Golden Mile

Another weekend...another race! 

This time something a bit more local, and a bit more reasonable entry fee wise! The Gosport Golden Mile and Golden 5km are a couple of quite unique races which take place on the same day about 40mins apart (depending on how fast you run the first one!). 

The first race is a point-to-point mile run along the seafront in Gosport. Which would be great in the sunshine....however it was blowing a gale and the headwind was something ridiculous. I went from running 2:50kms out the wind down to 3:45kms in it! 

After that comes the 5km race which is an out an back around a fort on the beach which is quite cool, and removes the freaded 180degree turn around a cone, bleeding off all your speed and providing massive potential to twist your ankles. However, there was a little treat in the name of a couple of sections being over gravel. 

Thank you so much to all the people out in the terrible rain who weren't even able to run to keep warm! 

Check out The GGM on Facebook and their website :) 

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Challenge Rimini

Well it certainly lived up to its challenge name!

Before even getting there this race was causing me a headache, my work situation had changed considerably and getting the time off was no longer a simple thing. Also my loyal bag carrier was due to come with me but couldn't due to his work situation! 

The race must go on! 

The race was due to start at 1100 which for triathlon is unbelievably late, and my wave wasn't due to start at 1155. Never-mind worrying about breakfast, lunch was going to be the next issue!

Bike racking was in the morning of the race so I decided the best course of action was to rack the bike, then go back to the hotel for a larger than normal breakfast. Very leisurely...very odd. 

The morning of the race the weather was pretty bad, although not as bad as the day before. Rain but not too much wind. 

Swim got underway and after running out almost 50 meters we were splashing away quite happily. Until about 100m out where it got rough as hell! I always joke that at least the swim is the flat bit, but I felt like I was literally swimming uphill! 

The buoys were really hard to sight and the orientation seemed to bear no resemblance to the map of the swim course. A spectator told me the next day that during the race one of the buoys had blown off course, and was dragged back....during the race!!!That meant some people were sighting to a buoy that was moving! I clearly had my own ideas about where the swim went and ended up swimming just over 2.2km.

Into transition and I found my bike pretty well. Transition was about 300m long, pretty crazy! 

100m out of transition and I went to change gear when I herd a rather disappointing PING. The cable had snapped and I was stuck in the little ring for the whole race. Face palm! 
The bike course was a lot less hilly than the course profile might lead you to believe and I was wondering if I had made the right choice bringing my road bike rather than the TT. However when it got pretty wet at the top of the climb I was glad I had my trusty roady and was cornering with confidence, whereas on my TT I would have probably been better getting off and running with the damn thing!

Back into T2 in just over 3 hours, I was pretty happy with that considering the gear situation, even happier later when I found I had the 10th fastest bike split of the day.

I learned my lesson from Fuerteventura on the run and decided a sub 18min 5km was not the way to go. I tried really hard to reign myself in for the first lap of the 3 lap course. It paid off and on the last lap I finished strong in just under 90 mins for the 21.1km (that was my secret aim). Turns out this was the fastest AG run by over 2 mins and would have been 5th including the pro ladies!

All in all its been another great experience. Im sat in the heart of old town Rimini surrounded by beautiful Italian architecture and sipping on a cappuccino. Fantastico. 

Until next time...Arrivederci

The first Multisport race of the season!

As the first ever 'proper' triathlon I did, the Dambuster Triathlon will forever have a special place in my heart (aaaw). However I have never done the duathlon. This was definitely a race of firsts for me, as someone who is still relatively new to the tri/duathlon scene. I had not attempted a standard distance duathlon before, and I had not done a race quite so early in the season

Early March is pretty early and I was expecting it to be very cold! It also crept up on me, and I hadn't been prepared enough to ride my TT bike, I thought the first time on it this year in a race, probably wasn't going to be wise, and it was blooming windy! Hats off to those who braved it! 

As always its a nice early start, register and get everything set up in transition. Duathlon always confuses me a little, as you start with your trainers and race belt on already...sounds simple, but with race brain engaged, anything can happen! 
 The fact it was the beginning of march made me a bit paranoid about the cold, and possibly the addition of a jacket on the bike was too much, but better too hot than so cold you are delirious (which I have experienced before, and it was not pretty) The race itself went OK ish. Unfortunately I was a little worse for wear, which I just thought was general tiredness after a busy week at work, but on Sunday I discovered it was a full blown virus. So after being a little disappointed with my performance on Saturday, and pretty horrified about the standard of my bike effort. When reflecting on Sunday in between vomiting and sleeping, it didn’t seem half bad! 


