Sunday 18 September 2011

Catch-up

Had a rather stressful week & got zero training done. Woke up today with the sun shining so got myself out for a short run in the new shoes.

I'm still loving them.

Today's blog is brought to you by Paulo Nutini's New Shoes

Monday 12 September 2011

Reflections on a Century Ride

So after a chance to reflect a bit more, time for some thoughts on what the Glasgow to Edinburgh ride has brought to me.
1. You can pick the race, but not the weather
 That will always be the case, so I've got to be prepared for whatever is thrown at me. And as horrible as the conditions were yesterday, they could've been worse.
2. How hard can the metal aspect of endurance events be? Very
I spent long periods of the route on my own, cursing the weather and my tired legs & tight hips, but as I prepare for Challenge Roth, I need to be able to fight through these kind of things. So much work goes into the fitness side of things, and often the changes are clearly visible, but I guess a lot on non-athletes don't really know quite how much mental training is required to get you through these events. In that side of things, this event could prove invaluable for me.
3. Going long is achievable
A year ago, I bought my first (and current) road bike. 20km on it and I was blowing hard. Through longer and longer rides out with the club, nutrition failures and pushing myself up hills on my own I've come a long way since then; I know so much more about what it take and what my body can do when pushed. At the end of the ride today (thanks in part to the massive downhill I'm well aware) I could've carried on. Could I have got off and run a marthon? No, but then, thats for next year, isn't it! Even my recovery times feel faster, when popping out to the shops last night I took a gentle jog for the short 500m it was & my legs felt relatively fresh. After my first 10km run 3 years back, my legs were in bits for days. I've just done my first ton ride, and they feel so much better. I carry on, and long distance is mine.
4. Friends make it so much easier
I can't stress how important the support of Mark, Martin & Ross was on the day; they held back & waited at times for me to catch up, when they could've been finished much quicker and been out of the grim weather that much sooner. I know, you go out as a group and you stay as a group as much as possible, leave no-one behind, etc. But still. Appreaciated. And the run in at the end was plenty of fun with the banter.
5. My hill work still needs to be vastly improved
I've made good progress in this department, but there's still so much more to go. Practice & technique are two things, but I should also look at my positioning to make sure the power is where it should be. And then more practice. I should probably look at setting up some kind of program on the turbo looking at getting a good spin going for starters. And spin classes. Both worthy things to do over teh inevitable long, cold winter we have on our way.
6. Cleat positioning is important.
During the Strathclyde standard bike, I could feel my ITBs tightening up. I shifted my cleat round so that my foot & leg were in a more normal position for me, so that rather than knee being over the middle of the foot (as I've seen recommended as best technique), my toes were pointing out the way a little (when I stand I have duck feet). This seems to have relieved the pressure on my ITB, so I need to make some tweaks to my right shoe to get the same effect. After the bike, my left knee & ITB felt fine, my right... not so fine. If I can get this sorted, not only does it minimise the damage to myself, but it should also mean I can run faster off the bike. This actually came to mind after a conversation with Alasdair Marshall about biomechanics & running. So cheers Alasdair!
7. Find the positives wherever you can
During some of the darker moments, I managed to distract myself occasionally by thinking how this was all about prep for Roth & the fact that I was having such a horrific time at that point meant that I will be able to overcome so much in the future.
8. Sense of Humour Failures Happen
As Jo Hewitt keeps saying, these things happen. You can't control them, but you can control what you do next & you can refuse to be broken by it. So I will refuse.
9. Brighten the world, brighten your mood
During the route, I changed from TSR gray tint to amber high contrast lens that brightened everything on a dull day, and it did help improve my mood remarkably. It makes green lights look blue though.
10. I can be proud of myself
I gave myself a big challenge & didn't train for it specifically, heck, I only agreed to it a couple of weeks ago! I was relying on the fitness I've gained over the last year to pull me through, and it did. As a guage, it shows the massive leaps I've made since signing up for Lisboa, and that is something I'm immensly proud of. Now to make similar gains in the next 12 months!!!!


This blog is brought to you by a live version of Ware, Yami Tote... by Dir En Grey

Sunday 11 September 2011

Glasgow To Edinburgh Century Ride

Wooft! What a day! It had all the highs and lows you could expect from an endurance event at this time of the year in Scotland. And I make no apologies for my blatant wheel sucking at every opportunity.

