Parkrun #16 - Maidenhead

Parkrun #16 - Maidenhead

Hot on the heels of Portrush, only two weeks later I'm back at Parkrun.

This time it's my 10th time at Maidenhead. I needed to do a swim at Bray Lake, so made sure I finished in time to pop next door for this. I didn't feel much like it after swimming 1km, but it was good to see if my 'warm'-up would be successful.

I was aiming for a steady run, starting without a customary sprint, and just see how I feel. I didn't want to pressure myself into pushing hard, as I want to try to enjoy the runs more.

My pace in the beginning was good. I had run the previous day, but I felt ok.

The field quickly spread out, and I found myself behind three people pushing buggies. They were fast enough, and in fact overtaking and pulling away from me.

The ground was firm and dry, an unusual thing for me in Maidenhead. I like it.

I didn't wear my hat, and just shorts and t-shirt, and was glad as I started to heat up.

After the first lap, I noticed my HR was now higher than usual, over 160, and going up. I maintained a good pace, and steadily overtook runners one my one. I even passed the buggies, one in the final two-way section as he was jammed in by a slow runner we had lapped.

Happy to finish, and a little surprised I beat my Portrush time.

Time 21:51.  25th out of 334 finishers.

Links

Parkrun

Strava

Parkrun #15 - Portrush

 Parkrun #15 - Portrush

After the race

After a long break of over a year and a half, I finally got to do another Parkrun.

On holiday in Northern Ireland, and hoping for good conditions, I wasn't disappointed. It's always a bit windy by the sea, but the day was not cold, and not raining, and the breeze was fresh, but not strong.

I drove down by myself, and got the time wrong, again, and was far too early for the 9.30am start.

Read my book, and had a little warm up.

Got a free sports drink from some company doing a promotion - bonus.

I'm quite fit, and working on a 5k plan, but I've not hit the speeds I would like in training yet. I expected somewhere between 22:00 and 22:30 - which is a kind of self-fulfilling prophesy.

The start went well, and I cruised down the beach with the tail wind. I think I took it s bit too easy, and even held back a little, to give me a half way average of around 4:20 min/km. (I'm now monitoring my speed in min/km rather than min/mile). That would translate to my target time OK. 

Having held back, I hoped I'd have enough in the tank to push against the wind and not lose too much time running along the beach to the finish. The third to fourth kilometre was a bit of a mess, but I caught a big group, and once past didn't want them to get me again, so I kept going. I was tired but finished strong, and even caught someone near the line who had overtaken me around the half way point.

I came 36th overall, out of 317 finishers - almost top 10%, with a time of 22:15 (only 1 second different from my last Parkrun!)

Strava link
Parkrun link

TriathlonX HalfX Triathlon - 03.07.2021

TriathlonX HalfX Triathlon - 03.07.2021

View from Nab Scar on a clear day

THE WORLD'S TOUGHEST 70.3 HALF 'IRON MAN'

MILE FOR MILE THE TOUGHEST TRIATHLON IN THE WORLD

Surely anyone sensible would run a mile (or 13.1 miles) when they heard claims like this. Well I guess I'm not that clever, and have done this event once in 2018, and tried and failed to do it in 2019.

2019 was a big disappointment, so I signed up for another go last year. 2020 came and went with no events due to COVID-19, and with about 10 weeks notice this year, I made a decision to take up my deferred place for 2021.

The race is a 1900m swim in Lake Windermere, a 90km bike ride over the hardest climbs in England, and then a half marathon climbing Fairfield, the 7th highest peak in England. Sounds fun yes?

Training

Here is where I give my excuses for not doing better this year - I basically did next to no proper preparation. A race like this needs long endurance training. Luckily I have 15 years of this already under my belt, and the body does remember. And all I had time for was a refresher course; it would have to do.

Swim training was my worst ever - rubbish weather and pools closed or hard to get into meant my first swim for nearly two years was exactly three weeks before race day. I went to the lake 2-3 times a week, and got my distance up to 1500m with no issues. I bought a new wetsuit as the old one was full of holes. I was ready for the distance, but knew I'd be slow - just didn't realise how slow.

My road bike had been inside on the turbo trainer since HalfX 2019. It needed a new chain, and rear tyre, and once I'd done that I had a couple of outings to the Chilterns. I had to get used to being on the roads on this bike again, but I had a decent base level of fitness from fairly consistent indoor training - only short rides though. As with swimming, I had no issues. I was good on the hills, and hoped my chain change would hold out.

