Apologies...

Been a busy triathlete. Expect a season report soon!

Craig

Injury woes - but base training continues....

About three weeks a go now I did a 13.1 run up and down Leith Hill in Surrey. A lovely run, but towards the end my left foot started hurting. A lot. I thought it was the onset of plantar fasciitis, but it turned out to be something more substantial - a stress fracture. How this happened I will never know; looking over my training diary I cannot see any evidence of overtraining. Perhaps it was skiing? Anyway, I am on the mend and should be back to running in a week or so. My plans for Hamburg remain, but I'm going to train to 'get around'. It will be fun, and a great experience.

Luckily I have been able to continue my winter base work in the pool and on the bike as I have been able to do non weight-bearing work. I have been doing between 6-8 hours a week, including a long mountain bike ride at the weekends. Still hitting the 70-75% HR zone, with a few bursts into the threshold zone now and again.

It's hard work, and I'm feeling quite tired, but should be beneficial for the upcoming triathlon season and for my spring marathon. I'm concentrating on nutrition and recovery at the moment - it is so important as the volume of training increases.

Take it easy

Craig

Skiing

Just back from a few days hard skiing in Courcheval. The conditions were amazing - great snow and blue skies.

As we left last Friday and didn't get back until Tuesday I had to fit in my weekly running mileage into four days! I think this took its toll on my legs as by day three of skiing my quads were in agony, especially when turning on the steeper stuff.

Back to running this morning - threshold session, 5.3 miles in 43 minutes - working between 75 and 85% of max. I think spending some time at altitude may have helped ;-)

Sponsor my madness

On April 27 I'm going over to Germany to take part in the Hamburg marathon. Then, on May 17, I'm joining my girlfriend Chloe and thousands of other women in Hyde Park for the Playtex Moonwalk. Which, if you are up to speed on such events, is a walking marathon through the night. It's tough, Hamburg will be tough, and I'm looking forward to it!

If you've landed here from my JustGiving page, please have a read of my blog - I'm hoping it will inspire people to get active and take part in challenging events. If you would like to sponsor me please go here, I am raising money for the breast cancer awareness charity Walk the Walk.

Also - if you are inactive and are looking to get into walking and running I will donate £10 to Walk the Walk for every person that I get into a pair of trainers and out into the fresh air! Please get in touch if you would like a training programme to get you off the coach and onto the pavements. Trust me, it's fun.

Take it easy,

Craig

A training year in review

I've been 'training hard' or 'training properly' for just over a year now and thought I'd reflect on how well things have gone.

I definitely feel fitter, stronger and healthier. If I didn't, there must be something wrong! I've cycled well over 1,000 miles, swam over 100miles and run over 400miles. In my book, that's not bad. I've acheived a number of personal bests, including a 1hr35 at the Bath Half Marathon. I've also taken part in my first ever triathlons and earned my Level 1 British Triathlon Federation coaching qualification.

Injuries - touch wood - have been limited to a minor hamstring tear. Training on the bike and in the pool has meant that my legs have been rested from the impact of running somewhat, but on reflection I reckon I've done well this year injury wise. I think my resistance to injury has grown with more training experience and the development of my core muscles. I also take it much easier on the runs these days!

I'm really, really looking forward to 2008. Lots of training, fun and races. I'm also starting a new business venture - watch this space!

Take it easy,

Craig

Cycling - base session

18 mile off road steady ride last night. Average heart-rate 136bpm, so right on the nose for intensity. Lost a bit of power on the hills, but this will return once the season starts next summer. Trying to be consistent at the moment, so this means one session of each discipline and anything else is a bonus. This will be ramped up slowly until I am doing two of each by early next year.

Did the first weekend of my BTA Lvl 2 coaching course this weekend. Was very interesting and met some great people. Passed the first coaching assessment (cornering session) and looking forward to the next weekend in February.

2008 Goals

Now that winter training is well and truly underway, I thought I'd set out some goals - as I did last year. They are (in no particular order):

1. sub-4 hour marathon - have entered Hamburg Marathon
2. open water triathlon - Olympic
3. open water triathlon - half Ironman
4. MTB race season - at least 5 races
5. Tri race season - at least 10 races (at least one with a top-20 age group finish)
6. Take part in an adventure race
7. Achieve Level 2 BTA Coaching Qualification

Coach Craig

On Saturday I passed my Level 1 BTA Coaching Qualification! So that means that I'm now a qualified triathlon coach. I honestly didn't think I'd be blogging that a year a go.

I've been busy over the past few weeks practicing my coaching (mainly in the pool) and swotting up for the exam. I must say, I really enjoyed it and would recommend to any budding coaches.

Training has been a bit patchy, but I will be getting back to it this week and trying to work hard over the Christmas period. A swimming session of note:

200m fc/50m bks kick
150m fc/50m bks kick
100m fc/50m bs kick
50m fc/50m bs kick

12x25m 95% effort - 10 secs rest
8x50m 85% effort - 15 secs rest
6x100m 80% effort - 15 secs rest
4x200m 75% effort - 20 secs rest

A good winter session this, as long as you do the rest 'properly'. Very tiring indeed.

