Ironman Mark

I’ve not been on my bike for over four weeks.  I did a wattbike session during the week and did a 2:20 ride today.  But I find it so, so hard to get on the bike.  Especially at the time of the year when the weather is not particularly nice.

So, the plan is to do 50 bike rides in the next 50 days.  That’s between today and 9 January 2011.

I decided this on my ride today.  I will still do some swimming and running but not as much as I would otherwise do.  I pretty much decided that I would be happy to lose 5 minutes on the swim to gain 10 (or a lot more) time on the bike.  It will be sad as this would mean that I won’t be on target to get a sub-1 hour swim (I’ve done sub-1 hour on all my IMs so far).

So the rules.  There has to be rules!

1. Any type of biking is good.  Road, tri, MTB, wattbike, spin.  Anything is fine.

2. The ride needs to be for at least 30 minutes.  Two rides a day is fine (e.g. to and from work is great) but there needs to be a proper break between rides (a ride to a cafe and back will only count once).

3. Any intensity is ok.  However, an easy spin will only count after a very long run!

One of the reasons for doing this is that I still have not recovered properly from the Pembrokeshire Coast Challenge.  I took Sparkie out for a couple of hours yesterday and my legs were so tired after.  Also, my left hip flexor is still sore.

I had planned to start a proper plan for training towards Ironman Lanzarote next week but don’t feel recovered enough from the PCC yet.

I had outdoor type of day (dog walk, Go Ape, dog walk) and still feel very tired.  Also, my left hip flexor is a little sore (this started on Wednesday for some reason) and my legs still ache from the PCC.  It has taken my legs a lot longer to recover than I expected from the PCC, certainly longer than it took to recover from an ironman.

We are now 27 weeks away from Lanzarote so it is no hardship waiting a week.  I will probably still do similar number of sessions to what I was planning but they will probably be a bit easier, especially the running ones.

Day 3 – Tick. All in the bag.

So I did it. I registered and got on the bus to the start. I did faff about with my kit so that I didn’t even have my ruck sack on by the time they said go, but losing two seconds wasn’t a problem!

For the first 30k, I had a great time. My mind was silent, just concentrating on the present and not worrying about day 4 or whether I could think of a good excuse for pulling out!

There was a woman in black and a man in yellow who were running a couple of hundred metres behind me from around 18k or so. Mentally, I had to stop myself from racing them as that seemed to add a bit of pressure. Just before CP2 the woman almost caught me as I took a very wet, muddy, rocky route down a hill. She stood at the top looking down and I suggested she didn’t go my way! I got to CP2 before her and then carried on quite quickly. After a bit she caught up with me but the gap never closed. By listening to the sounds of the gates opening and closing you can tell that people are behind you and roughly how close. It took me a while to work out that she caught me up on the steeper downhill bits (my knee meant I was still going gingerly) but I gained on the uphill bits.

Coming into Fishguard for CP3 I knew that I had to be on the proper road but I ended up on a road where the garages are that is parallel to the proper road. I went down one bit only to find that it led to a derelict bit of land (not the path) and so had to go 50m back up hill to get back. The woman was just behind me now but reached the bottom of the hill a lot before me.

The path on the way to Fishguard was very wild and rugged. And there were no artificial safety barriers between you and the edge of a cliff. Sometimes, there was a bit of a bank that had been built up, other times a bit of gorse. There was loads of lovely mud though. Running on tarmac through Fishguard was a bit demoralising. I also got a little confused and ending up running the wrong way up a hill, only to run down it again. But after Fishguard, the path turns into a narrow path between two barded-wire fences. If you slip, you won’t fall of the cliff but you will get cut. The ruggedness was gone. But it did come back again.

After Fishguard, I started to find it harder to run (no surprise there then Sherlock). Before, my running form had been good (but slow). I think it had actually deteriorated on the between CP2 and CP3 as after about 35k a blister popped on my left foot. Strange, as I didn’t have any blisters before I left. So I then made sure that I kept chanting a particular phrase that makes me concentrate on running. It worked but it was hard to keep form.

CP3 to the finish leg is also mentally hard as you can see the headland where you finish from before you even get to CP3. But what you can’t see is all the little headlands in between. Or the gulleys that take you almost to the sea and then back up again. Just before the end I saw someone in black scrambling up the cliff ahead of me. Then I dreaded going all the way down to the sea and back up. But no, I was lucky – the path only went most of the way down.

I caught the woman in black up as she nearly got to the bottom of a long flight of stairs about 70m from the finish. I asked her if I should do the gentlemanly thing and try to out sprint her to the finish but she allowed me to pass and I was there. The END.

I finished in 6:26 – 44.1k.

I had ran over 81 miles in 17 hours 25 mins. What a strange world it is. I remember only being able to run 200m a few years ago. Then when I joined my tri club I remember saying I could not enter an olympic triathlon as I had never run more than 4k.

