Hot pants

Every once in a while I see a new product that I think may be worth a shot, perhaps a bit gimmicky, but worth it all the same. And so it is that today I took delivery of my pair of Zaggora hotpants. Not short buttock revealing shorts, but a miracle cure for saggy cellulite ridden buttocks, so they claim. Apparently the shorts burn more energy/ fat by making a targeted area hotter whilst exercising. I'm a bit of a cynic, but anything to get rid of my wobbles.

The packaging looks a bit cheap and I'm not sure what I was expecting, but out popped a pair of neoprene shorts. I had in my head that these would be some miracle fabric with micro-encapsulated fat blasters, but just neoprene - such a simple concept. I wore them for the entire afternoon and then cycled for an hour wearing them and I have to say, they make for incredibly damp under garments. Though I didn't feel like my skin was melting I was extremely clammy when I finally removed them. I'm not entirely convinced yet, but let's see what happens after a nice long run in them. If nothing else they are really controlling and flattering and I felt like they were holding everything in place, and on offer for £30, which is what you'd pay for any pair of neoprene shorts......Watch this space.

Body Dysmorphia and me

Like most women I know I have always thought I'm a bit fat - no, I don't mean morbidly obese fat, but, you know, podgy fat. I'm not sure when this started, but I know that from as soon as I hit puberty and started getting curves I have never liked a photo of myself, especially not in a swimsuit. From time to time there was the odd photo of me, pre-teenage years, gangly legged, in jodhpurs, that I have poured over and wondered when it started to go so wrong? I am one of the tallest members of my family, my two sisters are a bit shorter than me and I'm sure they'll think I'm an idiot for these thoughts, but this is just the way I've felt for a really long time.

I started this blog to inspire me when training and competing in Ironman triathlons, but this is something I think subconsciously I have gotten into to lose or maintain weight. I have never been anorexic or bullimic, I love and enjoy food too much for that and I really hate being sick. I definately don't worry about it enough to do anything stupid, but still, family photos, holiday snaps, the lot, all get scrutinised. I don't like my arms, legs, bum, face, nothing. However, even at my peak of physical fitness I still look in the mirror with disgust, why do I still have that belly fat and why can I never firm up my butt?
Training for an Ironman is great - I found it a superb way to be at one with my body - I had cravings for things like tuna, eggs and lentils - never chocolate, then the week before I suddenly craved red meat in abundance. I knew exactly what my body needed to eat to recover and rebuild yet I would still be disappointed with the image looking back at me.
When I compete I still think I'm fat - then when it's all over I let go and gradually get a bit fatter every winter, why is this?

As a fashion designer I have always been subjected to images of catwalk and cover models, the ideal that for most women is completely unachievable. Perhaps somewhere it stuck - in my head this is the norm, this is what everyone looks like except for me. Except they don't!
I used to go to sixth form with a girl who at one point was hailed as the next British super model - in reality she was ridiculously tall and thin and really quite plain looking - I was insanely jealous of her modelling career and was probably quite mean about her - I just didn't understand. Whenever I see someone who is too thin it makes me quite uncomfortable, but I feel the same when I see fat people.
I would love to blame it all on the airbrushed images of tiny bronzed models, however, there's an emerging trend and acceptance in the fashion industry for plus size models. I was once asked to interview for a design role for a plus sized fashion company, I turned it down because I didn't want to be encouraging people to think it's okay to be fat, I would rather be encouraging them to get fit and healthy. I look at plus size models (who in reality are only a size 16) and think they look gross, but then I have friends who are size 14, but with good legs and tiny waists, they look great. So what's it going to be?

A friend described to me this condition and I think it perfectly explains what goes on in my head. I think it's my fear of getting fat, that finding myself disgusting is my control mechanism to never let go. I exercise more than the national average, I eat mostly healthily, almost always prepare meals from scratch. I rarely drink alcohol and fizzy drinks. My only real weakness is chocolate, therefore I proclaim that for me, chocolate is the work of the devil!!

I am now 36yrs old, still without children - I have always put this off as I wanted to have the perfect body first - flat stomach and a great bum would be enough, but I have never thought I had achieved such a thing. I know it all comes down to genetics and these days more jobs than ever are mostly sedentary, leading to a massive growth in obesity. I'm not obese and my husband is forever telling me off when I say I'm fat. It shouldn't matter, as long as he finds me attractive who cares? I do!! Deep down I know I'm fit and healthy and that's all that matters, people are starving around the world and I'm worried about some cellulite, I mean, come on Cat!

Inferno triathlon - a lesson learnt

Now I have a theory and this is it, I'm going to put it out there and I'm sorry if I cause any disgruntlement and if I am factually incorrect, but I think that anyone, and I mean ANYONE can complete an Ironman, you have to be fit and put in the hours of training, for sure, but training for a few months and being mentally strong can help you to achieve anything in life and an Ironman is no different.

I have been mulling over the last few months and my recent Inferno triathlon DNF and this is where I got to - I was fit enough for an Ironman, but not for Inferno.

To be fair, I haven't been in a great place mentally these past few months - starting with being away from home and James with a new bunch of people, moving house away from friends and family to be near my job, only to discover 3 weeks later that I was being forced to quit. Coinciding with my husband, James starting work away from home, running up huge debts and being chased by banks, the tax man, and others for money I simply don't have........ Add to that the power of one's own insecurities, narrowing one's options, consequently avoiding answering the telephone and having no time or money to socialise, of course I'm going to be feeling a little small.

I was going through the motions of training and physically I should have been at my peak - having not worked for the last 4 months there was no excuse, except that I simply hadn't anticipated just how HUGE everything was going to be. Dorset was SO a bad idea! There are no hills and I had no-one to train with, so no bench marks for mental boosts.

Back to my initial point - in an Ironman, you have 17hrs in which to complete your race from start to finish and there are only 3 disciplines, totalling 226km - I have seen some proper OAP's finish in IM Austria. And so when I completed IM Wales, I did it, but not in any fast time, 15hrs 46 - only just shy of the cut off. For me IM Wales was about proving that I could and enjoying the journey, training with friends and being able to talk about this amazing thing that I was doing.
I am not fast, but I really needed to be faster. Inferno triathlon gives you, the competitor, just 14hrs in which to cover 150km - much shorter in comparison. Admittedly there are not that many Brits who give this race a go, but the ones who do foolishly pretty much all say the same - this race, with it's introduction of the MTB section should be a bit of fun in a year off from IM. How very wrong!!!