Started the day off bright and early heading to register at 06:30, then meeting up with Ross, Mark & Martin. In some Bizarro World way, it was dry & relatively windless for the start of the ride! After the usual ramblings over the microphone, they started letting us go in waves, and we were off in the second wave, at around 07:11. Sadly I think I double tapped the start button on my garmin at this point, so didn't have it going.

The first section out of the city was a meandering stop/start through the traffic light ridden south side, but eventually we were out & into some familiar countryside, thanks to those GTC group rides. Down onto the A77 and the weather had most definitely turned for the worst and lo! we were heading into the gusty wind. I dropped off the back of the pack me & the guys were with when we hit a climb, and there was no way back for me for a while, cos struggling into that wind on my own was horrific. A few solo cyclists or pairs came past me, but I didn't have the inclination to try and catch onto them as they were all going quite hard. Then next group that came past however, I latched onto the back and tucked in for some blessed relief from the wind, if not the rain.

The pack stayed together for a while, until the guys at the front's mate made it back from his pit stop, and then then put the foot down and took off. which started the fragmenting of this particular group. Without a strong rider at the front, the pace dropped noticeably and then a few people started dropping off the back. As we hit the roundabout for the time trial turn I pushed up to the 3 guys at the front who were starting to draw away and clung on as best I could for a good few miles. I dropped off the back of them on a climb (the story of my day, sadly) so it was back to a face full of wind & pushing on.

A little while longer & the route turned off this south west heading road to head out south east, so surely that'd ease the wind? No danger. Heading down through Waterside (I think that's where the guys were waiting for me to catch up) and Moscow there was no let up, and as Loudon Academy approached, the rest stop was greatly needed.

After a quick caramel wafer & banana stop, my water bottle was refilled and a wee mechanical check because my rear bearings were sounding like there was a stone rattling around inside, and then we were back off before the chill could set in.

We dropped into Galston then out east along the A71. At Newmilns I noticed my cycle computer had reset itself due to the pissing rain, so checked my Garmin so that I could keep track of time for my gel schedule (around about every 50 minutes I was aiming for). Oh. Shit. Its not running. Oh well, better late than never I guess. It wasn't too bad along that road to be fair, but when we turned off towards Dungavel is when the road surface turned to shit and there was still worse to come.

I lost contact with the guys again somewhere along the road, and plowed on cursing the wind blasting me in the face, and caught up with them again briefly (possibly around about Glengavel Reservoir), but again got dropped on a hill and then the mental horror show kicked in. On my own, with a brutal wind blasting me with the pissing rain right in the face, Jo's aptly named Humour Failure was in full effect. I have never wanted out of anything so much as I did at that point. My brain told me several times, "What the fuck did you think you were doing signing up for this, you're clearly not ready". On several of the climbs I was so close to tears that if someone had passed me and said something I might've just burst. If I'd had to stop for any reason, I doubt I could've made it back on the bike at that point. Even the downhills were little relief - on a couple of them I tried freewheeling it so I could catch my breath, but between the shit road surface and the wind I was slowing down drastically when I stopped pedalling. To make things worse because I'd been forcing myself down onto my bars so much they'd twisted down, so I was having to lean forward more, which left me in a precarious feeling position.

But I knew I had two options, stop at the side of the road a broken man, waiting to catch a cold, or plow on through the distress, so I obviously chose the later, trying to silence the doubts with a mantra of "nothing will ever be as bad as this, nothing will ever be as bad as this".

Eventually I got through this hell section of road and turning left at Muirkirk got me out of the wind for a time, and my spirits bounced back a little. The section on from there to the second fuel stop in Douglas was not too bad apart from feeling very nervous that my bars were going to spin right forward away form me. Eventually we rolled into the fuel stop sodden & cold and in need of some food. Sarnies & more caramel wafers were the order of the day & the bike mechanics quickly got my handle bars back where I wanted them. I also knew that I had to do something to break the mood that was threatening to wreck my ride, so I think it was here that the yellow lenses got put on. Before we started off again, I got out of the wind for a bit, but my body just went into the shakes, but the only way to get heat back into my muscles was to start moving again, and off we went.

Again it took a while to get the blood warmed & moving well, but at least the wind wasn't quite as bad, though we were getting some nasty crosswinds that threatened to take the bike away from the unwary. The yellow lensed glasses were doing the trick & making everything look brighter and less miserable which helped and the road surface was a million times better so the speed lifted, but then were turning off of this lovely tarmac towards Carmichael & the sadistic 80m climb over 1k, not long after the 60 mile marker.

