Rich Brady

Personal Worsts

2011-10-11T02:05:00.001-07:00

Challenge Barcelona was not what I was hoping for, although it wasn't a complete disaster. During the final 4 weeks leading in to the race I did very little constructive training. I would do a key sessions, which would go well, but the following day my glands would be up and I would feel washed out. A couple of days rest, followed by a couple of easier days training left me feeling fine, so I try another key session which resulted in more of the same and a repeat of the rest and easy training. Going in to race week, I had done enough to get me to the finish line, but was uncertain if I would fly because of the extra rest, or be under cooked and have below par day.

Nothing untoward happen during race week and I started to feel more confident as the week progressed, with all the training going as I would hope. Calella where the race is held is a small holiday town, which at the beginning of October is out of season and not too busy, making for a pleasant stay. Getting to the Calella is easy enough by train straight from Barcelona Airport and about a two hour journey.

All the pre-race packet pick up, race briefing and bike drop off was relatively hassle free, with very little queuing but a few pieces of information where missing to give it a full thumbs up, instead about I give the pre-race admin three quarter thumbs up.

The Race

The sea swim was quite straight forward, 200m from the beach to the first turn, which I took out quite hard, until making the first turn. The next leg was with the current, so I eased back and took it easy, so that I could pick it up when swimming in to the current. on the return leg I start to swim through the early waves, which didn't cause any problems and never got too congested. With a fairly uneventful swim I exited the water in 1:00.54, my slowest Iron Distance swim.

T1 was straight forward, in to the tent, empty bag, helmet on, wetsuit into the bag, out of the tent and on to my bike. All of which took 2.22

The bike course is 3 laps, with a couple of climbs at the start and end of each lap, but nothing that needs you to get off he tribars, but it's worth it to change position and use some different muscles as the rest of the course is flat and fast. My heart rate fell down to the 140-150bpm range after about 20mins and I was aiming to hold 200-210watts. This was tricky as I was catching early waves and they where playing the jump on my wheel, ride past me, pull straight in front of me game. I would drop back, but loose a couple of km/h, so I would over take and the game continues, until I got a yellow card and 8mins standing in the sun for somebody else's sins. What was most annoying was the main culprits got away with no penalty. It would have been easier to swallow if the group of 4 all got a yellow card but only two of us did. Pretty pissed off, I decided that I would pick up the pace a little, to recover in the penalty tent. After the 8 minutes stand down, got back to riding ad the wind had picked up and the return leg to the turn around was quick, holding 38-40km/h, with little effort. After the turn around riding in to the wind was tougher, and holding 32-33km/h. I had decided to just forget the penalty and stick to plan. The rest of the ride was uneventful, thankfully and in to T2. Ride time 5:07, actual time 5:14.07, 187w average, another personal worst.

T2 was similar to T1 with a quick in and out in 2.08

The run wasn't as bad as the time would suggest. I just couldn't run as fast as I have in the past and held a consistently slow pace for me until 30km. I then slowed and then by 35km the quads where suffering and I did a little extra walking, before the smell of the finish line help me pick up the pace a little to cross the line having run 3:52.48, another PW.

5km - 24.34

10km - 25.52

15km - 26.02

20km - 26.38

25km - 25.40

30km - 27.20

35km - 29.16

40km - 34.54

42km - 10.57

Game over in 10:12.19 and my 10th iron distance finish out of 10 starts. Not my best by numbers, but it didn't feel any worse and 9 days on my legs feel ready to go for an easy jog, but I might save that for a few more days.

I'd go back to Calella to do the race again. It is a fast course if you can turn up fully fit. I'd even go back to just have a holiday and leaving the bike at home.

The Season Part Two.

2011-09-08T07:18:00.000-07:00

The summers training has been good and the little bit of racing I have done has been OK, with a 17:38 5km at the Cardiff Park Run, a 6th at Blithfield Standard Tri in 2:03:40, with one of the fastest runs, which was much to my surprise and a 6th at the final Bradford upon Avon mid week aquathlon, over a 750m swim and 5km run, where the 5 in front where all at least half my age and a long way ahead.

My preparations for Challenge Barcelona has been patchy for one reason or another, but I've done enough to get me around in a reasonable time. I'll give it another week before making any time predictions, once I've eased back from the training and seen how the body has responded.

2011 Part 1 Completed

2011-06-24T07:18:00.001-07:00

I've completed the first part of my season which culminated in Bala Middle Distance Tri, which didn't go to plan, but the the other races and training did.

The photo above is from back in February at the Fingal Duathlon, over in Ireland, which I won. I don't believe that I was the fittest or fastest on the start line, but I was definitely the smartest. I used my 20yrs of triathlon racing experience to exploit and let those I was racing beat themselves. It was little things like not racing the first 400m of the 1st run, being able to ride around corners fast and only go really hard when it made a difference. I then had another couple of duathlons, where I finished just outside the top 10 at ISCA and Castle Combe. The aim of both was to race as hard as I could and build race fitness. Then my final outing before the 'A' race of 2011 Part 1 was a Sprint Tri in Strathclyde, which I won. I didn't win because I was awesome just the quality of field was not that high. I had a career firsts, leading my wave of the swim and setting the fastest swim time of all the waves. The rest of the race went well and most pleasing was that each km of the run (according to Mr Garmin) I was getting quicker.The 2 wins early in the season was a nice overconfidence boost and as good as any other year.

Then on to the main event, Bala Middle. With my preparation having gone well I was confidient that I could match my 2009 performance. The day before the race we had glorious Welsh sunshine. The day of the race, cold water, 8C air temp, wet and wind. The weather was the defining element of my race and I'm sad to say it beat me. I chose to go with a cycle vest under the tri top, arm warmers and gloves as my protection against the elements. This sadly was the wrong choice. Exiting the water in he top 10, my hands were cold enough to not function well enough to get the arm warmers and glove on. The consequence was that I got colder and colder as the km's passed. I decided to pull the plug and retire half way in to the bike to avoid either getting hypothermia or crashing on a descent because I couldn't steer or use the brakes with numb hands. It was the right decision to retire, just frustrating that I had good legs and matched my 2009 av powers for the first half of he bike and had a lot more in he tank. Sel a vie.

So on to 2011 Part II, which finishes with Challenge Barcelona. This which was the potential to be a PB course, if he training goes well and conditions on race day are spot on. I've got no other races in the pipeline yet, but I hope to get in a couple of tri's to keep the rust a bay.

Piecing the Puzzle Together

2011-04-13T06:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since blogging last. Life has been busy and my desire to tell the world that I'm consistently hitting 10-12hrs of training a week wasn't that high. My fitness is slowly building. I've been trying a slightly different approach to what has worked in the past, with a little more quality on the harder session and taking it a lot easier and shorter on the other session. I can't say that I have seen anything amazing happening, or that I'm materially any faster. It has kept me interested and entertained as I have tried to vary as much as possible the harder session.

I'm changing direction a little now to consistent volume and taking the hit on the quality of the harder sessions. With a middle distance race looming in June and an iron distance race at the start of October, I know I need the endurance to get me to the finish line in a reasonable time. The big question I'm asking myself is what can I start to do right now to make a big difference to the iron distance race. With the lessons learned from my preparation for Challenge Roth last year and still a little over 5months to do something, I'm quietly confident I can get close to and maybe set a new pb over 226km.

As always with the longer races the biggest difference can be made on the bike. I was fairly close to my best swim and run form in Roth, but not quite there on the bike. So if I can spin the biking plate whilst maintaining the run and swim in the build up to the middle distance race in June, I will be on the right track. If that is going to be the plan then I need to establish a few baseline markers in all three disciplines from which I be able to monitor progress. Once I've decide which ones I'll let you know.

Lesson from 2010

2011-01-07T00:38:00.000-08:00

On a personal level 2010 was a very busy year, with quite a few of the top 10 most stressful things going to keep life interesting. Add to this my continuing athletic ambition and a handful of athletes relying on me to advise them to life time best performances, I had to take the art of plate spinning to a new level.

The biggest squeeze came to my own training. Being able to rack up 20hrs+ training a week was no longer possible, so it was a case of making the best use of the sessions that really made a difference and doing them when it counted. I followed a similar structure to previous years of building a solid base with easy and steady miles, then adding the intensity to get faster, before specifically preparing for Challenge Roth, which target race for the year.

Training across the year looked like this:

Oct-Dec 09 5-7hrs per week

Jan- May 8-12hrs per week

Jun-Jul 10-18hrs per week (specific Challenge Roth prep)

Aug-Oct 10hrs

The reality of the above training was 9hr30min (56min swim, 5hr11 bike, 3:18 run + transitions). Not far from my best, with the biking suffering the most. So what I the big lessons I learned:

1) Daily nutrition makes a difference, they are the extra hours of training to keep weight down and improve fat burning, so it has to be done using the daily diet.

2) With limit time it's not the miles but what is done with them that count.

3) The right training at the right time gives good results.

4) Enjoy the training and racing that you can do and not dwell on what can't be done.

So for this year I will be using the above lesson to hopefully improve on the Roth time with a similar amount of training time.

Croeso i Gymru

2010-12-21T12:10:00.000-08:00

I've been living in Wales now for two months and all is good. During my first weekend after the move I ran the Cardiff Half Marathon, well almost half marathon as it was a couple of hundred meters short in 1hr 20mins. Since then I have just been ticking over and looking forward to getting back in to the full swing of training in the New Year. I've no firm or fixed plans for racing yet, but I fancy some shorter faster stuff and maybe finishing off the year with something longer.

The recent snow has pushed all my biking indoors, which I have enjoyed but I've still managed to get outside to run on the snow which has been hard work and a pleasant change. I've also be doing a fair amount of snow shoveling which is a solid upper body and core workout.

In the New Year I hope to be back to regular blogging as life should settle in to a more relaxed rhythm, so until then;

'Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda'

All Most Done

2010-10-02T06:28:00.000-07:00

My season is pretty much done, only the Cardiff half marathon in a couple of weeks to finish it off. This year I have logged the least amount training in 20yrs, maybe longer. Thankfully I'v got those years of miles banked and quiet a variety of experinces to draw on.

My racing has been ok, not as fast as I have been, but I wasn't expecting pb's this year. I was hoping that I was going to be faster at Challenge Roth, but I executed the day well, leaving nothing in the tank and 9hr29 was what it gave me. Bala Standard followed and a 13th place in 2.01:19. The biggest thing I have noticed is that I am running a fair bit slower than I have in previous years, whilst my swimming (on two sessions a week) and biking are relatively similar.

So once the half marathon is done, it will be time to find my faster running legs. I have not made my racing plans for next year. I'm thinking short and fast to start the season and an end of year iron distance race on a fast course, sub 9hr is still tormenting me.

2010 Results

6th - Pembroke Duathlon (5k-20k-2.5k)

5th - Llanelli Sprint (500m-30k-5k)

2nd - Cosmeston Sprint (750m-20k-5k)

9hr29 - Challenge Roth

5th - Welsh Aquathlon Champs (750m-5km)

6th - Castle Combe Mid week duathlon (2mile-10mile-2mile)

13th - Bala Standard (1500m-38k-10k)

Spinning Plates

2010-06-01T07:50:00.001-07:00

It's been quite some time since my last post. I've been busy enough with all those exciting things that life brings along and doing what ever training I can to fit. This has been a case of doing what is in most need at the time and will have he biggest impact on the racing that I'm doing, namely Challenge Roth.

Swimming has been my lowest priority plate to spin and I've been getting wet twice a week as and when I can. This has been just enough to keep me moving at a easonable pace for 3km or so.

Biking has been a priority, but that has been to get in along ride of 3-4hrs and a faster session, all other miles have been easy spins.

The long run has been a priority, with all other running just easy for as long as I have available, and picking up the pace if the legs have been up to it.

Fingers crossed this is going to be enough to get me across the line in Germany in a reasonable time. I just need a couple of descent long rides and runs and I should be there.

So my prioriies for the last 7 weeks will be:

Long bike 4-5hrs with a 20min run off it.
Long run 2hr30
Faster bike with a tempo run off it
long swim of 3-4km.

Any other training will be recovery and ticking over between the key sessions.

Stocks and Shares

2010-03-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

With minimal investment my fitness is heading in the right direction and training speeds/power are up for the same intensity. The endurance is getting there and the running legs becoming more durable. Nothing exciting, I'm just getting there slowly.

Chipping Away

2010-02-19T10:47:00.000-08:00

Some progress is being made, I've decided my racing focus at last and my fitness has made some tiny improvements. The big decision has been made and my flights are booked for Challenge Roth. It is going to be interesting as I will be putting in about half the number of hours I have done in the past in preparation and will be relying on what I have learned about from training and racing in the past. That said there aren't any secrets it's all about the long bike rides and runs. The knowledge I have gained lets me know how many I need and when need to do them.

