Triathlon Training Blog - My Journey

London Triathlon 2010 - The results …

Thomas — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 18:21:00 GMT

On Sunday 8th of August I participated in the biggest triathlon in the world, at least so they claim as more than 15.000 people come to the Excel Centre in London.

My parents flew in from Belgium to see me taking on this course, and in their eyes I'm still their crazy son. Together with my wife they surely gave me enough support to guide me through the entire race.

There is something special when you walk in the Excel Centre, a real buzz, a massive amount of people and surprisingly not a mess, well organised. And it is me who needs to thank the organisation as I lost one cycling shoe during transition and after a few days they rang me to tell that they will be sending my cycling shoe. Cool!

My results:

Swim: 1500m - 35:55

T1: 4:05 (a long run into the Excel Centre)

Bike: 40K - 1:15:15

T2: 2:44

Run: 10K - 58:06

Total time: 2:56:02

Age group position 231/341

Tomorrow I will be doing my last Olympic of this year - Dorney, where it all began.

UK Ironman 70.3 2010 - My results, absolutely not!

Thomas — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 07:20:00 GMT

I might have completed my first 70.3 middle distance Ironman race on Sunday and I might have done the distance by swimming, cycling and running. But the absolute and only congratulations must go to my family. It sounds a bit like a cliché but I would not have been able to reach the Ironman 70.3 finish line if I didn't get the absolute support I got from them. The countless scarifies my family and especially my wife went through where absolutely enormous, I come words too short to describe this.

At the finish line I received a medal and here I would like to offer this medal to my entire family. During the course of about 6 months, with peaks of 12 hours training a week, they gave their support, their commitment in order for me to participate in the UK 70.3 Ironman. Shereen, many thanks for your support, day in day out, week in week out, you were standing there and the only thing I could think of when I passed the finish line was you - how you were there on my side the entire road, the road of accomplishment, no it wasn't me but we achieved this together. Thanks!

The results

Before I mention the results I must say I had an absolute fantastic race, I truly enjoyed myself, the swim was great, nicely relaxed. The bike was though, an absolute killer, but not at a single point I wanted to give in and knew that I would make it. Then there was the run, my last run was from about 5 weeks ago due to my injury so I knew this would be my weakest discipline and could halt me of reaching the finish line with a DNF next to my name. Mentally I was prepared to run/walk, which is what I did, initially I had a bit of a stomach upset and towards the end my legs were trying to give in but I got there, running on the red carpet makes all pain disappear.

UK 70.3 Ironman 2010 - Toughest 70.3 in the world

Bike: 1700 m climbing

Run: 1000m climbing – According to my Garmin 717m

Bib Number: 1096

Total time: 7:04:04

Swim: 44:02 - 1900 m

T1: 6:28 - 400m uphill to T1

Bike: 3:49:22 - 56 miles

T2: 2:41

Run: 2:21 (13.1 miles)

Overall Position: 807/1178 (1081 finishers - Meaning 1 out 11 people DNF)

Age Group Position: 169/221 finishers

What have I learnt

Without support realising this would be almost impossible
With 100% dedication and determination you can achieve a lot
Pain is really temporary, quitting ...
Garmin could do a better job with recording swim statistics

PS: I will post some pictures, including medal, later on.

UK Ironman 70.3 - It's that time of the year

Thomas — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:18:00 GMT

Wow - two weeks to go and then we will be making our way to Exmoor for my first ever middle distance triathlon or the 70.3 Ironman triathlon race. As you might have read in previous posts I will be doing the "toughest 70.3 Ironman" in the world - cough cough. Scary!

Swim and bike training has been going well and feel that I'm prepared for these two, running that's a different story. I have been suffering from the beginning of the year with my right quad and have not been running a lot. I had MRI scans a couple of weeks ago and have been diagnosed with a prolapsed L4/L5 disc which causes pain and numbness in my quad area. The specialist has told me to rest from running for 6 weeks and I had an epidural injection last week in hospital. The 1/2 Ironman event will be after 5 weeks of running rest and as such will still be doing the Ironman 70.3 event, the spinal specialis thas advised me not to participate, I will even if I have to crawl over the finish line (remember Pain is Temporary and quitting lasts forever), however I might regret this later. My last run was 11.3K and dates from 12th of May.

In my mind I have started to prepare for the actual event, have been going through the online information several times. The entire setup is new to me, we need to plan for a Bike (=Blue) bag and a Run (=Red) bag and prepare a white bag for after the event with dry clothes. My bike will not contain my usual setup; we need to change into a separate area for both T1 and T2.