I was asked this morning whether I could have run further if I had to. Yes, I think I could have done. I wouldn’t have wanted to, but I could have.

My knee was fine and didn’t give me any pain today. However, that was because I took it very, very easy on the downhill bits. I have a second blister on my other foot but that’s fine. My legs obviously ache a little but I can live with that. The only more serious problem is that the waist strap on my rucksack cut into me on day 1 and 2 so I put some white tape over the cuts. I can’t get it off now (and I am not brave enough to pull it off yet) and where it has rubbed a bit it means that I stick to things (like sheets). I guess I am going to have to find some surgical spirit or something to get the glue off.

Last night was horrible.  I went to bed at 9pm but didn’t get any sleep until gone 2am.  My legs kept me awake but there was also something else.  I was sweating hugely but very cold as soon as I got out of the covers.  My hydration strategy also meant that I had to get up a few times as well!

About 1am, I took an painkiller and some time after that I decided that I wasn’t doing day 3.  I woke up this morning at 4am, dozed on and off for a bit, thinking about having to throw the t shirt away.

It now looks like I may do Day 3.

Day 2 is now in the bag in 6:00 plus a few seconds change (if only I had known how close the end was).

For me, it was much tougher as my left knee was quite tender from the end of yesterday’s run. Running shallow downhills was ok but the steeper, rockier stuff was horrible. I had to go down them very, very gingerly. Steps were pretty bad too. I realised that I land down from a step on my left foot and that’s the knee that is hurt. So I consciously tried to land with my right foot, only to find that I automatically revert back to my left knee within three steps. The guide to the path says that there are 390 steps in the four miles after you leave Newgale (start of Day 2) . I got overtaken by quite a few people here.

It rained a bit at the start and there was a brief shower mid-way through but other than that we had clouds with the odd bit of sun, getting more sunny between CP2 and CP3. The long shadows in front of me meant I started to get worried about losing daylight. I certainly didn’t want to be there in the dark!

All the way to about 10k before CP3 (14k from finish) I had decided that I wasn’t going to do day 3. I have nothing to prove (two marathons in two days sounds ok), my knee was sore so why let it get worse, and so on.

Then I started thinking about the race T-shirt. It’s not the best in the world but it’s ok. And it mentions three marathons in three days. Which is one more than two – it’s going to have to be a bike rag! Or perhaps I do tomorrow?

About 14k from the end I was well and truly out of water which made me think that I had better get a move on. So I increased the effort and caught two runners, then a walker. After CP3, I was motoring and caught another two runners and two runners/walkers. If the route was a bit longer, I would have caught another three.

Best bits:
- I finished very strong and confident
- Still lots of rugged coast line, made more beautiful with sun at times
- Last 14k felt very good (very good compared to the first 29k – not very good in an absolute sense)
- Shoes were still very good

Worst bits
- Getting off of St David’s head. I turned to go across the head when my GPS said but there was no proper path back for what seemed like 15 minutes. There were lots of little paths but no proper path for ages. This involved a lot of rock climbing and walking. Because of rocks and my knee, the downhill bits were just as slow as the uphill bits. 
- Feeling the pressure to go faster at the start because there were lots of people behind me.
- My left knee

Tomorrow morning I will check my knee out properly but I feel so much better getting out the van than I did yesterday. But I think that was because I was so wet yesterday!  Walking back from dinner wasn’t too good though…

So I have survived Day 1 and am about walking over to the race HQ for the start of Day 2.

I slept ok, but my legs woke me up a few times.  I woke at around 5am but for the first time in years, just stayed in bed until 7am.  Then I went for a 30 minute walk around St Davids.  Walking was fine but I am a little nervous about my knees.  They are fine when walking but I am not confident in them.

Today’s run is supposed to be harder.  Judging from last year’s times, it will take me at least 30 minutes longer today.  Judging by the feel of my knees, it will take a little bit more than that!  There are something like 400 steps in the first four miles or so.  Hopefully some of them will be downhill, but even that worries me a bit.

Hurray – Day 1 is in the bag!

I survived and came in just under 5 hours having run 43.6k (one tiny navigation error cost me 300m).   Not sure of the official times yet.

I can split the day into three bits:

- first 15k: it rained quite a bit. I mentally tried too hard (nothing wrong with my pacing, just my thinking). I was worried about going too slow.  I was worried I was going too fast.  I was worried I was holding people up.  I was worried I wasn’t going to finish.  I was worried my feet were hurting, and so on.

- 15k to 38k: fantastic, I was mentally there and my pace was still good (but it had slowed a bit towards the end). I took my rain jacket off (I was soaked underneath – so much for “very breathable”). After a bit it started to drizzle but I didn’t bother putting it back on.  I was running well, with a hat and so was plenty warm.  Soaked, but warm.

