My first TT

A colleague at work asked me to try my hand at TT racing after we had been out on several bike rides after work. TT racing scared me as he said a good target would be to complete the 10 mile course in under 30 minutes. Before the London Triathlon my best 10 mile was in the region of 33 minutes. I resisted his suggestions as he had already mentioned a time to aim for and I was nowhere near it.

However after London when I realised that my bike position was incorrect due to my "sticky out" knees and after I had raised my saddle by 40ish mm, my speed increased. During the bike leg of the sprint relays I averaged a speed of just over 20mph which would mean that I could complete the 10 mile TT course in around 30 minutes.

TT racing for the uninitiated is basically you racing yourself. The courses must contain an out and back and vary in distance. there are 10 mile courses, 25 mile courses, 50 mile courses and 100 mile courses. You push yourself as hard as you physically can to complete the alloted distance. Yes there are winners but you are only racing yourself in the aim of setting a PB. Each rider sets off at one minute intervals.

There is a course near to where I work which was 9.7 miles long and run by Lincsquad. The bonus of this course is that it contained part of the route for the Brigg triathlon which I am racing on the 29th September.

I decided to give this a bash. It was the last time that Lincsquad were holding this TT for 2013. I arrived at the Pub car park over an hour before the race was meant to start and thought I would have a low starting number which would mean I was off early. No such luck I was given number 48. This was a good omen for me as my childhood house number was 48 so this put me in a good mood. The thing that didn't was the near two hour wait for my start time.

I have honestly never been to the toilet as much as I did during that two hours. I'd tried to take on a lot of fluid before leaving work so that I wouldn't need a bottle on the bike. That backfired somewhat as I must have paid a vists at least 8 times.

I also had to deal with nerves, having never completed a TT before I had no idea what to expect and this made me nervous. There were bikes a lot fancier than mine in the car park and this made me even more nervous.

About 15 minutes before my start I decided to go and warm up. I pedalled the opposite way to the course and managed to get my heart rate up. Desperate not to miss my start time I arrived back at the start line too early. The next 8 minutes were agony. I knew my body was cooling down but daren't leave in case I missed my start time. Finally competitor number 47 was off and I wheeled into position. At 30 seconds to go the starting assitant took hold of my bike to hold me steady and told me to clip in.

I was really doing this.

I clipped in and felt weird putting my trust in someone to hold me upright. After a few wobbles I relaxed.

The starter counted down

10 seconds.....

5 seconds.....

4

3

2

1

GO!

I pushed down on my pedals with everything I had in me and was away. This was it me against me. Lets see what I could do.

I quickly got up to speed, I think I even overcooked it as according to the data my HR rocketed from 70 bpm to 196 bpm in the space of 30 seconds. I settled into a rhythm quickly and was in the zone. I really wish my cadnce sensor had worked so I could work out what my cadence was. Instead I had to monitor my heart rate to estimate my effort. I tried to keep my HR between 167 and 172 so that I could guage my effort. There was very little wind on this evening, if anything there was a slight cross wind. I was really enjoying this. I felt like I was going at a good pace as well.

The route passes through Hibaldstow and the road surface through this village left something to be desired but I knew to expect this as I had ridden on it before. The last half a mile ebfore the turn point is deceptively unflat, I really had to put the effort in to maintain my pace, I even had to change gears for this section. I stayed tucked in the aero position for most of the ride out and only came out of position at the turn point so I had access to my brakes. I turned the roundabout and was straight into a downhill section. Back into the aero position and time to change down the gears to maximise my speed. I pushed harder on the way back or felt like I did as I knew with each stroke of the pedal I was closer to the finish line.

I had reached the turn point in 14:xx according to my quick glance at my watch. Sweet if I managed the same back I would be well under my 30 minute target. The way back seemed a lot sorter than the way out. On the way back I got overtaken by two competitors number 49 and 52, number 52 was on a stealth TT machine that I was envious of and flew past me with the familiar "whoofff whooff" of a disc wheel. I love and hate this noise in equal measure. I love it as I appreciate the speed they are travelling at but hate it as I feel like i am hardly moving as they fly past. I reached the level crossing which was approximately one mile from the finish line.

I remembered something the starting assistant had said to me at the start line. "When you get to the level crossing give it everything, you should have nothing left for a sprint finish". This had been mirrored by my colleague who described a TT as a "constant effort which consistently gets harder the closer you get to the finish." Time to put the hammer down so to speak. I put everything into that last mile and could barely muster the energy to shout out my race number as I crossed the finish line. I was well and truly spent. I warmed down by pedalling past the finish line at a relaxed cadence. When I remembered I stopped my watch and the time read 27:22.

WOW!!

I had shocked myself. Three months ago if you'd asked me I said I would never get under 30 but with a quick position change I had gone quicker than I thought was possible. I was a full 2:38 quicker than I wanted.

After I had fully warmed down, I got a better surprise, my official time was 27:17.

I packed my bike up and left the venue and on my way home I was elated. This must be the endorhine high that people talk about. I can't describe how happy I was.

