Learning to race

Over the last two and a half months I have really enjoyed racing at shorter distances and I mean really enjoyed it.

Since I wrote this post (http://smoker2triathlete.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/whats-next.html) I have raced at the following events.

Doncaster 5k where I set a new "official 5km PB

Hatfield Sprint where I set a new course PB

London Triathlon Sprint which I had a really good race at and finished in the top 10% of all racers

Swim With Other Teams Championships which Doncaster Triathlon finished 4th at

National Club Relay Championships where I beat all my times from 2013 and finished as the quickest member of my team

Leeds Triathlon Relay (swim) which we won again and where I was #firstoutthewater

Doncaster Parkrun where I set a new PB by nearly 4 minutes


Brigg Sprint where I set a new course PB by 11 minutes and finished 37th overall and 7th in the 30-34 age group.

At Brigg I came to a realisation that maybe I am capable of racing so I have decided that in 2015 I am only going to concentrate on sprint triathlons and running 10k road races.

The aim is to learn how to race properly and see what I am really capable of.

I have three races (one sprint tri, one 7 mile off road run and one 10km road run) left this year before I plan on putting in a good winter's base training ahead of 2015. Who knows what will happen next year?!?! I need to come up with a plan for which races to enter and with the help of my new coach and #runboss, I am sure it will be a good year.

I am going to learn to race as I really enjoyed pushing myself at Brigg. The fact that I was only 32 seconds off my 5km run PB in a triathlon shows how much I have improved in recent months. I'm really looking forward to 2015.

Thanks for reading,

Michael

A public thank you

About five weeks ago I contacted #runboss of Blizard Physiotherapy about my increasing weight (following Ironman Austria) and the fact I had lost my running and training mojo.

We sat down (via the medium of Facebook Messenger) and formulated a plan to put an end to my weight gain and help me rediscover my running and training mojo,

The plan revolved around structured training and a structured diet where I have been monitoring what I am eating.

Fast forward to today and my weight has started to come down, in fact recently I have weighed less than I have in as long as I can remember. People are even commenting on the fact that I look thinner.

And as for my running. Wow!

My running has improved so much in the past five weeks.

Five weeks ago today, on a recovery run, my pace was 10:30/mile, tonight on the same duration recovery run my pace was 9:04/mile (which is quicker than I have ever run for such a low HR).

In the same time my threshold run pace has reduced from 9:23/mile to 8:25/mile.

No amount of words can truly express my thanks to someone who is not only my coach but also a good friend, someone who believes in me when sometimes I don't even believe in myself.

The gratitude I feel can never be repaid in full, this man has helped me improve so, so much with his encouragement and belief in me. Yes it has been hard work but it has been worth it. I am starting to really enjoy running.

If you need some help with running you could do a lot worse than look into the services provided by Blizard Physiotherapy.

Thank you Dave.

Michael

TomTom Cardio Runner - My first impressions

Last month Running Bug ran a competition to review and keep a TomTom Cardio Runner. I entered and thought nothing of it until a few weeks later when I got an email confirming I had won one to trial, how exciting.

When my watch arrived I was like a kid at Christmas as I tore open the packaging to be greeted by my new TomTom Cardio Runner in all it shiney glory.

I had done some research into the watch but could not get my head around how it could monitor heart rate using light. I was baffled by the technology and was thrilled to be able to try it. I had read the DC Rainmaker review of the watch in an attempt to better understand the pros and cons of the watch.

I couldn't wait to get home to try out the watch for myself to see if it worked as accurately as what I have become used to when using a chest strap.

In the interests of science I decided to go for a run wearing two watches so I could compare the HR's between what I (and most other people) have become accustomed to and the new tech in the TomTom Runner Cardio.

On that first run the maximum difference I noticed between the recorded heart rates between the two units was 3bpm. I would love to be able to show you the data to back this up but had a technical malfunction and can't upload the data from this first run off my new watch.

As you can see in the above photo the difference in 1bpm. I was amazed that the difference was so little.

Since that first run however I have been able to upload the data from the watch to Strava and other fitness tracking services.

