Choosing Races For 2015 and Winter Training

Choosing Races For 2014

After doing 2 super sprint races in 2013 and decided to move up to sprint distance for 2014 and do 2 or 3 of races. The first race I entered was the Blenheim Palace Sprint in mid-June. As this race sells out very quickly it had to be entered and paid for the week it became available. I picked it as I knew the course from the 2013 super sprint and wanted to challenge myself on it doing the longer distance. I had hoped to do the Keswick triathlon in mid-May as well. However this event was moved to the weekend after Blenheim because of problems with water temperatures in previous years. I decided not to enter as I wasn’t ready for 2 races in 8 days (and am still not). I had discounted doing the Brownlee Tri in 2014 as if it was at the same venue it would only be super sprint again. I was happy to find out the 2014 edition of the race had been moved to Harewood house near Leeds and would be offering both sprint and super sprint races and would be in September again. I entered it as my second race for 2014. I know 2 sprint races is not many but I am still learning and don’t have that much time for training. My 2014 race calendar was set so now I needed to sort my winter training.

 

Winter Swim Training

After I had done my second race of 2014 it was suggested to me by my swimming coach I might want to change the sessions I was attending and come to his 2 triathlon based swim fit’s on Wednesday and Friday mornings at 6:30am. I wasn’t sure as I had seen some of these guys swimming and they are good. He put my fears to rest telling me he wanted to start a third lane in the sessions for slower swimmers. I decided I would give it a go. The earlier start was a shock to the system. I can’t just roll out of bed into the car and to the pool as I have to walk the dog each morning (he will only go with me, silly mutt). It took a few weeks to get used to getting up early and being organised but I got there. The swimming is hard but over the winter I improved no end. I was joined in the slower lane be another few newer swimmers and we made a good training group. These swimfit’s are all year round so I have continued with them. As I was now paying full price for swimfit sessions at £5:50 each I joined the gym at the pool as swimfit counts as a class included in the membership. My membership is £30 a month so if I swim twice a week I am saving money.

 

Winter Bike Training

This was an issue. I am not confident on the bike when it is frosty and cold. I don’t wet and a bit cold but when it we get ice and snow it’s not my thing. As the weather got worse I stopped going out on the bike. When it did start getting better I was out of the habit and found it hard to get back into it. I did do some work on a static bike at the gym but it’s not the same. What I should have done was get a turbo trainer so I could just cycle indoors when it was cold. One is high on my shopping list for this winter.

 

Winter Run Training

As detailed in my previous post I started doing parkrun as part of my winter run training and it really helped me start enjoying my running. I built on parkrun base by running another 1 or 2 times a week dependant on the weather. I made sure that I did at least 1 longer run each week and if I could fit a second run in I did intervals. When I say a longer run I mean over sprint or parkrun distance so a least 6.5km if not more. The aim was to use Parkrun to boost speed and use the longer run to boost stamina. Each interval run I managed wouldn’t harm either. I also used the treadmills at the gym when the weather was really bad but prefer running outside if I can.

 

Where Did I Get To

Over the winter 2013/14 both my swimming and running improved. I have become faster and stronger on both. My cycling however didn’t improve, if anything if went backwards. As I came towards May 2014 I was much fitter than I was 12 months earlier and I had lost nearly 2 stone since starting training 18 months earlier. I was ready for the my first sprint triathlon.

Learning To Love Running : The Joy Of Parkrun

I Need To Do More!

If you have read any of my previous blogs you will know that when I started doing triathlons last year my least favourite discipline was running. I have always struggled with running. Five years ago in the rugby off season (when I was still playing) I trained for and did a 10km race to keep fit over the summer. I hated every minute of and stuck to the gym in the off season after that until I finished playing rugby. After doing my second triathlon and struggling with the flat and easy 2.5km run I knew I to do something about my running. The 1^st thing I looked at was joining a Triathlon club. The 2 nearest Triathlon clubs to me are Wakefield and Holmfirth Harriers neither is that close. When I looked at their training times and locations I knew with my work and rugby coaching commitments I would struggle to get to any training sessions. Next came running clubs, there are a few in Huddersfield and some of the them are close by but again training sessions clashed with work and rugby commitments. While searching on google I came across the Parkrun website www.Parkrun.org.uk and that they had a weekly 5km run in Huddersfield’s Greenhead park www.parkrun.org.uk/huddersfield/ I was intrigued. While I was thinking about it I noticed on Twitter my daughters best friend was doing Parkrun. The next time I saw I asked her about it and she said how brilliant it was and that I should defiantly have a go, so I did.

