Category Archives: David

David Ranelagh Harriers Richmond Half Marathon – 5 May 2013

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So, a few days ago I was reminded by Sharon that I had entered the Richmond Half Marathon this weekend! I’d completely forgotten. When I entered I thought it would be a nice way to get a longish run in just as I start to ease back the training in advance of my main spring race, an Ironman. Two weeks after the London Marathon would be fine (as I hadn’t planned to run London hard, which I didn’t).

The day before at Bushy parkrun I nipped under 19 minutes on very tired legs (from a previous week of fairly large cycling volume) so an easy Saturday would surely give a bit of recovery in advance of a bit of a smackdown at this half marathon.  I had toyed with the idea of a steady paced training run but with it being a fast course and myself being fairly fit I thought it was worth a go at pushing for a good time.

My previous best time over the distance is 1:27:42 from the Bedford Half Marathon in 2007.  That’s a hilly course. Surely I could do better. I had a good bash at beating that time at Tunbridge Wells in 2008 but it didn’t work out on the day. I’ve not ran a half marathon race hard since then.

I had a think and thought a time around 1:25 would be a great result. The only ‘speed training’ that I’ve done all year has been weekly parkrun 5k’s. How would this work out for just over 21km’s.  Surely four 20 minute 5k’s and a bit at the end. Sounds simple eh.

Sunday morning. The weather was perfect. Plenty of friends and fellow club runners were taking part (or marshaling) so there wouldn’t be a lack of support on the course. After a short warm-up I got myself in position right by the front of the start area. This is partly because the race is ‘gun’ timed (meaning everyone gets a time based on the start, not when they personally crossed the start line – so getting near the front was necessary and also helps avoid too much early congestion).

Richmond Bridge, one mile into the race. Photo: Rodney McCulloch

Richmond Bridge, one mile into the race. Photo: Rodney McCulloch

And then we were off. The early miles were solid and relatively comfortable. I saw my good friend Stefan race off fast (as he does every week at parkrun) and I awaited the ‘catch.’  Over 5k it’s normally at about 2.5k, but what would it be over 21k.  Well… it turned out to be pretty much bang on 10k.  I only know this as when I caught up with him he lifted his arms in the air and proclaimed to me (and the other runners near by) something along the lines of “I have done a sub-40 minute 10k for the first time ever!”  That made me laugh.

Heading from Hampton Court along the towpath at about 6.5 miles I found myself with a group of maybe five people.  Before long two of them had drifted off of the back and it was myself, a Collingwood AC and a Tadworth AC runner in a small group.  We kept each other going and ran pretty well together. No-one wanted to drop off of the group so we all ran hard and stuck together. The pacing was steady, the effort was hard.

Around 9.5 miles into the race. Note the Collingwood AC runner (in yellow) tucked in nicely behind me. Photo: Katrin Kroschinski, http://www.fire-passion.co.uk/

Around 9.5 miles into the race. Note the Collingwood AC runner (in yellow) tucked in nicely behind me. Photo: Katrin Kroschinski, http://www.fire-passion.co.uk/

Just before 10 miles I took a gel. I’d had nothing else during the run (apart from a gel 20 minutes before the start) and no water. In fact I didn’t use the water stations once during the race.  I didn’t feel particularly thirsty (I was well hydrated beforehand) and just wanted to concentrate on running!

At about 10.5 miles I ran past Jo and Paul Sinton-Hewitt who were marshaling in Canbury Gardens and Paul said ‘take it easy David’ or something very similar! Cheeky git!

At this point it was just the Collingwood runner and myself.  We worked well together.  We sped up from averaging around 6:25 minute miling to around 6:15 miling. From miles 12 to 13 alongside Riverside Drive we caught up with Sean from Ranelagh who was struggling. I told him to jump on the back of us and he tried his best to. Shortly after he dropped back and I couldn’t hang on any more. Miles 12-13 was (according to my GPS) run at 6:04 minute miling pace.

