blog

Castle Triathlon Seires 2011 - 2nd Place in the Series

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 11:34:29 +0100

Once again this year my domestic season's racing has been focused around the fantastic Castle Triathlon Series; 4 races in 4 stunning locations....and quite a bit of prize money on hand too which was nice!

Cholmondeley Castle

The first event in Cholmondeley Castle near Crewe. This came the week after a middle distance event in China - needless to say, I was a little bit tired and sore. But the nature of the series competition was that it was your best 3 from 4 races to count for the series so I didn't want to miss an opportunity to race.

Sadly for me, (but good for the race...), word has gotten out about the series and it was now far more competitive. My old training partner Mark Threlfall was in the hunt for the series prize and I knew he was going to be hard to beat. And so it was, he lead from start to finish and I managed 4th place behind Steve Worthington and Luke Watson. Not a great start to the series but good to have some points on the board.

Castle Howard

Castle Howard is my 'home' castle event and a race I won last year. I didn't quite manage to jump on the feet of Mark and Dave Bishop and found myself a minute down. I wasn't feeling very strong on the bike and lost a couple of places which was rather worrying. Fortunately the run was much better and I regained those spots to finish 3rd.

Chateau Chantilly Swim Recce

Brian, the Race Director of the Castle Triathlon Series, was kind enough to take a group of us to France for the event launch. This would take the form of a 1,500m swim race in the rather prestigious looking lake infront of the Chateau - partly to showcase the event and partly to stimulate a little bit of French - English rivalry! It was a tight race but after accelerating hard out of every turn I managed to gap the other athletes to win the race. Luke was 2nd to give England a 1,2 and to show the French we meant business.....

Chateau Chantilly Triathlon

....Unfortunately, they might have over reacted and recruited too many top athletes to come for the triathlon. There was a fantastic 1000 euro prize for the winning team of 4 - however a very strong showing from the Beauvais Team meant that the team prize was very convincingly taken by the French. This race I felt much better in the swim, and the super flat bike course really suited me and I felt pretty good. Sadly biking is a bit of a speciality for the French and it wasn't good enough.

Hever Castle

After Chantilly I had taken pretty much a month off to set up my new business, Relish The Great Outdoors (events and web design business specialising in online entry management, incase you were wondering ;-) ). Racing the event was a bit of a last minute decision and only because I was looking for a nice weekend away did I end up going in truth - and it was definitely worth it.

The swim was incredibly, lining up in the water shrowded by mist with four ghost like figure in kayaks leading the way. The bike was very fun and challenging - the kind of roads you would love to rally drive on. And the run was on a really interesting off road trail; over wooden footbridges and around the lake. I finished the race in a rather lowly 7th but it was good to have a more relaxed approach to the race and then I could get on with playing on the inflatables....

I ended up finishing 2nd in the series behind Mark Threlfall who was a very deserving winner recording 1st, 1st, 2nd and 2nd in the series. It has been a great series; well organised, beautiful locations and great racing. I'll certainly be racing again next year which sees the addition of a Castle in Ireland, and there is a rumour that even more are being looked at....

Relish Running Races - Dyrham Park Series

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 20:54:23 +0100

Another wonderful day was enjoyed by all at the beautiful National Trust property Dyrham Park. With 10km, 3km, relay and 300m races there was fun for all levels of experience.

Runners set off up Neptune's Hill for the first time!

The 10km was run over a challenging yet stunning course, with winner Will Christofi leading the field in a rapid time of 37.50 minutes. Lead woman Georgia Wood defended her victory from the inaugural race by an impressive two minutes. The runners enjoyed breathtaking views of the Somerset and Gloucestershire landscape and many even challenged the park deer to a sprint finish! It was inspiring to see so many ages and abilities running so a massive congratulations to all those who joined in both the 10km and 3km. We were delighted to be joined by people from near and far, including the entire Rugo family all the way from France.

Once again, the 300m was a great event with many kids enjoying the course and loving receiving their certificates for their efforts. Impressing was Hywel Denham who set off at a rapid pace but didn't tire for that all-important sprint finish. He was closely followed by a troop of up-coming young athletes we have no doubt will be fantastic runners of the future.

The weather held off to allow the athletes and their families time to relax and enjoy the jazz concert in the beautiful grounds as a well-deserved treat.

Mark Smith (238) and David Ponting (225) grab a drink at the water stations

We are delighted many runners will be returning on 18th September to challenge their times on this exciting course. With a spot prize on the day up-for-grabs of an incredible weekend away for six people at The National Trust's Clutterbuck House, we'd love to see any new entrants join us for the final race of this year's series.

