Parkrun #13 - Bracknell

Parkrun #13 - Bracknell

A longer gap than I wanted since the last Parkrun, which was April in Northern Ireland. That's over six months! It has been a pretty busy time though, what with the house move.

I've been doing a lot of off road running in Ascot recently, and noticed that this Parkrun, being my nearest now, has a varied terrain, more later on that. There was some rugby match on TV this morning which everyone was talking about. There were also a lot of race cancellations due to high wind and rain. It was obvious then that I'd pick today :)

After a short drive I easily found the start. It wasn't much fun getting out of the warm car, but I had my thin waterproof, and hat, so I was OK. I did a quick jog around a bit of the course - up a muddy path and into some trees. It was warm enough for shorts, but I knew my legs were going to get dirty.

I joined the newcomers briefing, and discovered this was an two lap clockwise route, replacing an anti-clockwise 2.5 lap one. A good day to come.

Despite the slight drizzle, I decide to run without my jacket to avoid any overheating.

We started running slightly uphill, the same way I'd practiced in fact, and having not seeded myself properly I had a bit of overtaking to do on the narrow path. Into the trees and I'd just about found my place. It was fun, if slow, weaving through the dense wood, with deep pine-cone matting underfoot. Back out and into the wind and rain again we approached the start pavilion, and went past it down to some football pitches through the soggy grass.

Completing the approximate figure 8 we got to lap two. I had slowed a little by now but by the end of this ascent and back in the trees I picked the pace up a little and overtook a couple of people, even though I got hit in the head by what must have been a falling pine cone. I gained one more place just near the pavilion before going on for the final section.  I kept this position until the finish.

I just kept going, looking over my shoulder a little occasionally to make sure I wouldn't be caught. I gained on the man in front, but had no fight in me to chase for one more place. The varied terrain of muddy path, waterlogged grass, and bed of pine cones saps your leg strength.

I expected to be about 20th, so was pretty surprised not only by the distance (my watch said 1/10 of a mile to go) but also by being handed token number 11. I'm told the course is the correct length, but GPS watches get confused in the trees - I'm prepared to believe this.

After the run, view of the start/finish pavilion, and part of course

I came 11th out of 201, with a time of 22:21. Admittedly, lots of faster runners probably stayed at home and watched TV. Still, it's my best time this year!

Strava: Link
Parkrun: Link

HalfX Triathlon 2019

HalfX

I didn't want to write this report.

Perhaps I have repressed earlier memories, but as far as I remember I have never failed to finish a race, until now.

Excuses are plentiful, mostly around tiredness and lack of training from moving house and poor weather.

Race day is a Sunday, so we arrived near Ambleside late on Friday night after the long drive. I relaxed on Saturday, and Anna had a swim nearby. It was sunny and warm. I registered, had a nice dinner, and got to bed on time for the early start. Big thanks to Lars here for arranging accommodation, it was great.

At the transition at 7am, it started pouring with rain. I put my wetsuit on and stood there miserably with everyone else. The forecast had been right - more downpours were expected.

I waded into the lake (Windermere) for the deep water start. It wasn't as cold as last year. I have done a lot of lake training so I had no real expectations of trouble. But a couple of minutes after the start I suddenly found I couldn't breathe. I stopped and tried again. And again. And again. Nothing was working, I couldn't even breast stroke. The other swimmers were quickly pulling away as I'd seeded myself at the back as usual. There was only one thing to do. Give up. With a heavy heart I turned around.

One of the canoe marshals saw me and came over. I told him my intention. He was calm and helpful, said to hold onto the canoe for a short time and relax. I did this and worked out what I'd done wrong. Despite 15 years of triathlons, I'd made the rookie mistake of going off too fast - my lungs literally didn't have enough oxygen. Once my heart had stopped racing, I decided to have another try, I'd come a long way and trained very hard. This time I kept my stroke rate slow and measured, remembering my training. This time, it worked.

I think I was in last position, but only by a little. I aimed for the swimmer in front, and churned out the meters. By the turnaround point I'd caught my target. I pulled away and I didn't see him again - I'm not sure he finished. Now I was alone, and the swimmers in front were distant splashes in the dim rain. I found it very difficult to stay on course, and sighted often. This slowed my pace even more than usual. I knew my stamina would get me to the finish, but it took a long, long time.

When I eventually exited the water, I'd been in for around 1 hour, about 11 minutes longer than last year.

