Last week I went back to the gym, I have been using the swimming pools.
This was the first time in 3 months I had been there hence my ID on gym computer system had been disabled, once it activated only 6 messages about exercise regularly from the instructors.
I have since been back a couple more times.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Cross Country League Race 2 - Sandhurst XC
Last weekend I did the second cross country race in our league. From my GPS it was 4.96 miles (8 Km) in 42:51 that's an average of 8:39 per mile.
That was quite a good pace as there was 424 ft of ascent and it was wet, muddy and windy but that was just getting to the start from the car park. As I was already wet I decided to go through the puddles and mud. Most of the puddles were shallow but occasionally they were deeper than through so just had to be a bit more careful. There was a few muddy sections which I had to be a bit more careful on the muddy downhill sections.
Afterwards there was a good selection of food and tea, I went there before getting changed back at my car.
Below is a map of the route.
That was quite a good pace as there was 424 ft of ascent and it was wet, muddy and windy but that was just getting to the start from the car park. As I was already wet I decided to go through the puddles and mud. Most of the puddles were shallow but occasionally they were deeper than through so just had to be a bit more careful. There was a few muddy sections which I had to be a bit more careful on the muddy downhill sections.
Afterwards there was a good selection of food and tea, I went there before getting changed back at my car.
Below is a map of the route.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Cycle like a truck drive
I recently came across this article about cycling which I think is a good thing to remember when out cycling. Basically keeping the revs at a fairly high RPM but use the gears more appropriately like a truck drive. Like a truck driver I also like a bacon butty and cup of tea.
http://www.trifuel.com/training/triathlon-training/want-a-pb-think-like-a-truck-drive
http://www.trifuel.com/training/triathlon-training/want-a-pb-think-like-a-truck-drive
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Cross Country League Race 1 - Datchet Dashers XC
Today was the start of the Cross Country League that our club is in which was hosted by Datchet Dashers in Windsor.
When I got there I did not start well as I snapped one of my laces. So I had to use the old trainers that I drove there in.
The start was a loop around on the grass was a bit wet and busy as there is over 200 people taking part. It then goes along a footpath just wide enough for at most two people. So I went of faster on the grass section and dodgy in and out to get better position for the path.
When the first mile split was displayed on my GPS it was 7:40 min/mile which was over 2:30min.mile quicker than the marathon I did just two weeks ago. I decided to see how long I could keep the pace up as I was in a higher position within my club than normal. My pace gradually over the miles slowed down until the last mile which it then picked up. It was a bit slippery underfoot but it was relatively flat course.
On my GPS it was 5.89 miles and I did it in 46:06. I was pleased with this time as it was faster then expected and I was able to keep the pace up for the race distance. This is the longest race out of the serious but the others have a few more hills in them.
I did try some of the cakes and sandwiches afterwards, just to help my muscles recover before the walk back to the car.
When I got there I did not start well as I snapped one of my laces. So I had to use the old trainers that I drove there in.
The start was a loop around on the grass was a bit wet and busy as there is over 200 people taking part. It then goes along a footpath just wide enough for at most two people. So I went of faster on the grass section and dodgy in and out to get better position for the path.
When the first mile split was displayed on my GPS it was 7:40 min/mile which was over 2:30min.mile quicker than the marathon I did just two weeks ago. I decided to see how long I could keep the pace up as I was in a higher position within my club than normal. My pace gradually over the miles slowed down until the last mile which it then picked up. It was a bit slippery underfoot but it was relatively flat course.
On my GPS it was 5.89 miles and I did it in 46:06. I was pleased with this time as it was faster then expected and I was able to keep the pace up for the race distance. This is the longest race out of the serious but the others have a few more hills in them.
I did try some of the cakes and sandwiches afterwards, just to help my muscles recover before the walk back to the car.
Watching a Football Match
I went to watch a game at reading fc but despite only living less then 15 miles away I decided to use 3 modes of transport each way, due to likely traffic issues due to volume and roadworks. I did think about cycling there but I do not have lights and it would be dark after the game.
So instead I settled on driving to a local village railway station, while there I got something from the bakery. Then at the other end as it was a nice day I decided to walk the 3 miles to the ground. I did stop for supplies at a petrol station to ensure I was suitably fuelled to watch a game. The last 2 miles are the end of the Reading Half Marathon which it was nice not to be struggling at this point casually walking along listening to the radio.
At the ground I resisted having any burger and chips but I did have a couple of drinks that sponsored the stand.
