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| Rosie the cow - and Rose shining down on us |
The second meaning of 'It doesn't get any easier' refers to the Lungbuster duathlon that I competed in yesterday (Sunday 20th October).
I don't normally opt for duathlons but as triathlons have stopped for the season I decided it would be a good one to keep me motivated as well as to keep me used to the cycle-run changeover. This was my first event since the Ironman and although it took me 12 hours less than Wales it proved that no matter how many events you do or how long the events are, they never get any easier. This was an out of season road event (many multisport events turn to off-road around this time of year) therefore the event had a relatively small turn out who I immediately assessed would be good at their chosen sport. There was a certain type of person there - not very chatty or smiley, tall and lanky men (suggesting they were runners) and very few women (only about 5 of us). I don't mean to stereotype but I have been to enough events to get the feel of how one is going to go, and I hate to blow my own trumpet but I wasn't wrong. Normally at the start of an event I would talk to my fellow competitors just to be friendly but it was evident that no-one wanted to chat. It was at this point I told myself, 'Do not get carried away with the pace'. I knew I had nothing to prove to anyone and I was wearing my Ironman finisher top with pride. Although the first 8 kilometres is not a long way in comparison to what I have completed, the pace would be a lot faster and even after 1k a pace which is too fast will take its toll. I had a theory that some other competitors would make this mistake - and again I was not wrong. Even after 800m (2 laps of the sport track) I was overtaking people who had set off too fast. I continued to tick people off throughout the whole 8k. This does not mean to say I found it easy - I was pushing the pace as I knew this was a sprint event and not an endurance one. I finished the first run in 36m17secs which is a PB for me by a long way. Although I had managed to overtake a few competitors who burned out during the first run I was still in the bottom half of the field (some were ridiculously fast which merely confirmed my suspicions about the talent I was up against).
However, I did know that I could make up time on the bike as that was my stronger discipline. I can't remember how many people I picked off whilst cycling but I made up a fair bit of time. If I saw a distant bright colour from a high vis top they were my motivation - I was using people as my targets. The weather was also foul during the event, on the way to there I was faced with thunder and lightening and this made the not so experienced tread cautiously, not that I wasn't doing that as well (had to add that as we don't want mum to worry!). The bike was probably my favourite word; undulating - infact I would probably say it was a steady incline the whole way which also included a rather horrible and long 14% gradient hill. It also only had two real downhill sections, but this tough course played to my strengths. I managed to keep catching people until T2 where I knew I had to keep a good pace for the last 5k to keep the people I had overtaken at bay. I completed the 30k bike in
1h02m. As soon as I began to run again the recurring pain along my left ITB was there. From that point I knew realistically I wouldn't be able to produce the run I had done the first time round but vowed not to stop. I kept a good look at my Garmin to check I wasn't dropping too much. I struggled with my injury during the final 5k and I couldn't wait to cross the line. I managed to finish the 5k in 26m27secs which I wasn't disappointed about given the circumstances (in fact I would've been pleased with that without an injury). This brought my overall finishing time to 2h 06m 39secs. This isn't amazingly fast in comparison to some but I have never been a sprinter and find more pleasure in endurance events. But I pushed myself all the same and felt rewarded for doing so. I drove home, had a bacon sandwich (bliss) and then watched the rain pour so much so that the area flooded. A good Sunday.
I don't normally opt for duathlons but as triathlons have stopped for the season I decided it would be a good one to keep me motivated as well as to keep me used to the cycle-run changeover. This was my first event since the Ironman and although it took me 12 hours less than Wales it proved that no matter how many events you do or how long the events are, they never get any easier. This was an out of season road event (many multisport events turn to off-road around this time of year) therefore the event had a relatively small turn out who I immediately assessed would be good at their chosen sport. There was a certain type of person there - not very chatty or smiley, tall and lanky men (suggesting they were runners) and very few women (only about 5 of us). I don't mean to stereotype but I have been to enough events to get the feel of how one is going to go, and I hate to blow my own trumpet but I wasn't wrong. Normally at the start of an event I would talk to my fellow competitors just to be friendly but it was evident that no-one wanted to chat. It was at this point I told myself, 'Do not get carried away with the pace'. I knew I had nothing to prove to anyone and I was wearing my Ironman finisher top with pride. Although the first 8 kilometres is not a long way in comparison to what I have completed, the pace would be a lot faster and even after 1k a pace which is too fast will take its toll. I had a theory that some other competitors would make this mistake - and again I was not wrong. Even after 800m (2 laps of the sport track) I was overtaking people who had set off too fast. I continued to tick people off throughout the whole 8k. This does not mean to say I found it easy - I was pushing the pace as I knew this was a sprint event and not an endurance one. I finished the first run in 36m17secs which is a PB for me by a long way. Although I had managed to overtake a few competitors who burned out during the first run I was still in the bottom half of the field (some were ridiculously fast which merely confirmed my suspicions about the talent I was up against).
