long sleeved tshirt, as shown below. Not the most amount of swag ever but for a smallish locally organised event more than enough.

Thank you Roberttown Road runners for organising this. I may well be back next year, if I can stomach the hills again.

Pros: Well organised, Friendly, Easy to get to

Cons: Hills,Hills,Hills

Blisters: Yep

Results:

2 hrs 12 mins 18 Secs - NEW PB

Equipment Review: Ipod Shuffle

An essential part of my gym sessions is my Ipod Shuffle. Its got a handy clip which attachs easily to my shorts, and when I'm a bit heavier digs into my stomach, sometimes cutting me. But its a good way to know when you've not been going to the gym enough.

If you're an itune user its great, however recently I've found itunes becoming more and more unwieldy. Battery life is long enough, I think about 8 hours at first although this does decrease after time.

I'm actually on my second Shuffle, my 1st was a 1gb Blue one like in the photo above in March 2009. If you look at our race histroy page, you'll see I did quite a bit of training in that time and eventually just before my 2nd Marathon in September 2012, it died. It would no longer hold a charge. So I replaced it with a 2gb orange one. This is still going strong.

Before that the headphones has died in December 2011, so I got these.

They were brilliant and I'd highly recommend them. They fit snugly on the ear and sound good. It did take me a while to figure out how to get them on easily, but that's probably just me. However they have now broke, only the right ear works. Still they have done me well, and I'd consider getting them again. However I have no moved onto a waterproof walkman, that as I type I'm trying to setup. I'll let oyu know how it pans out.

Here's a quick rundown of some of  the songs I have to have on my running playlist. They all have a fast beat and are great to get your heart pumping, or at least mine. 

Girls Aloud-Megamix

                         

N.E.R.D - Rockstar

                            

A+D-Love Will Tear You Apart

                         

These are the tracks which kick me into high gear. But I'm always looking for more. Add your suggestions to the comments.

Excuses or Week Ending 8th February

I think that on the left just about sums it up. This week I just didn't do it and all I have are excuses. Its so bad I'm writing this Thursday night knowing full well I'm not getting anything done between here and Sunday evening.

All I did was a quick 2 mile run on Tuesday, as my mood was foul and I need some endorphins. I could give you the excuses but what's the point? I just didn't do it. That's the main way of getting there with this, the only way getting out there and doing the reps.

Anyway no point in looking back and moping, let's look forward.

I have been trying to build up to the Wrexham Marathon, but budgetary constraints mean I won't be going anymore. (Look out for the change to a shameful Did Not Start DNS on the race page). However this does mean I can change my focus onto the Sheffield Half Marathon, which is 9 weeks away. However before that I've the Liversedge Half Marathon on the 15th of February, so I suppose I better taper this week. Does that even work after a week off? Once again to my trusty friend Mr. Hal Higdon

Monday: Squash - That counts as stretch and strengthen
Tuesday:  4 mile on hills
Wednesday: 3 mile run
Thursday: 2m
Friday: Nowt
Satuday: Nowt
Sunday: Half Marathon then Beer Tasting

And then maybe next week I'll start at week 4 of Half Marathon Novice 2.

Oh No, H20!

Which one is me? Which is Dan?

So far I haven't covered swimming very much on this blog and that's because I haven't done any yet. I'm not sure if its the cold weather or the fact I can't find practically indecent racing shorts or some other reason but I just haven't been yet.

I love swimming, although I'm not particularly good at it. Its this cut off of the 3 disciplines at Ironman Wales that I'm most concerned about. You need to be on your 2nd lap after 1hr15 minutes. Each lap is 1.9k, (then a K run in between, sheer lunacy). So the 1st lap needs to be done at a speed of 25.33 metres a minute. Now I put it like that, its not too bad. I think last time I checked I was doing about 25 metres in about 35 seconds, without too much of a push. And its been so long I've no idea what stroke that is with. I tend to favour Breaststroke but then Crawl does seem more sensible for the whole endeavour.

I'm tempted to start having lessons like Dan but the inflexibilty. I also need to get some experience in open water and especially sea swimming. So if anyone knows of any good places to swim in the sea or sea based races (Preferably somewhere near very landlocked Sheffield), let me know in the comments.

The swim is where I'm planning to use the arms most. Everything will be involved in every part of the race but my arms will be taking less of a battering on the cycle and run so let's use them as much as possible in the swim.

I am every so slightly terrified of the mass wave start, I've visions of it degenerating into this

Okay prehaps not that bad, but I have heard horror stories of getting a good clonk from another over enthusiastic competitor. So the plan is to stay wide, and closeish to the back. Anytime lost can be more easily made up on a later discipline.

Hopefully after these next two half marathons, I'll find my fish legs again. Also I still need to try out my Waterproof MP3 player and get it to stay in my ears.

Review of the week and the week ahead (Late again!)

Bad Times

After a slow start last week due to a sickness bug, I got back to training on the Wednesday, 28th January, with swim coaching. This was a really good session and it felt great getting back into it.

Thursday I was intending to go to the gym but this didn't happen. Poor effort!

Friday I headed back to the pool and swam for 1.1km which wasn't too bad. I went in the fast lane and managed to keep up with some fairly competent swimmers so I was happy with that. Improvements definitely being made.

Saturday 31st January I went for an early morning run in Tenby. I ran a very hilly route which was challenging but I managed to cover 7 miles and seeing as I was suffering from a bad cold at the time, I was happy with this.

Saturday night was the night of a surprise birthday party I organised for my wife, Lucie. It was an awesome night apart from me making a complete arse of myself! (Apologies to all)
However, a top night out usually means the following day is a write-off, and boy was it a write-off!
Sunday I felt extremely rough but this then developed into quite flu like symptoms (in hindsight, running with a cold was probably not a good idea).

So far this week I have not been feeling well at all. Although on the mend now, I have decided not to partake in any training this week and start a fresh on Monday when hopefully all bloody colds, sickness bugs and general roughness has passed. I'm not happy with not training but doing so would probably make matters worse at the moment.

So, not a good week. Roll on Monday!

Week in Review: Week Ending 1st February

I should probably just get a template for these posts stating something like "Aimed to high, trained too little". So let's just take it as read that I didn't manage the early morning stuff, the long run, the swim or anything on Thursday. Wow, that was a terrible week for training, although excellent in many other ways.

Adding to the guilt is that I got back from a very fun weekend in Tenby to find a new copy of 220 Triathlon sitting on the doormat waiting to be read.  Its got a great 2015 race guide in there so may start looking at the options for the year ahead.

Also I may not be doing the Wrexham Marathon now. After the suspension snapping on the car on Friday night, I don't know if I can afford the hotel and train to get there. (I'd drive but since I fell asleep into a burger after my 1st Marathon, that doesn't sound too wise). Its still a month away so not making a decision right now but just throwing it out there. Give me any thoughts in the comments.

For Going - I've already paid, I've said I will
Against Going - Spending Money can't really afford, I'm not ready To be honest

But before I decide on that, its time for looking to next week.

Monday: 5 Mile Run
Tuesday: 5 Mile Run
Wednesday: 8 Mile Run
Thursday: Swimming, as may finally have worked out how to keep my waterproof MP3 player in my ears by then
Friday: Nowt
Weekend: Also Nowt as I've a big leaving do to go to.

See look at that managing expectations.