Challenge Wanaka 2012 Race Week – Tuesday – Spin the legs…

Posted on January 18, 2012 by David

Tuesday morning started with our first lie-in of our trip so far. A lie in as in 7am that is!! After a leisurely breakfast I pumped up my bike tires and decided to give the bike a little spin – my first ride in a couple of weeks. I headed off onto the first part of the bike race route and the scenery was stunning. It was a beautiful morning with clear blue skies and a warm sun (the forecast for the next few days isn’t quite as good but we may be lucky come race day).

I rode out for 30 minutes then turned back and headed for town. I’d say none of the route I rode was at all flat but then not again too hilly. Just general undulations all the time.

It was great to get back out on the bike again and remind my legs of what they need to do for 112 miles on Saturday morning.

On the way back I took my bike to the local bike shop for the mandatory pre-race check-over which it passed and I got a sticker to say that I can rack my bike in the transition area on Friday.

Back to the campervan site for lunch and then Sharon and I took a stroll into town (which is about 1.5 miles away). We had a wander, bought a postcard and then strolled back. Later on I headed out for a one hour run along part of the run route. This could be interesting. I had an idea of what to expect but much like the bike route it’s very undulating. The surface of the run is 75% gravel paths and 25% road. My hour run was mostly on the gravel paths and for those who live in London I’d say its similar to the path around Richmond Park but much more twisty. Settling into a steady pace on the run isn’t going to be easy. On the plus side the scenery was superb.

We then headed to the volunteers briefing (as Sharon is volunteering with some of the pre-race preparation on Wednesday) and then back to the van. Wednesday has more fun in store…

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Challenge Wanaka 2012 Race Week – Monday – The 5k Fun Run…

Posted on January 18, 2012 by David

So… after months and months of saving, planning and a rather long flight from London to New Zealand (where we didn’t really get any jet-lag!!) Sharon and I have been doing lots and lots of travelling in our campervan and sightseeing. During our first week here we visited places including Mount Cook, Queenstown (including the awesome Shotover Jet boat ride), Doubtful Sound (lovely overnight cruise), Milford Sound and after temperatures ranging from absolutely freezing cold (full winter gear on) we’re now in the shorts and t-shirt weather of Wanaka. This is the location of Challenge Wanaka – an Ironman distance race that takes place on Saturday 21st January.

Wanaka as a town is lovely. Not too big, not too small, situated right on a stunning lake with mountain ranges all around. It truly is a stunning location and I can believe it when it is referred to as “The World’s Most Scenic Iron Distance Triathlon.”

After tons of driving/sightseeing and a good dose of rain (i.e., about 48 hours worth of the stuff – non-stop!) training opportunities have been rather limited (my running mileage for last week was about ten miles in total!). My bike has only just been put back together after flying it round the world (which only cost £35 when we checked in at London – bargain!) but first things first, the Radio Wanaka 5km Fun Run on Monday evening.

It’s amazing that the whole town is fully behind Challenge Wanaka. Event flags are flying on lamp posts all down the high street – the regional newspaper had a 12 page event ‘pull-out’ in it a few days ago with details of the race and a full entry list – my race number is 358. The local radio station is always talking about the race and what’s going on in town this week. It really is something special and amazing to be a small part of it all.

Sharon and I arrived in Wanaka on Monday afternoon to be met by blazing sunshine and a very light breeze. Going out for an evening run was meant to be refreshing!

Recycling is big in NZ - So much so that they're re-using last years sign

We jogged down to the lakefront and paid our 10 dollars each (about £9.50 pounds or so) for the two of us to register. The money all goes to a local cause so that’s good. Well over 200 people signed up for the run (or 5k walk) and it was really really warm.

When I went off for a warm-up Sharon kept an eye out for any serious looking athletes and she spotted a few out there. We had a race briefing where we were told that the course had changed slightly to make it a more accurate 5k and before long we were lined up.

Right in front of me were a group of young lads (early teens I’d say) and one of them had a Triathlon New Zealand Squad vest on! Hmn, this could be interesting!

So… the hooter sounded and away we went. A group of four pushed hard from the start and I thought I should try and stick onto them. After about a quarter of a mile I noticed that I was running about 5 minute 15 second milling, which is something like low 16 minute 5k pace. Not bloody likely I’d say!

I eased off slightly and dropped back to sixth place at a pace I was more comfortable with.

About a minute or two later a shout from behind us said “You’re going the wrong way!” – oops! We all turned around, then followed this chap (who was going mighty fast) as he led us back to the ‘real’ course. Sharon had run the correct course all along and it was only a large group of us at the front of the race (I mean fun run) that didn’t turn off at the correct place (the lack of a marshal or sign didn’t help!).

Anyway, back onto the course and before long the positions had re-established themselves and I was in sixth place and the fast guys were back at the front. At this point there were plenty of marshals in place and we were led in the direction of a golf course. We literally ran up a grass bank and across the middle of the course – including one of the putting greens from a hole. I was probably 15 feet away from a golfer as he just watched us all (whilst waiting to take his shot) run across his lovely course!! From here we headed off onto a lakeside path and into the grounds of a local vineyard.

