Collecting the Booty

Friday saw Team Wiggle congregating at Wiggle HQ to collect all of our amazing Team Wiggle Kit. I almost fell over when I laid eyes on the Focus Izalco Chrono Is that for me??? This is some serious German engineering. Speed radiates out of this bike and it is so beautiful to look at. This thing was made to go fast, really fast. I think it is safe to say I am not going to get close to the times the Milram boys are going to be churning out on this Beast, but it isn’t going to stop me from trying! I am going to take it out and test it at a 20 mile time trial on the 18th April and see what we can do. I just need to learn how to ride it first! I haven’t been on a time trial bike before so a few sessions on the turbo first I think to get used to the position.
I have been riding the Kiron Scandium for the past few days and the weight comparison to my current bike Matilda is huge! Lightweight and good looking in a lovely bright red with black pedals and wheels. Very sleek. The next challenge is to name the 2 bikes. Any suggestions? If so, put them in the comments below :)

It has been like Christmas this week trying out all my new dhb gear Wiggle have kindly supplied me with. So far my favourite is the dhb Ladies Triple Lens Sunglasses. I must own the largest collection of single sunglasses lens and consistently lose 1 of the 2 lenses. I love that my dhb’s have a combined lens and they are so easy to change. The best part is they don’t fog up cycling or running.

I was on a recovery week last week so reduced volume and intensity. Terry has me do a 3 weeks hard, 1 week recovery cycle. I am lucky to have a gym in my office and I do all of my weights and core sessions there so first thing Monday was an hours session focusing on building leg strength for cycling and core strength. Monday night I jumped on the rollers for a high intensity hour workout with Pod Runner podcast http://www.djsteveboy.com/mixes.html pounding away in the background to keep me going, not that you really have a choice on rollers!
Tuesday morning I was on the Barnes Elm track for 6*1600m reps. I really don’t like that session, it really hurts!! It never sounds like that much when I look at the weeks programme, but the 4th lap of each mile rep is so tough. This morning was even tougher as there was a sprinter out doing a session and she was making it look like I was standing still as she breezed past me multiple times! It always makes me smile when I am on that track that you have to run around the geese who happily cross over in front of you to get to the grass in the middle. Very cute.
This week also saw me take a hard look at my diet. My weight has crept up a little following Ironman Arizona at the end of November last year and I could really do without dragging the excess few kg around with me. It’s like I’m taking the Wiggle deal literally as I have some ‘wiggle bits’ around my middle that have come from somewhere and have to go! Looking at the Focus Izalco Chrono all I could think about was that I am going to be a blob on this sliver of carbon :) It’s very dull but I find it really effective to control portion size and intake to write down everything I am eating including carbohydrates, calories, protein, sodium and fat. Given I have a weakness for cake and we have a lady from our canteen who brings a trolley laden with cake to our desks every 2nd day, it is a necessary evil. The big one is no more booze. I generally quit each year around this time because I find it difficult to stay hydrated doing 16-20 hours training a week, 2 sometimes 3 sessions a day and if I’m drinking alcohol, I’m not drinking water and sinking a little further into dehydration.
So the rest of the week is swim focused where I need to make huge improvements. I have a 1 on 1 with Terry to look at my stroke tomorrow, he keeps telling me how important it is to slow down in order to go faster, something I struggle with. I just want to smash it in every session and I find the slight changes to swim technique so boring and tedious. I’m sure I am not alone with that and will have to learn how to be patient! Anyway, that’s it for now. Happy training Wigglers!
Cxps. Don’t forget, comments below on any suggested names for the bikes!