I haven't been for anymore runs wearing both watches. It just feels weird running with two watches. The plan is to complete another run wearing two watches so I can categorically state that the new technology is as accurate as the traditional technology.

Since that first run I have found myself reaching for the TomTom to log my runs. It is oddly liberating being able to run without a chest strap.  The weight of the TomTom Cardio Runner is also less than I have become accustomed to, which is a nice bonus

I love the fact that you can set HR zones to run to and it lets you know if you are training in the right zone. I find this really helpful and motivational as it is constantly there to remind you if you are working too hard or not hard enough.

I am looking forward to working with the other features of the TomTom Runner Cardio over the coming weeks to see what other niceties I can find in there.

I am not going to lie, I was sceptical about the tech but form my first couple of weeks with the watch, I am mightily impressed by it.

Thanks for reading,

Michael

Breathing, running and me

Over the past couple of months I have begun to notice how atrocious my breathing sounds when I run. I know I have joked about sounding like I suffer from emphysema but that is how bad I think I sound!

At track on Tuesdays as people pass me they don’t sound as bad as I do. With this in mind I spoke to #runboss about my concerns.

My reasoning being when I coach swimming I know that some runners who are learning to swim struggle with the breathing and I wondered if the reverse were true i.e. when a swimmer (AKA me) starts to run and is struggling with breathing, is there a fundamental reason why they struggle to breath?

Now I know this might sound rubbish but I have always been a swimmer and never a runner until 2 years ago. Is there something different in breathing between swimming and running.

I booked an appointment at Blizard Towers to find out. Who better to advise me than two ex international runners, #runboss and my physio.

This Wednesday was the time for my appointment.

I had no idea what this would entail in the slightest.

First Dave got me to perform a peak flow test to see how powerful my lungs were. When I was a kid I had asthma so knew the process, big breath in and blow out as quickly and forcefully as you can.

The first set of results were:

PEF (peak expiratory flow) which is a measure of a person’s maximum speed of expiration of 601L/min. A normal reading for my age and height would be 636L/min

FEV1  which is the amount of air expelled in a one second period of time of 4.6L. A normal reading for my age, weight and height would be 4.36L

Jenny (my Physio) then set about seeing what my range of movement was across my thoracic spine, as this has an impact on how your ribs move which impacts on your breathing. I had severe stiffness in my back. After a bout of manipulation to free up my thoracic spine and check to see what the improvement in flexibility was like, we repeated the peak flow test again

PEF = 766L/min

FEV1 = 4.8L

A marked improvement.

Now we got down to the nitty gritty part. How I actually breath?

After I laid on the couch, Jenny asked me to breath in and out a few times. I did and she watched my chest rise and fall.

I was breathing with the top of my lungs first, my mid lung second and my diaphragm last. Which is exactly the opposite way a runner should breath.

When quizzed as to why I breath that way, I can only think that I learnt to breath that way as a kid who swam sprints for his town. When sprint swimming as a child it was about how quickly I could get breath in and the most efficient way to do this would be to use your top portion of the lungs.

After going through the correct “running” way to breath, which felt really weird at first as I had to isolate all the different portions of the breath before stringing them all together and breathing “correctly”, we checked my range of movement across my thoracic spine. There was a marked improvement from the first range of movement motions

So now I have to retrain myself to not breath in the way that I have breathed for as long as I can remember. Jenny gave me some exercises to do to help with this.

We then discussed how, when I have got my breathing sorted. To run I should breath in and then breath out for twice the duration I breathed in for. Why is there so much to remember?

Now for the important peak flow retest.

PEF = 784L/min, an improvement of 30% and a measurement which puts me 23% above what is considered “normal”

FEV1 = 4.94L, an improvement of 7% which puts me 13% above what is considered “normal”

I was shocked by the improvement with my breathing. I suspect the next few weeks will be odd, having to focus on relearning to breath. Even sat here typing I am aware of myself breathing the wrong way.

I went for a threshold run last night and really concentrated on breathing. I didn’t feel as out of breath as I had done previously. Coincidence? Only the future will tell.

Thanks for reading,

Michael

Hatfield Tri - Take 2

Last Sunday saw me compete in the Hatifled Triathlon for the second time. This triathlon was the same race I competed 2 years ago, the site of my first triathlon.

