Vitruvian
Race report
This is probably the strangest "race report" I've ever
written... seeing as I didn't actually race!!! But I
have to say its one of the best days I've ever had since
getting involved in Triathlon many moons ago!
Having sadly withdrawn from competing a few weeks ago
after being diagnosed with stress related chronic fatigue
and adrenal fatigue, I had decided that as the Vitruvian
(and the peeps from PaceSetter Events) had been so good
to me over the years, I still wanted to be there for
the race and give a little back by helping out.
So on Saturday morning, instead of racking my bike,
I was directing competitors to their racks and helping
check bikes for numbers and working brakes. There were
a surprising number of shall we say...sub-optimal brake
set-ups going on. Peoples were oddly surprise at being
asked to go and adjust the brakes so that they actually
STOPPED the wheels. As was the number of people who
turned up to the transition area with less than 5 minutes
before it closed...or the few that rocked up AFTER it
was "shut" and the race briefing had begun. It seamed
odd to me that people who I can only assume had committed
weeks and months of time, energy and sacrifice to this
day, would jeopardise the whole thing with poor preparation
at the last minute.
By 6:20 I was on the jetty by the lake, eagerly anticipating
the mass swim start...in the dry for a change. I got
a great view of what would have been my wave set off
in the mass chaos and washing machine flurry of arms
and legs. It was odd to see how slow it looks from the
side though...when in the middle it feels like such
an intense, flurried and fast first few minutes. Needless
to say, two swimmers very quickly pulled away from the
pack and began to build a sizeable lead. As the sun
rose on a gorgeous day over the dam, it made for a really
spectacular sight to see. One of the many reasons this
is one of the very best races to do in the UK.
I made my way around to the bike mount/dismount point
by transition exit. Standing by a pedestrian crossing
point right next the mount line, it was again interesting
to see how many people had made the mistake of not leaving
their bikes in a low gear. (Maybe some of the "late"
comers to transition before the race?) Some struggled
so much to get the pedals turning in the 53/12 gear
they fell off. But in the truest spirit of the sport,
it was all treated well and soon hundreds of cyclist
were heading out onto the course. Thereafter I made
my way to my first main point of assistance for the
day as a marshal at the bike feed station.
This proved to be a great place to be with loads of
other volunteers already filling hundreds of High5 water
bottles with High5 energy drink and plain water. The
crowds were now making their way round to this point
at the end of the first lap for the cyclist, in anticipation
of their friends and families coming through. Loads
of Tri-talk'ers and Pirates were either helping out
or cheering each athlete as the came by, making for
a really great atmosphere. On a personal level, I was
really enjoying the whole event - much to my surprise
as I thought I'd find being there and not racing a pretty
hard thing to do. But I loved cheering on each athlete
as the rode past and attempted to grab a water bottle
from my hand. It was a couple of hours that for me,
epitomises this race and why its so good. Everywhere
there were great volunteers in cheerful abundance and
equally cheerful supporters lined the sides of the barriers
at the side of the road. I cheered on a couple of athletes
as the went through and took splits to try and help
the leaders know where they all were to each other...something
I know I'm always grateful for.
As the leaders began to return I took splits and in
particular, a big cheer of encouragement to my mate
(and my pre-race favourite), Joel Jameson who was about
2 minutes down coming back into transition.
I stayed on the bike feed station with the banter between
us all continuing and making the time fly by far quicker
than expected. The sun was shinning and every athlete
that past us seamed to be having a great time. I have
to say though that some of the bike handling as they
took on and threw away drinks bottles was a sight to
behold; but the near misses with dropped banana's and
"in the zone" competitors seamed to keep everyone amused.
As the leaders turned to start the 2nd lap of the 21km
run, Joel was now in a commanding lead. I had been asked
by race director Ian Hamilton, to head to the finish
line and hand out the finisher medals and so made my
way over. Its easy to find at The Vitruvian, you simply
follow the tremendous music and commentary coming from
Sib's on the PA as she cheers each and every competitor
from 6:20am all the way through to the last finisher
at nearly 3 in the afternoon; Another thing that makes
the atmosphere at the race so fantastic.
Right on queue at a little over 3 hours and 55 minutes,
Joel came back to the finish to take his first Vitruvian
title in. It was great result for him and a very good
time on a day that though warm and sunny, was very windy.
This initiated for me, what was probably the most enjoyable
experience of the whole race. I spent the next 4 hours
putting "winners" (they're all winners in my opinion)
medals around the necks of everyone who crossed the
line. It slowly began to sink in to me what finishing
this race meant to each and every one of them. And had
the awesome privilege of seeing the look on their face
as they went from intense pain, right up to the finish...to
complete joy as they received their medals and it sunk
in that they'd done it!!! This moment of agony to ecstasy
was seen over and over again. It really was an honour
to get to see this. To see people over-come with emotion
and burst into tears, was for me quite emotional too.
As the hours passed my hands became more and more sticky
with the sweat, snot, sugar and who knows what, on the
hands I shook before giving them their medals. I simply
laughed when anyone of them apologetically wiped their
hand before shaking mine; they weren't the first and
wouldn't be the last to leave me with a wet hand! I
stayed for as long as possible doing this, until the
presentations began and I got the further honour of
being able to present the awards to all the 2nd place
finishers in each age group.
Though I came up to help with the intention of simply
helping Ian, Mark and their team, in return for the
times I've enjoyed racing here so much in the past.
As it turns out, I got FAR more back than I could have
given. I got to see what "this" all means to so many
people. To see the enjoyment and love for the sport
etched on the faces, re-ignited a little flame in me
again...something that has slowly gone out in recent
months as the fatigue and everything has taken over.
I left Rutland water for another year, shattered...but
though not with a winners medal to my name, I think
it was almost more satisfying and certainly more empowering.
Thanks to everyone for their kind words of encouragement
too. I was blown away by how many of you took the time
to chat to me. I can't wait to see you all again next
year...and hopefully share and equally damp congratulatory
handshake again!
Eireman Triathlon
19 July 2009
Jonathan stormed home in 2nd place at The Autoglass
Bedford Classic Tri, despite having completed the Ironman
Switzerland just 7-days before! This is one of only
three qualifying races for the Age Group World Championships
to be held in September in Gold Coast, Australia and
attracts upwards of 500 competitors.