The first task at hand though is to just get a solid, robust base of fitness together. Currently I am still delicate, but not taking quite as long to recover from harder session. That has a lot to with the little high intensity work i'mm doing is now being done indoors on the bike, so there is less impact damage to the muscles. I have gone back to easy running and picking up the pace a little when the legs want to. The harder club running sessions I was doing where leaving me trashed until just before the next hard session, consequently my easy running pace was getting slower and slower, which isn't good as easy running pace is Ironman race pace.

Since giving the track sessions a miss and just running, my easy pace has improved and the longer runs are not such a chore. The Indoor bike session is a focused around 30mins of higher intensity work, but not flat out. I'll increase this to 40 or so minutes. I'm likely to keep these going even when the nights get lighter as they are easier to control and I can just focus on the required effort.

I'm not swimming much, mainly as the pool seems to be closed when I turn up in the morning, with another lame excuse. I'm only planning 2 swims a week for now, so every one missed is a big deal.

Hopefully by the end of March I will be resembling some from of athlete, a little leaner and a lot fitter.

Slowly does it.

2010-01-31T02:13:00.001-08:00

I'm making slow progress with small gains in my fitness and I'm back to a pre-Christmas weight. The diet changes are becoming more habitual, although I have slipped occassionally back to the old ways. I have no races on the radar yet, which is a good thing as I have quite a few kilos to loose before I get near race weight.

I am still not sure what I will race this season, but I had better make my mind up soon, else all the races will be full. I still have unfinished business over the Ironman distance, but I am not sure that this is the year to finish it. So while I'm making up my mind on what to race, I figure that concentrating on a few little things to make me more efficient and ultimately faster is going to help.

1) Swim technique can always be improved, so I'm fist drilling lots, to set the front of the stroke up and concentraing on a whole body roll during the final push.

2) Improving my position on the race bike will improve efficiency, but this is tough to really quanitify without a tech crew, wind tunnel and a heap of parts to compare. Having a power meter does help measure the effect of the changes, but with all the variables of the ourside world only big difference are really noticable. My aim has always been to feel strong whilst down on the aerobars, rather than get as low and narrow as I can. I try to make my tweaks early in the year (like now)so that I have adjusted to them well before the racing begins.

3) Dropping the excess kilos is going to give my a lot of speed running. At least 1min over 10km, so I will keep tweaking and adjusting the diet. Just like training consistancy is key. Being heavier has meant greater impact on the legs, particularily the quads and it has been taking longer to recover from every run. This may turn out to be beneficial making the quads a little more resiliant, only time will tell, but it is a nice thought to keep reminding myself off as I plod along.

Frustration

2010-01-11T07:16:00.000-08:00

Uhmmm Choclate Cake!!!

Last week was a washout. I picked up a cold, which left me unable to do any training. So a big fat zero for the training log. I was actually looking forward to getting started on laying the foundation for the year, but is going to have to wait. Hopefully this coming week I will be able to start getting some easy miles done.

Not being able to train and with the extra christmas kilos, I have been a little more careful with with the amount I have been eating. I also did a few simple sums to see how many daily calories I need and when inactive it's not many. 1750cal is roughly what I need before I do anything, I have given myself an extra 250cal for day to day stuff, before exercise, giving me 2000cals to play with, or 3x500cal meals, plus 2x250cal snacks. Not much when you start food label surfing. Then another 500-800cal for every hr exercise, depending on type and intensity of training.

Now to loose those Christams Kilos I need to use up more calories than I am taking in. All very simple stuff, the hard part is the hunger and not reaching in to the biscuits, cakes, chocolate etc as they pack alot of calories quickly and easily. I wil just have to get on with it.

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-03T11:16:00.000-08:00

November and December have been eventful and emotional, hence the lack of any blogging and the cause of minimal training. I have managed 4-6hrs a week. Mostly running, a little biking on the indoor trainer and the very occasional swim. The net result is that I have set a pb on the scales for max weight and left me considering what I may be racing in 2010.

I have no doubt that I will be racing, I want to clock up my 20th successive season. Whether the focus will be another sub 9 attempt or short stuff for fun and fitness is yet to be decided. I am aiming to get back in to a routine now that the festivities are over, slowly build my fitness back and loose a few lbs.

I'm sure that I am not the only one who is a little unfit and carrying are few extra lbs, so it's time to suck it up and get on with it.

Doing thing differently

2009-11-02T11:25:00.000-08:00

The sheep are racing for a good reason. They get fed at the finish line. They are also fast, when they want or need to be. I have been humbled by speedy a few times and they can hold 30km/hr up hill and they have the athletic ability to scale bushes and walls if it offers a suitable route to peace, quite and some tasty grass. Some of these feats are most definately 'NO FEAR' events or 'NO THINKING TOO MUCH' and 'JUST DOING IT'. You may now be wondering where I am going with this, well I'm not too sure either other than sheep can do stuff we wouldn't expect them to.

Last week I had 5 days enforced rest due to a cold, which gave me a little time to think and start plotting my 2010 campaign. The big race will be in mid July and I've started to look at other races that will fit in to the scheme to add value, rather than hampering the big one. If a race's recovery effects training in the build up to the main aim in July then I won't do it. The races are likely to be local outings, mixing it up between single sport events, duathlons and triathlons of different distances and adding a couple of other training events where a suitable race doesn't exist. This also has the bonus of no entry fee, minimum travel etc, etc.

My legs are slowly coming around to running. It has taken a while of going through the motions and getting my ass kicked with the running club and plodding through easy jogs. Running with the club is a gamble, as I have no influence on the sessions and they are looking to be in peak shape soon, during the cross country season. That said I will hold back a little and not max out during the club runs, just to keep some powder dry, and the banter keeps me in my place.

With the weather starting to turn and the darker nights I'd better go and sort the wolly hats, thermal gloves and waterproof jackets.

Happy training.

Time to Rebuild

2009-10-19T04:08:00.000-07:00

Quite often during the winter months it's tough to do the right thing that will make us faster in our summer goal races. The temptations to start hitting hard too early, or racing lots and digging too deep too often (because that what we enjoy doing) in all sorts of fun invents. Instead we should be be heading in to a rebuild, to make the chassis strong so that it will take the training loads we need to do to become fast. Once thats done, building the engine can commence.

A gradual increase in easy miles will strengthen the muscle, tendons and ligaments. A couple of strength and condition sessions a week, with an all round body focus, paying particulat attention to core strength, will produce a solid platform from which to apply power.

Focus heavily on improving skills rather than getting fast. Be that your swim technique, always a winter favourite. You could work on your bike handling ability, which is generally poor at all levels of triathlon. Perfecting how to run eficiently is going make running of the bike faster. It always amazes me how much athletes will spend for a piece of equipment(s) that is marketed to make you faster when bigger returns can be gained by investing time in practicing how to corner quickly or improve swimming related flexabity (a limiting factor for many male triathletes), which are free and guarentes an increase in speed.

The hardest part of any of the above is making it a habit. When it becomes what you always do you are almost there. The next step is to make what you always do, perfect, then you have it cracked.

Keep it simple, keep fun.

Humble Pie

2009-10-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

I had a play at the first Westward League XC on Sunday and quite simply I'm not race ready, but I did get a hard hilly run. To be fair I wasn't expecting anything special and was toeing the line for something different and a quality session. Job done more miles required!

Keeping Active

2009-10-07T04:24:00.000-07:00

Not much has happened on the training front. I've been swimming twice a week between 2-2.5km each time, been on the bike twice a week most weeks, for no more than 1hr and have been running 5-6 times a week, one seesion with the running club, 1longer run and the rest has ben 30-50mins easy depending on how the legs were feeling.

My run legs are settling down and I'm hoping to start adding a few extra sessions soon, keeping the swim and biking to a couple of seesions each a week. The minimal swimming and biking will keep the muscles ticking over and ready when I start to build back the volume, without causing too many problems, particually as they are non weight bearing activities.

On the non training front I have started to think about equipment needs and choices for next year. In fact I started thinking about this before the season ended. The big one is tweaking my bike position. I was pretty happy with everything else this year so not many, if any other changes are needed. This is something I strongly recomend getting on top of early, so that anything new is tried and tested by the time you get to the most focused block of pre competition training, so only fine tuning is left to be done before th racing begins.

MONKEY LEGEND

2009-09-14T11:43:00.000-07:00

My week has been pretty dull in comparison to the man in the photo and he has become the first Monkey Legend, for something that Mr. T would only call him a 'crazy fool' for doing, but he gets more respect from me than any other single day physical feats I know of.

Geth didn't quite manage to swim the channel last year, only a mile from the shore of France a storm put and end to his speedo powered crossing, but instead received an award from the channel swimming association in recognition of his efforts, as he toughed it out in real conditions, not the perfect ones that give fast times.

This Saturday he took on his next challenge, swimming from Ilfacombe to Swansea, 21 nautical miles across the Seven Estuary, which has one of the highest and fasest tidal ranges in the world. No one had ever done it before and only a nutter would think of doing it. Anyone that knows Geth will confirm he is far from being ordinary. You'll have to meet him to understand.

He fueled the dip in the sea with scotch eggs, non of the over marketed sports stuff for a man of his stature. The original plan was to come in to Swansea Bay, but the tide had diferent ideas, so the Langland by the Mumbles became the target, but the tide was still wasn't playing ball. The official observer gave him the option to touch the rocks a little further around the coast, but Geth prefered to swim a little further (remember Mr. T's words), so he could beach at Caswell, his training ground and become the first person ever to swim Ilfracombe to Caswell and a little over 21 hours from dipping his toes a legend is born (or re-born for those that already know him).

Great work buddy, I look forward to buying you a well deserved beer.

Carbo Power!!

2009-09-04T11:03:00.000-07:00

Carbo re-finding his mojo in Phoenix Park, Dublin, above.

My training week has been mellow, in fact calling it training would be a little misleading. Keeping fit would be more appropriate, although I am suffering from sore legs after a few hill reps, which I did just because I fancied it. My hours for the week might nudge over four, depending on how much riding I do over the weekend whilst coaching.

Next week my aim is to do 6 runs, 2 swims and 2 bikes and just have fun. I'll keep this rolling and increase this to 8 runs a week, as and when the legs are willing. I've started looking for a few events over the next few months just to add some variety and to add a little motivation on those days when the sofa is more inviting, but nothing is entered yet. I'm likely to keep this plan going until December, when I'll start riding a little more.

Until then run monkey run.

Racing to the end

2009-09-01T07:54:00.001-07:00

Above I've just entered Pheonix Park, in Dublin during the tri.

My season has come to an end after two weekends of racing. Two weekends ago I finished 3rd at the Hayle Sprint and the weekend just gone I placed 14th at the Dublin City Tri. Both races went well and I gave everthing I had and I'm happy considering the minimal training I had done. What the races do tell me is that I have lost some top end speed, which is no surprises giving my Ironman focus over the last few years, but I reckon that I'm only a block or two of focused training away to being faster than I ever have been in the shorter stuff.

I'm shifting my training to a running focus over the next few months. I'm not taking a break as such, given that I have been and will be doing far less miles/hrs than normal. This should allow for a flexible weekly schedule, which will fit nicley with the new job. My plan is to swim and bike twice a week, just to maintain the key components (endurance, strength and basic speed) whilst running as much as I can without getting injured. This is likely to involve a some double runs, on non swim and bike days.

This week will be mellow, although I fancy some hill reps at some point.

Enter the Dragon

2009-08-14T02:35:00.001-07:00

I've been a very busy boy since my last post, hence the lack of posting. I have taken on a new coaching position as the Welsh Performance Develepment Coach. I will be putting my knowledge and experience to good use helping the young welsh triathletes develope in to something special.

This has kept me on the roads a lot, and meant my training has been minimal at 10-12hrs a week. Which in fairness is a usual amount for most. I have kept training simple, aiming to get one long and one fast session done in each sport, adding easy sessions when time permited.

A long long swim is 2.5-3km, other swim have been 1.5-2km.
A long bike has been 2.5hrs, other rides 1-1.5hrs.
A long run has been 1-1.5hrs, other runs 30-50mins.

I've only a couple of races left for the season, firstly the Sprint at Hayle in Cornwall and then over to Ireland for the Dublin City Tri. After Dublin I am will take a bit of a break, before heading in to a running focused period, but more on that when I get there.

Ironman Austria 09 Race Report

2009-07-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

You can find my race report here.

Above I'm sharing a post race beer with Liam Dolan who lowered the Irish record to 9hr02min. What makes his time even more impressive is he spent 6mins in the drafting bin and blew up at 32km on the run.

