Ok, now I need more

It's funny. A month back I had this Hillingdon block and wondered if I'd ever finish a race at the West London circuit - there always seemed to be something going wrong to scupper it. So after Round 3 of the Imperial Series and finally putting a point on the board, I went into Round 5 (missed 4 due to Christmas in Exeter) expecting a placing.

I'd driven up from Exeter the day before, and got in fairly late. Then I had to play with my new toy (Garmin 705 generously given to me by my sparkling wife), so I only got to bed very late. Saturday morning was a scramble after I wittered away much of the morning reading the new Cycling Plus, so I got to the circuit with just enough time to sign on, put my bike together, get dressed and do two warm-up laps.

It was very blustery, with a strong North Easter howling across the track. It would be a difficult sprint. The field was fairly small, 28 riders, and consequently it was fast but not too intense. I stuck to my plan of keeping out of trouble but staying close to the front, though I managed to somehow find myself in a breakaway group a few laps from the finish. This almost messed up the race for me as I was well into the red and nearly fell off the back of the group! Fortunately I held on and got myself back in contention.

Unfortunately I fluffed the sprint again - this time ran out of legs about 10m from the finish line, and in the process lost a bunch of places. Ended up 10th overall again, so another point to my credit, but I do nevertheless feel a bit annoyed with myself and know I should do better in the sprints.

I learned a bit more and got a bit faster. My knee is conspiring against me, so I'll be taking it very easy this week, and will hopefully be back in fighting form for the weekend.

No longer pointless

I had a good race today. It was the 3rd race of the Imperial series. The sun was shining (sort of), and the wind was strong but steady.

I'd spent the night before getting the bike 100% for the race, so it was shining and whirring along perfectly as I turned onto the track for the warm up. I felt good, helped no doubt by time on the exercise bike at the Dartfod Hilton, but it was colder than I'd thought so I had to switch to full gloves from the mitts I thought would be OK.

The race started fairly slowly, and I found myself close to the front wanting to drive the pace a bit, but knowing I didn't have the legs for anything too crazy. Next thing I know I'm off the front with the group a good 20m back. I was tempted to sit up and wait for them, but then I thought the better of it and put my head down. I decided that I'd stay out for at least a lap, which I managed, but it was futile, there was no way I was going to ride out solo until the end. Gasping for air, and with my heart rate on the red line, I was relieved to be caught and settled back into the cover of the group.

After about 15 mins, by knee started playing up again. It was hurting quite a bit, and I considered packing it in, but decided to see how it got on. It must have eased a bit, because I noticed it less and less so it wasn't an issue for the rest of the race.

The race was fairly uneventful and soon enough the 5 lap board went up, and the pace went all stupid - mostly it was absolutely mad turning on the finish straight uphill, but almost ground to a halt into the wind on the back straight, no-one being willing to work. This played right into my hands, allowing me to pick my position - the pattern continued with four, three and then 2 laps to go. I positioned myself in the perfect spot to attack, so on the last lap I was chasing right into the thick of it - and I was able to use my momentum to get a jump on the group for the sprint.

I started the sprint in 3rd, but sadly daft gear choice and legs that simply weren't up to it saw me fluffing the sprint badly and a few riders managed to scoot through.

After the race I hunted down the official and found that I was recorded 10th. Ok, it is the last points paying position, but still in the points.

So I've opened my 2009 BC account and now plan to make many more deposits. Bring it on!

Imperial #2

Stinking weather keeps away crowds. It made a change from the first race and what was apparently a record for a Cat 4 event at Hillingdon. The wind was howling from the South East, the rain was unrelenting and it was bloody cold.

I arrived early to sign-in and fortunately had a lot of time to settle myself and warm up. That said, given the stinky weather, I sat in the car as long as possible before braving the track for a recce and "warm-up".