As we reached the bottom, my nerves were shot and I started weakly before a gust from the side nearly took my wheels and my bottle crashed. Just managing to get my right leg unclipped at 2km/hr I narrowly avoided dropping the bike (and me). Then, it was just a long walk.

The guys were again kindly waiting for me at the top of the first bit, so we pushed on up the hill and over the otherside (where Mark got himself attacked by an errant wasp).

Oh. Steep downhill. Wet. Gusty wind. I'd better take this easy. Naaaah, its a straight line.

I picked my line that would take me through the minimum puddles at the bottom, cranked on a little then tucked as aero as I could and let gravity do its thang. The grin that this brought managed to erase more of the mental anguish that was still kicking round from earlier, and I topped out at 72.8km/hr. Had it've been dry & less windy, I would've got way faster.

The road rolled for a while now past Thankerton, but at Quothquan a long draggy climb started. I'd managed to convince myself that Carmichael was the high point of the route, so this on tired legs with a still fragile mental state was torture; over 120m of climb over 12km with very little respite was excruciating for me, particularly factoring in my general (but slowly improving) suckiness at hills and the fact that one I hit that 60 mile mark I was pretty much in new territory for me on a road bike. Somehow I managed to fight back a little, refusing to lie down and accept that big back ring, pushing myself  onto smaller gears at every opportunity, even if it was only for 30 seconds before I had to drop. I. Would. Not. Break.

Topping out, the guys had hung back for me, and then we took off down hill. There was one significant climb to go, but I managed up it in reasonable time, then it pretty much was downhill all the way and little risk of losing the guys, and the fun stayed on the ride eventually. Head down, tucked in, blasting up short inclines with momentum carrying me over. Even the bout of gas I had to get rid of before it turned to vomit can't really bring this stretch down for me. There were still some inclines that made me slow & curse & beg to be over, but the 80 mile marker was replaced by the 90 mile marker in next to no time and the smiles were up and the end beckoned.

I'll wash over the little incident with being in the wrong gear as I came over the timing mat, so couldn't get up the hill and subsequently following someone the wrong way. The finish from the mat was on the end section of the 9 mile Edinburgh family ride, which brought us in through Murrayfield stadium itself where the photo op was taken, and then out again to the finish line, for medals and goodie bags.

I've done it. Yas!
Before

After

Yas!


Deserved dinner


This blog was brought to you by Daft Punk's Aerodynamic

I found someone's MapMyRide for this

Thursday 8 September 2011

Farewell to The Pond

Its been an enjoyable few months haring round The Pond with the club, but sadly the speed work sessions there have drawn to a close. It was a good summer for me there, with significant improvements in pace and pace judgement for me, and I reckon it now puts me in a good state to start on the base work over winter & build up some power & stamina in these here legs of mine.

All about the intervals tonight with 3 sets of 3 laps on 3 minutes each lap, with a slow lap, followed by a medium paced one, then topped out with a fast one, though for me it was more about seeing how the new shoes worked out.

So, for anyone that doesn't know, the concept of minimalist running is to try and mimic barefoot running as much as possible
One of the reasons for moving to a forefoot strike is that if you are landing on your heel, it can be acting as a brake, stripping some of your momentum from your stride and sending it in a jolt through your joints. 6 months ago I was very much a mid foot striker, so not getting that braking to the same extent, but being a pronator, I was putting a lot of pressure on my ITB. Like I've said before, on advice from one of the coaches I up my cadence, which naturally pushed me further towards a front foot strike, and the pressure on my ITB quickly reduced.

Getting further into a front foot strike, its like I'm starting to use gravity more to my advantage. I lean forward more at the ankles & try and keep a fairly straight body. A fast cadence keeps the legs getting picked up quickly so they are barely touching the ground sometimes, taking away from my pronation. Doing it right, its almost like being in a controlled fall. My feet feel light and the road is there for the taking. With these shoes being so light and the sole quite thin, I get much more feedback from the road, so the foot strikes feel more controlled and precise and when cornering at speed, everything feels nice and tight and exactly where I want it to be.

Again, I need to build up to it slowly. My calves are getting used to it and there is still a general weakness I haven't gotten out of my left ankle following the dislocation 3 years back, so they are tender after a run in this style, which is why I dropped 2 laps out of the 9 tonight, though I did post a 1:30 lap as part of a relay, which felt monstrously fast and was waaaaaaaaaaay faster than I could've done on my first visit to the pond.