The swim scares me; it will be a mass start with 1500 participants. I'm looking at a 50 minutes swim time for 1900m. I have added a few minutes just incase I get knocked a few times. After this a hill run follows of 400m towardsT1 and we have been advised to take it easy here as we could use a lot of energy on this hill whilst going into transition.

The bike will be a killer, there is a total ascent of more than 1700m in 90K with a lot of technical turns and decents. I had a good practice weekend on the Isle of Wight with lots of little climbs but still managed to climb only around 1100m. I saw my average dropping to about 15 miles/hour whereas on similar distances this would be around 17 miles/hour. Taking this average forward then I would get around in 3:40.

Last but not least - the run. This is going to be a hilly run with some technical parts built in. Based upon my Reading 1/2 Marathon experience from last year then this would take me just over 2 hours. I have not been running and after a 90K hill bike ride I'm not planning to go crazy and hopefully I can get around in 2:30.

If my predictions are correct then I could pass the finish line just over 7 hours, but then again I really don't care how long it will take this is really to test myself and see how far I can take my body and how deep I can dig.

Nutrition, hmmm, what do I know about this, not much actually, there is just too much conflicting information available. In the beginning of the year I attended a seminar from someone from SIS. It was stated that during a 1/2 Ironman event your intake should be between 50 and 80mg of carbs. I'm going to aim for 70mg of carbs.

This breaks down as follows:

• Assume my race predictions are correct and the total event lasts 7 hours then I would need to consume 490g carbs in total.

• During the swim I cannot take anything in, so that leaves 6 hours for 490mg or 81mg every hour.

• I will stick with SIS and TORQ, after all I have been training with this.

• One SIS gel of 60g contains 21g of carbs, one 70g TORQ bar contains 45g of carbs, 750ml of SIS Electrolyte contains 55g carb, 750ml SIS Energy contains 70g Carb.

Based upon this the following should be my nutrition plan:

• Hour 1: Swim - No nutrition

• Hour 2: Bar + Gel + SIS drink = 66g plus drink

• Hour 3: Bar + Gel + SIS drink = 66g plus drink

• Hour 4: 3 gels = 63g + SIS drink

• Hour 5: 3 gels = 63g + SIS drink

• Hour 6: 3 gels = 63g + Gatorade drink (supplied during race)

• Hour 7: 3 gels = 63g + Gatorade drink (supplied during race)

I guess that's all for now, will do a full write up after the event, till then happy racing.

TRI Season is upon us – What has been happening?

Thomas — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 13:41:00 GMT

It has been a while since I last took my keyboard and focused on writing a blog post, don't despair I'm still training. As most of us I'm still trying to juggle many activities at the same time and I'm having a very stressful period at work. I don't think I have ever been so busy at work.

Apart from being busy I have started struggling with my right leg and I have not been able to run as much as I wanted since the beginning of the year.I have gone through periods of pain on my quad, groin, ITB, hamstring, lowerback and buttocks. I have seen a physiotherapist, had some rest of running, doing some acupuncture, cancelled my half and full Brighton marathon in the hope that by resting I will start to pick up the running on a regular basis again very soon (maybe today!). The latest is that I might have a trapped nerve between vertebrae L2/L3 as I experience numbness on my quad. But as Lance Armstrong would say: Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever.

At present I am in week 9 of my 20 week 1/2 Ironman training plan of Matz Fitzgerald, which is the first week of the build phase after 8 weeks of base training. I was unable to follow all prescribed run sessions but increased the number of bike sessions instead and added a few core strength sessions as well.

For the first 3 months of the year I cycled 1250 km and swam 50 km in a 50m Olympic pool in Aldershot, my 400m swim went from 9:22 down to 8:50 in about 10 weeks time, with a 1:57 for 100m. I ran for 90 km since the beginning of the year and I'm training for 6.4 hours on average/week excluding any strength and stretching sessions.

Future is very bright, just checked out today and my local open water swim lake opens on the 24th of April. We are having a break soon in Egypt and I'm looking forward to train in good weathers. Was initially hoping to take my bike but I'm not going to risk this. Will concentrate on swimming and running and a spot of diving in the Red Sea. The 1/2 Ironman UK familiarization camp is mid May.

And what's more I purchased a proper Tri bike, I bought a Specialized Transition Expert 2010 and had a BG bike fitting in the Specialized Concept Store in Ruislip (London).

I have signed up for the biggest Triathlon in the world, I was lucky enough to get hold on a last minute space in the London Mazda Triathlon. I will be competing the Olympic distance and I'm hoping that I will be reducing my time from previous Olympic Triathlons.

That's all for now – Don’t just train – train right.

Oh yes, if you like this blog why not get a T-Shirt from my own Zazzle shop.