- 38k to 43.6k: The course got tougher somewhere around 38k (-ish). My left calf started to cramp. Just for a micro second but it did it a few times so I stopped to stretch it. My left knee also started to feel a little sore (not sure if something to do with compensating for each other but it feels fine now). I took it very easy on the steep downhill bits here and ran a little gingerly, stopping to stretch out my calf. I lost quite a bit of time here and four people went past me.

Best bits:
- I’ve run my first standalone marathon
- very rugged coastline (shame the sun wasn’t out to make it look even better though)
- 15k to 38k: I felt great
- my Inov8 x-Talon 212′s – I got hugely confident in the amount of grip that they had. People in front of me were slipping and sliding all over the place but I was fine.

Worst bits:
- getting out of the van afterwards and walking the 250m to my room (my face was creased in agony, I was shivering with cold and walking like John Wayne)
- knee and calf in last few k’s
- I spent a lot of time staring at the mud on the path ahead of me rather than looking around.
- One time looking to the sea by the side of me, with a very steep cliff just yards from me and then tripping on a rock.

Tomorrow is forecast to be sunny but the run is supposed to be a bit longer and a bit tougher. I am expecting my legs to be achy for the first three miles or so – after that who knows!

Nerves. They are a strange thing.

I did a presentation at work to 30 people yesterday. I felt fine.

But I felt sick while queuing to buy a sandwich.

Last night I got to my room, flitted about a bit and went to bed at just after 10pm. I woke up thinking that I’d had a surprisingly good sleep. My watch said 11:37pm.

I awoke again around 4am and was then awake from 5am, my normal getting up time. I then laid awake feeling ok. After a while I decided to visualise the day. What nerves?

Registration is 8:30 to 9:30, then we get briefed, put in some mini-buses and taken away to the start. The plan is we start around 11am.

My plan is to run by feel, especially by the sound of my breathing. And I l walk the steep bit. Where it is hilly, but not too steep, I plan to run and then do 20 paces of fast walking before running again. But I am quite happy to walk more if I want to. This is not a race! I want to get around, feeling good at the end. Actually, that’s not true. I know my feet will feel bad throughout the vast majority of the race (pins and needles, then numb). My goal is to complete without getting hurt. Discomfort is fine. Getting hurt isn’t.

There are three check points spaced roughly evenly around the course. I plan to carry some gels with me and eat one every now and then, and then eat something at each check point. I will take a litre of water with me and also drink at check points. If I am going through water quicker than that, I will just top my rucksack up a bit more.

There will be some rain today but I am not sure when. The forecast is for some light rain at lunch time, heavy rain after. But who knows?

Here are some reasons – not in any particular order:

• Because I want to.
• Because I can.
• Because I want to push my limits, and by doing so it means that I still have limits to find.
• It shows I have great willpower.
• It’s an incredible thing to do.
• It shows that I am determined to do what I want to do.
• Because it is not easy.
• You get more value for money if you finish it.
• I have entered it so I might as well finish.
• Pretty good bragging rights!
• Because success is forever.
• It is a mind boggling distance – and I want to boggle minds.
• I would be proud to tell people I have finished it.
• It’s good to see how hard I can push myself.
• I don’t have to do it again!
• It is a great stepping stone towards doing something even sillier.
• Because it beats sitting at a desk all day long.

And while I remember, I do like this encouragement:

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there’s nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour’d rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o’erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O’erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill’d with the wild and wasteful ocean.
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To his full height. On, on, you noblest English.
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!
Fathers that, like so many Alexanders,
Have in these parts from morn till even fought
And sheathed their swords for lack of argument:
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest
That those whom you call’d fathers did beget you.
Be copy now to men of grosser blood,
And teach them how to war. And you, good yeoman,
Whose limbs were made in England, show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game’s afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry ‘God for Harry, England, and Saint George!’

As you can see from my blog title, I am still nervous about the Pembrokeshire Coast Challenge.

It still seems an utterly foolish thing to do.  But hey, I am still planning to do it.

This week I have been doing some 1 hour long runs at lunch times (I’ve also been getting to work a couple of hours early though).  I have managed to find some muddy paths and tried a couple of pairs of shoes on them.  One pair stands out as much better than the others so that is my race pair.

One thing I am concerned about is getting “pins & needles” in my feet.  Normally, I don’t get them on long runs but I do get them about 25 mins into the run on a middle/long distance triathlon.  But I’ve been getting them running along the river.  I think the issue is that after several days of back-to-back running something must weaken in my foot or legs.  Oh well.  I know I can run through this.

Yesterday was a non-running day and just did a 40 minute swim.  I want to make sure I have a little rest before doing a couple of 1 hour plus runs this weekend.  Then next week, I’ve decided to do a couple of 30 minute easy runs before hitting it big time on Friday with 42k or so.

I am now just waiting for the sky to get a bit lighter before taking the dog for a walk (and I’ll make sure I have my rucksack and trainers with me and we might walk at about 9 min per mile pace).