Today's blog is brought to you by Daft Punk's Harder Better Faster Stronger. I may have to make it my theme tune :p

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Style Transition

As I've said before, I'm aiming for a forefoot strike running style & heading towards minimalist shoes, so tonight, with that miserable weather out there, I really couldn't be gassed dragging myself all the way out to Loch Lomond, so instead went for a short shoe break in / style change run. From my window I could see the massive big cloud rolling in, but I figured if I waited to see if there was another gap at the back of that, I'd never go out, so on with the jacket & off I went.

To get a snug fit, I'm currently running with an extra pair of insoles in, but these shoes are pretty light, so my feet were feeling fast and responsive, though I managed to peg myself back to a gentler run than normal for me, with a brief faster paced run round the pond on my way. For anyone that's really bored, my Garmin data is here.

Thats around about when the rain started to properly set in as the great big cloud I saw early caught up with me. I ran on for a little longer, trying out a few different surfaces in the shoes, including grass (my feet felt so responsive there) and a wee red blaze pitch they've got in the park, but my calves were starting to tighten up again with the pressure I was putting on them, and the cold was stripping more heat from them, so for once I took the advice and called it a day with a gentle run back to the flat to stretch off. Job done.

The shoes feel good though, and more importatnly, the combination of them and my changing style just feels right. I feel like there will be progression in my running over the coming months and this excites me!

Today's blog was brought to you by The Great Below by Nine Inch Nails

Tuesday 6 September 2011

Reflections On Strathclyde Standard

So its now 2 days on from the race, and its time for some more (sober) reflection on it & how I'm feeling physically.

Generally, I just feel physically drained. On the lead up to the race, I wasn't prepping properly. My calves were sore, my nutrition was all over the shop & I didn't sleep particularly well Friday or Saturday, so I woke up tired and sluggish. Race day adrenaline cleared all that out so that when I hit the water I felt fresh though.

In the first 250m of the swim I was caught up in the frantic nature of it all & swinging my arms fast, which didn't help my technique. The times when I slowed down my stroke and focused more on technique, I could feel myself accelerating. And then I lost focus again and slowed. I'll get there.

On the bike, my hips were again unsurprisingly tight, and a few times my calves felt like they wanted to cramp up (particularly if I was standing up in the pedals on a hill), so I had to nurse them a few times.

Like I said in my last one, my legs were feeling it and I couldn't get a good rhythm going, but alone side that, I was sloppy in so many other areas than just my legs, slumping too much at the shoulders and letting my core sag more than I should've. Yes, I know when you're already tired from everything else its harder to use these muscles the way you want to, but that just means I need to be strengthening them up more over the winter.

At the end of the day, I'm not really disappointed with the times, but I am still disappointed in myself, as I allowed excuses and thoughts of next year to not put in the training that I should've for an event of this distance. I know I can go faster than that, as long as I get my finger out.

Since then, I've had two nights of not particularly good quality sleep, too much refined sugar & caffeine (my vices) and not enough fresh chow. I feel a bit like a half shut knife & I know I should chill out and rest... it'll happen eventually.

Today's blog was brought to you by a bit of Industial from 94, in the form of Oxyacetalene by Cubanate. Get yer dancin togs on!

Sunday 4 September 2011

Strathclyde Standard Race Report

Honestly, I approached this morning with some trepidation. I've been changing my running style ofver the last few months, and this week, I pushed the changes to a new level, moving much further onto a forefoot strike pattern. On Thursday I ran about 7 km right up on my forefoot, and while it felt strong, powerful & fast, it also put a hell of a lot of strain on my calves, such that I basically ended up wearing my calf guards for the next two days hoping it would help minimise the recovery time. The 2 lap cycle of the course followed by a short run in my new minimalist shoes on Friday probably didn't help either. Also, in the weeks leading up to this race, I've been doing kinda maintenance training, trying to improve a couple of bits and pieces here, rather than training specifically for the race.

The point of this intro is that when I start bitching towards the end, you all realise that its all my own bloody fault.

