Another few weeks since my last blog and so many training sessions (and a couple of races) have been & gone. Highs & lows. Laughter and a few gut-wrenching moments but all in all I’m still on that journey – I haven’t given up.
A few weeks back I went with Beccles Triathlon Club to the Lea Valley Park Velodrome as the club had booked a 2-hr coached session, as they do from time to time. The numbers were disappointingly low this time, maybe because this date conflicted with other events, other training sessions, holidays etc. – maybe something to look at in the future when securing a session (maybe keeping it in the winter). Nonetheless off we went and met up with 7 others to go round the boards and have some fun.
The sessions we did with the coach were quite good and I recommend anyone to have a go as it definitely sharpens your bike handling skills – something a few people could do with I’m sure!
Ultimately the final “fastest lap” session came at the end of an arduous 2 hours and I took the honours (if there were any) and we set off to the nearest café to consume quite a few calories.
Knowing that I had missed my 3-hour ride that Sunday I made sure I did a fairly intensive hour on the wattbike just to make up the lost time.
A few days later I took part in the 3rd and final Bungay Black Dog 10k Running Event near Bungay. My run training in previous weeks since the 2nd event had been stepped up a bit as running (IMO) was lacking recently. With that I had the confidence to go a little harder than usual from the gun and proceeded to clock 4:30 k’s which given my current running pace was quite a bit optimistic. With that I suffered towards the end and had to stop at 9k only to be shouted at by Ty – a Beccles Triathlon Club member. Just where I thought no-one would notice – in the woods, there she was! I found out a few days later she “dobbed me in” to Suzy and I got a few short sharp words from Suzy telling me not to go too hard from the gun – something I knew anyway but i’m a bit ignorant like that – I refused to let it beat me. Even with the stop I clocked a 47minute time which was my best of the year and apparently 2nd best ever. Well…..”ever” meaning since I used this Garmin watch which was just over a year ago. My best on the watch was 43 minutes at event number 3 last year in preparation for Barcelona so this is (in my eyes) testament as to why I need to up my running game.
Last weekend I rode the Velo Club Baracchi Road Race on the Ringsfield Circuit just as I did at the end on March this year in DAP CC’s promotion. My aim was to survive primarily as my current training was far removed from accelerations and sprinting etc. With little hope of a top-10 I set off in the peleton happy to sit-in and enjoy watching others have a go and trying to win. As expected a local lad won it (although in Derby kit) as he’s a University there (I think) and entry on the day team mate Liam Gentry showed up after a near-3 year layoff from Road Racing to come in 2nd place ahead of breakaway companion Chris Guy from Iceni Velo. Chris, just like me, had turned to triathlon recently so I’m sure his 3rd place definitely confirms he’s “still got it”!
In the bunch gallop I was very poorly positioned and I just happened to come out near the front of the bunch 100 metres from he line to get 11th place – one better than in March. I might not “have still got it” but I was quite happy not getting dropped.
I’ve said in the past cycling is a horrible sport when you’re suffering and below par against some of the riders you’re racing with but when you have the fitness it’s quite nice to just sit in and enjoy the race experience. I had enough to enjoy it that day that’s for sure.
Comment of the day has to be from Joe Skipper, who rode out to the race to watch it, as soon as I had finished he said “you’ve got to put that in your blog”!
To end on a good note I met up with the DAP lads at the St. Olaves Bell pub afterwards for a drink and a chat – something I had missed 🙂
Training has been endless in fairness and tiredness at the end of each day has me falling asleep way earlier than I used to in my build-up to Majorca. Almere is a different animal and I want to give it my best shot so training has to be hard for me to adapt etc. so I take it as it is – just hard and part of the process to go well in the race.
Mondays have been just a swim in the river near the Beccles Lido, Suzy is increasing her distance every week or so, so i’m happy to swim behind her at the start and stay within a close proximity of her until she turns and we head back. At the moment it’s around 2500m and i’m sure it’ll get near that 3800 mark required for full Ironman distance that’s needed.
Tuesday mornings are usually a short sharp Wattbike session, around an hour with intervals at 95-105% as a rule which hopefully makes me comfortable with the high efforts required in surging past competitors to not allow them to latch onto me in that important 90k bike split in Almere.
In the afternoon I head out for a recovery run anywhere up to 80 minutes, there are some parts in there where I go a little faster but it’s still in that recovery zone – I think my legs thank me for it 🙂
Wednesdays are an AM/PM split again with gym work in the morning and then a swim session in the pool after work focusing on either speed or endurance.
Thursdays I have a lie-in but that’s because the evening session is a brick session. I ride from 60-90 minutes at my Half-Ironman Pace or thereabouts and then climb off to some form of steady/mixed/fast/flat-out run lasting nearly an hour. You might say it’s fartlek but it is planned each week and I have my friend Marcus Sladden to thank for that as he gave me this template in the build up for the London Half Marathon I did in February this year and I clocked a 1:42 – i’d like to see those kind of numbers again.
Friday is usually another AM Swim set but this all depends on how tired I am after the Brick session so on occasion this session has been sacked off.
Saturdays are always pivoted around Park Run, either I start there or I finish there. I do find that If I run a bit of endurance after a Park Run I tend to run faster – I’m not sure how that works. Maybe the “pipes” are a bit more open after a slightly harder effort at park run? I don’t race it but I do tend to go 10% faster in comparison to my normal run pace.
Sundays, as always are my bike rides, racing or just doing a few hours at tempo. Usually finished with a gym session and steam room or sauna at tea time.
My training distracts me from everyday life and I find that my training is now a lot more enjoyable than some of the races I have been to. I think I have always depended on the acknowledgement of others in my sporting career for me to thrive. I have realised that if I show up to a race miles away where no-one knows me I’ll do well – no stressors internally or externally. But if I show up to a race locally where i’m known all of a sudden I put myself under immense pressure.
I have found that my successes in recent months and the past year will never be enough for some people who I have been with in my social circle. There will always be a reason to put me down – maybe because it makes them look good? Who knows, I’m past that point of caring (80% of the time) and one-by-one I remove them from my current social circle. One thing is for sure. There are many people around me that do think I’m ok and my performances are good and it is those where my future belongs. Positivity is key and there is a part of me that wishes these negative people would just switch and come up to me one day and say “well done mate – you did really well” but the bit that saddens me and gives me those “gut-wrenching” moments is a realisation they never will.
Instead I walk a different path, an uneasy one as I don’t know the way.