More training, more results

After the relative disappointment of my last MTB race, I made sure I was fully recovered from the virus I had caught before I got back to training for my next one. I had my sights on the last round of the Southern XC as I was so impressed with the fourth round. So, I decided to continue to train hard in the pool and focus on the weaker aspects of my MTBing - technical singletrack. Whilst I'm quite fast on singletrack, I do tend to get a bit twitchy (in that I panic and tense up, just right for a fall!) on looser surfaces, roots and off-camber sections. There are plenty of such sections around Guildford, so I rode one of my favourite sections three times a week. Each lap is approximately six miles, so I would do one steady and one at race pace making sure I concentrated on the tricky bits. I basically learned to relax in the saddle and 'go with the flow more'.

This approach seemed to work.  I also got a stiffer set of race wheels built up, and this coupled with my new found confidence on the bike meant that I was going faster and, importantly, smoother.

So, when the race came around I was quietly confident that I would improve on my last preformance. To keep things simple, I wanted to improve my average speed, get consistent lap times and try and relax on the first lap more. Pace is key to MTB racing, especially during the first lap - you shouldn't never go out to fast. I was told by a veteran racer than an MTB race should be approached as a time-trial as very often you'll never really know what position you are in due to the pack nature of the race.

Sunday was great, a really fantastic course and one worth working hard on. My first lap was far more comfortable and it became clear to me that I must have been pretty unwell at the last round. I hit the first 4.6 mile lap in just under 24 minutes, but pretty much at the back of the pack. I had, however, saved some energy by drafting a slower rider and then overtaking him on  one of the hills - I decided that I would use this tactic on the second and third laps as I knew I was strong on the climbs. Interestingly, I was also proving to be quite fast on the tricky stuff and overtook a few riders on these sections - the practice worked.

My last two laps were enjoyable and around 24mins. I came home in 18th place, out of 26 finishers. Compared with the last round, I was 8mins behind the leader instead of 18mins. The guys behind me were quite some way in front of me at the last round - a good sign of my improving fitness and skill.

A good day in the saddle. Looking forward to some more!

Bumper race results update!

This week saw your faithful blogger compete twice - a triathlon on Bank Holiday Monday and a Mountain Bike race this afternoon. The triathlon went better than expected and the bike race didn't exactly go to plan...read on....

Monday's triathlon was the last round of the Thames Turbo series and took the form of a sprint - 438m swim, 21km bike and 5km run - at Hampton outdoor swimming pool and the surrounding roads.

I was expecting to do well in the swim, improve my bike time since May and hang on for the run! Because of my swim time, my start was in amongst the 'top dogs' including Dan Corner who grabbed a bronze medal in the 30-34 age group at this weekend's ITU World Championships in Hamburg. Whilst he was the man to beat, I wasn't planning on getting close. Back to my race - it was fantastic to be amongst such talented triathletes, and it inspired me to hit the pool leg hard and fast. I then realised that the cold I had been suffering was going to play a part in my race and the pace I had been acheiving in training simply wasn't there. However, I finished the 438m swim, got on my bike and was clear in 7mins43. I reckon the swim time would have been 6m 10secs or 5min 30secs for the 400m. Not bad at all, considering my PB is 5min 24secs.

After May's race I had decided to focus on getting my bike speed up, and have been training hard to improve my average speed by 3mph. Although I could feel the negative effects of the cold in my system, I pushed for an average of 20mph plus for the 21km course. I managed just over 21mph, which was fantastic. I quick dash through transition and it was run time.

Strangely, I kind of forgot to go fast on the run until it was too late. I was so elated about my bike time I dawdled. As a result my 5km time (inc. transition) was 24mins! Horrendous! I finished feeling quite fresh, which is not normal for me.

So, a total time of 1hr 11mins 16secs - 34/118 for my age group and 77/380 overall. I was pretty chuffed.

So it was with great anticipation that I headed over to Yateley to take part in the 4th Round of the Southern XC series. I was still feeling pretty rough, and had been off-work for two days, so decided to take it easy. This didn't happen!

The race was fast, very fast. I soon started to feel the effects of illness again, and my legs seemed to have no power in them whatsoever. A strange feeling, one that I have never felt before. I finished the 19 mile race in 1hr 39min, an average speed of almost 12mph which is quite slow for what was a fast course. For the first time ever, I was almost sick on the finish line after an up hill sprint finish - bleurgh. I'll put that one down to experience, but I did enjoy the race. Not sure where I came, but it wasn't as good as my placing in the triathlon - but, good fun all the same.

UPDATE: I came 33rd/45 entrants. If I had entered the less competitive 'Open' category I would have come in the top 20 quite easily! But that would be TOO easy.....