Tentative Times!

Thanks to Frank Golden for letting me use these images - they are great! Find him here on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Frankgoldenphotography/ 

It's been a while since my last blog post, apologies for that.  I have been hibernating and feeling grumpy at the most hideous winter for a long time - muddy, wet, cold and snow besieged - I am so looking forward to winter 18/19 (said no English person ever).  Yesterday somebody mentioned Christmas and it put me in a bad mood for ages!

Looking back at my last post on the last day of January, I can update the goals I spoke of and fill you in on progress so far in 2018...

The #doggoals are coming along nicely.  I have done two lots of puppy training classes and Aggie is doing well.  Today she is exactly 7 months old and I have just returned from the best walk yet! She is coming back to me rather than just going off to play with every dog we meet, and I am really enjoying walking everyday.  It lessens the guilt on non-running days.  I am really looking forward to doing canicross with her, I think it's going to be a lot of fun and I have got some ideas about developing a High Peak Canicross Club so watch this space (I don't do things by halves you know!).

Ha ha! Sorry Aidan!

As far as #coachgoals are concerned, I am delighted with the progress of my RunTogether Run for the Hills groups!  My first group has completed their 5km goal and recce'd Lyme Park parkrun and some of those ladies (plus more from my groups last summer) are now joining me in our improvers group which meets every Monday at 9am for a 5-10km run route.  If you, or anyone you know would like to join us, just sign up here.

That's more like it!

My #racegoals are also in full swing. 
10th Feb 18 - York parkrun - 23:07
10th Mar 18 - Buxton AC 5km - 23:05 (1st lady! For the first time ever!)
15th Apr 18 - Thomas Theyer Whitehall Wiggle (10.8km)  - 1:03:46 (3rd lady for the second time here)

The Thomas Theyer race (where all the images for this post are from) was the first proper fell type race I have done since I injured my hip.  With nearly 400m of ascent and quite a bit of fast downhill it was a real tester but I seem to have got away with it! I chatted and ran with my friend and fellow GVS Aidan, we became those annoying people who chat during races!  To be fair he was doing most of the chatting, I was puffing away next to him!  I really enjoyed it and it pushed my fitness levels to the limit so I need to work on stamina especially with a 9 miler coming up next week!

She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes!

I am quite happy with my pace, but hills are not as easy as they were due to all the flat hip rehab, so I need to focus on hill strength and technique in my training sessions.  Tomorrow night is the Herod Farm Fell Race (AKA Horrid Farm) it's a very short and very steep 3 miler, I may do it but I also have Kinder Downfall (9 miler) on Sunday so will have to see how I feel tomorrow and if I can get childcare...

My #cyclinggoals are off to a very sluggish start, mainly due to the increase in running and the poor weather.  I have done a couple of muddy MTB rides recently and as we are promised 20 degrees plus this week I have grand ambitions to dust off Ladybird and get out road biking again.  I certainly feel un-bikefit at the moment.  I am hoping to fit some sportives in this year, I'm just not sure when or how yet!

Grinning and bearing...

Another sport I have totally neglected since I got Aggie is swimming.  I went a couple of weeks ago to try and rekindle my regular weekly "tickover" swim but it didn't go well as I ended up with another migraine.  I am going to go today and try again. I am very slow and resembling a whale at the moment but hey, you've got to start somewhere right!?

I think that's all for now, My Inov-8 X Claws are brilliant, I love the cushioning/grip combo!

Happy running - especially to all the London Marathoners! (please sponsor my friend Helen here for Leonard Cheshire Disability if you can!) and I will update again soon!

TLF x

The Hathersage Hilly Triathlon!

I never imagined myself doing a triathlon, like ever.   I never thought I would have the time or dedication to achieve the skill or fitness levels required.  
But, after the brutal Macclesfield Forest Duathlon I managed to complete (#endure) in February, I decided to enter the Hathersage Hilly Triathlon, coerced once again by the hardcore (but lovely!) Amanda Skeldon! 

Ready for action!