I really wish I had tried TT before as it is such a wonderful experience. Am I hooked? You bet I am. I can't wait for the season to start in 2014 to see what I can do.

I've even convinced myself to buy a new TT specific bike to make me even quicker. Now I just need to save for one.

I also need to experiment with fuelling to work out if it is possible to maintain this pace for the 112 miles of an ironman bike course. The mind boggles. I feel there will be some interesting rides happening in early 2014.

Thanks to Lincsquad for running the TT I had a blast.

The day after the TT the results were released and my time time of 27:17 was confirmed and I was the 34th fastest rider out of a possible 54. I was really pleased with this for my first TT.

Bring on 2014.

Michael

Unexpected appearance in a triathlon

Firstly apologies for not blogging sooner. I've been flat out busy with work, training and trying to live my life in this post Outlaw haze.

As you all know I completed the London triathlon and set a new PB in the process. After that I had a bit of a rest planned. I wasn't racing for 5 weeks and it was only a supersprint which should be a doddle all things considered.

However fate conspired to lessen the amount of downtime I had. On Monday 19th August I was contacted (via the medium of Twitter) by a member of GI Tri who are a local triathlon club. They were in need of a triathlete to represent them in the Zoot National Club Relay championships.

The format for the National Club Relay Chamionships took some geting my head round. Each team consists of four members.

Hang on how does this work as triathlon only has three elements? The mind boggled.

Each person completes the swim bike and run.

Aha I thought you do a triathlon and hand over to the next person who does their triathlon and so on. That made sense.

Nope wrong again.

Each person swims and hands over the baton (a rubber band) to the next person who swims who hands over to the next person who swims. So all four swim consecutively.

The fourth swimmers hands over the baton to swimmer 1 who then bikes, who then hands to biker 2 etc....

The fourth biker hands over to biker 1 who completes the run and hands over etc......

Sweet this sounded like organised chaos.

The twitterer knew I was a strong swimmer so put me in the first leg as I could handle the mass start. I was fine with this.

Saturday rolled around and the race was upon me. Here I was about to race with three people who I didn't know for a club I didn't represent. What could be more fun?

I made my way to the National Watersport Centre (the same venue as Outlaw) and met my "clubmates". GI Tri had 8 teams registered and I was in a team, named Dangermouse and friends. I met my teammates (Katie no. 2, Mark no. 3 and Shaun no. 4). It turns out I had met Shaun at the Doncaster 5k race in July.

The distances for the triathlon (well I say triathlon loosely) were 500m swim, 15km bike and 5km run.

Each person was given a different coloured swim hat / race number to depict your position.

The first people aka me were given red hats, the second people were given green hats. After putting my wetsuit on I found Katie to memorise what she looked like having only met her 30 minutes before race start.

Everyone looks so different in neoprene and latex. Ooer that sentence sounds a bit "50 shades".

I made my way down to the swim start along with the rest of the number ones.

I tried to muscle my way to the front of the swim but it was extremely crowded. This was going to be fun especially as I don't swim well with others. I tend to suffer claustrophobia when surrounded by other swimmers and can't help kicking harder when my feet get touched. Think it has something to do with my ticklish feet.

The hooter went and we were off. What can I say about the next 8 minutes and 16 seconds. Well the first 3 minutes was bedlam. I was punched, kicked and could not get free of the melee. After the first turn I took a different line to other swimmers so I had clear water and made progress. Again I took a wide line for the swim back to shore. I scrambled out and ran to the holding pen for the number 2's. Could I spot Katuie in this mass of neoprene and latex. Could I bollocks. Everyone looked the same. After I walked up and down the line twice I spotted her and handed over the baton. Job done for the first leg. There were so many swimmers still out there I was chuffed with my efforts. I ambled back to team camp to find out that I was the second person back and the first team were some of GI Tris best athlete. Woohoo. Barnett swims again.

I dried off and got changed into my cycling gear. I had to borrow some GI Tri gear so I was recognisable. Number 4 had to be able to spot me. I made my way down to the holding pen and bumped into my old coach and said hi. I waited patiently for Shaun. After a while I spotted him. He handed me the baton and I jogged to my bike unracked it and made my way to the mount line.

• Since London I have been forced to reconsider my cycling position. I looked at the photos from London and finally understood what people meant when they said I cycled bow legged. I look horrific on a bike. I decided to go to the best place for traithlon advice (Twitter) to see if anyone knew why. It turns out after much consideration that my saddle was set too low. I raised my saddle by about 40mm and took my bike for a test ride or two. My average speed increased by about 2mph on my test rides. I was now closer to 20mph than 18mph. Brilliant.

I set off pedalling and immediately knew I was pedalling more efficiently. I was gaining on people on the bike. This doesn't normally happen. I was flying. I kept a fairly regular cadence on the pan flat course and was motoring. At one point during the 15km my average speed was 34.6 km/h. Thats 21.5mph. Previously I had been happy with 18mph as my average speed during the Outlaw training.Wowsers I felt good on the bike at last. I overtook more than was overtaken. People still passed me on thir TT machines but me and the roadie were performing better than ever. After three laps of the rowing lake. My Garmin said I had done 33.4km/h as an average speed, which is 20.8mph. I dismounted and ran to the holding pen to hand over the baton. I was so chuffed with this new found speed. I finally felt like a cyclist.