Triathlon Consultants would like to congratulate Jonathan
on a great performance just days after an Ironman.
02 June 2009 - Banking it
I guess it would be amiss for me to write something
at the moment without mentioning Wimbledon. It struck
me at the start of last week that it is exactly high
my lifetime ago (15 years) when I was first a ball boy
at the All England Club. They were great times that
I remember fondly, but its incredible to think just
how long ago it was!
Murray mainia has of course hit once again, and rightly
so I think. He's number 3 in the world after all and
so has a genuine chance this year. His game the other
night finishing at near 11pm (I was long tucked up in
bed) was an epic match by all accounts and shows a real
maturity in Murray over the last 2 years; both physically
and mentally. The funny thing is though, that listening
to a phone in on the radio the following morning on
"if Murray could win Wimbledon" I had to switch off
with frustration at the "British" mentality to knock
and undermine our successful sports people. Caller after
caller, focussing on the negatives, saying how he's
not "like the top players"...err...excuse me, but isn't
he NUMBER 3 IN THE WORLD, I'm pretty sure that MAKES
him one of the "top players". It never ceases to amaze
me the speed with which people in this country are prepared
to put forward their "expert" opinion and how more often
than not, it's NOT a positive one in support of our
sports stars. Somehow I doubt the same would happen
in Australia or the US. Anyway...
Last week I spent some time visiting some sick relatives
up in the north of England. I took the turbo and trainers
so I could still train of course. However a small gluten
issue (not sure from what, but possibly some fruit squash)
meant that from Wednesday through to Sunday I probably
averaged about an hour a day of training and about 5
extra hours a day of sleep. It really does have this
much of a dramatic effect on me. However, at least I
was able to train even if just a little, most days.
With my first IronMan less than 2 weeks away this is
less than optimal preparation though. I was really looking
to have my last really solid weeks training and clock
up close to 4hours a day instead of a measly 1. Then
on Monday, I woke up feeling terrible. A headache, joints
aching and elevated temperature meant that I had to
take the whole day completely off too. More frustration...
Talking about all of this with Chrissie though it was
good to be reminded that some times you just have to
take what you can get and "bank it". It is what it is
and nothing you do can change it, so just get what you
can out of the training and accept it. Last week this
meant as little as 45-mintues on the turbo before I
had to get off with exhaustion; but that's 45-minutes
more than nothing. A good saying I once heard says "some
days are pebble days and some are star days. One is
very plain and feels like not very much and the other
is amazing and makes you feel awesome - however both
are made from the same thing (rock) and can have the
same effect of your fitness and ultimate performance".
Thankfully yesterday saw a really good solid days training,
including 2hours on the turbo with some hard efforts
in there...oh and it was 38°C in the sun lounge
whilst doing this session and I felt fine -that's a
good sign. The run off the bike in this session was
at my goal IM effort and though a little slower than
I've done in recent weeks, again I'll take it and "bank
it".
With IM Switzerland now only 12 days away that's all
I can do. Nothing I do now will improve my fitness before
the race, but I can certainly jeopardise my race day
fitness by doing too much or the wrong thing. Hopefully
I'll get the balance right, it's a heck of a long way
and I don't want to leave my best performance in the
training log rather than on the roads of Zurich.
ITU Long Course Champs 2009 - Korea
 I
arrived in Korea on the Thursday before the race. I
decided to do this race pretty late but thought it would
be a great way to earn a little money and also test
the new nutritional strategy I'd been working on with
Chrissie. All expenses paid and some great prize money
on offer meant that despite the distance and HUGE amount
of travelling (both getting to Korea and also once there)
it was a good race to do. Unfortunately a LOT of other
TOP Pro's had the same idea and the field was much stronger
and deeper than most of us expected.
The course was largely uphill on the bike, with a split
transition meaning the run was up at over 1400m altitude.
Not a problem for me though, having spent the last few
weeks training in Boulder. However, the drive of the
course with all the other athletes had opened our eyes
to a MUCH harder bike that we expected. The first 40k
was flat with a small amount of ascension but the final
40km was almost completely up, up, up with no small
amount of steep climbing in there. It was definitely
going to be a long tough day at "the office".
With all the travelling to and from various hotels and
venues for the race organisers in the 2 days before
the race, not much training had been done, so when race
morning arrived I was feeling very fresh and ready to
go.
A mass start, small beach run began proceedings for
the 2lap 3km swim. After my disappointing (compared
to training times) Florida and Blenheim swims, I was
determined to remain relaxed this time and quickly found
my rhythm in the wavy sea waters. I lead a small group
(that I assumed was the 3rd pack) for the first lap
and glancing at my watch as we exited the water for
the small run before starting the 2nd lap, I was really
pleased to see both that I was under 20mins for the
1500m and also that I was actually leading the 2nd pack!
The new 2XU V1 suit was working a treat and had me cutting
though the water nicely. The rest of the swim went well,
other than avoiding the numerous Korean AG'ers who had
started 2 minutes behind us, still on their 1st swim
lap and were already hanging onto the swim buoys!!!
I was out of the water in under 40 minutes, just slightly
ahead of my desired time, a great start. The announcer
said I was almost 4 minutes down on the leader(s) however!!!
WOW they must have been swimming quickly.
Onto my lovely Ceepo Venom and off to start the 80k
bike; it was nice to know I didn't have such a HUGE
gap to bridge to the leaders like I've been used to.
So I set about reeling in the next person up the road.
The bike course starts off worming through the small
town, with GIANT dried sting-rays hanging in shop windows
and happy locals all out clapping and cheering. Once
onto the main roads, I settled down onto my TT bars
and began progressing through the athletes in front.
I knew it could well be a long day in the saddle despite
only being 80k long, it was such a tough bike course.
So I kept repeating the mantra in my head "Ride with
humility" whilst monitoring my cadence to ensure I didn't
drop much below my desired 85rpm. As I sped through
the Korean countryside on the Ceepo, it was really funny
to wave a the race helpers (generally school kids) at
each intersection and see and hear their excited squealed
giggles in reaction. Clearly the site of a westerner,
wearing tight lycra and silly big pointed helmet was
amusing to them...I've no idea why?