However, I did know that I could make up time on the bike as that was my stronger discipline. I can't remember how many people I picked off whilst cycling but I made up a fair bit of time. If I saw a distant bright colour from a high vis top they were my motivation - I was using people as my targets. The weather was also foul during the event, on the way to there I was faced with thunder and lightening and this made the not so experienced tread cautiously, not that I wasn't doing that as well (had to add that as we don't want mum to worry!). The bike was probably my favourite word; undulating - infact I would probably say it was a steady incline the whole way which also included a rather horrible and long 14% gradient hill. It also only had two real downhill sections, but this tough course played to my strengths. I managed to keep catching people until T2 where I knew I had to keep a good pace for the last 5k to keep the people I had overtaken at bay. I completed the 30k bike in
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| My time splits |
During this event as I mentioned I relied heavily on my Garmin. I have to say this most definitely the best tool I have for training. Obviously the bike upgrade has been invaluable and has probably had more of an impact than I will know but in regards to all disciplines the Garmin is my best bit of kit I have. It is crucial when running to get my pace right and as I want to shorten my marathon time by 50 minutes I would find this an impossible task to do without it. I hate to think of myself as reliant on technology when it comes to training but in order to better myself I, as I think many others will agree, find it necessary. Whilst running I make sure I don't drop my pace below 6minutes per kilometre and if I have a good 1k time split (sometimes I was hitting 4.45) I would get a huge boost of positive energy. However, rather than push more I would reward myself by allowing myself to slow the pace if need be. The system works the other way too. If I have had a bad time split I'll speed up until I'm back on track again. This method so far seems to be working great and if I keep the pacing I did on Sunday (even on the second run) I am more than capable of a 3h45 marathon which I need to prove I can do in order to better my Wales time. However, this is based on my duathlon pace and in comparison to a marathon it is a minor distance even if I did feel strong. Endurance racing is completely different to sprint distances.
Another tactic to achieve a 3h45 marathon time is to break it down. I've heard many people say that a marathon is a race in two halves. I can be living proof that this is the case as during the London marathon I hit my half marathon PB which should mean you just do that pace again but it's not as easy as that. I ended up adding a further 30 minutes on the 'second' half of the race without even realising. My stamina is a lot better since I did London but it just goes to show what can happen. With this in mind I am going to break my marathon's into four - split into 10k. This worked well for Wales and was a good strategy. I have got two marathons booked so far for next year; the first is a tough one in Devon on the 8th February and then to hopefully improve on that I have another on the 5th May in Milton Keynes. The latter will also be a great assessment before going to Lanzarote.
One another note, although the duathlon event was successful for my pacing and shows a future strategy for good it also highlights something that needs urgent attention - my knee injury. I have taken the next steps to get this checked out again by a sports injury specialist so I'll be updating that when I know more myself, although I am pretty certain an MRI scan is on the cards. I'm just praying it's nothing too serious. I have a half marathon in 2 weeks on the 3rd November and shall do the only thing I can do for that, strap it up using my Kinesio tape.
On a final note I just had to share this picture of me with the Brownlee brothers. They were guests at work on Sky News this morning and although I felt embarrased getting a picture I knew I had to do it. I even got a little nervous and starstruck! Unfortunately we didn't have much time to talk before they were whisked away but they were impressed with my Ironman accomplishment their reaction being, "Wow! I heard the weather was pretty bad too". I'll take that praise from the GB triathlon stars! I wished them good luck on everything they do as they walked out. Sometimes Monday mornings at work aren't so awful.
One another note, although the duathlon event was successful for my pacing and shows a future strategy for good it also highlights something that needs urgent attention - my knee injury. I have taken the next steps to get this checked out again by a sports injury specialist so I'll be updating that when I know more myself, although I am pretty certain an MRI scan is on the cards. I'm just praying it's nothing too serious. I have a half marathon in 2 weeks on the 3rd November and shall do the only thing I can do for that, strap it up using my Kinesio tape.
On a final note I just had to share this picture of me with the Brownlee brothers. They were guests at work on Sky News this morning and although I felt embarrased getting a picture I knew I had to do it. I even got a little nervous and starstruck! Unfortunately we didn't have much time to talk before they were whisked away but they were impressed with my Ironman accomplishment their reaction being, "Wow! I heard the weather was pretty bad too". I'll take that praise from the GB triathlon stars! I wished them good luck on everything they do as they walked out. Sometimes Monday mornings at work aren't so awful.
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| A good Monday morning |
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