The results are in.

Swim – Wha-hoo!!!

Bike – Yayy!!!

Run – Could have been so good if it weren’t for the typo – have to add 10 mins to make the numbers add up (and bring it into line with what I was expecting).

Out of the starting blocks

Hooray, at last. After two aborted attempts so far this year, my triathlon season has finally started. I had booked the Windfarmer but, due to cold water temperatures (in June), it became a run-bike-run and I’d booked the Bexhill Lions triathlon and that, due to high winds and choppy seas, also became a run-bike-run. Well, we’ve all seen my run times and what is the point at putting yourself at such a disadvantage so early on – I don’t mind the loneliness towards the end of a race but there’s no fun to be had in starting with such a handicap.

Yesterday evening we went out to the lake where Mike (Velocity Events) had laid on a free (yes, free, no charge, voluntary donations to Great Ormand Street Children’s Hospital) sprint triathlon for any one who had entered either the Windfarmer or the Marshman. Considering it was mid week, windy and mostly grey, there was a pretty good turn out – 40 entrants.

At 7pm we were all bobbing about, with lightening flashes in the near distance, waiting to be started. Not sure what my splits were as the results have yet to be posted; a pen, some paper and a stop watch may not be quite as efficient as timing chips but at least they always work. I hobbled in after 1h40 (I think) of which I’m guessing the run took more than 40mins.

I stayed right at the back for the swim start; I can’t be doing with all that frenzy which sends me into hyperventilation mode and I must have swam reasonably well as, by the time I got to the first buoy, I was contending for space amongst other swimmers. The out and back bike route, although flat, was into a strong head wind to start and I was keeping myself pushing on by imagining the easy ride home; how can it be that some days, the wind can feel as if it is blowing in two directions. Unusually, I was still in the race (normally coming out of the swim to an empty transition area) and before I knew it I was into a game of tag. Had it been any other day, I’m sure the girl I was vying with and myself would have been disqualified for drafting as neither of us could get away into that wind. We both arrived back in transition, her a couple of seconds before me, and that is where the race ended. I started the run slowly; the sole objective to finish it running and not walking. Everyone I had overtaken in the swim and on the bike came past but that was OK – I was still jogging along. Until…. crap, crap, CRAP!!! Sure enough, aroung the 4k mark my knee went. At least I had the victim of an asthma attack to keep me company; obviously a reasonable athlete, the poor guy kept running and stopping and running and stopping and it was really inspirational to see his determination. Taking a leaf from his book, I broke into a hobble, deciding that it couldn’t make things any worse and limped home to the coach in my life standing at the finish line.

Slightly frustrating but not as bad as not starting the race at all and at least I felt I had earnt the free barbecue afterwards.

Beautiful Bosham

With the holidays just around the corner and no exotic getaway booked, it’s time to start thinking about how I can make the most of my precious weeks of freedom. Well, two weeks will be spent taking my mum to her house in France and a couple of days are ear-marked for catching the Olympic cycling and triathlon – if we can get anywhere near it. That leaves just under 4 weeks.

Not going abroad during the summer is more than just a reaction to the outrageous way the holiday companies inflate the prices during the school holidays, it is also because… I like my town and I like lots of different parts of my country. Especially if the sun shines.

And who knows when that might happen. Last year it was during the October break when we decided to chuck mountain bikes and sleeping bags into the back of the car and go. We didn’t go far and we didn’t go for long. But what a fantastic weekend we had.

We headed off to Bosham: a tiny little village which is about a 2 hour drive down the coast.

where we slept in the municipal car park (don’t tell the council) and breakfasted in the harbour (yes, ‘in’) at low tide.

I have seen images where unsuspecting tourists have parked on this hard-standing and come back 6 hours later, when the tide has come in, to find their cars submerged, to the roof, in water.

Tide out

Tide in

Having moved back to the ‘safe’ municipal car park (our camp site) and put another days ticket on the car we headed north with the bikes, over the A27 and into the countryside. We climbed up as far as Goodwood race course and circled back to Chichester harbour

where we had a picnic lunch before following the canal back towards Bosham. Ditching the bikes at the car, we wandered off into the village to watch the sun set over the East side of the harbour

 before heading off to the pub for some supper and bedding down in our unusual accommodation.