Race Entry

This week I have been busy entering races and trying to find some suitable time trial to give the Izalco Chrono a chance to run. This weekend I am hitting the start line of the Fast and Furious duathlon run by White Oaks Triathlon club in Kent. It is a 5km run, 22km bike and 5km run. I'm really looking forward to it as I haven't done a duathlon before. It will be interesting to see how I race on it this weekend, this will be my first race since Ironman Arizona last November and keen to get that 'race' feeling back. I have been out a few times in the past few days on the Focus Chrono riding laps of Regents Park. It is a speed machine! I feel like a piece of origami folded up on it, the aerodynamics are so cool! I am so impressed with this bike, it is a dream to ride and handles beautifully. The Dutchman and I went to Nice last weekend to train...and it rained ALL weekend which certainly put a dent in the amount of riding we wanted to do. Next week we are in France again, starting in Nice and spending 5 days riding with 4 friends out through Provence. Hopefully the weather will be better, but too bad if it isn't, we are going anyway! I'm really into the swing of things now and loving the training. The hard graft of the past few months is starting to pay off and my times are going down. I love this part of the year when it starts to come together. Thursday is track night at Parliament Hill with Terry and some of the other athletes he trains and it is the session I probably dread most. There is no where to hide and the clock does not lie. Last weeks session was 10*400m at max with 1.30 - 2 min recovery. I was very pleased to see that not only were my times very consistent across the 10, but they were also 5-6 seconds faster than 3 weeks ago. I was trying to explain to my mother how it is a good thing if after each lap you want to throw up as it means you are working hard. She wasn't having a bar of it and wanted to know if I was ill, she didn't specify physically or mentally :) So, more next week after the duathlon! Happy training.Cx

I'm on Team Wiggle!

By some miracle I managed to get myself a place on Team Wiggle! This is such a fantastic opportunity for me as they are going to give me not 1, but 2 bikes to train on plus a whole bunch of other equiptment to get me through the year. I wrote to them along with a couple of thousand other people last year following an invitation to write in and tell them about my racing and training. Whilst out in Australia over Christmas (more on that later) I got an email from Paul inviting me for an interview. Lucky for me I made the team! So now I also blog for them on their site http://www.wiggleblog.co.uk/ as well as my own.

I can't stop looking at the beautiful bikes. Check these out!! If I am feeling a little low, or having a problem getting out of bed to train I look at this picture of the timetrial machine and it gets me going again :) Biggest challenge is going to be finding a great name for it!

I can't wait to get my mitts on that thing. I am going to fly! I met with Terry last night to go through the race schedule and we have a couple of races ear marked to do really well in. This year is going to be easier in some respects now I am focusing on shorter distance as I will be able to race more frequently and train in a different way. With Ironman, the emphasis is endurance. Shorter distance is about having a solid base as well as speed. I am very motivated at the moment and feeling great! I was on the track last night for 8x400m reps at maximum speed. Awful awful set but one of the ones that gives you that fabulous feeling of a job well done afterwards. This is the other bike, a beautiful carbon frame and what I will be doing the majority of my training on. Matilda (my current bike) will be moving to Nice which cuts out the crappy having to take her apart and put her together each time. This year The Dutchman and I are in Nice every 2 weeks until the end of September. All great training!!

So I included my first Wiggle blog below. I decided to focus on the people who are there for me day in and day out. I don't thank them enough for what they do, I really couldn't do it without them.

______ www.wiggleblog.co.uk

Hello, welcome to my first Blog! Whilst triathlon may be an individual sport, I am by no means alone so I wanted to introduce you to a few of the people who play a big part in my training and racing.
I’m really getting into my base training at the moment and can already feel the results. Last weekend The Dutchman and I went to Nice for the weekend. Saturday was spent skiing in Auron and Sunday I went out for a 11km run along the promenade, around the port and then up the hill, into the steep winding road to the top towards Villefranche. It’s the same run I do all the time and I never get sick of the wonderful views of the Mediterranean. The sea was so flat I was thinking I should have taken my wetsuit and taken a dip! The sun was out and it was a beautiful day, certainly makes training a pleasure!
The Dutchman: The Dutchman is my beloved and main training buddy. An ex semi pro cyclist and being Dutch means he knows how to handle a bike. He was known on the racing circuit in The Netherlands as ‘Kamikaze Pilot’ for his extreme descending skills, some of which he is teaching me! He has 1 bike that in 15 years he has never replaced the brake pads, says it all really. He also runs to keep in shape and drags me up Primrose Hill in London for nasty hill repeats. Its not all bad, I’m rewarded with a hug after each one :) The Dutchman has a base in Nice so we can often be found cycling around in the beautiful Maritime Alps, generally with me trailing along behind and him reminding me that “this is not a vacation!”.
Antz Pantz (Also known as Antoinette): One of the team who follow me around to races, making sure I have everything I need. Antz Pantz is an accomplished Ironman spectator and accompanied me to Ironman Austria last year and after stupidly forgetting my Co2 head, I had to convince one of the stall owners at the expo with extreme sign language to open early and sell her another before rushing back and handing it over to me relay style as I came out of T1. Superstar and I couldn’t do it without her.
Corinna: My other loyal supporter who I shared a flat with for 3.5 years and has seen it all. Including me fall off my rollers numerous times. Corinna dishes out the tough love, the kind that works best with me, and was seen at Ironman UK telling me to run faster because she wanted a holiday to Hawaii (Ironman World Championship). How could I refuse when she was wearing a grass skirt, a shell bra over a sweater and several lei’s along with her wellingtons.
Terry: My coach. Terry agreed to take me on 5 weeks before Ironman Austria last year and completely revolutionised my training. A well known and respected coach he has taken me to the next level in my training and racing. Terry manages to strike that fine line between pushing me hard but not too hard by having me do 11 sessions a week including 2 core sessions, 3 swim, 3 run and 3 bike. I train every day except Fridays and twice a day except Sundays where I do my long bike ride instead. My weekly training hours sit between 16 - 20 hours depending on where we are in the programme. A great coach who is always there when I need him.
Rich: My sports therapist Rich always jokes that the massage is free, its the advice I pay for :) Rich has thumbs of doom and if there is a knot lurking in a muscle, he will seek it out and banish it! An awesome masseuse, I give him credit for keeping me injury free by working wonders on my legs each week by stretching and massaging out the stress and strains that triathlon training puts on my pins. Having been in the triathlon game since the early 90’s he always has a wise word ready for me.
Wiggle: Last but not least, the great team of people at Wiggle who look after us athletes making sure we have everything we could possibly need.
So, that’s the team! Wonderful people who do more than they realise.
Cx