Despite the weather, the track was clean, with little debris or mud and it felt good to get out and turn my legs. I chatted to a few of my fellow competitors during warm-up - all in all it was quite amiable. The group on the start line was small, which had me thinking that we'd be in for a hard race. With the wind beating us up on the straight, and with a small field, it was a great opportunity for a small breakaway group to take advantage and ride away from the main group.

And so it happened, the pace was really hard, with attack after attack. I found myself battling to keep in the group and once I had to work really hard to get myself back in as the wheel I was on splintered off the back. Then a few more vicious accelerations, the main group was split and was trying to make up ground. My legs just weren't up for it and started to cramp. I tried to massage it out but it wouldn't go away, so I decided to just ride on.

I fought hard to get back in, getting fairly close to the group, but I couldn't make it stick and soon found myself in that awful zone just off the slipsteam without enough juice to get back in. Onto the back straight I fell back and wanted to just make it stop. I tried massaging my calves again, but again with no benefit. I approached the "pit entry" but decided to stick it out and hang on. You never now what may happen and with a willing partner or two, getting back in the race wasn't too far fetched. So I kept pushing.

Another rider ahead had been dropped, and so I started chasing to try to get onto his wheel - and it seemed to be going well until my legs said "no" in a big cramping fit. "Argh!" But it was after 35 mins, into the last 5 laps and I was going to stick at it.

The low was being lapped, two laps from the finish. I thought that at that stage I was out, but after stopping I was told by an official that I did not have to stop, so I got back out. By this stage my legs were screaming, and even the gentle acceleration out of the "pits" triggered bolts of cramps.

The finish was thoroughly anticlimactic, but it was brilliant. I had not only broken my Hillingdon block, but also won a battle against myself. The experience was invaluable and it will help me next time. I can't wait for the weekend!

Knee & the Imperial Winter Series

So, this blog hasn't been very active at all lately.

Since the Royal Parks my knee has been buggered and I've been largely out of action. The physio reckons it is an over use injury - basically 2 half marathons with little training is a bad thing.

This year has been very disappointing for me - I'd had high hopes but many things - both under my control and beyond - have conspired to make it highly unsuccessful. Bother.

So the knee is getting better, but it still aches and I'm not even going to try to run on it yet. So I've taken to some winter cycling and have decided to enter the Imperial Winter Series at Hillingdon. The first race was this past weekend. I arrived about 35mins before the start only to find a ridiculously long queue! I got to the start with a minute or so to spare, and I estimate that there must have been at least 80 riders in the 4th cat race! Most were novices which was to prove a bit of a problem.

At the start I was in good shape and enjoyed my time at the front. After 25mins or so (it was a 35mins + 5 lap race) I started to lose concentration and ended up somewhere in the middle of the group. This is where it all went pear shaped. I got caught up in a fall and went straight over someone's bike. Fortunately I was able to vault off my bike and do a running landing on grass. My bike also took the landing well, and apart from skew bars and a loose headset, I was still in action.

The slightly wonky bike and shock of the crash got to me a bit and started to make me feel really nervous in the group. My plan was to get some air, and then get stuck in again. Then another crash which I narrowly missed going down in, followed by another which forced me to a complete stop. By this stage it was a lap and a half to go, so I had no chance whatsoever. So it was a slow walk to the finish.

I'm going to give it a whirl again this Saturday - the forecast looks gloomy, so I hope it will keep away a large part of the novice field. I'd really like to get a placing so I can start to gather some points together! That said, my form isn't great, and my knee is still sensitive, so I'll have to just make sure I get myself in the right place at the right time.

Looking forward.

Running in the Parks

I've been doing a bit more running lately, but sadly not as much as I'd hoped to - a hurt knee, work travel and fatigue conspiring against me.

A few weeks back we ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon, Tasha taking up a spot in the npower team from a colleague who couldn't make it. The event itself was wonderful; really well run and the route was beautiful and fun. The weather was perfect, if a bit hot (not that I'm complaining) which added to the atmosphere.