By 40k the road began to go up the first major climb.
But by now I had rider number 1 in my sites. Jimmy Johnsen
from Denmark who is a regular podium and top 5 finisher
in 70.3's and IM's. It was nice to catch up with him
so soon into a race. This helped give me confidence
that despite my speed at times feeling slow, sticking
to my race plan of pacing and cadence wasn't having
too many detrimental effects on gaining time back on
the leaders. A small pack of 4-5 guys was about 200m
up the road, and Jimmy was sure this was the leaders.
I was surprised with this as I felt sure I couldn't
have caught up 4 minutes on them ALL within 40km. Jimmy
and I road together for the remainder of this first
big climb, other when I dropped my chain and had to
stop and put it back on again. But by the time we hit
the top at about 55km, we'd all but caught the "leaders"
up. As we passed the aid station at the 60km mark Jimmy
fell off my wheel with some mechanical problems so I
pushed on to catch the 3 guys I could now see up the
road.
We started the final LONG and STEEP climb of the day
at this point. I kept to my race plan and reeled them
in slowly but steadily. By 70km I was along side Tim
Marr and asked who else was "up the road". He said Cam
(Watt) was just 10-15s ahead, but that Kieran (Doe)
was "out of sight". That meant I was now in 3rd/4th
place. I was REALLY pleased with this news. Tim and
I caught Cam up with about 5km to go as we neared the
top of the climb. It was now VERY foggy up so high and
we could barely see 50m ahead to the next corner. This
also meant that I had NO idea when transition was looming.
I took one foot out of my shoes a good minute before
the fence around the Olympic Training centre where T2
was, suddenly appeared through the fog.
Now would be the time when I'd know if the pacing strategy
I'd used would help make the legs feel better. It was
also the time when I'd find out if the new approach
to my nutrition that I worked on with Chrissie, would
help me execute the type of run split that my training
has indicated possible, but over the last couple of
years has been evasive. As I threw on the Newton's,
Tim and Cam got the jump on me out of T2, as did Rasmus
from Denmark, who'd ridden up to us just as we entered
T2. They were only about 20,30 and 50m up the road respectively,
but in the dense fog, I could barely make them out.
As I ran, I could feel a stitch doing its best to break
out in my stomach/chest, so I decided to keep things
really easy to begin with and wait for it to hopefully
settle. My legs felt awesome, like I'd barely done the
previous 80k on the bike, this was a GREAT SIGN. I waited
patiently for the stomach cramp to go and kept the pace
steady. Even with this though I could see I was catching
both Cam and Tim; Rasmus had got off to a flier and
was passing them both and running into second.
We descended down a short steep hill into the fog and
the first turn at 1.1k. Back up and past T2 gave me
a chance to see where the guys behind me were and I
took time splits on the next 2-3 to check at the next
turn to see if I was pulling away. Running up the hill
eased the cramps and going back past T2 I past Cam and
moved into 4th. Tim was now about 25m up the road as
we hit the 2nd turn point at 3.3k. We headed back down
towards and past T2 on this first mini-loop section
of the run. By the time we hit the 1st turn again at
5.5k I was running shoulder to shoulder with Tim. My
legs still felt fantastic and the 2XU calf guards I
was wearing (and had been throughout the bike leg too)
were clearly doing their job perfectly and keeping my
lower legs feeling fresh. We climbed back up to pass
T2 and I increased the pace a little to try and drop
Tim. It worked, and I was now in 3rd place. I was pleased
to still just about be able to see Rasmus up the road
through the fog too. With the stitch now gone I was
ready to increase the pace and catch him. Kieran, I'd
seen was over 2km ahead and unless he blew, too far
to be caught. But by the time I hit the 2nd turn point
at the end of the mini-loop section at the 6.6km I was
within touching distance of Rasmus. We ran past the
turn onto the next part of the run, which would be largely
off-road finishing at the luxury High 1 Hotel.
I decided to really let go as we headed down the road
towards the 10km mark where the road turned into trail,
and see if I could pass and drop Rasmus. I passed him
just as we headed up a small incline and onto the trail.
The run course profile showed it as being slightly downhill
from start to finish and not too undulating with it.
With my legs still feeling good and the Newton's springing
me off even this rough, rocky trail, I opened up on
another down hill in an attempt to put some distance
between me and Rasmus and secure 2nd place. At times,
the trail was more like an X-terra run course and it
just kept going down and down. At about 12km I turned
to see If Rasmus was still with me and was a bit disappointed
to see him little more than 30m back. I continued on,
or should that be down, as the trail now getting muddy
in the foggy drizzle wound through the woods. I was
half expecting my old implosion problems to rear up
but there was no real sign and my pace and legs still
felt good. Suddenly the trail stopped going down and
as I rounded a corner I could see through the fog that
in front of me was a BIG and STEEP hill. The path appeared
to wind all the way up it...but the course profile didn't
show anything like this...we wouldn't be going up there
surely!!! Sadly though, we were. Naturally my pace went
from 6th gear to 2nd in a few strides and I began the
long slow climb.
I had to keep reminding myself that despite feeling
like I was barely even running, everyone else would
have to get up this hill and I told myself that they
would slow down even more than me - no need to panic!!!
I continued up and up, trying to dispel the thoughts
in my head about what I'd expected from the run course.
At about 14k I took a gel just to be safe, but this
has also in recent races coincided with a dip in energy
and run performance. It would be part experiment to
take it now. Sadly within about 2minutes, my energy
levels began to drop and my paced slowed even more.
Rasmus was breathing down my neck now and as we past
16km and up another incline, he passed and put about
20m into me. The camera crew on the motorbike that had
been following us the whole way, was to-and-fro'ing
between us as I slowed more finding it harder to keep
the legs turning over. I focussed hard though, determined
not to let the gap grow too much.
Finally I began to feel better by about 18km as we broke
out of the woods and could just see the hotel in the
distance through the Fog. A steep down hill and then
very steep (17%) run up hill to the finish was all that
was left. All that was left. Rasmus was only 30-40 meters
in front but I just couldn't catch him. I looked around
and saw no one in sight behind me and just focussed
on getting up the final killer climb to the finish shoot.