It was great to see the other RAF athletes out too and as always there was loads of support from the spectators and general public pottering about. One man even shouted Royal RAF Air Force, which made me smile at least! J This was also the first outing for my birthday present to myself, my Garmin 920XT. Since user error and me thinking about racing, rather than my watch, meant I didn’t get any splits or anything, the event is now logged as one giant 55km run, until I can work out how to edit it on Garmin connect….cant be that hard surely! Things I can say about it though are it is beautifully slim compared to the 210 I was using before, which means sleeves on and off are no drama (I can see this being a massive plus when it comes to a wetsuit). The display is beautifully clear too.
 

More rest for me until I'm 100% better, and hopefully a good run in a few weeks!

Off on a tangent

I have decided after 2 weeks off work, and generally remembering what its like to be me, not some work crazed triathlon crazed work and train-o-holic, that I have been neglecting a lot of my other interests, therefore this blog is soon to contain lots of other stuff that interests me.

Firstly...
I like triathlon - yes, and I am of the female variety. However there seems to be a lack of female friendly tri stuff (although this is getting better). I like to try (try is an understatement) to retain a bit of my femininity when part-taking in sport. So I will be sharing some tips on things such as swim proof nail varnish, how to remove the ever present smell of chlorine from yourself and other useful stuff for us ladies. Plus I am also a lover of exciting colourful tri clothing, swim and gym wear, which I shall share with y'all too. 

Second
Art, photography and generally making stuff. I do it, some of it is going to be coming your way!

Third
Baking!!! This seems to be something shared by my fellow triathletes. Some recipes, good and bad to follow.








Fourth
Cocktails and eating out.









Fifth
Make-up, clothes and beauty.

Sixth
Yoga. ahhhh yoga. I have neglected thee recently. However a new routine and focus means I am back on the namaste-bandwagon and feeling good :) 

Oh yes....and cats. I really like cats :) 

My First Triathlon

I thought I would reflect on my first encounter with 'proper triathlon' (this I classify as one with an open water swim) was the Dambuster standard distance triathlon in June 2013.

This was also the first EVER time I had swum in open water, more of that later.

Pre race kit checking and packing
N.B headphones are for warm up
not for using during any part of the race

The day began horrendously early, 05someting I got up. I was at registration by 0630 and collected my hat, number and found my space in transition. There was a sticker on the racking with my number and name on, this made me strangely excited. I made numerous newbie errors here, the biggest being - no track pump! Therefore I just guessed what pressure my tyres should have been with a hand pump - oops. After getting everything in transition sorted (sort of) it was time to have about 10 nervous toilet trips and wait for the start!


Swim

The various waves of men were off first, with a beach start and frantic run into the reservoir. We lined up on the beach at around 0830, the klaxon went and we were off into the water. About 300m into the swim I thought "oh dear god, will this ever end?!" I thought about paddling my way over to the canoe, but then reminded myself of how much I had paid to enter, and how I would have to sit about for the rest of the day with a quitting cloud of shame over my head! Not an option. I did a few strokes of breast stroke and remembered some wise words which were given to me - breathe, relax, and stay calm. And I was off again in my finest front crawl (not very fine by the standards of other humans with the gift of sight). 

All ready in transition

I struggled out of the water in just over 30 mins, which wasn't too bad, then I remembered the swim had been shortened by 100m due to it being so rough. However there was not time to dwell on what had just happened. It was into transition.

I had practiced this a few times (on dry land) so I thought I knew what I was doing. However I had not expected to be quite so disorientated after the swim and SO out of breath. I remembered all the important points, kit off and INSIDE my own transition area, helmet on BEFORE touching the bike, number on, glasses on - and away!...Or not, after the dismount line my chain fell off! (Of course it would choose now to have unexplained mechanical issues) and now I am facing slightly uphill, trying to get my chain on, then get my frozen feet to start pedaling! Eventually all parts of body and bike were functioning as best they could and I was away. 


Bike

The bike route is beautiful, undulating and really interesting. At one point I forgot I was supposed to be racing and was just really enjoying being out on my bike. That was short lived though and before I knew it I was back in transition - now to the favorite part...

