Blog

This was the first week of big(ger) volume training, not including Lanzarote. I really enjoyed it and have become considerably more tired (I napped in the bike shed at uni earlier in the week....damp) and more hairy as my "heavy training beard" starts to take hold.

Saturday;
90min hilly x-country taking in Bannerdown, St Catherine's and Solsbury Hill
3.5hr ride

Sunday;
3hr ride
2hr ride on the powercranks - blew up pretty hard

Monday;
Gym
5.0km swim

Tuesday;
3.5hr ride; Cheddar-Wells loop
1hr run

Wednesday;
5.0km swim
2.25hr powercrank ride - really cross at myself for not making it up Prospect Place - 25% hill. Student club be warned, we will be going back until I make it
1hr run

Thursday;
30min recovery run (just a more efficient way of doing the boring jobs in town)

Friday;
Gym
5.0km swim - with some sprints, almost saw my breakfast again so I knew I was doing the properly
Rest of the sessions got cancelled due to work and going to see the amazing Mr Derren Brown with Ginge

  When we havin'?

Derren completely messed with my mind yet again and I was frustrated not to spot the trick that was staring the audience in the face for the whole show, well worth seeing.

Totals;
Gym; 2 sessions
Swim; 15.0km over 3 sessions
Bike; 14.25hrs over 5 rides (4.25 on powercranks)
Run; 4.0hrs over 4 sessions

Pretty pleased with the week. Would have liked another hour on the bike and another couple running but it's a start. Comments

8 Days in Lanzarote = 500 miles on the bikes, 5hrs jogging, 5hrs swimming, 1.6kg of biscuits, 1 mental receptionist threatening to call the police, £60 in hidden charges

Inter-semester break could not have arrived at a better time. Whilst running in the snow was still fun,




...riding the rollers for a couple of hours a day in the kitchen was starting to lose it's charm, so it was off to Lanzarote for 8 days of sunshine and riding.

The trip incurred a few minor hiccups early on when Jack dislocated his wrist in a fairly innocuous low speed crash, but with Tom coming in to take his place we seemed set to go. Until, with a week to go, Matt asked me when exactly we were leaving, "Oh bollox, I think I have an exam that day" was his reply. He was of course correct and had to join us a day later. I should add I did not have an entirely clean run up to the trip as I left my passport at home, only for Gemma to save the day, and my blushes, by speeding it to the train station.

Tom and I checked in to our apartment and were pleasantly suprised what £190 for 10 days flights and accommadation will get you. Matt arrived the following day and was checked into another apartment, which was of course a mistake. Reception were suspicous but too slow to work it out (yet sadly not quite slow enough). After calling us all down twice they confirmed out reservation and that we were fully paid up. Convinced by this we went about our training;

We worked on flexibility;



We worked on getting strong;



We worked on....I don't know what this is;



And like typical triathletes we worked hard at "doing our own thing" and training by ourselves as much as possible. The time that we gathered in the same place for the longest time was for the much anticipated crazy golf and pool showdown. Conveniently John and Marcus came down over night with violent vomitting and general malaise which would see them finishing bottom of the rankings and being spoken badly about for their inability to put it on the line when it matters.

The crazy golf saw the Northeners coming out in their true colours as Oli and I frequently swore and blasted the ball off the green, hoping that hitting the ball via the bar might offer a better route to the pin than via the one foot jump on the hole. Sadly all our violent stick swinging was for nothing, as we were beaten by a Southerner by one stroke. I won the pool and I only hit the ball off the table once, disappointing.

With two days to go the receptionist came into our apartment when all 3 of us were present, she exclaimed, "you know each other!" It was pointless to deny it, the games was up. But we thought we played fairly and expected to be treated accordingly. Apparently this meant paying for a full 9 nights for the second apartment. Not satisfied with this outcome Matt moved his stuff into our apartment on night 6 and dropped his key off at rececption who again demanded instant payment upon threat of calling the police should we refuse. Matt bravely declined to pay and sought to speak with the manager in the morning.