I took my single contact lens out, got changed into clothes that were already wet from the rain, and headed out on the bike, in more rain. I was fine for short time, but once the climbing started, my eyes started to sting. It was difficult going up the steep hill with one hand on the bars, the other rubbing my eyes. My sunglasses were steamed up, and also far too dark for these conditions. They are prescription, so I need them to actually see where I am going, but I had to take them off and cycle without for a while. This wasn't very safe.

Eventually I reached the top, where some friends were waiting to cheer. Rachel got water and poured it into my red eyes to see if it would clean whatever was causing the irritation. I started the descent. This was a little better, but I still could not see well. Near the bottom I went into some dense trees and it was as if it was midnight for me in my dark glasses With car headlights approaching me, and big puddles in front, this wasn't good.

After one hour the route had taken me back to transition, and I thought about cycling for another 4-5 hours like this. And then a half marathon. I was tired and my eyes were still stinging. I pulled in. I stood around for a few minutes, washed my face again, then told the desk I was out.

I went back to the hotel and had a shower, a lie down on the sofa, and some pasta for lunch.

Feeling better, I got myself dressed and Anna took me back to Ambleside. The heavy rain had stopped, but the transition area had flooded and all my food, and rucksack had been submerged. Putting the rucksack on and having the cold water drip down my back wasn't nice; it dripped for the next 3 hours. Kevin had made the same decision as me and pulled out of the bike, but came back for the run. We waited a little while for some friends to get back from the bike leg, and went out for the half marathon. I knew it wouldn't count, except for myself.

It was great seeing everyone around the course. Disappointingly, the weather was too poor at the very top of the hill, so rather than running there and back for one lap, we were doing half the distance, but two laps. Annoyingly, this meant the steepest climb and descent twice too. Not getting to the very top made it less of an experience.

I was more run fit than last year, and had not cycled the full course, so I felt pretty good all the way around. The climb was still very hard, but I had enough to eat, and drink this year. I have a new running rucksack from Decathlon, and water bladders, both worked well. My second lap was slower than the first, the rain had started again, it was starting to get dark and the rocks were slippery. But I got to the finish with no incident and my Inov-8 running shoes were great.

Me and Kevin at the finish.

I'm very disappointed not to have finished. It's now 2020, and I still have not been on my bike again which says a lot. I have entered again, as this year it is in July, but I'm only about 50% sure I'll go.

Result
163 DNF ROBERT SHIELS EVI TRI CLUB MALE V50 01:00:17 07:43

TriathlonX
Swim Time - 1:00:17 - I didn't time it to save battery on my Garmin watch.
T1 Time7:43
Strava - Bike Section - Time not important, but 53:14 with The Struggle as the climb.
Strava - Run Section - Time 2:52:30

Prudential Ride London 2019

Prudential Ride London 2019

View of the Olympic Park and route at 4.20am

I've done less cycling training this year than any other year and I thought about not doing this event. However, I had paid, twice (due to having to postpone last year), and it's not easy getting a ballot place. I then thought maybe I'd just turn up and have a nice ride, maybe join some friends and enjoy the freedom of the open roads.

But as usual, I did do the ride, and rather than taking it easy, I pushed harder than ever.

Me at the start

I had an early night and woke up next morning just after 3.30 am. I stayed at Olivia's flat only a 10 minute ride from the start so I had plenty of time. I drank some water, and ate half a cheese sandwich, couldn't face the rest. The remainder of my breakfast was a small banana The 5:52 start was prompt, and the weather was perfect at 15 degrees with little wind.

I can't go full speed from cold, and all the groups that formed were really sprinting. It took me a while to find some riders I could join, but once I got going I had a good run through early morning London. Saw a rider who was a similar speed to me (No 1001) and only lost him completely around the Newlands Corner climb.

It took just over an hour to get to Kingston, and my average speed had risen to 39km/h. I have a record on this course of just over five hours, which I found difficult at the time. I didn't realistically think it was possible to beat this today, until I got here. The section after Hampton Court is where I always struggle as the excitement of London is over, and the adrenaline depletes. But I was still feeling strong, and didn't get dropped by the group I was with, so I started thinking I could beat five hours here, and decided to go for it.

All went to plan and I had fun to Newlands Corner. I knew stopping would probably kill my chances of 5 hours, so even though the first real hill of the day was hard, I kept going over the top.

However, I'd lost the large group I'd been in, and my legs were tiring. My average speed started to drop. I couldn't get onto another group, and spent time on my own. Leith Hill was hard, and even Box Hill was a struggle. I've not done these climbs on very tired legs before.