I had no idea of the time at this point (I’d stopped doing the maths in my head a few miles back) and it was just a case of having to dig deep all the way to the finish.

There’s a slight double-back just before the finish and I remember a encouraging shout from Grant, who’d already finished. Cheers.  I turned into the finishing straight (the only bit of grass you run on) and crossed the line in 1 hour 23 minutes and 46 seconds.  A personal best of 3 minutes 55 seconds. I’ll take that.

Not long after I finished I cheered Stefan in who’d done brilliantly to hang on and get a 1:27:10 for his first ever half marathon. Brilliant work.

Stefan and David with their post-race bananas!! Photo: Rodney McCulloch

Stefan and David with their post-race bananas!! Photo: Rodney McCulloch

This run really worked me hard in the final miles and although I’ve not done and relevant speedwork as such lately I think my endurance and general leg strength from long bike rides certainly helped.  After a very gentle bike ride home I then got my ‘nice’ bicycle out and rode just under 60 miles to my parents house for a celebratory BBQ!

For those interested, here’s my splits/heart rate graphs etc. over at TrainingPeaks.

David Lanzarote Volcano Triathlon – 27 April 2013

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So, four days after the London Marathon and Sharon and I found ourselves at Club La Santa in Lanzarote. The aim of this visit is to spend a week getting in some good training in conditions that will hopefully be similar to what could be expected at Ironman Lanzarote in a few weeks time. This will probably be my final big week of training before easing down a little to taper into the race.

It just so happened that two days after we got here there was a triathlon taking place. This Olympic distance race (1500m swim, 40k bike, 10k run) has been running on the island for 29 years and is a very popular race, with lots of visiting athletes to the island taking part. It also sees a few professional triathletes racing as well. I’d known about the race when we first booked to come to Lanzarote (about 10 months ago) but only decided to enter the race a couple of weeks ago. I thought it would be a good chance to practice a salt water swim, together with racing on my new bike. A good solid workout and a ‘free’ t-shirt to all entrants. Perfect.

The race start was at a civilised 10am and I went down to rack my bike shortly after 9am. There were quite a few Brits around and a couple of people said to me ‘oh, you bloody pirates get everywhere!’

Sharon and I then headed down to the lagoon (where the swim takes place) and I got zipped into my wetsuit and ready for my least favourite part of triathlon – the swim! The swim starts at one end of the lagoon and the 335 (approx) people then swim about 400m or so to the first turn mark. If you start on the left side then you get pushed towards a sandbar where you are pretty much forced to stand up and run along for about 75m or so. I wanted to steer clear of this and wanted to swim the entire course so I started on the right. It didn’t seem so busy.

Well. The starting horn went. I was pretty much on the front row and there weren’t many people behind me as the majority of people were over the other end of the start line. I expected a bit of ‘biff’ early on but oh my – this was about 400m worth of arms and legs everywhere. I really don’t like this. You’re swimming along, all you can see are bubbles in the water from the people in front. There’s literally no room to your left or right hand sides as there are swimmers literally cm’s to your side. You clip hands, you’re getting your feet bashed by the hands of the people behind, and you’re trying to stay calm. Well, I didn’t manage it very well!

The swim start. Loads of fun to be had!

'Swimmers' running across the sandbar

Once we rounded the first turn buoy I was able to find myself a bit more room and some feet to draft off of. I was then able to settle into the swim a little better.

The best bit of the swim was the end of it. As I didn’t have to swim any more! I came out of the water in 26 minutes 10 seconds. This was ok, but no faster than I can swim in a 25m pool (and I had a wetsuit on)! I guess the early panic didn’t help matters and you never know how accurate these swims are anyway. I seem to only have one real pace for swims like this and if the course was indeed accurate this would equate to a 1:06 ironman swim time (3.8k).

I was 107th person out of the swim (out of 313 full event finishers – not including the relay teams that were taking part).

