Archive for the ‘Training’ Category:
Thanks to an astonishing new discovery*, I leapt out of bed at exactly 0700 this morning, and went on to crank out a Sunday morning training ride that wasn't far off five hours.
I've uploaded my heart rate graph – the session was four hours, 53 minutes in total, at an average heart rate of 138 beats per minute. The big peak/trough at 2hrs 30 or so was the climb up the Box hill 'zig zag' followed by a cafe stop at the top, where I rewarded myself for an atypically early start with a coffee and a huge slice of bread pudding (the fact that my heart rate barely dropped below 90bpm as I was wolfing it down bears testiment to its stodginess). As you can see, it's a hilly old route, but it was a great morning – cold and damp, but once I'd climbed above the mist, the views over the Surrey hills were glorious.
*Keaka Jackson's Power Controller - a nifty bit of software that turns a Mac (a G4 PowerBook in my case) into an alarm clock, waking the computer and fading in any playlist you like from iTunes; I bounced out of bed to James Holden's 'One For You' today. Mornings will never be the same again.
— Filed under Training
I came 76th out of 354 competitors in the Ballbaster Duathlon today. I'm pretty pleased with this as 1) I haven't been training all that much recently, 2) I was shattered before I even started and 3) most of the 354 were hardcore multi-sport athletes – there were Ironman tattoos, carbon fibre wheels and Great Britain team members galore this morning. I'd heard horror stories about nasty weather in previous years (they've had hypothermia cases in the past, apparently) but it turned out to be a beautiful morning.
I had no idea how to pace the event, but the sage advice from a number of Ballbuster veterans was to take at least the first ten minutes of the run easy. With hindsight, I probably took it slightly too easy and came into the first transition very bright and breezy (and wondering if the Ballbuster was really as tough as it was cracked up to be). I felt strong on the bike, and took all three climbs of the big ascent fairly steadily – I was worried that I would be overgeared (39×23, for the cycling nerds) but I rarely needed it in reality.
The second transition (bike to run) was a bit wobbly and it quickly became apparent that I hadn't taken on enough fluid on the bike. Almost immediately, my quads and calves started cramping up, and it seemed like a lifetime before I made it into the only water stop of the eight-mile loop. I downed two cups and ran/sloshed on for a bit, before realising that I was still dehydrated. At the foot of the final (two-mile) hill I spotted manna from heaven – a full bottle of sports drink, complete with bottle cage, lying in the leaves on the side of the road – it must have fallen off someone's bike. I gulped down a few delicious mouthfuls (only much later did it strike me that I'd taken a bit of a gamble – the drink was a suspicious shade of orangey-yellow) and ran on. 
The last slog up the hill was really tough – an out-of-body experience, to borrow the phrase of a GB duathlete I chatted to at the finish.
Anyway, the cold facts: run one – 0:52:15, bike – 1:20:13, run two – 1:02:52 (as you can see, I died a bit here), total time – 3:15:20 (40 miles). In all, it was a great day out – a hardcore course, brilliantly organised with a great atmosphere – it felt more like a collective challenge than a race, and there was lots of back-slapping at the finish.
(Last up, a quick thank you to the gang at Sigma Sport, not only of doing such a brilliant job of servicing my road bike this week, but also for providing some very welcome, and entirely unexpected cheering-on at the steepest bit of the race.)
(Edited to add photos, courtesy of ProSportPhotos.)
— Filed under Training
I'm racing the Ballbuster Duathlon (run/bike/run) tomorrow morning… I'm in a rush to get to bed and grab a few hours of sleep (race registration is at 0700, which means setting the alarm for 0500).
It's a 40-mile course (8-mile run, 24-mile bike and 8-mile run) which takes us up the infamous Box Hill no less than five times. The organisers have sent out a few ominous-sounding email newsletters recently, and I somehow doubt it's going to be the easiest Saturday morning of my life…
Pace judgment is required especially on the downhill running sections which will be hard on the quads and the knees. A word of warning- the Beast of the hill will have its revenge if you don't give it the respect it deserves. It's better to run the 1st run 10 min slower than lose 20 min on the final run. In other words take the 1st run slowly. You have been warned.
Providing I survive unscathed, I'll post a full update, along with a long overdue write-up of the last couple of weeks. Wish me luck!
— Filed under Training
Tony and I had our first rollerski coaching session yesterday morning in (an unseasonably warm and sunny) Hyde Park. As I basically ski for a living, it felt slightly awkward admitting that my skate ski experience (Wikipedia has a nice article on the differences between classic and skate, or 'free' XC-skiing) was practically nil.
Thankfully, Tony and I took to it like a couple of (fairly unstable) ducks to water and Iain, our coach, had us whizzing around the park in no time. It was easier to pick up than I had at first feared, but at the same time I get the impression it's one of those sports you could still be mastering years after taking it up. Much like dragging a sledge through an airport, you get tons of funny looks and it's a great conversation-starter. What's more, even our modest beginner's session proved a good workout, and if you live near one of London's parks and fancy something different to the usual sweaty spinning class, I'd wholeheartedly recommend it – www.rollerski.co.uk.