Sadly I got caught in terrible "traffic" at the start, and battled to get into a nice quick rhythm. I felt really strong up to about 10 miles, but then started to really struggle - my hips and knees feeling pounded. I finished feeling absolutely awful, and it showed in the time - a 1:42 or thereabouts. I was gutted.

A week later I discovered that we were the fastest corporate team - by 6s! Incredible. I am so glad I fought the urge to walk the last km or so! It would have been even worse to have lost by a tiny margin and know that if I'd just dug a bit deeper...

Ifs and buts aside, it was a great outcome to what was overall a lovely run. Still a disappointing experience for me in that I know that I should have done much better. Lessons learnt - it has been a bad year in terms of keeping in competitive shape; I can only make sure I do better next year.

My training runs, when I've found the time, have been good apart from yesterday morning when my knee felt like it wanted to explode. Now it is just throbbing and I sense I need to be gentle with it for the next month or so. Which is extremely frustrating with Cross Country starting next weekend! I'll see how it shapes during the week - and hopefully I'll have some good news to post in a week from now.

Bye for now!

Jogging around Wiltshire

This Sunday past was the Chippenham Half Marathon. Tasha had entered so I thought I'd also do it for moral support, and in the process put my name down for the Corporate team.

Having spent the summer mostly mooching (and occasionally riding around the countryside), I wasn't and am not in such great running shape - but I still felt good about trying for a 1:30.

The short if it is that I suffered over the last 3mi/5km and in so doing, missed my target by 6 mins. Otherwise it was great fun indeed, and I am now thoroughly motivated for the winter cross country season.

I'm still a bit sore today, but I've been using the bike to loosen my legs up again after Sunday, and might do a little speed work in prep for the MCAA 6-Stage Road Relays on Saturday up in Birmingham. That should be a fun event too - but I'm looking at all these events as training for the upcoming XC season. Good to be back!

Neath, a place on the list of trains stops

I had been all fired up for the Castle Combe Summer Series race, but being at Aberthaw (in South Wales) for the week and the 2 hour drive to Chippenham for the race meant I had to find a local event to ride instead. I found a the President's Trophy Handicap Road Race, a 67km event, run by Port Talbot Wheelers in Neath just up the road that looked to be perfect.

Until now, all I knew about Neath was that it was one of the stops on the Swansea train from Paddington – a train that typically I’d hop on at Reading and off at Swindon on my way to work. It would be quite exciting to put a face to this name that is monotonously read out after every stop!

I packed all my gear into the car in the morning, and inevitably spent much of the day fretting about the one item (my bike computer) that I realised I’d left in the hotel. I really do need a checklist! Fortunately the hotel was on the way to Neath, so no serious problems.

Another unexpected bonus came with the afternoon’s tests going pear shaped, giving me a good reason to leave the station early to get ready or the race. I got back to the hotel, packed and made sure I had everything I needed, and then had a short half hour nap.

I woke feeling incredibly calm, so I hopped into the car and put on some Mark Knopfler to help get me into the racing frame of mind. I was really amazed with how calm I was feeling. Even the days before, I was feeling absolutely no anxiety which is unusual. Not bad, should be a doddle then.

The signing-up table was in a sports hall – when I arrived I was one of the first competitors there, and we had to wait a little while for the organisers to get ready for us. The usual suspects were there; the young stallions, cocky as hell and too cool for their carbon wheels. I had to smile, the poses and banter were all too familiar – it could so easily have been Ryan and I apart from the modern trend of poking the shades into the helmet holes.

Entry fee handed over and number in hand I was suddenly overwhelmed by a massive wave of anxiety. Huge. I stumbled over the car and started unpacking the bike. I was a mess; it was like the minor anxiousness that I should have felt in the week before was hitting me all at once. All unpacked, pinned, dressed and bike test ridden, I took a few minutes to gaze into space and feel more nervous before hopping on my bike to warm up.