The Joy Of Parkrun

Parkrun is free weekly timed 5km run in your local park every Saturday at 9am run by volunteers. It’s easy to register for, fill in your details on the website, print your barcodes and you are ready to go! I turned up for my first run on Saturday October 12^th last year. We were given a 1^st time runners briefing to explain the route and how the finish worked and then it was up to the start with 400 odd other parkrunners. On my 1^st run I struggled my way round the 1 small lap and 2 big laps of Huddersfield’s beautiful Victorian Greenhead park. I finished in a time of 27:12 which I was more than happy with. My first thought when I received the text message with my time was I can go faster than that. I was hooked. Over the winter I did get faster and slower (depending on conditions) and continue to do so. The community at Huddersfield parkrun is fantastic they turn up in all weathers and always cheer all the runners on from the super-fast 15 minute 5km runners to those take nearer an hour when starting their journey to better fitness and health. You will see everyone you could possibly imagine at a parkrun, parents running pushing babies round in prams, older kids flying past you, older people running when they can and volunteering when they can’t, dog owners running with their pet (or is that the other way around) and multiple generations of families enjoying running together and a bit of friendly competition. The cherry on the top about Huddersfield park run is that there is almost always a Parkrun photographer on hand to take pictures of the event which are post on Facebook and Flicker. This is where all of the photos in this post come from.

Summer Parkrun at Huddersfield's Greenhead Park

Parkrun Tourism

Another great thing about Parkrun is that you aren’t restricted to just running in your local park your Parkrun barcode is valid at any Parkrun anywhere in the world. There are over 250 Parkruns each Saturday in the UK . Also there are Parkruns across the globe is Australia, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, South Africa and the USA. All you need is your barcode, running gear and the location of the run nearest to where you are. There are many people who will have done Parkruns in many of the different countries where it’s available I as of yet I am not one of them. Apart from Huddersfield I have visited 3 other UK Parkruns. Workington in Cumbria, the nearest run to where my Mum lives (a nice flat run down an old railway line and back). Dewsbury, my 2^nd nearest run which I did when Huddersfield was off because of an event in the park (lovely little park with a killer hill you have to do 4 times!). Lastly Stockon-on-Tees which is near where my wife auntie lives (a different run along one side of the river Tees and back down the other). In the future and much to my wife annoyance Parkrun locations will be taken into account when planning weekends away and holidays.   

A Chilly Winter Parkrun Also At Huddersfield's Greenhead Park

Where Is My Running Now

Parkrun has inspired my running and I now look forward to my runs. I am not running great distances but I am running 2 or 3 times a week. I am continuing to push the distances I am running when out by myself and am entering an 8 mile race near a mate house in Wales early next year. I hope to build myself up to a half marathon at some point while continuing with Triathlons. After that who knows. Also I am pushing the speed I am running at using Parkrun to judge it as it’s the same course each week (that is when I run at Huddersfield). So in the last 12 months I have gone from 27:12 on 12/10/13 to my current personal best set on 13/09/14 of 24:39. I will never be the fastest runner but I now enjoy my running and am continuing to improve. When I do a triathlon has gone from feeling awful and getting passed to feeling good and passing people.

2nd Race : On The Day

Course map for Brownlee Brother 2013 Super Sprint Triathlon

Setting Up

I arrived at Fountains abbey and parked up. 1st came a  15 minute walk from the car park to registration. After registering there were volunteers on hand to help stick the free race tattoos in the right places. It was then another 5 minute walk down to the lake and transition area. I found the rack for my wave with no problems and setup my bike and gear for the bike and run. As transition was in an open area there was not may objects to remind me where my bike was. As was early I set myself up next to one of the A frames in the racking and counted the number it was from the end of the racking. I got my wetsuit on and headed down to the start to wait for my wave to start. 

Alistair & Jonny Brownlee watching waves at the swim start

 Swim - 400m

The 400m swim was in a small pond, the water quality was ok but there was loads of weed in it. We had the standard briefing  and got in to wait for the start. When I got in I was able to walk all the way to the start line which I wasn’t expecting. The hooter went and we were off. Most of the swimmers in my wave were faster than me which I wasn’t expecting. However the swim was odd as for most of it the pond was very shallow. I could touch the bottom with my hands while swimming. Also I am sure one of the guys behind me walked  for a good part of the swim. When I finished the swim I wasn’t happy with how it went. It felt like it had been slow, when I got my time I would find out I was over 30 second faster than my 1^st race.

Swim time  9:40

Transition 1

The run up to transition 1 didn’t cause slow me down. The grass was slippery in bear feet. I found my bike, got my helmet and shoes on with no problems. It was a bit of a trot out to the mount line and I need to practice pushing my bike from the saddle.