Since my phone is deid, I invested in a wee travel alarm clock. Being analogue, its not very accurate. In fact, I thought I set it for 5:30, and it went off at 5:10. Brilliant. Smearing the sleep from my eyes eventually hauled my carcass out of bed and I pulled the rest of my stuff together into my race box, leaving a trail of destruction behind me. Shovelled some oats & fruit down my throat and fed the rabbits then it was time to be off to the race. Down the motorway and into the park, car in, gear out, moving towards registration, all still in a little haze of not quite awake yet. Into registration & the morning started to perk up thanks to the lovely ladies of GTC and their early morning chat & marker pens. I marked up my bike and got the race number on my belt then headed off to park up in transition and see what banter I get from Tommy and Maisie. They were on form. Most importantly though, I was pointed to rack my bike anywhere I could find on the line just to the left side of the transition entrance. The spot at the far side of the first bay was empty (you can get about 4 bikes in a bay, and indeed only the nearest spot was taken. HOLY SHIT there was no fucking way I could end up running past that spot when I came out of the water. Bagsied!

So I meticulously set up my transition, ditching the arm warmers after an earlier conversation with Ele (and may I point out that it was one of the best decision of the day as they would've just helped me to overheat. Thanks Ele!), then off to chat with assorted GTCers until my wave started.

I went down towards the water to watch the first wave swim, and it did look a bit mental from the jetty out under the bridge - for anyone that was there, I did see someone almost swim into the big blue boom before the bridge, which admittedly would've been quite funny. I stopped off there to cheer on all the GTCers in the wave out of the water, then it was time to get into my slinky wee neoprene number so I could get out into that cool, *ahem* clear, water.

Man, there were a lot of weeds in there. I didn't expect to be pulling bits and pieces off of my arms and legs while waiting to start. Still, it felt warmer than in May for the sprint race.

Before I knew it, the Dave was flexing his finger and the hooter was sounded. I cracked on at a rare pace for me up to the first buoy, thanking my evenings at Loch Lomond with the club to get me used to swimming in a group. Once round there I pulled back a little and just settled into my own little rhythm and from there on it was all about sighting and keeping my focus, getting into transition 31 minutes after the hooter. Pleased.

T1 was a bit of a shambles for me - I deffo took too long faffing at 2:46, but I was out and the bike and off for down, up, down, turn, up, down, up, down, turn, repeat x 6. 7 laps of that was a bit of cruel mental torture, only eased by the number of GTC marshalls along the route cheering us on. Thanks guys.

I completed the 7 laps in 1:17:30, and I'm kinda pleased by that, except the hill climbing form I've been working on broke down more than it should've. There were too many times when I was dropping down the gears to a quite low one going up hill, only to remember that I actually *can* go faster up the bloody things, so my spin kicked in and I could crank up notch or three. There were several people I must've surprised as they went past me on the steeper section only for me to quite quickly shoot past them up on the big ring before we'd topped the hill. I'll get there. I was also quite surprised at the number of people who'd come over the crest of a hill only to gently pedal (or disgustingly free wheel) down the other side. FFS, a some of the hills are so small that with a little bit of effort cranking it hard down the hill you can practically get up the other side without pedalling.

Through the laps, I had a bit of a to and fro with a few guys who'd take me on the uphill only for me to take them back near the top or on the downhill (I was hitting 50km/hr + & they can't've been reaching 40). A couple broke me towards the end of the course, while I managed to brake a couple of others. Finishing up though, my legs were not happy. Overall, the time was Decent, and within my target range, but could've been better.

T2 was a much better affair than T1, and in short order I was in my gutties and off, tearing out like a greyhound out of the box, much to the surprise of the assembled GTC ladies, though it did get the blood moving round my legs nicely. Unfortunately since I decided to go back to my old old trainers I was no longer used to tying laces properly in a hurry so had to stop and get them sorted once I was out of eye line of said ladies. D'oh. After that it was all about finding a decent pace that my legs could sustain, but I never felt I was giving it my best, I just couldn't get into a proper rhythm. The ache that was returning to my calves held me back from pushing up properly onto my forefeet and consequently I couldn't pull my body position up to what I wanted. Adding in fatigue just made it that bit further away. But I persevered, averaging a 5 min/km pace across the race, which when taken in context (my PB 10k time is just under 46 minutes) its not too bad. At the end of lap 1, those GTC ladies were all lined up cheering on, and without a shadow of a doubt, it made turning away from that finishing chute less painful.

I plodded through much of the last lap, fighting off a little cramp, some ITB pain and a niggle in the quad. As I came up the short hill past Craig & could see the end in sight, suddenly my form came back, maybe so that I could finish strong & show off, but really, where had you been for the other 9km form??? Get it together!!!!.