On paper, the HH is a 420m pool swim in the Hathersage Lido, a 20 kilometre bike and a 7 kilometre run.  In reality it is indeed a 420m swim, but when the motto of the event is "It's not flat", you know its not going to be a straightforward road ride followed by a flat road run! Fortunately, as many of you will know by now, I much prefer hills to flat (#weirdo) so along with Amanda and our friend Jac, we entered and I thought, July - it's miles off, it will be FINE! 

Training

The girls - Reb, me, Amanda and Jac

So my training schedule included lots of hills which also fitted in well with my fell series races.  In April, I started to swim once a week in preparation for the swim phase.  I am naturally quite a strong swimmer but having never had lessons since school, I was completely hopeless at front crawl - I could go fast, but I was absolutely knackered after 2 lengths!  I decided to stop worrying about crawl and to focus on my breaststroke to get my swim fitness going and I started to swim around 1000m once a week.  

Amanda smiling as always!

After a few weeks I felt my breaststroke was getting stronger and improving my core strength, I was finding that after swimming, my lower stomach muscles would ache - this, I decided, was a great thing - I resolved to continue swimming after the triathlon.  But, even though I was improving in pace and hopefully strength, I really wanted to be able to do crawl like the "proper" triathletes! This was when I managed to persuade my friend Suzie - an amazing swimmer - to teach me how to crawl properly!

Suzie loves swimming and is a natural teacher.  Having learned to swim using the Total Immersion technique last June at New Mills Leisure Centre, it became apparent that she was a complete natural at it!  She regularly swims over 2k and is now a keen open water swimmer with her sights set on competing at some point in the future.  I am totally in awe of her - she is inspiring and I really looked forward to my "Suzie's Swim School" sessions!

cool, calm and collected...

We decided to start from the beginning with crawl using specific TI drills.  Progress was steady but after a few sessions I was loving the challenge and by my fourth or fifth session I was finally allowed on my front to try and master "full stroke".  Full stroke was really hard to master at first, with breathing being the main problem, but just before the triathlon I felt I was finally getting to a point where I could just get in and practice it, without having to do half an hour of drills to focus my legs (which don't quite understand how to slow down!).  For the HH I decided to stick to breaststroke, as I hadn't started to add any pace to my TI stroke and I was confident that I could complete the 420m distance in around 9 minutes and 30 seconds which sounded respectable for a first attempt.  

Amanda intimidating the competition in her Ironman hoody!

With swimming sorted, I tried to include a hilly road bike ride into my weekly routine, but if the weather was wet I went on my MTB instead and tackled more technical routes offroad.  Of the three phases I think the bike felt my least prepared, I wasn't worried about it, but I just had no idea how long it would take me.  I estimated, having recce'd the route with Amanda and Jac (see this blog post) that I would complete the bike phase in around an hour but I was hoping for more like 50 minutes in order to be competitive. The week before the event, Caz and I did a training ride of a similar length to the HH route and I really focused on being aerodynamic and pedaling as hard as I could on all the flat and downhill sections, which gave me a good confidence boost.

With the running I tried to do either an interval or hill session with Caz, Estelle, Helen and Sarah and/or a fell race each week.  As I was in the full swing of the Goyt Valley Striders Summer Fell Series, I found the running was being covered with that so I didn't overdo it and I felt my form was pretty good for the distance required.

As a total statistics geek, I looked at (read - pored over) previous years results and used this handy Race Calculator (thanks Amanda) to get an idea of my overall time.  But having never done a tri before - it was a lot of guesswork!  Basically I was hoping for a top 20 lady result at best.

Race Day

Not quite the first ones there!

As race day loomed I felt really nervous every time I thought about it!  Amanda, sent Jac and I her race plan and tri checklist to adapt and alter for our individual needs.  These were really useful as I am a total list maker - I love lists and feel far more prepared if I can write everything down and visualise from there.  

The HH has two transition areas, the first is at the swimming pool and the second is down the road near the start of the run route.  This required some military planning!  Basically Ladybird (my bike), my helmet and shoes were left at T1 and my running shoes were left at T2 (there were other things too (like towel, drink, arm warmers etc.) but I wont bother you with boring details!).  It is easy to know where to put your stuff once you have registered.  We went along the day before to register so we could have a little more time in the morning to prep our transition areas etc.  

