8 days to Sevenoaks Sprint Triathlon
10 days to Ultra Run (tbd)

WEEK 37 – END OF SEASON

6-12 September

Week 37 marks the end of the 2010 racing season for me.  After Ironman UK it’s been almost a non-existant month from a training point of view.  The last two weeks have been all about pushing myself as much as possible, before taking a recovery week prior to what could be the final triathlon of the season.  My intention is to get up to 20hrs on 2-3/4 weeks as soon as possible from the second week of October.  Last week I hit 15hrs, this week is set to reach 16-17hrs. 

It could have been a little more but for a 4 DAs (Department Agencies) track and field meeting yesterday.  It was my third track and field meeting of the year (under the Civil Service umbrella) and was quite tough on stiff legs.  The bumpy 200m grass track meant I had to choose trainers over spikes, to relieve as much pressure as possible on the calfs and achilles. The 800m was a bit disappointing.  I pace was very slow from the off and I decided to take the lead.  On lap 2 I was overtaken by someone from HO (Home Office).  I stuck to his back and then took the lead again around lap 3.  However, on the back straight (100m from finish) two guys sprinted past to take 1st and 2nd.  I was a bit annoyed with myself for not going hard from the gun, as they looked like sprinters, and indeed one won the 100m later with the other finishing well back in the 1500m.  I got chatting to a guy from Sparta (Phil Killingley) before the 1500m race, who recently ran 2:28 Marathon and informally coaches runners.  We had a good chat and hopefully we’ll meet for the occasional long run during the winter, which should definitely help me build towards the London Marathon next April (I’ll be meeting Roger Barr too, who’s also gunning for 2:40).  The 1500m race started a lot quicker, with Phil and 3 others taking the lead.  I’m much more comfortable with steady starts and slotted happily behind them.  I moved into 2nd place with a couple of laps to go but couldn’t make up much ground on Phil who finished about 50m ahead. I was quite pleased with the time considering the state of my legs at that point and the surface we were running on.  I finished the day with a much better pool swim and some weights in the gym.  A good confidence booster.

DOUBLE IRON LANZAROTE

I have officially entered this inaugural Double Ironman-Distance event in Lanzarote, organised by Enduroman and recently added to the IUTA (International Ultra Triathlon Association) race series.  This should hopefully bring in some talent from the international circuit.  Looking forward to racing the event, meeting some of the athletes and chilling out on the beach (albeit half-dead).
The race takes place at Playa Blanca on the SW side of the island, and consists of:

4.8miles SEA SWIM (6 x 1.3km lap)
224miles BIKE (6 x 60km lap)
52miles RUN (31 x 2.73km) – both bike and run laps will pass through the athlete village where the crew will be waiting

I havn’t confirmed any travel and accommodation plans yet.  I may travel out with a friend (Dan) 7-10 days before the event to ‘acclimatise’ and do some light training in Puerto del Carmen (S).  Then I’ll head over to Playa Blanca a few days before the event and stay at the race hotel with my crew.  I won’t say who it is right now as I need to confirm dates and accommodation arrangements, and he will need to ensure he can get time-off.

I’ve already had a forward-look at the Macro training sheet and it’s dawned on me just how little preparation time I will have.  One of the reasons I am switching off 2010 now, and starting an early build towards 2011 is because of this very race.  I want to reach xmas with the majority of the DIM-spec training complete so I can take a couple of weeks off with my parents, and then visit Germany again with Yve.  January will be maintenance work and a few saunas and turbo sessions in the bathroom to get used to warmer training conditions.  Lanzarote temps are generally around 17-21c in Feb which isn’t a lot, but it could be a shock to the system if it’s just 0-5c over here!

Regarding race expectations: the main aim is to do well and get a decent time.  I certainly want to finish within 21-22hrs.  It very much depends on how the training goes, and weather conditions on the day.  The wind will make a difference.  I certainly won’t want to take any chances during a windy night with just one metre of tarmac between me and black lava rock.  I came up with a few race ideas while watching/crewing the Enduroman event last month that I want to try them out in the race.  One of them should mean I don’t need to stop on the bike, while still getting the necessary nutrition on board.  The rest of the race plan will be a secret between me and my crew.  EVENT website

Next week will involve a few speed sessions and plenty of rest to recover from the last two transitional weeks, and to prep myself for the Sevenoaks Triathlon.  I’d like a strong performance overall, but I’m not too bothered about position or times.  My performances will start to improve again from about Nov onwards, and that’s when I’ll start looking into a few races to sharpen up, besides the Brecon Beacons Ultra.  There will be plenty of speed sessions and hill work incorporated around the ultra training this winter so long as my achilles is happy.  This will hold me in good stead for next season, where I would like to get an 8:45 at Challenge Roth Ironman-Distance. You read it here first!