I crossed the line in 4h30, just 30s behind Rasmus,
but nearly 8 behind Kieran who'd destroyed the swim
and bike course almost completely on his own. I was
delighted it was over, but more so to have come 3rd
and especially to have felt the running legs return
again in a race. Hopefully it bodes well for my forthcoming
IM and executing a race there that I believe I can and
mixing things up a little.
Thanks to my sponsors 2XU, Ceepo, Newton, High5, Total
Fitness Music and Sigma Sport for all their help and
support.
04 June 2009
Staring at the jigsaw puzzle too long?
Well I'm back in the UK now having completed my near
7 weeks training in Boulder. I'm really happy to be
back home, its great to see family and friends but I'd
be lying if I said I didn't want to be back in Boulder.
If you've read any of my post whilst I've been away
you'll be more than aware of all the reasons why. Needless
to say, it's now time to put "pedal to the metal" so
to speak and start the real reason for why I went to
Boulder in the first place - RACING!
My race schedule is somewhat undecided right now as
so much depends upon the two main goals for the first
part of the year - The ITU Long Distance Champs in Korea
and then IM Japan. There are two priorities from these
two races; Money and a slot at Kona (the world champs
in October).
I raced last month at 70.3 Florida and had something
of a mixed race. The result was disappointing, more
so the implosion I once again experienced having ridden
and run myself into the top 10. But there were still
positives to found and the important thing is to take
them and transfer them across to the problems I suffered
in order to correct them!
Shortly before heading home I spent some time with my
good friend Chrissie Wellington (www.chrissiewellington.org).
It's nice when you have friends like that to help you
out (she's the current 3 times Ironman and Long Course
Triathlon World Champ and arguably the best female triathlete
around right now). We chatted about what I felt had
gone wrong in Florida and how I'd planned and executed
the race. A bit like a person who's been studying a
jigsaw puzzle for too long, I couldn't see the wood
for the trees; thankfully Chrissie straight away pin-pointed
where I was going wrong (at least one of the areas anyway
ha ha). With all the problems I'd suffered last year
and the year before with chronic fatigue, failing to
even finish races and not being able to train more than
90mins a day I'd messed about so much with my race nutrition
that I was eating nearly TWICE as much as I needed.
When the intensity of a race is as high as it is, the
temperature as hot and humid as in Florida this was
always going to be a problem. But from where I was seeing
it, I was running out of 'puff' and therefore needed
MORE not LESS! But I couldn't see things clearly, it
was a problem I'd been looking at intensely for too
long and therefore it all blurred into one big baffling
mess.
But now Chrissie was helping me see with regained clarity
and suddenly things were coming back into view. I used
to be a real student of the sport, of the methods others
used; the advice of the best people out there. I'd spend
hours trawling the net for a little hint of a secret
from one of the world greats - a session structure,
training protocol, nutritional advice; I was desperate
to get any tips and advantage I could. More recently
I'd stopped doing this largely I think because I'd got
so bogged down in worry about trying to fix things.
I couldn't see the easily fitting pieces of the puzzle
that were right in front of my face.
I really hope that this has resolved the biggest issues
I've had most recently in races. I'm tiring of doing
races and KNOWING I'm underperforming in big way. There
is only so long though that I can keep having the same
kind of things happen. And yet I will continue to press
on, not because I feel I should in some blind foolishness,
but because I genuinely have faith that what I'm doing
is the right thing, pursuing "this" is right, and a
big part of my life as a Christian too. Sometimes faith
in this is all I've got, but I'm happy it's all I need.
The run, which used to be my biggest strength, has become
something of an uncertainty, and I don't feel like I've
had a good run in a race for nearly 2 years….maybe more?!
The way training has gone indicates that I can run way
faster then I'm doing in a race. I don't seam to be
able to get anywhere close to a run splits I managed
back in late 2006. With all the extra training I'm doing,
I should be running FASTER not slower. When I do, I
know, I'm convinced I can achieve the results I believe
I can and actually make this whole thing work. Having
taken Chrissie's advice, I've tested it in race simulation
days during training and it points to really good things.
I just hope that for a change I can transfer these training
performances into race results and soon!
Korea will tell me a lot and be a great indicator for
the upcoming Iron Man. There's no way I want to be getting
off the bike in an IM, having just ridden 112 miles,
and be wondering if my legs will show up or disappear
completely like they have been over the last few months
and years. It would be really nice for them to come
back so we can start making a proper go of this triathlon
malarkey!!!
25 May 2009
Florida 70.3 Race Report
Well the first race of the year is done and dusted and
is always the case, there's plenty to mull over. Good
and bad, questions answered and some still left open,
but here's how it went for me.
I got to Florida on the Thursday; flying in from Boulder
(Denver) where we'd had a couple of warm (mid 70's)
days, but mainly pretty mixed and mild. So the first
thing that hit me was the humidity. The weather was
in the mid 80's and the humidity was up to 90% making
it feel even hotter. I was staying with Dion Harrison
for a night in a Holiday Inn Express, before moving
on the Friday to another place arranged by his friend,
Mikkel Bondesen from Denmark/L.A.
We'd totally landed on our feet, with the place we ended
up in looking more like an "MTV crib's" apartment than
the type of place I stay in when travelling to a race
(fully fitted kitchens and MASSIVE flat screen TV's
aren't what I've grown accustomed to at races). Mikkel
is a great guy and super enthusiastic about doing Florida
for the second time and hoping to qualify for Clearwater
in the 30-35 age group. So we all passed the last couple
of days hanging out and doing a little swimming together.
My prep sessions went well and I didn't feel any adverse
effects from the heat on the bike or the run, even when
doing my hard efforts. I felt really positive about
Sunday and was looking forward to reaping the rewards
of the last 3 weeks training at altitude in Boulder.
Sunday rolled around and with great efficiency everything
at the race site went to plan. Hats off to the organisers
who run this race and to Disney who open up part of
their site and close off some major roads for the bike
course. So at 6:20am 2,500 athletes and countless more
supporters all lined the beach area of the lake for
the American national anthem before the Elite men got
under way for the non-wetsuit swim.