Arizona Ironman - RACE DAY!

I was feeling great come race morning. Ate my breakfast and headed to the start. They had a great service where guys were pumping up tyres so I did that and started slathering on the 50+ suncream. I was feeling very relaxed and couldn’t wait to get out there!

The swim was in the Tempe town lake which was quite big, but the water was very brown from all the dust. It was impossible to see anything which caused some problems as you would swim on top of someone before you knew they were there. I paid the price when I did that and got a sharp kick in the ribs which winded me and made me suck in some rather yucky tasting water. It slowed me down but I stayed calm and kept going. About 10 mins later a rather enthusiastic guy managed to rip my goggles off despite them being under my swim cap! I had to stop because I was so scared of losing a contact lens which would have made racing very interesting indeed. All of these things added time and put a dent in my confidence. I didn’t enjoy the swim and it became about just getting to the end.

I got out, ran what seems to be miles through transition and did a full change into cycling gear. We had a nasty head wind on the way out that kept me at 20km/hr or below, but saw me cruising back in at 45-50km/hr on the return leg in places. It made it very difficult to know how I was going given I was expending so much energy on the way out. By the 3rd lap the wind had become a cross wind so I lost the advantage of having the tail wind to push me home. It was very disappointing to see so much drafting going on. At one stage I had a pack of 15 riders go past me. I can understand that it is tempting to jump onto the back of that and take shelter from the wind but personally I can’t do it. It is cheating and just because lots of people are doing it doesn’t make it right.

I was feeling pretty good on the ride but was losing a few minutes each lap so was dropping time off my target. I wasn’t worried about the run but it was in the back of my mind that my legs were going to have a tough time simply because you never stop pedalling on the bike because it is flat. On hilly courses at least the legs get a rest descending.

I wasn’t having any problems eating so stuck to my nutrition plan 100% of eating every 20 mins and was keeping hydrated. The 3rd lap was tough but I was pleased coming off the bike. I had a bit of a fumble getting off the bike so ended up with one shoe on and the other on the bike. That was minor compared to the stories I heard later of people crashing into the barriers, and others into the bike catchers! There were bike catchers who take your bike from you which really helps so my transition times were pretty fast.

I grabbed my run bag and was very lucky to have 2 volunteers helping me so was in and out in no time including a full change into run shorts and top. First lap of the 3 lap run was OK with only a couple of guys passing me. About halfway on the first lap the lead guy came past which kept it interesting. Towards the end of the first lap I had 2 pro women go past. It was hard not knowing what place I was in and starting the 2nd lap even harder to know if the women I was passing were on their 1st or 2nd lap. I started feeling sick on the 2nd lap and felt like I had a huge lump in my stomach. I had never experienced anything like it. The 4 immodium plus I had taken over the course of the day gave me the confidence to keep eating gels because I knew I was going to have to keep running to pull some places in.