I even look like a cyclist

The bike ride was compleetd in 25 minutes and 58 seconds. This boaded well for my first TT next Wednesday. A colleague had challenged me to complete my first TT and was convinced I could go under the 30 minute mark for 10 miles. I had my doubts until the day of the National Relay Champs.

I made my way to the team tent and got ready for my run. I took on some water as the temperatures were starting to rise. We were still in second place for GI Tri which I was pleased with. The wait for the run to start seemed to take forever. After Mark got back from his bike I made my way down to the holding pen and seemed to be stuck there for an age. I wondered if Shaun had had an accident on the bike. He hadn't and came barelling into the haybales to hand over the baton.

Yay running my least favourite part of triathlon (apart from transition) especially in the heat. I do not run well in hot weather. Remind me why I have signed up for another Ironman in June?  I made a deal with myself that I would run the run and not walk any of it as long as no other member of GI Tri overtook me. So run I did. Well my version of running which averages about 10.5km/h. I saw two of my old clubmates as they flew past me on the run. I yelled encouragement at both of them.

It got a bit warm on the back straight. I really had relied on that second waterpoint. This last 2km would be difficult. the temperatures had picked up and my mouth was drier than a nun's crutch. But I continued on through the pain as we were still in second place. I would not walk. NOPE NOPE NOPE. I got overtaken a lot but this was to be expected. I ran and ran and was starting to feel something unfamiliar. Oh crap I hadn't fuelled very well for this sort of race. The last nutrition I has had was over 2 hours ago. I was starting to hit the wall on a 5km run. The last 500m dragged. I was so relieved to make it back to the holding pen and hand over the baton. My job was done. The run took 26:24 for 2.9 miles. Not my best but it got the job done, we were still in second place.

Now for refreshment. After I finished I immediately had 4 glasses of water and a protein shake. Hmmmm. definitely not enough water. Note to self drink and eat more next year.

And there will be a next year as I had so much fun at the National Relay Championships and was proud to represent GI Tri. Their kit passed the wearable test.

This was a nice bonus. I raced an extra race and am seriously contemplating joining GI Tri. They are local to me and are genuinely nice people. I might have managed to fill the void that has been in my triathlon life since I left London and RG Active.

Thanks for reading,

Michael

Unfinished business

In September 2012 I completed my first Olympic distance triathlon. This triathlon was my A race for 2012 and I had raised over £1000 for charity in the run up to this race.

The day of the race arrived and I had set myself a target of completing the event in 3 hours and 30 minutes. The weather made this one of the toughest days of my (short) triathlon career. There was rain of (and I am not over exaggerating) biblical proportions. I was thrilled to get to the finish line as there were a lot of people who were less fortunate.

I blogged about my race here. London Triathlon

Even though I got to the finish line, I missed out on my target. My finish time was 03:32:57. Those precious 2 minutes and 57 seconds left me with a nagging itch. Fast forward 10 months and this itch needed to be scratched. Had I completed the race in under 03:30. I really do doubt whether I would have entered London again especially with it being only 3 weeks after Outlaw.

But we are where we are. I had an itch and it needed scratching. I realised that I am so muich stronger than I was in 2012 and subsequently lowered my target finish time. Given how well things have been going this year I predicted it would be possible for me to complete an Olympic distance triahtlon in under 3 hours.

I built this target up as follows

Swim - 25 minutes
T1 - 5 minutes
Bike - 80 minutes
T2 - 5 minutes
Run - 65 minutes

All of which I believed would be achievable.

So there was my plan.

Training for the event was hit and miss as I struggled to find my mojo after Outlaw. I had read about "Ironman Blues" but thought that they wouldn't affect me as I had a race in three weeks. I thought that having a target would reinvigour my training and act as a kick up the arse. I was wrong. The week after Outlaw I was in such a terrible grump and could not find the motivation to train. It got to the Friday after Outlaw and my wife joked "welcome back to the World", I think I must have been a little distant.

Between the two races I had planned to complete

4 swim sessions, 2 bike rides and 7 runs.

However between my post Outlaw grump and things interfering I only managed

3 swim sessions, 1 bike ride and 5 runs.

The distances I planned to train for and what I managed differed greatly as well. I didn't manage one 10km run between Outlaw and London despite having 4 planned. The Outlaw really took it out of me.

This was not the best preparation for London but as I said earlier we are where we are.

The other challenge I faced between Outlaw and London was teaching my body to go faster for shorter periods. In the previous 20 weeks I had been teaching my body to go long and slow and now I wanted it to go short(er) and fast.

I had a 1500m TT in the swimming pool 4 days after Outlaw and was elated when I set a new PB of 24:51 smashing my old PB by 01:22.

I entered a 5km run in Doncaster on the 17th July. This would be my first ever appearance at a running race. Again I was elated that I managed to set a PB of 26:48 for 5km besting my old PB by 44 seconds.

