Chilham Castle duathlon 10km-40km-5km. Trail run, road cycle.

On Friday night i was clearing out my van and found a fly er for this event. Took a look and decided this could be a good race to end the season, coupled with the heat wave we were expecting.

On Saturday evening i drove down to the event and asked the race director if i could race, her reply was yes we can squeeze you in.

So off towards home, dusted down the race bike, threw some trail shoes in my kit bag and loaded the van....... Then bed.

The alarm clock woke me at 5am and i was up and preparing breakfast ready to leave for 6.

I went online and had quick look to see who was racing and who i needed to stick with and there was only one name i knew - Ashley Howes, he had the 2nd fastest course record.

sunrise over T

After racking the bike as the sun was rising i began to plan my race. Knew i had to keep Ashley within my sights on the first 10km run.

Knowing Ashley can consistently run sub 35 minutes for a 10k i new i had to be careful not to overdo it before i got on the bike. As the horn sounded and we all charged off 3 of us broke away and took the lead - Ashley, another guy, then myself.

Ashley set the pace and instantly i knew he was trying to shake me. After just 2k my HR monitor begun to sound and warned me i was above my race zone, the alarm continued to sound until 4 k when i just had to remove it.

The run course was rather up and down and 2 laps, which is always mentally tough as you know whats coming. 5k in i passed the guy in front and it was clear he was a runner and just couldn't hold onto Ashley.

As i passed the 8k marker i noticed Ashley had made a break and i just couldn't find enough to reel him in, i said to myself stick to your race plan and get him on the bike.

As i approached T1 i could see Ashley just leaving, i was in and out in just 35 seconds. i knew i had what it takes on the bike to reel him.

As i turned onto the main road i could see my target no more than a few hundred yards away, i knew what i had to do - hydrate, get comfy on the bike and just ride as hard as i could maintain for the 40k..

Within 2km i had reached Ashley's back wheel. Made my break up out the saddle and rode hard until i knew he hadn't clung to my back wheel. The bike course was mainly uphill for the first 8-9 miles. I had opted for my TT bike with disc, but begun to question my choice as i noticed Ashley was gaining on me. Kept pushing hard so much so i was beginning to cramp.

I needed this hill to flatten out to give my legs and lungs time to recover and soon enough it did. This was my chance to get Aero and open the gap between us which i did and continued to do.

As i reached the turn around point i was leading the bike leg by some distance, then as i rode back toward T2 i noticed Ashley wasn't on my tail. He had been overtaken and dropped back to 5th place. This got me worried because these guy were catching me and fast, now i had no choice but to ride hard all the way back and hope i could hold my lead.

As i entered T2 i could hear the rumble of a disc behind me but ignored it and carried on into T2 and racked my bike. I was in and out in just 34 seconds with a new face right behind me.

I held my lead for approx 2 km and then knew if i pushed any harder things could all go wrong. I was fighting for 1st but was willing to take 2nd or 3rd  without jeopardising  my whole race, after all it was only a C race.

I decided to stick to my pace and finish without risking a DNF.

As i crossed the line i collapsed in a heap and a guy appeared above me saying "well done". This guy turned out to be Nick Kinsey, otherwise known as the Mallorca man.

Its fair to say Nick has raced and won some of the hardest races throughout the world, finishing Kona more than 8 times often winning his age group.

As i asked the timing guys for my printout i also got a copy of Nick's, sadly i missed 1st place by just over 1 minute.

I was happy to claim 2nd place. It is my best result to date, all things considered - late entry, lack of preparation and the high level of athletes i was racing against. I think i had a great day.

The current course record stood at  2:12:08 held by Simon Casebourne.

My finish time was 2:09:38  over 2:30 quicker.

My splits were:

10km run       0:40:14

T1                  0:00:35.40

40km bike    1:06:07

T2                  0:0034.30

5km run        0:22:07

Finish           2:09:38.25.

  

First race booked for 2012. Ironman UK 70.3 Wimbleball.

After a long discussion with my coach he more than me decided this could be a good race to target as it has quite a reputation for its tough bike and run course. Some say it's the toughest 70.3 race in the world, including 2x Ironman world champion Chris MACCA McCormack.

Coming into triathlon as a runner/duathlete, these 2 sports tend to be my stronger areas, so we agreed its a great race to try and see if the distance suit's me.

We both also decided this race would allow me to schedule a decent amount of training blocks in before June.

It also gives me the whole winter to really get my swim improved and get me comfy in the water.

http://www.ironmanuk.com/uk-ironman-703/home

Race Results the Wind farmer sprint distance Triathlon.

On Sunday the 25th of September i decided to take part in the Wind farmer sprint distance triathlon. The basis of this race was for me to realise and understand how much a single threshold test actually takes it out of your body and learn how much recovery my body actually needs to perform 100% on race day - a few lessons have been learn't here.

My coach had given me strict power figures to stick to and i was going to do just that, as this was a C cat race for me, purely training and knowledge building. My figure was 255-265 Watts.