Anyway, out of the swim you have a couple of hundred metres or so to get to transition 1 and it was off with the wetsuit, grab the bike and get going. It wasn’t the quickest of transitions (partly because I put socks on for the bike at this point and also my bike shoes – rather than have the shoes clipped into the bike ready to go) so that’s ok. Somehow I gained three places in transition 1.

The plan for the bike was to go just under my 1-hour time trial pace (or FTP for those who understand power). I wanted to average around 300 watts (92% FTP) and stick to that power as best as possible. It’s a lovely bike route, you go uphill to Soo (and it’s speed-bumps) and then down to Famara, then across and up to the turnaround (which is a huge roundabout) about a km or so from Teguise. Then you ride back. The bike was windy (well, it always is here in Lanzarote) and being able to stay aero and compact gives you your best chance of not being blown around too much in the head/cross-winds. The course has 1424 feet of climbing in total (so says my Garmin) over the 25 or so miles – so far from flat!

During the bike leg I just got my head down and pushed hard, and kept pushing. I was picking people off left right and centre. A couple of people overtook me but that was about it. I overtook tens of people – literally. The race back to La Santa was fast and the winds coming back down from Soo to transition 2 were unbelievable. It was absolutely howling and at times bloody scary!

My bike split was 1:09:19. I did pretty much what I planned to do on the bike with regards to power – averaged 296 watts, a VI of 1.02 and averaged 21.9 mph over the windy lumpy course.

Going through the results at the start of the ride there were 103 people on the bike ahead of me. When I came off of the bike there were 35 people ahead of me. Therefore I overtook 68 people on the bike. That’s a better stat than the swim! I had the 29th fastest bike split.

Only one woman – the eventual female winner – had a faster bike split than mine. If only I was a girl! My bike split was quicker than pro racers Eimear Mullan, Bella Bayliss and Michelle Vesterby. Of course comparing myself to girls is not a good thing to do, but it make me feel better than I am. On that note you can now call me Davina!

I got back to transition 2, bike racked, run shoes and cool new pirate yellow visor on and I was off, for three laps that make up 10k. My watch didn’t seem to be behaving and although it was showing time and heart rate it had no pacing information (which I later realised was because GPS was turned off). Therefore I had to pace my run based on feel. I felt knackered and hadn’t run more than 2 miles since the London Marathon six days ago. Oh well….

The run was hot, a little up and down and oh those lovely Lanzarote headwinds! There was some excellent crowd support at La Santa as you had to run a lap of the running track on each of the three ‘laps’ of the run course. A really great atmosphere.

Running without a GPS for company so no idea of pacing didn’t end up being the disaster that it could have been. My run time was 42:24 which for a windy (unbelievably windy in places) 10k after a hard bike was good for me. The run course was three laps and from the timing mat splits my minute-miling pace for on each loop was 6:33, 6:51 and then 7:06. So yes, I slowed down but I didn’t fall apart. I started the run in 37th position (after losing a position in transition 2) and finished in the same position (having had the 56th overall quickest run split).

2 hours 22 minutes and 30 seconds after starting that lovely swim I crossed the finish line where I was met by the main man when it comes to all things in triathlon in Lanzarote – Kenneth Gasque. A truly lovely friendly man (who personally told me in front of everyone else in the race briefing on Friday night to only have the one beer and no more!). I then got presented with my medal (which is really nice) and then had a post race banana and a cup of coke. Lovely.

For a tough course I think my time isn’t too bad at all. The winner finished in just under 1 hour 56 minutes and only 13 people finished under 2 hours 10. I was 37th overall and 33rd male. In my age group (now 40-44) I was 4th.

During the run I thought I had a blister on my right foot (I put it down to being pretty warm) but post race I noticed (from the blood all over my sock) that I’d cut my big toe before/during the swim and that had been the cause of the pain!

The Volcano Triathlon was a well organised race and for 50 euros I thought brilliant value for money. For that you get entry into a (as close as can be to) closed roads olympic distance triathlon with chip timing, a technical t-shirt, medal, a great goodie bag filled with energy gels and powders and a pre-race buffet at the pasta party. An absolute bargain. Apart from the swim being rather ‘serious’ (to be expected when there’s some money up for grabs at the pointy end and where there’s quite a few pro racers taking part) it was a friendly race and the marshals and volunteers on the course were great.