The following morning, after a surprisingly restful night, we headed back to the tidal basin for breakfast in the company of some of the locals,

and spent some time wandering and taking photos of the village

and more locals

before removing the car back to safety and setting off again on the bikes. This time we followed an eastbound coastal path (my favourite).

until we came to a dead end

not that is stopped some….

and (she says with glee) had to take the ferry

We stopped for lunch at the (in)famous Twitterings… I mean Witterings (a little over populated when the sun shines)

before turning for home.

The tide was in by the time we got back to the basin at Bosham and the road was closed so we made the most of out time by having a little swim amongst the weeds

before sitting, with a well earnt Cider, watching another glorious day sink over the horizon.

I wonder what adventures this summer holds.

River Arun 3.8km swim

Well, haven’t we come a long way? It was only 3 years ago that we were trawling Youtube for swimming tutorials with a view to learning how to swim the crawl (or freestyle?) and collapsing at the end of each 20m length in total exhaustion. Well, not no more!

Last Saturday, armed with wetsuit and goggles, we took ourselves off down the coast to Littlehampton to participate in the ‘Raw Energy’ ironman distance swim event. Despite having had a few 2km and 3km sessions in the lake, 3.8km was going to be the longest distance we had attempted so far. And, the thought of swimming down an estuary on an outgoing tide was presenting another set of worries: I didn’t want to have to be fished out of the English Channel because the current had swept me past the finish point. And how would I recognise the finish point when I got there?

Never one to arrive on time when he could arrive hours earlier, the coach in my life got us out of bed and on the road nice and prompt so we arrived with plenty of time to park easily, reccy the last section of the river (looking for distinctive landmarks around the finish point), eat a hearty brunch and beat the queues at registration. Plenty of time for the adrenaline rush to peak and start coming down the other side long before the swim began.

What a great event! Participants (maybe some were ‘competitors’ but not me) were bused up river towards the beautiful town of Arundel and dropped of at a tiny little church in the middle of nowhere. I didn’t see the graveyard as a bad omen – at all! Once everyone had arrived and the exact time of the turning tide was established, we were herded, rubber clad and barefoot, over the fields towards the river. A bizarre experience, and what a sight 300 black teletubies amongst the cornflowers and poppies must have made, but I really enjoyed the walk and it wasn’t long before we arrived at the slip and the boys were in and waiting for the starter.

Some minutes (10?) after the boys, the girls were started – not that I was particularly paying attention, bobbing around at the back of the pack, enjoying the rural setting and smiling compassionately at the father and daughter team who were passionately trying to encourage mum, who had entered the water and was now clinging desperately to a kayak, to start swimming. I think she got back out which was a shame for her as she missed a beautiful swim. Only once did I run aground on the bank of this meandering river and I didn’t collide with too many other swimmers. At one point I thought I was getting tired but, focussing on technique and form soon wiped that thought from my mind. For some unexplained reason, I found swimming under the road bridge quite intimidating and swimming past a huge black commerical tanker which was moored at the side of the river totally freaky – confronting the reality that we are just a speck in the greater scheme of things.

Glad that we had spent some time identifying different buildings  along the water front, I was well prepared for the exit: moving over to the side of the river in anticipation, and if anything, coming in too early – determined not to get swept past. Being very grateful for the guys who were there to get us on our feet as we came out of the water, and trying to find my balance, I climbed the slipway to the finish mat. 1h 07m 56sec fantastic! And only 5 and half minutes behind the coach in my life 1h 02m 24secs. Not that it was a competition 😛

Open water swim

Two firsts today. First open water swim of the year. Lydd Action Water Sports lake. Was promised temperature was 12 degrees. Bloody wasn’t. Had a bit of a panic attack but eventually got over it and got my head down. Stayed in for about 30 mins. Second first of the day is my first blog from a mobile phone. So, apologies for sloppy spelling and punctuation. It’s a bit bouncy in the car and so excited, I couldn’t wait to get home to write this up.

