Monday, 31 August 2015
Race Review - Alford Novice Triathlon
Alford is one of my favourite races. The other being Forres. It may not be a coincidence that these are the two shortest races on the calendar. I sort of have to say I love Alford as my club host it, but I would say it anyway as it is one of the friendliest races on the circuit.
Waiting to go into the final swim heat and realising that it was all kids from swim clubs, and only two other seniors left (turns out one of those Senior was a Vet, and one of the kids was actually a Senior). This is good news in that I am now swimming so well I am comfortable in with specialist club swimmers and international triathletes. It is also demoralising as I know most of these kids are a third of my age but are going to be out of the water before me.
In order to hit my swim target of 6 minutes I need to be going 18 secs / length in the 20m pool. For a PB I had to go 19.25. 100m splits should be 1:30 for 6 minutes and 1:36.3 for a PB. So here are the length by length splits and the 100m splits. On lengths 3, 13 and 18 I was letting people overtake. It looks like they cost me about 3 seconds each.
1:28.7
1:37.3
1:41.9
1:43.7
I felt really good at the start of the swim. The first three lengths felt really fast and then once I let the guy behind me past he did slow me a little but not a huge amount for the next few lengths. I hit a really bad wake going in to the turn at 8 and had to take a touch instead of a tumble. I got straight back into smooth tumbles from there though and I was still going well to lap 13 when the first of the leaders came round to lap me. At about this point the chop and the high work rate I was putting in really started to catch up with me and I was struggling to hold the pace.
I was out of the water in 6:32. (Official swim time of 6:41 includes climbing out of the pool, de-hatting, and getting across the timing mats). Not what I had hoped for on time but I am actually happy enough with how I swam. The first 100m was inside both targets, at half way I was still well inside PB time. I still think I can go quicker than this, so I just have to find another chance to race it before the end of the year if I want to cross off my target.
Anyway, there were still a few swimmers in the water as I got out so I guess I am about 12th/13th. The results suggest I was about 11th at this point. Both Seniors and the Vet are out ahead along with 7 others. There is no real way to tell who are individuals and who are in teams but I knew two of the Juniors were using someone else's legs on the bike.
Out into T1 and I was feeling quite good. There were still a lot of people in transition, including the girl who had racked next to me. I stepped round to the other side of my bike and put on my race belt. She was still stood between my bike and hers so I had to reach back between her and my bike to get my helmet. This meant I had it in the wrong hand and when I pulled it on the straps got tangled so I had to take it off and try again. Second time was clean and I had the bike off the rack and out of transition. On exit I jumped on the bike and passed two people. I am sure I type this for about half my races: Why does no-one practice this?!
I took the first two corners stood on my shoes and the course turns into a housing estate here. I took the opportunity to pull on my right shoe, no problems, practice works. Then I tried to put my left foot in and lost my grip. I managed to hook my toes into the shoe and slip into it and then reach back down to tighten the strap, slight problem, but had practiced it, practice really works.
The new bike course, while shorter, has a nasty climb near the end followed by a very fast downhill and a couple of technical corners. The recce the previous day meant I knew I could be quite aggressive on a lot of the course. Several sections that looked like slow corners actually had good exits that allowed for tight lines at high speed. So I got my head down early and pushed hard. I caught a couple of the swimmer kids on the way out of town and I could see another group of them ahead. I passed them on the long straight section and could already see the next person ahead. I caught him just before the turn into the uphill.
As I approach that turn a light blue Citroen overtakes me and indicates to take the same turn. Instead of just driving round the turn she slows down as if to stop and because she is still indicating left I have to check myself in case she is going to pull in to the side of the road. It turns out she was stopping to ask the Marshall a question and she did leave me enough space to go through on the inside
I think I am now in about 5th or 6th place. I know there is still at least one Senior and one team ahead of me to chase. It turns out that the eventual winner is also out there somewhere and that is it. There is a team from one of the slower heats that had a 'serious' cyclist on their bike leg that is ahead of me on time but has already finished.