Highly recommended.

David Virgin London Marathon – 21 April 2013

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This should be an easy race report to write. Long training run. Done. But I though I ought to add a little more detail…

I got my place in this years London Marathon by running a ‘Good For Age’ time last year. I ran 3 hours 9 minutes and that gets me a guaranteed entry for 2013 and 2014. This year the day of the marathon fell four weeks from my main early season event, an Ironman triathlon that I’m doing in mid-May. For me I don’t believe that racing a marathon four weeks out would be great for my training (as a result of the recovery required from such a hard effort) so I decided that this was to just be a long training run instead! I’ve never run any more than about 21 miles in training before – and many of the books/articles I’ve read in the past say that once you go past 20 miles in training, the odds of getting injured from bad running form and generally causing muscle damage that can take a long time to heal (than if you ‘just’ ran up to around 20 miles) exponentially goes up. It’s just not worth the risk. But this is the London Marathon!

I’ve run London twice prior to day and enjoyed it both times – the first time (2009) was my first ever marathon and the second time (last year) I ‘raced’ it and got my marathon PB (personal best) time. I’m fortunate enough to be quick enough to be ahead of many of the ‘ipod brigade’ and those who weave around the route bumping into people. I’ve heard many stories from competent runners who are a little further back in the field and because of the ‘argy-bargy’ etc. many don’t like it and prefer less crowded races. Thankfully I avoid much of that and have a nice area to run in with not too many people too close by.

Anyway, back to the run. I wanted to run steady, not too fast to destroy my legs but quick enough to have a time I was happy with and also be able to get back to full training within a few days. To ensure I didn’t get carried away (like I have done a little in previous ‘races’ that I’ve written about on the blog) I thought I’d give myself a little distraction. A GoPro. This is a tiny little video camera that I decided to bring along with me (along with a little wrist strap) so I could try and document the run and have a bit of fun along the route.  All of the photos that you see in the blog post are video stills from the GoPro.  A video will follow at some point soon(ish!).

The journey to Blackheath was straightforward and I was there a good hour and three quarters before the 10am start. I’d much rather get there early than late. For the first time I was in the ‘Fast Good For Age’ starting area. I was personally greeted by Rachel and Michael (who run at Bushy parkrun) and after I got through their security barrier I was able to relax and prepare myself (i.e., go to the toilet repeatedly!). Prior to the start I saw a couple of other people I knew who were running (Grant and Roger) and wished them luck – they were racing this hard today. I wasn’t.

(clockwise) Sharon and I in the car on our way to the train station. Rachel greets David at the start. David, Grant and Roger before the start. Crowds before the start.

Prior to the start there was a 30 second silence to remember the victims of the recent bombing at the Boston Marathon.

Silence for Boston.

After a huge round of applause we were set off on our way. A cheer from Jo and Dylan who were on the side lines and I was off. I put myself at the back of ‘Pen 2′ in this Good For Age area of the red start and it took me about one and a half minutes to cross the line.

The Start - Me! Crossing the start line (with Jo and Dylan waving from the sidelines).

The crowds were absolutely huge. The early miles weren’t too busy with runners and I didn’t get elbowed once during the entire run. Although it looked busy, everyone seemed to be heading in the same direction at a reasonable pace so it wasn’t difficult to get and stay in a rhythm (at least during the first 20 miles).

During the first few miles there was plenty to keep me occupied. I saw a couple of people supporting at the side of the road with a large ‘Christian Aid’ sign and they were flicking water onto the runners. I guess to give us good luck! Then there was the mankini – in a grown (around 50 year old) man! With nothing underneath it! Once I got that disturbing image out of my head my start (Red) was running alongside the runners from the Blue start for a few hundred meters before we merge into one group at about 3.5 miles in. It was funny as I glanced across to my right and saw a chap from Belgrave Harriers running club in London also running with a GoPro camera!