Maybe this short and fast thing isn't that hard after all?

Sorry for digressing but I have a lot to catch up on.

Me and the wife travelled to London on the Friday. I have no idea what we did all day but we didn't arrive at the hotel until after 6pm. Needless to say after checking in and sorting something for tea, there wasn't much else to do so we got an early night.

On the Saturday we graced the expo with our presence. I absolutely love triathlon expos and I'm sure I wander round with my mouth agape wishing I had a limitless pot of money. Alas I don't.

I decided to buy some Skechers trainers as a birthday present of my Grandma. After 12 failed attempts to find a trainer which doesn't cause me blisters it turns out that the Skechers Go Run blister me less than any other trainer when combined with Karrimor run socks and Chamois Buttr.

Its a palava but it works for me for now. My wife also persuaded me to buy another Compressport Triathlon T Shirt as the white one I bought for the Outlaw is stained with suncream so I opted for black.

After the expo we went to Hamleys. I've never been before but was amazed at how expansive it was. I even bumped into a fictional Ironman who was made of Lego.

My wife thought I would spend a fortune in Hamleys but I left empty handed.

Race day arrived and I was pleased to see the weather was the polar opposite of 2012. We had clear skies which was a huge releif. Like in 2012 I was in the penultimate wave of the day and would be leaving at 14:55. My Dad made the trip down to watch me race and arrived at 11:50 which meant that I got to specd some time with him before my race.

I racked my bike and this went a lot better than last year without any panicking.

After I had racked my bike I was sat minding my own business waiting to race when the Team Dillon Coaching team sat near me and on their table were Michelle Dillon (two time Olympic triathlete), Stu Hayes (one time Olympic triathlete), Emma Pallant (BTF Super Series winner for 2013) and Jane Hansom. I know Jane from the RG Active training camp in Mallorca and she came to wish me luck. Jane had raced in the elite womens race, I was thriled she did as she is such a superb athlete who juggles running a company with triathlon training. It was also pleasing to see Emma Pallant eating the same as me for lunch.

After lunch I got changed into my wetsuit. I love wearing my wetsuit because as soon as I put it on I know I am in the zone as swimming is my thing. I made my way to the swim assembly point and tried to manouvre my way to the front. I failed miserably and missed the split point between the waves. I really wanted to be in wave one so I had clear water for the swim.

Swim

I managed to get to the front of the second wave for the start and was amazed by how congested it was. Outlaw wasn't as bad as this. I had no chance of getting clear water without sprinting from the start. I hate doing this as despite being a good swimmer, I do not know my limits with speed and think I can swim like Michael Phelps which I can for about 20 metres and then I die a horrible death.

The hooter went and we were off. I was quicker away than most and after 50m I had clear water. Yes I thought. After 300m however the elation turned to despair as I had already made up the 2 minute advantage that wave 1 had on me and was now swimming past the slower swimmers from that wave. After a bit of weaving I was starting to overtake those swimmers. By now we were nearly at the turn point.I had an amazing first 90 degree turn and managed to pick a line which didn't involve being kicked or punched. It was bedlam but I came through unscathed. I have never been involved in such a physical swim. Again I got through the second 90 degree turn unscathed and made the turn back to Excel. The swim back was a lot harder than the swim out as were now swimming into the wind.

All was going swimmingly (excuse the pun) until from nowhere a swimmer cut across me and kicked me squarely in the face dislodging my goggles. Had this occured last year I would have said that my swimming was the problem but my sighting and swimming in straight lines has improved no end this year so I know I was swimming straight. After stopping to check my nose wasn't bleeding or broken and emptying my goggles of water, I set off again. I picked off more swimmers and thought that the swim back was a lot longer than the swim out. I am unsure if this was due to the wind or my mind playing tricks on me. I made the turn for home and picked off two more swimmers on the home straight. I got to my feet without the unsteadyness I have become accustomed to  and the helpers unzipped my suit.

T1

I jogged along the dock removing my wetsuit. I had to stop to remove the legs but during this brief respite I managed to look at my Garmin and it read 28 minutes something.

Not quite what I had hoped for but still a three minute improvement on last year. My actual swim time was 28:04. I knew to take it steady up the stairs as they would be slippy.  I made my way to my bike, dried my feet, put on my socks, shoes, helmet and number belt. I then retrieved my bike and jogged through the transition zone. If you ever race the London triathlon be warned the transition zone is massive. My T1 time was 05:15 which I was pleased with.

Bike

I put the hammer down as soon as I got on the bike, I knew I managed the same route in 01:25 last year but this time I did not have torrential rain to contend with. I wanted to see what I was capable of. The bike route is amazing as you get to ride through the Limehouse Link tunnel. The route is a two lap ride to Tower Bridge and past the Excel.

I was thrilled that I completed the first lap in 33 minutes. Jeez I was flying. I kept pushing through the second lap. I noticed a fellow RG Active athlete who I know through Twitter who is good at cycling and noticed that our gap was staying constant at each turn point. Like I said flying.

