hell of a training week!

hey all followers
I am so glad that week is over. As part of the Team RAF Survitec Epic we completed the Race Across America(RAAM). An amazing feat by any standards. 12 States of varying road surface quality, 3 time zones(i think) and bloody hot for most of the way.
Myself and John Crewe formed a 2man tag team working for about 5hrs at a time before handing over to Pete McCrory and Steve Duffy for their tag team effort. We did it all in 6days 23hrs and 5mins. Awesome as they say a lot round here.
So what can I remember.... a lot is a blur and mixed up.
Oceanside, California we rode of the start as a team for 8miles then me and JC took it out to 27 then I went alone to about 37miles then handed over to JC. There was a bit of catch up already and we had caught a few of the teams ahead. Nice chilled out state but a bit shabby. I did get to ride down the 'Glass Elevator' and got up to 53.8mph. 4000ft descent in 10miles with twists and turns. the temp rose 11degrees C on the way down too. the route drops below sea level too.
Arizona - hot hot hot and up up up. Climbing forever to nearly 7000ft to Flagstaff.
Utah -a fleeting visit. still hot
Colorado - when does this state end? It goes on & on & on. and the highest point of the RAAM at 10,857ft at Wolf Creek Pass. Just mine and JC's luck to get this one. We did a mile on mile off to the top with JC taking the summit and handing over to me to descend. managed 52mph and had a scary moment going into a curving tunnel with a wet road surface. Clenching buttock time! Lots of further climbs throughout as obviously in the Rockies. Got hit by hailstones just outside Durango but JC got soaked.
Kansas - descend descend descend and hot hot hot and boring straight roads.
Missouri - stinks of road kill! me and JC had the 2nd fastest time through one of the night time stages here. I had a moment when a huge frog hopped into my Mavic Carbon Cosmic, flicked out backwards and got run over by the follow car. Also ran over a small snake, saw a few raccoons, a skunk and a huge snake and a billion small frogs all over the road. The night noise was amazing. Very humid too. Waiting for a change from JC and some strange local rider turns up out of nowhere at 0400hrs. Says he was out for his morning ride!!Weirdo! We also had the Austrian team behind us and we were hammering to put some time into them. We also found a bike belonging to Team Donateforlife and they found us at a change over. They were ever so grateful as you can imagine.
Illinois - terrible terrible roads surface and this is where me and JC collide. He breaks his collarbone and ends up in Effingham hospital. I get(still have) a bruised ass and a grazed arm and shoulder. We lose some time here obviously but after 1.5hrs I get the ok to continue riding. We are now down to 3 riders so a change of tactic is imminent with still 800miles to go.
Indiana - starting to climb again and I manage to bang out 63.5 miles in 3hrs as we have decided to run 3hrs shifts.
Ohio - still managing 3hr cycle shifts and its greener. Looks a bit like rural England. We could be in Rutland.
West Virginia - not much change here. Still very green and rural but some tough long climbs.
Maryland - the first visit! Hell on earth. For me anyway. I take over from Steve now and have the toughest stage of the RAAM. The last hill is a killer and my legs are blown. No power even though the mind was willing. My lowest point for sure but Louise would work her magic on my legs and get them ready for the next shift. I remember thinking how cruel it is to stick in Appalachians for the solo riders when they are so tired and hurting already.
Pennsylvania - getting close now but only a fleeting visit. Legs still hurting and no end to the rolling hills that sap your strength and speed. We are fighting a headwind too.
Maryland again - less than a 100miles to push and we change tactics again reverting back to a 3man tag team doing 4 miles stints. It works for a while til we hit traffic so we end up 3up time trialling into the finish trying to make the 1700hrs limit for a 7 day finish. We are so tired but elated. We have group hugs at the garage just outside town at the end of the timed event. The last 3.5miles are a procession and we follow a small RAAM Official car into Annapolis to the pier to meet the rest of the team. Woo hoo we did it
We get invited onto the stage where they call out our names and ask us a few questions. I get asked about why we ended up with 3 riders and we receive our finishers medals with myself getting two, one for JC.