I saw the Dutchman who told me I had a couple of girls up ahead which got me moving again. I was running the aid stations because I didn’t trust that if I stopped I could start again I was feeling so ill. I caught this woman and sat behind her for a couple of hundred metres summoning the strength to go past her when one of her supporters told her she was in 3rd place in her age group (40-45) and she put the hammer down. I went with her but could feel myself starting to redline so I pulled back and let her go. I was passing a lot of people despite how I was feeling and starting the 3rd lap I knew I was going to have to really pull it out of the bag.

There was a girl from my age group who caught me and went past me so quickly I just knew she was headed for home. I was still about 7km out and knew I wouldn’t be able to sustain that pace for that long. I am pleased to say her and the other woman mentioned above were the only non female pros who passed me on the run.

I had picked my point in my reccie run where I would start to hammer it home and it was around 5km out. I was passing so many people I would just focus on one and draw strength from them each time I went by. I had been racing for more than 10 hours by this stage, I was having to swallow back vomit because I was so sick and my mind was wandering thinking of the most random things. I was counting people, my steps, trees, anything just to stay focused on keeping speed and getting to that finish line.

That last stretch along the lake was awful. I just went for it telling myself that the faster I ran the sooner I would be home. Turning left to go up the chute was more of a relief than an amazing feeling I usually get from racing and I pushed the last 200m thinking that someone was going to pass me. I must have stopped my watch by accident during the race because I my watch said 10.40, but the clock said 10.52. I started to cry with sheer exhaustion, frustration and self pity because I wasn’t even close to the goal I had set myself. I was in top shape and yet had done a better time in Austria 5 months earlier.

The Dutchman was amazing and gave me a hug despite me stinking and being rather wet and sticky. I felt like a bit of a pratt when this woman came over to me and congratulated me saying what a great time I had achieved. It did make me stop crying and appreciate a lot of people were still out there and would love to have a 10.52 time.

I felt very agitated about the entire race in the days following and was quite emotional about it simply because I had invested so much in the 1 race and I really don’t know what went wrong. Everyone I talk to says that you have bad days, but why was my bad day on the most important race day of the year for me?

It has taken me some time to write about the race and to work through it and come out the other side with the lessons learnt. Doing 4 ironman races in 15 months is a lot to put your body through, but from that I have fantastic endurance. The thing that I have forgotten how to do is race at speed. So, 2009 is about the need for speed. I am not going to chase a Kona placing this year but instead focus on getting faster over shorter distance and then applying that to longer distance. I know I can be a better triathlete.

The lead up to Ironman Arizona

I collected the Dutchman’s bike and then The Dutchman from the airport Saturday night. We left early on Sunday and drove North from Pheonix through Flagstaff and onto Sedona. As we got up at 5am, as was the plan to get ready for an early start on race day, we got to the outskirts of Sedona around 10am. We went into a roadside diner and had a massive breakfast and then unpacked the bikes to head out and go for a ride.

It was undulating, but very pretty cycling along with the red rocks as a backdrop so it didn’t seem like much of an effort. On the way out we had seen a few wineries advertising wine tasting, so we decided to drop in and see what they had on offer. Now I am not sure this was a great idea given that I had been off the booze for quite some time with the exception on Fiona and Andrew’s wedding at the end of September so to now pour 8 ‘generous’ tasting glasses down my neck with a 30km ride home was not the smartest move. Made all the more difficult by the head wind we encountered. It was worth it. We were in there for ages chatting to everyone in there completely decked out in lycra so it was hard to miss us. Was kind of cute when the woman serving us said how much she loved Amsterdam when she went there but had never been to the Netherlands J

The Dutchman had booked us into this beautiful hotel with the most spectacular view in Sedona where we were staying for 2 nights. The first night we went for a beautiful dinner and had the most incredible steak I have ever eaten. It was melt in your mouth cooked perfectly. I am sure I ate my body weight in steak. That was the other thing, I was dropping weight at a steady rate despite eating the same amount (around 2500 – 3000 calories a day) but not training so much. I wasn’t paying too much attention to it at this stage but in hindsight I think I should have.

We went hiking up into the red rocks the next day and encountered a family of Javalinas! They are like small hairy pigs and were out foraging for their breakfast. We hiked quite a long way in so felt like we had earnt ourselves an afternoon by the pool. The pool had the same view as our room and no one there! We had the entire place to ourselves. The Dutchman turned up in these tight little lycra shorts which earnt him the nickname of Eurotrash for the rest of the day.