Rather than wait in on the manager we decided to spend the morning riding up and down a really big hill lots of times,



...when we returned the manager had left and again we were threatened with police. After much consideration as to whether we could camp at the beach in our bike boxes for the next few nights, and bartering, we managed to pay less than half price. Small victories. Turns out when Jack was taken off the itinerary they made a repeat booking with Tom's name at the head of one and Jack's name at the head of the other. The fact there were two Matt Everest's and two Tom Rooms made perfect sense. Well played lowcostholidays.com Ba$tard$.

Back in Bath now and feeling much better for putting in 29hrs of biking in 8 days, sadly work and the climate are unlikely to allow for quite so much but I feel like it has given my training a very welcome boost

Comments

This series of posts is concerning the new WTC's (World Triathlon Corperation) new Pro License for all official M-Dot branded Ironman and 70.3 events. I will try and present a balanced discussion over three parts.
- The first part (which can be found here) looks at the official WTC line and the view of Graeme Stewart who tries to find the positives in the new scheme (though he clearly isn't a fan)
- The second part will look at the aim of this initiative - to bring to life an Anti-Doping Program.
- The third part will discuss the thoughts of Greg Remaly and myself concerning who are the real winners and losers with the introduction of the new membership. 

The WTC Annual Pro License (Add to cart: 1 @ $750. SPECIAL OFFER: Race the Worlds for only $300 (£200) extra)

For an annual payment of $750 (USD) a pro athlete gets "complimentary" entry to all WTC owned Ironman events. However, this does not include either World Championship event, which will cost an extra $300. This money is being put towards a Pro Anti-Doping Program. Perhaps what is more interesting is in the small print, or rather rule changes that are being tagged on to this laudable initiative but are in fact yet another cash grab.

From 2010 Pro athletes will only be eligible for prize money if they finish within 8% of the winners time (formerly 10% of second place). Unclaimed prize money will not be redistributed. This rule also applies to Championship qualification spots where are previously there was no such standard.

A Pro Loyalty Card or handcuffs?

Or it that more? (Thanks Graeme for the image)

As a typical 70.3 event costs $250, if you manage to race three or more events you can appear to make a saving. And indeed Pro athletes who pay this money would be wise to do so to make sure they get their value for money, however I believe this is an example of false economy. It is like going to the supermarket and buying a 3 for 2 deal when you really only wanted one. As WTC own the market share, most "big events" are now running on this false economy principle, so most people will buy into them. The point being, it is only a saving if you were planning on doing more than 3 events in the first place. Personally, I raced 2 qualifying events in 2008 and 3 events in 2009, so the false economy holds true for my situation.

However, this is even more disingenuous that it appears above. Most Pro athletes manage to get genuine complimentary entries at a couple of races a year. Personally I have only paid an entry at my first 70.3 qualifying event (and World Champs) so the new membership would cost me an additional $750 and save me nothing. Another way of putting it; the World Champs now comes with a massive $1050 (£650) entry fee!

Graeme Stewart tries to see the positive in the membership program by highlighting it's money saving potential, and seeing it as a loyalty card. Seeing that $750 would take up a sizeable proportion, if not all, of a Pro Athlete's race entry fund, then athletes are going to be loyal to the WTC in order to get their value for money. At the same time, they are unlikely to pay to enter a Challenge Series when there is no Championship at the end. Is this a truly a loyalty card, or a set of handcuffs?

With a loyalty card, you get something back at the end, rewarding your loyalty. Points so you can buy some form of household appliance? With this scheme you get nothing back, you get less than in previous years because your chances of attaining prize money are reduced. And if you do get some, first of all you have to pay off the $750 you forked out in the first place to be doing the races you otherwise got for free.

Room for one more??

The Pro Membership handcuffs you to a series with even less profitable potential than in previous years, why do it? To race a sham World Championships? I wouldn't bother Comments

...let it never be said the children of the North are not insightful (or very good at sledging)

I have just returned from a great week at home in the North for Christmas. And there was snow, which excites any Northener. Tom and I polished up and hammered together his dad's 50 year old wooden sledge to great effect. Not only were we the envy of every kid on the hill, we almost garroted ourselves on the barbed wire fence at the bottom. Fortunately we had foreseen this happening and placed a shopping trolley in the way as a buffer....



