Resting

Well its been a while since I last posted, Micks moved, Saggs gets a bronze at national, Jase gets a awesome 3rd(Bike looks nice) Matt, Pete and Daz storm SA(Well done). Even Kelda recovering from injury, The association membership is keeping me well busy(Lots of new members), what with meetings, life etc. I'm hardly doing any training. A blessing in disguise as my knees required the rest. I managed to get out Sat just gone for 77 miles on the bike, rested Sunday, cycled 52 on Mon, Swam 3000m on Tue rest Wed and wait for it ran yesterday.Get in there. Good and bad news 1. Knees better but still a little tender. 2. Managed an Hr. 3. Feels like nowt now which is nice. 4. No more running till Wed's duathlon I think though. I have a stag w/end in Nottingham so not sure if I will feel too good by wed. I really have become a tee total er this year so the lads have to give me some lee way!!!!!(I hope) Fly back to Belfast Sun so a few days recovery. Which I think my body will like. Have got some photos from Malaga and Connemara to get on site. I will get round to some time. Oh saw Fat boy Elliot at Cranners Wed he was doing well. Was nice to see him he hoping to do the sprint there if he can get off. Must go been called to gate.

Weekly Update

So since being back after Malaga Training Week I have still not been recovering but I have finally listened to my body and decided to take a well earned rest. So....

Mon 06/04/09. 1st day back to work, killer feeling really tired. Did 22oom swim in evening really hard going.

Tue 07Th did a 45 min L3 run felt OK. Core work in eve.



Wed 08Th work still killing me trying to catch up, keep smiling but really its pissing me off. Do hard 28oom swim set in eve.



Thu 09Th. I cant help my self and get up 04:30 in gym for 05:00 onto tredder. 30 min warm up at Low L3 then 30 min at Low L4 with 30 min warm down at Lowest L3. Covered 12 miles in Hr and half, Avg HR 143 my legs are in bits later on in the day and I'm struggling to walk. Tanya my masseur gets me in for 30 Min's she is ace. It is just a courtesy check over she confirms my deepest fears my legs are in bits after a Ultra Marathon and training camp, in particular my Achilles. Time for Uncle Reg to take a rest can I do it.......... On ferry travel back to the Mighty Ingerland for Easter to visit In laws and parents. Yes my bike, run kit and swim kit are packed.



Fri 10Th. Awoken at 05:30 on ferry time to get off and travel home had 3 glasses of red with Mrs S last night not feeling to good. Get to Lichfield for 08:30. Meet the in laws UN-pack and have an Hr snooze. To be honest was going to do an Endurance swim Set today 7X 500m sets with 30 secs rest. I decide not to I need the rest I'm getting run down. So have done nowt all day relax, had meal out with Mrs S family was nice but had a few beers which is too many for me and I feel a little ropey.......... Want to get out for a quick spin today say 40 mile nice low gear,work on the technique.We will see.

Home

Got back Sat 04/04/09. No hassle with the flight. Spent some quality time with Mrs S, got her a nice gift from airport she was happy. Nice one. Diesel well happy to see his Dad. Used today as a recovery day.

So woke up this morning 05/05/09 after the best sleep I had for the last week. Mrs S said I could go out for a wee spin. Did 1hr 52 on bike and covered 32 mies. God its windy. Doing nowt for the rest of the day apart from resting and getting stuff ready for work. Going to cram some training in Mon to Wed then its to my parents for Easter so will have my rest then and stuff my face with Chocolate. Nice.....

Fri 03/04/09

So the day after the Epic climb. Actually feeling ok had good feed, wine and rest. Weather is nice today so try and get some colour in my skin. Its our last training day today. Shorts and short sleeve top. YES. 50 mile spin out today use it as a recovery ride. As usual out here it started with some climbing then some great descending I love it. Keep putting the hammer down every so often. Back into climbing well undulating. Nice coffee stop in the sunshine!!!! Then home Andy the owner is out with us 20 miles in and a few of us pull away myself, Richard Allen and 2 others. 20 miles till home. I waited till we were about 3 miles out and went for it. Gutted Al and Rich caught me up with mile to go. But it was great fun. Feed up then another 1hr swim. Which proves to be hard as all the group are feeling tired. Last minute panick tan then pack up bags and bike boxes. A late night did not hit the pit till at least 1, drank some wine. Early start to catch flight back home to Belfast. Though Im tired Ive had a great week and am looking forward to a little rest.