On a much sadder note, two of my heroes (both cyclists) died recently. Zak Carr was knocked off his bike yesterday morning, and John Ibbotson passed away at his desk (aged 27) a few days ago. The thing is that I'd admired them from afar – John spent a few hard years as a pro cyclist on the continent (one of my unfulfilled childhood dreams, and one of the toughest existences imaginable) and Zak was one of the 'testers' or time-triallists that make British cycling so unique; out racing alone, against the clock on windswept stretches of road, week in, week out, when most people are still tucked up in bed. Both were true role-models for Britain's kids – not for them the overnight Pop Idol 'success'; these guys knew what it was to follow their passion, to slog their guts out chasing goals that often seemed elusive and unattainable, and to share the passion they had for sport, and for life, with everone around them.
I'm in the States for the rest of this week, at the (incredible) PopTech conference in (the equally incredible) Camden, Maine. I'm not speaking this year, but I'm looking forward to chilling out for a few days in some very esteemed company.
— Filed under Cycling, Training
Busy boy at the moment. I finished the London Duathlon on Saturday in 1:47:18, landing me in 67th place (out of 1159 competitors in the 'Challenge' distance and >2,500 overall). I was quite chuffed considering it was my first duathlon (run, bike, run) and the fact that I'd had such a knackering week beforehand. The winner, Jonathan Will, steamed round the (longer than advertised!) course in 1:29:52 and I was amazed how much quicker than me he was in the transitions (changing from running to cycling shoes, putting your helmet on and unracking the bike, and vice versa at T2) – I took 1:36 and 1:27 respectively; he took 49 and 43 seconds.
With a bit of practise at transitions, some rest the week before and some structured speedwork building up to the event (my training has been pretty haphazard of late) I could have knocked a big chunk off my time. Bung in one of these, one of these and some of these, and I'd have been top-ten. (Or so I like to tell myself…) A beautiful day and a brilliantly-run event.
Time is really flying right now. Lots more travelling (in the UK) and speaking this week and some really exciting things going on in the 'next expedition' department…
And yes, the poxy server *still* isn't working properly, but bensaunders.com may have been rescued by the inimitable Pete Barr-Watson. More soon…
— Filed under Training
This morning: VO2 Max testing at Hertfordshire University (essentially running until you vomit on a treadmill that gets faster/steeper every four minutes, breathing through a gas mask and having blood samples taken from a finger). Despite being a jetlagged, sleep-deprived nervous wreck, I scored a personal best of 63ml/kg/min. Yay!
This evening: cha han and white chocolate cheesecake at Wagamama in Putney (sitting a table away from Josh Lewsey).
Tomorrow morning: the London Duathlon. Run, bike, run (10k, 20k, 5k) in Richmond Park. Actually, I'm going to cycle there and back, so it's more like a bike, run, bike, run, bike. If I can make it out of bed at 7am on Sunday, I'll be joining London Dynamo for their four-hour 'Surrey Hills' ride. After that, sleeeeeep.
(NB – I'm aware the comments, RSS Feed and the SOUTH section of the website are still down. Yes, I'm furious about it, but the hosting is sponsored, and I can only get so pushy with a company that's supported me for four years. I've been assured it'll be up on Monday. If not, the site will be moving to another host.)
— Filed under Training
After saying I wanted to go sub-two hours, I ran 2:00:06 in the New York Road Runners Club's 18-mile race in Central Park today. I'd forgotten quite how hilly the park was in places, and I had to push hard to get close to two hours.
There were 3,552 finishers – I came 71st overall and 10th in my age group (male 20-29) at an average pace of 6:40 per mile (2:53ish marathon pace). The event was managed superbly (we need more races like this in central London) and there were volunteers giving out ice lollies at the finish. Excellent!
(Update: technical gremlins are still preventing the comments from working – it should be fixed tomorrow…)
— Filed under Training
I ran 3:02:45 in today's London Marathon (I'll post a link to the results once they're online) – I'm pretty happy with how it went (it's my best time in an official marathon by nearly half an hour) but I can't help thinking I could have nipped under the magic three if I'd fine-tuned my pacing and nutrition a little. I ran in some rather funky shoes but my feet and calf muscles are paying for it now – I don't think the boffins at Nike designed them with my 80kg (176lb) bulk in mind…
Time for a lie down.
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— Filed under Training
Tony and I spent the best part of the day undergoing a barrage of fitness tests at the University of Hertfordshire – VO2 Max (running on a treadmill at ever increasing speeds, breathing through a dribble-filled Darth Vader mask and having blood samples taken from a finger no less than seven times) and strength (maximal bench press and leg press (grrr!), max reps of the same at 75% one-rep-max, max press-ups in one minute, max sit-ups in a minute, etc etc). More of the same in eight weeks.
There's nothing noble in being superior to some other man. The true nobility is being superior to your previous self.
- James Raia
— Filed under Training
Last Sunday, a 22.5-mile run. Yesterday, a three-hour road bike session, followed by an hour of upper body weights in the gym. 0900 today: a three-hour hike with 25kg (55lb) rucksacks. 1400 today: Tony silences his rumbling stomach and stuns the waiting staff at our local Wagamama by putting away a specially prepared double portion of yaki soba (with extra noodles). The training continues…
— Filed under Training
Tony and I were told off by an instructor in my gym this evening. We were doing some interval training on elliptical trainers when he came over, tapped Tony on the shoulder and informed him that there is, in fact, a twenty minute time limit on the machines during peak hours.
We'd been on them for an hour and forty minutes.
— Filed under Training
Thanks to an astonishing new discovery*, I leapt out of bed at exactly 0700 this morning, and went on to crank out a Sunday morning training ride that wasn't far off five hours.