As the temperature had dropped and sitting for a while I was starting to get a bit cold by the end of the match and I thought getting on a crammed bus would not help. So on the walk on the way back in the dark I picked up my walking pace and soon got warm. I did stop at a shop for drink near the railway station as I was a bit warmer by now. I still had to sprint up and down some steps at the railway station as the train was pulling in as I get there, I did make it though.
So instead I settled on driving to a local village railway station, while there I got something from the bakery. Then at the other end as it was a nice day I decided to walk the 3 miles to the ground. I did stop for supplies at a petrol station to ensure I was suitably fuelled to watch a game. The last 2 miles are the end of the Reading Half Marathon which it was nice not to be struggling at this point casually walking along listening to the radio.
At the ground I resisted having any burger and chips but I did have a couple of drinks that sponsored the stand.
As the temperature had dropped and sitting for a while I was starting to get a bit cold by the end of the match and I thought getting on a crammed bus would not help. So on the walk on the way back in the dark I picked up my walking pace and soon got warm. I did stop at a shop for drink near the railway station as I was a bit warmer by now. I still had to sprint up and down some steps at the railway station as the train was pulling in as I get there, I did make it though.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Dublin City Marathon 2009
At the Expo I collected my race number from the first desk as I was number 99. It was a lot busier then previous years and I therefore did not here my phone ring to meet one of the pacers in the group. I was also looking to see if there was a long sleeve top that matched the supplied Adidas kit but there was only a short sleeve top.
The night before the marathon I was in Italian restaurant with some family and I had a safe choice of Spaghetti Bolognese. However I also had a rum based cocktail it did have a few fruit juices, hopefully that would not affect me on race day as I do not normally drink rum.
The pacers met at a hotel (5*) about 2km from were I was staying. It turns out this hotel is were the elite runners are, we where then taken 30 minute before the start to the race. turns out we where getting warmed up with the elites!!!
It was pacers to the left and elites to the right. So I decided against putting on my old trackie bottoms and bin liner as per usual pre marathon. Glad I had previously bought a new tracksuit (same make as the main sponsor) so I did look ok for a change.
We where then taken to the front of the race where we would collect our balloon.
We where all expecting either a normal size balloon or a foil balloon (like happy 30th. Instead they were BIG I would say weather balloon size, which I had a nice pink one with 4:30 on!!!
We then had to walk through the runners to our position, it was like the parting of the red sea.
Before the start the band played the Irish national anthem and Danny Boy.
There was about 3 or 4m ribbon attached so when running you had to be carefully not to get tangled with the other balloon (this happened a few times), trees and road signs. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be when I saw the size of them, luckily the wind had easied a lot form the previous two days. There were a few double takes when spectators saw the size of the balloon, a few people asked if they could have it but I needed it for a few more hours still.
It was strange when I looked around about half way round as the whole of the road they were all following us. The number of people following us gradually decreased as we went round.
When I got to mile 22 I was interviewed by a person from RTE (Irish TV) as I was running along. This is the section where I would normally struggle at on this cause, likely this time I was not and was able to speak about the pacing using GPS, stopwatch, pace band and the three of us doing the same.
In the last mile and a bit we were encouraging those who could to go a bit faster while we maintained our pace. All of the 4:30 pacers crossed the line together and were greeted by the race director who congratulated each of us.
All three of us in our pacing group were all within a few metres all the way around which was good for pacing and we finished with a a chip time of 4:28:53.
These completed my Grand Slam (triple header) of endurance events in Ireland this year and also adds International Marathon Pacer to my list of sporting achievements.
I can still be sponsored online at http://www.justgiving.com/OneBobbyRobson/ raising money for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.
Then I went back to the elite/pacer hotel for shower and a few Vit G drinks (the first one went down quicker than they poured it) before heading to Kennedy's for a quick pint on the way back to the hotel. Also stopped at a chip shop (The Lido on Pearse Street) before going to Eddie Rockets for some more high fat and protein food/drink just to help aid the muscle recovery process.
The photos are provided by a member of Boards.ie and there complete set of photos is available on flickr.
The night before the marathon I was in Italian restaurant with some family and I had a safe choice of Spaghetti Bolognese. However I also had a rum based cocktail it did have a few fruit juices, hopefully that would not affect me on race day as I do not normally drink rum.
The pacers met at a hotel (5*) about 2km from were I was staying. It turns out this hotel is were the elite runners are, we where then taken 30 minute before the start to the race. turns out we where getting warmed up with the elites!!!
It was pacers to the left and elites to the right. So I decided against putting on my old trackie bottoms and bin liner as per usual pre marathon. Glad I had previously bought a new tracksuit (same make as the main sponsor) so I did look ok for a change.