This is why I hate Garmin!

Thomas — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:39:00 GMT

Tonight I went for a run interval session and really enjoyed my performance. My aim was to stay below 2min/400m which is a 50min/10k speed during these intervals. Every time I clocked off my 400m lap I was happy to see something like 1:50, 1:47 and even for the last lap 1:37. Yippie ... or not ...

Going forward, still sitting on a huge cloud, after downloading the data from my Garmin 310Xt I noticed the following chart:

What! I only managed to just top speed zone 7: which is a SLOW RUN! Arrgghhhh - And there I was feeling like Speedy Gonzalez! At least it was a FAST JOG (speed zone 6).

Dear Garmin, would you mind adjusting your Speed Zones? Thanks.

UPDATE: I just remembered that only a while ago I wrote how much I actually love my Garmin. See here - I guess I still do

Juggling ... during the winter season.

Thomas — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:37:00 GMT

Juggling time between training, work, and family - or should I reverse the priority order - is not always easy for me. Work has become more demanding than ever travelling within the UK and as such early starts and late returning home.

Writing something down inside this blog seems to have taken up the lowest priority at the moment. But I have not been sitting still either, I have been planning hard for 2010 and till so far I have subscribed for the Lakeside Canal Run in Frimley Green (8.2 miles) in January, in March2010 I will be running the Reading Half Marathon again.

The Half Marathon is in preparation for the full Marathon, yes, you read it well, I will try to complete the Brighton Marathon in April 2010. This will be my first ever Marathon and I'm really looking forward to this.

I started training 5 weeks ago and my long run has taken meup to 20K last Saturday. Till so far - no injuries! I'm following Hall Higdon Novice 2 Marathon training plan. This is a 4 training days / week plan. I skipped a few short runs mid-week due to work arrangements. This is an 18-week training program but I'm looking at repeating a few weeks during the mid of this program.The maximum distance is 20 miles in this program and I’m wondering if I should not go beyond this distance in training, after all there will be another 6.2 miles! Any views?

http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/novices2.htm

Training for the Marathon should prepare me for the running section of my first ever 1/2 Ironman in June 2010. I'm trying to go out every weekend for a 40 / 45 miles bike ride during the winter and hopefully I will keep on increasing this to 60 / 70 miles on the weekends. I need to get used to this distance as it will not be the distance that will be killing me but it would the amount of hills and climbing during this distance in the UK½ ironman. I will be doing hill work and speed work during my mid-week bike training sessions.

I haven't been swimming for some time now but I will pickthis up from January onwards.

In preparation for my 1/2 Ironman in June I'm looking atsome sprint and Olympic triathlons in April, May and maybe June. I'm playing with the idea to complete a second 1/2 Ironman in 2010, but not entirely sure how to schedule this.

I’m not planning all the training efforts of 6/7 months tolet go up in smoke after June! Any suggestions?

I have recently created a shop on Zazzle and if you are after some famous sport quotes printed on a T-Shirt then feel free to visit my shop: http://www.zazzle.co.uk/thomasdevos - They can still deliver on time for Christmas

52 Hills in 56 Miles - The toughest 70.3 in the world!

Thomas — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:58:00 GMT

That was the message I saw on the banner after I successfully registered in the UK 70.3 Ironman in Exmoor, Wimbleball Lake.

This will be my first 1/2 Ironman … at least there are still 239 days left to pick up the training.

There are still a few places at the time I wrote this, hurry up if you want to tackle those 52 hills.

Steelman Olympic Triathlon - Race report

Thomas — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:41:00 GMT

3 days on and still feeling tired in my legs, still walking like a duck and having difficulty to walk properly. That's what I got after doing my second Olympic distance triathlon in a time period of 3 weeks. I realise now that this is far too much for me and I'm paying the price right now.

This time around I had my parents invited from Belgium so they could have a look at their son who was always talking (read moaning) about his new activity or his new kit or his latest race (well they could read my blog). My mother in law was also present together with wife and son. Enough supporters to keep the pressure on.

Dorney lake is nice and flat and very good for family and friends to see you in action. During this Olympic triathlon they would see me passing 8 times on the bike, 8 times on the run and with a little bit of luck they could recognise me with my pink hat on swimming.

From the moment we arrived, plenty of time before hand, I went to the registration and transition area and prepared all my kit. I went to the water side at least 15 minutes before hand. This was a no-wetsuit race because the temperatures of the water were higher than 22 degrees Celsius (22.4). Initially when entering the water I was like: "Can someone please bring me my wetsuit ... ". Only 30 seconds later I realized that the water was ideal and very enjoyable.

Like a real pro I was warming up and swimming away from the start line with plenty of confidence.