IM races are all pretty much achievable in terms of terrain. On the bike leg there are always some hills, sure, but they are thoughtfully considered to allow all but the weakest of climbers to get through the lot and be into transition in time to start the run.  And they certainly don't start within the first km out of transition. Inferno does just that - infact, within that first km the climb begins and doesn't let up until almost 20km in, brutal!! The route continues through, I have to say, the most stunning vistas I have seen in a race, EVER, into a long sweeping descent, through Interlaken and then to an undulating road next to lake Breinzsee, turning off at Innertkirchen again to climb for another 18km, then a short (9km, with treacherous road surfaces, oncoming tourist bus and single width road) descent into Grindelwald. At this point the MTB begins with a steady 15km climb (the final section unrideable) to the top of Kleine Scheidegg, then the same distance again descent to Stechelberg. If this hasn't exhausted you, the run (loosely titled) will. Summed up by another Brit competitor Louise Hanley, it is essentially 'a 15mile walk up a mountain', which most walkers would take an entire day over, except, assuming you've just made the cut off, you have just 4hrs in which to do so. In an IM race the competitor has approx. 7hrs in which to run/jog/walk a relatively undulating and normally flat marathon. Peanuts!!!

I knew all of this before entering into this race, so why I was surprised that it was way too tough I am not sure - I guess I just hadn't done the maths! Theoretically speaking in training I have been achieving the following:
1: Swimming - 1hr10 for 3.1km (in a pool), so finishing the swim just over 1hr was within my sights..... the one thing I DID perform in on the day with a 1.06 by my watch to the swim exit)
2: Cycling - I have ridden 100km + regularly during training and depending on the heat and intensity have been covering this distance in anywhere between 5-6hrs, in IM Wales I rode the hilly 180kms in 8hrs so was reckoning on the ride taking me 4.5hrs.
3: MTB - I haven't done much this year, but thought that with half of the course being descent it would be easy to grab back some time and get in under the 3hrs allowed.
4: Running - I am shit at running at the best of times, but was feeling quite strong and had upped my tempo in training. I had thought that once I'd bagged the rest there would be no way I was missing out on the chance to summit a mountain.

All in I thought it would take me about 13-14hrs to complete the race and I honestly thought I could do this without really believing in myself. So, what could possibly go wrong?

I was very aware that my training ground was made up of mere mounds compared to the climbs I was about to endure, so when we hit the Alps I ramped up the training to include some cols, lake swims and alpine runs, probably a bit late in the day and exhausting. 

Race day for me really started the day we entered Switzerland and the Inferno playground, it was going to be a mental challenge. On the drive in I kept trying to spot Schilthorn and muttering 'oh shit, oh shit'! The mountains are HUGE! A spot of lunch on lake Thunersee confirmed for me that the lake also was HUGE, then on to riding up Grosse Scheidegg (which I had foolishly assumed was THE climb in the race).
At my request, James kicked me out at the foot of the climb and diligently kept a distance as I ground my way up.
The first part ranges anywhere from 7-20% and is a steady climb, but as I always discover, cold legs and long climbs are not a friend of mine. I was hating it and felt really weak (probably due to the rides earlier in the week) and invented in my head that I was lacking in oxygen, so flagged down James, foolishly took the inhaler I keep for severe emergencies (which never happen!), got light headed and had a ridiculous panic attack (which I am also not prone to) and had to sit down for several minutes to calm down. James talked me back onto my bike and handed me my ipod, which worked a treat and I continued the climb until it flattened off at the halfway point - 3 days before race day, no point in overdoing it (!?) We were unable to drive over the rest of the mountain as there is no vehicular access, except the tourist bus, so had to be happy with what we had recced.

Mike and Rosie joined us that evening in the campsite, so we had a fairly relaxed next day of bike tinkering and kit washing and prep, before packing all away and depositing at the various transitions and race briefing on the Friday afternoon. Transition drop offs were from Midday onwards with race briefing in Murren (only reached on foot or by cablecar) at 6pm, where we were told all manner of things, in German, but as none of us really sprechen ze deutsch, we were left a little perplexed. At the end a chap came on and briefly summarised in English and German what we already had read in our race packs, so again, none the wiser as to what had been said. There was a huge traffic jam on the hour long drive back to base camp, so we arrived already late for dinner and bed, bad start.

The delightful couple in the tent next to us who sat about all day and night drinking and smoking outside their tent did the same thing that night, cue James going out in his pants at midnight and politely asking them to shut up - so of course they carried on. Then the child in the tent the other side had a nightmare and starting screaming. This and the fact that my ridiculous brain wouldn't switch off meant that I lay and thought about sleep for a few hours until the 4.30am alarm sounded. Now, this is the bit I HATE about endurance events - not only are you doing the toughest races, but you have to get up at some ungodly hour to consume enough food to get you going and digest it in time!

So to the swim start - a beautiful morning full of the pungent aroma of adrenaline. The water temp seemed surprisingly warm compared to the morning air, so when the balloons went up and we started the swim I just settled in and went for it, found my space and swam. And swam, and swam! Inferno swim is a linear swim - unlike Ironman which is usually a lapped swim with a small run in the middle. After the initial arms and legs flying everywhere bunfight I found myself strangely all alone in the middle - most people had either gone left with the current, or right, to hug the buoys. I just swam the direct route, but it did mean that I didn't see anyone for ages and the world and the lake seemed HUGE, with every stroke I got colder and colder and could feel my core temperature dropping. I have this annoying swim cough, which I think happens because I am too inept to not use a nose clip swimming front crawl, snot builds up behind the clip and makes me cough, underwater, which recently has been making me retch. I have no idea if I actually puked, but it was pretty grim for a few minutes.
 There was a small bunch about 100m infront of me, so I tried to keep them in sight and keep going. Eventually we amassed back together before the swim exit and I overtook the annoying red capped guy who had been swimming backwards and forwards across me earlier on (at least that's who I like to think it was!) I looked down at my watch, 1.06, woohoo!! just what I wanted to achieve, which foolishly sent me on an immense high. I ran into transition shouting to James that the water was effing cold and wondering if it was worthwhile donning arm warmers and gilet to start off with. I changed without falling over, grabbed my bike and ran out of transition.