T1 the day before

When you register you get a race number.  This number corresponds with everything you do in the race.  Without your number you cannot get your bike for example, out of the transition area.  You have a wristband, a race belt number, stickers for your bike and before the swim you are given a chip timer which you wear a bit like a prisoners tag on your left ankle and a coloured swim cap which dictates the time and wave you swim in.  

Lucky 104 ooh and jellybabies!

I felt prepared for the event but still really excited and nervous.  I opted to wear a Pearl Izumi triathlon suit which I got from The Bike Factory (I ordered it in), it wasn't the colour I wanted (I wanted red/black or black/black but pink/black had to do!) but it ticked all the other boxes and I felt comfortable and confident in it (well as confident you can feel in a skin tight garment) I did wear a padded sports bra underneath just to ensure I wasn't worrying about it being see through when wet!  

The Swim

Still talking even whilst swimming!

With the swim taking place in a pool, the whole process takes about 3 hours for all 300 odd competitors to complete the phase.  For this reason it is run like a well oiled machine.  My swim time was 8.26am and at 8.25am I was in the pool ready, I was in lane 4 which operated an anti-clockwise formation with around 4 swimmers at a time completing their lengths.  One thing which surprised me was that you have to count your own lengths! For this reason I literally chanted the length number in my head with every stroke "1, 1, 1, 1, turn 2, 2, 2" and so on!  I got a bit confused around length 8 (it doesn't take much) and had to think whether I was on an odd or even length which sorted me out!

Out of the pool and go go go!

One of my fears was getting held up in the pool, I did have a bit of a stressful start as I tried to overtake a man who was a similar pace to me and we ended up very close to each other for a few lengths.  If someone is slower than you, in theory you can tap their foot and they should wait and move over when they reach the end of the pool. I found that in practise this didn't really happen, so until the man got out I didn't enjoy the swim at all. Once I got rid of Mr splashy feet I was fine!

Looking very wet!

When the lengths were done I jumped out and ran to T1, during this short run I removed my swim cap and goggles and headed to find Ladybird.  I found my stuff quickly and thought I had done an average transition time although putting on my socks, shoes, watch, helmet etc. seemed to take a while!

The Bike 

Once on my bike I really went for it!  I found it really exhilarating flying down hills and passing other cyclists gave me a confidence boost.  Being in an early swim wave seemed to be a big advantage as there were hardly any cars on the roads.  Having recce'd the route I knew where I was going although it was really well signed and marshaled.  There is a section near Grindleford where you must stop and put your foot down before crossing onto a busier road.  This section was marshaled and anyone caught infringing this rule faced instant disqualification from the event. Fortunately I was well aware of this and duly unclipped my foot, placed it down then managed to cross quite easily.  

Jac heading out of T1 onto bike phase

Once I started climbing on the bike I overtook quite a few more cyclists.  I think I was running on pure adrenaline and by the time I had climbed Froggatt Edge I was well up on my estimated time. Unfortunately, after a particularly pot-holey section near Fox Houses, my watch had paused itself, and I only realised about five minutes later when I checked my time again! This meant I had no idea what time I had made!

The bit of the bike phase I wasn't really looking forward to was the moorland straight followed by the extremely windy descent into Hathersage.  I didn't need to worry as I was really brave and just went for it.  I got down on my drops and found myself in a group of motorbikes and literally stuck with them the whole way into the town (they weren't the speedy types!) in fact, I actually passed them at one point but once in the town we all had to stop for the pedestrian crossing - annoying!

After the town section I was nearly back and approached T2 carefully, making sure I could see the dismount line.

The Run

The slowest transition on record...

T2 was a disaster!  I couldn't find my bloody trainers!  I ran down the wrong row and (without my glasses) I couldn't see the numbers very clearly on the stickers marking each competitors place.  Eventually after wasting a minute or so, I found my stuff and changed shoes etc.  I remembered to turn my number round and off I went.

Jac heading out on the run phase

The run phase went by in a flash.   I was fine apart from forgetting to take off my cycling gloves which I managed to lob at my car on the way past!  I went off at quite a fast pace and kept it up until the hillier sections!  The hills were actually really steep and I employed my "fell walk", but some people were really struggling with the gradients! The rest of the run was uneventful (bar seeing an outdoor rave in the middle of the woods and noticing a lady finding my gloves next to my car on the way back past!) and I felt happy with my pace.  