It was an amazing experience and I saw some great views and sites and accomplished more than I ever imagined physically and probably mentally but never again. Anyone who does this solo or as a pair deserved respect but they need their bumps felt. Its just too mad!

hours to do

hey yawl

only 3 hrs to go so not a long blog.
had a decent nite sleep got up early with JC to watch footy and chill out. Went for a Team breakfast....the biggest ever. Nothing done by halves over here.
just chillin now and about to go watch England Vs USA.

we have all had our nails painted btw. OMG we are having identity crisis or we are comfortable in our sexuality or maybe we are just mad. Hang on we are mad!

dont forget to follow the official website for uptodate results.

Woop Woop!

D Day beckons

Well the start is almost here. this week of preparation has been hectic at times with trying to get all the bike supplies we need and adding fablon and reflective scotch tape to our expensive steeds. We watched the solo guys set off and the latest news is the Robic is in the lead utilising the 25mph tailwind to his advantage.....hope its there tomorrow.
JC tossed a coin to see which pair would start for Team RAF Survitec Epic. We won! The start is a prosession for 8 miles and then JC and I will take the helm for the next 5hrs or so. We will 2up TT for the first 21miles then JC will drop off to the car then its into routine for the next 6-9 days.
Sleep patterns have been strange since I got here. The delays on arrival then further delays with the vehicle collections and toppedoff with a 90mile drive form LAX to Oceanside. The last 10miles were a blurr. I may have slept for some of them!!! Not really, but it was knackering. I woke this morning about midnight having gone to bed at 2130hrs and felt refreshed but went back to bed til nearly 0700 but woke up loads of times. JC was up and about about 0500 I think.

Breakfast consists of bananas, manky coffee, dodgy tea, sweet childrens cereal(cheerios etc) and very sweet pastries. This is decribed as continental. Obviously not European continental!
We have been getting small rides in each day but other than the first day these are mainly administrative.
I have seen the house from Topgun though. Its pretty derelict and the only house left standing on the block. Its fenced off and supposedly there are plans to bulid a hotel there. Photos will follow.

Today will be a route recce and hopefully massage. The waiting is over and its time to start before I put on too much weight eating pastries. Hammer time!!

whats occurring?

Well folks the RAAM starts next Saturday.....big GULP! Sleep deprivation and tired legs for a week but the past few weeks have been mainly recovery with sporadic training due to work. I did get involved in a multisport race though.
I did the North Lincs Adventure Challenge. Basically a quadrathlon organisation race but without the swim. As it was it started with a 36km TT(my fav) followed by a 10KM kayak(my not so fav) and ending in a 10km run(sometimes my fav but a poorly achilles tenden hinders the running somewhat). Anyway I decided to nail the bike and averaged over 25mph getting the 2nd fastest biuke of the day. It was very blustery and the disc and very deep front where a little tricky in the gaps in the hedgerow. A little cramp had me worried getting off the bike but not as worried as the kayak. OMG it's tough in a flat bottom barge. I did manage to overtake some folks by brute force and ignorance, or, maybe I'm a little fitter and stronger. Anyway and hour and 8mins later I'm being ridiculed by Daz Sharpe who came from his triathlon to say hi and lend me some ultra lightweight wheels for the Rockies and Appalachians. Nice set of Ksyrium SLs with a SRAM Red 28-12. Woohoo, let me at the hills. Back to the race.... the run was worrying me. My achilles is still swollen but I have been beasting the stretches. Within 200m though there is a sharp climb and a style to clamber but this was no probs....so far so good. Through the town of Brigg and onto the canal path I seemed to settle ok and gradually felt like I was getting faster and faster. I kept thinking about IM Switzerland in July- will I be ok for then? Can I run a marathon with this affliction? We'll see. I started to catch a lot of runners on the return route and finished in the town centre. I couldn't believe my luck. My achilles was no problem at all and I managed to come 3rd overall. The second placed finisher was 19mins faster on the kayak. What does that tell you? I GOTTA LEARN TO KAYAK!!!!!!!
Next race is the Brigg Bomber which is is an olympic distance tri with the 10km kayak. my 1st quad. Bring it on. Just got a continent to cross first. Keep an eye on www.raf-ultra.co.uk over the next few weeks. Speak soon.