My swimming has been going well recently and I was looking
forward to seeing how it transferred to a race performance
despite it being a non-wetsuit swim. Nearly 40 Pro men
meant it was going to be pretty frenetic for the first
few hundred meters, but also plenty of feet for me to
follow. This I managed to do fairly quickly which is
a first for me. I felt I was holding the water pretty
well and the effort, though a little below what I should
be working at, felt good and I was happy to stay behind
my man in front. The water was pretty warm, even without
the wet suit, but I definitely noticed the benefit of
the altitude as my breathing was really under control.
The new, somewhat ugly stroke (that has taken many poor
pool sharers out in recent masters sessions in Boulder)
was working well too. As we turned around the first
buoy at the 800m mark, although I knew I'd missed the
lead group and (possibly) the second pack too, I saw
Dion to my right and so knew that I was swimming better
than I have in the past (Dion has always been faster
than me and is a 24min 1.9k swimmer). I continued to
stay on the feet in front all the way until about 150m
to go when I drifted slightly to my left and lost him
for long enough to not be able to get back on his tail.
We exited the water in just over 28 minutes, not fast,
but for me, without a wetsuit a good start, and seeing
Dion to my right meant that the swim must have been
either very slow generally or a tad long. Either way,
it was a good start for me.
I had no idea how far behind the next group I was (as
it turns out I came out in the 3rd pack, about 90seconds
down on 2nd pack and 3mins down on the leaders) but
set off on my new Ceepo Venom for the first 12miles
of the bike course on the closed roads of the Disney
resort course.
The Ceepo has been noticeably stiff and fast as I've
got used to it on the Boulder roads and it felt great
as I road down the smooth flat roads towards the first
turn around. I timed the gap to the lead 3 of Luke Bell,
Bryan Rodes and (eventual winner) Dirk Bockel with the
next slightly spread out group about 1min50 in front
of me. I saw Fraser Cartmell at the front of them all
and was pleasantly pleased to only be this far back
so soon after the swim. I figured I'd be able to catch
them by mile 15 and just set my sights on the 3-4 guys
I could see closer up the road.
The bike course in Florida has 3 out-and-back turn-around's
where you get a good chance to measure the gap to those
in front of you. By the second, I timed the gap to the
now sizeable, but legal (I should stress) group that
had now formed. The 3 leaders were just under 3 minutes
ahead but I'd only put 20seconds into the chase group.
Still I thought that over the rolling roads of the next
20 miles, I'd be able to catch them before we hit the
largely flat final 12-15 miles that today would be into
a head wind. I was now stuck well and truly on my own
having caught and passed about 5 guys. Sadly I just
didn't seam to be able to gain any more time on the
large group and the final turn-around showed I was still
90 seconds behind. That was the last I saw of them and
I ended riding the entire bike leg on my own. I felt
OK and the legs were fine. I took on as much High5 Energy+
drink and gels as I could with some salt tabs in there
for the added electrolytes. The heat and humidity didn't
feel too bad, but every time I looked down at my body
it was literally dripping all over. I went through nearly
2 litres on the bike, but guess I still probably lost
nearly 3kg's in sweat at the same time - not good numbers
for a good run.
I made one slight mistake towards the end of the bike
though. With the fairly complex final few miles back
in the Disney Land grounds, it had been impossible to
drive this section the day before, mainly due to the
complete absence of anything that resembled a decent
road name or sign post on the roads. I had no real idea
of how long I had to go until I needed to get ready
to dismount. It's always good to try to get the legs
a little loose at the end of the bike as well as getting
your feet / shoes ready to dismount. I ended up riding
for about 5 minutes with my feet out of one shoe, expecting
to see T2 around every bend. Mental note for next year!!!
Once into T2, I quickly put on the new Newton racers
and was out running through the pretty large crowd before
you could say "did someone put another log on the fire???".
Onto the footpath that starts the first part of the
3 loop course and a spectator/coach called out I was
40seconds down on the next guy. Once again there were
out and back sections to the run which served really
well to show how close you were to everyone else. I
got another time check from Heather Furr that the leaders
were 6mins 'up the road'. Those 3 guys were well out
of reach, but I could see 4th-10th was well within my
grasp spread out from 1-3minutes. I made a conscious
effort to hold back as I ran, but still clocked my first
2 miles at 5:40ish pace. Faster than I wanted to be
running, but I really felt like I was keeping the brakes
on.
I gradually caught and passed some of the guys in front
and could see that I was moving away from those who'd
entered T2 behind me too. The run course is about 50%
road 50% grass. It isn't too bad though and after all
is the same for everyone, so is no excuse for anything.
I was enjoying the run in the first loop and by the
mid point of the second, about 10k into the run I'd
moved up into about 6th place. And then suddenly all
those thoughts of "its not too hot actually, this is
OK" evaporated and were replaced by "who's turned the
thermostat up?!" It really hit me that suddenly and
my pace began to falter and slow considerably. But,
I thought, 'it's the same for everyone else, just keep
moving forwards'. I finished the 2nd lap much slower
than the first (nearly 3minutes slower) but still felt
that if I could keep this pace, I'd hang on to a top
8 finish and some prize money. But by the first turn
of the last lap, it was clear that that wasn't going
to happen. Guys I'd passed and pulled away from were
quickly catching me and I was soon passed by 3-4 of
them in quick succession. I just tried to stay focussed
on moving forward, you just never know what might happen
around you so I concentrated on things I could control
like putting one foot in front of the other.
By this time the run course had close to 2000 of the
total 2500 athletes on the course and was becoming crowded.
It was increasingly difficult to tell who was who so
as I ran down the last out and back section and cramp
kicked into my right quad muscle, I had no idea how
many or who had passed me by. All I knew was that stretching
my quad made my hamstring cramp, but then stretching
that made my quad go again. The ministry of funny walks
then began as I tried to get moving, whilst stretching
the front and back of my leg at the same time. Eventually
it seamed to ease and with only about 3 miles left I
set off to finish as quickly as I could. The money was
now well and truly gone, as was a top 10, but it's still
important to give everything to the line - I'd at least
get more from the race physically doing this and hopefully
grown stronger mentally if not physically.