The next bit of fun was at about five miles as we headed through New Charlton and towards Greenwich. A friend of mine, Stuart told me that he’d be sat on a wall by a BP Garage in Charlton looking out for me. I gave him an estimated time that I’d get there and we’d agreed that I’d wave my arms in advance of my arrival to give him a better chance to see me.

I think it worked!

(clockwise) Stuart (up on the wall) taking a photo. Stuart waving back at me. The photo!

I was having a great time. The miles were ticking by and one of the famous parts of the route, Cutty Sark was not far away. Breaking the run into smaller pieces works for me. Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge, Narrow Street, Mudchute, Docklands, Tower of London, Blackfriars Underpass, Big Ben….

I always look out for some support from fellow Ranelagh Harriers running club members in the Greenwich area and this morning was no exception with Steve, Sonia, Simon, Deborah, Aiah and Phil there supporting in different places. Brilliant.

Miles 7-12 was just a case of enjoying the crowds out in the sun who are cheering us on. On a normal day these roads are (in my opinion) pretty dull but on marathon Sunday they come alive. At about eight miles I had to remind myself that if things got tough later in the day (i.e., around 20-25) miles I needed to draw strength and remember how much fun I was having so far. You might feel great at eight miles but anything can happen and turn a run/race into a really bad day. I really hoped this wasn’t going to happen today.

Crossing Tower Bridge.

Crossing Tower Bridge is a special part of the London Marathon and after this you’ve North of the River Thames for the rest of the race. That’s a big chunk done and dusted. 12.5 miles done.

Next up was the half way mark and I crossed this in 1 hour 42 minutes 24 seconds. This would equate to a marathon time just under 3:25. That would be at the fast end of my estimates so I didn’t have a problem with slowing down at all in the second half. I got a good cheer near here from David, Simon and Simon from The Stragglers running club. Thanks guys.

Just after 14 miles you turn onto Narrow Street. This is unremarkably a rather, er, narrow street and is where I knew Sharon and Kirsty were watching. I had a good idea where they’d be but the area was swarming with people. It was manic. I was looking for them both but couldn’t see them and then at the last minute I heard screaming! I quickly turned my head and saw them – but only for a brief moment. Sharon had been there since about 8am and I was gone in a flash (about four hours later).

Narrow Street - In the top right photo Sharon and Kirsty are the fourth and fifth 'heads' visible on the left side. It's hard work spotting people here because of the crowds, but its a fantastic place to support (and also run through).

At about 16 miles as I was in Millwall on the Isle of Dogs I saw (and heard) someone shouting my name from the side of the road. It was Stefan from Bushy parkrun. He warned me that Katrin and Rodney were a little further up the road so I should smile! That I did.

Stefan, Katrin and Rodney giving me the paparazzi treatment at mile 16!

I wasn’t expecting to see anyone here and it really took me by surprise. Between 15-17 miles are probably the quietest parts of the course for supporters so it was lovely to see someone I knew here.

Photos that Stefan (left) and Katrin (right) took of me.

You then run around the tower blocks of Canary Wharf. Any thoughts of using your watch GPS to keep an eye on pace are best ignored here as the reception goes nuts because of the tall buildings. I just ran at about the same pace I had been doing so far and hoped that I’d come out the other side running well.

At about 19.5 miles you turn out of the Isle Of Dogs and head west towards the finish. Only 6.7 miles left to run – and this is where the so called ‘wall’ can show its face and make your day a disaster. Thankfully this wasn’t going to happen to me today.

I saw Rachael and Michael (who I saw before the start) again in Poplar giving a big cheer and then it was just a case of ticking off the final miles, enjoying the crowds and not getting carried away and trying to race the last 10k.

Limehouse Town Hall has a fantastic soundsystem blasting out music really loud. Last year it was great music. This year – MC Hammer. Hmn… I wasn’t convinced!