Welcome to Wales....its wet!

Well the longest ride I have ever done as a training ride was a success. Lengendary in fact. I set off on Thursday morning for Capel Curig from Birmingham along the A458 and onto the A5. The biggest hils are not in Wales! they're in Shropshire around Much Wenlock and Bridgnorth. Wales was a doddle in comparison.

I had been doing around 18mph average upto about 50 miles when the battery went in my Timex GPS receiver. I had been rained on a little but the gilet did its job and I didnt need the full wet proof jacket. As soon as I passed the Welcome to Wales sign I was into a downpour so a quickstop at the McDonalds for a sweet chili chicken sandwich meal with coffee and an apple pie was in order for lunch - 70 miles down, 41 to go.

The next section from the Halton r'about was easy. Rolling hills with plenty of rest on the descents but more rain! I was soaked. I played cat and mouse with a tractor for about 20miles, never managing to get more than 200metres ahead before he would catch me at traffic lights then i'd nail it again. I was feeling great though and knowing that the last leg should only take just over 2hrs was encouraging. After a long drag up hill and into wind the tractor caught me so I sat in for a draft for about 5miles before he pulled in with 12 to go.

I stopped in Betws y Coed for a cup of tea and some rasberry and coconut cake to wait for the guys in the wagons with my change of clothes. I spoke to a few local cyclists who were interested in my ride and the RAAM. They were doing a 50miler but nearly choked when I said i'd come from Birmingham. Total ride time to Betwsy was 5hrs:35min. The next bit to the training center was mostly up hill but easy considering i'd done most of the work and only took 10 mins.

so to summarise

0 punctures

1 man

1 Boardman road bike(without tribars)

1 mission

1 Mcdonalds meal with coffee and apple pie

1 rasberry/cocnut slice

2 cups of tea

2 countries

2 bottles of Be-well Fuel

5hrs 45 mins

19.3 mph average

111.2 miles

Feeling good for the RAAM now!! :-)

Today (Sunday) I met with Paul Breeze to do a 40 mile ride around Snowdon. Great ride in glorious sunshine! Starting in Llanberis I rode to meet Paul coming from Capel Curig. We went to Bedgellert then up the mountain towards Capel before leaving Paul to head up to Pen Y Pass and down to Llanberis again. Wales didnt get better weather than today!

Epic ride starts in a few hours after a few hours sleep!

Just finished packing to go to Wales with the students tomorrow but I have to be up early to vote before I go. The bike is prepped with flashing lights etc to make me more visible to the blind car drivers that race up behind you beeping their horns when they spot you at the last minute. I had to swap the front wheel at Halfords today after the original was not holding its true and spokes were loosening up. Good to their word though and without any hassle they swapped the wheel for a brand new one with a new Conti tyre to boot.
So the ride is 111.2 miles to Capel Curig from my address in Brum. Setting off about 0830 to 0900 and hope to make it there for about 1600 riding steady with the odd rest stop. Will up date on Sunday night to the journey experiences. Gonna take the A458 then the A5 all the way through. Gulp!

Did my fastest 10TT for the last 5years tonight in the Warwickshire RC courses K37/10. Last weeks was 23:11....this week was 22:32. It did feel a faster night with favourable southerly wind. My legs were also a little tired from a 78 mile ride yesterday.
I also tried out my new wheels. A Padova disc and a Prolite 90 deep rim both with tubs. fantastic!

running at last(sort of!)

Finally I am taking part in a personal clinical trial involving a walk/run program to test my achilles tendon injury. I started on 30sec run followed by 150sec walk with a total exercise time of 18minutes. This is did every other day. This also allows me to still maintain my focus on the cycling for the RAAM which seems to be(has) taking over my spare time. I have now upped the running to 1min run and 2 min walk and increased to 24min total. I am averaging 6.5mph as the running part is up to 9.5mph. This got me thinking....... can I do this at Ironman Switzerland and get a sub-4hr marathon after, hopefully, nailing the bike and having a decent swim and still come out with a sub-10hr IM. I've got a rep to protect Hmmmmmmmmm!!!! It does rely on me having a sub hr swim(done before) and a sub-5 bike(done before). I am certainly hoping I can run a bit more by then too, and walk less.

