The Long Ride

Most endurance triathletes have at least one session on their weekly training schedule marked with the words “Long Ride”.

Some people really look forward to them but for others it looms on the horizon like a big, black cloud.

I fall into either camp depending on mainly the weather forecast. The weekend just past was awful, after studying the forecast it became apparent that there just wasn’t going to be a good time to ride so the best thing to do was to get out of bed first thing on Saturday and just get it done.

I’ll be honest here, I’m a fair-weather cyclist. I thoroughly enjoy my cycling when the sun is shining, the wind is light and it’s not freezing. A negative change to any of those variables really dents my enthusiasm towards hitting the roads.

So, with that in mind here’s a brief breakdown of a typical ride for me in rubbish conditions:

Pre-Ride

Decide on the best route for the conditions: I was scheduled to ride for 4 hours. I have a number of routes available to me but I decided the wisest move on a day such as that would be an out-and-back. This would remove the temptation to abort the ride if the conditions turned really bad and I was only a few miles from home.

Decide on best gear for the conditions: It was cold and foggy, so it was full winter gear with reflective waterproof jacket and the bike lit up.

Decide on best nutrition for the conditions: It wasn’t going to be a fast ride as I was only allowed to use two gears. I selected 53x17 and 39x17 as my gears of choice as I knew there would be a lot of climbs on this ride. As such, gels weren’t necessary – I went for 1 Powerbar cut in half and 10 cubes of M&S flapjack at 80cals per cube. 12 bits of food, enough for 1 bit every 20 minutes for 4 hours mimicking the feeding intervals I use during races. 2x750ml of water is usually enough to get me through a long winter ride.

Start of ride

The first thing I noticed was the cold on my face, the only part of me not covered by some item of clothing. Experience told me this would be fine once my face had gone numb so I ignored it.

The first 15 minutes were spent warming the legs up with a high cadence using the 39x17 gear. At this point I was feeling ever so smug at getting my arse out of the door so early.

An hour in

Visibility was very bad and hard to see anything through glasses that were soaked with mist. Off they came, although visibility wasn't improved much as the fog was getting thicker the further into the countryside I got. Still feeling ok and enjoying being in the countryside while the roads were still quiet. Still feeling quite smug.

Halfway

Despite losing the feeling in my feet, I reached the turnaround point at 2 hours still in pretty good spirits. I still felt strong and the fog had cleared. I made an internal cheer as a hint of sunshine broke through the mist!!

10 minutes later

It was pissing down with rain. Very cold rain. I was still a very long way from home and I knew it was important to keep working hard. Again, experience from previous winters told me that if I let my HR drop too much my core temperature would drop and that can sometimes mean real trouble.

I switched my Garmin 910XT (strapped to my handlebars) over to the display with the Heart Rate and off the display with the speed. Going slower than you usually go can sometimes be dispiriting so best not have that particular fact staring me in the face. Keeping the HR up was the most important factor at the time.

The smug feeling was quickly being replaced by feeling slightly daft.

The last hour

Now getting very wet, sealskin lined gloves are great retainers for water. Core temperature was OK, but my sense of wellbeing was being sorely tested with each vehicle that sent spray over me – especially the bastard trucks. I also prayed that Santa would be very cruel to the brat who laughed at me through the back window of one of the passing cars. My sense of humour had well and truly deserted me at this point.

The end

I threw my bike in the garage, I’d deal with unloading and stacking it properly later. I didn’t even take my Garmin off it as I wasn’t particularly interested in shitty stats of a shitty ride at that moment in time.

The best bit

I stripped off next to the washing machine (into which all my gear went). I then made a huge mug of hot chocolate and climbed back into bed where I stayed until my feet thawed out.

Guess what, the smug feeling returned at getting that ride completed in those conditions to the point where I took to Facebook and Twitter to gloat.

What next?

Same again this weekend!

TTFN!

Motivation

mo·ti·va·tion/ˌmōtəˈvāSHən/

Noun:

.        1. The reason or reasons one has for  acting or behaving in a particular way.            2. The general desire or willingness of someone to do something.

Motivation is a funny thing. It’s a word that just about everybody will apply to their self on a daily basis. We all have this is common. However, where a lot of us differ is our motivating factors.