Run
The day had heated up considerably and the sun was raining down gloriously. The run route goes across the dam, out to a turn around and back to the finish. This provides a good opportunity to see how far ahead the competition are, which in some cases was very far! 

Coming back to the finish was amazing, there was a fantastic buzz and it was amazing to finish. 

The Aftermath I kept grinning to myself all the way home in the car (despite some agonising stomach cramp). I felt elated that I had conquered an OW swim, and the rest of the standard distance tri. 

The first but not the last!

P.S when I later checked my tires they were at 80psi!

T3 - Run --> home --> washing machine

European Triathlon Championships - Kitzbuhel

I have been extremely slow in writing about this event, despite it being super-awesome itself, I had a less than perfect time which unsettled my Mojo for a while.

This time I was lucky to be able to travel with my mule, and we arrived in Kitzbuhel on Monday (before the race the following Sunday) which gave us lots of time to relax, take in the sights and do a little bit of training.

The long way down.



At the top of the horn!

The first day we took on the Kitzbuhele-horn which featured in the Elite European race of 2013. It involved 8km of climbing 4000ft, which was INCREDIBLE! I am a bit of a sadist on the bike, however the TT was not the tool for the job, but I don't have a garage full of carbon fibre machines to choose from. The way back down was a bit more terrifying, and we had to keep stopping for wheel cooling down breaks (maybe a bit over cautious, but I didn't want anything exploding before the race!)



The rest of the week featured all the usual pre race stuff like course recce, registration and racking. I have never been anywhere where I have had the luxury of being able to do a swim recce, and maybe this was an error to start doing things I had not done before. Following my swim recce, that afternoon I felt a little dodgy, then Friday (2 days before the race) I spent the entire day in bed, sweating, and shivering with a less than enjoyable stomach! (make of that what you will). I was now pretty worried about my race on Sunday. Saturday I felt better, but still not 100% and I managed to make it to the team brief and bike racking in the evening.

RACE DAY! Wake up at some offensive hour, try to cram some breakfast down my face, then off to the race. My race start was the second of the day at 0730. The start went OK, but after about 500m I was sick while swimming. If you have never experience this, it is very un-nerving. Unhappily this happened twice, and although I am an abdominal swimmer, my swim was much worse than expected, meaning lots to do on the bike and run. I was sick another couple of times on the bike which player havoc with my nutrition. I did however manage to enjoy the beautiful course, and I was catching up with people all the time which is always nice! Onto the run, and yep...sick again! However more people to catch and the end was well and truly in sight. I managed to claw my way up to 7th in my AG and posted the fastest run of the day which was a small victory.

I learned so much from this race, and although it didn't really go my way, it was fabulous experience, made all the better to have someone to share it with. Not only that, there were a handful of RAF Triathletes competing at the European Championships at both Sprint and Standard Distance which made celebrating all our achievements even better.
 
I even made it onto the race review! (My feet at 2:10 and me at 2:15 for a smidge of a second!) Age Group Standard Distance Highlights

Reflecting on the race now, and after realising that this race was on the anniversary (to the exact day) of my first Standard Distance Triathlon, and my first EVER open water swim, it just shows what you can do with hard work, determination and a bit of luck!
 

View from the top of the Hahnenkamm at the closing ceremony

Halton Hills

The Halton Hills is an off-road race which takes place in the woods surrounding RAF Halton. Good news for those non-military people in the local area is 99% of the route is on public byways so you can have a go yourself! 

The race was first run in 1979 and its founder was the late WO Don Cobley, an RAF PTI and British Olympian in the Modern Pentathlon in Melbourne (1956) and in Rome (1960). One of the most grueling hills on the course (Cobley’s Rise) bears Don’s name.

The route winds its way through the Wendover Woods for approximately 7.5 miles, and over 7 hills of varying steepness and longness. There is an overall ascent of 1200 ft, which I can assure you is enough!

The first hill ‘The Snake’ is very steep and very long. This is followed by a small period of respite along a gravelly flat before coming to Hill 2 – ‘Boddington Bank’. This is a gentle incline followed by ‘Wimp’s Way’, a gradual incline which merges into hill 4 – ‘Cemetery Hill’. Number 5 – ‘Cobley’s Rise’ is definitely the worst, and this broke me into a walk. At the top of the hill you reach the Wendover Woods 'Go Ape' so it is likely you will surprise a few members of the public with your panting and red face! Last 2, ‘Cardiac Arrest’ – steep, but short. And finally Hill 7 – ‘Legless Last’, to be honest I can't remember what this one was like. I was just glad it was coming to an end!! You can view the full route on Strava here.