The final corner and finish shoot seamed to take an
eternity to come. but eventually I completed my last
lap, some 6 minutes slower than my first and I found
myself sat down in the recovery area dousing myself
in cold ice and water. I'd crossed the line in 16th,
but disappointingly nearly 16minutes back on the winner;
Too big a gap for my liking. My whole body was on fire
and tingling, my face and lips were tingling too and
a rather concerned looking medical helper took me off
to medical. Thankfully there was no need for an IV this
time, but it took me about an hour to properly cool
down enough to step out from under the wonderful cold
towel and stop drinking Gatorade like my life depended
on it.
Though the race itself for me didn't go according to
plan, there were still some positives to take from it.
Not least sharing in my friend Dions debut as a Pro
and seeing Mikkel cross the line looking strong and
taking nearly 15 minutes off of his time from last year
- an awesome achievement!!!
I'll be back next year I think, with a little more acclimatization
under my belt and another minute off my swim time, ready
to mix it up at the front, instead of getting mixed
up myself!!!
13 May 2009
Firstly I guess I should follow up on my last post concerning
the swimming which wasn't going so well at the time.
Well thankfully almost the next day I think it was,
things clicked back into place in the pool. I started
to re-focus back on what I had been doing for the previous
few months - both in terms of session structure and
actual swim technique. Whilst it wasn't an instant return
to form and speed in the water, it did pretty quickly
'feel' better and more like it used to. The Friday swims
weren't fantastic in terms of the times I was hitting,
but they were better and mentally it felt good and I
knew that the feel for my swimming was returning. Within
a couple of days I was back hitting the times I should
be and starting to improve on them as I'd hope to. As
I write this entry into my blog, my confidence in the
water has returned and I'm enjoying getting wet once
again. Its so much easier to face 7.5k (300 lengths)
in the pool, as I did yesterday, when I can tell its
making me stronger and faster, and I'm not feeling like
I'm fighting it all the way. Yesterday I did a session
with Julie Dibens, Mary-Beth, Rinnie (Marinda Caffrea)
and Joe (Gambles) - Most of whom are either current
or former World or European Champs of some kind. We
swam a set that I'd NEVER have been able to do before
and the times I was managing to hit were HUGE PB's for
me. It nearly killed me and the ride in the afternoon
was tough due to this, but it was well worth it and
another example of why training here in Boulder is so
great. To be pushed by this calibre of athlete (i.e.
the worlds best) is impossible to over-value. Hopefully
I'll remember this last couple of weeks next time I
feel a plateaux in my training and need to be patient
again :-)
But back to this post then...though in some ways still
following on from the pool work.
When you're training day in, day out and your livelihood
depends upon how well you do, how fast you are, how
far you can go - when the clock, times, splits, distances,
speeds etc. all become your "monthly review", if you
let it, it can leave you in good places or bad places.
Mentally I mean, at least.
Because getting faster, fitter, stronger, lighter are
all targets and the clock, the power meter, the scales
DON'T lie, you can easily be faced day in day out with
feedback that tells you exactly where you're at. Many
triathletes and I'm sure other athletes too, can get
bogged down in this and let it really get to them. I'm
sure people in various other types of jobs feel this
pressure too - a teacher with SATS results for example.
Recently I've had both ends of the stick but have noticed
how I (people in general?) respond to the different
ends of the spectrum. I touched on the negative a little
last time, but on the positive I've noticed that actually,
instead of receiving good results for what they are
and tell me, I can be prone to doubting...even when
it's something as solid and unquestionable as a time.
Swimmers will all tell you "the clock doesn't lie".
So why if it tells us something good, do we then doubt
its 'honesty'?
For example, I sometimes ride using power as a gauge
for my performance in training. It's measured in Watts
and just like the clock, doesn't lie. One second is
the same as the next, and one watt is the same as another
one. On Sunday I did a certain ride, with a particular
goal in mind for the ride of the number of watts I wanted
to produce. I did this, felt good and happily held the
wattage I wanted to - both an improvement on last year
and also a BIG difference to when I first arrived at
altitude. Instead of trusting the results, I found myself
questioning its truth. That's kind of like looking at
a clock and questioning if one minute was slightly slower
that the one before. On Monday I did a run, again with
a certain target speed in mind. I ran it, timed it and
thanks to GoogleMaps measured the distance. When I worked
out the pace and it was exactly as fast as I wanted
it to be. I still doubted that I had actually done it.
Even in the pool, where things have been going great,
I still constantly want to prove to myself that I CAN
swim a certain time per 100m because as soon as I do
actually DO it, I still doubt that it was real and question
that I can do it again.
It's an obsession that I guess drives me on to keep
trying to prove to myself how things are going, if I'm
improving etc. Not a bad thing on the face of it, but
I think it's important to celebrate and receive them
(at least internally) when goals and targets ARE actually
reached, instead of belittling them and casting doubt
over them. Otherwise this can prevent confidence from
growing, which is really important.
Faith plays a massive part in my life and who I am;
and faith and doubt don't sit well together. There's
a great verse in the Bible in Hebrews where it says
"What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what
we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of
things we cannot yet see." I think this is so important
to remember when we do actually achieve something we've
hoped for (and often worked HARD for and believed will
happen). When we allow this to happen, it grows faith
and shrinks doubt and this allows us to hope for, work
towards and ultimately achieve even greater things.
What I feed will grow, so I've been trying to feed the
confidence in recent results so that it will grow instead
of the doubt.
05 May 09
Things in the last week have taken a turn for the better
in some regards and for the worse in others. First the
good...
As I have mentioned in previous posts, the altitude
has really taken some getting used to in a number of
ways. Recovery, volume, intensity have all had to be
adjusted in my training as my body adapts to the reduced
O2 up here. But last week, actually the Sunday before
last, for the first time I noticed whilst riding back
from the track, that I was able to apply some proper(-ish)
power to the peddles whilst going over a small climb.