It also really helped having support this year. Because of the rain last year I didn't see my wife on the bike but this time I heard her below "Go on Michael" twice on each lap and this gave me a huge lift.

I tootled back into the Excel, Due to some rain in the early afternoon you had to dismount walk around a corner and then remount to climb the final hill for safety reasons.  My time 01:08:48 which was 17 minutes quicker than 2012. 17 minutes. WOW!

T2

I dropped my bike off, threw on my trainers, bottle belt and visor. I also put on my charity vest.

Because I enquired about completing the London Marathon for Roy Castle Lung Foundation and am an ex smoker they sent me a running vest to run the London Triathlon in.

Run

I set off on the run. The run route had slightly altered since 2012. In 2012 it was 4 laps of 2.5km, whereas in 2013 it was three laps of 3.3km. As soon as I exited Excel the heat hit me full on. Wow it was hot on the run course.

Great heat and running, this was going to be interesting. Being slightly overweight I fare better running in cooler temperatures.

It is the same for everyone though so time to knuckle down.

I felt cramp brewing in both my quads. I think this was as a result of the hot temperatures and how hard I worked on the bike.

I had tried to counteract cramp in advance of it occurring by drinking lots of electrolyte drinks on Saturday evening. This obviously didn't work. On my way back to Excel on the first lap (so about 2.4km into my 10km run), I stopped to stretch out my quads to fend off the cramp.

Oh balls full on cramp had hit. After I stretched it, I set off hobbling. The next 7.6km were a combination of running and walking but more time was spent running.

I saw my Dad and Wife on every lap and it gave me a lift. I made sure I ran through the charity supporter zone where all the charities support the athletes. I also made sure I ran through the Excel.

At the end of lap one, the RG Active athlete mentioned before caught me up. I've been tweeting with @Monkeymax3 for over a year as we were in the same wave last year but we had never really met. We shook hands and he let me stay ahead through the completion of the first lap, which was a nice gesture. I couldn't keep up with his pace and dropped back. We high fived at the turn points on lap2 two and three and this also gave me a lift.

One of the nicest things about the run was the charity supporter zone, because I was the only person running for Roy Castle, I got mentioned by the announcer on every lap and this made me feel like a superhero. It was so humbling. On my last lap, I clapped all the supporters on both of my trips through the charity supporter zone, it was the least I could do to thank them for their support.

At the halfway point of lap three, I reckoned I could just sneak under the hour for the run if I managed to run the last half lap. I gave it my all but tired myself out. I left enough in the tank for a sprint finish though and as soon as I rounded the last corner I broke into a sprint.  This cuased the crowd in Excel to clap the boards and yell "SPRINT, SPRINT, SPRINT" which was so uplifting. I crossed the line and stopped my Garmin. The time was 02:47.

WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW. I had hoped to sneak under the 3 hour mark but I smashed it. This was more than I could have hoped for and I had finally done myself justice on this course.

The improvement was a staggering 45 minutes, this still blows my mind. I told my old coach how much I had improved by and he was lost for words. He said most people improve by two to three minutes, not 45. This shows how much I have improved in the space of ten months.

The run time was 01:01:53 which was an 18 minutes improvement on 2012.

I am still on cloud nine with what I achieved. I have silenced my London demons.Will I race this course again. I probably will but not for couple of years. Who knows 02:30 may be on the cards for next time.

I collected my shiny from the volunteers and was really impressed by the design this year.

I even posed for a photo on the podium.

My times for 2013.

A comparison between 2012 and 2013, I am so much stronger this year.

Thanks for reading. I hope you have enjoyed this journey but don't worry it isn't over yet.

Michael

A 247,456 yard long journey - my recount of the Outlaw

As you probably know I signed up to race the Outlaw triathlon and this race was my A race for 2013. I have already blogged about the reasons for completing this race so early in my triathlon career. If you would like to recap on these reasons the blogposts can be found by clicking the links below.

http://smoker2triathlete.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/why-outlaw.html
http://smoker2triathlete.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/7-days-to-go.html

Friday

On Friday I packed for my trip to Nottingham and prepared a list of all the stuff I'd need.

This list was remarkably similar to the on I did for Mallorca which means nothing was forgotten.

My list

All packed up.

I also adorned my bike with mantras and competitor numbers of people from Twitter so I could say hello to people during the race. A lot of people liked this idea, some even borrowed it.

People from Twitter who I might see on the bike

These mantras would help maintain my focus on the bike and were personal for the following reasons

#CompleteNotCompete - this has been my personal mantra since the outset of this quest and reminds me that I am only in this to get to the finish line.

#ShutUpLegs - this was written on my bottle for Mallorca to get me up the climb and reminds me of my wife who wrote it on my bottle for Mallorca.

#MakeFamProud - this is a reminder that I am making my family proud by completing this quest. I was going to have it as MakeMumProud in honour of my Mum but my family are just as important and my Dad, Sister, Niece and Wife came to support me.

#YouCanDoIt - I entered this race because I can and no matter how dark my thoughts got on the bike this would remind me that I possess the heart and desire to get to the finish line.