Note - we had nothing to do with the shopping trolley somehow making its way to the hill, miles from the nearest supermarket?!

Preoccupied by snow, surrounded by iced over roads and pool closures, very little training was done.

I have returned to Bath, and back to training. Turns out 1 week off after 3 weeks of light training will knock you back a bit. I hope it is just the cold air, but I feel like an asthmatic bambi right now

Comments

Old Approach

The ambition of every newbie pro triathlete, including me, was to race the best in the world at the best races in the world -> Race at the World Championships (Done)

For the last two years this has been my approach to being a professional triathlete, and I mistakenly thought that in itself was a means to an end. Well, I guess if I want to end my career early then it is true, for it is a fast track to bankruptcy and no more. There simply is not enough money in the sport to support a a professional athlete population greater than 10.

A few days ago I reached the lofty age of 25. Most people tell me that I am still young and I have plenty of time in the sport, but I already feel the pressure. If you take the traditional view (which is getting turned on it's head) then I have 5 years before I reach my peak, but the problem is, what do I do until then? Continue spending literally thousands of pounds on races that do not pay and feed only my ego? No. It's time for a fresh approach...

Fresh Approach

Time to ditch the ego component and adopt a truly professional approach. To do this I am largely going to be following the advice of someone who has actually been there and done it, Chuckie V, who wrote a surivial guide for young pro triathletes which is posted below;

Lifestyle

(1) Consider the sport a hobby until you can generate enough income through it, but treat your hobby dead serious.
    I think I am too serious to call it a hobby?!
(2) Generate enough income somehow, whether through mooching, coaching, or by---God forbid---getting a real job!!
    Coaching is coming very soon, and I have a bit of a real job ??
(3) Solicit financial assistance, whether through sponsorship, mom and dad or your soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend
    Anyone looking for athletes to sponsor? Thank you mum & dad. Girlfriend??
(4) Keep your expenses low. Live in your car. No car? Live in a friend's car! And eat in.
    This one's easy - no car, too expensive ;-)
   
Racing

(5) Enter only the races that pay. Stop cherry-picking at events that feed only your ego. See (11) below.
    That's the 2010 plan
(6) Race competitively. Don't participate when you're not going to be competitive.
    This mistake defines 2009
(7) Aim to gain experience, despite the two aforementioned recommendations.
    I'll do what I can
(8) Bond with other pro triathletes and create a union. Or continue fighting for scraps.
    Better people than I have tried and sadly failed. Though I definitely believe the pros desperately need a voice...!

Training

(9) Train wisely. See (10) below. Improve your weaknesses, whether they're in the sport, the wallet or in your head.
    Hopefully I will address the weakness in my head which is leading to the weakness in my wallet
(10) Hire a competent coach, or, better yet, a SET of competent advisers.
    I think (2) is going to have to come about first, unless Teambath want to come out and play??

Ego

(11) Drop the ego. Our numbers, while growing, are insignificant…just like you. Bite your tongue 'til it bleeds; pry open your ears 'til they bleed.
    Turns out I'm not very good at the biting my tongue....and am reluctant to apologise for this.
(12) Ask questions and read all you can. Be a student of the sport. Respect your elders. Reread (11)
    Will read more
(13) Understand not just your physiological responses to training & your psychological responses as well. See (10)&(11)
    Always working in this
(14) The choice to be an "elite" is yours and yours only. It is a CHOICE. If you feel entitled to anything just because you are a pro, you are anything but pro. Read (15)
    I already know this one and will never lose sight of it.

Me and My Competition

(15) Don't do this half-ass or your results will be half chance. Do everything full ass. The clock is unforgiving, as is your competition. And thus you should be.
    I can be more full ass for sure.
(16) Give it time. Stay the course.
    How much time is enough time?
(17) Learn to love to kick ass. Love learning to kick ass.
    This is going on my wall...
(18) Know that somewhere out there somebody is out-working you: now, then and then again.
    So is this one...


The underlying foundations of 2010 are now in place...
 