I see another cyclist on the 1-mile drag of a climb but I have enough time to read her number as I pass and realise she is not in my heat. Over the top of the hill and I know there is a false flat and a fast section of downhill before the really fast bit of downhill. I push through them as far as the marshall for the steep bit. He is waving a big red flag to slow people down for the impending right hander at the bottom of the hill and my nerves get the better of my recce. I know I can still attack quite far down the hill but instead I sit up as I pass him and start to brake from there. I have a quick look behind me before the right turn and spot a car. I need to signal right but am still too fast to let go of the front brake. The rear brakes on my TT bike are pretty terrible so I have to slow enough to signal. The car gives me plenty of room and I can get back on the power going in to the right hander and along the next flat section. Then there is a left-right chicane that I know I have to slow for. Just as I approach a car comes round towards me so I have to adjust my line but I am slow enough to handle it (unlike the leading Senior who apparently had a minor detour off the road at this point).
From there it is into town, a left turn uphill trying to avoid a speeding car that didn't signal, past the speed bumps and turn in to transition. Having practiced my dismounts a lot I knew I could unstrap and dismount in the last 25 yards, and I did.
Average heart rate on the bike was 165 bp max heart rate 171 bpm. Zone 4.6 for anyone technical. Cadence data looks patchy, I suspect some signal loss as it says average 76 but all the measured sections are 86-101 and I didn't have the big pedalling breaks that appear in the data.
Bike time was 26:36 for the 8.4 mile course. Nothing to compare that against with it being a new route though.
I got a nice clean dismount and racked the bike no problem. Helmet off. Run shoes have been kicked around but are still close enough, just one is the wrong way round, so that costs me a couple of seconds. Out of transition and onto the run.
And I am empty. I can hardly get my feet to move at all. I can see people out on the course in front of me though. With it being a three lap run route and numbers turned to the front it is sometimes difficult to tell who is in the same heat. At Alford you are given a different coloured wrist band each lap so it is just a case of looking at the arms of people as you pass them and telling if they are on the same lap as you. The first few I passed were from previous heats and about a third of the way into the lap I could see the team and the first Senior that I was still chasing.
I started to move better as the lap turned downhill and I started to work out how much I would have to catch them on each lap in order to make up the places. They were under 3 minutes ahead, so a minute a lap would do it. Knowing their running I knew that wasn't on and I could see that everyone else still out on the run was from earlier heats. I didn't think there would be any pressure on me from all the junior cyclists I had passed either so I was tempted to ease off and coast to the finish. Then I remember that the difference between swim heats is only a few seconds so there could be people from earlier heats who have biked and run well enough to make up the distance. So it is back on to full gas and keep lapping the people from previous heats and passing the juniors as they arrive off the bike.
Somewhere around lap 2 I realised that there were only 3 people from my heat out in front of me so I am sitting 4th overall if no-one from an earlier swim heat has gone quicker (one team has).
Run time was 13:38. 41 seconds under last year's time.
Average run heart rate 166 bpm, max heart rate 171 bpm. Zone 4.6 again.
Overall 5th, behind 2 teams, a Senior and a Junior. The Senior and Junior were only 2 seconds apart. Both teams had specialist cyclists in with fresh legs so I don't mind losing out to them. The Senior is an Irish International and the Junior is less than half my age so I can live with them beating me as well.
With the different bike course it is difficult to do a direct comparison with last year, but as an indirect measure, the guy who I beat by just 7 seconds last year, I took for over 2 minutes this year.
In prep for next year I am also looking at how I place against Veterans. I had 2 minutes on the first of those. This bodes well for taking some Vet prizes next year.
Full results are here.
Training Plan - Week 36 - Aug 31 to Sept 6
I am going to carry on my 5k swim plan with a planned session of a 1 hour / 3,000m swim midweek.
Sunday is the Glen Moray Marathons. I plan to go through and race. I have nearly convinced myself that I would like to try another marathon at some point, but I know I am not in the shape for that at the minute, even just to try and jog round it carefully. I would like to do the half marathon, and I probably have the fitness to run a decent time but I doubt my knee could take it if I try to work hard. So the 10k seems like the sensible option.
After a long run on Monday and faster reps on Tuesday I should have enough information to make a definitive decision.
Thursday nights might be getting too dark for the group sessions so I might go out during the day and get my own ride in somewhere.
Week 2 of 30 days of yoga, so that is in every day. I have left on the other sessions in the hope I can add them back in on top.
Monday - Yoga
Core session.
Long run.
Swim with TPT.
Tuesday - Reps run.
Yoga.
Wednesday - Yoga.
Swim at ASV / Bucksburn. 1 hour / 3km TT.
Weights and core sessions.
Thursday - Yoga.
Kintore Thursday session?