Out onto the bike, a tiny ascent out onto the main road, then a flattish section to pump the legs, then bang, the climb began. I was expecting that this part of the race was through the foothills and that it would be challenging, but not unachievable. I settled in and started to climb, but having not put on any extra clothing I really couldn't warm up, my hands were freezing, I started seeing halos in front of my eyes and I generally felt shit. Trying to drink energy drink was not working as I still had a lump in my throat so everything tasted grim, but I carried on and allowed myself the odd breather, where everyone passing was asking something, but I don't know what, I really need to learn German! We carried on up, up, up, looking down on the mass of Lake Thunersee, James and Rosie passed in the car, then got turned back and had to go the other way. I thought we would see them at Beatenberg, so settled down to the fact that I could have a big whinge there and James would sort me out.
After a little while I started to get a pain in my right ribcage, which obviously I assumed was a cracked rib and again, panicked. The pain was getting worse when I was climbing, which was all we would be doing all day, so I got off and pushed for a small section, which seemed to ease the pain. Everytime I got back on the pain came back, and was stiffening up my neck and shoulder, so I succumbed to the temptation to push up the road and so it happened that even more people (infact, almost the entire field) passed me, and I was again, on my own, wallowing in self pity! At no point did I think to take my ibuprofen which was sitting in my bento box on my top tube, all I needed was to sit down for five, eat and drink, chill the hell out and take the damn pain killers - hence why I think I am stupid!
Eventually a chap called Thomas who spoke English asked if I was okay, said he'd had a horrible swim and was finished, we rode together for a few kms, it was nice to have someone to talk to and to forget about the pain. We rode through the national park, then through some awesome tunnels and eventually got to Beatenberg (after passing the depressing sight of the 10km mark at the side of the road!) There was no sign of my support at the feed station and I just crumbled - Thomas delivered me to the medics and I waved him off, then I tried to tell them what was up, they shrugged and pointed to the medicine box and handed me an ice pack. My worst decision of the previous day, I wasn't carrying my phone, I knew that all I needed was for James to tell me off for being such a girl about it and to crack on through, but I didn't know how to ask for a phone. I ate some food, took some pain killers and decided to carry on and hope to see James passing through Interlaken.
After Beatenberg the road continues to climb for a few more kms before the descent, which did ease the pain a touch, but by this time I was just going through the pedal strokes with no real hope left. I was talking myself out of the race.
When I didn't see the guys at Interlaken I started to wonder if I'd see them at all - what if Mike was really quick and James just assumed I'd be fine and that I'd catch up? What if I missed them at Meiringen? I knew that once there I wouldn't see them until transition and that made me really unhappy. I can't believe I'm admitting to this, but I had a proper teenage angst bawling session.... riding along crying my eyes out then pretending to smile when I passed the race marshals. Eventually I just stopped, sat on a bench and gave in to the impending DNF and blubbed some more. One more rider passed me, then a few minutes later the broom wagon, then a race motorbike, neither one stopping to check I was okay (in full race kit with numbers on my jersey, bike and helmet!) That was it, game over, I cried some more!
A friendly elderly couple saw me and asked if I would like some coffee, I indicated in my best hand signals that I needed to use the phone, so the lady took me inside and showed me where it was and pottered off to make my coffee. No answer from James so I left some garbled message about meeting him outside the big hotel in Interlaken, then went to find the coffee. We sat and chatted for a while, she, Barbara, told me all about (I think) teaching the neighbour's children and baking them bread, she said the lake was cold and she'd pray for it to be warmer for next year for me, then I thanked them and set off for Interlaken feeling slightly less upset. It wasn't panning out to be quite the day I was expecting anymore.
I reached the hotel and waited for a while for James, but realised they'd have to re-route to find me, so decided to try another call - a friendly paraglide instructor let me use his phone, but again no reply, so I left a message to say I was heading towards Grindelwald, which I did. By now the pain killers had set in and I was royally peed off with my stupidity, so to punish myself I rode almost all the way on angry fumes until the friendly parp of our car horn and James and Rosie appeared. James' first words were 'well you can't be feeling that bad as you've just ridden all the way up here, we were expecting to find you ages ago'! How reassuring!!! I had just DNF'd because I forgot to take some sodding painkillers earlier on!!
I didn't really want to talk about it, so we set about supporting Mike and handing in my race chip - which hilariously made it look like I was doing great, cue concerned messages from friends and family tracking us to check that he was okay!!  Mike was fine, but struggling a bit with a dodgy knee and I think he was a bit annoyed to see I'd given up so easily after talking him into this race 3 weeks after IM Zurich, oops!
The bonus of the DNF is that I got to eat actual proper food, hot chocolate and cake, the poop part is that I had to watch all the people who had passed me earlier on, still racing and going strong. Even Thomas who had said he was finished after the swim, sped up, overtook loads of people, including Mike and finished at the top of Schilthorn, just goes to show, the swim is not the important part, being a strong cyclist is way more valuable.
Mike finished the MTB, went out on the run (which if you remember isn't really!) and got as far as Murren in just over 12hrs, by which time they were stopping people from going further up the mountain. He did amazingly and I really feel like I let the side down. It all comes down to race day and being ready in body and mind.

I still think I was Ironfit and am trying to find some races to do to prove it, if only to myself. We had a great few days after the race where I climbed some more cols and felt really strong on the bike, if still a little bruised when inhaling deeply, but nothing to justify being quite such a drama queen.

I am cross at myself for making such a complete balls up, but have decided that the best course of action is to conquer this race once and for all. Immediately afterwards Rosie and I thought that this race would require 3 attempts. Once to massively underestimate it and mess up (DNF), second attempt to finish, just, and third attempt to nail it and not get screwed up by altitude sickness!!
I think training to be Ironfit is not enough, I need to train like a pro. Personal training and regular massages and core strengthening classes, eating religiously and not drinking, training in the terrain and acclimatising are all key to getting quicker and stronger, so that's exactly what I intend to do. It does mean another year of being Mrs boring, but hopefully having friends around will help. I am drawing up an action plan which uses my current fitness level as my base fitness and racing more to improve speed and recovery..... so here's where you come in.....

If you've enjoyed reading about this fail please pass on to other people to read - triathletes, cyclists, swimmers, runners, anyone who can relate to this. If you know of any good races which will help feel free to let me know about them, better still, any entries going spare (I am still trying to do this on a shoestring!) Anyone who may want to follow my story, the more people I have to impress the harder it is to cop out when it gets tough, and maybe if you could offer some advice? All comments welcome....
Thanks for reading this, it WILL make me stronger.

#festive500 This week has been really hard work. We started with a little warm up on Sunday riding to John and Gill's for Sunday roast, a short 15km with a long lunch break in the middle, plus a blowy walk on the beach.
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/162090234

Christmas eve we started in earnest, a 50km ride with Mike from Totnes to Dartmouth via Paignton, Kingswear and a short ferry crossing. A quick pasty lunch, then on back via the coast to Torcross, where there was a huge flood to cross.
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/162089190

On Christmas day we rode to Totnes for our Crimbo with the family. 23.5km
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/162098060 

On Boxing day James and I spent the evening riding a lovely 50km route across into the Ermington valley, then up to South Brent, before bombing back down towards Modbury and home
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/162102180

Thursday was a very easy day - we met with Mike, Rosie, Maz, Rem and the boys at Haldon forest for a mountainbike ride - this was amazing fun, but we barely covered any real distance, approx 26km. The trails were everything the should be, wet, wild and bumpy.