The swim - 1500m

The swim was 2 laps of each 750m and we turned for the second lap inside the water. The horn went off and I settled in immediately into a good fast pace, I was in the front of the pack and didn't want anyone to swim over me. Obviously this was not going to be my race rhythm and settled back to a more comfortable pace. I was really enjoying the swim race, good pace and no problems with my goggles. I used for the first time my pool goggles and had no water leaks and they didn't steam up either. I was really on top of everything. To top it all I spotted a rope in the water which would lead me to the buoy and therefore had not to sight at all.

Swim time: 40:01

T1:

There was no need to take off the wetsuit but instead had to put my number belt on, normally I wear this underneath my wetsuit. This seems so silly right now but I lost some time putting my number belt on.

Time: 1:18

The bike - 40K

8 flat laps that's what it would take to complete this section. I was confident, I was relaxed, maybe too relaxed. Well I didn't cater for the wind and this was my mistake.

The wind had me really pushing hard from time to time. After two laps I was getting cramps and was unable to get rid of the cramps only until the last lap. I'm probably searching for some reasons which I could use to blame my poor performance. If you remember from the end of May, the 30K on the same track (or 6 laps) I completed well below the hour. Now to complete two extra laps I needed an extra 25 minutes.

What was that all about?

I clearly lost some time here.

Time: 1:21:21

The run - 10K

I came off the bike and felt my legs immediately, I was able to start with a good pace, not getting out of breath and even overtaking (yes me!) a few people. But this only lasted for one lap, during lap two and three I was very near to walk, for some reason I kept myself going. In the second part of lap 4 I was able to pick up my speed, obviously this was way too late!

Time: 56:15

Summary:

Total time: 3:00:10

I shouldn't forget that it was only 4 years ago I stopped smoking and that I was unable to run till the end of my street. For me completing an Olympic distance is a huge achievement but right now I feel a serious sense of disappointment. The same questions keep on coming up: Why can I not do better? Why does it look so much easier for others to fly on the bike, to push hard on the run? Why?

I had another triathlon in mind at the end of July but I don't think my body has recovered properly from the previous triathlon and therefore I'm going to recover first properly, skip running for a few weeks (my left leg is far from 100%) and do not put too much strain on my body.

One day I would like to achieve 2:45! 15 minutes faster but right now that seems a long way to go!

Wetsuit ban for the Steelman Olympic Triathlon this weekend!

Thomas — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:21:00 GMT

This morning I received an e-mail from Humanrace which stated that wetsuits are not allowed this weekend. This is due the current warm weather as the water has reached an enjoyable 23.5 degrees. It is unlikely that this will drop by Sunday; however temperatures will be slightly less than the 30+ degrees we are enjoying at this moment. This is the first time in 18 years of Human Race history that this decision was made.

I'm not sure if I'm happy or sad with this decision. From what I understand is that strong swimmers will benefit from this ban, but people like myself might not benefit. At least we don't need to worry about taking the wetsuit off in T1.

I think it is the unexpected unknown that is overwhelming me at the moment. I'm sure I will be fine after all I just had a swim in the Red Sea. I might squeeze in an open water session on Saturday without wetsuit.

This will be my second Olympic Distance and to increase the pressure my parents will be supporting me for the first time.

Good luck if you are racing in Dorney this weekend!

For more information about the ban check out: http://humanrace.co.uk/news.html

My first ever Olympic Triathlon - The Nokia Windsor Olympic Triathlon

Thomas — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:28:00 GMT

It was 4:10 am, bright and early, after a short night, with interrupted sleep due to heavy rain overnight, I woke up with a clear sky which was good enough for me to participate in my first ever Olympic Triathlon. My wave was due to start at 6:25 and this time I wanted to make sure I was on time ready.

At 5:15 Shereen and I arrived in Windsor and parked our car, we went to the transition area and I started to prepare my spot. The places are very narrow here, not only between each other but also behind and in front of you. What do you expect 2500 people racing here?

The transition setup got ready at 6:00 am, with 35 minutes to spare, much quicker than last time, I was able to relax and most importantly visualize the transition and my race objectives. I had set myself a target to first of all complete the Olympic distance, followed by completing without getting any injuries and then I had set a target time between 2:50 and 3:00.

We started watching the earlier Sprint races and some of the Olympic waves. We noticed Richard Stannard giving away an interview. I understood that he was involved in a bike accident and therefore could not race today. When I was pulling up my top half wetsuit I got filmed myself, I'm sure they will cut this piece out but I'm looking forward for the Channel 4 broadcast early July. Whilst we were watching I noticed that the current wasn't as strong as last year and despite of thinking to swim on the right where the current should be the least I decided to go for the left hand side of the bunch, after all I knew it all better and it is shorter.