We where then taken to the front of the race where we would collect our balloon.
We where all expecting either a normal size balloon or a foil balloon (like happy 30th. Instead they were BIG I would say weather balloon size, which I had a nice pink one with 4:30 on!!!
We then had to walk through the runners to our position, it was like the parting of the red sea.
Before the start the band played the Irish national anthem and Danny Boy.
There was about 3 or 4m ribbon attached so when running you had to be carefully not to get tangled with the other balloon (this happened a few times), trees and road signs. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be when I saw the size of them, luckily the wind had easied a lot form the previous two days. There were a few double takes when spectators saw the size of the balloon, a few people asked if they could have it but I needed it for a few more hours still.
It was strange when I looked around about half way round as the whole of the road they were all following us. The number of people following us gradually decreased as we went round.
When I got to mile 22 I was interviewed by a person from RTE (Irish TV) as I was running along. This is the section where I would normally struggle at on this cause, likely this time I was not and was able to speak about the pacing using GPS, stopwatch, pace band and the three of us doing the same.
In the last mile and a bit we were encouraging those who could to go a bit faster while we maintained our pace. All of the 4:30 pacers crossed the line together and were greeted by the race director who congratulated each of us.
All three of us in our pacing group were all within a few metres all the way around which was good for pacing and we finished with a a chip time of 4:28:53.
These completed my Grand Slam (triple header) of endurance events in Ireland this year and also adds International Marathon Pacer to my list of sporting achievements.
I can still be sponsored online at http://www.justgiving.com/OneBobbyRobson/ raising money for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.
Then I went back to the elite/pacer hotel for shower and a few Vit G drinks (the first one went down quicker than they poured it) before heading to Kennedy's for a quick pint on the way back to the hotel. Also stopped at a chip shop (The Lido on Pearse Street) before going to Eddie Rockets for some more high fat and protein food/drink just to help aid the muscle recovery process.
The photos are provided by a member of Boards.ie and there complete set of photos is available on flickr.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Ipswich Half Marathon in August 09
Just a week after completing the Eireman I took part in Ipswich half Marathon.
This started and finished on athletics track, I did not know there was one in Ipswich.
The start was over 1/2 mile from the race HQ so I just about got there in time for the start. I was just planning to get round in about 2:10 (10 minute mile pace), so I set of a steady pace. However after 3 miles my brother overtook me but I had no muscle power to respond. I was expecting it to be flat but there was a quite few undulations all the way around the course.
for the next few miles I could see my brother about 200m ahead of me. However gradually I was catching him up and overtook him at 8 miles. From there on I did not look back but he could easily see me as I was wearing my dayglow Eireman t-shirt. When I got past 10 miles I picked up the pace slightly and then again at about 12 miles. I still had enough energy for a good sprint on the track. Which I completed it in under 2:05 which I was pleased with due to the race the previous week.
I only knew about 1 mile of the course which was through the main shopping street.
This started and finished on athletics track, I did not know there was one in Ipswich.
The start was over 1/2 mile from the race HQ so I just about got there in time for the start. I was just planning to get round in about 2:10 (10 minute mile pace), so I set of a steady pace. However after 3 miles my brother overtook me but I had no muscle power to respond. I was expecting it to be flat but there was a quite few undulations all the way around the course.
for the next few miles I could see my brother about 200m ahead of me. However gradually I was catching him up and overtook him at 8 miles. From there on I did not look back but he could easily see me as I was wearing my dayglow Eireman t-shirt. When I got past 10 miles I picked up the pace slightly and then again at about 12 miles. I still had enough energy for a good sprint on the track. Which I completed it in under 2:05 which I was pleased with due to the race the previous week.
I only knew about 1 mile of the course which was through the main shopping street.
Eireman in August 09
They had to cancel the swim due to safety issues due to strong winds and waves. Any other days it was calm (see photo below), it was left over part of a hurricane system from america area.
This left it as a duathlon, slightly longer then normal ones with the 112 miles (180km) cycle and a marathon to finish with.
They started us about 40 minutes later than planned swim start (so I was ahead of schedule) with 30 seconds intervals to spread us out on the cycle. The other distances had to do a run first before their cycle. The cycle was 4 loops on a closed section of the motorway (N11 J21 to J24), the road surface was the best I have ever cycled on, smooth with no potholes. However there where quite a few undulations.
Going northbound it was regularly going over 30 mph and cruising at over 20mph. There was a good picnic stop, I assume that what the P sign in Ireland means, I was stocking up on gels, drinks and bananas there.