On Friday, Mike, Rosie, James and I headed out to Dartmoor to cover some more miles. The weather was about as bad as you can get, gale force winds, rain, wet roads and 20% climbs all made for a ride to remember. I pushed up a few of the hills after a while, my legs were turning to jelly and I was struggling to keep my front wheel on the road. On the descents the wind was so strong we still had to pedal to keep going, it really was something else. We had a long lunch stop in Princetwon while we waited for the weather to clear, it didn't, but this was an opportunity to dry off and warm up before heading back out. The drop down off the moor had very poor visibilty, but then we dropped down into the valleys through the rain and the ride became much nicer. the total distance covered was 115km, phew!!!
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/161989732

Today, Jimbo and I headed back into the Ermington valley for an easy 100km - looking at the stats afterwards it had a lot more climbing than we thought - a total of 2382ft, phew!!
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/162083936

Tomorrow, there's more to cover, my calculations say that we have 1 remaining 120km, can't wait to get my roundel for all this hard work!

Rapha Festive 500 challenge, Christmas eve to New Years eve 2012

Well, here it is, I've been putting off committing to a physical challenge all year and now I've found it - James and I are going to take part in the Rapha Festive 500 challenge.
Earlier this year I went a bit quiet on my blog and since then have been super busy - too busy even to share what I've been up to. I ended up working for Rapha on a top secret project for 5 months. This meant that finally I would have a stint of career-time in London, where I met some amazing and inspirational people, and also that I got to ride my bike to work every single day without being considered odd! I absolutely loved every minute, even the rush hour argey bargey with London taxis and buses, and my bike handling and road confidence shot sky high.
Unfortunately my beloved and well mileaged Specialized Tricross sport became a casualty of London when some oik decided to prematurely end our relationship. This was incredibly hard to come to terms with as I was suddenly destined to tunnel underground with all the other miserable looking commuters day after day to get to work. My contract came to an end, so I decided to treat myself to a much swankier bike, and so I took delivery of my amazing Ridley Orion, much more of a bike than I actually needed for such a commute, but perfect for eating up the holiday season miles.
Tomorrow we start - 500kms of currently pretty flooded Devon roads, hopefully the rain will stay away, but if not, no big deal, I love riding in the rain and while everyone else is locked up indoors stuffing their faces we'll be out in the elements having fun, fun, fun!
http://www.rapha.cc/festive-500

My favourite riding products....

http://www.2xushop.co.uk/triathlon/nhrange/wt2059b.html

These were my absolute fave until I ripped them on some velcro, very upset ;-( but now I've pinched James' new pair of compression shorts (below), they are super comfy and I love them. The pad is not too big (always a grumble of mine - I hate big pads, like wearing a nappy!!) and they are long enough in the leg too, brilliant!!
http://www.2xu.com/product/750/Compression-Cycle-Short/280

Gloves: I really want a pair of these, they look so cool!
http://www.rapha.cc/grand-tour-gloves

I love this new running jersey from Salomon - I have an older version and it rocks........ coveting time!!

http://www.salomon.com/uk/product/exo-s-lab-ss-zip-tech-tee-m.html
and of course, I can't wait to get one of these from Rapha - so beautiful!!

http://www.rapha.cc/womens-lightweight-jersey-1

I also quite want one of these for my more feminine days:

http://www.ananichoola.co.uk/syr/blue-cafe-jersey-dress

 Oh, and last but not least, I really LOVE this bag:

http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/products/d-lux-laptop-messenger-racingstripe

June already!!!

Hey, so I've not been on for a while, been a little busy and totally stuck in with my new job at Rapha, which is a brilliant challenge.

Just completed the Wales Sportive (72m) with my bro and his mates this weekend and ramping up to some bigger challenges to come. I am hoping to be able to compete at the Bearded man  3 day event: http://blackmountains3day.co.uk ,  but can't afford to enter yet, gutted, as this is where James and I got married back in 2008 - maybe it' one for our 5yr anniversary instead!! James is talking about me joining him for Cape Epic 2013, http://www.cape-epic.com, very keen to give this a go as it'll be a real grrrrrrr event! and I'm still really keen to go 24hr solo mtb at some point..... just need to pick the right race to 'break me in' so to speak.

I am loving riding my bike around London right now, it's a real adrenaline boost before a day in the office and it's helping my MTB skills alot too, I'm finding that I'm not putting my foot down so much and can get through anything, plus, having nothing technical to ride here makes me more daring when we cycle at weekends, I'll drop down almost anything now - I've finally grown some nuts (not sure on that one!!) My lovely hand-me-down Felt is after a much needed strip down, clean up and re-spray, which got me daydreaming about the new Focus Raven 29er 1.0 - it's beautiful: http://www.focus-bikes.com/int/en/bikes/bikes-2012/category/mtb-hardtail-11/subcategory/29r/model/raven-29r-10.html , well, I can dream can't I?

Also since Ironman I've got my eye on a Specialized Ruby Elite, also a beautiful bike: http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/bikes/road/ruby/rubyelitecompact , top it all off with some Rapha kit (I wish!) and I'll be the most pro female rider I know!! http://www.rapha.cc/womens-grand-tour-gloves

I'm planning with James for once we've both finished our stints in London, to have a cycling adventure - a coastal ride, eg; fly into Seville and out of Barcelona and ride between, or maybe fly to Nice and out of Pisa perhaps........ just really need some freewheeling cycling time with my hubby to loo forward to soon ;-)

2012 challenge

Happy New Year (think I can still say that!) After a very long break it is time to get back on the ball, or my bike  and decide what my challenge is going to be for 2012, this, for me, seems to be the hardest thing about a race!! I know that I LOVED doing Ironman distance, so going long is definately for me. Trouble is, there are so many races out there that I don't know what to do, so here is my bucket list.. please help me decide....

http://www.thebrutal.co.uk/single_iron.html

http://blackmountains3day.co.uk/

http://www.cxtri.com/

http://www.inferno.ch/index.php?page=270


More suggestions to come, and welcomed    ;-)

Woohoo, I made it - I am an Iron(wo)man!!

RegistrationTeam RNLI 2011, grr!!
Late change to the swim course at the race briefing
Starting kit - done
All the clothing I would require!!
Bike kit laid out....
Food, food, compeed and gloves - special needs bag, ready!!
Run kit laid out..Walking my steed into transition
All manner of plastic bagging was attempted before we were told to remove them - the wind was threatening to blow the bikes away!!
Transition at 6am, as my race number was 100 my bike was racked at the front, near the pros - helped to boost my PMA
Getting ready for race start
Stretching before the swim, feeling calm as ever!!The ever patient support of Mrs H, who I think secretly loved seeing lots of very fit men in semi naked conditions and tight lycra on the day!!The sun coming up as we swam
And ran
Then swam some more
Exiting the swim in 1hr12mins - smashing my PB by 39minsThe run up the zig zag slope to trainers (again, near the bottom with the pros!) then through town to transition.Out on the bike at Freshwater west - a lovely, but very windy ride through the sand dunes
Coming up into Narberth and halfway - feeling really strong still and getting a real buzz from the crowds!Wiseman's bridge the first time round - not that hard yet and still buzzing.....Coming back through Tenby to head out to Narberth again, starting to feel the hills a bit now, but plenty of time to complete the second lap - about 42 miles left to go..