#HHHO - a reminder that I am not just doing this for me but also to raise funds for Help Harry Help Others

Saturday

My bike ready for the Outlaw in its accidental patriotic colours

Myself and the Mrs travelled down to Nottingham on the Saturday so that I could register, rack my bike   and transition bags and do some shopping. We arrived at the National Watersports Centre aka Holme Pierrepoint and I went to register. The registration process was very simple. After registration I went back to the car and unpacked the box from yesterday so I could repack things into their respective transition bag.

I always stress when packing for a triathlon as if you forget something for a triathlon it could be the end of your race so packing for a triathlon out of the back of my car in the middle of a field really caused me distress.

I'll freely admit to being fairly unorganised in my life apart from when it comes to triathlon where I almost suffer OCD with my writing of lists.

After the transitions bags had been packed, I went to drop my bike off in transition and then onto the race briefing. The race briefing was informative and well organised, the only complaint I had was that it was held in a gymnasium which thought it was a sauna due to the 30 degree temperature outside. In the briefing I bumped into the following Twitfriends @boarderstu, @aboutwild and @Neily_wilko

I then dropped my bags off in transition and made my way over to the Outlaw Expo. I love going to expos at triathlon as you can get some bargains. I'd decided I wanted a two piece triathlon suit to make going to the toilet in races easier. Now there was a decision to be made over the manufacturer. I'd narrowed it down to three in my head before the expo.

Huub as they make wonderful wetsuits and their trisuits are meant to be as good quality.
Zerod as their O suit comes in multiple colour combinations
Compressport as their two piece has a t shirt for the top which will come in useful in both hot conditions (protecting skin) and cold conditions (more coverage)

In previous tri's I have worn a trisuit and put other t shirts on top for the bike and run so ultimately I decided on the two piece from Compressport. I was really impressed with the top and shorts and also thought the compression would help my quads on longer runs.

After I'd splurged on my new trisuit, we went to the hotel where I tried to relax. What a surpirse I couldn't really relax so instead rechecked everything I had to take tomorrow. I filled all my water bottles and put them in a bag for the morning.

wetsuit was present and correct

I tried my new kit on

My race number for the Outlaw

After tea I went to bed with the alarm set for 03:30 which would mean we could be at the venue for 04:30 which would give us loads of time.

Race day

I woke up before my alarm went off at 03:00. I guess I was suffering with nerves which is understandable. I ate my breakfast and rechecked everything again! I then got dressed into my kit. Me and the Mrs were on the road by 04:00 and the first stop was McDonalds so she could get some brekkie and coffee. Except it wasn't because the 24 hour McDonalds wasn't open. Funny 24 hours if you ask me. We then set off for the venue. About 3 miles away from the venue I remembered that I hadn't picked up my nutrition bag. Cue blind panic as we went back to the hotel to get the bag which contained all my water bottles.

This resulted in me getting to the venue later than envisaged and the next 45 minutes were a bit of a maelstrom of epic proportions. I went to the toilet, loaded my bike with bottles, pumped up my wheels, searched for my wife, put my wetsuit on, put my kit bag in the kit tent and left my gear with my wife and had a full 2 minutes to spare when I got into the water. Not the best of preparations but on the plus side I did manage to bump into a Twitfriend. I bumped into @Sidowski (who was attempting to complete Outlaw in a morphsuit to raise money for his niece), I gave him a good luck man hug which I'm not entirely sure he was comfortable with.

Swim

The swim started at 6am and we were allowed in the water from 05:45 which was just as the sun was rising. What an amazing sight it was having the sun rise as you start a journey of 140.6 miles using your body as the engine.

The photographer Robert Rathbone has allowed me to use his stunning photograph on my blog which depicts the beauty that greeted the athletes and spectators who witnessed the start.

I opted to go in pen 2 and manoeuvred my way to the front of the group. This pen was for those swimmers aiming to complete the swim between 60 minutes and 75 minutes. The gun went off at 6am and we were underway. All 992 athletes / teams set off together. The mass start was a bit fighty. I didn't get punched but some people did. After about 200m I managed to find clear water, it involved me swimming close to the buoys but I don't swim well with other so clear water is preferable to having my feet touched.

At one point I found myself swamped by other swimmers. A quick sprint soon sorted this out. I never really settled into my swim. I had hoped to be half way through the swim when my alarm signalling I had been in the water for 30 minutes went off. This would equate to a sub 1 hour swim. I hadn't even reached the turn though. Never mind. I knuckled down and got on with the job at hand. Left arm, right arm repeat countless times. When my alarm went off again after one hour I still hadn't reached the hut which was marked 500m. I picked out my sighting point and made my way to the volunteer on the far right of the exit pontoon. As I exited the water the clock read 01:10:19 and the volunteer unzipped my suit.

This swim was 251st quickest out of 922 athletes who completed the swim which was in the top 25% of all swimmers. I was over the moon with this considering I have only been swimming once per week.