Managing the COPD

I went to the doctor’s for an annual checkup a couple of weeks ago. Now that I have been diagnosed with this ‘chronic obstructive pulmonary disease’, I can only imagine that I am of some value to them. Someone did explain how the funding works; I didn’t really understand but as I see it,  it has something to do with the care allowance they get providing they meet the care criteria. Or something like that.

X marks the spot - roughly

Whereas, I spent the first 45 years of my life trying to battle my way past the barricade of receptionists, I now get called up to attend a check-up and they try to get me to have a flu jab every winter. I’m grateful for the check-up but I don’t want the flu jab. I don’t understand ‘preventative’ medicine. When my youngest son was in his early teens, he used to suffer regularly from headaches. After going down the glasses and dehydration route to no avail, I took him to the docs who suggested he take a tablet everyday to prevent a headache 2 or 3 times a week. Shouldn’t the doctor be worrying about the amount of chemicals we put in our bodies without suggest even more. Ditto the inhaler the doc gave me a couple of years ago to help with breathing whilst running. There was no discussion as to what the short and long term side effects might be.

Although this is a degenerative condition (seemingly following the natural pattern of loss once smoking has stopped), it seems that I have made an improvement over the last 12 months. I need to as, if I am using the data correctly from the table above, I am below the line of expectation for my age. My spirometre reading has gone from 63 to 66 (or the other way round – which ever is better) since last winter – surprising as I have put on 5 kilos which I feel restricts movement in my diaphram. Anyway this is good news but I do wonder, had I used an inhaler, if the reading would have been the same. Am I making my chest stronger because I don’t use the inhaler (but wheeze a lot) or would it be the same or better if I had used an inhaler?

What this does suggest to me, in no uncertain terms, is that triathlon training is making a major contribution to the prospects of a longer term quality of live.

Source of graphic: http://www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/Portals/0/Clinical%20Information/COPD/COPD%20Consortium/spirometry_in_practice051.pdf

Foiled Again

Friday on the seafront.

It’s gradually becoming apparent why sport is so important in the formation of one’s character. I am beginning, as I approach the autumn of my years, to understand the huge range of life’s lessons that can be experienced through an involvement with sport: the social skills to deal with a wide range of people, many ot whom whould never otherwise cross paths; the recognition and acceptance of self, including all the weaknesses as well as the strengths and the ambition to chase goals that may offer nothing more than self satisfaction and the awareness to recognise those small acheivements are but a small part of what I never knew about sport. (Had I known when my children were small, I would have encouraged them but, unfortunately I think I have implanted in them my former attitude , based on a huge amount of naivety – which seems to have been further embedded in school –  that sport is for aggressively competitive people who want to kick a ball around a field).  At the moment, I am learning about another lesson; I am learning that sometimes I will have to be persistent. I will have to show determination, especially in the face of adversity.

The learning curve has been steep this week. I’ve tried and I’ve tried and, if truth be told, apart from honing my determination, I haven’t really achieved very much. On Friday afternoon the sun was shining, the snow was beginning to melt and I had managed to get out of work while it was still light. So, with all good intentions, I rushed home, threw on my running kit and headed for the seafront. Yes, there was a cutting northerly wind and it was freezing but I was looking forward to my first run in 2 weeks. My intentions were to take a nice slow 5km run along the front without stressing my knee. Ususally, if I keep the pace slow, and if I haven’t run on it for a while, I can complete the distance. But, no. According to my new toy, I ran 3.9 km at a VERY sensible pace, taking nearly 29mins and still, my knee collapsed. ****!

OK. I’d done something, which was better than nothing. And we did have a good session planned for Sunday. Ha! We got up early, drove the 10 miles to Rye where we meet the gang and started the swim session with full enthusiasm. 45 minutes in and it started to snow. 55 minutes in the snowflakes were ressembling white cornflakes. 60 minutes into the session and the pool was empty; everyone, having come from far and wide, was frantically dragging on clothes, desperate to get home before the roads became impossible.