With only 5 minutes to spare I made my way to the river side and jumped in, this time I was one of the first ones to get in. I relaxed, done a few strokes, got my position set and waited for the horn to go. I started my stopwatch about one minute before hand, just to make sure I had not forgotten this.

The swim - 1500m:

The start signal went off and started hard to swim, I was in the front of the pack and I didn't want anyone to swim over me. Despite me starting rather hard I knew I was about to slow down as I would never be able to keep up. At least I got myself in a good position in the river. After a few hundred meters my goggles started playing up, they started filling up with a little bit of water and then this became more and more. I took a break and adjusted them a few times. I have never been sure about those goggles, but then again I never have been sure about any pair of googles I had. There is always something with them, either they leak, they steam up, the straps come loose. Maybe I need to produce some myself.

After the ordeal of the googles I got myself in a good pace, not fast, but a good pace, breathing every third for most of the time and breathing on both sides. But most of all I was enjoying the filthy river Thames and was enjoying the swim and had only positive thoughts. "I'm doing good" were the key words racing through my head and this really motivated me. Every time when I looked up I could see the swim finish coming noticeably closer. I almost regretted that the swim was over, was I becoming insane? Maybe the water had poisoned my brains.

Swim time: 40:04

I'm not the fastest swimmer in the world, but at least this time I enjoyed it and I can work on getting faster.

T1:

The distance between the swim exit and the transition area in Windsor is rather far, this obviously gives us plenty of time to undo the wetsuit during the run up to the transition area. Got my wetsuit off very quickly, helmet and glasses on and ran with my bike out of transition. For some reason I managed to jump on my bike with my feet straight into my bike shoes, I only had to pull up the strap.

Considering the huge transition area my time was fast. I wouldn't want to change anything.

Time: 1:42

The Bike - 42km:

I jumped on my bike and managed to get into a good rhythm. Due to the number of people on the road, it wasn't difficult to overtake people and obviously being overtaken as well. The scenery along the race track is very nice and there are a few little hills on the way, which seems to be in my advantage. My odometer seemed broken and was not giving me any sense of speed. I like to see my speed in order to motivate me and push harder, I started to use my cadence meter instead, obviously this is not the same as the cadence would change depending on the gear you are in.

The last 5 / 6 miles is all the way down and makes this an ideal time to start preparing for the run section, with speeds up to 38 mph. I knew that we had to bike next to the transition area after we came from the road, however one of the marshall shouted loud and it was not clear to me so I unclipped very quickly my shoes, which wasn't necessary, so clipped back in and went to my original plan to leave my shoes on the bike.

Time: 1:17:15

After the swim section onto the bike I'm unable to push hard for the first few miles. I would need to think about how I could simulate this. Apart from this I don't think I would change anything at all.

T2:

This was a quick transition, just had to chuck my bike, throw off my helmet and glasses and pull on my running shoes. In the transition area I was running behind a biker who was trying to get out of transition. This must have slowed me down a little bit.

Time: 1:29

The run: 10K

Started the run in a good pace, read slow and maintainable. The sun was getting hot at this moment in time and was happy to cool myself down with water. Temperatures must have been 20 degrees, this isn't really hot, but hot enough for me. I cannot imagine how I could cope (or anyone) when running in the desert or an Ironman in Australia where temperatures could sore up to 40 degrees. The run was 3 laps next to the Queen's castle and this hill, short but steep kills when one comes just off the bike. the first lap I had cramps and slowed down to ensure I could control my breathing. Cramps disappeared but stayed in the same mode, and maintained a good running pace, slow but maintainable.

The last 400 meter are absolutely amazing, and it is those moments which elevate you and make this an addiction. The crowds are not only cheering you on which gives you the feeling of being a champion (despite taking almost one hour longer than the elites) but the sense of accomplishment is huge. What would it be if I ever accomplish an Ironman distance?

Time: 56:21

Summary:

I was hoping to complete my first Olympic Triathlon in a time between 2:50 and 3:00, I completed the entire course within 2:56, so I met my goal. I'm far from the fastest on the course but I can set myself some goals to go faster. Now I know I can complete this distance, before I only dreamt of completing the distance.

Nokia Windsor Triathlon 14th of June 2009 - Useful links

Thomas — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:09:00 GMT

With only a few days until my first Olympic triathlon in Windsor I started reading upon some race information.

If you are racing this weekend in the Nokia Windsor Triathlon then check out the links below which contains tons of useful race preparation information.

How to succeed at Windsor? - The swim description is especially important for me.