The kids running in with me

By the time I got to the finish field I really went for it all the way to the line with my family cheering me on - which always helps!  It sounds cliched but I was so proud of myself, I felt like I had done my best in all three phases and, unlike the duathlon, it had felt comfortable and fun, the weather really helped too.  Judging by how I felt the race had gone and my performance on the day, I really hoped for a time of around 1 hour 45 minutes. 

Finishing line

I noticed a van next to the finish area and discovered you could key in your race number and receive an instant printout of your time and splits which was brilliant.  I was totally amazed I had managed to complete it in a time of 1 hour 38 minutes and 51 seconds! See my full results here.

Results

Amanda wishing she hadn't 
sprinted so soon! Looong run in

After I had got my printout I cheered in Amanda, Jac, James and Reb - fellow Goyt Valley Striders, we had all enjoyed it and I'm sure we will all enter again next year. 

James speeding to the finish

My overall result was 15th lady out of 103 and I was really pleased to have the 19th fastest cycle time and 10th fastest run time out of the ladies too.  My T1 and T2 times were terribly slow and definitely something to improve on in the future.  

Reb coming in to the finish

Jac was really pleased to just complete the event (having had set backs in training) let alone do it in under 2 hours 15 minutes with an overall time of 2:04:14 and Amanda was quite pleased (her own biggest critic) with her 24th lady position and overall time of 1:42:54. I am so proud of us all! 

Standard

The organisation of the event was managed by Sheffield Triathlon Club, and what amazing organisation it was!  Everyone was friendly and helpful and for a first timer like me, it was the perfect event to start with.  I cant wait to do it all again next year!

Jac nearly home! Looking good!

Thank you to Amanda and Jac for the general support and camaraderie, Amanda for all the tri preparation advice, the lads at The Bike Factory for preparing my bike which performed perfectly, Caz and Tony of a&c workwear for the loan of the bike carrier and Super Suzie for the swimming lessons!

I hope this blog inspires others to have a go, there are many fun triathlons with shorter distances which offer a taster of the real thing - have a go, I loved it and will definitely be doing more next year.

Been there done that.

On my hit list of potentials (apart from the HH which I am definitely doing again!) are -
The Craggy Island Triathlon 
The Tameside XL Triathlon 

And I may possibly do the Crazy Legs events Macclesfield Forest Duathlon again if Brian Holland twists my arm..

Until then, happy swimming, running, biking!

TLF x

Recent Race Reports and Another Unexpected parkrun...

Birkenhead parkrun

We were staying on the Wirral (in? on? the debate is here, I'm going with the Merseysiders on this one!) for the first May Bank Holiday weekend, caravanning with our friends, the Grants and the Harrisons.  Aidan Grant is a fellow Goyt Valley Strider and suggested a bit of parkrun tourism - with us taking in Birkenhead parkrun whilst we were staying so close. After copious amounts of curry, vodka and a late night, its fair to say we were not expecting much, let alone a PB! 

Aidan and I running into the finish with Sue

I asked my friend Susanne to come, as I knew she had never been to a parkrun before and she lives in the area.  So, after a few text messages and a hastily printed barcode we were off!  We found there were friendly people, a great course and marshals with cowbells! (LOVE this!) The course consisted of 3 laps of the park, a downhill start/finish and a slightly uphill section near the end.  Its fair to say, even with a hangover and no breakfast - I loved it!  

At the end I noticed Aidan just ahead of me in the finish funnel, he was noticeably shocked at my presence and rudely shouted "What are you doing here!"  - a 21:23 PB with 2nd Lady out of 95 and 31st overall out of 239, 1st in my age category was what I was doing - booyah!! Seriously though, it was my best result yet, of any race or parkrun! Aidan and Sue also got PBs so it was well worth the early wake up! Link to results.