Once more, I find myself foiled again, sitting on the sofa with a big bottom lip, wondering what to do now. Determination insists that I will get my butt of this sofa and take myself up the road to the gym where I WILL overcome that feeling of extreme, frustrated tedium of the treadmill and I WILL run for 30 minutes – knee permitting

Friday on the seafront.

.

My events and results

Tri results table

 

25/09/2011	Windfarmer	750m 20k 6k	Punc	ture				DNF
28/08/2011	Bexhill TL	500m 25k 5k	Chips	didn’t	work			1.51.09
14/08/2011	Brett Ashford	750m 20k 5k	16.22	3.04	44.23	1.19	32.47	1.39.54
03/07/2011	Sussex Tri	750m 20k 5k	18:12	2:01	54:48	1:11	39:19	1:55:32
May 2011	Bexhill Lions	Swim cancel	n	n	n	n	n	n
08/05/2011	Marshman	700m 20k 6k	14:38	2:09	39:59	1:44	40:18	1:38:51
Sept 2010	Windfarmer	750m 20k 6k	19:13	4:01	43:28	2:20	41:34	1:50:39
Aug 2010	Bexhill TL	500m,25K,5K	25:35	2:21	50:21	1:41	31:37	1:51:37
May 2010	Bexhill Lions	750m,20K,5K	35:06	2:20	43:29	1:10	31:56	1:54:05

Almost back on track…

Who said ‘Motivation is what gets you started… Habit is what keeps you going’? Why does it seem to be 95% motivation 5% habit? After several weeks away from any form of physical activity just before Christmas due to illness, and a couple of weeks catching up with chores in preparation for Christmas (my turn to host), any degree of ‘habit’ was long lost. So, I guess I’m back to the ‘motivation’ element of getting out there and doing.

Well, that’s OK. I’m up for it. And this week I think I’ve proved it. 2 evening runs, 2 spin classes followed by quick swims and a 2 hour swim session this morning followed by 25 mile bike ride. YES!

I’ll turn this into ‘habit’ yet.

Still last

OMG! Where has the time gone? Only 2 weeks to go until the August Bexhill Triathlon and do I feel ready? Oh, no I don’t.

It’s not that we haven’t been getting out there and training. We’ve been sea swimming – even in high seas. Well not that high, but it has felt like being in the washing machine on a spin cycle the last few of times we’ve been out. I wouldn’t have got in the water if the coach in my life hadn’t been there metaphorically holding my hand – not that he could see me a lot of the time as we rode the peaks and got dumped in the troughs of what felt like a REALLY rough sea. I don’t understand how it looks so benign when looking back from the beach – where do all the really big waves go?

Thursday night we went to Lydd and tried lake swimming for the first time. Far more friendly if less exciting if you don’t mind goose shit. A 400m swim and a 5K run where, once again, I upheld my record of being last. Well, who invited all those lean, athletic young men along. Had I known they were going to turn up I might never have put on my wetsuit. I wonder where all the other old people do their training. I’m sure they don’t just turn up on race day without having done any practice. I need to start practising with them before I start getting an inferiority complex. At least I wasn’t last out of the water; there was one behind me.

I know that some people love the remoteness of the landscape around Dungeness. I don’t like it when we cycle out that way; to run around there is positively painful. It is desolate like the setting of a sinister Sci-Fi movie and when you’re all on your own and you know you’re the last and it’s not long til dark and you don’t quite understand the marsh people and there are no land marks as every stretch of shingle and every beach cabbage looks the same as the last, it’s such a relief when eventually, you spy the flags of the watersports centre.

Besides feeling abandonned in an inhospitable environment, the running hasn’t been going so well lately. I can run through the pain in my right hip until it starts affecting my left knee when I have to stop. We took a trip up to Maidstone to get a gait analysis which didn’t show up any real problems but it is a bit embarrassing to get a slap on the wrist by a 12 year old (well, that’s how old he looked) for not doing stretches. OK, I know! I’m doing them regularly now and it looks as if it may be paying off. We swam, rode and ran a sprint distance triathlon this morning and although I got dropped on the swim and the run, at least my knee held out and I could keep up on the bike.

I still love my bike. Hope I haven’t plateau-ed on the swim and run.