Training done this week was as follows:
The new one has just over 50% more capacity than the old
one, which equates to more weight carried but one less bottle pick-up at a feed
station. The bottle pick-ups are stressful because it’s difficult and
time-consuming to slow down, try to grab a bottle from a volunteer, and avoid
hitting discarded bottles rolling around on the road, while also trying to
avoid other competitors attempting to do the same thing. I spent an hour
discussing in detail the pros and cons of each bottle with my housemate, trying
to work out if it was feasible to somehow attach it between my tri bars, but we
came to the conclusion that the new bigger aero bottle was so wide that it
didn’t fit easily between my narrow tri bars, and in being wider it is less
aerodynamic anyway, so it will be sent back.
Monday 5th May 2014: 60 minute run at
5:45-5:50/mile
Tuesday 6th May 2014: Rest
Wed 7th May 2014: 1 hour turbo (hard), 20 minute run
Thurs 8th May 2014: Swim 1.6km (1500m in 23:14)
Friday 9th May 2014: Rest
Saturday 10th May 2014: Rest
Sunday 11th May 2014: 30 minute bike
Tuesday 6th May 2014: Rest
Wed 7th May 2014: 1 hour turbo (hard), 20 minute run
Thurs 8th May 2014: Swim 1.6km (1500m in 23:14)
Friday 9th May 2014: Rest
Saturday 10th May 2014: Rest
Sunday 11th May 2014: 30 minute bike
Totals: Swim 1.6km, Bike 33 miles, Run 13 miles
Although the total mileages this week were low, I did some
intense sessions. I hammered a 1500m swim time trial on 3rd April,
and did it in 23:23. I hammered another 1500m time trial this week in 23:14.
Almost exactly a year ago I swam a 1500 in 23:29, and a month before race day
last year I got down to 22:52. So I’m just about ahead of where I was this time
last year, and hopefully in 6 weeks I’ll go and do another 1500m time trial and
get under 23 minutes, which would be a good boost.
The swim time trials I do are a bit hit-and-miss in terms of
having a free lane in the pool. I usually go and do these time trials just
before lunchtime during the week, and hope that there is a free lane, or at
least a lane which only has a couple of others in it. This week I was lucky –
there was just myself and one other fast guy in the fast lane and we didn’t get
in the way of each other, so my time was an honest, uninterrupted time.
Earlier this week I decided to go and do a 60-minute hard
run, to get some sort of a gauge as to what level my running is at. I tried to
do as much of this run as possible on grass and trails to save my legs. I ran
for an hour and averaged around 5:45-5:50 per mile, and with my rose-tinted
glasses on I would like to think if I had taken a couple of gels and a gulp of
energy drink, I could have carried on for maybe another hour at that pace. I
was happy with this tester of a run, given that if I could run the Ironman
marathon at 7 minutes per mile it would be an excellent performance. In the
aftermath of this tester run, my legs weren’t as sore as I thought they’d be,
so my muscles must be getting reasonably well conditioned.
From a training point of view, the weekend was quiet as I
took the bike for a service – Yellow Jersey Cycles in Billericay always do a
great job, so much so that I’ll give up my whole weekend and rent a car to get
the bike there. The bike is now primed, armed, serviced, and ready to roll at
the North Norfolk 100 mile time trial next Saturday. I feel ready for it too.
It will be good to get out there and see how I go. All of my training has been
done indoors on the turbo trainer and I haven’t had the time trial bike out on the
road since Ironman Wales in September last year. It would be difficult for the
North Norfolk event to go any worse than it did last year (more on this next
week…), so I hope to see a big improvement in my official time from last year
of 4:42.
The bike has now been fully serviced and cleaned, it’s got a
new chain, deep-rim racing wheels and new tyres on, new inner tubes with long
valves and no evil valve extenders to worry about, the frame bottle cages have
been removed for aerodynamic purposes, the saddle bottle cages have been securely
cable-tied on, and big litre bottles bought. With my wheel rims being so deep,
I had to use valve extenders in the past.
These valve extenders are dreadful things. Nightmare-inducing.
They never seal properly and they often leak, making it difficult/impossible to
inflate the tyres on occasion, and leaking air on other occasions. “Occasions”
included race morning at Ironman UK when I went to pump the tyres up, 30
minutes before the start, and the front valve started leaking. Cue massive
stress and an emergency dash to the bike maintenance tent, where I had to plead
with them to fix it. Fortunately they could see the desperation written large across
my face, they took pity, and I got away with it. I can’t imagine having to fix
a flat tyre during the race with those valve extenders, so now Yellow Jersey
Cycles have sorted me out with super-long valves, which is one less thing to
worry about.
I’ve had the frame bottle cages removed, reasoning that
there’s little point in having an expensive aerodynamic bike, only to ruin the
smooth airflow with two massive bottles on the frame. So I’m now reliant on the
front aero bottle and the two saddle-mounted bottles which are behind my back
side and out of the wind. At Ironman Wales last year, one of these rear bottle
cages sheared off and I lost a litre of precious electrolyte drink. So now
these bottle cage attachments have been beefed up with cable ties and hopefully
will hold fast. Another less thing to worry about.
Rear bottles
The bike hadn’t been on the road since September last year
so I took it for a short spin after the service to make sure it was all working
well, and to get the tyres and adjustments bedded in. It was a blustery day,
and it was a scary 30 minute ride. The deep rims are tough to handle in windy
conditions and the bike becomes unstable and difficult to handle, so it wasn’t
an especially fun 30 minutes, but I was relieved when it was over…
Relief after a windy spin, and a cycling buddy for once...