From there on time flew. Before I knew it we were listening to the completely unintelligible starter’s orders and we were off after the lead car. The clouds were looking evil, but most of my competitors were in shorts and short sleeves. I’d opted for warm tights and arm warmers; was this the right choice? I didn’t have too much time to ponder this, the pace was crazy and my heart rate went through the roof. We were heading up a gentle uphill at well over 40km/h and this was the first few km! I was now starting to wonder if I had possibly bitten off much more than I could chew. No problem, I’d stick to my plan which was effectively to do as little work as possible until the finish.

The first lap went by quickly, and to be honest I have no idea how many laps of the course we did. I did get validation of my clothing choice when we got lambasted from the heavens. There really is something special about being in a peloton with the spray of the bike in front in your face! And even with this, the pace hardly let up. To make matters worse, every time I checked the Heart Rate Monitor, it was 170+ which made me a) think I was soon to be in trouble and b) decide not to look at the HRM anymore.

A few times there were breakaways that looked like they may be dangerous; I chased two down and tried to make sure the bunch didn’t split. I knew I didn’t have the legs to work with a breakaway group, but that I’d stand a chance in a bunch sprint. The new bike was just perfect for these fast accelerations, responsive, stiff and almost weightless. It was a joy!

There were a few exciting moments in the corners. In the first a rider in front braked unexpectedly which had me locking up the rear and sliding sideways into the corner. The second was a slick drain cover that caused me a huge slide that I somehow managed to survive; I put it to the hours spent tearing around on my BMX.

Before I knew it, now joined by the E/1/2/3s, we were headed at ridiculous speed to the finish. I knew there was a short climb not long before the finish line, so I decided to have a go there and give it stick up the hill I came flying over the crest, but it was too early as there were still a few hundred metres to the finish. The bunch surged but my legs were cooked and there was no way I could get into a position for the sprint. I found myself spinning my 53x12 (+60km/h) but making no headway at all.

Apart from the mistimed surge at the end, it was an awesome race. The stats from my computer say it all: average speed – 42.7km/h, maximum speed – 62.6km/h, distance 67.5km, time 1:34.

I felt strong and my legs felt loose and smooth. I could keep my cadence high and even. It all felt efficient and steady. Looking back at the HRM data, my heart rate wasn’t quite as bad as I’d thought; I think I’d probably glanced at it after every hard session rather than when I was relaxed, so not too much to worry about there.

And as a first outing for the race bike it was great, it felt perfect, rode fast and reliably and fit like a glove. I have been cured of bike lust. Well temporarily anyways.

Excellent pictures by Brian Smith

I've added a few images (retrospectively to old posts about events past) from Flickr taken by Brian Smith, at this point without permission - I like them. Tks Brian.

National Road Relay Champs

It was a perfect day. The sun was out, and I was feeling strong. I’d been pretty poorly lately – more so than I can remember being in a long time. I’d fallen off my bike (my ribs still hurt from that incident), a nasty cold kept me out of action before the Midlands, and since then I’d picked up a nasty stomach bug in Belgium that had me down for nearly a week and forced me to take a long period for recovery.

The first time I’d exercised my cardio system since the illnesses was Friday when I gave my commute a bit of stick. I was fast too – averaging 32.9km/h through traffic on the way to the station. I knew I was strong, but I could also feel that my legs weren’t used to the strain and seemed to have less capacity for lactate than before. Saturday would be interesting.

Saturday morning I got on my bike to get the groceries. It was good to have the opportunity to spin the legs a bit to loosen them for the run in the afternoon. At first I was a little worried because my legs did seem to be lacking sparkle; keeping up the cadence seemed to help – almost like a nice massage. I was feeling good.

The drive up to Sutton Park was lovely, sunroof open, good music and knowing where I was going to all helped. I still managed to get a bit lost, but it was no problem at all. I still had plenty time to ready myself for my leg.