So I crossed the finishing line frustrated, because that was a run I could've done better. I'm going to have to do a number on the Edinburgh 10km to cleanse the taste from my mouth. That being said, having what I thought was a shit run & nailing a 9.5km route in 47:26 should not be sniffed at. Especially considering my 10km PB.

After that it was all about the post race banter & much deserved pintage. 02:39:48. Job well done, with plenty of learning points to be worked on in the close season.

This blog only touches on the support given before, during and after by the marshalls and my fellow GTCers; without you guys this race would've been a far less enjoyable affair. Thank you each and everyone of you, I appreciated every cheer & supportive shout, legends one and all.

This blog is brought to you by the awesome Nine Inch Nails and the haunting Something I Can Never Have. There are many more good Nine Inch Nails tracks out there. You have access to youtube. Go investigate.

Humble apology at my shocking lack of acknowledgement

In my Aberfeldy race report, in *shockingly* poor form I didn't make all my dear readers aware of the sterling job that my team did to put me in a good position to stomp all over several competitors and teams.

Thank you Andy & Christine, I appreciate it, and I clearly couldn't've done those split times in a relay let alone the full race.

Friday 2 September 2011

Course Reccie and NEW SHOES

My phone's been busted most of the week, so as I was dropping a mate off in town, I figured I'd be as well swinging past Tiso's to check if they had my shoes in yet, or at least to give them my home number to call when they did turn up, and lo and behold! They were there! So after double & triple checking the fit, I'm now the proud owner of a pair of Inov8 Road X 255's! Trying them out in the shop, I was actually excited!

So then it was back up the road, change and away out to Strathclyde Park for a wee reccie. Now, I've raced on this course twice before, but considering the improvements in my cycling (in my head at least!) I felt a couple of laps was a worthy use of my time and it also gave me a chance to try out kit in cool & damp weather conditions to see if I'd chill or overheat. One warm up lap with longsleeve on over sleeveless top & armwarmers was too hot, one race pace lap without the longsleeve was OK. I also nailed the lap in around 10 minutes, so I'm feeling the pace for Sunday and I've got a better idea of what gear I need to be in and where.

After that it was a cheeky wee 5 minute run with my new shoes, and they feel good I tell you, though with the minimal sole, I'll take my time to adapt to them, so won't be racing in them just yet.

The rest of tonight is now about ice of my calves & chilling out.

Today's blog was brough to you with the strains of Stagnant from the album Terria by Devin Townsend. I heard it described by him in an interview as his heavy metal tribute to mother earth, but don't let the heavy metal bit put you off, its so much more than that. To me its a celebration of the world around us & helps me look up at the sky and around me at the scenery with a little bit more awe and wonder in my mind. Magnificent accompanyment for driving in the countryside.

Thursday 1 September 2011

Back at the Pond

I've been off doing other things (hiding) so haven't made the last couple of Thursday run sessions, and though I was tempted to bail on it tonight, my mood from work was suitably softened thanks to my draft report being finished, so I hauled ass across the city to join in.

Correct move.

It was a good session. Here it is for anyone that's curious to look at the Garmin data (and on that note I'd like to say this Forerunner looks to be a cracking investment so far!). A run out, dynamic stretching, 3 times round the pond, then 2, 1, 1, 2, 1 (I dropped 2 laps at the end as I'm racing on Sunday and my calves were starting to tighten up). Again, fairly consistent times & I'm please with that. Also, cardio wise, I wasn't as busted by those distances & speeds as I have in the past. Part of that I'm putting down to improved fitness, another part to the improved technique I think I was rocking tonight. I was very consciously moving round to the forefoot strike, holding my posture, engaging the core & trying to relax as much as possible and it all felt like it was holding together well. After the set of 3, I felt that I had too much recovery time & that I was cooling down! But probably just as well I had the recovery time.

The downside of shifting up onto the forefoot strike is that my calves took a fair old beating tonight, which might not be the greatest race prep, but hey, ho, I've done the session & its time for the ice.

So what am I hoping for on Sunday? Well, its an Olympic distance, so if I could get 30 to 35 on the swim, 1hr 10 on the bike and a sub 50 run at the end, I'd be super stoked. The bike is 7 laps up and down 2 hills (so 14 in total out and back), so hoping the hill work I've put in since I did the sprint in May at the same place pays off. Time will tell, eh?Link