I am recovering well and have resumed training all be it a very reduced level. I am being cautious and taking it easier, rather than pushing on. Next week if the body allows it I will step it up a notch, but the volume will be no where near my pre Austria training. I might hit 12hrs or so.

I have started a new coaching contract this week which is going to keep me very busy over the next few months and is likely to mean that I am not going to get much racing done. I will still be training and keeping fit whilst plotting unfinished Ironman business.

IM Austria 09

2009-07-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

I'm back home after my Austria experience and I will be posting a full race report shortly, but in short:

Swim - 54: 25 uneventful

Bike - 4:57.26 tougher than I thought it would be.

Run - 3:17.54 held together well with minimal slow down.

Total 9:15.37 - I gave it all I had on the day and couldn't do any more.

Show Time

2009-06-30T07:47:00.000-07:00

Only 5 days until the the Gun fires in Austria. I've had good preparation and I am looking foward to see what my fitness will let me do. The plan is simple, a steady uneventful day, digging in over the final 21.1km of the run. I will be over the moon to go Sub 9hr, very happy with with sub 9hr13min, 29s (new pb), anything else will be a well deserved finish.

Beautiful Bala

2009-06-19T00:04:00.001-07:00

The weather for the Bala Middle distance triathlon was perfect; sunny and warm with a light breeze. The event is set amognst the hills and mountains of North Wales, where the scenary is stunning, even more so with the sun on it. The course is challenging where the lake swim was a little choppy on the outward leg of the rectangular loop. The bike coures is hilly, mostly long steady climbs and fast downhills. The run is rolling to say the least, nothing nasty but it's relentless ups and downs take there toll on the legs working them hard on the ups and beating them up on the downs. The organisation of the event is top notch and an example to all race organisers, nothing fancy just all the important things done very well.

I had a good run out and it provided just the prepartion I need for IM Austria. My race report will appear on tri247.com which includes bike power data for the technicaly minded. Post race my focus has been on recovery, taking a day off after the race and then a couple of days very easy, so that I can get to the weekend able to execute the final longish ride and run well.

With just over a couple of weeks until the big day I am making sure that all my equipment is ready to go. The race at Bala provided the perfect opportunity to trial run the new Fusion Power tri shorts. They are made from Power Lycra and the offer firm support and are very comfortable. I really like the low cut, the goes below the waistline, which takes any presure off the stomach which can become uncomfortable with bloating and the like. On top I wore a sleeveless cycle jersey, sporting team colours.

The weather is looking pretty good in to the run up to the Ironman which is going to help aclimitise for the heat which usually is a factor in Austria and sunny miles means happy smiles!

Build complete - In search of Zebedee

2009-06-07T02:36:00.000-07:00

My specific preparation for IM Austria is complete. This week's training has has shown many of the signs that I have taken myself close to my limit. My swim times have been slightly down, I have struggled to raise my heart rate whilst cycling and running and there has been no sparkle or zip in any session. Some folks get frustrated by these signs as they're not going as fast as they have or would like to. My take is that I have been training hard enough, found the edge and it is now time for some well earned rest, allowing the body to repair itself from the training induced damge, subsequentlty getting stronger and faster, well thats the plan.

Over the next week(s) I am looking for some zip and spring to return. Next weekend I'm making a trip to North Wales to race Bala Middle distance. It will be a good run out. I'm not expecting to be at my best, thats for Austria, but I will be using it as a dress rehersal for my clothing, bike and nutrition.

Next week I will be reporting on the race, until then I will be paying close attention to some wise words:

' It's time for bed' said Zebedee.

Sun Shine!!!!!

2009-05-30T12:56:00.000-07:00

It makes a pleasant change to get the miles done in the sun shine, compared to the 5hrs in the rain and cold the other week brought. If the weather forecast is correct, which is never a given, it's more of the same for next week (YEEH HAA!!). If so it will be silly tan line time.

I started the week quite sluggish, but that's usual after a recovery week. It took a couple a sessions to get all cylinders firing. This week's key session went well and were the best to date. I doubt they will be next week as the fatigue builds, I've just got to get them done.

Each week has been very similar in terms of volume, 8.5km swim, 400km bike and 95km run. The bike km's never seem much, compared to the hours in the saddle, but if you have ever riden in Devon and around Dartmoor, you'll appreciate the meaning of a devon mile! The swimming volume is low as I have really just been maintaining what I had put in place earlier in the year. I'll ramp this back up in during the peaking phase. Hopefully next week I'll get in a few extra bike miles and keep the running similar to the last few. Then the hard work will be done.

Bring on the sun and remember slip, slop, slap.

R and R

2009-05-27T05:34:00.000-07:00

Last week was a very easy week in training terms, except for the swimming, where I continued as usual. The aim of the week was to shed some fatigue and absorb the previous two weeks of Ironman prep, which I wrote about on tri247. As usual this left me feeling a little sluggish at the begining of this week, but after a couple of session thats gone and the legs are feeling good.

I managed to get to the Royal Devon show, to get my aggriculural fix. There were plenty of animals and some huge cows, bulls, sheep, rams and chickens. I thought I knew my farm animals but the size of some of them was jaw dropping. As well as the animals was a selection of local foods and big machinary. All exciting stuff, if thats your kind of thing.

The next couple of weeks are the final push of training for Austria, so I expect I am going to get a little tired and a bit grumpy.

Investments and Returns

2009-05-19T02:05:00.000-07:00

I'm enjoying and easier week of training this week after two weeks of solid preparations for IM Austria. As planned I didn't go too crazy, I'm saving that for the following two week block. All but one session went well. The only session that didn't, was caused by a mechanical issue whilst riding, so I just cut the session short, thankfully it was only an easy spin so no real loss. I followed a very similar structure to that I have done in the past, although I have done less swimming than in previous years, but will be stepping this back up. I also raced the Exe Valley sprint in the middle weekend, which is something I don't normally recomend as it means missing weekend longer sessions, but I got my long ride done on the Friday and did an easy bike (2hrs)and run (50mins) on the Saturday before the race.

The race went well, I finished 3rd with a 5.26 400m swim, 35.34 (290w av) 24km bike and 18.33 on the hilly run. A trainining buddy, Pete Freedman won the race very impressively and showed what short course boys can do (4.41, 34.36, 15.45). Who ever said draft legal racers can't ride a bike should head out with Pete and he might just change there mind.

I really hoping to see some sunshine soon, as I'm not sure that I can force myself to any more 5hr+ rides in the cold, wet and wind.

Back on the Iron Road

2009-05-05T12:12:00.000-07:00

There is just under 9 weeks to go until show time at IM Austria. That means the long rides, runs and swims are now the most important sessions of the week. I will complete two 14day specific training blocks each followed by an easier week to recover and absorb the training. That will be followed by two peaking weeks and race week. I have used this pattern several times and it works. I will be taking the first build period easier than for previous races, as I have done a little too much in the past and not been able to match it in the second build period.

I spent last weekend working with the British Para-Triathlon Squad. This for me was more challenging than working with high flying elite athletes and some of the most satisfying coaching I've done. Normal technical models don't apply, but the rough basic principles do; getting from A to B as quick as possible and fast is the one thing the Para Squad wanted.

I'm now going to concetrate on getting from A to B as quick as possible over 226km.

Chicken Legs of Fire

2009-04-27T10:43:00.000-07:00

The athletes I am coaching for a European Ironman are ending a speed phase, resting up, before starting the crucial specific preparations. DT in the photo above, used this little bit of speed to notch up his second career win. DT is a great example of what it takes to become fitter and faster. When we first started working together he was a middle of the pack, nothing special athlete. He has steadily progressed and is now a podium threat in a lot of the races he enters. The secret formula has been quite simple:

Hard work + Consistancy + The Necesarry Passion (obsession) = Fitter and Faster

The journey has still had its bumps and troughs, but each one has been a valuable learning experience and has made for a smarter athlete. I see making mistakes and exploring the unkown a vital part in accumilating knowledege for what does and doesn't work or alternatively called the 'Experiment of One'.

I've been busy the last few weeks, travelling all over to see family, friends and do some work. Training wise I've been working on getting faster and it seems to have worked. I finished off my speed phase with a sprint tri a Chirk. I mustn't grumble as it fell at the end of a two week block, which left my legs a little heavy and no access to my top gear. I finished 4th (if the timing error is corrected) and thankfully stayed on my bike this time. With less than 10 weeks to go, I'm going to rest up this week before getting stuck in to the IM prep and continue dreaming of sub 9.

The Joys of Spring

2009-04-07T11:37:00.000-07:00

Lambs jumping, calves suckling and ducklings walking on water are just some of things that I've been seeing these last couple of weeks during my training adventures on Dartmoor. The Moor provides me with endless entertainment, whilst the hills do their magic on the legs. When the sun is out there is no better place to be.

I have manged to put another descent week of cycling and running together, finishing the week with my legs close to being shot to bits. The road rash allowed me to get in a couple of swims. The enforced time out of the water allowed me to swim in a fresh state for change. I was pleased to find that I am close to where I expect to be in July.

This week the plan is to hit the swimming as hard as I can, which may be dificult with the Easter holiday pool closures. I'll be taking it easy on the legs until they start to feel fresh and then I'll start to batter them all over again. I'll probabley be eating a chocolate egg or two over the weekend too.

On the mend

2009-03-30T07:19:00.000-07:00

The photo is one of my run routes along the old canal. Its a beautiful run and has sheep, ducks, cows, woodpeckers and occasionally a Kingfisher to keep me entertained.

My wounds are healing well. I have stayed out of the water for 9 days, so that the road rash could get a good start. The week before the crash, I had a good week of swimming, so the rest is welcome.

The biking and running haven't really been affected and I have continued to put the miles in. I did a session with the running club last week, which confirms that I still have some speed in the legs, depite not having done an interval session for several months. We did 12x400m on a road loop with 1min recovery and I ran them all under 75s. Which I'm more than happy with.

I spent the weekend in Dublin , working with some of the athletes that I coach. It was great to see the improvements that they have made and that they all have a solid foundation to build on for the coming season. Dublin offers some fantastic training when the weather is on your side. It has a little of everthing and some fantastic home made cakes in a cafe hidden in the middle of the Phoenix park.

15 weeks until IM Austria, so it will soon be full steam ahead. I can't wait.

Ouch!

2009-03-23T06:34:00.000-07:00

That's me running up the hill at the Ballbuster. I had paced the 1st run (48.22) with the aim of even splitting with the second, but I didn't manage to get to T2. Towards the end of the first lap of the bike, before the climb I flew over the bars and hit the Tarmac. Once I decided that I was still alive, I got up and my bike looked OK, although the bars were a little bashed and not ridable. I hobbled to the closest marshalls, who were great and looked after me well and got me back to transition.

I am nursing some road rash and bruising, which seems to be healing well and hopefully I will be back logging the miles in the next few days. The key part is that once I am back training that I don't shield any injuries by altering my biomechanics. This may mean doing slighlty less than I want to. Cycling should be a fairly safe bet and I will be cautious with swimming so I can give my wounds a good chance to heal. I will be most cautious running, making sure not to be limping through sessions.

The Danger Zone!

2009-03-13T04:19:00.000-07:00

You will be soon entering the ‘DANGER ZONE’. This is point in time in your training where you can sabotage your best Ironman performance. You will have reached or soon be reaching a point in your training where you have a good level of fitness and keen to press on in the hope of becoming superhuman. The danger is that you just might start spending your savings, built up over the last few months. You need your savings for when the specific IM prep work starts 9 weeks out from the big day. Believe me you will want every cent of savings when the prep period starts.

The reason why this period of the year is so risky is because you have many demons in your head. Some of the demons want to go longer, others want to go faster and there is a great urge to test your form. In isolation they are OK, but together you have a high chance burning out and becoming fatigued, unmotivated, injured and or ill.

So to get to the other side of the DANGER ZONE safely and ready for the most important part of the IM preparation, your training will need to be different from what it has been over the last couple of months. Hopefully you have been laying a solid foundation by building endurance and getting strong. The key elements in the next phase will be to raise your Lactate threshold (1hr max pace), whilst maintaining the endurance you have built. This means weekly harder bike and run sets, but they don’t need to be flat out, whilst alternating long bike rides and runs. During the longer session resist the temptation to test how fast you can do them, easy is easy and most specific to IM. Races during this time act as a LT session and are an indication of form. The best way to test your form is to see how fast you can go at IM race heart rate for prolonged periods of time. (3+ miles running, 10+ miles biking)

You will see other athletes going nuts at this time of the year, going longer and harder. They are a ticking time bomb and will struggle when they get to the specific prep, unless they are very special. Be careful when riding long with pure cyclists as there season is starting and as such will be looking to rip the legs off anything they can find.

The main aim of the next block of training is to increase fitness by getting faster and maintaining endurance to arrive at the beginning of the specific IM training hungry and raring to go.