Vineyards like to be positioned on hills. Oh dear. Next thing we were directed up a dusty path and it was hard going. The weather was baking hot – the sun was out and there was nothing ‘fun’ about this run! Well, it was fun but in a painful kind of way!

Eventually we headed back onto the path close to Lake Wanaka and back in the direction of the finish. I spent much of the race running close to the chap in 5th place and in the final km I edged ahead of him and pushed on to take 5th spot. The slight course ‘directional issue’ didn’t make a difference to the overall placings so that’s good.

My GPS measured 3.39 miles and a time of 20:36. Had I had run 5k my time would have been 19:03 which I think is not bad going on the hilly course.

It was a great fun event, lots of people at the finish supporting and spot prizes for a number of the runners (sadly Sharon and I didn’t win).

Sharon finished in 29:19 and her GPS said it was 5k spot on. Lovely. Her first words after finishing when I asked how it was were “Hot, it was hot.”

We then jogged (very) gently back to the campervan site, had dinner and watched the sunset. Lovely.

Posted in David, Sharon, Triathlon | 1 Comment

Bedford Harriers Half Marathon 2011 (Sharon)

Posted on December 11, 2011 by Sharon

Dear Reader, let me set the scene.  After “discovering” running and losing weight back in 2007, I have had a couple of years unable to run for one reason and another, which I won’t bore you with.  Back in April, I was trying to decide whether or not to take up my deferred London Marathon place from this year and run in 2012.  I was 4 stone overweight.  So, I joined Weight Watchers and started to run a bit more.  I decided that if I could run a “reasonable” Half Marathon at Bedford today, then I would train for London.

We last ran this race in 2007, and it was then that I set my Half Marathon PB.  I haven’t bettered it since, admittedly I’ve only run two more Half Marathons since then.  My training has been reasonable, I have lost (so far) 41 pounds in weight, so I was feeling almost prepared.

Fast forward to this morning – I was terrified.  In fairness, I’ve been terrified for the last few days!  I was feeling the pressure (from myself, no-one else might I add) and I was happy to see some friendly faces in the form of lots of the Pirate girls – and even happier to hear from David who had arrived safe and sound after cycling to Bedford from home this morning, as part of a brick training session.

We lined up on the start line, I saw some Ranelagh pals which was lovely.  We were off!  I can barely remember details of the race and it’s less than 12 hours ago.  I set off in a melee and clocked my first three miles starting with a 9.  That sort of wasn’t in the plan.  Ah well, I was having a nice time – then I saw the first hill of the race, a short, sharp incline.  Up and over I went.  The next couple of miles were fine, little bit windy and a bit of a drag up a dual carriageway (speaking of which, if a race asks you not to wear an MP3 player for safety reasons and you wear one anyway, would it serve you right if you didn’t hear a car and got squashed on aforementioned dual carriageway?) slowed me a little but I felt OK.

Mile 7 to 8 I really didn’t feel OK.  What a horrible, headwindy, drag upwards.  I decided that once I got to mile 8, I would have the gel I had in my pocket.  I don’t really “do” gels or drinks when running but I felt I needed it.  I somehow got it into my tummy (bleeurgh!) over the course of a quarter of a mile, timed it like that so I could have some water at the drinks station.  I actually think it helped, whether it’s a placebo effect or really did, I don’t mind.  Still bloody horrible though.

The next few miles just passed in a blur – every now and again I would glance at my watch and think, “ooh, perhaps I’ll get a PB” – but then I remembered that my Garmin was recording the miles slightly early (as it did in 2007), making the total distance 13.2 miles, which then had an effect on my finish time.  Mind you, working that out whiled away a few minutes ;)  I was happy again to see the 10 mile marker, just a parkrun to go.  Hooray.  I carried on, feeling strong, when suddenly at 12.5 miles on my Garmin I thought, “Oh no, my wheels are coming off”.  I could have sat down at the side of the road, I just wanted it to end.  In 2007 I employed the, “Paula Radcliffe Counting Method of Distraction” at mile 10.  This year, it wasn’t until mile 12, so that’s an improvement at least ;)

Before I knew it, I was heading up the final incline to the finish, I just couldn’t do any kind of a sprint finish, my legs were well and truly done for.  I saw David and heard him telling me to push on – all I could reply with was, “I’ve done a PB!”.  I had.  A PB of over 3 minutes – giving me a new Half Marathon best of 2:08:26.  Totally over the moon.  Totally.  If you don’t believe me about how over the moon I was, the photo below taken seconds after the finish shows it pretty well :)

A bit of milling about, a coffee, some catch ups and cheering in, out for scampi and chips and we were homeward bound.  What a day!

If you’re interested in such things, below are my splits from this year.  I’ve looked at my mile splits from 2007 – and the obvious gains were in the tougher bits, although there’s a general gain on every mile.