A motivating factor for one person may be positively de-motivating for the next. Learning and accepting what your motivating factors are and using them can go a long way in achieving one’s goals.

Fear of failure is definitely the biggest of my motivating factors. This is why I usually go public with my goals and expectations of my races. In my mind, if I don’t meet these goals then I’ve failed and everyone knows I’ve failed. This gets me out training and also keeps me going in races when all I really want to do is stop.

A friend made a comment last week whilst congratulating a mate of his who broke 1:30 for a half marathon, as it being something that both him and I had tried and failed at. He knew this because I did my usual Facebook/Twitter/Blog trick of telling everyone I knew (and a lot I didn’t know) that I was gunning for a sub 1:30 in the MK Half Marathon in March and I missed it by about a minute. I had failed and everyone knew I had. I was just about over it (but not quite!) when he unknowingly re-opened the wounds. Lol

So, what did I do that evening? I had a scheduled 1:30 run to do anyway so I made sure I ran more than 21.1km whilst doing it, I actually passed the HM distance in 1:28:56. It was on a treadmill so doesn’t really count as a half-marathon PB but it made me feel better. J

Of course the silliness of proving that point knackered my legs for 2 days but that didn’t matter.

Hence the major reason and title of this blog. Yes, I’m probably bigging myself up a bit with my lofty aims and I know there will be those who read my blog who will think I’m being over-confident and will be willing me to fall flat on my face. I’ve had a couple of emails from friends who think my target times are beyond my ability, but all that does is invoke another motivating factor: “wanting to prove people wrong”.

Another major motivating factor for me is competition. I usually get involved in “Smackdowns” with friends around my ability doing these races. The way it works is you can either issue a Smackdown or accept a Smackdown off a rival. Once a Smackdown pact has been made, all manner of trash-talk prior to and during a race is expected. It’s all good natured fun but it does add spice and having people to chase or knowing that others are chasing you really does push you harder during the race. 

Let’s face it, I’ll need all the motivation I can get over the next few months to get myself into the shape I need to be in standing (or treading water to be more accurate) on the start line. Once the gun goes, I shouldn’t need any more motivation than the carrot that’s waiting for me at the finish line.

TTFN!!

Weighty Issues

For Halloween my daughter dressed up as me 15 years ago!

Along with swimming, weight has been an enigma of mine for as long as I can remember.

I was a chubby kid and a stocky teenager, it was in my early 20s that I accepted that to manage my weight I had to exercise more that the average person.

I was playing football at quite a serious level at the time which required squad training sessions every Tuesday and Thursday evening and a match on Sunday. For most of the lads, this was ample – but not for me. To maintain my playing weight I needed to hit the gym every lunch hour and run on the evenings when there wasn’t training.  And I watched what I ate and drank.

My playing weight was 71kgs which I maintained up until around the age of 29-30 when babies and work demoted football to more of a hobby than anything serious. The gym stopped and the running became less frequent and the weight piled on. I peaked around 94kgs following a stint when I was based in Texas where they do EVERYTHING bigger – especially meals!

After moving back to the UK I wanted to start playing football again, so I picked up the training and cut down on the food and managed to get down around 79-80kgs. I found I could maintain this weight but only if I trained at least 4 days a week. If the training stopped for whatever reason, the weight piled on. I could pack up 4kgs in a week’s holiday very easily.

Clearly the problem was food. Exercise (and a lot of it) managed to keep my weight in check, but even when I was trim I felt there was a fat person bursting to get out.

Constantly striving to be 71kgs again had become my raison d'être. I’ve come close a few times and sabotaged myself with binging and laziness. It was almost as though attaining that goal would leave me without purpose.

I’ve been accused (rightly) of being obsessed about my weight. Rach often says we place way too much emphasis and importance on food, also correct. Rach, being a Hypnotherapist, works with a lot of very overweight people who have similar issues to what I’ve had.

Yes, “had” – past tense. I think we’ve cracked the Yo-Yo weight gain-loss cycle and have finally got it all under control without even having to think about it too much anymore.

The secret was to make eating correctly part of everyday life and “normal”. As simple and obvious as that.