The start was “busier” this time, so with runners in front of me I really needed to make a point of not letting the need to get ahead compromise my own race. I paced myself easy up the first hill; it was difficult and demoralising to let the light blue vest of the runner in front slowly creep away, but I was close to the red line and knew any harder would be too hard and I’d blow. Worse was when a fast spindly dude flew past me – I felt like I was just going to be going backwards the whole way. A bit of doubt crept in; did I go off too fast trying to catch the runner in front? Did that virus whack my form more than I’d thought? Would it have been better if I’d not cycled to Waitrose this morning?

“Concentrate!” I told myself, it was a bit like a moment from the film 'Wimbledon'. Quickly I focussed and concentrated on my footsteps and breathing. Soon I’d found I’d found a nice rhythm; I was feeling happier in my skin and confident in how I was setting my pace.

One thing though, I was definitely going harder than I had in the Midlands, everything was burning and I wanted one thing only: for it to stop. For that I needed to reach the finish line, so I pushed on hard.

The 5km went by very quickly – I think having run the course before helped, as did knowing the course and having much better weather. It was such an awesome feeling, knowing that I was going so hard, and that it was just about all I could do.

Reaching the final straight up the hill was great. The rest of the team was cheering me on, and it felt sensational pushing myself to my absolute limit. The line couldn’t come quickly enough, I felt near collapse and had to hold the railings to keep upright! (this pic is approaching the line)

I timed myself at 18’24”, but the timekeepers officially had me at 18’23”. At the Midland round I’d done 18’22”, so pretty metronomic then! Altogether, given my heavy and repeated illnesses, I’m pretty happy with the result.

As a team we managed 47th of 52 teams, and finished under 5 hours at an average of 3'47"/km - which is pretty decent I think - especially for a small club.

I’m much prouder of my 18’23” than the previous 18'22" – I was in bad form and it really was totally on the limit – there wasn’t anything left in the tank at all. What a run! Most of all it was an honour to be able to compete in the National Champs, and a very special experience.

Midland Road Relay Champs - Sutton Park

I woke up knackered on Saturday morning. Having been a bit anxious about the race, I had a very restless sleep. The week before I had a nasty fall off my bike on the way to work and bruised a few ribs on my left side which had made hard breathing quite painful. To make matters worse, I had also just got over an annoying head-cold so I really was having some serious performance anxiety.

Anyhow, while munching my muesli and screwing the spikes back into my XC shoes (for therapeutic purposes, I didn’t need them) I decided that what had gone had gone and all that mattered was doing my best out on the course. With that I hopped into my newly-acquired car, opened the sunroof and headed off to get some gas.

I pottered for a while and but soon it was time to pack everything up and pick up Bryan from the station. And so started the adventure, we blasted up the B-road through countless little villages (and 30mph zones) and then onto the M40 headed up to Birmingham.

The directions to Sutton Park were pretty confusing but, with the help of some joggers, we managed to find the right gate and the race area. We were pretty early for my leg, but it was nice to have time to work out how things worked and calm myself. Bryan was thankfully very patient as I know I can be quite pedantic about making sure I know how things work.

The weather was something quite perplexing. One minute it was windy and raining, fifteen minutes later calm and sunny, and then a few moments later sleet. When waiting for my leg there was a bit of hail, but it quickly cleared and I had some lovely sun for most of it.

Apart from lapping another runner early on, I ran the whole leg alone which made it tricky to pace myself. At about halfway some spectators shouted to a runner behind me. I was going fairly hard, but not sure if I was being caught, it gave me impetus to turn the wick up a bit more.

By now the ribs were aching a bit, but I was feeling really strong. I had that spring in my stride and my lungs were gulping and exhaling with mechanical precision. It felt brilliant. As I sensed the finish getting closer I notched the pace up and up until eventually I was on the final climb up to the line.

The hill was awesome. It was a pretty steep climb, not too long. Until this stage I’d just been nudging the red, but now was the time to bury the needle firmly in the red. The hill felt stupendous; although right on the limit, I still felt incredibly strong.