At around 22.5 miles I saw a familiar sight at the London Marathon. Mike Peace. He’s a fellow member of Ranelagh Harriers and one of the London Marathon ‘Ever Presents’. He’s run every single London Marathon since it the race first started and this was his 33rd year in a row. Coming into 2013′s race there were 16 men (only men) who have finished every race from the very first in 1981 to the 32nd running in 2012. I got a smile and a few words (polite, not even a ‘feck off’) from him.

Mike Peace - One of the London Marathon 'Ever Present' runners.

Shortly after 23 miles you enter the Blackfriars Underpass.  This is one of the few places on the course that you cannot be seen.  It’s quiet, it’s dark… well, it used to be.  Although there’s no supporters in the tunnel this year it was called ‘The Lucozade Tunnel Of Yes’ – it was really cool.  Big balloon things were illuminated with encouraging motivational words such as ‘Stay Strong’ and ‘Nearly There’.  Unfortunately I didn’t see one with ‘MTFU’ on it.

Mile 23 - "The Lucozade Tunnel Of Yes" - awesome.

Just before mile 25 I ran past the usual supporters group from The Stragglers running club. I got some great cheers from Katie, Nigel and Emma amongst others.

Marathons are tough. Yes, I may have still been smiling all the way round but 26.2 miles takes its toll. The sunny weather will have no doubt troubled some people, and problems with hydration and taking on energy (whether its energy gels, jelly babies or whatever) can hit anyone. Not to mention cramps etc.

(l-r) Mile 25 - The Stragglers running club support area. Some poor chap who'd collapsed a mile from the finish.

Turning at Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament and heading into Birdcage Walk was great. Some people are no doubt getting excited that they’re nearly there and this is the final push (as I was when I first ran at London). I was loving the crowd support (as I had done for the past 25.5 miles).

(clockwise) Just before the '385 yards to go' sign there was a chap being pushed away in a wheelchair. So so close.... Running past Buckingham Palace I cheer to the Queen! Getting applause from a policeman. Support on Birdcage Walk. Coming up towards Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

Then it was the final turn at Buckingham Palace into the finishing straight. I’d had a great run – the pacing was just what I wanted to do and I pretty much grinned the whole way round. Seconds before crossing the line I heard a huge shout from the stands – it was Karen from my running club. Thanks x

I crossed the line with a chip time of 3 hours 26 minutes and 12 seconds. Job done. Or as the finishers t-shirt said a couple of years ago, LonDONE.

(clockwise) The final straight. Immediately after finishing. Being presented with my finishers medal.

Straight after crossing the line it all goes quiet. You get your timing chip taken off of your shoe, you get your medal, you have your photo taken. It was quite the anti-climax of an amazing day. After collecting my bag (with some clean clothes in it) I put my finishers t-shirt on (and medal of course) and strolled over to a pub that quite a few people go to post race. As I was stood at the bar ordering a (soft) drink the timing was perfect as Sharon walked in the door. We had a couple of drinks, chatted and then headed home.

London Marathon evening always ends with a lovely get-together in a pub in Kingston with many other members of our running club where we wear our medals with pride and have a few beers and plenty to eat. It’s a lovely end to a great day.

Looking back at the London Marathon 2013 I had had such a lovely time, if only all long runs were like this.

David Cranleigh 21 mile race – 24 March 2013

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The Cranleigh 21 mile race is one of the best bargains of the racing calendar. 10 pounds for 21 miles. That works out to be just under 48 pence per mile! Bargain.

I’ve run this twice before and this year the plan was once again not to race but to treat it as a good solid training run.

In 2012 the weather was beautiful – hot and sunny. This year it was 0 degrees celcius with a wind of around 15mph blowing. Oh, and some snow flurries! Certainly not shorts and vest weather. Today it was base layer, tights, running club vest, wooly hat and gloves. I was an ideal temperature throughout the run.

The original (note that I’ve said ‘original’ here!) plan was to run slower than I did at the Spitfire 20 three weeks ago.  Well… it didn’t quite happen.  I set off at a good pace, and kinda just kept it up throughout.