I had read somewhere that to safeguard goggles and prevent scratches pull them off your head and hold them in your hand while you remove your arm and the goggles get caught in the arm. This was a superb tip. After I'd stowed my goggles I slowed to remove my suit. For some reason this took longer than usual but it was a new suit.

I entered the change tent and proceeded to well I don't know what I did but I spent 12 minute and 30 seconds in T1. I don't remember watching half an episode of The Simpsons but maybe I did, thats how much time I'd spent doing not a lot. I know I thoroughly applied suncream though which was necessary because of the heat.

Bike

I saw another Twitfriend (@JayneMitchell22) as she was leaving T1. I shouted after her but she didn't hear me. I felt really good on the bike, the course was flat and there was no wind which plays more to my strengths than hills and headwinds. The course consisted of one 30 mile long Southern loop followed by a 34 mile long Northern loop and another lap of the Southern loop. I can honestly say I have never drunk so much whilst on the bike. I think I had over 4 litres to drink during the ride. I even had to stop for four toilet breaks. I applied suncream every time I stopped and realised that I had suffered wetsuit burn because suncream and friction burns do not mix very well. Ouch. I caught up with Jayne in the village of Car Colston and we had a little natter.

I played a game of cat and mouse with another rider and each time we passed each the passer shouted out the next number. I think we got to 11. It's the little things that help keep you in a happy place on such a long ride.

On the way back though the village of Car Colston there was a crowd of supporters and for one moment I got to appreciate what the riders in the Tour de France get to hear daily. Cow bells were rung, encouragement was received and it genuinely gave me a lift. The support along the bike route was immense. The feed stations were manned by triathletes who were helpful. It was really superbly run. I saw my family on my fourth visit to the the village of Car Colston and they got some pictures of me.

Chasing down @JayneMitchell22 for another chat.

Next stop Holme Pierrepoint

I started to struggle on the bike in the last 15 miles when I noticed that my pace slowed considerably. My pace fell from around 18mph to around 15 mph. The last 15 miles broke me mentally. The thought of getting off the bike was all that kept the pedals turning. My hips were starting to hurt at the Pirate feed stop at around 80 miles. It was there that a very nice Pirate told me that the run would be a welcome relief from the monotony of the bike. In that last 15 miles I knew what @Mousicles meant. Mousicles was really friendly and bike sat my bike while I went to the toilet and applied suncream to my neck, arms and face. the friendliness and advice is why I bloody love triathlon. It is the only sport I have known where each person shares the common goal and help each other along the way.

The last 2 miles into Holme Pierrepoint were awful with gravel tracks and speed humps. Just what you need after over 110 miles of cycling.

I got off the bike in a respectable time of 06:37 which meant my average speed was 16.8 mph. During the ride I set some new PB's for 50 miles on the bike and also this was the longest ride I have ever completed by some 27 miles.

I got back to Holme Pierrepoint and dropped off my bike to one of the volunteers. I then jogged to the change tent and proceeded to watch another half episode of The Simpsons i.e. spend 12.5 minutes farting about. I only had to apply suncream, change my shoes and apply Chamois Butr to my feet. How did that take over 12 minutes. I know I cracked a joke about having 9 hours to run the marathon but this was just the worst procrastination ever known. I saw @TheBaldyGit leaving T2 and said hello.

Run

Well what can I say I only had 26.2 miles to go to get my shiny. Thats 42.2km or approximately 42200 steps. What could be so hard about that?

Well as it turns out all 26.2 miles of the run was difficult in the oppressive 30 degree heat. I started jogging but couldn't settle into a rhythm and was soon walking. I felt a familiar niggle during the start of the run in my peroneal tendon but rulked it off. I then set up run walk alerts so that I could run for 3.5 minute periods before walking for 1 minute periods. This worked fine for most of the first 13 miles. I completed the first half of the marathon in just over 3 hours.

Running at the end of the 2nd lap and holding good form. Thanks to a Twitter stalker @smuffie for the pics

During the first half of the marathon I bumped into two more Twitfriends @NicolaClareFox and @donendusted. We had brief chats and then went our separate ways The second half of the marathon however was a completely different story. My feet were in pieces. I was struggling to walk let alone run. It wasn't through blisters just general pain.  At least that was a relief. 13 miles in and blister free. If you'd offered me this 4 weeks ago, I'd have bitten your hand off.

So I can't really complain.

At this point I remembered something Chrissie Wellington wrote in her book A Life without Limits

“If you can't fly, run; if you can't run, walk; if you can't walk, crawl.-Martin Luther King”

I couldn't run but I could walk and if it took me 21100 painful steps I would get to the finish line. I still had just under 6 hours to complete 13 miles. 

So walk I did. I plodded for 2 hours and completed 7 miles before boredom set in. I argued with myself and decided to give running another go. I set my run/walk alerts again with periods of 3.5 minutes and 1.5 minutes. I was starting to make some real progress for all of one mile when something happened.

I was passing an aid station where a woman was crying. I stopped and asked if she wanted company as she was on her own. We started to walk and I soon surmised that she was suffering from heatstroke because she was delirious and coudn't walk straight. During our walk to the next aid station, I managed to come across another person who was suffering from heatstroke. I had managed to pick up two waifs and strays and had now commited myself to ensuring their safety.