Stretching session.
Friday - Yoga
Easy jog.
Saturday - Rest Day.
Yoga.
Sunday - Yoga
Glen Moray 10k (or Half Marathon?)
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 12.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Training Review - Week 35 - August 24 to 30
Monday I started the morning with a long yoga session. I decided this morning that I am going to try and go through the whole of 30 Days of Yoga on Yoga with Adriene again. This time I am going to try and get through it in the 30 days though. In the evening I went to swimming, which felt pretty patchy. Some of that was due to still being tired from Saturday's long swim the rest was just due to inconsistent turns.
I also tried to fix the drive train problems on my road bike, with absolutely no success. It looks like the rear derailleur is slightly bent so no amount of adjusting is going to sort out the problem.
On Tuesday Dexter came to visit. I knew he was coming when I wrote my plan for the week but my knee just didn't let me plan to run with him a lot. I did manage to go out for a jog around Dyce with him in the evening.
Wednesday I did my yoga and then took Dexter to the beach for a walk. That tired him out enough to get me peace and quiet to study in the afternoon.
I went to Bucksburn for a swim at lunchtime as planned. Just a steady 1,500m through some of the lunchtime traffic and then a short warm down to take me through the half hour mark. Again I was through 1500m in just outside 27 min pace despite at least 20 seconds of traffic.
Thursday I took Dexter out for a loop around Dyce. Then in the evening I took my TT bike out to the park and spent some time practicing mounting and dismounting without taking the shoes off the bike. Dismounting I have been doing at races for a while but mounting with the shoes already on the bike is still a skill I need to add. I then did the next yoga session on the programme when I got back.
Friday I did Day 5 of yoga. It was a very short session which was handy as my allergies to Dexter are starting to build up to the annoying level. then I went out for a jog with Dexter but he was being a pain and refusing to run, and even to walk in some places. He had such a strop at one point that he managed to break his extending lead. Despite saying I wouldn't manage to run with him every day, I almost have. The one day that I didn't, we were out for a 45 minute walk on the beach instead.
In the evening we dropped Dexter back at home on our way to the cinema to see Hitman 47.
In order to stay on course for doing all 30 yoga sessions in 30 days I decided to double up on Saturday so that I didn't have to squeeze in a session on the Sunday morning. I looked out all my race kit and double checked everything. In the afternoon I went to help set out the course for Sunday's Alford Sprint Triathlon. Having put the signs out, two of us then took the opportunity to pedal around the new bike course at easy recce pace. Then I got out the Veet and tidied up my legs for Sunday's swim and rechecked all my race kit about 5 more times.
Sunday's Alford Novice Triathlon will get a report to itself.
I sacrificed the ancillary sessions this week in favour of the massive yoga increase. I could have claimed a core session against the first of Saturday's yoga sessions, and I could claim stretching sessions against any of them. So I am not really worried that I ignored the stretching and core as I have the same benefit from the yoga sessions. The lack of bike miles was just laziness. Even though I shifted sessions to run with Dexter I could easily have done the other 10 bike miles, pretty much anywhere.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 12.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Monday - Yoga 38 mins.
Swim with TPT 2,150m in 54 mins.
Tuesday - Yoga 33 mins.
Run 3.7 miles in 33 mins.
Wednesday - Yoga 23 mins.
Swim at Bucksburn 1,650m in 31 mins.
Bike mount / dismount practice 8.2 miles in 37 mins.
Yoga 20 mins.
Friday - Yoga 16 mins.
Easy run 3.7 miles in 42 mins.
Saturday - Yoga 16 mins.
More yoga 31 mins.
Bike course recce 10.2 miles in 40 mins.
Sunday - Alford Novice Triathlon
Swim 400m in 6 mins 32 (plus 40m warm-up)
Bike 8.4 miles in 27 mins
Run 1.9 miles in 14 mins.
Actuals - Swim 2.6 miles (4,240m). Bike 26.8 miles. Run 12.9 miles. 0 short core, 0 short light weights and 0 short stretching sessions. 177 mins of yoga.
Cumulative (Original cumulative target) [New cumulative target]
S 72.0 (66.0) [71.0],
B 1704.8 (1454.3) [1646.4],
R 551.9 (442.3) [530.4].
Thursday, 27 August 2015
Race Preview - Alford Novice Triathlon
Here are the full results from 2014. I marshalled in 2013, but I did race in 2012 and remembered to write a report on that one.