Running recently has been good and consistent. I took it up a notch with a 10 week half marathon training plan from Garmin. I was lucky and avoided injury, and did most of the sessions recommended, building up to running nearly 15k. This is my best running for years.

Feeling less than confident, but expecting I'd manage, and with super-expensive accommodation already booked, it was time to leave.

Race Day

A summer start is much better, and though I hardly slept at all, I was wide awake and cycled the five minutes down to transition in daylight. Sadly no sunshine, and rain/thundery showers were forecast.  I had really hoped for easier conditions than autumn 2019.

Swim

Swim Start - Lake Windermere

Walked in to Windermere for the deep water start and the temperature was warm, so that was a relief. Conditions were calm and clear. I found a position near the back, and the klaxon sounded, and I started swimming. My goggles have been misbehaving and the right eye keeps leaking, which it did today. I stopped and adjusted, and magically got it working. In training I swam 1km as a test with one eye full of water, but I didn't really want to do this today. My plan was to swim as slowly as possible to avoid hyperventilating and panic attack in the early stages, something which helped derail my race in 2019. I saw a lady clinging to a canoe who made that mistake (she recovered and overtook me later). As the other swimmers got further away, I had my own support canoe keeping me company for the whole swim. I got to the far side of the lake and turned right, then a short distance to another right and headed back home. I hate this; plod, plod, plod; no issues just bored; until I got to the finish. A+L were there to cheer me into the empty transition. Turns out I was 8 minutes behind the previous competitor, I had a lot of catching up to do. Maybe I overdid it on the slow swimming and could have tried a little harder.

T1

After a relaxed change into my cycle gear I was off - all good, though a bit lonely, this was the pattern for the whole the day.

Bike

After a wobble in Ambleside where I followed the wrong sign, I started the longest climb of the day - The Struggle. Feeling quite warm I did OK, and started ticking off other competitors as I first passed my Evo club friends, and by the top had overtaken 6 people. I'd hoped for more but with only 65 in the field, realistically this was good enough. The descent was fast, as the roads were still dry. The route circled back to Ambleside, and I waved to A+L as I passed by on my way out for the remainder of the ride.

By the time I reached the next climb, a very steep but not long Wall-End, it was raining and the wind had picked up. I was wearing only thin tri-shorts and a cycling jersey, but chose to ride on without my jacket hoping the shower would pass. It didn't. Eventually I gave in when I started to get cold on the return leg about two hours later. I was overtaken when I stopped to get the jacket out of my back pocket. Damn.

Nearing the top of Wrynose East climb

It was a lonely ride, and I rarely even saw other riders. Wrynose and Hard Knot passes are very steep, with sections going up to 30% gradient. I've done them before, but today I found a few too slippery to ride so I walked them. The downhills were treacherous and needed both brakes full on just to avoid going over the edge on corners. I went down slower than I went up, skidding on locked wheels a few times. I saw riders walking down the hills - I've not seen that before. I know a few riders fell off, and I saw one sitting with a bandaged shoulder back at transition later. My friend Paul fell three times - he finished the ride but wasn't able to run. I haven't even mentioned all the insanely slippery cattle grids - just missed a motorbike falling at one.

Concentrating on the hill climb

I passed a workman cutting hedges. I had to cycle this stretch twice, hoping my tyres wouldn't pick up a thorn. I was lucky. A local festival was on, Eskfest. The teenage rock band  playing to a wet audience of three made me smile. I got stuck a little behind cars around there but nothing serious. The final 13km were undulating and the roads were still very wet - I made a wrong turn and stopped to check my map, then saw another rider flying off in the other direction. I followed him but he got away from me.

T2

Took my wet bike shoes, socks and jersey off, and put wet socks, trainers and t-shirt on - yes all my stuff was wet as there had been heavy rain in transition and I didn't pack it properly. It wasn't raining now at least. Feeling quite tired from the effort on the bike I told Anna not to expect me back for at least 4 hours. My legs weren't too bad, but my arms and shoulders were sore from the constant braking.