Gradually as the week has progressed I've been able
to work at something like the normal effort I would
expect to in harder sessions. Up until now, I've simply
not even been able to push that hard, my lungs were
working overtime well before my arms or legs were able
to. A good solid 1 hour run on Tuesday has been built
on through the week by some good sessions on the bike
(turbo sadly some days due to the STILL mixed weather)
and again more good running sessions. This included
a velocity at VO2 (almost "all out max" effort) run
which I managed on LESS rest that I had been doing so
back home - a good sign! Unfortunately I slipped up
with some food somewhere along the way and ate something
with mustard (which includes barely vinegar a.k.a. evil
Gluten) in it and struggled through a couple of days.
Being reminded of the same feelings of both mental and
physical fatigue of last year wasn't good. It is just
SO draining when this happens and I have to just get
as much done as I can. But a couple of easier days and
by the weekend I was back feeling good again. I managed
a really tough 3 hour turbo session on Saturday followed
by some swimming and then on Sunday completed one of
my favourite (when its finished at least) sessions,
which is a threshold (race pace) brick (run/bike) session.
It was really good to feel back to normal again. It's
taken roughly 3 weeks to get to this place though, but
with 3 weeks remaining here, I'm hopeful that there's
plenty of time to increase the impact of training at
this level. 3 weeks seems like nothing as I sit here
now feeling better, but it was sometimes hard to be
patient in this relatively short period. I'm glad I
was though as hopefully now the foundations are there,
I can build upon it over the next 21 days.
On top of this I went along to a new church on Sunday
called Vine
Life it was GREAT to find somewhere to go that felt
instantly comfortable. But more importantly for me,
just good to be back in church and with God.
To the bad then...Swimming has LONG been something of
a nemesis for me in triathlon. But recently in the past
few months I've at long last made some serious progress
with it. This is largely thanks to some slightly un-orthodox
technical and training help late last year. However,
for various reasons, in the last few days, this seems
to have evaporated and I feel like I'm back to square
one again. And so right now I have to be patient, and
keep telling myself not to doubt too much. "It" is there
somewhere...and "it" will come back if I just keep doing
the same/right things, consistently. This is the time
where patience is hard to have...tomorrow has 3 swims
on the plan for me. When things are going well in the
water, this kind of day is almost enjoyable, but I know
that tomorrow it will be mentally quite hard to make
myself do it. But in order for the patience that I need
to show, to not be in vain, I MUST do it. Hopefully
by my next post I'll have some good news on the fruits
of this round of growth in patience. It's a journey
after all so I've got to keep pressing on 'down the
road'.
But to finish on a good note...I was introduced to "Whole
Foods". A store here in Boulder packed full or organic,
healthy foods. It's got an amazing area where they make
things like sushi, sandwiches, burrito's etc...everything
you can think of to eat. And it's ALL organic and pretty
much healthy AND they do things gluten free too!!! So
my new favourite sandwich is the 'Boulderite' on gluten
free bread - basically a REALLY good BLT with added
avocado, turkey and cheese!!! Hits the spot PERFECTLY.
21 April 09
First a couple of photo's...
This is the pool at FlatIron where I'm training. 2 days
earlier I'd been out in mid 70's loving the sun. on
this day we had about 12-15inc of snow and the air temp
was about zero. I had to laugh as we swam and the coach
stood on the pool deck dressed like an Eskimo.
These two don't do justice to the views I see each day
as I train, but hopefully give you a little taste. The
mountains are pretty imposing and loom on the horizon
all the time...I cant wait to get up there once the
snow melts!
SO to main theme of this post...
Being here in Boulder is a lesson a day in so many ways.
But in the last couple of days I've been made really
aware of one particular lesson I can try to learn...
As a Christian, one of the things I really try to focus
on, pray about (and for daily), and know is a real key
to growing as a Christian, is Humility. In the bible
God says that without it, you miss out on wisdom and
can't grow closer to God - so it's clearly something
that's important to me. But when the opportunity comes...it
actually takes it, to receive it. If you know what I
mean.
So how does this all relate to my first week here in
Boulder? Well in 2 major ways:
1. The altitude here in Boulder is nearly 6,000ft (2,000m)
which means the air is pretty thin. This has a HUGE
effect on you in a number of ways. When training you
just can't go as fast, as hard or as long as normal.
The reduced O2 means your body can't produce as much
energy in your body and your muscles therefore can't
work as hard. So when out training and riding with people,
I've been forced to accept that I just can't climb a
mountain as quick as I could...or more importantly as
the other people on the ride. Granted, I'm riding with
some of the best athletes in the world (current and
former world champs, Olympians etc), but it's still
tough to ask your body to do something you expect it
to...and have it reply with a firm NO WAY!!! I've had
to accept that I can't go as fast as I expect to just
yet and that others will be dropping me pretty easily.
The altitude also means that I can't DO as much as I'd
normally do and recovery is WAY more important too.
Sleeping, eating and hydrating become a real focus.
But also realising that until I adapt to the altitude,
I need to NOT push as hard or as much as I normally
would. I might want to do the extra session, or even
feel like I could, but deep down I know that I cant
beat the altitude...or should that be "cheat" the altitude.
I have to accept that it's bigger and more powerful
than me and I've just got to go with it for the ride
as I adjust to the lack of O2.
2. The second way I've been "humbled" this week, is
by people. Boulder is a "hub" of world class athletes
and this is one of the reasons I've come here. It struck
me this morning in the pool as I was hanging on for
dear life to the times for our main set. I was swimming
in a lane with a world champ and 2 time Olympian, in
the lane next to me was one current and 3 time world
champ, and one 4 time world champ and Olympian...and
there's me! VERY cool I'm thinking...In between desperate
gasps for breath as I take all of 2 seconds rest at
the end of the current 100yrd interval. I can't help
but be humbled that I even get to train with these people,
of just how good they are, and that they let me train
with them. But as I said at the start, humility something
that's pretty key to my faith. The opportunity to hopefully
grow in it is a good one. I have to accept that right
now, confronted by my current surroundings, I don't
have much choice. Altitude doesn't care for pride and
world champions certainly don't either. I only hope
I can use the opportunity to its fullest.