For some reason I didn't write a review after last year's race. Since it was my first triathlon 'win' I can't really understand why. I still lost out to 3 teams, 3 juniors and a supervet and ended up 8th overall.
This year I had a couple of targets. First up is the one from my Annual Targets list. 6 minutes for a 400m swim is probably just out of range. The short pool means it should be a quick swim, if I can get all 20 turns right. It really comes down to having a great race, getting a good draft and not making any mistakes at all. Under 6:25 would be a PB and I will take anything inside that as a success.
The bike course has been radically changed (again) so I can't even guess at a time or speed prediction for the new course. I had planned to target a 20mph speed on the old course. The new course is so different that while I have ridden all of it, some sections I have only ridden in the wrong direction. I may even have to drive round it or test ride it in the morning to make sure that I know where it goes and how to ride it.
The run should really suit me as it is just three short loops round the park, mostly on good surface with a bit of grass. For some reason I haven't ever run particularly well on it.
This will be my last Novice race as a Senior, and my last chance to get on a Senior podium as I won't be podium-level competitive at Huntly Standard next month.
Monday, 24 August 2015
Training Plan - Week 35 - August 24 to 31
Back to racing this week. Alford Novice is one of my favourite races. It will get a preview some time through the week.
So a proper rest day comes in on Saturday. Friday comes in as an easy day to try and take the pressure off my knee.
I have decided I am done with outdoor swimming for this year. Another couple of trips to Knockburn would have been good but I can't justify the time and fuel to go out there with no outdoor races left this year. My plan for swimming cuts back to just 1.4 miles / week from next week and I can get that from Monday night sessions. This week my second swim will just be an easy paddle to get my distance in. If I go to Bucksburn I will make try and do some work on my turns.
Thursday will depend on fixing my training bike. If I can't get it into a ride-able condition early in the week then I will probably have to put in a short training ride on my TT bike instead. This will leave me short of bike miles for the week. I am also going to come up short on run miles as I just can't put them in on top of my knee problems.
So in advance I am already planning a bad week for miles but the success of this week will be judged on how my race goes at Alford.
Monday - Core session.
Swim with TPT.
Tuesday - Easy run.
Yoga session.
Wednesday - Swim at ASV / Bucksburn.
Weights and core sessions.
Thursday - Kintore Thursday session.
Stretching session.
Friday - Easy jog.
Saturday - Rest Day.
Yoga session.
Sunday - Alford Novice Triathlon.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 12.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Training Review - Week 34 - August 17 to 23
Monday I did some studying and a bit of work in the garden during the afternoon, then went to swimming at night. Most of the set was pretty good but I was trying to push the reps to 6 min / 400m pace and not getting close. The last 100m rep was close at 6:08 but nothing else got inside 6:40 pace. Two weeks till Alford and I still need to find another gear.
Tuesday and Wednesday were both limited by other commitments so all I managed each day was a run round Dyce. The ankle I turned last week is still not right but it is fine as long as I keep it level. My hamstrings were still feeling tight from last week's long run so I got on the roller. It was pretty painful but does seem to have helped.
Whatever is wrong with my left knee is not getting any better, nor is it getting any worse. Unless that is the cause of the tight hamstrings as they try to protect the knee. It only hurts when I run, and even that is intermittent. I am going to ignore it again for a while and hope it gets better.
On Wednesday evening I finished another online course, on Nutrition and Macronutrients this time. This one might actually be useful for training if I tried to apply it but I doubt I can tear myself away from my current diet. More practically it leaves me armed with the knowledge to argue coherently with Paleo dieters, protein shakers and their ilk. Nutrition and Micronutrients starts in September so I expect to be armed for the likes of vitamin supplementers, glucosamine swallowers and Freelee the banana girl.
Tuesday evening I received my final certificate for my Math in Sport* course from Notre Dame which I completed a couple of weeks ago. I also passed the certificate level for "Quality in Engineering and Management" with two weeks to go, so everything I score from now will just be grade improvements. Obviously I haven't learned from how overloaded I have been with courses lately so I signed up for a new one on "Oil Country Tubular Goods" starting now. Then I went to sign on to another on "Running Pipe in Oil and Gas Wells" which starts the day "QEM" finishes. These two should at least keep some of the work side of my brain active.