As for the biking.... my first 10mile TT last night was average but its a start to the racing season. 23:11 and third place in the Warwickshire RC club 10. I was about 10bpm down on heart rate than expected but I did a hard 40 miler the previous evening. I might try an easier ride next monday to see if the TT is faster subject to similar weather conditions.

Next week might be my biggest ever singular training session... a 110miler. A ride from Birmingham to North Wales. I've never been into monster mileage and 4-5 hrs is my maximum so we'll see!

OMG am I enjoying the turbo finally?

Well folks its only taken about 19 years of messing around bikes and cycling to finally get my head round sitting in the living room pedalling a bike but getting nowhere whilst watching TV.
In the last 3 weeks I have covered about 650 cycling miles either on the road or turboing and whilst I have always been an outdoor fan come rain or shine, I have recently turned to fair weather cycling and succumbing to the piece of metalwork with a roller that interfaces with a training bike.
Lets face it indoor cycling isn't fun. You sweat buckets(well maybe a slight exaggeration), you get nowhere and the scenery is dull. On the plus side though you can have a cup of tea when you're pedalling, get off and go for a pee in a real toilet without disturbing passersby and you can watch TV or a film as distraction. But still you get nowhere!.....well actually you do get somewhere. You get the fitness that will take you forward. I'm starting to notice the difference. My quadriceps are growing and becoming more defined, my abdominals are starting to look bigger and more defined too as a result of being able to concentrate on core stability, and you don't fall off(which I did on Saturday on my 80 mile ride. I can also focus on turning circles with my feet and pushing and pulling on the pedals. All good cycling drills!
So am enjoying the turbo? Not entirely. I miss the wind on my face and a bit of green countryside but to get the mileage in for the RAAM its a necessity and I'll grin and bear it knowing I'm going to take part in a very special race that requires me to be on top endurance form. The 200 miles a weeks is far less than the 750 I will be expected to do come June. Bring it on!

The miles are racking up!

Well since getting back from La Santa and being made an official Race Across America (RAAM) team member I have been trying to focus on getting bike miles in rather than worrying about not being able to run. I'm still doing physio on the achilles and stretching etc but have moved to heat rather than ice on the affected area.
I'm managing to get decent rides interspeRsed with turbo-ing(I still hate it).I have even managed 2 x 2 hour turbo rides this week. Its tolerated and needed rather than for fun. If I had a choice I'd be ironing or cleaning or doing a 1000000 piece jigsaw of a heard of zebra rather than turbo. I have watched some DVD's whilst I'm doing it as distraction therapy and watched the RAAM DVD called 'Bicycle Dreams'. It is very inspiring and almost brought me to tears when a rider dies hitting an 18-wheeler truck. Devasting! The finish too is awesome knowing I'm gonna be there in a few months.
Last week I hit about 180-200 miles and still with 2 rest days. This week is the same. 200 miles including an 80 miler yesterday in just shy of 4hours including a crash onto the verge. Look where your going not where youv'e been is the advice!! A good round trip that had me worried when I saw signs for Oxford after heading out of Brum towards Kidderminster, Worcester, Evesham and back into town.
To cap the week of I received a 'Best Running Performance in 2009' at the BRAT awards last night for my Fleet half marathon and London Marathon results. Sarah Springman was guest speaker recalling her days as an elite athlete and European Champ and top 5 at Ironman Hawaii.
Today my legs were pretty fragged so a gentle 40 miles in 2:10 was called for to close the weekly mileage. My quads are starting to look buff again for those that ridiculed me at Henlow 10 a few years ago(John Crewe you were one of them!)
Roll on 12 June when the race starts. Follow the team at http://www.raf-ultra.co.uk/
Its gonna be an experience to remember for ever!

back from Lanza and a bike review

Well Lanzarote training camp proved interesting for many reasons but I finally got to ride my Boardman Carbon Team bike for the first time. Still unable to run from an achilles tendon strain picked up a few weeks before the tour meant I was able to focus on biking with some swimming thrown in for good measure. Those who know me are aware of my dislike of swimming but in triathlon its a means to the bike leg. I did enjoy the open water swim in the lagoon where I took a session for some novice triathletes.