Wiseman's bridge take 2 - I actually stopped and had a little cry this time because I was starting to get a bit overwhelmed - realisation had sunk in that I had plenty of time and would make it well within cut off time!
Tenby take 2, coming in to Transition - with over an hour left to finish the ride, tears over and ready to runOut on the first run lap... Nearly finished lap 1 and starting to feel it - I had some very dark moments after this on lap 2....then the sun set and the whole thing brightened up...
Filling my face before starting lap 3
Feeling much more chipper now with only 1 lap left to go..
Out of town on the last leg - very dark now, but with James' company I have something to keep me going..
A very soggy feed station at the farthest point, these marshals had the hardest job keeping us all going through the dark, wind and rain - excellent morale boost!!
How appropriate!!
Heading towards the finish at last!
Crossing the line of my first ever IronmanAbsolutely stoked, and soaked!!


Up at 5am is never a good thing, especially when you've had hardly any sleep due to nerves and even more so when you're about to spend your entire waking hours exercising! The alarm went off to break the drift between sleep and awake and the noise of the wind and waves outside.
Reluctantly I got up and got dressed, then ate my porridge lovingly prepared by Jimbo. Last minute checks and extra lube applied before jumping in the car with James and Lynora and setting off for Tenby.
I was dropped by transition and was on my own - checking over the bike etc and wondering what I would do if there was anything wrong. The silence was broken every so often by the bang of an over-inflated tyre. I was feeling very lucky that my bike hadn't blown too far along the racking in the storm overnight, I wasn't 100% sure, but all would have to be okay!
I met James outside transition to walk down to the swim start - eek!! All kinds of thoughts going round and round in my head, what if the jellyfish had come into the harbour? What if the waves were huge? What if I didn't make the swim in time? The sea didn't look too choppy, but there was certainly a strong wave at the swim get in and out. James came with me right up to the start line, I nearly cried with anticipation of the day ahead - pain, pain, cut off times and more pain!
I grabbed James' arm and said "I am ready" - I needed to do this mentally to convince myself!
The hooter went off and I made my way to the water, pulled down my goggles, put on my nose clip, made it past the wave and started swimming.

It's a very weird sensation, to get into the sea with 1300 other people and start swimming to the same point - sooner or later even with different speeds, you're going to meet a lot of people at a bottle neck - I knew this was to come so I just settled in and swam. Lots of people had run to the far end of the beach nearer to the buoy to swim straight out - but I figured that this is meant to be a 3.8km swim, so that is what I would do - I wouldn't need my arm strength too much for the rest of the day, so I thought I'd conserve my legs and make my swim as pure as possible.
I have the most ridiculous sense of humour that strikes at all the wrong times - for some reason I found it highly amusing swimming alongside all these very serious looking athletes, and from time to time they were sticking to my feet, which I took as a compliment - I also managed to do the same when I caught some other people up for a bit. At the first buoy the obligatory bun fight had commenced - everyone wanting to take the shortest line and trying to sight for the next buoy. I'm not sure why everyone feels the need to suddenly breaststroke at this point as it really leads to a bit of a mosh - I got someone's heel to my chest as I ploughed through, someone pushed me down, so I returned the favour - I figured that no-one's very bothered and knows what they're in for, but I hope I didn't upset anyone!!
Unfortunately at this buoy despite my best efforts I did get carried along with a huge bunch who were taking a much wider line to the next buoy - the swell was really big, so when I looked up to sight I was either on top of the wave (with feet and hands in the air and body in the sea!?) or way down in the trough looking at the feet sticking out of the wave in front as it bore down on me. When I could sight I realised I had ended up between the line heading way out to the left, and the people taking the tight line straight to the buoy - so I had plenty of space, tried to curb the seasickness from setting in, got my head down and swam. I was finding this swim really quite okay. I passed lots of people breastroking as they started to tire, smiled at everyone I passed and was laughing to myself in my head at the hilarity of the waves, everyone in neoprene, my fearlessness - it was really happening and I was loving it.
I have a pretty short but strong swim stroke and have been trying to practise extending as much as possible for months now, but I actually found that the shorter approach was much more beneficial for this swim, as the extend was wasted with your arm sticking out of the waves! I got to the turn around buoy, headed for shore, somehow managed to avoid the wave bowling me out of the water and ran up the beach for round 2. I saw Maz and waved, I think she was surprised to see me, over the timing mat, waved to James and Lynora who were equally surprised to see me so soon, jumped back in and smash - the wave caught me and tumbled me over - thank God for nose clips!! I had looked at my watch crossing the timing mat and seen 33mins - I was on fire! Undeterred by the pesky wave I headed out on lap 2.
The sea had changed now and made for a much choppier second lap - the swell was still as big, but the wind had picked up, so for most of the swim I was at the top of the swell where the waves rebounded and there were plenty of white peaks appearing. Being on top of the swell made it much clearer to sight - I stuck to the straighter, more direct line, however, this line was somewhat more precarious - threading our way between the buoy, a rib and a fishing boat, all rocking from side to side and changing direction every so often. I took a deep breath - stuck to the middle line and made it through - from here it was straight ahead to the last buoy and back to shore. I started kicking my legs after turning round the buoy as I remembered we'd have the run up the slope to T1, and passed a handful of people - nice! Got to shore, again, avoided the wave - over the timing mat - 1hr 12 on my watch - a whole 39mins faster than my previous PB and in much more epic conditions. As I started up the slope I spotted Mike, Dave, Ruby and Lauren in their flouro 'Team Ironcat' tees - got a massive cheer from them - got to my trainer bag (again, close to the pros!) put them on and ran up the slope past all the people struggling to find their shoes. I saw James and Lynora again as I got to the top of the slope and threw my goggles and cap to them - I think they were still surprised to see me so soon - and carried on running through town. As we ran along the outside of the old castle walls I saw Remy, then saw Maz and Leo just before getting into T1.

Now I have to say, normally in my transition experience, I am pretty speedy, wasting as little time as possible in T1 and T2, but for some reason I managed to spend 14mins here, the adrenaline had really kicked in and I was shaking alot trying to work out in my head how long I had to do the ride, all the things I shouldn't have been worrying about!!! I saw Rose, said hello, then my competitive streak got the better of me so I headed out while she was still drying her feet or something! Time for a quick wee then wheel the bike out and off onto the ride.