Thursday was too nice a day to stay inside. So my plan to rest my dodgy knee was thrown out. I did my light weights session in the morning and then went out for a jog before lunch.
Friday I decided to lay off the knee but I did yoga and core sessions. I was invited out to swim at Knockburn in the evening but decided the rest was a better idea for my knee.
Saturday I still had some swim distance to get in. I should really be trying to get in fast short sessions before Alford but anything I do now is unlikely to really make a difference over 400m. Instead I decided to start on work that will help for Huntly and next year.
In my targets I have an optional 5k swim. Since it looks likely that I will miss my 400m swim target I am going to go after that one instead. Before going into that I need to get a few other long swims in. So this week I decided to ride to the pool and do a 40 minute steady swim with a view to doing a couple of longer swims between Alford and Huntly and then a solo 5k somewhere in Q4. I set off planning to go about 2,000m in 40 mins in a lane that had all to myself. At the 600m mark I got tapped by the lifeguard who made me move lanes as there was a club session due to start in my lane. That cost me about a minute and moved me into a lane where there was other traffic that maybe cost me another 30 seconds. From there I got a nice clean swim to the end though. I stopped as the clock hit 40 minutes, having passed through 2,100m. With 90 seconds lost I could maybe have been close to 2,200m. Feeling comfortable, almost 10% ahead of my plan, and on a pace that would take me to 5k in 1hr 31mins, despite being in the long course pool again. Happy days.
Sunday was less good. I went out for a group ride with a plan to cut off early and do 45 miles. Every time the quicklink in my chain came round it was causing the gears to skip. For the first few miles this went from frustrating to annoying. Every skip was resulting in a jolt to my left knee and by 7 miles in it was obvious I wasn't going to manage 45. After being dropped from the group on a short climb they waited till I caught up and I told them to go on without me. Then I stopped and tried to fix the problem. There was nothing I could do to fix it at the roadside so I had no option but to pick a short route and pedal back. That turned out to be a slog into a headwind with my knee getting stabbed every third revolution by the skipping gears.
Another week that should have been much better. Scraping over the run and swim targets doesn't make up for all the rest this week. Especially since all of the running was just hobbling round the block on my bad knee. Saturday's long swim was the only real highlight of the whole week.
This is also the first week that I have started to feel depressed about being out of work. It hasn't really bothered me until now but seems to have caught up. In particular on the painful ride home on Sunday. I can't justify buying a new bike until I get a new job and the training bike I have now is reaching the age where it needs a major overhaul of parts, which I can't afford either. My knee is now seriously limiting my training but I can't afford the physio trip to get it checked out. My general condition is that I need a massage, which I can't afford. I have already been skipping outdoor swimming miles because it is cheaper to pay for a trip to the pool than the fuel to Knockburn. My interview on Wednesday wasn't particularly promising, and the lack of other jobs to apply for in the last few weeks are not helping either.
The counter in my phone says I did only 43206 steps this week. That is the lowest total I have done since I started using it in March 2014.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 12.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Monday - Swim with TPT 2,100m in 55 mins.
Tuesday - Jog 3.6 miles in 32 mins.
Wednesday - Run 3.8 miles in 30 mins.
Stretching session.
Easy run 5.1 miles in 41 mins.
Friday - Yoga session 22 mins.
Core session.
Saturday - Ride to ASV 5.4 miles in 21 mins.
Swim 2,100 in 40mins.
Ride from ASV 5.6 miles in 22 mins.
Sunday - Ride 15.7 miles in 62 mins.
Actuals - Swim 2.6 miles (4,200m). Bike 26.7 miles. Run 12.5 miles. 1 short core, 1 short light weights and 1 short stretching sessions. 22 mins of yoga.
Cumulative (Original cumulative target) [New cumulative target]
S 69.7 (63.6) [68.6],
B 1676.0 (1419.3) [1611.4],
R 539.1 (430.3) [518.4].
*Dear Americans,
The abbreviation of Mathematics is Maths, not Math!
Yours gratefully,
The English language.
Monday, 17 August 2015
Training Plan - Week 34 - August 17 to 23
Tuesday evening I am marshalling at the last of the DTCC Time Trial series.
The rest of the week is fairly standard. I will hopefully get out to Knockburn midweek as I have been skipping outdoor swims the last few weeks.
Thursday I have a clash with an Energy Institute event in the evening. I will decide midweek whether to go to it or to go cycling. Wednesday I have an interview in the afternoon to work around.