Take it easy

Phase 1 complete

2009-03-10T06:37:00.000-07:00

Nothing beats an early morning run on Dorseset's Jurrasic coast, particually when you ran a little over 2hrs on it the night before.

A quick dip in to the Irish sea on the 1st March to cool the legs after a weekend of Monkey training.

The last two weeks have been a little busy. Both weekends I was coaching. The 1st in Courtown, Co Wexford, the location for Eireman, for novice long distance athletes. The 2nd was the 3rd Big Weekend, based in Swanage Dorset.

The Courtown weekend was aimed to give the knowledge to sucessfully complete in long distance triathlons. The focus of the bike and run sessions where to find and measure aerobic threshold.

The Big Weekend was all about the miles and redefining personal physiacl and mental boundaries. Most of the athletes got in 12 or so hours of training from 2:30pm on the Friday to 1:30pm on the Sunday.

My training has been going well and I am roughly where I want to be; fit but not fast. The next phase is about getting fast, before getting stuck in to the IM Austria preparation.

Endurance Junkie

2009-02-25T09:01:00.001-08:00

Some do drugs, others drink whilst I do triathlon. I started small with a pool based sprint, then moved on to an open water sprint a standard distance followed. After a few years I needed a bigger hit, so I dabbled with a half ironman or two, then that wasn't enough. Now I am training for my 8th Ironman, which will satisfy my needs for pain and pleasure with thousands of laps of the pool, even more hours in the saddle and a several hundred miles pounding tarmac with my feet.

The addiction is wide spread and I share the love and passions with many across the globe. The journey isn't so long, but it feels like it. Every day, week and month has a purpose. It could be a long bike day or a week of big run miles or a month of balanced training. All the numbers add up with aim of getting from gun to tape as quick as possible.

The Austria 2009 journey is going well. There are 18 weeks to go, with a few races to break the rhythm. Bring fourth the long rides and runs, the blood, sweat and the smiles, in my quest for sub 9.

Progress

2009-02-07T05:47:00.000-08:00

I've had a reasonable week of training. The weather has forced all of my biking indoors on to the trainer which has been easier than I though it would be. By the end of the week I will have logged 7.5hrs in 4 rides (1.5hr, 2.5hr, 2hr, 1.5hr). I have still been able to swim as normal and I've had my bigest run week of 7hr45min (100km), since returning to training.

I am going to continue with a running focus next week and hopefully get outside to ride.

Toys and Technique

2009-01-30T13:16:00.000-08:00

My favourite swim toys are in the photo. A pull bouy and a band. Most traithletes have a bad pull bouy habit and use it to make up for a weak kick or poor body position. The band makes swimming tough. It takes the legs out of the equation, so you end up dragging them behind you, this increases your drag and highlights faults in your stroke. Triathletes that swim well with a band are usually better open water swimmers. The band highlights slippage in your stroke. The feedback is simple; if you slip the water you sink. Most peoples' basic survival instinct kicks in as they don't want to sink, so they alter their stroke to generate forward motion and body position to reduce drag. A usuful side effect is that you develope swim specific strength. The downside is you swim slower and it's really hard work, until you take the band off and you feel like a torpedo. It's best to start off by using the band and bouy, in small chunks (25-50m) slowly building the distance. When you are swimming at a similar speed as you do without the band, it is time to loose the pull buoy and start all over again.

For me the band is one of the best self coaching tools to help improve swimming. You either sink or swim. A simple progressive set using a band might look like:

4x25m with 10s rest

2x50m with 15s rest

100m with 20s rest

2x50m with 15s rest

4x25m with 10s rest

When using the band you will need to get the most out off the back of your stroke, so push back strong and as far as you can. This helps you get maximum force out of your stroke.

You may also need to increase your stroke rate. This is best done by going deeper at the front of the stroke. You will still get a glide at the front only if you are strong enough at the back of the stroke. If you over stretch at the front your changes for sinking are higher.

Have a play and happy swimming.

Shock Treatment

2009-01-27T10:39:00.000-08:00

The weekend was BIG and I am tired, but the feeling is shared by 2 other coaches and 12 athletes. We spent the weekend in Okehampton to get in lots of Dartmoor miles and add a considerable training load to the system. over the 48hrs of the camp (Fri 2pm-Sun 2pm) 12hrs of training completed as follows:

Fri
2hr steady bike over a roling route.
1hr run including hill reps.

Sat

1hr run, real cross country on the moor.

5hr bike ride with lots of big and small hills.

Sun

1hr swim, technique for some, something harder for others

Brick - 3 different sessions, 1 turbo based, 1 medium and 1 long)

Not bad for a weekend. The next one is 6-8 Mar in the Purbecks. If you fancy the challenges that Dorset has to offer drop me a line.

Back to Work

2009-01-13T05:53:00.000-08:00

The Christmas decorations are down and the first working week of the year is done. Normaility(if there is such a thing) is resuming and its back to the old routine. My training is slowly evolving. I have logged a couple of 20hr weeks, most of which has been very slow but I'm in no rush. I have just under 6months to find some Iron Speed.

This year looks like it is going to be an interesting one as the world economic roller coaster hurtles further down the rails. It still amazes me that some inteligent people and Governments (note I kept inteligent and governments seperate) still have not worked out that bad times generally follow good times and that very bad times usually follow very good times and its is probbabley impossible for economic growth to just keep growing.

I'm am just going to keep swimming, riding my bike and running, whilst the storm blows over.

Time for Some Routine

2008-12-29T11:57:00.000-08:00

I'm enjoying the festive season and still managing to get some training done. Once the New Year arrives my priority is to get a training routine going, which has been a little tricky these last couple of weeks.

St. Nic was good to me this year. I've got some new over shoes, which will keep the feet toasty out on the bike, a sock monkey calendar to keep track of the days, weeks and months and a very handy book of monkey jokes to keep me and those around me amussed.

Festive Fancys

2008-12-22T08:33:00.000-08:00

I've just had a very easy training week whilst I did the festive family rounds. In all I squeezed in 2 swims, 3 runs and an unlogged number of hours on Wii fit and sports.

I am quite impressed with the Wii fit. It shows up the imbalances and the real world feedback takes out the guess work and can be quite humbling. It also makes doing the more mundane exercise quite fun. I am will have to add one to my list for St. Nic.

The pile of pressies is growing under the tree, of which a number seem to have a chocolate box shape. This only means one thing, lots of sweaty time on the moor to earn each and every tasty treat.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

The Biggest Iron Key - fuel efficiency

2008-12-10T10:12:00.000-08:00

The desire to cover the Iron Distance at a greater speed is a bigger puzzle than just training more and or harder. The major limiting factor to covering such a long distance quickly is the fuel tank.

We have two fuel sources, fats and carbohydrates. We have plenty of fats, but a limited amount of carbohydrates. We can top up the carbohydrate tank on the move, but that too is limited and varies to each individual’s digestive system.

As we go faster the amount of fuel per minute required increases, this fuel demand is met from carbohydrate stores. So to optimize our race time we need to find the intensity where carbohydrates is being used at a rate where it can be topped up enough to get us to the finish line before the tank is empty. The folk that pace the ride to fast, will run out of carbs on the run and slow down dramitcally and probabley end up walking.

The only true way to find your fuel burn rates is in the lab, by way of gas analysis. This is reasonably accessible, but at a cost. I think it is worth it for any budding Ironman athlete as it generally acts as a reality check showing and that the sugary treats and fast sessions are not going to unlock the 'fast ironman door', but make you a gaz guzzler.

Improving fat utilizisation is realitively simple in theory, but it can be hard to adopt the measures required. The two best ways to improve fat burning are:

1) Diet

2) Lots of aerobic miles.

3) Training in a fasted state (but no where near as good as 1 & 2 above).

The diet changes are straight forward, drop all sugary high GI foods, except during training and after long or intesense sessions. Eat good quality protein with every meal and some quality fats (olive oil etc). This means lots of fresh fruits, veggies, fish and meat.

The tough part is that changes will take 12-16 weeks, so it isn't a quick fix. The easy bit is that you just have to do it, day in and out, no excuses.

The Plan

2008-12-08T06:26:00.000-08:00

I put in another easy week which concluded with the Krazy Kristmas Kaper, put on by North Devon Tri. It's a great event with plenty of festive spirit. I decided to dress down this year, with only a santa hat and tinsel number belt and I was in a minority as there were plenty in full rig, including a few full blown Santas, a sheppard (with blow up sheep and crook) and fairy just to mention a few.

My cunning plan for world domination, well sub 9hr ironman is fairly simple. I am following a a tweaked version of a structure which has worked well in the past.

Dec - get back in to the swing of training, with a running bias.
Jan - Run focus with swim and bike just ticking over.
Feb - Lots of miles running and biking, continuing to keep the swimming ticking over.

Mar - Speed focus in all 3
Apr - Short race focus

May - IM prep with biggest miles
Jun - IM Prrep

Jul - Ironman Austria.

Once the Christmas celebrations are done and training is just happening I should be on a roll.

My Irish IM record holding days lasted 34 days. Paul O'Doherty shaved a few minutes off from my Florida time. Good work Paul.

Short & Sweet

2008-11-28T01:54:00.000-08:00

Ethiopian Mountain Monkey's have BIG HAIR and two long teeth!!

I have started work on expanding the 'Iron Keys' and will start to drip feed them through next week. This week I have felt like I am actually training rather than keeping fit. The hours logged are small and by Sunday I will have done:

Swim 1hr30 (3x30mins session)
Bike 5hr30 (2x45min indoor, 1hr & 3hrs on the road)
Run 2hr20min (55min, 40min & 45min)
Core + Stretching 1hr (2x30min sessions)

Total 10hr 20min

It isn't much in the big scheme of things and all of it has been at an easy to steady pace, but I now have the ball rolling.

Iron Keys

2008-11-25T05:31:00.000-08:00

To achieve one's goals in an Ironman it will usually take at lot longer than you think. The reason is that some of the fundamentals are over looked because people want to be fast, rather than being exceptional at being steady. Once you get over the mental hurdle that you are unlikely to become as fast as you would like over the shorter races and focus on becoming exceptionally good at holding a steady pace you have a foot on the ladder. There will always be exceptions to the rules, but the majority of us are more likely to achieve our sucess in iron distance events by trying to unlock 5 doors to:

1) Fuel Efficiency - being good at burning fat for fuel.

2) Pacing - so that you don't use up all the fuel before the finish line.

3) Durable legs - so that muscluar fatigue doesn't slow your run down to a walk.

4) Bike fitness - being very bike fit and then pacing the ride to set you up for the marathon.

5) Run endurance - gets you to the finish line.

Non of the above are overly difficult to obtain but a desire to be fast or easy choices generally get in the way. The toughest part is that they need time, patience and mental strength to achieve.

I will delve deeper over the next few posts as these doors are on my path to sub 9.

Back to the Future - 33 weeks to go.

2008-11-15T02:44:00.000-08:00

This weeks photo is from a walk on Dartmoor I took this week.

I haven't logged any real training this week. I have done a couple of 30min jogs and lots of walking. Next week I will get back to light training and might even have a night out with the local running club. There's a few handy runners including Pete and Harry who finished 2nd and 3rd at the Windsor tri and Heather who picked up a Silver in Beijing. I won't be trying to keep up with them just yet.

My IM Austria plans are forming, where I'm aiming for a sub 9hr day. Firstly I need to get my butt of the sofa and just get in some easy miles. I'll do this for a couple of weeks and then start to put in a structure for Dec and then I'll get some testing done in the new year to help steer the training.

A good day in the office

2008-11-07T07:46:00.000-08:00

I'm running in to the record books above, shaving a few minutes off the Irish Ironman Record. I still don't think its an impressive national record at 9hr 13min 29s. It belongs sub 9hrs and I am sure it won't be long until it gets there, hopefully its me that does it.

My race report will apear on tri247 in the next few days, but essentially it was a steady, uneventful day, just the way I like it.

Whilst I am very happy with the result, I know that there is a lot more to come. For now I am going to enjoy a couple of weeks rest and then slowly get moving and then back to a rough structure by December.

I'll be sharing my winter training plans over the next few weeks. I have to do something a little different this year if I am to 8hr ??mins

9hr 13min 29s

2008-11-05T04:03:00.001-08:00

Crossing the finish line is always very satisfying, and to do it with a pb and an Irish record is even more satisfying. The race itself was smooth from start to finish, with every thing falling in to its place. I will be posting a more in depth race report in a few days time.

A big thanks you for the support, good wishes and congrtaulations to all that sent them.

Ready to Rumble?

2008-10-28T03:05:00.000-07:00

The photo is from last week's trip to the Zoo. The weather was a little wet, but the sensible animals headed indoors and some took a liking to me!