14 April 2009
Focus
As I write this next Blog, I'm sat in Julie and Mike
Dibens house...in Boulder Colorado USA. I've just finished
a nice 3 and a half hour ride with Chrissie, her coach
and all-time-great triathlete Simon Lessing and numerous
other top class athletes. We road on perfect roads,
through what looks like "Little House On the Prairie"
scenery and it was 70+ degrees...yes, it was a VERY
enjoyable ride.
And it's exactly this kind of thing that is why I've
decided to head over here for 6 and a half weeks. The
location at 2,500m above sea level, is tough at first,
with breathing and pushing anything harder than steady
not possible just yet; but I know that over the next
few weeks I'll adapt and come back stronger when I "come
Down" to sea level to race. Boulder is FULL of other
triathletes, swimmers, cyclist and runners of world
class pedigree so there's never a shortage of great
training partners. And the location is amazing with
great roads, flat, rolling or mountains (should you
wish to go up any further and deprive your body of even
MORE O2!) I'm really excited about what the next few
weeks will bring in terms of training and improvements
in me as an athlete.
It also allows me to continue what I mentioned in my
last blog about being successful in what's necessary.
Being away from home isn't great that's for sure - I
miss my girlfriend, family and friends; but being able
to solely focus on the work at hand (and not find excuses
or get caught up in "other stuff" that means I don't
end up doing a "full days work") is really important
for me. This focus comes more easily to some than others.
For me, I find that, just like chocolate, I need to
remove the temptation or not put myself in a position
where I can be tempted - either to eat the chocolate...or
miss that nasty session that needs to be done, but is
easily skipped in favour of "other stuff". So whilst
to many, it might sound cool and exciting to travel
to Colorado, the reality of it can be far from 'cool'.
The next 6.5 weeks are purely and simply about getting
down to the business of training, eating and sleeping...and
not a lot else really.
It's also much easier to train and train HARD around
other people who are in the same position as you. And
especially understand what you mean when you say that
you're "smoked". Being able to simply go home and sleep
when this is the case, and not have other "stuff" pulling
you away from the importance of recovery and rest is
a vital part of it all. I read a quote recently from
Mark Cavendish (the best road cyclist sprinter in the
world right now) that I think really sums it up well
(to para-phrase it and remove some of the colourful
language):
"People ask you to come here and there and I say,
"I can't." And they say, "Yeah, I realise you're tired,
I realise you just want a bit of peace and quiet." And
it's like, no...I...Am...smoked!!!. I'm totally, utterly
exhausted. My body is eating itself because I'm so tired."
When you look at the best there is out there, in both
sport, business, life generally...they all have a real
focus on doing what is required to succeed. I'm looking
forward to exercising this focus over the next few weeks
and just glad that people here don't mind when I can
barely say more that 'yes' or 'no' when asked an open
question and know that you just cant do normal stuff
a lot of the time.
March 2009
Back in the swing of things since my last post at the
end of my season last year (September) I've been a pretty
busy chappy - hence the lack of anything resembling
an update to my website or blog. I went back to work
for a few months in order to work on the finances a
bit having earned very little money from the season
and survived on some generous help and support of friends
and family. But its important that if I'm going to do
this (call myself a Profession triathlete) then I must
in fact be successful enough to justify that title and
so earn a living from the sport. I hope that with all
of last years problems behind me and resolved, I can
do just this.
My time back at work was an interesting one and for
the later part, pretty brutal on me. The global downturn
in pretty much anything, meant that working at the London
Stock Exchange was at times, a pretty heavy place to
be. I was blessed to have got the contract to work back
there again and so I worked my butt off to make sure
I kept my job and the additional pressures of the project
meant that at times I was back to where I was 2 years
ago when 30 hours in a day wouldn't have been enough
to get everything done. My focus was to get to the end
of the project successfully and with something resembling
a base fitness level. From this I hoped I could return
to full time training and spring forward, rather than
hit the end of February (when I left the contract) and
pretty much have to start my training from scratch.
This would have meant my season was about 2-3 months
behind schedule and been hugely frustrating. Thankfully
I just about managed it and by ensuring that what training
I DID do, was maximum "bang for the buck" I found myself
in far better shape than I'd hoped.
Introducing some of the key sessions from Brett Sutton
last year, meant that my cycling was entirely done on
the turbo with a lot of strength work (big gear) and
never anything more than 2 hours at one time. A few
2 x 2 hours ride days meant that I was still actually
getting some good volume in (especially if you agree
with me that riding for 60 minutes on a stationary trainer
is about as good as 90 minutes on the road).
So when the start of March rolled around and I left
"work" in the city for "work" in lycra, I was able to
begin with a real optimism about the season. I've begun
to settle into my new schedule nicely and am really
enjoying the sessions as they tick by. Its interesting
for me though as I think back to this time last year
when I was (un-be-known to me then) struggling with
food allergies and couldn't even manage 2 hours training
a day without needing to sleep for the next 15 hours.
Part of me still expects the fatigue to kick in 20minutes
into a ride with me struggling to last much longer.
I'm delighted to report though that it's not that way
at all now and I'm quite happily ticking off the sessions
at the moment and this is the key I think. Being able
to consistently complete the training day after day
is really showing and I can see and feel the strength
and fitness improving over time. I recently heard a
great Winston Churchill quote that said "It's not simply
good enough to do ones best, we much succeed in doing
what is required". This is the target for me, to know
what is required and to succeed, day after day, at doing
it. With nearly 3 months to go before my A race of Iron
Man Japan (June 20th) I'm really excited about where
I'll be come the start line of my first Iron Man.
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About Jonathan Hotchkiss
> British Middle Distance Champion 2008, 2007
> Bala Olympic Distance Winer 2008
> Milton Keynes Olympic Distance Chapion 2008
> Eaton Super Sprint Winner 2008
> Top 20 70.3 World Champs 2007
> Europen Duathlon Age Group Champion (over-all)
2004
Goals for 2009: Qualify for Hawiai IM World Champs,
Top 10 70.3 World Champs, Podium at at least one
IM & 70.3, 3h40 target time at Vitruvian Middle
Distance Race UK.
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"The Ceepo Venom is an awesome
bike when the wind picks up. I can't believe how
good it feels when riding into the wind, you can
really feel like its cutting through the air as
you push it "
Jonathan Hotchkiss |
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