Sierra Nevada

Wed 02/04/09.

One thing and one thing only today: 19 mile & 5734 feet of climbing, continuous no breaks. Monachil 2 Sierra Nevada. This is the climb they do for the Tour Of Spain and they will be doing it again this year. Weather has picked up a little so shorts and arm warmers thinking God I'm going to sweat all this climbing but its a Ski Resort at the top its going to be cold. Anyway as usual I had a good feed, bike, kit and myself ready. It was decided as A group that we would go off slowest 1st then 5 mins intervals. Record for this within this Training Camp is 1hr 38 by some Pro Rider. So I'm thinking 2:15 to 2:30. Got off to a great start as I nearly missed my starting time. Anyway off I went remembering my tips from Richard Allen and Andy(Owner) go easy at the start do not over do it(Great advice) Didn't want to go to slow as had a female in front of me and one behind who is hoping to qualify for Kona(Just missed out last year)this year I believe and is a good hill climber. So straight in to the Granny Ring and spinning, Within minutes it was hairpin after hairpin. HR 168-171, jersey undone arm warmers down. Jesus and we only just started. Was not feeling too good but kept going, after 25 minutes I had caught the rider ahead, was I going to fast? How was she feeling? Anyway this is when we hit the steepest part of this continuous ascent. 18% of pure hell for 5 minutes. Was lucky if I was hitting 4mph. I had caught another rider up which was a nice feeling. So back on with the climbing. I managed to pick off another 2 of the slower riders. For the 1st time ever on the bike I had a good rhythm going and was spinning. So half way point. 1hr 1min down. Weather turning cold now so I had to stop and do jersey up as I could not do on the move. At this point I was riding in the middle of the road and no where near the edge, was getting Vertigo. Then I started to hit the snow and Ski Resorts I'm 2500m above sea level, seen no other riders and Its getting hard. 3 miles to go and Richard Allen catches me along with 2 of the other 3 riders that had gone behind me. I was gutted that they had got me but well happy I had got this far. I was getting my normal blurred vision(Start of my Migraines) so forgot about my time and concentrated on breathing and slowing my heart rate down, It was the glare off the snow. So anyway got to the top where all the locals and tourists are skiing and snowboarding with snow as high as 6 foot and I'm cycling up it. Anyway hit the finish feeling great and with a massive sigh of relief that I had done the climb. 1st thing 1st get in to the darkest place I could put my darker shades on close my eyes and pray I did not get a Migraine. Thank god I did not bit did have headache for rest of the day. So okay for the bit you are waiting for, My Final time was.......... 2hrs 7mins. Happy days. Richard Allen hit 1hr 43. If you wanted to know, and no the pro women did not catch me but did get 2hr 6min

Malga Training Week

Right I'm a little behind here. So will do catch up then try and update every day till sat.



Sun 29/03/09. Left Belfast nice and early looking forward to the sunshine. Met at airport by Andy owner of villa) and Richard Allen(A good start for the resident Pro to meet us) So got to Villa,settled in and the wetsuits on for swim set watched by the eagle eye Allen. De-Briefed on my swim stroke(Great tips) then out for a 5 mile run. I only did a bout 2.5 legs still hurting from my Epic Ultra.



Mon 30/03/09. Terrible nights sleep and its freezing no sunshine. Man this is not what I signed up for. So today is a 2.5k swim and 2 hr hilly bike. Had great feed for breekie. The food cooked by Andy and his Missus(Tracey) is top draw. Swim was good today trying to work on points noted by Richard, cramped up. You know the feeling, so only got 2.2k in. Bike done, still no sun. Covered 38 miles in 2hr 20, 1290 feet of climbing Jesus its hilly out here. No wonder the Spaniards are strong.