The big question 'What time will my training / fitness give me?' will get answered on Saturday. I know that I am in as good a shape as I have been in for every other Ironman I've competed in and Florida is a faster course than the others I have done (Lanzarote, UK, Wisconsin), so I should break my 9hr30 pb. But this is Ironman so never say never and expect anything and everthing to happen. It is a long day after all. So I am hoping for an steady, uneventful day in the office on Saturday.

Last week I started to feel a little bit of sparkle return to the legs, which eased the demons that had been forming in the back of my mind. I nailed my swims on Thur and Fri, which left me confidient that I should at least have a good swim. So with only a handfull of short sharpening sessions left, all I have to do is race smart and leave a little something for the final 10km of the run.

Sluggish and Crappy

2008-10-19T03:28:00.000-07:00

After my duel with Laurence Pidock last weekend at Wadebridge Tri I have been feeling sluggish and crappy for most of my session this week, but that's par for the course at this point when peaking for an event. The second week in to a 3-4 week peaking period is quite often the worst, the body has gone into deep repair and you can't go fast whilst your engine is having an overhaul.

The mental side of this week has been tough. I have had to keep reminding myself of the hard work and the good sessions that I have done and that feeling crap now means that I've worked hard enough in the build up and I wil be ready cometh the day.

I am quite looking forward to next week as I have no big session and a trip to the Zoo!!

Baking and other delights

2008-10-14T05:19:00.000-07:00

Thats a muffin I made earlier. This week its Apple and Cinamon, last week's batch were Banana and Nut. The week before I made Flap Jacks. Tasty home made treats.

Lasts weeks training was half what I did the week before. It was a recovery week, before I start the peaking phase for IM Florida. I have found that reducing the training each week over the 3 weeks leading in to an Ironman has worked very well for myself, (3weeks out is 75%, 2weeks out is 50% and race week 25% off max weekly volume).

I also got down to Earls Court to see the Cycle Show. There wasn't anything really new or exciting, but lots of nice bling. Torq nutrition launched a 'strawberry and vanilla' flavour recovery drink, which was quite tasty. Lezyne had a very bling range of mini tools and pumps, which according to th reviews are the business and they are priced very nicey too. Suunto's T range of heart rate monitors looked very natty and the chest strap is very comfortable. They have a pod system so you can use GPS, foot pods and bike sensors for all they vital speed and distance data. Interestingly they said that if you want accuracey go for the foot pod and bike sensors not the GPS!!

I also raced on Sunday at Wadebridge, which was the last race of the Cornish calendar. After a very average swim, I dueled it out with Laurence Pidcock. We played cat and mouse on the bike and I amanged to get a gap early in the run, but with 1km to go he was back on my shoulder. I upped my effort on the climb towards the finish, but he was still there. As we crested the hill he surged and I could not respond, so he got the win by a handful of seconds. I haven't hurt that much in a while but I'm quite pleased that we both pushed each other for an honest race.

Creature of Habit

2008-10-02T05:57:00.000-07:00

Above is the selection from a Hamburg cafe! Tasty!!

This week has been very similar to last week, the differences are that the long run increased to 2hr46min on Wed and as I am working over the weekend I will swim on Fri morning instead of Saturday and later in the day ride long with a 30min T run. Then on Sat after a days work I will run for an hour and rest from training on Sunday.

The weather is turning, but I can't complain. I have had descent weather for the bulk of the miles. I have just got to get used to wearing the tights, gloves, waterproof and overshoes on the bike for the longer sessions and take the shorter one indoors if its looking ugly out of the window.

Next week I will ease back on the volume and then race a local tri at the weekend (400m, 25k, 8k). This is a pattern I quite like after an Ironman build phase. I know I will recover from the race pretty quick, without comprimising the quality of the longer sessions later in the week. I also find it a good opportunity to check and test race gear in a preasured environment, to make sure its all working. It should also be FUN, the local events usually have a special buzz.

Training is easy when the sun is smiling down.

2008-09-26T00:28:00.000-07:00

Thats me motoring to my only at Helston Tri earlier in the year. If you haven't seen the bike before the Titanflex is awesome, fast on the flats, fast up the hills and smooth handling. I have made a change to the front, with PX stealth bars. They are very comffy and very adjustable, although I always find cutting carbon down to size a little scary.

With the dry, sunny days continuing I have continued to get the miles in on the bike and run. I am still just doing 3 swims a week, which is enough to maintain speed and fitness. I will put in a big 10 day block of swimming when the bike and run volume decreases in a couple of weeks time.

So this week I have done:

Mon - nothing, just put my feet up and rested.

Tue -Focus on bike and run

am - swim, 3.5km lots of band and bouy.

pm - bke, 2.5 hrs with intervals, with a 9.6km (37min) tempo run off the bike.

Wed - run endurance day

am - long run, 2hr36mins.

pm - 32mins easy

Thu - swim / easy on the legs

am - squad swim, 4.7km, including 6x400 hard

pm - bike 1hr30 very easy

Fri - Endurance day

am - 5hr15min bike with IM pace intervals

pm - run 1hr05, starting easy finsheing steady

Sat - Aeorbic day

am - squad swim, 40 x 100m

pm - 3hr easy yo steady bike, with 30min T run.

Sun - Aeobic day

am - 1.5hrs easy spin

pm - 1hr run easy to steady

Another good week in the bank and if the body is holding up I'll get in another very similar this week, if am feeling the affects of two solid weeks work, I will ease back and recover.

Sunny Days

2008-09-22T02:03:00.000-07:00

Thats a very happy Emma Snowsill after winning the womens tri at the Olympics with her GOLD medal and me.

This week the summer has decided to arrive, its only 3 month late! I'm not complaining as it has made getting out on the bike very easy and pleasurable. I have put in a BIG week this week totaling 27hr 45mins. Being fresh after my DNF at the Half Ireman helped, as the origanal plan was to recover after the race before going large. So this week I did

Mon - Aerobic day.
AM - 50mins easy run
PM - 2hrs easy bike

Tue - swim / bike focus
AM - swim 3.4km lots of band and buoy.
PM 2hrs30 bike, with 1hr of tempo and 40mins easy T run.

Wed - long run day
AM - 2hrs 16mins
PM - 31mins

Thur - swim / recovery
AM - swim 5.6km
PM - 1hr very easy bike

Fri - Bike focus
AM 1hr run easy to steady
PM - 3hr bike with intervals

Sat - Aerobic day
AM - 4km swim lots of pull and b+b
PM - 4hr bike with 30min T run

Sun - Bike day
Am - 5hr15 bike with IM pace work
PM 45min run

swim - 3.5hrs, bike 17hrs45min, run 6hrs 30

This coming week is going to follow a simila structure, except I am taking Monday very easy.

FECK and FECK again

2008-09-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

Thats me exiting the water at the Half Ireman.

Well it happened again, I punctured. This time I forgot my CO2 canister and adapter and couldn't beg, buy or borrow a pump, or CO2 canister. So after a great swim, only 30s down and after settling in to the ride, I heard the dreaded hiss at 40km, I kept going for another 5km as the front tub was slow to go down. Unfortuately it was not to be, so I watched the rest of the race unfold and wondered how I would have placed.

So its out with the Vittoria Evo's and in with the Conti Comps. I am more than happy to trade a tiny bit of speed for a lot more durability. Also I will have CO2 etc, in Florida, just in case.

On the bright side Dave Tunney posted 9th overall to give him 8th in the Irish Champs. Sam Herridge lead the swim out at the ITU points race in Vienna by 30s and went on to finish 13th, Rhian Roxborough won Bala standard and Will Witmore set a new pb at Chippenham Half marathon. I must being doing something right.

I now have no need to recovery this week, so its full steam ahead for 3 weeks of Ironman Training.

Man on a Mission

2008-09-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

Thats JW giving it some earlier in the year at Windsor Tri.

We all have a mission of some sort, which generally break down into mini missions. It's making sure that we make the mini's the right ones to achieve the BIG one.

More often than not, the mini's become too big, which takes us out of balance with the real BIG one. So before our egos get in the way, we need to check our focus and re-set where necessary so we stay on route to make it BIG.

Out of the Darkness

2008-09-08T02:24:00.000-07:00

The picture is of a huge sea creature (any offers?) thats stand high on the Plymouth Hoe, from where the original Pilgrims set sail for the Americas.

I was on the Hoe yesterday, after a visit to the National Marine Aquarium, to see all the fishes, sharks and a turle. The sharks where very impressive and they even have fish in tri-monkeys colours which impressed me even more.

Last week was only half a training week as I had a mystery bug from Mon - Thu, so I only logged:

3hrs swimming (1.5hr, 30min, 1hr)

5hr30 Biking (1hr, 30min, 2hrs30s, 1hr30)

2hrs (1hr, 15min off the bike, 45min)

Thankfully I can report that all my systems are now back up and running, so I should be good for a fight at the half Ireman on Sat. Then its 7 weeks until IM Florida and time for a few weeks of BIG miles, which I will share, alon

Most of the Tri-Monkey team are close to hanging up the wheels for a few weeks and heading to the pub after work rather than training, so I should be able to give a seasons run down in the next few weeks.

Jurrasic Recharge

2008-09-03T05:39:00.000-07:00

The picture is of a Lyme Regis Sea Gul, who was checking out my lunch and how he might sneak a little bit off it.

I spent 4 days last week on the Jurrasic Coast in Dorset, UK camping. I love the whole camping thing, getting back to basics and being closer to nature. It deffinately helps me relax and recharge the batteries.

So far this year has kept me busy and I have travelled a lot, spending close to 10 weeks away from home. I hate to think what my carbon footprint is looking like.

Sian and I did some of the tourist sites including Abbotsbury Swannery and the Donkey Sanctury along with a hilly walk along the Jurrasic Coast and Charnmouth. One of my favouites stops was Tilly Pinks ice cream palour, in Lyme Regis along with Chimp and Zee book shop.

Unfortuanately we had to come home and get back to work, but we where refreshed and recharged.

A whole lot of love

2008-08-25T05:00:00.001-07:00

Thanks to all the kind and insprational words and emails since my last post. You will all be pleased to hear I am leaving the darkness behind and charging towards the bright lights of the future.

Boris did a great job of waving the flag and taking over from Beijing. In complete contrast to Beijing I have a feeling London 2012 will 'ROCK!'

I have got myelf back in to the business of training and have been pleasantly reminded of early morning swims, that leave me hurting for the rest of the day.

With a half ironman in less than 3 weeks I figure I had better get out on my bike, which has seen little action in the last couple of weeks. Thankfully I have kept the running going and been fortunate to share a few seconds with some legends on the Olympic Village joging trail. Haile Gabrselassie was appologetic as he floated passed and Dibaba was turned in to a figure shrinking in to the distance.

So its head down and miles, miles and more miles for a couple of weeks.

Olympic Triathlon

2008-08-21T01:00:00.000-07:00

I am back home after my Olympic experience. Its surreal to be watching on TV what I was touching and smelling only 24hrs ago.

I know the questions on every ones lips is what happened to Flora. Well it was my darkest day in coaching as Flora got pulled from the women’s triathlon.

Flora had an OK swim, leaving her amongst the second bike pack. She struggled to get going on the bike and was left in no mans land. She did find her bike legs but she was then towards the back of the field in a small group and losing time to the front packs. By the time she was about to finish her final lap the front runners had started their second lap of the run and she was pulled from the course.

I was totally gutted; I had failed Flora and her Olympic dream.

Thankfully I reminded myself of the success the rest of the Tri-monkey team has achieved this year and that I am not just someone pretending to be a triathlon coach.

Swimming at the cube

2008-08-11T18:04:00.001-07:00

We watched some of the swimming at the Cube on Sunday night and the atmosphere was electric.

The night was great entertainment and if we had pop corn and a beer it would have been even better. If only the UK had lots of spectator friendly swimming venues then people might go and watch swim meets, just like they do football and rugby. Ok there was the excitment of seeing Olympic records faling, watching Mr Phelps cruise through his 200m freestyle heat and a world record in the 4x100 freestyle heats.

I am hoping to get to see some track cycling at the end of the week, which should be just as exciting as the swiming. I will keep you posted.

Even more photos

2008-08-10T20:03:00.000-07:00

More photos

2008-08-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

Photos - Opening Ceremony

2008-08-10T19:53:00.001-07:00

Living the dream

2008-08-09T03:29:00.000-07:00

I've been in the Olympic village for two days and its everything that you dream off. Athletes from every corner of the globe in every size you can imagine. The atmosphere has been of quite excitment and I'm sure the buzz will grow as the medalist enter the dining room.

It would be too long a list to say who I have spotted or stood next to in the queue waiting for food in the dinning hall. I just ave to pince myself as they don't live inside the TV and are real people.