Many thanks to all who joined us today and to our sponsors Cytomax and online retailer Running Home for providing the prizes. And as always, the wonderful marshalls and the National Trust have been superb in enabling such a fun-filled family day to be relished by so many.

ITU Weihai - Part (i) The Race

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 09:48:15 +0100

Going to make this a two parter, one of the race, one about China.

40 minutes before the race I was all ready to go with my transition laid out so I thought I would top up my tyres with air. I saw the mechanic put on the valve of the pump and then the next second he had taken the wheel valves apart. My deep section front wheels has a couple of valve extenders which apparently intrigued him so he thought he would have a look. I couldn't get the threads to re-align, and he continued to take more parts off the wheel. I couldn't get the threads to go back in and we couldn't get much air in without it so he handed my a spare wheel, complete with reflectors and spoke-e-dokes for the race. Brilliant. The language barrier hindered my efforts to explain that the wheel was fine and just needed un-buggering. I found an English speaker just before we ran to the start and I hope that in the 40mins that the swim would take that they would be able to fix it and when I ran to T1 my bike would have the wheel back on. Alas, it did not.

I knew what I had to do, separate what was in my control and what was not and get on with it. This really wasn't easy. I was in China, with a bike I had never ridden (but was very grateful to have!), and without my race wheels, I was now riding against some top athletes with a less than ideal set up. At least I was more fortunate than Erich who made one last adjustment to his wetsuit sleeve and wripped a huge gash in the arm like the incredible hulk. Just as we were being called through to the start line he was wrapping up his arm in electrical tape.

The swim was cold, for the Americans and Australians, warm for the British, though they had threatened to cut down the distance and indeed did so for the age group athletes. It was a 4 lap swim with a beach exit each lap. My goggles were full of water for the first two laps which meant I was a nuicanse to myself and the group. So I just hung out at the back of the lead group which was going at a pretty comfortable pace with only Kieran Doe getting away.

30m after the mount line was a little 10% hill which was fun. A sweeping coastal path was the first part of the route which was very enjoyable but needed great handling skills to maximise speed, which I did not have. The was also a 2km hill mid way round and some super fast descents - a real bike riders course, really enjoyable but I was really struggling to find any kind of rhythm and was slow.

My running legs felt good on the 4 lap out and back course. I was keeping pace with the best runners for 2 laps, and even though I didn't feel it, the times show that I slowed on the last lap. By this time I was still chasing hard to run down Lee who had blown after two laps in an effort to get in the prize money. But I was too slow and was 200m short of catching him.

I was relieved to have made it round after my second attempt at the race (after being ill and not being able to travel to the first race). The post race food was 4 slices of brown bread, which was just what I had been craving all race ;-)

Immediately after the finish, the mechanic handed my a reassambled wheel, full of air. Just in time for the post race photo....

I really enjoyed the race. Great venue, challenging course and just a lot of fun. My swim and run were descent enough, the bike split was what let me down. The new bike was running great, the random wheels less so, but in the end I just didn't have it in the legs, simple as that.

Always get your bike serviced 3 weeks before a big race.....

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 09:34:42 +0100

This is what I always tell all my athletes, and I do listen to own advice, thankfully...

Monday the bike goes in for a post winter service, no problems, just want it to be running in tip top (best) condition for China. That evening I have a voicemail, "Tom, I don't know how to say this, so I wont, you needed to come into the shop". A tad dramatic but this clearly is not good. To cut a long story short, and through many ups and downs, I was on the look out for a new bike with 2 weeks to go before the race - but luckly that is time enough to fix anything!

I got back in contact with Kinetic One, a shop who I had raced for in the past, to see if they might be able to help me out. Incredibly Andy offered to sort me out with a bike for China. I picked it up yesterday, 8 days our from China (3 days before I leave), and rode it the 30 miles home to settle in and I couldn't be happier.

Kinetic One pride themselves on their bike fitting and it felt like I had never been off the bike, the set up was so precise. The bike felt very stiff and the power transfer was great - I am not the best climber but I really noticed a big difference on the hills.

I know everytime someone picks up an exciting new sponsor they rave about their product/service etc, so how do you know what they are really thinking..... Even though I haven't been working with Kinetic One for 3 years now, in that time I have been sending athletes I coach there for the great service and bikes they offer. It is a product and service I really believe in and I'm confident I will be working with the more officially in the future.

And in the meantime, always get your bike serviced 3 weeks before a big race as anything can be fixed in that time, and it may even work out for the better.

Racing towards China

Sat, 28 May 2011 20:02:51 +0100

Over the last few weeks I have been packing in even more warm up races and it is really starting to come through in the results;

17th May - Corsham 5km. I arrived with less than 5mins before the start......at least it made for a good brick session. My legs didn't feel super but I ran 17:13 on a hilly course to win the race

22nd May - Bradford on Avon Sprint Tri. I really enjoy this race. An open water swim in the Avon, a very hilly bike and fast and flat run. I was neck and neck with Paul Horsfall for most of the race. I attacked at the beginning of the run and found my runnign legs at last. I ran 16:11 and felt comfortable too, another good win.