After Box Hill there is only 30 miles to go. I had some niggling pain in my knees, and my right ankle for some reason. My back was stiff but that wasn't affecting my riding pace. I found a nice fast group eventually to take me into Kingston, then lost it on the Coombe Lane climb. Jumping onto the back of passing groups was taking a bigger effort than I was able to make.

My average speed was dropping to around 34-5 km/h, and I'd just about run out of liquids. I started the ride with 500 ml of water with an electrolyte tablet in it, and another 500ml bottle with 4 gels in topped up with water. On a cold day this would have been fine, but it was getting warmer by Wimbledon, maybe 21 degrees. Also my only food so far, a large Kendal Mint Cake, had just finished. I had more food, but didn't want to waste time and effort taking it out and opening it. I need to make my food easier to eat if I do this again.

I was getting tired and sore but was sure I'd make my target time. Found another group on the Embankment, who were not going really fast, but at least they could help me get home. Emptied my reserve tank with a final sprint down The Mall and was really pleased with my 4:38:05 time. Maybe with some proper training I can beat 4:30!

Because of my third wave start (B-Blue), and not stopping at all, I was one of the early finishers and so there was plenty of space to take my time at the end. No photographers this year however, but some tourists took my photo for me.

Me at the finish on The Mall

Results : Strava Official Prudential Results

Parkrun #12 - Portrush

14/04/2019

Semi annual Portrush Parkrun time.

Dropped Lyra with my Mum and drove down with Anna.

It was bright and breezy - very breezy, with gusts of 40mph - and around 5 degrees. Quite cold so I wore my light waterproof. over a t-shirt and shorts.

Bridge

The tide was out so there was a good hard surface of sand; I went for a quick warm-up down the beach. There is a small river of water going down to the sea, and a little bridge is placed for people to use to keep their feet dry. I decided I'd use it.

The start was directly into the wind - I went straight for the bridge, which was a mistake. It took me up the beach a little away from most of the runners who decided to risk wet feet. I didn't have the any and would have been better hiding behind some people to save energy.

It was really hard and I was slow. My HR was about 160 bpm as I slogged my way up the beach towards the White Rocks, but my minutes per mile were way down. It took me 12:51 to get to the turnaround.

Some runners

Finally the wind was on my back. I took some advantage of this, but my legs were tired so not as much as if I'd been fresh. Still, it was interesting, and in places I felt like I was running down a steep hill. My HR stayed at about 160 bpm, then with 1/2 a kilometer to go I pushed for home and got it up to 170. My return time was about 2 minutes faster than going out.

I came 35th  out of 232 runners.with a time of 23:46 (one of my poorest results). Last year I was 29th with 21:51 (278 runners) so maybe it was just the wind that I can't handle as I lost all my time there.


Links Strava
Parkrun

Evans RideIT London 2019

Evans RideIT London 2019

Seems like a long time since my last challenge, the Triathlon X in September 2018. This is fairly tame in comparison, but I was secretly hoping for poor weather (like snow maybe, which we had only a week or two previously) so I did no proper preparation for this 73 mile bike ride.

Olivia bought it for me for my birthday, and she and Luke joined me at the start which was a fairly short drive away at Osterley Park.

Me, Olivia and Luke at the start - Osterley Park

The weather was 6 degrees, but was forecast to go up to 13 degrees - so we dressed quite warmly, and as expected, overheated a little later in the day. My brand new Castelli Perfetto jacket (also a birthday present) did a great job in its maiden outing.

The route headed out of London west, then north into the Chilterns, then looped around some hills and came back through Eton and Datchet. It was supposed to be flattish, but had a couple of fairly nasty steep hills.

We kept it steady and stayed together. I got to see some familiar roads and a few interesting new ones too - I may try to build some of them into my usual long rides.

Near Slough

We had a stop after 20 miles, and I stuffed my face with cake. I hardly drank any water, maybe 700 ml the whole day. The road surfaces were damp mostly everywhere, so descents and corners had to be taken very slowly. After another 30 miles or so we stopped at Evans on the A4 for more cake and a very welcome comfort break at Costa next door.

After a quick stop in Eton to say 'hi' to Anna and Lyra who came out to support*, we headed back east to Osterley Park and the finish, in just over 6 hours.

Me back at the finish

I wasn't too tired really, but was aching a little in my arms (triceps), and right knee and ankle - nothing serious.

Strava
Evans Website Results

Photo Neil Taylor Kasia
* I was running the Glympse app on my phone, so Anna could track our position - it worked well enough for her to meet us.