Rainow 5 Fell Race (5 miles)

Following on from the first race of the GVS Fell Series, was the Rainow 5 Fell Race.  A BS (not too steep, quite short) route, it was actually much harder than I thought it was going to be!  It was a nice Wednesday evening and there was a decent turnout of 211 runners.  

Lovely evening sky - crazed face!

Before the race with Helen and Estelle

I got quite a good start and could see Amelia - a fellow Strider in front of me, it was all uphill with a steeper than anticipated pull up to White Nancy and I managed to keep going - all be it slowly and get past Amelia just before the steep walking section to the summit.  

The next stage was an undulating and rocky ridge section which was hard on my feet, followed by some downhill into a little valley then back uphill to the top of the track which led downhill to the finish.  I ended up with blisters, as my choice of shoes wasn't the best, but I still managed 1st lady Strider again, and 11th lady overall in a time of 45:48.  I found that 5 miles was pushing my stamina so I have since been working on improving that and competing in some slightly 
longer races.  Link to results.

Hathersage Hilly Recce Ride and Run

The weekend after the Bank Holiday Amanda, Jac and I decided to recce the Hathersage Hilly ride and run routes in preparation for our triathlon there in July.  It was a beautiful hot day so after our duties at parkrun we made our way over to Hathersage, which was obviously a great idea because the world, his wife and kids were also there!  Cue busy roads and terrifying traffic!

We decided not to recce the pool swim, so we hopped on our roadies and headed off up the main Hathersage road.  I really felt sorry for Jac who hadn't ridden a road bike for years, it was a real baptism of fire!

After pedaling up the road for about 3km we started to question the route we were taking, the maps provided online were all Strava routes which were difficult to follow as the direction wasn't specified.  It turned out we had been going the wrong way up the busy road - damn! We decided to turn around and do it properly which turned out to be a good thing because it exposed us to the worst bit of the road twice, so we now really know what to expect!

After the bad start the ride was actually very nice, with a steady climb up Froggatt edge leading to the Fox Houses road.  One of the roads was very pot holey, so we will know to watch out for that bit!

We had a fantastic descent back into Hathersage, I even managed to keep up with the traffic and not slow anyone down so I was pleased with my confidence.  My "chicken lever" cross top brakes have really helped me to feel safer on Ladybird.  

Once back to the car we put our bikes away, had a drink and gel and then tried the run route.  We didn't get very far before it became apparent we were running out of time and the heat was energy sapping. We decided to call it a day and turn back, but having recce'd about a third of the route, we felt happy we were acquainted with the idea of where the transition points will be and where the run will go at first.

Swim training has commenced!

To crawl or not to crawl? That is the question!  I started going to my local pool once a week to improve my technique and swim fitness for the triathlon.  I tend to do 1000m with a 20 length tempo in breaststroke, but front crawl is proving more difficult!  Having watched numerous YouTube videos and talked to swim savvy friends, I am trying to up my stamina in the crawl.  I am finding it really hard to breathe at the right angle and to keep going.  Currently I am up to 4 lengths max of crawl before I am nearly drowning, so watch this space.  I may just stick with breaststroke!  One interesting part of swim training is that I ache in my lower stomach muscles the day after, this is brilliant news as the lower abdomen is the hardest to tone especially post children - I am thinking of continuing with the swimming once a week as part of my general training because the benefits are really noticeable and I enjoy it.

Lyme Park parkrun 

I ended up missing a long run training session in the week, due to having a bit of a virus so I decided to rest my legs for a couple of days, recover and then go and do Lyme Park parkrun, having had about a years gap since my last attempt!  I was interested to see if I would be any quicker considering my current form over flat 5k distance.  I definitely found the first hill section easier then ever before  - I can normally taste blood after that hill due to all the puffing!  I also felt quicker on the final pull to the finish, which may have had something to do with the handy tail wind! Anyway, I managed new event pb, finishing in 24:03.  I was 2nd Lady, 21st overall and 1st in my age category.  I was chuffed with that! Run report here. 

Shining Tor Fell Race - Photo purchased from JPK Photography

Shining Tor Fell Race (6 miles)

I was feeling the pressure for the Shining Tor Fell Race, probably as, at 10k, it was longer than I have been doing and I knew it was going to be hard after the uphill section, with flag stones along the ridge then a long downhill over rocky and narrow paths to the bottom of the hill.  I was thinking my winning streak of the previous two fell series races may be over... 