24th May - Tynetsfield 10km. Tynestfield is another National Trust site so I was really keen to race and see the reaction of people for Relish Running Races Everyone loved the race, myself included. It had everything; historic gardens, waist high grass, technical woodland trails - it was brilliant, even if I only managed second.

So a couple of weeks out and I am finding my running legs for the first time in years. The next couple of weeks will be a fine balance of hard sessions, a few more races, and really focusing on recovery, but it is looking good.

Early Season Racing

Fri, 06 May 2011 22:21:10 +0100

Over the last couple of weeks I have been getting in as much racing as possible. My weakness last season was run speed so I wanted to set about addressing this as soon as possible; by racing as many foot races between now and when my full triathlon season starts.

It has highlighted to me again just how useful these training races are as after each race my legs seemed to have found another gear;

April 19th - Frenchay 10km - 10th (or so) I didn't really check the results after this race. It was not pretty. I was in the lead group for the first 2km then faded badly. Was almost sick after 6km and waddled through to the finish. It had been a very busy week getting my new website up and running but that was no excuse. I was pissed off.

May 1st - Pensford 10km - 3rd An improvement, but still pretty poor. Martin Cox of Saltford harriers put me to shame as he came in about 4mins ahead of me. But I held my form on the hills and was able to sustain my pace better.

May 4th - Bath Amphibians Manic Midweek Duathlon Series (2miles/10miles/2miles) - 2nd. On the first run my legs still felt pretty sluggish and I was able to stick with the front runners. On the bike I felt reasonable but it wasn't until the second run that I finally started to get a flash of how I should be running. I run through from 4th to 2nd with my final run only 11secs slower than my first. Still, Oli Mott came in 2mins ahead and broke the course record...on his first race back in 2 years. Well ran Oli, next month I'll be closer ;-)

So, no matter what your race distance, if you want to achieve your goal, you need to be fast. There is no substitute for speed work, and there is no better speed work than a race. And it is never too late, in 2 weeks or 3 races, I can see a huge improvement in my times and my performances and I'm sure you will too.

New ventures, exciting times, Relishing The Great Outdoors

Thu, 05 May 2011 20:45:45 +0100

I have been reflecting a lot recently about where I am going with my career - the one other than triathlon ;-)

I have been doing a lot of work with students with learning difficulties for the last few years and it has been very enjoyable work. However, the routes for progression are very limited. And much like my triathlon career, it is only worth doing if I feel like it is going somewhere.

The solution I have decided upon, is to amalgamate the two. Or rather, I have decided to expand the horizons of my triathlon career. I have been fortunate enough to take part in some amazing events around the world that have been more than just triathlons, they have been great sporting occasions and that is what I aspire to offer with my new events company Relish The Great Outdoors.

The central tenants of all the events are; getting back to Nature, Health & Fitness and a focus on Athlete & Family. In short, I want to make a great family day out so everyone involved can Relish The Great Outdoors. If you want the longer version, then you can click through to the website.

I have several ventures in the pipeline, but the first one is already happening; Relish Running Races is putting on it's first events in partnership with the National Trust in Dyrham Park, just a few miles away from Bath or Bristol. There are 3 dates; 10th July, 7th August, 18th September and each day offers a 10km individual, 10km team relay, 3km fun run and 300m fun run. On the first two dates there is a post race jazz concert for all the family to enjoy.

But the best part of the races, every individual or team who enters a 10km race will go into a prize draw to win a holiday for 6 people, for 2 nights in a National Trust property. And in keeping with the philosophy of the events being athlete and family centred, this spot prize is open to everyone who takes takes part in the races!

Great move from ICAN Triathlon

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 20:50:37 +0100

The new tirathlon organisation ICAN Triathlon which currently produces long distance races in Marbella and Malllorca ois offering a fanstastic service to athletes when out on the bike course - neutral service motor bikes providing wheel replacement for punctures.

Given that most athletes take part in triathlon for the challenge of competing rather than competing this small gesture will have a massive impact on those athletes unfortunate enough to puncture and at the same time extend a very positive philosphy to the triathlon community as a whole.

I think for pros that perhaps this service should not apply when there is prize money available as the speed of the neutral service vehicle in reaching athletes could dramatically alter the results and therefore the neutral service may not be entirely neutral despite the best of intentions.