Bike course description, with bike course elevation chart

Full map of the Windsor Triathlon course

Motionbased bike course map

First Olympic triathlon is coming up ...

Thomas — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:54:00 GMT

Less than one week and then I will be doing my first proper Olympic Triathlon. Last year I planned on performing my first Olympic Triathlon in the Nokia Windsor Triathlon but I had to downgrade to the Sprint version instead due to my fair share of injuries.

I cannot say that I didn't have any injuries this year but I have been able to control my injuries a bit better before they became serious.

One thing that is troubling me is the swim, in the Eton 3Quarter swim I had a bad swim and cannot say that last year I had a good swim either in any of the triathlons I participated in, despite taking swimming lessons from the beginning of the year.

Last Saturday I was planning for an Open Water swim in Mytchett but, maybe luckily enough, I arrived too late and they closed earlier than normal. I drove off to the pool and swam with my wetsuit. Normally in the pool I'm pretty much in control of my breathing and I am able to pace myself. With the wetsuit on this changed entirely, my breathing was crap and my pacing was totally out of control. The only difference is the wetsuit so I figured out I am feeling anxious inside the wetsuit, but even more, every single time I pull with my left arm I get restricted and this feels very tight. On Sunday I went for an open water swim and made sure that I pulled my wetsuit very high up from the legs all the way to my arms. This improved my swimming and I was able to keep my breathing under control. Furthermore I felt relaxed inside the water, and could do whatever I wanted doing I cannot say I'm perfect or fast in any way but for the first time I could feel some improvement.

This Sunday I will be swimming in the river Thames, and surely this will not be an easy swim. Last year I swam the 750m sprint in 28 minutes, that is about 12 minutes slower in comparison with last Sunday's swim in the lake. For the 1500m this Sunday I'm hoping for 40 minute, but this might as well be 45 minute. I’m preparing mentally for the current in the river.

I should be fine with the other disciplines, I have done a lot of 40K+ bike rides and kept running since the beginning of the year with several 10K runs, however not too many 10K lately.

As you know there are people who make things happen, there are people who watch things happening and there are people who wonder what will happen. This Sunday I will be the one who will make things happen, but what about you?

Dorney 3Quarter Triathlon race report

Thomas — Thu, 28 May 2009 06:30:00 GMT

Mixed feelings ...

Last Sunday, 24th May 2009, I participated in the 3Quarter Olympic triathlon in Dorney, same distance as last years Bananaman Triathlon, which was my first triathlon of the year in preparation for the Nokia Windsor Triathlon.

The sun woke up nice and bright and we could not have wished for better weather, temperatures were around 24C degrees.

My family and I arrived about two hours before the race was due. I registered, got my race pack, dropped my bike and kit in the transition zone and returned so we could see the youth triathlon.

At 11:30am I made my way to the transition and was confident to have plenty of time. I started preparing my towel, shoes on the bike, running shoes, gels, sweats, drinking bottles, and ... I forgot my race number belt. Thankfully Shereen was near and was able to run to the onsite shop and get me a new race number belt (£6 !). In meantime I saw the clock ticking and it was only until 11:55 that I was able to put my wetsuit on. My golden rule is to get ready in time and get into the water as soon as possible in order to relax and to get used to the water and water temperatures. This time I came to the water with only two minutes spare before the race horn went off!

I started swimming and felt I was doing well, until I started sighting and noticed that a whole lot of people were already far beyond me. I was totally surprised and could not comprehend this. How did they get there? This combined with the late preparation took me out of my comfort zone. For some bizarre reason I found time to wave to my wife and son who were watching me, apparently they could tell I was really upset with my position. I was able to calm down and swim more relaxed during the second lap. I came out of the water with the last ten people in my wave. My total time was 19 minutes which still faster in comparison with last years time of 21 minutes.

Transition from the swim to the bike went smoothly, got my wetsuit out fast and was able to jump on the bike with my shoes already on the bike mounted without problems. The transition lasted only 1:09 seconds which turned out to be the fourth fastest in my age group.

On the bike my race came together, I started passing other people straight from the start, which was positive, my average speed was around 21 mph / 33 kph, which I knew was good enough to improve on time. I concentrated on my nutrition and ensured I had taken my gels and enough drinks. I finished the bike in 56 minutes.

Transition from the bike to swim was smooth'ish, was out of my bike shoes before I came into transition and only had to put on my socks, yes indeed socks and running shoes. I had chosen for socks becuase during training I felt friction on my feet and didn't want to risk getting blisters during the race. Putting the socks on caused me most problems, nevertheless I was happy with a transition time of 1:09 (same as T1).