I went running the next morning along one of the trails whilst The Dutchman hit the road to cycle further north towards the Grand Canyon. I caught him after he had done some decent miles in temps of around 3-5 degrees. The valley he cycled up out of doesn’t get the sun and it was too early for the air to be warm. In places there was ice, but he survived and I took him to starbucks to thaw out.

Arriving at The Grand Canyon and seeing that view for the first time is breath taking. I was in absolute awe. I had flown over it, but standing on the edge looking down into it, I can’t even explain. We were booked into the El Tovar, the oldest and grandest of the hotels in Grand Canyon Village and it was like stepping back in time. We checked in and hit a road that had only been open for 3 days. It was like riding on silk, there wasn’t a bump in it. We rode out to Hermits Rest and I have to say riding in the altitude really takes it toll. A small slope all of sudden is a lot harder to maintain pace.

I took lots of pictures so it took us quite some time to cover the 13km out. We really went for it coming back and we were cruising at 45km hour on the return leg. I was feeling fitter and stronger than any other time in my life.

We watched the sunrise the next day and then jumped on a bus to go out to the path that leads into the Canyon to Skeleton Point which is a 5km hike in, but only halfway to the bottom. It was an easy hike because the path is so well maintained and wide enough you can pass people. We were stopping frequently to admire the view as the path wrapped around and you would get a different vista every 10 – 15 mins. It was very impressive.

We got to Skeleton Point and we were the only ones there which made it all the more special. As we were sitting there another group arrived and we could also see the mules coming up the path.

The hike is advertised as a 6 hour round trip, but we were back in 3 having given the mules a 30 min head start, we soon caught them and over took them in our power hiking back to the top. We caught the bus back and jumped on the bikes. This time we got to Hermits rest in record time and I was feeling fantastic so I upped the pace and really pushed it home. It is one of only 2 times out of the hundreds of rides we have done together where The Dutchman has had to hang onto me and just sit on my wheel. It gave me a great boost mentally knowing I was in such great shape I could even push the indestructible Dutchman almost to his limit.

We got up the next morning and drove to an eastern point in the Canyon to watch the sunrise and it is one of the most romantic moments ever. Sitting there snuggled up with the Dutchman (it was about –2 degrees) watching the sun climb its way over the rim and splash into the canyon. It was like a spotlight being shone on various parts of the canyon and made you focus on the individual points as they became illuminated. In the background we could see the mules making there first trek of the day into the Canyon, following the path we had taken the day before. I took some pictures, but it is almost impossible to capture the beauty and expanse. You can see the mules over the Dutchmans right shoulder in this pic here.

We drove back to Pheonix and went straight to registration where I picked up my very disappointing race pack and my Zipp wheels. The Dutchman had kindly arranged for a set of 404 Zipps to be waiting for me. I decided to go for a spin on them as I had been in the car all day and wanted to stretch my legs out. Against the Dutchmans advice to take a spare I headed out…..only to get a flat 6km out of town. Now what does a chick in lycra do? Well, you want in the same direction as the traffic carrying your bike on your shoulder of course J I was walking all of about 25 seconds and this guy pulled up. Turns out he was doing a reccie of the course and had a 4X4 to fit my bike in the back. He kindly gave me a lift back in exchange for some tips on the course.

We met up with James and Kaisa the next day and they hitched a ride with us so James could register and I could go return my Zipps that had quite a few cuts on the tyres hence the puncture. I have to say, this guy was fantastic. It wasn’t a problem to change them over and he totally understood that I wanted everything to be perfect leading into the race. It was in complete contrast to Tempe Bicycles who were rude and very unhelpful when we returned the Dutchman’s bike. There are plenty of places to hire a bike in Phoenix and I would recommend somewhere like Dominic’s cycles over Tempe bikes.

So the Dutchman was smart and left me to race prep on the Saturday. I had pre warned him that I wasn’t the best person to be around the day before a race so he went off and cycled the 50 odd km’s to the top of Mount Lemmon down near Tucson. I did some more transition training and got my bags ready and then hitched a ride with James and Kaisa to check everything in.

Now to say that Arizona Ironman smacked of making money is an understatement. I was already disappointed with the rubbish registration pack. When I checked into the hotel I got a welcome pack of energy gel, sunscreen, water, energy beans, lip balm and a lovely note welcoming IM athletes and their family and friends. What do you get for $550 with IM Arizona? A free number plate holder and a bag full of flyers. L

I went into transition, got my bike spot and then went to dump my bags. They couldn’t even stretch to get racks to put the bags on or a tarp to protect them from the 33 degree sun. Nope, you put your bags on the ground following the hand written signs. I was beginning to think I had turned up at some Mickey Mouse event.