Hopefully at some point during the week I am also going to look at a new bike, a better training bike, which would be draft legal. This would allow me to use it for qualifying races for European and World champs.
Monday - Core session.
Swim with TPT.
Tuesday - Reps run.
Marshall at TT.
Yoga session.
Wednesday - Swim at Knockburn.
Weights and core sessions.
Thursday - Kintore Thursday session?
Stretching session.
Friday - Easy run.
Saturday - Long run.
Yoga session.
Sunday - Kintore ride.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 12.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
The rest of the week is fairly standard. I will hopefully get out to Knockburn midweek as I have been skipping outdoor swims the last few weeks.
Thursday I have a clash with an Energy Institute event in the evening. I will decide midweek whether to go to it or to go cycling. Wednesday I have an interview in the afternoon to work around.
Hopefully at some point during the week I am also going to look at a new bike, a better training bike, which would be draft legal. This would allow me to use it for qualifying races for European and World champs.
Monday - Core session.
Swim with TPT.
Tuesday - Reps run.
Marshall at TT.
Yoga session.
Wednesday - Swim at Knockburn.
Weights and core sessions.
Thursday - Kintore Thursday session?
Stretching session.
Friday - Easy run.
Saturday - Long run.
Yoga session.
Sunday - Kintore ride.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 12.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Training Review - Week 33 - August 10 to 16
Monday I felt surprisingly good after Sunday's race. I got up in the morning and did a yoga session to ease off the few bits that felt a bit tight. At night I went to swimming. I expected to struggle after racing but I coped fairly well. During the session I was struggling to get any tumble turns in as I was too tired. However, I did manage a whole stack of sub-20 lengths which is well inside the 22.5s I need to break 6 mins for 400m.
Tuesday was Time Trial night and I am going to give it a report to itself. I did a yoga session in the morning. And I did a quick jog to warm down after I got off the bike.
Wednesday I met up with a friend and we went for a planned 50-ish mile ride with a cake stop. A couple of short-cuts on the way back brought us up a little short but it was a good day out in the sun.
Thursday I had to put my car in to the garage for a recall repair on the brake hoses. This meant I had a couple of hours to fill in the morning. The weather said it was going to be nice so I decided on a long run along Deeside. Here is a mile-by-mile breakdown. 1 wet grass, 2 ASDA, 3 nettles, 4 twist ankle, 5 on to the path, 6 finally proper running, when can I turn round?, 7 wet socks causing blisters, I can see the new bypass that will do for turning, 8 stop to adjust socks and take a drink, 9 finish my juice, 10 downhill, weee, 11 still downhill, weeee, 12 ok, those two miles were silly and now my knee hurts more than the blisters, 13 through the park dodging buggies, 14 uphill finish.
I was suffering from the blisters for the rest of the day but I had committed to helping out with a cycling road race in the evening. A whole week of run miles in one go was ambitious but did reinforce that missing Aberfeldy Half was the right choice.
Friday I did a yoga session. Then I went out for an easy jog, and couldn't even manage that. Within a mile I was reduced to a walk. My left knee was very painful. I continued on round my short loop, in a combination of walking and jogging. 14 miles yesterday was too much.
Saturday I went to ASV for a swim. I planned to just do a steady half hour. I went through 1,500m in 27:27. Only 87 seconds off my target for the year despite no race adrenalin, no suit, no drafting, and being in a long course pool. I am still not convinced about counting my 25:15 swim from Knockburn standard as a legitimate time. Looks like sub-26 at Huntly should be easy possible though. That still leaves me searching for a very fast 400m swim at Alford.
Sunday I woke feeling completely empty. I skipped my planned group ride in favour of an extra 2 hours asleep. Then when I did finally drag myself out of bed I went for an easy ride around Dyce. I still felt shocking for the rest of the day and I barely managed a bit of stretching in the evening.
Lots of red numbers this week. Swimming I missed out because I hadn't converted properly from miles to meters when I decided to stop on Saturday, another couple of lengths would have been enough. Yoga I did 3 good sessions through the week, just they all turned out to be short sessions.
On the plus side I did almost double my bike miles and 50% extra run miles. Also my longest run of the year and a good bike race. So overall another good week, despite the sore knee.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 12.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Monday - Yoga session 20 mins.
Swim with TPT 2,000m in 46 mins.
Tuesday - Yoga session 18 mins.