The opening ceremony was a jaw dropper and the 6hrs I spent on the uncomfortable plastic seat was worth every second. I was hoping to march in with the Bermuda team, but I was relegated as only a limited number of officals could march, intead I got a ring side ticket for one of the best shows on earth.

As I was expected the pollution is a non issue. Yes the sky is a little hazy, which the sun does break through every know and again, but there is no noticable pre, during or post training effect. The same with the heat and humidity, yes it's hot and yes it's humid, but if you have done your sums and prepared well it's not an issue.

I'll post some of my opening ceremony pics in the next couple days.

Exam time

2008-08-05T06:51:00.000-07:00

That's me suffering on the marathon in Lanzarote. I passed the exam, but not with the marks I wanted.

The Beijing Olympic Games are next up, I will be there with Flora Duffy as her coach. The whole event has an exam like feel at the moment. Everyone is asking me if I am excited, I guess I am, but in a very anxious sort of a way. This is a huge life time experince that not many people get, but we have a job to do and the whole of Bermuda is watching us, very carefully.

My training is where I want it to be. I have got tired the right way (I hope), by logging lots of easy miles an a little bit of fast stuff. This last week was a bit of a struggle, but I have two weeks in Beijing to recover.

When I get back from China it will be head down in to preparations for IM Florida.

I've still got my bags to pack and last minute revision to do.

Ah Hah!!!

2008-07-26T05:56:00.000-07:00

Montpellier proved to be a great place to train. The weather was perfect and the facilities and roads provided everthing that we needed. As Arnie once said 'I'll be back'.

Once again I have been caught indulging in two of my favourite nutritional aids, ice cream and red wine. The ice cream had a red berry fruit salad, chantilly and cholate ice cream. The red wine was local stuff, but it had to be tasted after two weeks cycling past the vineyards.

I am getting back into the swing of training. The easy bike and run miles have me feeling fit again. I have put in a few 4hr rides and 2hr runs now, so I now that I will be ready for the IM Florida push when I get back from Beijing.

I have 10 days at home and if the weather stays warm and dry I will be a very happy monkey. I am hoping to get plenty of bike miles in this week, as I doubt I will be doing very many in China.

Back to base

2008-07-20T05:27:00.001-07:00

Outdoor swimming is sweet, especialy when the sun is beaming down. Except I was pool side with a stop watch in hand and there is no way I could have done the session, it was way too fast for me:

20x100 as 5x(going on 1:25, 1:125, 1:20, 1:20) in a 50m pool.

The training in Monpellier is good and the weather makes it even better. Plenty of pools, indoors and out. Open water swimming in a lake or sea. A mixed bag of flat and rolling riding all of which is scarily quiet, except for the noise of the crickets. A track and some good paths and trails to run on make for a great training base.

The training is a little spread out, so we are getting in a few extra k's comutting on the bike.

I am happy to be re-estabilising my base. Most of my training is at a HR 50 beats below max, expect when I am pacing a session on the track or bike. So I am getting a balanced diet of miles and a little easy speed.

I have a start for IM Florida in November, which fits nicely with my return from Beijing, when I should be able to get my head down and prepare with minimal distractions.

With another week in Monpellier I should be able to add some more miles into the Florida bank account and top up the tan.

Into the jungle

2008-07-09T11:41:00.000-07:00

I took the photo of the Lion whilst on safari in Kenya. He really is that close, but had no interest in our vehicle or it occupants thankfully.

A couple of weeks ago I ran into 3rd spot at the Bude sprint tri. If I hadn't of slipped my chain early in the ride I may have done better. I got off the bike in 6th place and simply ran fast. I'm sure roadrunner would have given me a meep for the leg speed I displayed.

Next up is some top secret Olympic preparation. Volume, intensity and everthing else we can think of to make for a very tough two weeks, after which Flora can start to polish and finely tune her engine.

My next race is going to be the Half Ireman, in mid September, so I have plenty of time to either get fast or rusty. The next 8 weeks will tell.

Back racing

2008-06-23T05:23:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, 4 weeks to the day after IM Lanzarote I was back racing. The Croyde Oceanfest Aquathlon, is part of a festival of all things surf, both physical and social. The aquathlon was held over a 1000m sea swim and then a 7.5km run. The sea had a gently chop and the run was tough. The run circuit was three 2.5km laps on the beach, in the dunes and a few yards on a tarmaced path.

I raced pretty well pulling myself out of the sea in 7th place and then ran myself into 5th place.

My lack of swimming since Lanzarote (7km in total in the last 4 weeks) didn't effect my swim speed, as I don't think I could have swum faster, but I was stuffed once I hit the beach due to lacking a dpeth of fitness. So I started the run gently and built into it.

I have Bude sprint tri this weekend coming. It's another sea swim, followed by lumpy bike and run routes. I am not expecting to set the world alight, just hoping to have some fun and enjoy tri-ing.

Post race blues

2008-06-13T11:24:00.001-07:00

I certainly did slow down about 200m before this sign when my rear wheel went 'bang'.

I spent the weekend in Vancouver for the ITU World Champs and it was wet and cold. I have a lot of respect for all the athletes that braved the 11 degree waters. The weather conditions played as much a part in the results as did the athletes preparations. For those that could handle the cold and dodge hypothermia kicked ass. Those that were lean and mean, suffered from uncontrolable shivers at best, or a trip to the med tent at worst. It has to be said that the Elite men got the best conditions of the weekend and their race played to the script. Unlike the Elite ladies, where it was great to see Helen Tucker become the 'CHAMP'.

I have slowly been puting he foot back on the gas, but with great caution. Thankfully the weather at home has been warm and sunny, so its been fun to put some easy miles back in to the bank. I'm hoping that my engine has a few good revs for next weekend's Gold Coast aquathlon in Croyde. It should be quite tough with a 1km sea swim, which could be rough, followed by a 7.5km run on the beach, trails and roads.

Recovery

2008-06-05T02:32:00.000-07:00

My Ironman recovery started immediately on crossing the finish line. I got a bottle of water to start rehydrating, I collected a sandwich, for when I could stomach some solids and I went in search of beer and ice cream. Thankfully in the post race feed tent, beer and icecream were on the menu. There was a pile of other stuff, but after 10hrs in the sunshine, something cold and wet, that would easily slide down was more appealling.

The caged monkey above has beer in one hand, icecream in the other, not bad for a zoo!

After the race I did no training, other than walking for a week. This week I have done a bit of swimming, some cycling and a couple of easy jogs. I am in no rush to get back into the swing of training. By July I expect it will be business as normal.

The ITU Worlds this weekend has 5 of my athletes in action. There could be some more medals, but the competion is always tough, so we will wait and see. I am also really pleased to report that 8 of my athletes have won a least 1 race this year, but winning is everything, making the oppostion hurt, is far more important.

What happened?

2008-05-30T09:15:00.000-07:00

Its almost a week and the dusts has started to settle. My day out in the windy lava and along the prom of Puerto del Carmen was spoilt by the Germans. They may not have won the war but they are winning at Ironman. Take a look down the results, I'm first Irish, with only three brits in front of me (not including the chicks as Bella kick my ass too).

I have had the chance to have a look at the SRM download and it makes interesting reading. I actually put in a well paced half ironman within the ride, with 1hr30 above 255w and another 15mins above 305w and then some time above 355w. That is a recipe for a slow run. Thankfully I didn't blow up like me back wheel, on the marathon. I just got slower, no matter how hard I tried. The 2nd hour on the bike, going through the Fire Mountains did most of the damage, where I averaged 239w.

The numbers may not mean much to some, but the bottom line is I went too hard on the climbs and into the wind. The postive side is that I held up pretty well on the run, I just couldn't run as fast as I wanted.

Other interesting numbers are; I got through 388 cals per hour on the bike, thanks to Torq products, with no stomach issues. This broke down into 1500cal of energy drink, 2xgels and 2xbars. The energy drink and gels use the 2:1 maltodextrin : fructose mix, allowing you to absorb more calories with no gastric issues. This is the second time I have used their products and they do a great job. I will definately be using them next time.

The body seems to be recovery well. I will resume some easy training next week and see where I am.

Again I would like to thank everyone for you support, good wishes and congratulations and for reading.

Ironman Lanzarote - WHY?

2008-05-25T02:09:00.000-07:00

Why Ironman?
Why Lanzarote?
Why me??
and
Why did I puncture again???

The say started well, an average swim in 54.xx, and the new transition area is huge, but its the same for everyone, so off with the wetsuit on with the helmet and away I go.

I settled into my goal power zones and in the 1st hr it seemed like everyone had gone past me, but I wished them luck as they where sure to blow up later in the ride or have and interesting run or be an uber bike.
All was going grand, averaging 224watts up until Mirdar del Rio (118km), which is by far the best ride I have had, and then BANG!! and lots of wobble on the way down off Mirador. The rear tub han´t just punctured in blew big time. Closer insprction shows a 3" gash in it, hence the foam went into and then straight out of the tub. Two canisters foam and 1 of CO2 down and that was it game over.

I walked back upto the aid sation 200m up the hill and a thankfully for me a neutral support mechanic ran over, check the wheel, swapped the rear wheel and I was a away again, albit with 10 or so minutes lost.

The way back to T2 was interesting, 70 plus kmh for some time on the down hill stretch, and what felt no kmh on turning back into the wind. According to the wife the wind was blowing at 30kmh and see is never wrong!

So I got to the run, a little pissed that I had punctured again, although happy to be in a position to finish.

T2 was long, it must be at least 1km of running before getting to the run,

Nothing special to report for the run. I started well and just got slower. The tough ride was taking its toll and I just kept plodding to 3hr25 marathon.

Ironman number 6 in the bag and lots of lesson learned.
Beer and Icecream on finishing.

Thanks to all the messages of support and best wishes. I will post pictures on my return.

Helston Triathlon

2008-05-12T00:58:00.000-07:00

Matt Reed didn't make it to Helston. It's another Richards Bay pic, with the chase group being motor paced so they can catch him.

My Ironman prep saw me race hard at Helston yesterday and take my first win of the year. I swam well enough, given it had been a tough swim week, blasted through T1 on to the bike. The ride was the most pleasing part of the day. I was able to ride hard, acess all levels of the fitness spectrum without blowing myself apart. I averaged 280watts, and 41kmh. Whilst the watts aren't huge the normalised will be about 300w, given the rolling nature of the course, but the average speed is respectable in my book, especially given the cheeky climbs. The run was tough, but that's partly to do with me riding hard and that there was enough of the hilly stuff to keep it real.

The rest of the week has ticked the boxes, 4.5hrs swim, 9hrs bike, 4.5hrs run (includes the race). I did a biggish day on Sat the day before the race, with a hard 3km swim set and then later in the day a 4hr bike, with a 30min run transition run.

With only 12 days to go, I am in confidient mood that the preparations have gone well, that I am in good shape and ready to go. I just need to wrap up in cotton wool and have an uneventful time until the 24th May.

Richards Bay World Cup

2008-05-06T23:51:00.001-07:00

It never ceases to amaze me how hard World Cup racing is. I hear alot of people saying it's just a wet 10km. Those people should get their butts to one and watch it in real time. Its a different beast to non-draf racing, calling for a thinking athlete with an ability to change pace pretty much all of the time.

The fact are straight forward if you aren't swimminh 17-17:30men, 18-18:30 women don't even think about getting onto the pontoon. The bike is a hard crit, with mens race generally sees more action with attacks and breaks and I'm guessing 1000+ watt efforts every now and again. The men's running just blows my mind. At the front end of the race the boys and girls look like they are in a 400m race, not a 10km off a hard ride. Even at the back end they are moving.

My day at the races was frustrating with a dnf for Flora, caused by a mechanical on lap 4 of the bike, but that's racing and rather here than in Beijing.

My week of recover went well. 2hrs swimming, all open water in the wettie, 4hrs on the bike, most on the 5km race circuit, which wasn't a dull as I thought it would be and 3hrs15 of running.

The weather was in the low 20'sC, which was welcome after the crappy stuff the UK has been having.

Just over two weeks to the big day and this is my last week of any training that will make a difference. The planis to hit three key sessions; i) long bike 4hrs, ii) long run 1hr40, iii) sprint race. This will tick all the boxes with race pace work within the long sessions and the race is the last hard session. The race at Helston also gives me a chance to check my race set up, tri-suit, bike, wheels, gels etc.

The work is done!

2008-04-27T06:54:00.001-07:00

I've had another good week and the wife has been very understanding, given that I'm away next week and all I've done this week is train hard, go to work, eat and sleep.

The training has been good, 27hr15mins total as:

swim 5hr30min, bike 15hrs, run 6hr45min.