I also bought a new front aero bottle for between the aero
tri bars. Compared with my old one, it’s a lot bigger and wider as shown below:
I’ve also been buying piles and piles of kit, as another
improvement I can make is to wear more aerodynamic clothing. It’s possible to
spend a fortune online, and receive kit in different sizes, try it all on,
decide what to keep, and send the rest back for a refund.
For me, I want to wear a short-sleeved top, as this will
protect my shoulders and upper arms from sunburn, and also will be a bit warmer
than a tank top or vest. A long-sleeved top would be too difficult to put onto
a wet body in the swim-to-bike transition, whereas short sleeves are a bit
easier to deal with. For the same reason, a full-length zip is also essential.
I don’t swim in my tri top, only in my shorts. This is because my wetsuit is
tight, and the sleeves of a tri top are restrictive for swimming. Plus, when
swimming it’s not feasible to swim with 10 gels or bars in the back pockets of
the tri top. So I prefer to put the top (with gels and energy bars already
stuffed into the rear pockets) on in T1 (Transition 1).
I’ve decided on wearing the Castelli Stealth T1 top. They
claim it will save 3 minutes during an Ironman cycle. I ordered a Small, a Medium
and a Large, and the Medium was the best fit. Sod’s law dictated that it had a
fault with the zip, so I had to send it back along with everything else, and I
requested a new one. Sod was really doing overtime on me, and his law dictated
that the retailer was out of stock, so I’ve had to order it from another
website and I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will arrive in time for
next weekend’s time trial.
I was also very keen on the Castelli Body Paint tri shorts,
as they have a very comfortable pad. Most tri shorts aren’t necessarily
designed for Ironman-distance races, and have a very thin pad. For a
short-distance triathlon, this doesn’t matter very much, but after a few hours
in the saddle, I’m always gritting my teeth for a bit more comfort. One of my
non-triathlon friends saw a pair of my triathlon shorts last year and asked
about the pad and the comfort. I said it wasn’t particularly comfortable, but
it was quick-drying and that you do get used to the discomfort. This particular
pad was red, and I finished the conversation with a tongue-in-cheek remark that
perhaps isn’t a million miles from the truth: “There’s a reason it’s red…”
These Castelli shorts have got two small hooks on the back
of them, supposedly to attach the shorts to a jersey and effectively make a
one-piece suit. I can’t see that I would ever use the hooks for this, and I can
also see these hooks tearing holes in my tight-fitting wetsuit. I’m surprised
that they have been incorporated, as in my opinion they spoil a great pair of
shorts. These shorts are worth about £100 and I’m currently debating taking a
pair of scissors to them and cutting the hooks out, but for obvious reasons I’m
somewhat reluctant to do this… So, I’ve ordered a pile of alternative shorts in
all different sizes to see of any of them have a decent pad. If I can find a
good pad, I can forget about Castelli shorts and scissors. If not, then I might
or might not end up ruining the most expensive shorts I’ll ever own…
Such are the stresses and expenses of Ironman racing…
On another note, the Giro d’Italia, one of the world’s
biggest bike races, on a par with the Tour de France, started off in Northern
Ireland at the weekend. These events are steeped in tradition and it’s a
massive coup for any region to be awarded the “big start” of a major bike race,
but for it to start in Northern Ireland was a somewhat unprecedented breaking
of new ground. The Stage One time trial was on a course around Belfast city,
Stage Two was a long stage up to the North Coast, and Stage Three headed down
to Dublin. I was tempted to go home and see it, but priorities dictated that my
bike needed to be serviced.
By all accounts it was a great event and really well received,
despite the “traditional” Irish weather. No amount of wind and rain could spoil
the spectacularity of the coast road stretching from Portrush, past the Giant’s
Causeway, through Ballycastle and down along the mouths of the Glens of Antrim,
then on to Belfast. It’s an awesome rollercoaster of a road with views as good
as anywhere in the world. These roads are my old stomping grounds, where I
trained for my first Ironman, and where I still go and out and ride any time I
go home. And what roads they are.
For a while, all other colours seemed to be forgotten and Northern
Ireland embraced the Giro’s “pink” theme really well – pink being the colour of
the race leader’s jersey, the fabled and coveted “Maglia Rosa.” The success of
the event, its organisation, and the level of support it received, all showed
what Northern Ireland can do when united for a common goal. Roads were closed,
sheep were coloured pink, lots of other things were coloured pink, statues and
sculptures were created and bedecked in pink, people cheered in their thousands
(many in pink), church services were re-arranged to accommodate the route, people pulled together and compromised, and
thus it was that Northern Ireland was showcased to the world for all the right reasons. Long may
this continue, and long may pink sheep, banners, flags, bikes, cars, statues
and whatever else adorn the roadsides.
The only downside was seeing the violent crash of Irish rider Dan Martin and some of his team-mates during Stage 1, on a wet Belfast road. Crashing on a bike is not fun. I don't fear the Ironman distance but I fear crashing. So much effort wasted. Fingers crossed.
In the aftermath of the success of the Giro d'Italia, I wonder when they’ll bring the Tour de France to Northern
Ireland…? It would be amazing to see them climb the Bishop’s Road, past the
Gortmore viewpoint and the statue of Mannanán MacLir (see the photo in Post
15). Yellow is the colour of the Tour de France leader’s jersey, and Northern
Ireland would look as good in yellow as it does in pink... Mannanán himself would
look good in yellow too…
Bring on the North Norfolk 100, and bring on some nice
weather too please… last year’s conditions were unbelievable for the wrong
reasons!
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