I started my run slow in order to give my legs time to recover from the bike and as such I was hoping to push it a bit harder after some time. This unfortunately didn't happen and had to be satisfied with a pace which felt slow. I was unable to push my legs harder and was out of breath very easily. Very weird feeling when mind wants to go faster but there is no way on earth those legs will move faster ahead. At the same time the sun started to burn as well. A few times I felt like walking, but now I'm glad I didn't. I finished with a time of 40 minutes, which is only a few minutes slower in comparison with training.

I would be satisfied with any time below two hours, and as such improve my time from last year (2:08) which I did and therefore I'm really happy. However my swim was disappointing and my general ranking didn't improve much either. They must have got all faster earlier in the season

Oh yes, the sun has nicely printed a healthy red area around the borders of my tri-suit. It was heaven to pass the finishing line and find a hose pipe to drench myself completely. Just heaven!

This race has left me with mixed feelings, having improved with ten minutes on my result from last year is fantastic, but what went wrong with my swimming and how can I improve this?

Asics Reading Half Marathon 2009 - Race Report - The Wall?

Thomas — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:01:00 GMT

This was my first ever 1/2 marathon, I was meant to start in this race last year but due to injuries I had to bail out, one year later I came on the start line to prove my fitness progress after stopping smoking for 4 years.

Training had taken me up to a running distance of 19.2k or one mile shy of the 13.1 mile mark. In training I never prepared for the full distance however I felt pretty confident that I could go all the way.

Race day started with one hour less sleep due to the change in clocks for the summer time. Myself and my wife took the train direction Reading at around 08:20, on arrival we noticed a lot people waiting to get on the free shuttle bus to the Madejski stadium used for Reading football.

In the morning temperatures were just above freezing so I decided to run with long trousers and 2 tops - that's identical to my training sessions during the winter. However this turned out to be wrong choice!

I had lined up close to the 2:00 finishing group and promised myself to stick with the 2:00 pace runner and if I felt well enough after one hour I would increase my pace. I started rather well and kept up a nice pace, slightly faster than training but after all this is a race. I passed the 10K at 54 minutes. The entire race period the sun was nicely shining, great atmosphere but wrongly dressed, I was sweating too much and was very hot. At the first drinking station I took a bottle of water which turned out very chilled and got stomach cramps after.

Around 16K I was getting it very difficult and had to keep on motivating myself, at some point I felt my body giving in on me and stopping but was able to pick up and keep going. At 18K I was unable to keep motivating myself, my legs were killing me, and I was overheated, I had to give in and started walking. During this break I took the opportunity to have a toilet stop as well. What a relief! I had been drinking much more than usual. The last few kilometers I stop/start walking. Did I hit the "Wall"? Was I burned out? Usually I'm really motivated and I never have to fall back on walking.

I opted out of wearing my iPod to enjoy music, but this could have been the ultimate motivator who could have taken me through the difficult moments. Instead I was planning to enjoy the atmosphere. Just before the start, when setting my Garmin ready to go start I noticed that I forgot my heart rate monitor strap around my chest. I usually try to stay within zone 3 for these long runs. This time I was unable to rely on this, this gave me some false start.

But what an excitement! What a feeling when one can sprint inside a stadium full of people, making noise, yelling and shouting when crossing the finish line. This truly gave me tears in my eyes and I felt all the training was really all worth it.

Looking back the race I need to bear the following in mind for any other race:

Do not dress too warm!
If possible carry my iPod as a motivation stimulator. Mr Motivator!
Wear my heart rate monitor strap and stick with the pace.
Train the full distance and just beyond.
Stick to my own nutrition's.

At this moment I really feel that I could I have done better and I could have stayed below the 2:00 race time, but I didn't. I have learned a whole lot of this race and will come back stronger! I will do this again!

The official distance of the 1/2 marathon is 13.1 mile or 21K - Why does my Garmin Forerunner 301 tell me that I ran 22.49K? Did I run too much? Can I rely on my Garmin?

Asics Reading Half Marathon 2009

Thomas — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:30:00 GMT

It has been quiet lately on my blog but rest be assured I have been busy training. I have been swimming twice a week, cycling and or spinning twice a week and running for 2/3 times a week with the view to run the Asics Reading 1/2 Marathon.

I have been training from the beginning of the year with initially building a base around the 10K distance, which is the run distance

in the Olympic distance. In February I lost the rhythm of training due to one week of skiing, working longer hours and during the ski holiday I picked up a small injury. I reduced my run distances for up 5K only, which was a wise decision. From the beginning of March I started with a 9 mile run and increased with one mile on a weekly basis. Yesterday, on Mothers day, I ran 12 miles which is just one mile short of the half marathon distance. These distances are the furthest I ever ran!