I was pleased with my progress over the first half, as expected, I think I must have let dozens past me on the ridge and downhill sections as my feet were hurting and my stamina was waning.   I only just made it back as 1st lady Strider, with Julie hot on my (sore) heels only 15 seconds behind!  - Mental note: I must train for longer races! 

Happily I seem to have broken in my Inov-8 roclites, so all in all an OK race but not my best - despite it being my local training ground and a beautiful evening with a stunning sunset!

Mount Famine Fell Race (5 miles)

Shining Tor Fell Race - After!

Wow.  I've saved the best (worst) for last! This race had to be the hardest and least prepared for race I have ever done! I noticed that not many Striders were committing to this one earlier on in the week, but I put it down to people being away etc.   Little did I know that they knew. They knew what I now know...

I wasn't even going to do this race due to it being on a Saturday, but I realised I would not be able to qualify for the Championship series if I didn't do it, as 8 races at least are required and my season is looking increasingly busy with various races and events.  I asked Caz about it and she informed me of an unusual start straight up a steep hill, hmm, I thought, hill start - right up my street. How wrong was I!  This was definitely an A category race.

At the start (a short run from the scout hut registration area), I found other Striders and we glanced up at the sheer bank to our right - Elle Bank.  I asked someone where the start was and they just pointed up the bank  - I couldn't even see the top!  I was informed that there was "a bit of tape somewhere to the right you have to go around", this was all becoming worryingly mad I actually contemplated going home there and then! The bank was strewn with fallen branches, brambles and peaty grassy earth which crumbled away beneath your feet, it was ridiculous!  But little did I know as I negotiated the crazy hill that this was just the start! 

I got up the bank relatively unscathed, with just a knee graze from a stump I didn't notice.  I had Caz's voice ringing in my ears to keep left so I did this and was in a good position at the top, it took a bit of persuasion for my legs to get going, but they eventually complied and I set off down a ridgy single track with a load of blokes puffing and wheezing from Elle Bank.  I looked up to see a typical steep hill where most of the leaders were walking,  I made good progress not letting anyone past and even passing a couple of runners on the way up.  

Shining Tor Fell Race - Photo by Sue Jeff

It didn't seem long before there was another mighty hill to negotiate, this race was going to be the slowest average speed ever!  The race basically went on in this fashion of ridiculous steepness until the downhills, OMG I am notoriously bad at the steepest of descents but this wasn't even funny.  People were passing me in what seemed like hoards saying "well done" with pity in their voices as they passed me grunting my way down the longest steepest hill, I was not enjoying that bit at all!  

Near the bottom of the steepest bit an older lady from Buxton AC passed me, I was mentally beating myself up as I stepped onto the track which was about 1.5k from the finish, and decided to get a bloody move on!  I hurtled the last section as fast as my legs would carry me, passing Alex, a fellow Strider who was walking.  I shouted back to see if he was injured and he informed me his ankle had gone, I promised to tell the marshals and carried on at breakneck speed - knowing there was very little I could do to help.

It was about 500m from the finish that I caught up with and passed the Buxton lady and a few others, she shouted words of encouragement as I passed which was nice of her, I was really tramming and was half hoping I hadn't peaked too soon! At the finish I realised I was 1st lady Strider home again so that cheered me up, but wow, I don't think I will be doing that one again in a hurry!  My time of 1:06:51 reflects the tough terrain, I was 11th lady out of 32 in a field of 141 nutters, I mean runners! 

Some of the other Strider ladies ended up helping an injured runner who had hurt his arm somehow at one of the stiles on Dimpus Clough, he had been telling them how he had just got back into racing following a leg break the year before - on Mount Famine! Oops, how unlucky! - It turned out he had indeed broken his arm!  If you fancy seeing the route watch this video from a previous years race.  

Well, that was a mammoth blog post, if you've managed to get this far well done!  I won't leave it as long next time!  

My next race is Winkle Trout 9k Fell Race next weekend, but first I'm going to run up Snowdon!

Happy Running,

TLF x