Comments

Now, 1 week into the 2010 campaign, my thoughts are already wondering over to the far off race season. But if I am going to plan ahead properly, it is only right I look back at the year just gone. Did I achieve my objectives?

2009 Objectives

(i) Get to the Pro 70.3 Ironman World Championships
(ii) Break 4hrs for a 70.3
(iii) Finish in the top 25 at the Worlds
(iv) Earn some money from the sport
(v) Be more consistent - don't break myself

(i) Be at the Pro 70.3 Ironman World Championships?
Well I certainly got there, and I had a great time getting there. Thank you to my excellent supporters and sponsors for 2009; Whasp, Isaac, 2XU and Snugg. I would also like to thank all the great people who have helped me with homestays and who I really couldn't manage without; Barbara, Phillipe, Flo (Austria); Rebcca (Toronto); Mel, Dave, Julie, Sara, Emilie, Maddie (Muskoka); Ray, Loukia (Atlanta); Zach and family, Patti-Ann and family (Augusta), all the St Pepe Mad Dogs (St Pete and Clearwater) Hopefully I will get to see you all again in the near future

(ii) Break 4hrs?
3hrs 57mins 08second. Infact, I revised my goal to 3hrs57mins for Clearwater, and I'm feeling kind so I'll take that.

(iii) Top 25 in the World?
Who knows what might have been ;-) But no, target missed, we all know why.

(iv) Earn some money from races?
Nope. Probably spent the most money yet. Damn. Did I chose races to feed my ego or fill my pocket? Definitely the ego, but with it I was hoping the traffic from my wallet would become two way, but it didn't. This has lead me to reassess yet again, what it means to be a pro triathlete, and this single fact is going to dictate how my 2010 seasons unfolds ahead of me.

(v) Stay in one piece?
Yes. I made some tough decisions. I dropped out of some races when the risk/reward was not in my favour and I am proud of myself for that. It was unbelievably hard to do, but I take comfort in it being the smart, professional thing to do.

 - All in all I am fairly pleased. I achieved all of the objectives that were under my control, so I have to be pleased with that. But the objectives that were out of my control to a certain degree, placement in races and winning money, were missed. Possibly the targets were overly ambitious or perhaps I didn't do what needed to be done to get there. I am going to take the second option, there are always many things to improve on....



Comments

I came across this video and thought it was brilliant. At times I think we may have all played both these characters......?

It is the density of riders that dooms the Pro World Championship where as the relatively poorly attended series events do not suffer the same problem.

If you assume the pros ride at modest 25mph that means they are travelling 11.2m/sec. That means they can come out the water/start the bike within a second of each other, and whilst still being technically draft legal, they are right on top of one another.

Looking at athletes exiting the water to find the greatest density (highest number of athletes in least time) it is roughly from the 3rd athlete to the 41st athlete with times of 21:48 and 22:39. So one can assume 38 athletes start the bike within 50 seconds of each other - at roughly 1 rider a second, and at 25mph, just outside the draft legal zone.

Assuming riders chose to adhere to the "pass the whole paceline without slotting in" rule it is nearly impossible for athlete 41 to ride up to athlete 3 as he would have to overtake a 400m long paceline moving at 28mph (Clearwater speeds). I know breaks in the line occur but I believe the underlying argument is sound. If you do not come out the water at the front it is highly unlikely you could maintain the necessary jump in power to make it to the front. Then there is some kind ITU style run race at the end.

Slowtwitch posters have suggested a solution is to increase the draft zone to 20 metres which I believe would taking athletes out the draft zone entirely (reference anyone?) but this is not possible with swimmers exiting the water at their current rate, unless everyone politely waited a second for a 20 metre gap whilst mounting the bike. Therefore a solution lies in reducing the density of swimmers exiting the water by introducing a time trial start, releasing athletes at 1 or 2 min intervals - followed by the implementation and ENFORCEMENT at a 20 metre draft zone. (I don't beleive a stagger will be effective as on the narrow roads of Clearwater, a 3 person stagger will block the entire road and make overtaking impossible)

I like the suggestion made by Paul of having a prologue to establish the gaps leading into the time trial over 70.3 distance;

Prologue: start 1 min apart, big party in town on Thu nite say 400m/4000/1600m which would take you guys 15 minutes, 5 min per sport. then a TT start on Saturday morning in the reverse order of prologue finish, at 10 second intervals.