DTCC TT 9 miles in 25:07
Warm up / down 2.4 miles in 12 mins
Jog 0.8 miles in 9 mins.
Wednesday - Long ride 44.2 miles in 2hrs 52 mins
Friday - Yoga 20 mins.
Jog / walk 2.6 miles in 34 mins.
Saturday - Swim at ASV 1,700m in 31 mins.
Sunday - Bike 10 miles in 38 mins.
Stretching session.
Actuals - Swim 2.3 miles (3,700 m). Bike 65.6 miles. Run 17.4 miles. 0 short core, 0 short light weights and 1 short stretching sessions. 58 mins of yoga.
Cumulative (Original cumulative target) [New cumulative target]
S 67.1 (61.2) [66.2],
B 1649.3 (1384.3) [1576.4],
R 526.6 (418.3) [506.4].
Tuesday, 11 August 2015
Race Review - DTCC Time Trial Floras 9-mile
Last year this race was my first ever Time Trial. Here is the report on that effort.
So this year my, very simple, target was to go better than that.
I prepared much better this time. Remembering my orthotics for a start. I also managed about a 6 minute warm-up ride. I don't like to warm up too much before bike races. It doesn't seem to help much. I arrived at the start as number 4 rolled out. I was off at number 10, so I had a 6-minute wait.
At number 9 was the same guy from last week. I caught him at the 5-mile mark last week. Gives me something to aim for again this week. Behind me 11 was missing and 12 was a guy I have caught a few times this year, so no danger of being caught this year.
Having raced 6 TT's this year, and had one go at pushing off myself, I am now quite confident about the stability of the pusher-off at the start. I also remember to start my garmin when I get the 30-second countdown. Then when I am doing maths in my head later I always forget about subtracting the 30 seconds again. More on that later.
As with all the Garlogie TT events the first mile is downhill. Today it was also wind assisted. It was fast to that first turn but without being quite as much of an effort overdose as normal. I turned onto the first climb still able to breath sensibly, and still able to stay in my TT position for a lot of the climb. I was much more aware of the course this year. I made it to the next turn off and tried to carry as much speed as I could into the turn. It is slightly blind because of the building position so I slowed more than I really should have. From here there is a twisty section and I could see No.9 on the straights. I figures I had made over half the gap by this point.
At the halfway turn there was a computer system for the tracker chips so I might get a halfway time check from this point. I was passed here last year but this year but today I was the one doing the passing. I caught No.9 going into the slight headwind. The garmin track shows I lost almost a minute through this 1.5 miles section compared to last year. It may also be because I knew the hill was coming and was being a tiny bit more cautious about doing too much damage this year.
Through 5 miles Garmin buzzed and said 14:02. Dammit I thought I was going faster than that. I forgot about the 30 seconds and for some reason I thought 15 mins equated to 15mph instead of 20mph.
I had to do a dead-stop at the tight turn again this year. This meant No.9 caught right up to me and had to slow behind me to avoid a crash. This was partly because my bike handling skills on the TT bike are still not up to a 150 degree bend on gravel, but also because a Land Rover Discovery was passing the junction. I tried to get out of the turn and get a little motor-pacing effect from him but he was too quick over the little bridge.
7 miles and Garmin says 19:27. Forgetting about the 30 seconds again, but my brain does register that 20 minutes to 5 miles would be 15mph. Although it fails to register that under 20 minutes to 7 miles means over 21mph. I am also still forgetting the 30 seconds. I think at this point that to get my 26 minute target that gives me 6:33 for 2 miles with a big chunk of uphill to come.
I was feeling much better at this point than I did last year. As I came into the climb I could see No.4 and aimed to pass her quickly. About two-thirds of the way up the hill there is an incoming junction from the left and another Deesider, just out for an evening ride was waiting at the junction. He pulled out behind me and then rode easily past on the uphill as I tried to stay in my TT position and dug as deep as I could. He did give me some encouraging chat as he climbed past.
The crest of the hill came sooner than I expected. Last year all I could do from here was sit on the bike and trust to gravity as other riders screamed past. This year I was still able to shift through the gears and keep adding power on the downhill. I took a good line round the corner and then flew past the roadie Deesider as I drove to the line.
Through the line and the watch says 25:20. Under target and I am happy with that. And I am still forgetting that I have another 30 seconds to come off that. EDIT - Official time 25:07.