The start to the bike leg is pretty flat, and about the only flat bit of the entire course - on the road to Pembroke castle, past Lydstep, Manorbier, Lamphey etc, before turning at Pembroke out to Freshwater west - as far west as you can go. The start to the ride was cracking, passing slower people pacing themselves and being passed by speedy looking riders with deep rims or disc wheels. The support through the villages was just amazing, all generations of families were outside their houses ringing cow bells and cheering us all on, fabulous, and exactly what I had been hoping for. Turning West at Pembroke we were now into the headwind and it became a little bit tougher, but the sun had come out and the day was shaping up to be spectacular. Just before Fresh West I heard a familiar voice, Rose had caught up with me, damn it, but nice to have a chat. The waves at Fresh West were huge and I found myself thinking about bellyboarding the perfect turquoise blue Atlantic waves. All the way to Handle I was with Rose, leap frogging and chatting away, then a quick short climb out of the valley up to the top where I knew we'd have a tailwind. At this point I figured this would be the best place to bash out some fast miles, so I put my head down, cranked it up and flew along back into Pembroke. I was doing a really cracking pace now and felt really strong, I felt like I could go faster, but having done this ride before I knew what lay ahead and didn't want to smash it too much just yet.
Somewhere in T1 I had knocked the bike computer, so it was showing in km/hr instead of mph - I think it was showing about 30km/hr - my watch had also got knocked, so had stopped timing me - I had realised heading out of Tenby, but only after spending ??? in T1 and about 2miles on the bike..... Luckily James had set the countdown to cut off time, so at least I knew how long I had to finish the bike!
As we reached the turn off towards the second part of the figure of eight at Lamphey there was a feed station - I refilled, topped up, had some banana and headed out - I now wasn't sure if Rose had passed me, but I didn't care any more, I was having fun! This section of road is probably the most rewarding - you pass a stunning castle at Carew where there were big crowds again. There are some big climbs on this section, but you get the pay off with some cracking fast descents, I reached up to 60km/hr on a couple and was grinning with the thrill! I had been riding with a chap for a long time and had been leap frogging again, every time I overtook him he would say "Is someone pushing you along?" and " Are you sure this is your first Ironman?" I replied that determination and 30weeks of hard training was pushing me on and racing for a charity meant that there was no way I wasn't finishing! I am sure it was just a bit of banter, but several people were commenting on my strong riding, so I was chuffed to bits and on such a high it was unreal - I was amazed at how good I felt. I was sticking to my fuelling intervals with the odd extra banana and seemed to have plenty in the tank. At Templeton (the bit that had been shut on sportive day meaning we had a detour) there was another climb, then a fast downhill before another climb up to Narberth. As I climbed into Templeton a couple of girls sat on a wall started cheering for me - number 100, as I drew closer they said that my husband had said to say hello - this was great - infact, all up the hill people were cheering for me, James had come through the village on his way to see me at Narberth and had told them to cheer for me. One final climb to halfway point, up into Narberth, which I didn't find as hard today - towards the top I spotted James and again took him by surprise - he ran alongside me for a bit to chat and said I was doing amazingly - which again spurred me on more. He was going to try to get down to Wiseman's bridge to see me there, I had a quick refuel again, then started out the second half. I had made the first 57miles in 3hrs 38mins, this would normally take me 4.5 - 5hrs I think, in an average speed of 15.63 mph!

The second leg is the hardest as you start to get a bit tired now - I had lost my commerades when I stopped for some water and was now with a new bunch - still quite a good bunch all the same. From Narberth you have an undulating ride towards the coast, drop down to Wiseman's bridge, climb out of there, drop down to the next beach, with a climb out, drop down to Saundersfoot and, you guessed it, another climb! I really enjoyed all the descents on this bit, to start with, out in the stix with the odd family picnicking at their gate to cheer us on, I was really pushing hard on the downhills. At Wiseman's bridge there was no sign of James - I figured it had taken him much longer to get there as, off the main course it's a pretty convoluted route, so I started the climb..........On Helen's bike I didn't have a granny ring, so this was just a little harder on the 16% climb, but it wasn't going to beat me - I made it eventually and carried on. At Saundersfoot I heard my name over the loudspeakers as I began the climb and suddenly people were screaming in my face, it was a little intimidating, but they were just being enthusiastic. I wasn't going to stop with this huge crowd cheering, so I dug deep and made it to the top, somehow! Now, just a fast drop down the dual carriageway into Tenby left to go. At this point the race leader passed me heading onto their second lap - it had taken them a while to catch up!! At the roundabout in Tenby I saw my amazing support crew in their flouro tees again, making alot of noise and jumping about excitedly (that was just Lynora!) I uttered some words whilst shaking my head, something like "f*$k me, that was hard"! then headed back out on the second lap and towards the special needs station.
At special needs I shoved as much food in my face as possible, salty cashews and chocolate and nuts all crammed in, refilled my pockets with gels and bars and carried on. I was starting to feel a little weary now, but just had to keep my head down and not think about the gravity of the race - I had bashed out a cracking ride so far and had made up so much time, so that kept me going. Back round to Lamphey, then onto the roads back to Narberth. This section still was pretty fast, but the hills were starting to get to me. Templeton was not as easy, nor was Narberth, and then I saw no James and started to get a bit blue. I was busting for a wee, but had told myself it could wait for T2, jumping over a hedge would waste too much valuable time, but at Narberth I afforded myself a toilet stop as I figured by now I was probably carrying an extra few kgs in fluid! I had a bit of a stretch as my back was starting to ache a bit, then wheeled out the bike and carried on again. I was starting to slow, and had completed that 41mile loop in 3hr 12mins, with wee stop, special needs and stretching. Final 14 miles to go back into Tenby, but the second attack of the bitch climbs also lay ahead. I was still pushing hard on the descents, but felt a little touch of dizziness coming on, which is the tale tale sign of dehydration - I had been drinking plenty and having electrolytes, but the sun was actually really hot, so I must have sweated alot.

At Wiseman's bridge this time I heard James cheering me on, he was outside the pub and I called him over and pulled up to a stop and promptly burst into tears. I just kept saying "it's so hard, oh my god, it's too hard" to which James replied "well of course it is hun, what did you expect, it's not easy otherwise everyone would be doing it"!! I don't know what it was, I think I had been getting blue because I hadn't seen James for ages and the picnickers had started clearing away, so I was getting a little lonely and tired, I was also a bit overwhelmed by how well I had done so far and still on come down after the most epic swim ever - my emotions caught me up and got the better of me when I started slowing up.
James completely put me back in the real world by pointing out that I had had an amazing race so far and still had an hour and a half to do a 15minute ride - which had the desired effect and perked me up no end. Unfortunately because I had all this time I let myself down somewhat - I got as far a I wanted up the hill out of Wiseman's bridge, then defiantly dismounted and walked up until it levelled off again. Some others had started to do so now too, so I wasn't the only one, but looking back I wish I hadn't, as I promptly did the same at the first part of Saundersfoot. Luckily no-one I knew was out there or I think I would die of embarrassment! All I had to do now was get back into Tenby, transition, then run a marathon! I got to the roundabout and the small climb to T2 to see again Mrs H jumping and screaming wildly, telling me I was amazing (which is nice to hear!) Mike, Dave Ruby and Lauren were cheering me on too! I spun up the climb, made it into T2 and grabbed my bag for my first sit down of the day! A lovely lady came over and tipped out my bag for me to find all the bits I needed - fresh socks, my trainers, jacket, gels etc - this transition was much quicker and I was up and out, panting for breath and running.....!