Most other major organisers have a no outside assistance rule which meant that Chrissie Wellington relied on Bek Keat "dropping" a co2 cartridge near her when she rode past which enabled Chrissie to go on and win the race which was a very magnaminous gesture. Otherwise, her race would have been over like so many others who puncture at the roadside like Norman Stadler here

Whilst the replacements might not come as quick as this, this move by ICAN triathlon can only be a positive move for the sport

Priorities - More on Season Planning

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:04:12 +0100

I felt good about the blog I wrote a while back about How to Plan a Season / The Problem with being SMART but when it came to plan my own season it became clear that I was missing something as much to my frustration I was struggling to enact my own philosophy;

S = Suffering
W = Wild Ambition
E = Exceeding Limits
A = Achievable (still important, just not that important)
T = Time Frame
E = Exciting
D = Daring

I found that my own season plans were not exciting, nor daring and they did not strike me as ambitious even though I wanted them to be. And that was because I had forgotten about one over arching principle - Priorities.

On reflection, prioritising races has not always been a strong point of my season planning. For example, I over race and try to do too many half ironman events in quick, or slow, succession. It never elicits the times that I know I am capable of, although it does usually deliver the end result/outcome goal that I am after - qualifying for 70.3 Pro World Champs.....mmmmm...so maybe I'm not so bad.

Anyway, this year I am having difficulty deciding on what my priorities are, which is making marrying up the many races and what they have to offer, with such uncertain priorities really quite difficult.

Some of the Priorities under consideration;

- Making Money - I can't afford to do (m)any race which doesn't have a direct financial pay off
- Racing high profile races for sponsorship interest in terms of promoting and retaining
- Racing high profile races for the Exciting, Ambitious, Daring component
- Race only when you will be competitive

It seems to me that the races that I am most likely to make money from are the ones which are slightly lower profile and thus do not satisfy my need to be stupidly ambitious and it does seem do not satisfy the desires of sponsors as much as an ass kicking at the World Championships.

The fact that I am not in a position to make lots of money from the higher profile races sits okay, it is just where I am right now and I have to be realistic. On the other hand I do really value the support that sponsors can bring and I have been fortunate to work with some brilliant sponsors in the past who have helped push me forward. I understand that retaining great sponsors is as much a part of the the job as is performing in races. But they are typically looking for athletes racing the higher profile races which I can't make pay. It is a bit of a Catch 22 situation.

Once again, back to priorities. I am not saying these priorities are what I want to be doing, because if they were, they wouldn't be called priorities, they would be called doing whatever the hell you want.

Keeping in mind some crucial philosophies; Drop the ego, Race only when competitive, Enter only the races that pay

(i) Enter only the races that pay
(ii) Race only when competitive
(iii) Drop the ego. More sponsorship will come when you get faster, you get faster by staying in the sport by not going bankrupt, which you do by entering the races that pay.

And there is no reason that within these races I can't set some stupidly ambitious targets too :-)

Training Week 14th - 20th February

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 12:52:57 +0100

The first hard week in a 3 week block;

Monday

am - 1hr aerobic run
am - aerobic swim set, though I am swimming a little rubbish so it turned out to be a little harder than it shoudl have been;
400 off 6mins; 4x100 off 1:30
300 off 4:30; 3x100 off 1:25
200 off 3:00, 2x100 off 1:20 (went a little wrong around here)
2x100 off ~~1:20,~~ 1:30; 200 off 3:00
3x100 off 1:25, 300 of 4:30
4x100 off 1:30, 400 off 6mins
Total 5.2km

Tuesday

am - 4.4km Strength Set
pm - 4x10min hill rep loop with uni club - Steady along the bottom of the loop, hard up the hill (threshold), very hard over the top (above threshold), jog down the hill. 60mins

Wednesday

am - Threshold Session 6x300 as 100 steady (below threshold), 100 hard (threshold), 100 very hard (above threshold) + 30secs
Total 4.6km
pm - 5 Hills of Bath, plus an hour easy 2hrs15mins (powercranks) into run 2x{5mins hard, 5mins easy}
pm - 30min recovery jog

Thursday

Day Off

Friday

am - 10km mutli terrain loop running 4-5km, 8-10km hard
am - Speed Session; 8x150 as 75 max off 60, 50 mod off 60, 25 max off 60. + 60. Total 3.2km
pm - 2hrs45min easy ride (powercranks)

Saturday

am - 2hr pre breakfast run
pm - 2hr ride powercranks with intervals

Sunday

am - 3hrs45mins on TT bike
pm - 1hr easy run

Totals; (somewhat arbitrary to quote total durations now that I am going more interval work I know, but I want to keep these blogs fairly simple)
Swim - 17.4km
Bike - 9hrs45mins
Run - 7hrs

This was the first week that I have included some interval training in bike and run and was very pleased with how it went.