Yesterday I decided I should go for the triathlon distance just to see what it was like. From my previous go I knew I had to do 60 lengths of the pool, cycle to Huntingdon and back and then extend my normal run heading out of Yaxley north around the masterfoods plant past Orton Mere station and back through Goldhay rejoining my normal route at checkpoint four on the Haddon road. Have previously checked this out on work's measuring tool I knew that the run on that route was almost exactly 13.1 miles. The same as the half marathon I've been aiming at next weekend.
Starting with the swim I had a bit of a mishap in not starting the stopwatch until the third length. Whoops. I added two further lengths to make up for it on the time. I'm still not happy with my form in the water. I'm pulling strongly and I don't think my legs are getting tired at all from it but that is because I'm not really using them effetively as I'm coasting on my arm movements. I also found that as I got a little tired in the arms I'd start pulling them out of the water earlier and not at the rear of the sweep bringing them in line with the body. Still I went through the swim without really feeling that tired. Legs and arms were still stong. I hurried through the change but it still seemed to take forever. Just as I was about to leave I could feel the urge to pee but I thought no, I could hold on.
With the swim out of the way and a backpack containing the usual puncture repair kit, isotonic drink locks and the swim kit I set off for Huntingdon. One of the major drawback of the road bike is its fragility. I couldn't take any of the back paths for fear of damaging the lightweight wheels This left me go a rather long way round and I got confused as I headed into Goldhay. My plan was to follow the main road through Goldhay to Hampton then onto the A15 and the normal way down. I unfortunatley autopiloted towards the bridleway I take with the hardtail. I realised my mistake before I got there but it cost me time to get back on track.
With that out of the way the ride down was fairly routine. I had a headwind on the way down and kept the pace fairly easy with the promise of a nice fast return. The return was fast. With the wind behind me and the road now nice a dry I found myself hurtling along the downhill sections in top gear on the drop bars. I still can't keep this postion for too long but I'm finding I'm starting to hold it for a bit longer then when I first started. It helped that with less of a cross wind I was happier to stand up and let some of the tension in my legs and back out which gave me more time in the saddle when I needed to.
I tucked the bike away but found myself dying for that pee I hoped the cycle would knock out of me. Thre was nothing for it but to dive into the house and go. Afterwards I quickly downed the isotonic drink guilitly aware of how little water I'd taken onboard during the cycle. I only grabbed the water bottle once and it felt very wobbly and more then a little scary to do so. Still getting used to those thin tyres and faster cruising speeds. I also decided to take the time to make sure all the bits and bobs were where my housemate wouldn't see them as I could see a nagging coming on if they go in her way after she'd cleaned the kitchen. I also switched the lenses in my sunglasses for a more normal tint as the orange ones would look a bit weird.
Trainers on and off on the run we went. At this point I was at 3.02 hours in. I'd exited the pool itself at 00.32 but not left on the bike till 00.45 or so (not the greatest transistion in the world) with all the muking about finding the smoothest ride to the A15 I hadn't got to Hungtingdon until about 02.00 but I'd say the push back was very good although I didn't look at the watch until I started the run.
I had decided at the start to wear my cycling shorts with a pair of running shorts over the top. I needed the padding for the cycle but didin't want to show off my muscular buttocks too much and with the running shorts covering the full nappy looking padding I could run along nicely in them.
I went off at a fairly slow pace. I still felt strong but could feel the edge of tiredness creeping in, there was a slight pull in the back of my legs where a couple of ligaments were angry about the abuse and know I had a long way to go yet. I didn't really stretch my legs out all the way and conserved energy all the way down to the crossroads on Oundle Way. I was still feeling good but the muscles were reporting back a lack of power as I tried to climb the inclines. I got through Goldhay by focusing on the time I was running compared to my "normal" pace. I knew on a good day that I could keep 9 miles an hour up all day. If I was indeed running about this I should be able to do the half marathon in 1 hour 27 minutes. I knew I wasn't running that sort of pace now but if I could make it to checkpoint four with 20 -25 minutes to spare (or the stop watch showing 04:05-04:10). If it was a normal run I'd know how far off I was. This raised the knees a bit more and kept me going. I didn't manage that threshold being around 5 minutes late. I also found that with the long roads now in front of me I was starting to feel thirsty and energy was coming at a premium. I could't push at the normal rate I would have done with a morning run and just told myself to keep going and focused of the music blaring through the headphones. As I started on the A15 back to Yaxley I was definitely feeling worse for wear I was keeping the body upright with promises of apple and blackcurrent squash and a tin of peaches all to myself if I made it back without stopping. I wasn't looking forward to crossing the road as I felt if I stopped I'd be hard pushed to get the momentum back. Fortunately the road god was with me and cleared a path in the traffic for me to limp across the A15 and head down the main street towards home.
I was very glad to see it but there was no lightning finish and I got myself in through the door. The stop watch read 04:44. I'd lost a good 10mins on the return journey from cp4.
On the plus side when you look at that time you can see that I'd run the half marathon section in 01:42. One of my co-workers had done the G.E.A.R last year in 01:37 and the "Beaver" is not a slow man. Although he did state that without the blisters he got from his new trainners and the fact he didn't do a lot of trainng, he would have gone faster. I still think thats a good time and I'm confident that no matter what else happens next week I can at least complete the course. Afterall, if I can do it after 3 hours of exercise doing it full of energy and well hydrated should make it a walk in the park. Pace is the key. I need to keep to that 9mph or 6min40sec miles. Go too fast and I'll burn out before the finish get caught in the pack and go too slow and the "Beaver" will take the piss. I'll therefore try not make the same mistake I did at the king's Lynn 10k and sell myself short when we line up. I'll need to be as close as possible to the 1.30 starters mark as I can get. That way I'll be in with my peer group and I can look to them to keep the pace.
Given yesterday's hard work I've called a rest day to recover. Rain is predicted for Monday and the rest of the week fairly clear. I'll try to get out on the bike for most of the week and make sure I do the morning runs at the start of the week. With the main event happening Sunday I'll want a couple of rest days to build up the reserves. Therefore Friday will be a very calm gym day avoiding the cardio work and Saturday will just be some light in house stuff to keep me ready.
Thats the plan anyway.
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