I had seen so many people fall over and need medical help during the run that I couldn't just leave them. I walked them to the next aid station which had more staff than the previous one and in doing so I sacrificed my goal of completing the Outlaw in under 15 hours. It was only a goal I had formulated recently as the main goal was completion. But when I was running I was feeling okayish and believe I could have gone sub 15 had it not been for my good deed.

After I had dropped them off at an aid station I set off run walking again. I had 3.9 miles to go and managed to run walk 2 miles of it.

Struggling with 2 miles to go

I bumped into my Wife and Dad with two miles to go and tried to continue run walking. I managed one more repetition before fatigue well and truly set in. It took me over 34 minutes to walk the last 1.8 miles but I kept moving forward and with each passing step got closer to the finish line.

My family decided they wanted to cross the finish line with me. I had mixed feelings about this at the time but this was because I was in a dark place after racing for over 14 hours. In hindsight I'm glad they were there for me.

So after my final lap of the lake my family were there waiting for me. I had imagined this moment so many times and couldn't decide how I was going to cross the line. I set off running with my family behind me and when I crossed the line I shouted COOOOMMMMMEEEEEEE ONNNNNNNNN!, this was filmed by the cameraman who was filming for Channel 4 who then interviewed me. I can't remember much of the conversation but one question was

"Why have you done this?"

My answer

"Because I can."

I then collected my medal, finishers t shirt and bags and made my way to see my family.

The total time was 15:19:00. Thats 55140 seconds of moving forward towards my goal. Was I pleased? I was elated. I can't describe the sense of pride I felt.

Nine months ago I was a 20 a day smoker but on Sunday 7th July 2013 I completed one of the longest single day endurance events there is. I did this 50 weeks after completing my first triathlon and proved that a overweight ex smoker can do whatever he THEY sets his THEIR mind to providing he has THEY HAVE the heart, determination and desire to suceed.

I'd like to thank each and everyone one of my blog readers and Twitter followers for the support I have received. My Wife for being patient with me during the hours of training I have undertaken.

Is this quest over. In a word. No! There's lots more space on my medal hanger.

If you're feleing inspired by this story and would like more information, please contact me via Twitter (@smoker2ironman)

If you're new to this blog, I have not done this just for personal achievement I am also raising money for charity. My chosen charity for this year is HHHO. If you would like to sponsor me you can via my Justgiving page at the following address www.justgiving.com/triathlon4harry  

Thanks for reading this long blogpost,

#AnythingIsPossible
#CompleteNotCompete

Michael
An ex smoking Ironman

7 days to go

So in 7 days I will be attempting to push my body further than I have pushed it before.

The goal is to travel 140.6 miles under my own steam in an iron distance triathlon and in doing so raise some money for HHHO, if you're feeling generous please visit my Justgiving page to donate and help fund much needed research into cancer.

I have hinted before into what is driving me to complete an iron distance triathlon in this blogpost. In that post I left out one important fact which I will divulge now.

When I was growing up aged 14 I suffered from a chronic slipped upper femoral epiphysis.

A chronic slipped upper femoral epiphysis occurs when the femur moves away from the ball joint along the growth plate. This can be seen in the diagram below.

To prevent this condition getting worse the femur is pinned to the ball joint through the growth plate.

The diagnosis of this took approximately nine months to transpire and during this time I walked with a limp despite numerous trips to the hospital. According to the Consultant at the time I had put a lot of pressure and wear on my ball joint and had a 90% chance of developing arthritis of the hip by the time I was 30.

So here I sit aged 31 and 11 months and there is no sign of arthritis yet but I don't know how much longer I can say this for and this is the reason I have decided to go long so early into my triathlon journey. This could be my only chance to complete an iron distance triathlon, I hope it isn't but unfortunately I do not have a crystal ball.

Training recap

Have I done as much training as I should have done?

• Erm in a word no. I have been unlucky with numerous illnesses during the previous 20 weeks, I've suffered from laryngitis, a pulled muscle in my neck and a severe case of diarrhoea. I have made the best of what I have been dealt and trained as much as I think was possible.

Am I ready for the Outlaw?

• You bet I am. I can't bloody wait to push my body to the limit. I know I will complete the swim, I know I will complete the bike (it will be a struggle but I'll get there) (unless I suffer from a mechanical problem or a crash) and I know I will have enough time to rulk (run/walk) the run. BRING IT ON.
• I've swum over the distance by completing a pool swim of 4km.
• I've biked over 1000 miles in the last 20 weeks with the furthest single ride being 85 miles. I should have completed the 100 mile ride to prepare better but I am where I am now.
• I've run the longest scheduled run from my training plan which was 18 miles so think I have done as much preparation as possible. The run won't be pretty but I will get the job done. I am sure the support form the crowd and my family will play a big part in getting me to the finish line.

My race number is 288 so if you see me make sure you say hello. I will be wearing these so you have no excuse for missing me. 

See you all when I am an Outlaw.

Thanks for reading,

Michael