...and it would definitely make more of an exhibition of the event. Though I think hosting the bike on a crit style circuit would be good. I don't think it suits the nature of time trialing and it is more likely lead to bunching through tight streets as Bjorn points out. 

I aslo disagree that it would make the race less entertaing, if anything I would think it would make it more so. Clearwater must have been boring to watch. There was a swim, a boring bike where everyone stayed in one long line for two hrs and then a run race. I would think it would be much more exciting to watch the virtual lead chop and change, the lead actually shifting wildly through each discipline and then tracking athletes splits through the final miles to the finish time to see if the can claw back those vital few seconds.

Without a doubt, something has to be done about enforcing the no drafting rules. Athletes have shown themselves incapable of abiding by the rules and race officials are incapable of enforcing them (whether present or not). The punishment needs to fit the crime, athletes need to fear being given a penalty so they won't even consider it. But first of all the race needs to change to a workable format.

Comments

Going into the race I had two objectives; break 4hrs (targetting 3hrs57m) and to finish in the top 25, 30, 37 (A, B, C goals). I finished in 3hrs57m08sec (I attribute the lost 8 seconds to a scuffle with a motorbike and a fence) and placed 48th -  which I attribute to cheating on the bike and weak refereeing and enforcement of the rules. I am aware that my words may seem harsh, and I know there were other clean riders out there, but in general, as a whole, the race was a joke.

Swim

Following hurricane Ida there was a genuine risk the swim might have been something other than a warm up. Clearwater beach had some swells and some chop, something the Americans didn't seem to have seen before. I was relishing the prospect but the organisers took the decision to move the swim to a harbour the other side of the island for safety reasons. In fairness a good decision considering the big age group field, but disappointing the pros couldn't have gotten amongst it.

I got kicked in the face a lot in the swim. Something I have become unacustom and soft too after racign 70.3 for a couple of years. I didn't take to it well and came out with a reasonable time of 23mins but towards the back of the swim. A good transition and I was on to the bike....

Bike

(70.3 Pro bike rules in brief - 10m gaps, 25 secs to make a pass, if there is a line of riders you have to pass the whole line (25secs per person) you can not slot into the line at will and cause the rider behind to be in your draft zone through no fault of their own. Penalties are served on the course in penalty tents)

The plan was not to go crazy like last year where I suffered for my exuberance in the later miles. I was to hold my position where possible and not get involved in the tiring surges taking place further in the pace line. I was third in the line at the start but after 5 miles was down to 10th due to people not riding to the front of the pace line and slotting in at will. No referee.

At 10 miles I was getting pretty cross. The cones on the course was spaced 9m aparts (to coincide with the road markings) so it is pretty obvious when riders are spaced less than 9m, let alone 10m. I implored the photographers on the motorbikes to take shots of the riders ahead. He sympathised and said he would try but I think we both sensed the futility of the situation.

By mile 15 a referee finally appears and I suggest he should card every rider ahead. At this point I counted 16 riders within 10 cones distances, or 16 riders within 90m. I was confident justice would be served. As the penalty tent approached I expected the whole group to file into it and serve their 4min penalty. Alas, all but one of the riders continued on their way.

I couldn't believe it. I was outraged.

In case you don't know, a legal 10m gap still brings about a slipstream effect, but it is legal. I could tell by the splits and my own effort levels I was riding faster than I ought to be, and after seeing the impotence of the referees I wanted no further part in the race.

I coasted for 50m and decided to just race myself for a time. The group (not pace line) rode in with a bike split of 2hrs3mins which I know I would not be capable of riding, my split was 2hr8mins - but it was MY split. Further evidence can be found by looking in more details at the splits. Massimo Cigana, former pro cyclist, was made to look slow. He takes apart pro 70.3 races on the bike, was out split by over 20 athletes and crossed the line with a 2hr1min16sec bike. Athletes who I put 5mins into on 70.3 courses are now out splitting me by 5mins?!