The run had felt great, but I’d started my watch late so I wasn’t sure of how fast it had been. Given the pain of my ribs, I started to doubt my time and was disappointed – convinced I’d run a mid-19. The times for my leg weren’t posted immediately, so I had nothing to disprove my suspicion.

It wasn’t until this morning (Monday) that I found an email from the Club Captain; we’d finished 18^th overall and I had run 18’22” – 23s faster than my target time. Even better, as a team we had qualified for the Road Relay Nationals in two weeks time!

So in the end, a performance to be proud of for the team “with all the boxes ticked”. As far as I know, the Nationals will be at the same venue and hopefully the same course.

The weekend promises to be quite busy and exciting – the following day (the 27^th) will be my first race on the Ribble – the Reading CC Spring Road Race. 80km around the Chilterns should be a great challenge and will hopefully play to my natural climbing ability.

As usual, I can’t wait!

Running around town

Last weekend I had the enviable luxury of running a race around my own neighbourhood. Zoe at work had organised a team to run in the Osbourne Clarke Corporate Challenge – a 5.5km x 4 relay within the Reading Half Marathon. I’d chosen to run the third leg – the start was in town next to Forbury Gardens and the finish of the leg just outside my house. Plus I’d be able to grab a quick coffee before the start. No brainer really.

So with some time to spare for a quick cuppa, Tasha and I wandered down into town to Picnic where I settled down to a fresh Americano and a flapjack (fuel, of course!). I’d worked it so we’d theoretically have tons of time to spare, but moments after sitting down Tasha exclaimed that the first runners were going past. I ran outside to see a skinny dude sprinting ahead of the lead car. 27min had elapsed and this dude was just short of half distance! In other words just shy of 2:45/km! Incredible.

I was expecting our first two runners to do about 4:30/km, so I knew I still had at least 20 minutes, but seeing the main feature race leaders got the competitive adrenaline pumping and I was anxious to get out.

It worked out well, I had time to warm-up, settle myself and find a good waiting spot in the relay change-over area in good time for our runner coming through. I was a bit confused as I’d expected Edward, not Zoe, but that was all immaterial – it was time to get on with it as we were about 8 places down!

I bolted off and soon found myself tripping over the gaggle of half marathoners filling up the road. It was a bit frustrating as I battled to find my stride, but forced me to settle and concentrate on the job at hand. As soon as we got out of the confines of the inner city (Reading, being small, meant this happened quite quickly) I found I was able to find more space to open the taps. A nice short, sharp climb early in the leg also helped me make up some ground and also had the effect of stringing out the field.

Now I found myself on the undulating road to Prospect Park, concentrating on my stride and taking in as much air as I could. I felt a bit fraudulent was blasting past many of the runners on the road, most of them no doubt running the full distance, but I was intent on making up some places in the relay race. Unfortunately the race numbers were on the front so it wasn’t possible to distinguish the relay runners from the half-marathoners, so I couldn’t “pick out my marks” – so all I could do was push.

The climb up past Prospect hurt a bit and it was also quite narrow which meant it was quite congested. Then again, the stretch down Bath Road/ onto Castle Hill and the end of the leg was wide and open – and it hurt even more as I opened up the taps all the way.

I found Edward looking fairly calm at the relay point. A glance at my watch read 19’41” which was a bit off my target of 19 minutes flat, but still decent I thought.

It was quite luxurious to be able to simply wander down the road into my front door and a warm shower – a great reward! Overall our team did 1:29’40” which secured us 4^th place out of 50 teams, 9 minutes off the lead and a minute off the podium – not a bad showing at all.

So now I look forward to the Midland Road Relays Championships on the 5th April which will have me either doing a 5 or 8km leg (from what I can work out it is 8x3mi or 4x5mi). Either way, it should be a blast. I just hope I can find a bit more speed before then.