My expectations for my first ever half marathon are first of all to finish, without stopping, without injuries and if possible stay below 2 hours.

The profile of the reading half Marathon seems to be reasonable enough with the last 3 miles flat (this is probably where I will struggle).

If you want to look at my training log for 2009, feel free to checkout http://www.buckeyeoutdoors.com/users/traintriathlon . By the time I’m on the start line for my first ½ Marathon I must have ran a distance of 220km for this year. I’m impressed.

All the best to all the other 16K participants!

British Army Running Test challenge

Thomas — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 17:05:00 GMT

First of all a very happy New Year from me and may I hope that all your dreams can come true.

Now we have that one out of the way we can come back to the subject of this blog.

Very recently I noticed a blog entry from TriSpace which challenged people to take on a test, which is been used by the British army in order to gauge your fitness level. Initially I was rather apprehensive as I automatically had categorized myself in the "poor" performer category. My wife encouraged me a bit and I could not find a better time then today, at the beginning of the year to benchmark my performance which could be my motivator for the rest of the weekend.

You are supposed to run first 1.5 mile (warm up?) within 14 minutes, and then this is followed by the real challenge, another 1.5 mile. The measured time puts you in a category. Taken from the TriSpace website this is the table.

I drove this morning, after a New Years party lasting till 3am to test myself on the running track, which is nicely flat. The temperature was 1 degree outside. I started on the running track with just one lap very slow run (not tracked on my Garmin) in order to explain my body what was to follow in the coming 30 minutes. One lap is 400 meter and as such I had to complete 6 laps for 2.4 K or 1.5 mile.

I completed the first 6 laps in 13:17 which is according to my Garmin 2.46K. I jogged around until my Garmin displayed 14:00, at this point I started the challenge. I started off fast and wanted to quit after 3 laps, my heartbeat was now going more than 165 and completed each lap below 2 minutes. The fourth and fifth lap I struggled and slowed down to complete these laps in 2:04 and 2:07. During lap 6 I gave everything and completed this one in 1:50.

My total time for all laps during the challenge is 11 minutes and 44 seconds for 1.5 mile or 2.4K which makes me an "Average" runner in the category males 35-39. 13 seconds faster would have made me a "Good" runner, which I'm not at this moment.

As you can see from the screenshot from my Garmin Forerunner 301 the laps measured a little bit more but I'm ignoring those distances as I know that the track is 400 meter long.

For a complete report, tracked by my Garmin, you can check out all details (including heartbeat, charts, maps, etc ...) on MotionBased.

My first year as a Triathlete in figures

Thomas — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 17:03:00 GMT

Alright this was my first year as a triathlete. Somewhere at the end of 2007 I decided to start training for a triathlon for 2008. I started of in the beginning of this year and everything unfolded all fine until I hit my first injury at the end of January which stopped me from running for 16 weeks, followed by 4 weeks of very low mileage. This obviously had a great influence on my first triathlon. I had to cancel my first planned triathlon one and competed in the Nokia Windsor Triathlon. The original plan was to finish an olympic distance. I was able to practice my cycling and swimming during my injury.

For me it is very important to keep track of every single workout. This stimulates me enormously and I can see my progress in Excel charts. Nice to see them going up and not South. I realize I'm just a beginner and I cannot compete with many more dedicated people out there in terms of the number of training hours put in on a weekly basis. I have a quiet demanding job and need to travel daily almost 4 hours.

I have swam this year about 62K, including pool and lake swims and I spend in total for 29 hours in the water. I haven't been swimming since my last race. I ran 385K in 39 hours, this doesn't include the treadmill running. I was on the road with my bike for 1800K or 69 hours, this doesn't include the hours lately on my Turbo Trainer. I tend to run 3 times a week for short distances, with a maximum of 27K during one week. I cycle on average 3 times a week and I cycled, as a maximum, for 131K during one week.

That was it for this year, I will still go out a few times for a run and make use of my new Turbo Trainer and I need to start swimming again very urgently.

I'm still in doubt what races and when I will be doing in 2009, but one thing is for sure I have enjoyed my first year as a Sprint Triathlete and I'm looking forward to complete my first Olympic distance in 2009.

Best of luck to all of you if you decide, just like me last year, to start competing in triathlons.

Many thanks to all the people sending me e-mails and leaving feedback.

Happy festive season!

Follow my triathlon training activities (or lack off) on Twitter

Thomas — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 20:54:00 GMT

I'm trying out Twitter at the moment, looks like great fun for both author and reader. I'm already hooked.

If you want to follow me, you can do so on: http://www.twitter.com/traintriathlon or just look on the left sidebar and you know what I'm doing.