I have had that mythical feeling you hear athletes talk about this week, of getting stronger as the days pass. This has been one of the few weeks where I have been able to complete high volume, smash the sessions and recover well for more of the same.

Saturday was my last BIG day, with a speedy 3km to start, then 5hr30 on the bike with an easy 30mins run off the bike. The power numbers from the bike are up on the last ride prior to IMUK last year, on the same route. I finished the ride feeling strong and hope this translates to a race day pefromance.

Sunday's 20mile run went well. I did this run on a 4mile loop, which is mile marked. This lets me keep an eye on my pacing. I decended each lap and like the bike was still strong at the end. The splits look like:

1) 29:32, 2) 28:56, 3) 27:54, 3) 27:23, 4) 26:44.

With the work done all I need to do is rest, recovery, stay sharp and then rip in Lanzarote. Next week my attention turns to kicking off Flora's Olympic Campaign in Richards Bay, SA.

Counting Down

2008-04-22T12:32:00.000-07:00

The photo is one of my boys doing his bit on the front at the British Jnr Elite National Duathlon Champs.

The last week of training has gone well, a total of 26hrs, (4.5hrs swim, 15hrs cycling, 6.5hrs running). The long ride (5hrs30 + 30min run) and run (2hrs35) went smoothly, finishing both with plenty left in the tank. This is a first. In past build ups the longer sessions have been tough, especially in the final quarter. I am hoping this translates in to race day perfemance.

I haven't been using a heart rate monitor during this build up and have been training purely by feel and power on the bike. The reason being that after a battery change on the strap it has played up contiunally and now stopped working. This has forced me to tune into my body more than usual, but the results have shown that if I'm finishing the long sets strong then the pacing must be right.

With less than 5 weeks to go until the IM Lanzarote, I only have a couple of big days left and then the peaking phase. I call it peaking as 'tapering' has become an abused word, used mainly by people who don't have a clue. 'Peaking' on the other hand makes you feel like you are getting ready to rumble.

My Peaking phase consists of a recovery week, two peaking weeks and race week.

I don't do anything fancy, no special sessions, just a reduced version of what I have already being doing. Race week will consists of sessions where I will warm up, do some picks ups, and cool down.

Next week I'm off to South Africa for the Richards Bay, World Cup, as Coach on the road to Beijing.

Getting there

2008-04-09T03:37:00.000-07:00

The pic is from the Penzance tri (400m, 15.5m, 4m). I finished 4th and had a very average performance, but with 48hrs of training in the previous 10days I'm not grumbling. Some might think it a little crazy to race at the end of a training camp and without reason they would be right. My plan was to finish me off before recovering. In doing so I knew I would not be at my best which is evident from my av power being 40watts lower than I would expect from fresher legs.

The Italy camp revealed that my winter training has given me the disered results. I should be able to ride in Lanzarote 15-20watts higher than I did in IMUK and still run well. I'll confirm this in two race sim rides during the final preparation block.

I've had some great news from athletes I'm coaching; Kiwi Craig has been selected for NZ age group team, making it 5 monkeys in Vancouver. Rhi has been selected to represnet Wales at the Home Natins Duathlon and Flora has been award the 'Wild Card' for the Olympic Triathlon in Beijing. The easy bit is done, now for the hard bit, delivering the goods.

Below is the programme from Italy. The brackets indicate the shorter swim sets for the less speedy swimmers.

Day 1 – Wed 26 March 08

0715 - Run 50min easy
1030 – Swim

200sw, 200p, 200k, 8x50 alt fist/sw, 16(12) (4x25k fast +10s)
5(4) x300 steady, 5(4) x200 mod, 5(4)x100 fast
6(4) x 100 k, p, sw. 5000m or 4000m
1430 – Bike 2hrs 30min (Berti Norro) 75km

Day 2 – Thu 27 Mar 08

1000 – Swim

300sw, 200b+b, 100k. 8(6) x25 des 1-4, 5-8
3x4x50 fast into 400hard (300), + 100(50) easy
1100 – Run 4x8mins with 2mins easy as:- 2900m or 2400
i) 7mod, 1hard. ii) 6mod, 2hard, iii) 5mod 3hard, iv) 4mod, 4hard.
5mins easy
1430 – Bike 1hr30 easy spin (41km) or 3hrs (83km)

Day 3 Fri 28 Mar 08

0715 – Run 50mins easy
1000 – Bike 3hrs 82km ‘Montobello 21.28 av 195w’
1530 – Swim Wetsuit 2500m
400, 300, 200, 100. 6x50 as 25scull, 25sw
300, 200, 100. 4x50 as 25fist, 25sw. 200 choice

Day 4 29 Mar 08

0900 – Bike 2hrs easy
2x30mins, with 10mins easy (211w & 230w)
35min San Marino Climb (260w). Coffee stop.
Descent then 3x20min with 5mins easy
(230w, 240w, 260w) spin to finish
5hr40min ride time, 165km.
Run 35mins off the bike.

Day 5 30 Mar 08

0930 – Brick warm up; 6km bike, 1km run + strides.
3km run, 12km bike, 2km run, 6km bike, 1km run
Easy jog to loosen.
1530 – Swim

300(200)sw, 4x50 fists, 300b+b (200p), 4x50 des 1-4
4x200 + 50easy, 3x200 + 50 easy, 2x200 + 50 easy, 200 + 50 easy.
6(4)x 50 easy, k,p,sw. 3500m or 3200m

Day 6 31 Mar 08

0930 – Bike Long ride 5hrs & 140km.
Stop at 3hr20 for coffee & food.
1700 – Run 1hr easy pace.

Day 7 1 Apr 08

0745 – Run 20mins easy pace
1030 – Swim

200sw, 4x50fists, 200p, 4x50k, 4x50 des1-4 on 60.
2x (4x25, 2x50, 100, 2x50, 4x25 all FAST)
4x200p+p with 15s
200 easy
1530 – Run Track session (9km total)
1600m, drills & strides
6x200 on 70, 6x400 on 2:10, 6x200 on 70.
400 easy then; 2x100 fast, 100 easy
800 easy

Day 7 2nd Apr 08

0715 – Run 30mins easy pace
1030 – Swim

200sw, 4x50fists, 200p, 4x50k, 4x50 des 1-4 on 60
2x (4x50 on 50, 2x200 on 3:30) 100 easy between sets.
3x200p+p solid pace with 15s
4x50 easy
1500 – Bike 1hr30mins easy spin

Day 8 3rd Apr 08

0915 – Run 2hr30mins (1hr15mins)

1100ish - choice swim 2km ish
1500 – Bike 1hr45mins easy pace

Day 9 4th Apr 08

0715 – Run 30mins easy
0930 – Bike 3hrs45mins (San Marino 10km climb)
1630 – Swim

300sw, 300p, 200k
3x(10x50 on 50) i. swim, ii. band&bouy, iii. Swim
200 choice easy (2500)

The Italian Job

2008-04-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

I’m writing from Cesenatico, in Italy. This is my third year coming to Hotel Beau Soleil. The Hotel has a 25m pool, which is a little chilly, when the sun is in, excellent food and friendly, helpful staff. The region of Romanga is a cyclist heaven. Most of the roads are smooth and fast and a choice of flat, hills and mountains. It has been a great confidence boost each year, being able to cruise at 30kmh, rather than slogging to hit 25kmh at home.

This year’s visit fits perfectly into my Ironman preparations, where I can bump up the mileage without any effort and absorb the training. It’s the absorbing the training at home that is the problem rather than doing the training. Its easy enough to get the miles in, but add work and family and the recovery is second rate.

The picture is of a coffee stop after the 21min effort up Montobello in which the road rises 390m in 5.6km. I lost the cards, those boys are semi pro, so I had no chance. Note the beer and it was only just mid day. I want to join them when I retire!

I'll post the training early next week, when I have put my feet up to fully soak up the hard work.

Iron Speed

2008-03-22T10:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!!

I'm looking forward to getting stuck into some chocolate, which I gave up for Lent. I also gave up booze, but I'm going to saty off that for a while longer.

With my speed phase over, I am pleased with the results. I am hoping to squeeze a few more watts into my FT on the bike during the specific preparation for the Ironman, although the main focus will be getting used to my Iron Speed (73-78% of FT). The % of FT has worked well in past races, leaving me with good run legs. On climbs I'll let it rise to 85%, and I try not to go above this unless I have no choice.

My swiming is the surprise at the moment. I am in good shape and all I have done is make it to the pool 3-4 time a week to swim 3-5km with the squad. This has given me a balanced mix of endurance, speed & threshold training.

In all I feel fresh mentally and physically and looking forward to a few weeks of challenging training which kicks of on Wednesady in Italy.

Flying High

2008-03-17T06:25:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks have been good. I had a lung buster at Castle Combe to finish 3rd and DNF'd at the Ballbuster. I am happy with both performances, as they indicate a good level of fitness, although to finish the Ballbuster would have been nice.

The dnf was due to a mechanical issue, which meant I didn't even get out on the bike. My running was good enough and after the 1st 8 mile lap I headed straight out for a second and then added a little extra to turn it a descent 2hr10mins training day.

Castle combe was a blast and I was flat out from the gun. I was reasonably speedy on the runs, although 1min slower than when I first raced there back in the good old days.

The next step for me is a bit of rest before heading out to Italy where the preparations for ironman Lanzearote will begin.

Ready to roll

2008-03-06T12:13:00.000-08:00

Its been a fun 10 days. I have hit my key sesions hard and every thing else has been easy. I am looking forward to having a blast at the weekend at Castle Combe. I have been racing on the circuit for 10 years and its always fast and furious.

I'm looking forward to putting the new wheels (above) through her paces. She was fastest bike on the road at Dorney, can she be the fastest wheels at the Combe?? My choice of frame has not disapointed. The ride can be described with three words, 'Smooth', 'Responsive' & 'FAST!!'

I wish I could say the same for my running.

Bring on the racing and the smiles.

Recovery

2008-02-26T05:09:00.000-08:00

After a very easy week of training, so that I could get rid of the cold that I earned by training hard, I am nearing the end of my speed phase, before hitting the miles and specific preparation for Ironman Lanzarote.

I have 10 days of training left before backing off for a couple of races, the Chilly Duathlon at Castle Combe and the Ball Buster at Box Hill. My training will either fast or recovery, so I can squeeze out the last drops of speed, before the mile ogging begins.

I will post a piccy of my new bike soon. Its under going some tweaking after its debut at Dorney. Its a little retro, buts its aero, responsive and very comfotable. Which adds up to a very fast ride.

Athletes that I am coaching are starting to reap the hard work that they have been sowing over the winter, with a handful of podiums at local fun races. I am predicting a riot of results from them in 2008

Self Destruction

2008-02-18T07:50:00.000-08:00

Its been a good two weeks, but all good things come to an end. After a recovery week I raced a Duathlon at the Dorney rowing lake on a glorious sunny Sunday morning. The race consisted of a 5km run, 20km bike nd a finl 5km run. I ran as I expected to, strong but not real fast. I entered T1 50s down on the front group in bout 10th place. Once onto the bike I got about catching the leaders. I was surprised that I did so after 3km of riding and continued to keep the legs pumping to get away from s many of the fast runners as possible. I entered T2 first and hoped I hd a big enough gap from the fast runners. I was joined early in the run by Declan Doyle, who seemed very comfortable. The gap to 3rd was about a minute. I am sure Declan just played with me, and with 1km to go just floated away from me. I was happy enough to finish 2nd with sloid running the fastest bke split of the day and confirmation of my form.

Then last week I nuked myself and finished of the destructuction with the Brighton Half Marathon. The half went as well as I could expect and proved to be a good accleration run, starting easy and finishing flat out. As a result of my self abuse I have a snotty cold, which I am respecting and going to enjoy putting my feet up until it departs.

Job done!

2008-02-03T09:21:00.000-08:00

I've put in two good weeks of training and feel suitably tired. Next week is a planned recovery week, which I am definately in need of. This week has been my biggest since my build for IMUK. I've spent 5hrs in the pool, 12hrs on my bike, 6,5hrs running and 1.5 hrs in the gym, totaling 25hrs.

Since the begining of the year, just like the majority of us I have been trying to make good food choices. Less processed and more fresh. Its paid off and I am 2kgs lighter than 1st Jan and feeling good for it.

The next two weekends I am racing. First up is a duathlon at Dorney rowing lake, Eton and then Brighton Half marathon the following weekend. They should give me a good idea of my fitness and give me some good numbers to train from.

It very satisfying having some solid training behind me, some races coming up and an easy week to look forward to.