Not a shabby warm-up

I felt a bit poorly yesterday, slept really badly night before last and felt like I was coming down with something. Tasha pumped me full of fizzy Vitamin C and I just took it as easy as I could. On Sunday I'll be running in the Reading Half Marathon Corporate Relay (a last minute change as I had intended to run in the last XC meet of the season at Horspath), so that has been my focus. This week has been about preparing for Sunday.

I contemplated not running the Gallieo - I was feeling slow and treacly and I really didn't expect to be fast today; but I figured it would be a good opportunity to loosen up and get the body ready for Sunday.

So when we took off, I was surprised to feel quite light and to quickly leave behind the field on the first climb; I even had to slow-up as I was worried I was going too fast too. Apart from that I quickly found a smooth, easy rhythm and began to really enjoy just being out on my feet. As I got further into the run, I felt even better and the pace came – I just let it flow. By the end I was flying – taking in huge amounts of air and pushing hard on each step. All too soon I cross the line. 23’45”, 30” faster than my previous personal best.

It was an easy win. I was fortunate that Ian Mc wasn’t running – but that wasn’t what today was all about. It felt really great to bash my PB so soundly. It also gives me quite a target to beat next month!

Mc'd again!

Today was the first Galileo race of the year at work - and with my form improving at the moment I knew I'd be in for a win.

When I saw Ian McDougal I knew my win would be quite a bit difficult. If you remember, it was Ian who broke my winning streak by giving me a drubbing in the last GATA, so I had a bone to pick.

It was a perfect day for running, cool and not raining. Sure, the 29mph wind was a little arduous, but that aside it was spot on. From the start the course climbs gently up a long hill. Up the hill I found a nice pace that was quick but would let me warm through properly. I surprised myself (and, I later discovered, Ian) when I found I was easily shadowing him up the hill, hardly straining my breathing.

About 3/4the way up the hill Ian was now warmed through and also getting annoyed with the upstart on his tail, so he upped the pace. It was cruel but effective; I just didn't have anything to answer his acceleration with. But that was fine, mindful of Cirencester on Sunday I was running my own race at a pace as fast as I could muster without compromising the weekend.

Soon we turned into the wind, and I found myself enjoying the strange torture of running into the wind. I made a point of not looking back but did have a niggling feeling that if I lost concentration I might get caught and lose 2nd. And keeping concentration was difficult; after my hard London riding yesterday my legs felt like lead and my joints like treacle.

As I drew into the finish I gradually ratcheted up the pace - not quite to "grunting like a hunted boar" levels, but definitely in the zone of “gulping air like a maniac”. It felt great!

Ssoon after I came in a young graduate came in – apparently he was trying to catch me but got lost in the last few hundred metres through the houses. I look forward to the rematch.

But my concerns right now are far simpler - I'm as hungry as a horse and dinner awaits.

Goodnight!

:-)

On the bike

It's been a while since I've had a chance to get some good saddle time; what with all the running and being otherwise lazy. So today I had to head off to the DVLA in Wimbledon to apply to swap my SA drivers license for a UK one.

I opted to ride from Paddington to Wimbledon rather than use public transport because a) I love riding, especially in mad London and b) it would probably be quicker anyway.

Getting out of the inner city was just mad as usual, rows of stationary cars and the odd blind, wafting pedestrian. Approaching Putney it cleared out a lot and I was able to get into a nice rhythm - good given that the hill out of Putney is quite significant. With only one wrong turn (am I glad I popped back home on the way to fetch my A-to-Z!) to soon found myself flying down into Wimbledon.

The ride back was fun too, but the lack of miles in my legs was telling. The drag out of Wimbledon was easy, but I found it a bit of a struggle keeping pace into town; so much so that I managed to get a bit lost - once again, thank goodness for the A-to-Z!

All in all it was fun to be back in the saddle again other than just the monotonous commute. I'm quick but need some work - which is just fine. I'm still glad for the break from cycling I've had with some running, but as the days get longer a few more countryside loops beckon.

But back to today, or at least tomorrow - looking forward to the first Galileo of 2008 tomorrow - it should be a nice warm up for Ciren' this weekend!