(1) 9:27, (2) 9:17, (3) 9:43, (4) 9:55, (5) 10:02, (6) 9:53, (7) 9:39, (8) 10:13, (9) 10:06, (10) 9:11, (11) 9:32, (12) 9:37, (13) 9:57, (13.2) 9:42  avg 9:44 (but based as in 2007 on 13.2 distance, I can’t be faffed trying to remove the extra 0.1!)…so obviously really it’s a slower miling pace than that.

This year I finished 1322/1523 and I was 76th in my age category.  I guess that after scoring myself a shiny PB, it means I will be training to stand on that start line at the London Marathon in April…

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Bedford Harriers Half Marathon 2011 (David)

Posted on December 11, 2011 by David

I very rarely run half marathon distance races but as part of Sharon’s running ‘comeback’ she wanted to do the Bedford Half – a race she did really well in a few years ago. I was up for doing the race as well and as part of my Ironman training I thought I should add a little twist to the event by cycling there first – weather permitting.

So, after a slight lack of tapering (meaning a 17:33 ‘one second away from my PB’ at Bushy parkrun on Saturday) I got my bike ready for a very early start. A 5am wake up call on a Sunday is never a good thing but sometimes you just need to get on with things.

I left home just after 5:40am for the 55 mile or so ride to the start of the Bedford Harriers Half Marathon. Although it was cold on the plus-side there was a slight tailwind which I wasn’t complaining about. With sunrise not until just before 8am it was going to be a dark ride for a couple of hours.

The roads around west London were lovely and quiet – even the North Circular up to Hanger-Lane. You rarely get to say that! The route I chose avoided most big roads and I headed up through Harrow and up to Elstree. After crossing the M1 motorway there was a stretch of about 3 miles or so with no street lighting at all so it was pretty damn dark and I had to rely on my (reasonable but not great) bike lights for visibility.

I next headed up to St. Albans, Harpenden, Luton, Clophill and then across to the start in Wooton. I arrived shortly before 9am having ridden for 3 hours 1 minute of cycling at an NP of 237 (TSS 218). Sharon had the car conveniently parked nearby so I packed the bike away and got changed into my running gear. A couple of energy gels before the start and away we went at 10am.

The run was pretty uneventful. I enjoyed it and it was nice to be in such a large race.

I hoped to run close to 1 hour 30 and I think I did myself pretty proud! Going through half way in around 45:10 I crossed the finish line in 1:29:57. Close enough I’d say. I can’t say it was particularly easy. Well, the first half was pretty steady but towards the end I had to concentrate pretty hard to stay on pace and not get dropped by any groups.  I didn’t want to kill myself out on the course today so did hold back a little as this is just one piece of a much bigger picture.

My finishing position (at least in the provisional results) was 173rd out of 1,523 finishers.

Job done.

Posted in David, Ranelagh Harriers, Triathlon | 2 Comments

Bushy parkrun – 10 December 2011

Posted on December 11, 2011 by David

When someone asks if I ever do running speed training my answer is normally ‘no, but I do a 5k time trial most Saturday mornings.’ I rarely (read ‘never’) get to my running club for training sessions and normally rely on my weekly parkrun 5k ‘fix’ to get the legs moving quickly.

On Thursday of this week my good friend Danny convinced me to come along to the speed training session that he does on a Thursday. A few of us went along and although we got a good kicking by many of the youngsters of the Harambee running group and got absolutely soaked to the skin in the pouring rain it was a good hard session and I felt good on Friday and ready for more!

Saturday morning at Bushy was setting up to be a fast morning. Conditions were great (cold, firm ground and next to no wind) and in addition to a ‘mob-match’ between two local triathlon clubs the Harambee runners were there for a pre-Christmas blast round the park.

With the team behind the excellent parkrun show and Marathon Talk podcasts in attendance it was set to be lots of fun down at Bushy.

I planned to push pretty hard and see if I could get close to my personal best of 17:32 from a few weeks ago. After a bit of a confused start (a few chaps started early and the starting sequence got a little muddled) over 800 runners headed off towards Teddington Gate.

I don’t have much to say other than I pushed really hard throughout. The field was absolutely ‘stacked’ with fast runners and there were plenty of people around me. Lots of surging, lots of competitive running. It was ace.

Just before the 4k mark Martin Yelling came powering past me looking strong. He looked like he was on a mission and that mission was to take down parkrun show podcast host and co-presenter Danny Norman (which he almost did). The last km was tough (hmm, much like the previous four!).

Sharon was there taking photos and got a great photo at about 4.5km of Danny, Martin and myself in the background…

I crossed the line in 26th position with a time of 17:33 – one second slower than my personal best. Excellent. I have no complaints about that time at all. With four sub-18 minute finishes in the past six parkrun events (OK, we all know the southern courses as ‘soft’!) I firmly believe that I’ve stepped up a level to a new range of times in my running (well, over 5k at least).

Finally, to give an idea of the strength of the field at Bushy here’s an example – last week a friend ran 19:45 and finished 29th. This week he ran 19:43 and finished 102nd! There were admittedly around 23 percent more people this week (810 versus 655) but that means he should have been around 35th place! Talk about top heavy!

Posted in David, parkrun | 1 Comment