Feeling pretty good I headed back to the hotel to eat more and chill out. I was reading Ellen Macarthurs autobiography which I was finding very inspiring, exactly what I needed. The Dutchman returned and we had a slight drama when we set the fire alarm off. Problem solved by ripping it out of the wall, throwing it into the hallway and demanding a change of room because of the smoke and some silly rule about not being allowed to open the windows. We got to bed and I had an ok-ish nights sleep.

Cx

ARIZONA

Well....1 week to go. I got here Tuesday night and have been finding my way around and training on the course every day. It is a FAST bike course. Wow. It takes about 1.50 to do a 60km loop and that was with stopping 4 times to make adjustments to my bike and stopping for traffic lights. It is very much within reason to do a sub 5.30 on the bike. As much as it is tempting to hammer it on the bike, The Dutchman has made me promise I will hold back. He showed me an article in a German cycling mag he gets that had plotted bike performance against run performance in Kona this year and how the race is won on the run. I suspect it was part of my problem in Austria. I can't afford to run anything slower than a 3:30 here. The article showed the bike splits of Normann Stadler who came off the bike 12 mins ahead of Craig Alexander (the 2008 champion) and how he lost 30 mins on the run. It is going to be hard to hold back but I have to do it. I get my Zipp wheels on Thursday so really looking forward to seeing how I fly on those!

I have not done a course like this before where you are constantly having to pedal. All the other IM's I have done have had downhills where you can rest a little bit. That will also affect my run time. That and the 30 degree heat! So pleased I have been out here for a few days already and have been spending as much time in the sun as possible trying to get a bit of a base tan and used to training in the heat of the day. I am pleased for those treadmill sessions where I was wearing 4 layers zipped up to my neck sweating it out, no matter how strange I must have looked.

The swim is in the Tempe Town Lake and is great for spectators as they can stand on the bridge and watch it start. We then swim out and back to another bridge. The bike goes out in 3 loops along a highway where they close on side of it which is great. It has been a bit scary riding alone out there even though the shoulder is wide. Had some guys in a massive pickup shouting stuff at me yesterday as they went past. Can really do without that. I also hope they sweep the road because there is a lot of crap on there. Came across a guy yesterday with a flat and have seen a few discarded tubes along the road side. I have been lucky which is great as I wasn't carrying a pump or CO2 cartridges. I figured I could hitchhike back in if necessary. (hope Mum isn't reading this).
The run is along the lake, over a bridge back along the other side back across again and away in the opposite direction to cross once more and loop back around. 3 laps. I have a 1.20 run scheduled today so will do the loop at race pace which is sub 1.10 to see how that feels.

I swam in this community centre pool earlier this week. Pool was stinking hot and the showers freezing and wasn't that nice. Complete stroke of luck yesterday when I turned up there to do my laps and they were not doing lap swimming on Fridays so they sent me to the YMCA. It is the same size pool, heated, outdoors and free!! The locker room is also really nice unlike the other place where I picked up some foot fungus thing I am now desperately trying to get rid of.

Really enjoying driving around now that I have some perception of how big this car I hired is. I got a large car because we need to fit 2 bikes, bike bag, suitcase and we will be doing some decent miles so wanted to be comfortable. This thing is massive but kind of fun to drive now. In fact I wouldn't want anything smaller given the size of some of the cars and pickups they drive here. Not a hatchback in sight!

I hit the Arizona Mills mall yesterday and was disappointed. The Nike outlet was OK but that was about it. Got a great base layer for $20 I saw recently for £50 so was pleased with that. Also got a cool run top, will be running in that today. I got a new race outfit too. I ran in black at Austria and this time I will be in blue and black for the bike and black and white for the run. I prefer to get completely changed in transition. The time it takes is well worth it for me to be comfortable, plus by wearing a cycling top I am more protected from the sun. I rode at midday yesterday and it was hot hot hot out there as there isn't any protection.

I was out riding a few days ago and came across another cyclist who was training for a race in Tucson in a few weeks. I was taking pictures of the bike course (included here) with my blackberry because I have finally learnt how to ride without hands and I don't have to stop. Corinna and Leanne used to joke that I would have a camera strapped to my helmet so I wouldn't have to stop, but this works better for me :) Anyway this dude rode with me for 10 mins and then said I was setting too much of a pace and he wanted to drop back. It was very good for my ego because I had slowed down to talk to him :) I don't get any sense of my cycling improving because of cycling with TFD all the time who slows down to adjust to my pace, but it must be!