I wanted to go into the race and set a new PB to see how much I had improved in the last two years. Given I had hardly trained (2 5km runs and 2 swim sessions) since Ironman Austria, it definitely wasn’t the best preparation.

I decided to carry out an experiment in this race and race completely to HR zones.

My aim was to complete the bike at a minimum HR of 160bpm (well into my tempo zone) and then back this up with a minimum HR of 170bpm (again into my tempo zone) and see if I could hold those respective efforts for the duration of the sprint distance race. Yes I knew it would hurt but after holding 180bpm in the Doncaster 5km, I thought it was a worthwhile experiment.

Race day morning arrived and I made my way over to the Waterpark in Hatfield. Registration was seemless. Now time for racking. Since deciding to race sprints, I have stripped my bike down to its bare essentials. Given I punctured earlier in the season, those essentials stop at foam and CO2 cartidge. No bottles. It’s amazing how little stuff I need for a sprint. When compared to how much I took for my first triathlon, it is joyfully minimalist. My transition area held my bike (complete with shoes on), a towel, my visor and sunglasses.

Compared to this photo from the same race two years ago this is nothing.

Swim

The plan for the swim was to push hard but comfortably hard. I always find it hard to guage effort on swimming, I have two speeds (all out sprint) and my general swimming pace. I pushed hard from the hooter but couldn’t find a way through the swimmers in front until we made the first buoy. Then I nipped past a few swimmers and was in clear water. This continued for the last 450m. I exited in around 12 minutes and ran to transition while removing my wetsuit.

It amazes me how efficient I have got at this. I had the top half of my Archimedes off before I had hit dry land. Thanks for the breakaway zipper HUUB.

After reaching transition I stripped my wetsuit off and unracked #Rinnie and ran to the mount line. I hopped on and set about pedalling. Thankfully I had remembered to have my shoes undone.

Bike

Time to get some pedalling done. First job get my feet in the shoes. Second job elevate my HR above 160bpm and keep it there. For some reason my gears weren’t working correctly so I couldn’t sit in my usual gear and pedal at 90+ RPM, it was either sit in a higher gear and pedal at 85RPM or sit in a lower gear and pedal at 100+RPM. Given my lack of riding I decided to settle on the 85RPM gear. Not comfortable but moreso than pedalling at 100+ for me.

The bike course at Hatfield is flat with 5 hills (motorway bridges) and I rode the entire course in the big ring and only changed gear about twice. I was pleased to set an average pace of over 19mph given I hadn't ridden any bike in 3 weeks. My average HR was 164bpm and I was working that hard that I even vommed a bit in my mouth. Thats a first for me.

I only got overtaken by about 10 cyclists throughout the ride, which pleased me. As I was pulling into the Waterpark I took my feet out of my shoes in preparation for a flying dismount. I flew into T2.

Bike racked now for putting my trainers on and starting the run.

Since I have been using talc in my trainers, my T2's have gotten a lot quicker.

Run

I even managed to smile on the run

Time for more suffering. It took me a while to find my running legs but I managed to get my HR above 170bpm quickly in my run. Despite the run route differing from 2012. 5km is still 5km. I made it to the turn point and wasn't passed once. On the return leg, my pace seemed to slow and I was really starting to hurt. I got passed by about 10 runners in the second half of the run.

This is my own fault as I have done little run training since Austria. I have lost a lot of speed and a lot of endurance. I was so relieved to make it onto the finishing field.  With less than 400m to go, I decided to push harder. I really wanted to get to that line.

I finished the race in 1:27:33 which was a 24 minute improvement on 2012.

24 minutes is ridiculous PB over a sprint distance and I really believe that with the right training there is still a lot more to come off that time especially as I hadn't trained properly going into the race. Who knows what my time will be in 2015 but one thing is for sure, I'll be racing to find out.

Below are the stats comparing 2012 and 2014.

As you can see I improved in every discipline which proves how much I have grown as a triathlete. I'm so proud of how much I have improved.

And if anyone doubts how hard I worked in this race, here is the proof.

Who shot me

Thanks for reading,

Michael