Transition 1 time 3:42

Bike - 10km

The bike course was 2 laps most of which was on estate roads with a short section on an open B road. It was mainly a flat ride with a couple small hill. It went well on my new bike I was passing other riders but also being passed by people on some very expensive looking bikes. I remember passing a very fat man on a mountain bike on the first lap and passing him again my second lap (I did see him finish so well done to him). I was nearly wiped out by another ride at the end of my first lap as he headed back to transition. Apart from that little problem the bike leg was brilliant and over all too quickly.

Bike time 26:08  

Transition 2

There was the same short run back into transition after the bike. This is where I made my biggest mistake of the day. I came down the wrong side of the racking with my bike. I couldn’t get my bike into the racking couldn’t reach my running gear on the other side of it either. I had to take the bike and myself round the other side and start again. Once I got to the correct side of the rack for how I had set my kit up I was fine. Helmet & bike shoes off (not confident to for shoes on/off while they are attached to the bike) and trainers on.

Transition 2 time 1:52

Run course went through the ruins of Fountains Abbey

 

Run - 2.5km

It was only a short run around the far side of the pond where the swim had been, up a small hill, through the ruins of the abbey and onto the finish. For almost the whole run I felt awful and there was nothing left in my legs. After feeling so good on the bike it was the total opposite on the run. I was determined not to walk or stop so just kept going. As I came through the Abbey ruins I could see my wife cheering me on but couldn’t hear her over the rest of the crowd who were fantastic. I crossed the line and collected my medal and addias goody bag (worth about £30 including the bag & it’s contents). The run had not been as slow as I thought it had been but at that point I knew I needed to run more and learn to enjoy my running more.

Run time 14:45 

 

Alistair Brownlee finishing the course and playing to the crowd

Afterwards

After the race I found my wife. She suggested I get changed and put some deodorant on. One of the portable toilets made a good changing room as with most events none were provided. As we sat near the finish having lunch we were able to watch the Brownlee brother finish after doing the same course as I had just done. They were a lot quicker than I had been.  We then packed up, my wife headed straight to the car and I headed back to transition for my gear. I soon realised it was a trek from the finish to transition and another trek from transition to the carpark. It had been a spectacular setting for a triathlon but not the most practical. I enjoyed the race and the day and it confirmed I would be back for more in 2014! 

Total Time

Leg	Time
Swim	9:40
Transition 1	3:42
Bike	26.08
Transition 2	1:52
Run	14:45
Total	56:07

2nd Race : Weekend Away (A great B&B, Cracking weather and rejecting a cooked breakfast)

A smashing little Bed & Breakfast

As I said in my last post my second ever triathlon would be the Brownlee Super Sprint Triathlon at Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire just over an hour away from home. Myself and the wife hadn’t been on holiday so decided to make a long weekend of it and started looking for a nearby bed and breakfast where we could stay for a few nights around the race. We found St Georges court in High Grantley only a few miles from the location of the race www.stgeorgescourt.co.uk .  The B&B is based around a family run working farm and the rooms are all fantastically converted farm buildings. They were happy to store my bike for me so it would be safe overnight. There youngest two daughters were going to be volunteering at the race with the local girl guides. Even though the Alistair and Jonny regularly trained on the local road the fact they had chosen the area for the first triathlon they were putting their name to had created good buzz in the local community.

 

St Georges Court Bed & Breakfast

Cracking Weather

At the best of times a British summer weather can be hit and miss. With this race being in late September I was expecting a big miss on the weather front. The week before the race was awful mainly consisting of strong winds and heavy rain. While I was looking forwards to the race I wasn’t looking forwards to the conditions. As the day of the race got closer the weather got better. I was also worried about my wife who was acting as my support crew for the race. It wouldn’t go down well if she was soaking wet and cold while watching me. On the day the weather did it’s part and was smashing. If the weather had been as it was a week earlier then it would have been a nightmare. There were step downhill paths to negotiate on the way to registration that would have been very muddy. The uphill grass run from swim to transition would have been impossible and the grass transition area would have been a mess. As it turned out everything was fine.

Rejecting A Cooked Breakfast

St Georges Court where we stayed offered a full breakfast and the owner was more than happy to make whatever we wanted. As my wave was 11am I had to turn down a full cooked breakfast and asked for a bowl of porridge. The cook appeared to take this personally and kept trying to give just a small bacon or sausage sandwich. I had to promise I would make up for it the next morning and have an extra-large breakfast with everything on it (and I did). It was still no fun sitting opposite the wife as she stuffed down bacon and eggs as stuck with plain porridge. It was of course the right thing to do and I felt great by the time the start of the race came round.