This hip flexor 'thing' is settling down ( it isn't an injury!). I get the odd twinge but it is OK. I am stretching every few hours. I have been so busy the last few days, I really don't know how I manage to go to work and train. I have also been getting up at 3:30 so have all day to do all of this stuff. Today I slept in till 6 which was good. Ideally I want to be waking up at 5am so I am used to eating and getting up at that time so it isn't a shock to the system on race day. Thank goodness TFD is OK with that. I pick him up tonight from the airport. I can't wait to see him!! We have been on skype every day. He makes me laugh so much, he really is the BBE. (Best Boyfriend Ever).

We had dinner with Corinna and Antoinette last weekend and they were giving him Ironman support tips as they really are the pros at it. They were also fishing for investment into Iron Dreamz. Made me appreciate again how great they both are and how much crap they put up with when it comes to Ironman. Corinna gave me such a beautiful card. If I had functioning tear ducts I am sure I would have cried it was so touching.

So, I am feeling amazing. I am in a great frame of mind. I know the course. I am going to win. I have so many people behind me. I know it isn't everyone's cup of tea but I love the tough love approach. Before I left work on Monday my boss told me to 'just win ok'. Mum said 'we are proud of you no matter where you place, but we know you can win it'. Corinna and Antoinette 'you better not ruin our holiday to Hawaii next year' and finally TFD 'I'm not going all the way to Arizona to watch a loser'. Some of my own personal favourites '2nd place is 1st loser', 'don't look back, someone might be gaining on you' and finally 'pain is temporary, giving up is forever'. Can you tell I have been doing my mental preparation? ;)

Tomorrow we head up to Sedona and then onto the Grand Canyon. It is going to be amazing. We get back to Phoenix next Thursday for registration, pick up the Zipps and start the serious race prep. Right, time to go train.
Cx

The Calm Before The Storm

Well, I had a very interesting week last week. I fell victim to something I thought was just being a bit more tired than normal but turns out is a whole lot nastier... Over Training.

For those of you who have experienced this, I am sure are not keen to let it happen again. To those who have not...well be warned. It can strike, chew you up and spit you out before you even have a chance to work out what is going on.

Last week was my last hard week of training before I start my 3 week taper for Ironman Arizona. Everything over the last few weeks had been going well, excellent volume and intensity of training up around 17 - 20 hours and I was feeling like I was in the best shape of my life. I started out last week after doing a 5 hour ride and then run on Saturday to a 2.5 hour hilly run on Sunday. Felt tired as you would expect. Hit Monday with a 2 hour 15 min brick before work and a track session in the evening. I was feeling pretty shattered and noticed I wasn't as quick as I should be. Monday night was the first of the sleepless nights. Into Tuesday morning with a 2hr 10 session before work and a swim in the evening. The swim wasn't easy and I was a good 10 secs down and slipping on my normal 300m times. Very little sleep again Tuesday night.

Anyway, the week progressed with me continuing to push as hard as I could on all of my sessions, sleepless nights and the worst thing I started to doubt my ability to even get to the start line let alone actually complete the race. If you know me or have been reading this you will know that I am very confident (probably over confident ;) in my ability to perform and complete an Ironman race, after all this is IM number 4 for me.

I had to get the cranks and bottom bracket replaced on Matilda (my bike) and couldn't quite work out what the problem was with her when I picked her up from the bike shop Wednesday night other than the cranks were a different colour. The guy in the shop was saying how great these cranks were and I wouldn't have any problems with them and that he had them too. Anyway, I took her home and put her in her bag ready to go out to Nice for the weekend.

Thursday I ran an OK-ish flat 11km at lunch in 45min which is a little slower than normal but legs were very tired and I had this niggle above my left knee. I of course ignored it. As the afternoon wore on, the pain got worse but I figured it was just because I had been training loads during the week and it was just one of those aches and pains you sometimes get. I swam Thursday night and my arms were aching doing the warmup ... it went seriously down hill from there. I was barely hanging onto the back of the group I normally lead.