Running has never been my strongest sport - to be honest, the reason I prefer off road running is because there are obstacles that mean you often have to walk or hop around them, adjusting your speed and rhythm all the time, plus there's more to look at - rivers to cross and watch for fish, amazing sunsets and views etc. Running up and down the road out of Tenby therefore was always going to be bloody hard. My legs felt better than ever heading on to the run and I got more cheers from the IronCat support crew as I headed out of town. The trouble with this run was that it was flipping boring! 4 laps up and down the dual carriageway passing everyone else and high hedges most of the way so nothing to distract your mind. It was uphill all the way to New Hedges, then up another little section to the timing mat, then back down into town. To be fair, the loop around and up and down all the streets was okay, around the old ramparts and past the lifeboat station where the lifeguards were cheering and drinking tea (I should have asked for a cuppa!) As the sun was setting there was a great view from by the band stand, with a short sharp climb that the wind was blowing me up every time. It was just really long, I had finished the bike with over an hour left till cut off, so had 7hrs to do the marathon in, but I think mentally after the first lap I realised it would take a long time and I was starting to feel it already. I had smashed the swim and bike and left nothing in the tank - didn't seem much point as you don't want to know you could have gone harder if you don't make the cut off!

With the constant impact from the road running my knees had started to seize up and were really painful - I had hoped they would ease, but they just stayed the same. At the end of the first lap James couldn't find any paracetamol in the special needs bag - I had already taken my full quota of Ibuprofen on the ride to ease my shoulder, so wasn't allowed any more of that! He promised to get me some for the end of lap 2, but that made for a very painful second lap. Mentally as well as physically - I had realised how hard this would be, and was starting to get blue again and was missing the banter and James! Rose overtook me on this lap - she was trying to spur me on, but frankly, I didn't care - I had achieved all I wanted to so far and had never done a marathon before, so had nothing to beat except for the cut off - I was going to walk to preserve my knackered knees! I was also really dizzy, so started taking on as many tuc biscuits and pepsi as I could to boost my salt and sugar levels - I think my energy drink had helped on the ride, but I hadn't thought about this on the run, doh! I very slowly ran some of the downhill with tears rolling down my cheeks - damn this was an emotional as well as physical rollercoaster! I think I told one marshal that I was fine, but wanted my Mum, which earned me a quick reassuring hug!! I was seriously considering throwing the towel in, I just couldn't be bothered. I had kept myself 'up' for most of the day and was beyond caring!
As I came back in I saw James, Maz, Rem, Leo and Benjie - Leo was fab, cheering me on and they were all really encouraging and perked me up heaps - Mike, Lauren, Dave and Ruby were at the special needs bit now and handed me some paracetamol, followed by a huge handful of salty cashews etc - I also sat down for a few seconds to compeed my now blistered toe, then carried on.
Lap 3 was much better - James had made his way out to the run and locked up his bike so that he could run with me - it was now getting dark and starting to drizzle. We chatted with some other lovely people all the way up the hill alternating between running and walking, then back down again, it seemed much easier now as the pain in my knees was starting to ease and it was nicer to have some company. I was actually very thankful to have trained all summer in Devon - it has a very similar climate to Wales and the muggy summer with rainy showers meant that I didn't mind the weather one bit, I felt sorry for all the people seasoned to fast hot Ironman races who were getting beaten by the cold. I left James at the t junction again and popped back down to do the bit around the town, before heading out on my last lap. Dave and Rubes had found a great little spot where we'd pass several times. Lynora ran with me for a bit too thanking me for allowing her the opportunity to spend time oggling fit men!
Out on the last lap at long last and finally I felt good again - I ran heaps and kept going with James chatting to me along the route - it was really peeing it down now and I actually enjoyed the rain and the dark - there were lots of other people on their 2nd or 3rd laps who looked really drained and weary and I clapped for them and said "well done, keep going" I was on the homeward straight and really looking forward to finishing. As I ran through the town we were joined by Maz - the others had gone to the finish - we all ran along together and finally I rounded the last few corners (not before being buffeted back by the wind) and into the finishing chute. It was really horrible weather now, so there wasn't quite the crowd I had been expecting, but it was still great, some people had stuck it out and held out their hands for a long chain of high fives. As I crossed the line I heard the race Director say that special line - "well done, you are an Ironman" I didn't want to correct him - I am a woman after all - sexist, ha ha!!

All in I finished in 15hrs 43mins and found myself wondering what all the fuss was about - a bit of an instant comedown, but once the dark moments had passed I really had expected it to be harder - the pain of the day instantly forgotten! I was awarded my medal and ushered through to the massage area (where there was a long queue) and into the finishers tent. I had been expecting some huge area with hot tubs and an all you can eat buffet with everything you could ever imagine eating - but the reality was that it was a windy tent full of exhausted and drenched looking people shivering in space blankets! The food was being served from a mobile unit outside, fish and chips or soup. I went with fish and chips and instantly regretted it - but couldn't be bothered going back for soup. A kindly chap called Clifford who I got chatting to offered to share his tea with me as we shared stories of the day. I got my finisher's tee shirt and some crisps and headed out to join my fan club in the next tent.

My original target finishing time all along that I would have been happy with was to finish in 16hours - during training and pre-race sessions (olympic and 70.3) it was looking like I may be able to get closer to 15hrs - so I finished somewhere in the middle. Without the emotional factor I could have gone much faster, but I am more than happy with my result. My swim time was always predicted to be about 1hr 40 - so I am most pleased with that. I knew that if I really applied myself I could knock a fair whack off the bike, and I did, so I am very happy with that. I think it would have been good to set myself a target for the marathon, but not wishing to risk injury I hadn't even attempted this distance before. If I were at school still on my report card it would say 'could have done better', but I think I'll let me off this time!
This was THE single hardest race I have ever done, though I have made more of a fuss about much shorter races in the past and been in more pain afterwards. My training totally paid off as did my mental state of mind on the day - I had been through nerves, anxiety etc plus all my fears before race day, so come the morning I just wanted to jump straight in, feet first! I never thought I'd enjoy such a hard swim - but it was my toughest, but most rewarding ever, I actually think I like sea swimming now!
Would I do it again? Without a shadow of a doubt - yes!! Now where can I get me that tattoo?!!

Aargh, week 30 is here!!!!

Testing the new machine before making modifications and adjustments....
My 'borrowed' new black stealth bomber bike!!
Collecting my award for 'most stylish' at WBBC on Sunday

Well, there's no going back now - here it is, full taper this week, lots of sleep and constant anxiety!!