Run

The run up in the mountains can be dangerous; the weather can turn suddenly and you can get lost. So you have to take a rucksack containing coat/leggings/foil blanket/compass/torch/whistle and food and drink. I had 2 cliff bars, some jelly babies (which I never opened in fact) and two 250ml bladders of water. In my hand I carried a ham/cheese bagel and ran/walked while taking bites on that. It's nice to have something savory instead of sweet energy bars and gels. I made good time - the run training had worked. It's odd how after 6 hours exercise you are tired, and yet the change of muscles from bike to run is welcome and gives you a boost.

However, after the 4k flat section, the climbing started. The first part is steep steps up to Nab Scar. I started getting really hot, and realised I was thirsty and didn't have enough water. I would not get through a mountain half-marathon if I pushed hard and sweated a lot. So it was an easy decision to make to walk uphill rather than try to run. I monitored my heart rate and didn't let it get over about 145.

Nab Scar

After Nab Scar, the terrain evens out a bit and the climbing isn't so hard, but in this altitude we were above the clouds, and there was only about 20m visibility. With the slight wind it felt like constant rain though I think it was only fog. Not enough to warrant a coat but by the very top my arms were cold and covered with a layer of water. I couldn't see through my prescription sunglasses, and had to take them off. My eyesight isn't great, but was good enough to see the rocks at my feet - I hoped I wouldn't trip, and only did once, banging my knee. Not badly.

Every now and again a runner on the return leg appeared out of the fog running towards me. Every exchange was friendly, "Well done" - or "Not far now - keep going". But other than that I was alone with my thoughts for about 90 minutes. Handily my GPS watch gave me a distance, so I could countdown to 10.5km which was the turnaround. Little red flags at the limit of vision let me know I was headed in the right direction. My lower back was hurting and I stopped frequently to stretch it. I got a stone in my left shoe and had to stop and remove it eventually.

I reached the top, and had my photo taken - maybe to prove I got there :)

Fairfield Peak in the clouds.

I rationed my water as if marooned on a desert island. I need to rethink this poor strategy. It ran out about an hour from home. I did my best camel impression and just got on with it - it was all down hill anyway. My legs were good. My knees were taking a battering going down, constantly taking the pressure, but they held out.

I overtook a couple of people, but was also overtaken, I had no idea of my placing now. I knew I'd passed about 11 on the bike

Revisiting Nab Scar I came out of the clouds and could see the world again. I kept running down the steep section as fast as was safe. Once back at ground level I did some real running. I couldn't maintain pace for long, but the run/walk strategy was fine, and my run parts got longer as I got closer to home.

Glancing over my shoulder all the way to make sure I wouldn't lose a place at the last minute, I finally made it to the end, very glad to be finished,  I was welcomed back by cheering from A+L and Kevin, Victoria and Simon from Evo. Got a massive medal as usual:) 

Finished!

Evo Club friends, and Lyra!

I've redeemed myself for not finishing the course in 2019. I don't have to do this one again - do I?

Strava 55:58

Strava Bike 4:56:16

Strava Run 3:33:41

Total 9:39:31

I was 39th out of 53 individual finishers. 12 did not finish the race. I'm quite pleased with this - I felt in control all day and did what I came to do.

 

Cliveden Cross Country 10k 2020

12.01.2020 = Cliveden 10k


After a long steady period of run training, I was feeling ready for Cliveden this year.

Then on Thursday I pulled my left calf, and also got a severely painful cramp in it, which left me walking with a limp.

So decided not to go. I even had a late night on Saturday with a few glasses of wine.

But I woke on race day at about 6am, and really didn't like the thought of not going, after having waited two years since the last one.

There would be a good crowd from my Triathlon club, Evo
It would be a fun day out.
I'd entered the race
I'd paid for the race
I wanted my finisher t-shirt!

Sitting in the car park at 8:15am, with heavy rain pouring down (which was not forecast) I slightly regretted driving over :)

But it was fairly warm at 9 degrees, and the rain stopped in enough time for me to go and sign in and make my way to the start. One cheese bagel and a small coffee for breakfast, a gel and a sip of water 30 minutes before the race, for the record.

Wearing my new Inov-8 trail shoes - not really so new now of course, but still feeling new to me.

My plan was to do a steady pace, not too fast, just running for as long as I could before the pain got too bad. I was heel striking so as not to stretch the calf much, and I was prepared to stop after lap one.