The southbound section of the loop had more of the inclines and was also in to the headwind sometimes strong wind and a bit of rain and the odd bit of hail but was ok temperature wise. When you are going up an incline on aerobars and only doing 8mph you know its bad. With every pedal stroke I was inching my way to the finish (a joke for any locals or use google maps). I completed the 4 loops of this and back to the transition in a bit under 8 hours. My legs where already feeling sore from the inclines and I had to run a marathon.
This left it as a duathlon, slightly longer then normal ones with the 112 miles (180km) cycle and a marathon to finish with.
They started us about 40 minutes later than planned swim start (so I was ahead of schedule) with 30 seconds intervals to spread us out on the cycle. The other distances had to do a run first before their cycle. The cycle was 4 loops on a closed section of the motorway (N11 J21 to J24), the road surface was the best I have ever cycled on, smooth with no potholes. However there where quite a few undulations.
Going northbound it was regularly going over 30 mph and cruising at over 20mph. There was a good picnic stop, I assume that what the P sign in Ireland means, I was stocking up on gels, drinks and bananas there.
The southbound section of the loop had more of the inclines and was also in to the headwind sometimes strong wind and a bit of rain and the odd bit of hail but was ok temperature wise. When you are going up an incline on aerobars and only doing 8mph you know its bad. With every pedal stroke I was inching my way to the finish (a joke for any locals or use google maps). I completed the 4 loops of this and back to the transition in a bit under 8 hours. My legs where already feeling sore from the inclines and I had to run a marathon.
I changed in to my running gear keeping just 3 layers on as I did not want to get cold out on the run in the wind. The run was 2 laps with a few miles through a woods and then to Tesco's in Gorey and back. Seems easy bit they seemed to take a route that found every hill in the area. I got to about 12 miles and then the heavy rain started, I made it back to transition and put my cycle waterproof on and went out for the final lap.
I was using the run/walk method which I got the furthest in an IM before my legs went, this was about 15 miles where I had no strength to run up inclines. So I had walk the many inclines and only run the "flat" and downhills. A few miles after this I was overtaken by another competitor who said I was the last person now. Quiting was not an option as I was running for charity (plug for just giving page) http://www.justgiving.com/OneBobbyRobson/ , Tractors don't quit they just keep going on at a slow pace!!
Once I was on the country lanes I was joined by the race organiser on a bike and flanked by two first aid vehicles.I was having a good chat to him about the event the changes they had to make earlier in the morning. When we got to the woods section it was quite dark but he had a torch with him that we had to use by this time running was out of the question I was just walking to the end. I made it to then end when there was still some spectators to cheer me over the line and quite a few first aiders.
I did the run in just over 6 hours with a total of over 14 hours which would have been on target if added my predicted swim time. I finished in the top 50 pity there was only 50 finishers which there was 63 entered plus a few relay teams.
There was no medals but I was glad of the space blanket thing.I must have been in a bad way as they took me and all my stuff back to my hotel (about 100 meters away) in a jeep and put it in my car before I attempted the 3 flights of stairs sideways style. I wasn't that hungry just some light snacks and drink, I made up for this in the following days with Irish breakfast, chips, curry chips a local thing up in Co. Roscommon. I even put on 1 lb and 1% body fat this week!! At least I have a half marathon next sunday.
I was using the run/walk method which I got the furthest in an IM before my legs went, this was about 15 miles where I had no strength to run up inclines. So I had walk the many inclines and only run the "flat" and downhills. A few miles after this I was overtaken by another competitor who said I was the last person now. Quiting was not an option as I was running for charity (plug for just giving page) http://www.justgiving.com/OneBobbyRobson/ , Tractors don't quit they just keep going on at a slow pace!!
Once I was on the country lanes I was joined by the race organiser on a bike and flanked by two first aid vehicles.I was having a good chat to him about the event the changes they had to make earlier in the morning. When we got to the woods section it was quite dark but he had a torch with him that we had to use by this time running was out of the question I was just walking to the end. I made it to then end when there was still some spectators to cheer me over the line and quite a few first aiders.
I did the run in just over 6 hours with a total of over 14 hours which would have been on target if added my predicted swim time. I finished in the top 50 pity there was only 50 finishers which there was 63 entered plus a few relay teams.
There was no medals but I was glad of the space blanket thing.I must have been in a bad way as they took me and all my stuff back to my hotel (about 100 meters away) in a jeep and put it in my car before I attempted the 3 flights of stairs sideways style. I wasn't that hungry just some light snacks and drink, I made up for this in the following days with Irish breakfast, chips, curry chips a local thing up in Co. Roscommon. I even put on 1 lb and 1% body fat this week!! At least I have a half marathon next sunday.
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