I headed out to Nice with TFD (The Flying Dutchman) Friday night and managed to get some sleep but it was more through being absolutly exhausted than anything else. Saturday we got up and I put Matilda together and I hear a shout from TFD wanting to know what the hell had happened to Matilda. Blank look from me which is the look he normally gets when he starts talking bike techie stuff, I tell him that is what they told me I needed in the shop. Turns out they fitted MOUNTAIN BIKE cranks and bracket to my beautiful baby. Not only do I now have less gears, the cranks are for people with much longer legs than me and they sit at an angle. Now all of that may sound minor but after 18 months of training with 1 set up, changing that 3 weeks before a major race is not a good idea. So this added to the already sinking feeling I was already experiencing.

Nothing we could do about Matilda so we headed out for a ride but by now I had managed to work myself into a complete state of self doubt and my legs were killing me. It was like trying to cycle through treacle and having to head straight up the side of a mountain 10 mins into the ride really didn't help. That is the only drawback of cycling in Nice, you have to go up to get out. TFD was trying to chat to me and I was being a complete pain and giving him one word answers and snapping at him. He was really noticing the drop in speed and was being very supportive and trying to push me along a little bit. It got so bad at one stage I almost started crying with sheer frustration that I couldn't get my legs to work without being in pain. Everything from the week was starting to take it's toll. I actually convinced myself that I wasn't good enough to race and that I should pull out rather than go out to Arizona.

I managed to struggle to the top of the 2nd climb and from there is was 40km down or flat to get home. Even flying along going down the mountain wasn't making me happy and thats one of my favourite things in the world! TFD could tell I was in trouble so took us on a short cut to get home. We got in and I went for a run for 30 min but kept it flat on the promenade rather than doing my 12km up and then back down run I normally do. I pulled the pin on any further training for the day and TFD started making noises that I was completely over trained and needed to take it easy.

Sunday we did a short but spectacular 90 min ride to Eze. I was feeling slightly better mentally after a lovely evening in and a fantastic nights sleep. The issue today was the incredible wind. So many times we would come around a corner and almost be blown off our bikes the wind was so strong. I really got the speed wobbles at one point doing around 55km hr went round a corner and got hit by a cross wind that pushed me across the road into the oncoming traffic. That slowed me down.

We got back and I went out for a 2 hour run which I cut back to 90 mins because this leg thing was flaring up again. TFD met me at the beach and I pulled on my wetsuit and stood looking at the MASSIVE swell. As I said to TFD, you can't drown in a wetsuit and off I went. Interesting getting out past the breaking waves not made any easier by the fact they were coming in to the beach on a 45 degree angle. I swam against them for 12 mins or so and had to turn back because there was a pier making them break much earlier. I was being tossed around out there like a rag doll. I would swim 3 strokes and then be slammed from the side which was making me dizzy and feel a little sick.

I turned back and swam with the waves which should have been easier but I was now starting to get flipped over more often just by the sheer size of the swell and because it was really choppy. I swam further out which didn't make me happy because I was now feeling rather ill and it had started to rain. I wasn't far from where I went into the water and stopped and was treading water and noticed a crowd of people looking out into the water. After looking around me I realised they were all looking at me probably asking why some crazy person was out there :)

By this stage I was trying not to throw up I was feeling so sick so decided to go in. I had been fighting out there for 30 mins and couldn't do it any longer. I started to swim in and I could see TFD on the promenade and he started to come down. You so know where this is going. The big waves were coming in sets of 4 then 4 smaller ones so I tried to ride in the last big one of the set but lost my footing trying to get out of the water and got completely slammed from behind by the first in the big set. Now I'm sprawled on the beach trying to get up and bang! Slammed again. Very elegant. TFD had to come and held me get out of the water. If I knew how to speak French, I would have told the spectators 'I meant to do that!'.

So, we got back and I got in touch with Terry (my coach) http://www.triforfitness.co.uk/ and he diagnosed over training and pulled me from doing anything for 2 days. So I'm back on my feet with this lingering pain which I am seeing a physio about on Saturday. Bike is fixed with the correct cranks and a massive apology from the bike shop and life is once again great!

I leave on Tuesday to head out to Arizona and can't wait to just get going out there and see what I can do. I have never been in better shape, I feel strong and I feel even stronger mentally after last week. It gave me a brief insight into what it must be like to suffer from depression, that sinking feeling, closing everything off and not being able to ask for help. Lucky for me I am surrounded by people who recognise the symptoms and pulled me out of it quick smart.

So, bring on Arizona!
Cxx