The soft muddy surfaces were best for me, and also the climbs. Flats and downhills put the most pressure on my leg.

At the infamous Cliveden steps for the first time, I was surprised my pace wasn't bad, and my leg was holding out. I even noticed I was gaining on Stuart from Evo ahead. I watched my HR, and power walked almost it all. This is not a bad strategy as you keep some strength.

I just kept running, and the leg kept hurting, but it was OK. Maybe the paracetamol I took with breakfast was masking the pain a bit. I played cat and mouse with Richard from Evo, and eventually caught up with Stuart and overtook him. Richard took a tumble on a corner and I also overtook him.

At mile five, my late night caught up with me and I was tired. Richard passed me again going up the penultimate climb, where I could only walk. My HR jumped to 172 on the steps, and I didn't even try to catch Richard there. I took one wrong step (forefoot strike on a step) and nearly lost my calf. Remembered to heel strike for the rest of the way. But I did exactly the same time going up as lap one.

No sprint finish, just glad to get there in one piece. It's a shame I couldn't give it a proper go this year, again. I did my best and avoided both the DNS and DNF and had time to actually look around a bit during the run, which was nice. The sun even came out while we were running.

Results look like this:
121 584 Robert Shiels 10k 00:51:55 Male 102 50-59 21
Placed 121st out of 593, I think 3rd in my club. 21st in the 50-59 category. 102nd male. 51:55 is 3.5 minutes slower than last time.


[2018 results]
[103 601 Robert Shiels 10k 00:48:27 Male 91 50-59 17]
[Placed 103rd out of 601. 17th in the 50-59 category. 91st male.]

Notes: I didn't want to wear my dark prescription sunglasses, so wore one contact lens. (none in the other eye so that I can read my Garmin). These lenses are not good now, and I spent a lot of time blinking to get it to stay in place. I need a proper running/cycling solution for seeing where I am going.
I wore leggings, and two layers on top, short sleeves. It was hard to decide, I could have worn less. My hands were cold for the first mile or so though. My running cap was probably not necessary either, but I like it.

Links

Burnam Joggers Results

Strava Cliveden

Google Photos
Flickr Chris Drew

Note 24.01.2020 - I took things easy for a few days after this, then went for a short, slow run. My calf seemed OK.  I did  some cycling on the turbo, then another run, faster this time, yesterday. My calf is back to normal. I was convinced this had been the same injury that has usually left me in pain for 3-5 weeks. Did my Cliveden effort actually mend the calf? Was I so nervous about the race that my mind invented the pain so that I could ease off and not stress. Weird if either of those is true.

Parkrun #14 - Maidenhead

Parkrun #14 - Maidenhead

New Year's Day 2020 and a special Parkrun - the 250th one at Braywick in Maidenhead.

I'm living a it further away now so it's not my closest (that's Bracknell), but it started at the later time of 10.30 am which was good after a late night yesterday.

I met a load of Evo members, Stuart & Rob, Barbara, Alan, Rich and others which was a surprise. It was good not to be on my own for a change.

I started well and got a good position without any real congestion - some of those behind me said that the 600+ people, some with buggies and dogs, made it hard to get any speed up and there were even places where they had to walk.

I was hoping for a time of 22 minutes, and so slowed a little after my 6:45 min/mile initial pace down to a fairly steady 7:15. My mental arithmetic was wrong though, more later.

I saw Izzy just ahead of me and David Dyer who is one of the course directors. I felt quite comfortable and was confident that I would be fine to keep at this pace until the finish - I've done a lot of running recently and am getting better at pacing.

Izzy pulled away, but David slowed a little on the back straight and I overtook him. A short time later though he went past me again! I overtook once more on the back straight - again, and then approached the small hill at the end of the second and final lap. speeded up and overtook a few people. A new left turn at he top of the hill approached a circular run round to the finish chute. With 100m to go I overtook a runner who did not want to be overtaken - I really had to sprint my hardest.
But even with that sprint and my pace improved to 7:06 I was still outside my 22 minutes goal, at 22:14.

I came 45th overall, out of 625 finishers.
Strava link
Parkrun link

In hindsight, I should have set myself a 7 minute mile pace, and I probably could have done it for the sub 22 minute, but I didn't want to suffer so much, and I'm happy I had a good run. I was 2nd Evo - Izzy was over a minute ahead.

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