:-)

Out of the frying pan ...

Newbold Comyn, Leamington Spa, 26/1/2008

Until now, I hadn’t really taken my XC training very seriously. In fact, until now I could probably tally up the number of training miles on my fingers! So the lead up to this race was something different for me. I found myself out at lunchtime in driving rain, hail, more rain and a few moments of sleet. So to say that this raised my expectations of the possibilities of my own performance would be a fair statement.

The field was huge, but I was lucky to get a nice spot just a few rows back from the line. The starter shouted a whole bunch of instructions that no-one bar the front row could hear above the thick din of anticipation, but it didn’t matter.

The gun went off and we were all scurrying and jostling for position. The field started very quickly, probably encouraged by the very good surface underfoot as we rounded a sports field. Quickly I realised that I was being sucked into the crazy pace and so, given that this was 12k as opposed to the usual 8k of the Oxford league races, I decided that it was better to rather tap off and conserve than kill myself too early.

There is nothing worse than being passed; feeling that you’re dropping down the order faster than a lump of lead. In retrospect I’ve come to realise that it was largely a function of the sheer size of the field, and the high standard of the competition that a small drop of pace meant being passed by so many runners, but at the time it just felt awful. I just had to keep telling myself to race my own race and to keep it steady until the finish was “in sight” at which time I could notch up the pace and take some places back.

The course was very fast and mostly flat bar a steep climb up “Beacon Hill” and, thankfully after Culham, the conditions were generally quite good. There were some nice tricky bits around trees and hedges which rewarded the agility and preserving momentum, and there was a nice mud splash; I quickly realised that I could gain an easy 10m through there by simply not tapping off. Everyone I followed in there would slow down and ease into it, I just went in full taps, made a big splash and exited a nearly full pace. It wasn’t very graceful, I got covered in muck and once nearly saw me face first in the mud, but it did feel good to have this weapon in my arsenal.

The first two laps seemed to take forever, but the last lap went by in a flash. Towards the end of the 2nd, I could almost smell the finish and I turned up the pace. Soon I started catching some of those lost places which felt great. But I was still feeling oddly disappointed with my speed as I out-sprinted two runners squabbling amongst themselves on my way to the line with a metre to spare.

Spotted the results today and now I’m feeling pretty chuffed with it after all. 181 of 379, 51’59” (4’20”/km). A minute faster than my projected time based on my previous performances (The Lore of Running, Tim Noakes – what a book). Our front runners, who usually easily win races in the Oxford league came in at 37th and 55th. Our team, top on the Oxford league, came it 10th out of over 30. So with the benefitof hindsight, I realise that the competition in this race was pretty strong, and that I did well to get the result I did, even if it didn’t feel like it at the time.

Next race is our club home event; it will be at Cirencester Park. Looking forward to it, the shorter distance should suit me well – I’m looking forward to a good result :-).

Leamington Saturday

I'm bursting with excitement. Tasha has finally bagged an agent, and I'm feeling strong for Saturday at Leamington.

It's 12k, so longer than I'm used to - but I'm in much better form from actually bothering to train. Another bonus is that the venue is 2km from the train station, so the ride will be a nice loosening up.

Can't wait!

:-)

Missed Banbury ... but 2008 feels great

2007 ended with a rather sad fizzle. I was sick as a dog with gastric fireworks on Christmas Day, took a few days to recover and after an exploratory ride at the end of the week I realised I was still too knocked down to realistically race the Banbury round of the Oxford Mail XC league.

But 2008 has felt completely different. I was glad to have taken care of myself and recovered from my illness properly; I've felt strong and fast on the bike all week - well the last two days anyway.

More motivation has come from having been asked to run for the club in the Midlands Championship on the 26th with the penultimate Oxford XC race the weekend after. The following month sees the last running race (for me) of the season (the Reading Half Marathon Corporate relay that we intend to win) and the start of the Criterium season with racing at Hillingdon.

2008 feels great.