I have to fess up, I missed my last training sessions of last week for the World Belly boarding champs, and can't help feeling a bit guilty for this - there's no way to catch up with them now and not risk injury, so I have come up with a cunning plan! Do more bike and jig around to suit how I feel this week, luxury!!

Tuesday - I got up and had a great swim session, with my new clear Speedo speed sockets - so that I can see on race day!! I got in and swam - the water was cold, which is always a good sign - so much easier to swim than when it's warm! It still took me well over an hour - more like 1.5hrs to swim 3.5km, but I am okay with it now!!
The race swim is 2 loops of 1.2miles, with a short beach run inbetween - 300m out, 900m along the beach, 650m diagonally back in - an odd one, but I'm sure it'll be fine - as James pointed out, it's shorter stints against the current, so I won't be as tired (on my big swim it was knackering because the return was a relentless 1.2miles against the current). I didn't feel that tired after my pool swim, which is a good sign!

Tuesday pm was meant to be a 45min run, but at this point there's every chance I won't make it to the cut off - so I decided it's more worthwhile riding my bicycle, and as I have a new ride for the race I needed to take it for a spin to get used to it.
I took the 45min route as I call it, but in reality the first time in the dry it took me 49.59 and I felt like I was having a heart attack, I really pushed it hard! - on Tuesday in the wet and mega windy it took me 51.34 and I didn't feel strained at all, infact, nearly effortless! I was made up, a couple of minutes slower, but in rubbish conditions so no opportunity to go full tilt downhill with the buffeting wind and slippy roads.

I did this route again lastnight as part of my quick change session. It was getting dark by the time I headed out - so with lights on it seemed like a different ride! I pushed a bit harder, but still couldn't go full tilt on the downhills as on the first one I was silhouetted by the car following me.... by the second one, AG hill it was much darker and really drizzley - there was a fox in the middle of the road that I only saw at the last minute, so had to avoid him, then got a big fly in my eye, so could only see out of 1 eye for the rest of the ride. Still, I managed to get a PB on this route - 48.45 - which has pushed my average speed up to 13.8mph - much better than my usual 11.8 and makes my target 8.5hr ride achievable, woohoo!!!
The 3.5kgs lost by upgrading to Helen's lovely bike is such a difference - I have to remember this come race day and get some positive arrogance - I am going to NAIL IT!!!!!

It was really closed in and shitty by the time I got to run - only 15mins lastnight, so I did laps up and down the street outside - there's a small incline and meant I didn't have to worry about anything else - I managed 2 laps, which isn't much, but what is important is that I felt strong - a slight twinge in my knee, but overall great.

I a trying to fight the start of a cold and lots of niggling aches and pains this week, I think it's just my body going through everything it'll get on Sunday and winding up, or down, for the big day.

Anyway, more pics - Included me winning award for 'Most Stylish' at the World Belly board champs, as this is PMA for me - if I go out and enjoy it, it'll be a breeze!

Finally September is here......

Friday evening swimming back in towards the rapidly disappearing beach
Sunset swimming on Thursday


The water is really clear, which means unfortunately my technique faults are pretty easy to spot, too late now but I'll try to perfect before next Sunday!!

and the countdown begins!!! Week 29 this week, ooh err, the race is scarily close now!!
I had my last long ride at the end of week 27 and have been tapering down from then and I need it, I am exhausted!! (said with a huge sigh and general over acted to much effect!) I used to say this alot, but surprisingly have stopped saying it so much these days, except to describe how I am feeling when I genuinely am!!

This week so far has been gloriously easy (ish!), I started the week with a full 140length (3.5km) pool swim, working on technique, which took me 1.5hrs - not THAT bad for winding down and taking it slow, plus faffing and the obligatory social element! I had a quick 45 minute run in the evening, which meant a quick loop of the valley, I slept alot on Tuesday evening!
Wednesday saw my penultimate quick change session - 45mins on the bike ( I completed a fantastic fast loop and felt pretty dizzy when I finished with an exhilarating descent down AG hill) followed by a 15min run, easy, easy, love it!!

Thursday I had a pretty full on day work - wise, spent all day driving to Cornwall for a meeting, then back again, phew! I hadn't drunk nearly enough water and felt a bit weird, so training didn't happen until about 7pm. We popped down to Bigbury to swim, there was a glorious sunset, the conditions were perfect, all except one thing - James couldn't join me due to his stitch in lip impediment. I put on my suit and headed for the shore, determined to swim to the buoy, only about 450m off shore when the tide is in - got about 100metres out, decided I didn't like it and swam back in - a wimpy 6minute swim, absoluteley pointless!! I still had my hour ride to fit in, so jogged back up to the carpark and stripped off my suit, donned my helmet, socks and shoes, turned my bike lights on, and jumped on. Straight into heart attack hill - it's not normally as bad, but I was cold and wet and feeling a little crook. James has swapped my wheels for Don's lighter weight wheels, and the bike felt great, as I pedaled up the hill a lady running down the hill said 'you're brave cycling' I was thinking about this the whole way home, which, apart from the first hill, was undulating, with some good downhills, wondering what made me brave - I actually enjoy road cycling more than ever now, even when it hurts!

Today (Friday) has been much more sedate, I was at home today, so had plenty of sleep catch up and chill whilst working time, then at 3.30 I left for my 1hr run to meet James at the office. I took a much longer route than originally planned and pushed myself a bit harder than normal and made my route in a fraction over an hour (because I called James to see if he had left the office yet!), very chuffed! We then hopped in the car and headed back down to Bigbury for swim attempt number 2, I am not counting thursday's attempt as a swim session! It was lovely, there was a slight swell and I did feel a little seasick for a bit, but James came with me on an SUP, so I had some company at least.
When we were getting in some chaps stopped us on the beach to ask how far the buoys are - when I told them I was about to swim to them a long conversation developed about doing Ironman Wales and swimming etc..... they paid me mucho respect and were watching as I headed out. The tide was a bit lower today, so was only about 350ish meters to the first buoy, then from this one I swam along the line of buoys and back again, all in probably about 1.5km, so not a huge swim, but I am mentally in wind down mode and it's really hard to keep up the swims and not the rest!! When I was rinsing my suit in the shower afterwards I got chatting to a lady about swimming and my training and again, was paid mucho respect for my efforts - I could get used to this ;-)

Tomorrow I will do a full 3.5km swim, but it really depends on the wind and whether I swim at Torcross of Bigbury!!
I will also have my last long ride, which this week is all of 2hrs, followed by another hour run. Then Sunday I have another hour ride and hour run, then I'll be on to week 30!!!!!
Carb loading has begun in earnest, I am enjoying eating loads of the right foods, come next Sunday I will be fatter than ever and will promptly lose it all in one day!