The day started bright and sunny and it all looked set to be a great race. As the gun went and the swim got underway i soon realised i wasn't in shape and soon got pushed to the back of the main pack.

As bodies struggled to climb over me my goggles got removed and my nose clip lost.

This made things interesting for me so i turned onto my back and recovered the best i could and continued with my swim. With all my efforts the damage was done and i knew it, i had no choice but to get to transition and hope my legs were able to get the bike moving.

My T1 went very smoothly in little over 1 minute, i now knew i had a huge game of catch up to play.

Out on the bike i got hydrated and concentrated on my target Wattage (255-265). For the first few km's my legs felt sluggish and i knew how empty my tank really was, as i passed each bike i counted until i guessed i was 12th on the road.

As we came to the half way point i decided to try and close the gap on the next bike. It was clear to see the faster swimmers where now getting tired on the bike and i managed to gain another 5 places which i guessed put me in 7th. I was happy to sit there and recover for the final few km's and get ready for the run.

As i flew into T2, legs spinning at over 120 rpm, i lost a shoe which cost me vital seconds at the dismount line, another lesson learn't !!!.

Now it was my turn to try and turn this race around, i set off on the run very calmly knowing i was capable of moving up through the guys ahead of me.

The plan here was a negative split over the 6km loop. After the first km i saw the next guy, i stayed within my HR zone and hunted him down.... finally 6th place. As i approached the water station the marshals informed me i was close behind the next guy. As the watch struck 2km i knew it was almost time to turn on the running legs and get this negative split...... BEEP BEEP 3 km had passed and now it was time to pickup the pace and find my 5th place.

Before long i was steadily approaching and passing the guy i had been chasing in 5th place, with less than 1.5km to go i picked the pace up as much as the HR zone would allow and went in search of 4th.... 4th place crossed the line 100 yards before me and i run in just behind him.

As the swim had been so eventful i didn't have a clue how well or badly i had done.

I had managed to get:

1st in Age group.

2nd fastest bike.

3rd fastest run.

4th overall.

What a result all things considered a great training event.

Thanks to my coach Ben Ward for teaching me such a valuable lesson.

Threshold testing

On Tuesday 20th September i undertook my first threshold test, its fair to say it wasn't a very nice experience and alot harder than i ever expected.

The test consisted of a 20 minute warm up followed by 5 minutes at max effort approx 310 Watts, with 10 minutes recovery and then the 20 minutes max effort slightly lower power. I aimed for 280 Watts and then a long cool down period.

My results are as follows 5 minute test.

And the 20 minute test.

As you can see from the results both efforts are down from my estimated power.

The results state i can produce 3.6 Watts per Kg. Not massive power but pretty good considering i've only been cycling 13 months.

Triathlon 2012 age group qualifiers unveiled

Triathlon 2012 age group qualifiers unveiled

My bike from its former owner. Mr Phil Graves.

The Black Shiv......

Today's ride results. 10-09-2011

Todays ride savage wind

Iv been out in Southern France now for 3 weeks focusing on my bike and run training. Iv come from a running background and found the transition to bike and run seamless.

This training camp was for me to learn about riding with a power meter and the importance of  keeping focused on figures.

The power meter is a new addition to my training kit, which has been kindly loaned to me by my coach Ben Ward of Team Solo. Thanks Ben ;-).

As i mounted my bike and set off, the first thing that hit me was how savage the head wind was, which to many is the enemy, but not me. I infact love head winds and hills, what don't kill us makes us stronger....or so they say!!!!!

Today's ride was to focus on over gearing up hill's as i approached a nice incline i shifted gears to the highest possible gear which i could keep turning at 50-60 rpm. I would over gear the distance of the hill and spin up very easy  once over the top to make a full recovery.

During the first 30 minutes of my ride (the warm up phase) i was struggling big time and wondering weather todays ride should be cut dramaticly short, however as the legs got warm and i got comfy everything started to improve. Iv been making little tweaks to my training bike over the past few days and i think iv got it about perfect, iv been tweaking seat positioning back and forth.

The area i was riding today wasn't an area im familiar with so the route was made up as i went, im not in a hilly region of France but its far from flat.

My ride was a nice loop consisting of 62km in a time of  1-52.

Here are the results from the power meter:

Average's

RPM 83.

KMH 32.

Watts 194.

Maximum

RPM 107.

KMH 55.3.

Watts 745.

Todays ride was a tough one for me. When i need to dig deep and find that extra kick to get me home, there is only one thing on my mind and thats my recovery shake and my Compressport full legs.

I use PhD Synergy Iso 7 the Chocolate Orange flavour. It gives me everything my body needs to recover along with my Compressport clothing.

For all your supplements visit   http://www.solosupplements.co.uk/.

Thanks to Gary at Solo for all my sports nutrition.

I would also like to thank my friends Steve and Jakie friendship at Boysaway carping, they have very kindly offered me somewhere to stay over the past 3 weeks during my training camp. For  lakeside accommodation and very good carp fishing please check out  http://www.boysaway-carping.com/.

Thanks for taking time to look at my blog   JB.