At around 9 miles (when you head onto two loops of 6 miles) I got chatting to a lovely lady from Woking. She like myself was ‘taking it easy’ (well, easier than race pace) and we had a good chat. About the usual subjects. You know. parkrun.

Towards the end I picked up the pace a little (she picked it up a little more) and ran through to finish in 2 hours 42 and 20 seconds. My average pace was 7:40 miling (according to the 21.14 miles that my GPS recorded – or 7:44 miling if I ran to the racing line) which was about the same as at the Spitfire 20. It seems like this is just my steady long run pace.

The marshals on the course were fantastic and I really enjoyed the little cups of orange squash that they were handing out (much nicer than just water).

With the London Marathon four weeks away running at this pace would get me round in around 3 hours and 20 minutes. I’m really planning on running London a little slower (so expect me to refer back to this post in a few weeks saying how it all went wrong and I ran too fast!).

The current training (including London) is just preparation for another marathon that I’m doing in May. I can guarantee that this marathon will be slower. Mainly because I’ll be doing a little swim and bike ride beforehand…

David The Surrey Rumble Sportive – 17 March 2013

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As part of my triathlon training getting long bike rides in is just one of the ‘highlights’ of the training!  I rode the Surrey Rumble Sportive back in March 2009 and the timing worked out well for a long ride this year.  The event has either 57 or 77 mile routes so it was only fair that I entered to ride the long course this year (as I did in 2009).  Now that I also don’t own a car then it made perfect sense to cycle the 14 or so miles there and back as well to really make it a good training day!

The weather forecast wasn’t looking great and unfortunately the forecast was pretty accurate!  Within about two minutes of leaving home it started to rain.  Occasionally it stopped but for the most part of the ride it just rained.  And rained.

I arrived at the start/finish HQ and got my number to affix to the bike and also a map of the route.  I had loaded it all previously into my bike GPS so I was all set and didn’t need to refer to the map at all. Shortly before 9am I set off into yet more pouring rain.

Partly due to the weather and the fact that I knew very few people who’d entered the event I decided to just get on with the ride and go solo.  Avoid any drafting opportunities (as you’re not allowed to draft from other riders/cars in triathlon races – at least the races I do) and push on, as the sooner I got this ride finished the sooner I’d be home in the warmth again!

I’ve got a lovely pair of Gore-Tex winter cycling shoes and waterproof cycling socks.  Well, these were both bloody useless today.  Water just got into my shoes and socks from my soaking wet leggings.  I could feel water moving around in my shoes when going uphill.  It wasn’t pleasant and my feet were freezing – from about two hours in untill I got home.

Because of the rain we’ve been having the last couple of days (and also today) the road conditions in and around the little country lanes were pretty dire.  Puddles, twigs, stones – and the usual potholes.  Plenty of things to flatten a tire and damage a bike.  I saw plenty of people fixing punctures today but thankfully I avoided any such mechanicals.

I didn’t stop and hang around much at the checkpoints (other than go to the toilet and get my event card stamped (to show that I’d made it to the checkpoints) – opting to just get on with the ride.

I made it back to the event HQ after covering the (according to my GPS) 75.94 miles of the Surrey Rumble.  My time was around 4 hours 22 minutes.  This included stops.  My actual ‘moving’ time was 4:09.  My average heart rate was 138bpm.

Looking back at my data for 2009, my GPS recoded 76.37 miles (so probably the same because of GPS accuracy) and my total time was 4:51 and my moving time was 4:35.  I also wrote in my training log “Much of the first half was alone, but less of the second half. Weather ideal.”  Average HR was 146bpm.

So, in pretty foul conditions today I rode the same route 25 minutes quicker and stopped for slightly less time at the checkpoints.  Oh, and with a lower average heart rate as well.  I’m very happy with that – especially as I cycled 14 miles there (and then home again).

Overall for the day I was out for six and a quarter hours and covered 105.8 miles.  I’m now thawing out at home and eating just about anything and everything that I can lay my hands on!