I had a really great race, much better than I was expecting on-top of a fairly tough week of training which is always nice. I finished 1st Lady and 3rd overall, which I think is one of the best results I have had, however there was an absence of the usual male racing snakes. Plus the lead man decided 7.5 miles want hard enough and went the wrong way (accidentally) adding a significant amount of time and distance. In the mens race Mike Kallenberg destroyed the field to finish in 45.40, almost 10 mins ahead of his nearest rival. 

Hill Stats

Order run	Ascent	Distance
The Snake	80m	300m
Boddington Bank	35m	350m
Wimp’s Way	55m	250m
Cemetery Hill	45m	200m
Cobley’s Rise	65m	250m
Cardiac Arrest	55m	200m
Legless Last	55m	350m

Thank you's of course must go RAF Halton for organizing the event, the RAF Sports lottery for assisting with the funding and Ultrasport for the T-Shirts! :)

Full results can be found on the RAFAA website and pictures will be added in due course.

Duathlon

On my road to Kitzbuhel I have encountered my first Duathlon. Still being quite new to all this, until recently I thought that duathlon was a bike ride, then a run. Infact it is a run, then bike, then another run! 

The Clumber park duathlon is a World and EU Qualification event as well as being the RAF Championships (Sprint distance) - no pressure then.

Prior to the event I am thinking I might be a little more at home with duathlon, as my feelings towards the swim element of triathlon are that it is a wet warm up before the 'proper bits', but I always felt like a bit of a cheat not doing the swim part.

The night before I had a terrible sleep, but was perked up by the prospect of race day breakfast :) My biggest problem then became one all ladies are familiar with...what do I wear?!

Taking my bike for a run, out of T1 - getting warmer

I had done a little research looking at last years photos, there seemed to be a lot of long sleeves under tri suits, and a good mix of long socks, short longs, and long longs on the bottom half! There was frost on the ground when I went to set my bike up in transition so I was even wondering about over shoes. However it warmed up a little, and I decided on tri suit, thermal and gloves. Very glad of the gloves on the bike as it was pretty windy, coupled with the forward bike speed made it cold!

The bike ride was actually quite enjoyable, back into transition and then out on run number 2. Normal jelly legs followed, and by the 2.5km turn around point I had just about got normal feeling back into my pins. Then before I knew it, it was all over and I was at the finish! 2nd Lady, 1st in AG, and RAF Duathlon Champ :) not a bad day if I say so myself.

After finishing I was then greeted with a pint of Erdinger non alcoholic beer and a technical T-Shirt. I should also add that among the freebies was also some High 5 nutritional goodies, which we collected at registration.

The RAF team did AMAZINGLY well, picking up 6 age group wins, and 1st overall male.

Well Done!

I think we might be back next year...

Full results can be found by clicking the link

British triathlon report here

Race Report - Fradley 10k

Wakey Wakey legs...its road race time! 

Fradley is not really a very well known 10km, however it should be as it is a pretty quick, slightly undulating course. This year saw it being started by two ambassadors of the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust,  twins Helen and Carol Galashan did the honors, professionals in Diving and Gymnastics. For information on what the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust Fund does and what it supports and funds go to www.dkhlegacytrust.org

Organised by KP events, and apart from the eternal problem of not enough port-a-loos at running races (im sure this is something which subscribes to the n+1=perfect amount of loos equation) it was fairly snag free. Car parking could have been managed a bit better, but the marshaling and support was great. There were LOADS of spectators in the village which was really nice to see.

Sponsored by Florette (not really sure why?) I was a little disappointed there were not free lettuces' post race, however it is probably for the best as it was a pretty hot day. Amazing for March in fact, and a scorching 14 degrees! It makes it hard to dislike anything about it! 

Post race I had some much needed love applied to my calfs' by Lichfields sports medicine partners, and extremely reasonable £5.00 and lots of good information available, including a leaflet to take away with good stretching techniques. 

Goody Bag (the important bit!)
Bottle of water
post race bananas
A Florette patterned head-over
Kellogs cereal bar
Money off Florette coupon
Medal
High5 gel (personal fave) 

2014 Results can be found here;