Tue 31/03/09. Better night sleep, legs still feeling affects of Ultra. Woke up to fog, man its meant to be hot. So today a 74 mile hilly bike, we wait till 11 for sun to break through and it finally does. YES. Jesus what hills, descents and views one hell of a bike ride and the sun was out. Lunch provided, juice a mechanic, van,guide etc. Richard Allen out with us as per all other sets. 4hr 30 cycling time 1990 feet of climbing. I have never ever climbed hills like this or as many. I really look forward to eating but struggle a little to get down me. Have a couple of glasses of red. Get a quota of 3 bottles a night between the group. Brill. Get myself a massage. Ouch my fears are confirmed legs in bits. Get skins on do some stretching and hit my pit.

Wed 01/04/09. The sun is finally here yes bring it on and I have a tan mark from y/day bike. So I have a dilemma 13 mile run today. Do I run or not???? I really do need to recover I seriously did not realise how bad I would be feeling from Ultra. So like a tool I am I decide to go on run. BIG mistake. I really struggle. Get back to Villa shower, stretch get food and fluids in and now sit here typing this. The rest of group out to do open water swim. I finally listen to my body and will stay here at Villa and top up on my tan.

The Ultra Marathon

Or as I like to call it 39.2 miles of PAIN. So I don't really know where to start. I took part in this race 9 days ago but what with work and the training camp(later blog) Ive not been on to write about this horrific experience. For Mick photos will follow when I'm back home. OK im going to try and keep it short and sweet. Starting way Back when both Kaz and I decided we wanted to do something different training wise. We came across the Connemara Ultra Marathon in Galway. This was my 1st mistake, aggreeing to do this with Kaz as she can run, is a whippet and also built like 1... and most of all at least she has done a Marathon. Furthest I had run was 15 miles. So months of training go past and Ive run 20 miles as my longest. This was my 2nd mistake I was counting on my endurance from the bike to get me through(It did). Don't get me wrong Ive been pounding the streets getting the miles in as my weight loss will vouch for, Yippee, Anyway 2 months before Kaz gets ill and we have lots of in and outs of hospital, visits,tests etc. Bee all and end all there is no way she is running.... Oh dear not good news in all aspects. She is getting better.

So....First time doing the connemara half- Weather was brill! Perfect day for the run. Found the hills tough but good going. Legs are still feeling it today!

Learned a lot from the race however - I under trained and thus found the experience far tougher going as a result. Thanks to all helping out at the water stations and support on the route.
The experience of the race for me, was pure hell. I had set off ice and steady as not to blow. 9 min mile pace going to about 8:30, not too sure when we (A fellow Englishman Andy P) hit the 13 mile point was about 1:50. Was feeding good and felt OK. Mile 18 - 20 went through my 1st little wobble. 20-26, OK but slowing. This is where it all when Pete Tong...........

To give you an idea here's what happened to me:Crossed the line- shattered, dizzy and legs in bits! Blood-sugar levels seriously low when I crossed the line was very close to passing out! -Completely disorientated.
Was desperate for energy -no bananas, no chocolate, no energy drink even available at finish line - hadn't the energy to walk to bag area/figure out where it was or even to get my medal and t-shirt. Thank god Kaz was there- life saver.
Thank god there were such sound people in the race. Really helped lift my spirits afterwards.

So what happened at the 26 mile point, there were various feed stations around where you could leave food and drink. You guessed it my major feed/re-fuel was at this point to help me cover the last 13 miles. Somebody had nicked my stuff. I hit this point at 3:58. So was still on my target time of sub 6 hrs. I mean 2 hrs to cover a half..... how hard could it be. 2hrs 49 minutes later I crossed that finish line to my amazement. Basically I BLEW. I had not eaten anything of substance from 18 -32 miles. I had put fluids in. I was now down to a shuffle and walk. By the end it was a walk and rest. I had power walkers doing the half flying passed me. I am so glad I have done it though and have got the t-shirt. Now the days have passed I'm picking up the positives from this challenge the major one being I have the inner strength to keep going. A MASSIVE well organised event. Glad Kaz was there with me I needed the support.