Wet & Wild

2008-01-20T11:40:00.000-08:00

Thats me on the rollers as the weather is still Wet & Wild and not much fun to ride in. The session was short and hard after 20mins of warming up, I went 5-4-3-2-1 mins hard (FT+) with half the time as recovery. I followed this with 20mins of tempo running and 10mins easy. I having been using the rollers for a couple of years and love them. Don't believe anyone that says you can't work hard on them. I can get 320+ watts out on them according to Mr SRM. The great bit about them is that they make you concentrate on your form, which turbos generally let you forget. If you don't cncentrate you are likely to end up in a heap on the floor, or in my garage,s case impailed on something sharp and pointy.

This last week was an easier week, before I hit the speed work hard for the next two weeks. I will hopefully be doing a duathlon and a half marathon in earlier feb, for fun and the training value. The dualthon will give me a true idea of FT and the half the depth of my fitness.

I am hoping that the weather brightens up over the next few weeks else I may start loosing the love for the rollers.

Making the best season ever!!

2008-01-11T03:48:00.000-08:00

Dedication, focus, discipline call it what you like but this skill is the key ingredient to getting to where you want to be. Getting up at 5am to log the first workout of the day is never very pleasant. I set my alarm for 05:01, the extra minute makes is a little less painfull. When the session is completed then getting up at 05:01 was worth it, but I have a million and one reason at 05:03 to stay in bed.

The man in the picture is getting faster for this reason. He has the passion and focus and is enjoying the journey to get to where he wants. If you recognise him and race against him and want to beat him I hope you are logging the smart miles as he is gona be tough to beat this year. And yes he has a busy job, life etc to squeeze the miles around.

I have to look beyond the day to day trivia all the time to keep me on my journey to where I wanna be. Lifes little frustrations mean I often have to re-schedule yet another workout. Thankfully my focus is on speed at the moment and these sessions are more easily squeezed into the day than a 2hr run or 4hr ride. As long as I get to the 22nd March fit and fast, I'll be ready to take on the final Ironman preparations.

Festive Fun

2008-01-03T02:33:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a great Christmas and partied hard to bring the New Year in. I am feeling re-charged and raring to go again. This s the first year for a long time where I have weighed in on 1 Jan the same as I did on 1 Dec, which is great!

I can confirm that I am fit but not fast. I know that I am fit as I can pretty much take on any training set put my way. So a 4-5hr ride, 2hr run or 6km + swim set is no problem, it just wont be fast. This is excatly where I wanted to be, right now.

This month sees a transition into some tempo work, before hitting some harder intervals in Feb. This will be a little early for most, but I need the speed phase now, before getting the serious miles in April in prepartion for IM Lanzerote. IMUK showed that I can haddle the distance, but I need a little extra zip, mainly on the bike. I see the bike as the place where I can make the biggest dent, which should also help the run time drop a little.

My other focus for this month is to get my nutrition in good order. I'm hoping that I will drop a kilo or two with this, but that hopefully will be a side affect rathar than the desired affect. I am aiming to cut out as much processed food as possible and up the fruit and veggies. Nothing drastic, just good basic eating.

I am planing to do a few duathlons in Feb and March, but I haven't decided which one yet. Most likely Castle Combe will figure as its a great venue come rain, wind or shine.

The weather is looking good so gotta ride whilst the skies are clear.

2007-12-17T12:23:00.000-08:00

Thats me trying to run fast at the North Devon Krazy Kristmas Kaper. It was my slowest performance I have managed over the years of racing it. I put this down to a slow transition and a very windy run. That my reasons and no doubt I'll be back next year.

The week that followed saw me set winter bench marks in the swim club Christmas Grandprix. All a little way off pb's but I was happy with the times:

400m free 5:18, 200m free 2:35, 100 free 1:09 & 100 IM 1:26

I made use of the good weather to get some bike miles in and a bit of running and finished the week in Dublin with a spot of coaching, a cold ride up the Sally Gap and a night out in Temple Bar. Well its almost christmas!!

Meeting the Animals

2007-12-07T05:33:00.000-08:00

After a realtively easy week of training I am feeling fitter and looking forward to stretching out at the Krazy Kristmas Kaper in Barnstaple. Its a 600m swim & 5km run. Many folks enter into to the festive spirit and dress up. I'll be one of them. I have been going to this event for quite a few years and really enjoy it.

My race calendar is almost finalised for the first half of the year, the BIG event being Ironman Lanzarote. My motivation for training is high at the moment, but the weather has other ideas. I am praying for a few dry days to get some bike miles in. I still go out in the rain but never manage quite as much as planned.

My aim for the next block of training which takes me up to New Year, is to get in as many bike miles as I can, whilst running 5-6 days a week. I'll keep up the swimming, but its always difficult during the festive period with pool closures and all the visiting. I will also be looking to up the weights in the gym, which has been going well so far. I wil then do some testing after an easy week to see where i'm at before the next training block.

2007-11-29T08:30:00.000-08:00

Its been a while and lots has happened. I got married (at long last I hear many shout), and thats the happy couple above. The BIG day was one of the best days, with lots of emotions from every department but mainly love and joy. Great food and a lot of drinking and dancing.

Following the wedding Sian and I headed to Kenya to see the big 5 (Buffalo, Lepoard, Rhino, Lion & Elephannt), plus many more. Kenya is a great country, friendly people and on the whole a basic way of living. It still amazes me that you could still by Coka Cola pretty much any where, including the middle of no-where.

Now its back to normality and with IMUK 3months ago and the batteries recharged my focus is on IM Lanzarot on 24th May and the 18th of August in Beijing. Next year is gonna be real busy, but then what year isn't.

I have just coming to the end of my 3rd week back to training and I am looking forward to taking it easy next week. During the last 3 weeks I have just got back into a routine and steadily built up the milage and increased the weight in the gym. My aim is to get to the New Year fit & strong, whithout being too festively plump.

2007-10-12T05:06:00.000-07:00

Thats me with Hawaii 2005 champ, Faris al Sultan in Hamburg at the ITU World Champs.

I've had a quiet few weeks on the training front, just keeping the engine ticking over. I have been averaging 12hrs, which has included 2-3 swims. 3 rides and 4-5runs. My focused training kicks of again in November in preparation for Ironaman Lanzarote.

Lanzarote was my first Ironman in 2004 and holds special memories. I looking forward to my return and seeing how much I have inproved in the last 4 years. The course should be a little bit quicker, as most of the roads have been resurfaced as long as the winds behave themselves.

After Lanzerote I will be heavily involved with preparing an athlete for the Olympic Games, so I'll be short course training and working on getting fast. I doubt that I will get much racing in, but I hope to race Kilkee's 'Hel of the West' tri the end of june and then the'Lost Sheep' half ironman in Kenmare,in early September. Both events are two of Ireland best, having tough courses and great parties.

My next post will be in Early November, so until then happy training.

2007-09-13T06:49:00.000-07:00

Thats me with U23 World Champ, Lisa Norden from Sweden, in Hamburg.

I'm into the part of the year which every triathlete hates. The racing is done, I've had a coupl of weeks of complete rest and have started to string a couple of short easy sessions together, where I struggle to survive.

I have no imediate racing plans, other than I am contemplating Ironman number six in Lanzerote on 24th May. Thankfully Lanzerote doesn't fill as quick as many races do these days so I can still ponder about the heat, wind and hills.

The ITU world Champs in Hamburg where a great festival of all things fast and furious. All the races were not quite by the form book, which made for an exciting 3 days. My athletes that completed had a mixed bag of results, although they all gave 100% of what they had on the day.

Highest placed was Rhian Roxborough with a 6th in the 30-34AG. She lead her race into T2, but due to an injury couldn't hold onto a medal. Worst off was Flora Duffy in Saturdays Elite race. She had a good swim exiting amongst the 2nd pack, which Ema Snowsill ended up in. But 1km into the ride Kate Roberts, from South Africa clipped a wheel and as she fell took flora with her. Flora's bike was battered and un-ridable, so her race was over.

I'm looking forward to seeing the Beijing World Cup this weekend. It should be ot racing as a few countries are using it for their Olympic selection.

Next post I'll be sharing a few thoughts on off season training and planning for 2008.

9hr 30min 21s

2007-08-26T23:50:00.001-07:00

Its been a week since my steady uneventful day in Sherbourne. IMUK was my fastest IM, knocking 12mins off my 2005 Switzerland time, on what I can only describe as a very tough rolling course. The whole day was smooth the only thing I lacked was a bit of sparkle, which leaves me thinking that there is still a lot more come.

Pre race I had my usually porridge & honey (300cals) and 2 Mars bars (558cals). A tried and tested meal, which I enjoy and works for me. I eat this meal 3 1/2 hours before the start so this was at 0230. Then 30mins befor the start I had 2 gels (200cal) with water.

The start of the swim was delayed, which meant treading water in the cold for far too long, but eventually we got under way. I felt a little sluggish and didn't get on the back of the group I had hoped to, but still I had a good swim exiting the water in 52mins 44s.

The bike course had a couple of honest climbs in each of the 3 laps and a stiff headwind on the return leg. I paced the ride well, holding 218w (normalised) for laps 1&2. On lap 3 on decided to coast and cruise where I could, to provise the legs with a little respite before the run, this resulted in a 210w (normalised). On the bike I consumed 1200 cal of Lemon & Lime Torq, which I had in one bottle and added to water in to an aerobar bottle, I ate 2 Torq bars (400cals) and took one gel (100cal) from an aid station towards the end of the bike, totaling 1700cal and approx 3litres of water. I rolled into T2 with 5hr 17min 42s on the bike

The run course was a challenge. There where very few flat sections on the trails and dual carriageway that made up the course. I was really pleased that I didn't melt down or the quads blow during the second half of the marathon. My mantra of 'LIGHT, FAST, STRONG' kept my rythm ticking over as the Ironman shuffle was setting in. I took on a gel (100cal) every 3miles, along with water. I then drank coke and water at all other aid stations. I was pleased to post a pb run on such a tough course of 3hr 16min 39s.

I crossed the line in 24th in 9hr 30min 21s.

Next up? well I've had a week of no training, which I'm going to repeat this week and then I'll start back real easy for another couple weeks, and then I'll start thinking about the race calender for next year.

2 Days to go to IMUK.

2007-08-17T01:27:00.001-07:00

Firstly a big thanks for the Support from Total Fitness Bath and Specialized for the bike, helmet and shoes, Snugg for a custom tailored and very fast wetsuit and Newton Running for their revolutionary runners.

I have to say this is the first Ironman that I am about to compete in that I am confidient in my preparations. Key sessions have been an improvement on preious years, showing I have better endurance.

I have focused on the biking this year, although I'm not pushing higher watts, I'm not fading at the end of the rides like I used to. Most of my running this year has just been at an easy pace. I have run pretty much 6 days a week all year and I still felt stong at the end of my last long run of 2hrs40mins (22-23mile).

The race plan is quite straight forward, a smooth steady swim, stick to the wattage caps on the bike and run easy and only dig in when I have to.

I will post a race report early next week. Until then I'll be eating lots.

Font Romeu

2007-08-03T00:40:00.000-07:00

This is the view from my room at the Font Romeu training facility. This last week has been a tough one, with a lot of soul searching and questions to my inner self. I hope the answers steer my world in the right direction.

Training at 1800m has been a challenge, but the company up here is good, Paula Ratcliffe has been in the Gym and on the track and numerous triathlon federations have been here with their world cup winners. Its also been good to get in a few miles with Gavin Noble from Ireland who arrived at the same time.

My Preparation from IMUK are the best they have ever been for an Ironman, but only the big day itself will let me know how good the prep really was. A little over two weeks and its show time. I am looking forward to a long steady day in the office. These last two weeks are always hard as the training is minimal. I just take big deep breathes of the rarified air and i'll put some athletes through their paces, so that they are ready for the World Champs in Hamburg.

The HARD work is done!

2007-07-28T16:20:00.000-07:00

Dave's smiling because he's hurting, but he loves it!

The last few weeks have been busy. I've recrossed the globe, just missing out on a Sao Paulo runway special, did a mini tour of the UK's worst hit flooded areas and managed to squeeze in my last block of training for IMUK.

The Rio recovery phases went well, but the return journey took more out of me than I hoped, so I re-shuffed the training plan and came up with a little less volume than I had wanted, but the quality of the key sets were good, in particular the 2hr40 run, in which I clocked 22miles and a 5hr30min bike ride in which I managed 165km of Devon's finest hilly roads, after which I needed a few easy days.

The biggest challenge since being back in the UK has been to keep dry, but with some careful studying of the weather forcasts I got the big stuff in during the dry patches.

After fully resting up after the final key sets I will watch the Salford World Cup, then its off to the Pyreenes for two weeks to put a few athletes through some solid world champs prep and to put the finishing touches for my long day in the office.

I'm looking forward to being in the mountains, as I find them an inspiring place to be with the snowing peaks, unpredicatable weather and fresh cool air.