Run

I had taken what I regarded as a brave decision to wearing racing flats for the first time in 18 months after being dogged by a stress fracture in my foot. I felt better than I have done for a long time on the run and just waited to suffer and fall apart as I have done all season. But it didn't happen. I ran a 1hr21m which is not as quick as I felt but I am still pretty pleased. The best being my foot held up pain free. Oh, and the stray 8 seconds. A motorbike crossed my path on a narrow but of the run coming into the finish, forcing me round the railing amongst the spectators. A quick squeeze through a gap in a fence, a rip in the trisuit, and a cut on the hip and I was back on course.

Implications

The 70.3 Ironman World Championships is a draft legal event. I will endeavour to find out how many pros picked up a drafting penalty, I suspect fewer than 5. Whilst it is easy to suggest I am bitter about my result (I am) there is more evidence for drafting than my hear say;

Results are wildly inconsistant with peoples previous performances
The quickest swimmers stayed at the front for the whole bike
Bike specialists (Galindez, Cigana) were made to look weak
Conspicious absense of people visiting the penalty tent
Pro girls jumping on the back of the pro guys pace lines
Photographic evidence......anyone???

The referees were incapable of enforcing the rules; for fear of rocking the boat, for fear of not having a big enough penalty tent, for fear of damaging the reputation of the sport?? 

As an aspiring Pro triathlete (still working, not sponsored, not funded) it already has been damaged. I happily make the choice to pursue the pro triathlete dream but there are certain things I am not willing to comprimise on, the rules. Just coming to Clearwater is a cost of 800GBP of my own money, it is not something to undertake lightly. And this does not take into account loss of earnings whilst I am away.

I now have to go home and try and sell myself for what little sponsorship opportunities there are in England with a weak World Championship result. After failing to gain any sponsorship on the back of last years placement of 37th Pro, I am not optimistic that 48th Pro this year will lead me to be overwhelmed with offers.

Improvements

Aware that all I have done is whine for the last however long, I thought it worth mentioning that 70,3 can be saved, but in my eyes at least, only with fundamental changes...

Time Trial Format - A mass start permits drafting in the swim, if Ironman events are going to be a true race against the clock, drafting should not be allowed in the swim either. I suggest releasing the pros at 1, preferable 2min intervals. This should massively reduce bunching on the bike. If pro cycling can enforce the rules on this format hopefully triathlon can too? Potential drawbacks include racing at different times of the day, not knowing who is in the lead....but cycling manages it. But most importantly, the race will be an all out individual race against the clock, which is what Ironman is meant to be.

Athlete Tracking - If the referees do not enforce the rules, they have no respect from the athletes. They do not fear a penalty as they see penalties are not dished out. Why not remove the referees altogether? Replace them with a tracking device under each saddle. They measure distance between other units. At the end of the race the chips can be analysed to see who broke the 10m zone and for exactly how long. Penalties are applied retroactively.

Photographers - Surely the best placed people to gather irrefutable evidence of drafting are the race photographers? Hire more of them. They have the cones as a reference point for distance and no one can argue with photographic evidence.

Jack Bauer - Put him in a race helicopter with a sniper rifle

Bottom Line

70.3 Ironman World Champs is a draft legal race, and right now, I have no desire to race a Pro World Championship under such conditions.

Comments

Over the last few days I have put in my last long sessions;

- 3.8km swim
- 2hrs 45mins bike (should have been 3.5hrs but sometimes you have to know when enough is enough)
- 1hr 45min run

And it just gets shorter and faster from here on in...

Today was my last day in Bath and I did a race pace swim which gave me a lot of confidence; 15x100m off 1:15 coming in 1:10. Admittedly it was in a wetsuit but I felt good and could have carried on. The rest of the day has been spent packing, which for a completely inexplicable reason takes all day. Living in a top floor flat doesn't help...how do you clean a bike in a flat with no garden?



Having a very understanding housemate (and tidying up before she gets home) certainly helps. Tomorrow I fly to Tampa, to homestay with the St Pete Mad Dogs. I can't wait to get out there.