About a year ago we adopted the Paleo for Athletes philosophy. 90% of the time we eat pure Paleo with specific post-exercise windows for taking on extra protein and carb. Bread, pasta, rice  and potatoes dramatically disappeared from our diets and were replaced with meat, vegetables and fruit. Like any new diet, it took a while to adjust but now it’s completely natural.

Now that it’s the norm, we no longer beat ourselves up for the odd non-Paleo meal if we’re out for dinner or even if we just fancy something different. It’s not like smoking where one careless smoke can break someone’s resolve completely. We actually enjoy the food we eat and being on this diet isn’t viewed as a hardship at all.

As a result of eating this way, I very quickly dropped back to around 73-74kgs and have stayed there all year. My race weight for 2012 was 71-72kgs which was achieved naturally by the increased training hours with no real changes required to the diet. The weight loss was all fat and I think I’ve actually gained muscle mass during this time.

Unlike other fad diets, Paleo eating makes sense. Just eat what we as humans were intended to eat. Except sprouts. And fish. Yuk.

So, less weight and more muscle mass – the holy grail as far as going faster on the bike and running are concerned. I’m certain this was the main factor in my setting PBs this year and I’m hopefully of continuing this trend into 2013.

I’ve still got a bit of padding to lose and the aim will be to drop to 69-70kgs whilst maintaining or maybe even gaining muscle mass in the legs. Every little bit helps!!

TTFN!

Not a Real Ironman

“You’re not a real Ironman unless you’ve gone under 12 hours”

I’ve heard and read this on numerous occasions over the years. I did my first IM in 2007 at Sherbourne. Afterwards I spent 3 hours in the medical tent being attended to by a nurse and two masseurs who tried valiantly to stop every muscle in both legs from locking up in cramp if I so much as moved my big toe. I missed seeing my wife finish her first IM because of this and then later she had to drive me back to the hotel (after I was driven off the Sherbourne Castle grounds in an ambulance). I managed half a glass of the bottle of celebratory champagne we’d arranged to be waiting in our room for when we got back before crashing completely. It was 4 days before I could walk properly again. I left it all on the course that day and definitely considered myself an Ironman. My finishing time was 12:30. When someone made that comment above on the TriTalk Forum it hurt more than I cared to admit.

But it spurred me on. Next time I would go under 12 hours.

That next time was IM Austria in 2008. I thought I was in shape for a sub-11:30 but finished in 11:46. I don’t think I overestimated my own abilities when aiming for the 11:30 milestone, I’m sure I was physically fit enough but nutrition issues let me down that day, something I didn’t pay enough attention to on the bike really cost me on the run. Lesson learned. But at least this time I was there to see Rach finish an Ironman which was fantastic and was also progress!

My next Iron Distance race was the Forestman in 2010. I wanted to go sub-12 in this race, not because I wasn’t as fit as I was for IMA, but because the course was much tougher. It was a brutally hot day also, but I got my nutrition issues sorted and finally was able to run without the usual stomach cramps every time I took on food or drink. I finished in 11:50, which sounds a modest time but was good enough to win my age group. For the first time I could enjoy a beer and some food after an Iron distance event and soak up the atmosphere at the finishing line. I finally felt like I was starting to get the measure of this distance.

Then a few days later I was browsing the Slowtwitch forum and read the following gem:

“You’re not a real Ironman unless you’ve gone under 11 hours”

This time it really didn’t bother me at all to be honest because I knew it was a load of bollocks written by an extremely ignorant poster. I had 3 Iron distance results under my belt by then (and also a Double Iron distance race) and I knew I’d put the same effort into all the races, the only variable being the speed I was going for that effort.

But still, I like a challenge and set a sub-11 as my next milestone. I achieved this at The Outlaw in 2011 with just 40 seconds to spare and then again this year with 17 minutes in hand.

I’d like to think I’m capable of going sub-10 at some time in the future. I’m realistic enough to know it will take a combination of me having an exceptional race on a quick course in perfect conditions to do it but it’s something I’d love to achieve. Because as we all know, you’re not a real Ironman unless you’ve gone under 10 hours. ;-D