I sat up to pedal back to the start and the Deesider roadie rolled up beside me and rode back to the car with me. This was enough to distract me from the requirement to throw up this year. I packed the bike, changed shoes and did a quick 10 minute jog to cool down.
Still waiting for the official time to come out but I know it will be faster than last year. Garmin suggests more than a minute inside last year, over 21 mph average, over 219 Watts.
I felt a lot better riding today than I have in the last few weeks. The fatigue seems to have been cured by a light week last week and this and Westhill have both been really great races.
So this year my, very simple, target was to go better than that.
I prepared much better this time. Remembering my orthotics for a start. I also managed about a 6 minute warm-up ride. I don't like to warm up too much before bike races. It doesn't seem to help much. I arrived at the start as number 4 rolled out. I was off at number 10, so I had a 6-minute wait.
At number 9 was the same guy from last week. I caught him at the 5-mile mark last week. Gives me something to aim for again this week. Behind me 11 was missing and 12 was a guy I have caught a few times this year, so no danger of being caught this year.
Having raced 6 TT's this year, and had one go at pushing off myself, I am now quite confident about the stability of the pusher-off at the start. I also remember to start my garmin when I get the 30-second countdown. Then when I am doing maths in my head later I always forget about subtracting the 30 seconds again. More on that later.
As with all the Garlogie TT events the first mile is downhill. Today it was also wind assisted. It was fast to that first turn but without being quite as much of an effort overdose as normal. I turned onto the first climb still able to breath sensibly, and still able to stay in my TT position for a lot of the climb. I was much more aware of the course this year. I made it to the next turn off and tried to carry as much speed as I could into the turn. It is slightly blind because of the building position so I slowed more than I really should have. From here there is a twisty section and I could see No.9 on the straights. I figures I had made over half the gap by this point.
At the halfway turn there was a computer system for the tracker chips so I might get a halfway time check from this point. I was passed here last year but this year but today I was the one doing the passing. I caught No.9 going into the slight headwind. The garmin track shows I lost almost a minute through this 1.5 miles section compared to last year. It may also be because I knew the hill was coming and was being a tiny bit more cautious about doing too much damage this year.
Through 5 miles Garmin buzzed and said 14:02. Dammit I thought I was going faster than that. I forgot about the 30 seconds and for some reason I thought 15 mins equated to 15mph instead of 20mph.
I had to do a dead-stop at the tight turn again this year. This meant No.9 caught right up to me and had to slow behind me to avoid a crash. This was partly because my bike handling skills on the TT bike are still not up to a 150 degree bend on gravel, but also because a Land Rover Discovery was passing the junction. I tried to get out of the turn and get a little motor-pacing effect from him but he was too quick over the little bridge.
7 miles and Garmin says 19:27. Forgetting about the 30 seconds again, but my brain does register that 20 minutes to 5 miles would be 15mph. Although it fails to register that under 20 minutes to 7 miles means over 21mph. I am also still forgetting the 30 seconds. I think at this point that to get my 26 minute target that gives me 6:33 for 2 miles with a big chunk of uphill to come.
I was feeling much better at this point than I did last year. As I came into the climb I could see No.4 and aimed to pass her quickly. About two-thirds of the way up the hill there is an incoming junction from the left and another Deesider, just out for an evening ride was waiting at the junction. He pulled out behind me and then rode easily past on the uphill as I tried to stay in my TT position and dug as deep as I could. He did give me some encouraging chat as he climbed past.
The crest of the hill came sooner than I expected. Last year all I could do from here was sit on the bike and trust to gravity as other riders screamed past. This year I was still able to shift through the gears and keep adding power on the downhill. I took a good line round the corner and then flew past the roadie Deesider as I drove to the line.
Through the line and the watch says 25:20. Under target and I am happy with that. And I am still forgetting that I have another 30 seconds to come off that. EDIT - Official time 25:07.
I sat up to pedal back to the start and the Deesider roadie rolled up beside me and rode back to the car with me. This was enough to distract me from the requirement to throw up this year. I packed the bike, changed shoes and did a quick 10 minute jog to cool down.
Still waiting for the official time to come out but I know it will be faster than last year. Garmin suggests more than a minute inside last year, over 21 mph average, over 219 Watts.
I felt a lot better riding today than I have in the last few weeks. The fatigue seems to have been cured by a light week last week and this and Westhill have both been really great races.
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