As for the biking.... well I was meant to be on ride one day then day off to let my achilles get better but it didnt ache so I decided on a good ride followed by an easy ride day. This worked and I managed to clock about 280miles during the week. Picking up a cold and sore throat the day before departure didnt help with the breathing and heart rate. I had to ease back when I saw 192HR going up Tabayesco switchbacks.

The bike itself felt great at first but I did notice that accelerating uphill leaves a lot to be desired. Certainly not as stiff as my old Giant TCR which used to skip at the backend. Overal though the steering was precise and I was able to go faster into corners than I have in recent years. The SRAM Rival groupset took a little to get used to with the doubletap system but after a while I am beginning to think I like it better than Shimano. I do miss cables at the front tyo hold on to though as if in a tri position. The wheelset are good to. They roll nicely and held true on the bobbly rough Lanzarote roads. The only real downside was the saddle. I have been wearing trishorts to train in and with a great big pad the saddle made the nether regions a little tenderised after a few days. This will be getting swapped very soon. Maybe a SLR XP or an Arione.

Still the bike was definately worth what I paid and the bike shop in La santa village is getting 30 Team Boardmans soon(not the Ltd Ed version in white though :-))

Roll on summer, its cold being back in Blighty. Got a 2hr ride tomorrow with some old friends.

2nd race and a stuffed achilles

The 2nd race of the season and another X country in Bourne Woods. A friend said it was a defo for spikes so I took the advice and slipped on my old faithfuls. The first mile was fast and on an uphill track, I went through in about 8th place and in 5:35. The leader was about 20 secs ahead! The 2nd mile had a little downhill and again track, through in 11:07. Mon dieu, it is fast. Mile 3 was real X country across fields of mud and some grassy sodden tracks. Mile 4 and my achilles started to ache a little and I thought maybe it was just the unevenness of the ground and I was so looking forward to the uphill muddy part for a rest on my poor feet and the chance to take advantage in the spikes. I was still hovvering around 10th place at this point but unable to make ground without hurting more. Back onto the track for the last leg and i could not push without considerable pain. I decided to cruise home as I was headed that way anyway. I couldn't even manage to hold off for 12th place going downhill and finally walked the last few yards as it is all about the place rather than the time, although I finished in 29:33 in 13th.
Lots of pain the next day as I was unable to warm down and a massage did help a little. I tried swimming but the push offs are sore.
Today I saw the Doc who is also a top triathlete and have managed to get a physio appointment tomorrow and Friday at short notice. Some luck at least. I'm still hopeful I might make the World Duathlon qualifiers and make the squad but we'll see.
So the swimming and biking(if no pain, I did have pain on Sunday) will be taking the hit.
Watch this space for further info.... ice and anti inflammatories on the go right now!!
Spikes are in the BIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1st race of the year

Well I just realised it was a few weeks since my last update and since then I have mostly been trying to avoid slipping over on snow and ice.
I have since joined the Bannatynes gym at an extortionate amount of cash but needs must. It has a pool and my local is closing for refurb next month. The plus side is when its thrashing it down or snowing I can treadmill run ( another joy...not, its just so much slower and hotter than running on the road). I have also been to a few spinning classes. Jeez, they are hard. I also ran a bit over xmas along the frozen canal(4 inches thick the ice!) and did a 14miler one night incorporating the BRAT club run.
So I'm back in Peterborough working for a week or two and Breezy asked if I wanted a race with his local club Yaxley in the frostbite league.
It was 5 miles and a few hundred yards and mainly on grass fields(sodden) and farm tracks(muddy). Two steps forward one step back. The team wanted to get someone in the top ten and the eyes where focused on me...talk about peer pressure. So I set off in the pack and was counting the numbers ahead. At one point I was in 11th after about 3 miles but I latched onto the back of a BRJ runner who deflected the headwind for me and allowed me to draft him as we caught a small bunch and went through. I was in 6th with a 5m gap at 400m to go and found the energy to sprint from who knows where but it got me 5th place by 3 secs. Well done me. I was chuffed to bits as I thought I was out of shape. But then I've said that before haven't I?
Still not been out on the new bike.