Edinburgh Marathon

Just a quick update here, full report later.

I finished it in... 4.33 (Unofficial).

My goals were:

1. Not to get injured. I don't think I did. It might be a bit early to tell as everything hurts at the mo.
2. To keep fueled and hydrated. I had a SIS or Honey Stinger gel every 30 minutes, including at the start, for 3.5 hours. (I couldn't stomach one at 4 hours, I had already taken 8 by this point. I figured that would see me through). Hydration was slightly more tricky. I took on water at every station but the water station at 18 miles had run out! Other than the psychological downer, I was fine. I had already taken on enough to see me through.
3. To get PB's at 5k, 10k, 10 miles, half and full. I got a PB at the 10k (54 minutes, PB by 10 min), PB at 10 miles (1.30, PB by 1 minute), PB at half (1.59, PB by 3-4 min) and of course the PB in the Full (this was my first Marathon!). PB in 5k whilst doing a marathon? Who was I kidding. It would have been daft even to try.

I am really, really happy with my achievements for the day. Thank you Jen for now cooking roast lamb Sunday Dinner!

Edinburgh Marathon

The Plan

Edinburgh Marathon isn't a top priority race, the Antwerp is. I'm doing the Marathon for the experience. My plans reflect this.

1. Don't get injured. What ever happens, I can not allow myself to get carried away and then get injured. I am only 8 weeks away from Antwerp!
2. Keep fueled and hydrated, see weather below.
3. Get a PB's for 5k, 10k, Half Marathon and Marathon. This should be achievable as my training runs have all been quicker than my last races at those distances. A PB for the Marathon is a given, provided I finish, because this is my first one!

The weather

Scotland in widely know for changeable weather, however, we have a high pressure slap bang on top of us that has raised the temperature by a least 5C in the last few days! The forecast is for tomorrow is to be 18C (64F), clear Sky's with a gentle SE breeze. I don't believe I have ever run in temperatures like this before.

As a result, on top of running my first marathon, I have the following challenges:

1. Don't burn to a crisp. I planning on running in t-shirt rather than a vest. The vest would be cooler but I think I burn my shoulders badly if I don't cover them up.
2. Keep hydrated. To balance drinking lots but not so much that I need the loo, liquid sloshes around in my tummy and then gives me a stitch.
3. Balance the electrolytes. I'm not ashamed to say I'm a sweaty Betty. If I don't watch my salt intake, I'm going to cramp up, loose energy and probably get very ill.

If I fail at any of the above I'm going to fail all the points on my plan. Apart from the marathon PB that is, I am definitely going to finish!

The Preparation

I have:

1. Factor 40 kids, waterproof, one application, sun cream. I also have a little sachet to carry if I think I need it at the last minute.
2. Honey Stinger 'gels' for energy.
3. SIS gels (blackcurrant flavoured snot) for electrolyte and energy.
4. I'm heading out to try and buy some Cliff Shot Blocks (hopefully)

Now all I need to do is find away to carry it all! I have my race belt that has slots for gels and I have run with gels in my shoe laces before but I also want to try to find a small 'pouch' to carry the Cliff Shot Blocks.

And...

I'm feeling pretty relaxed. I'm quite surprised by my lack of nerves. Hopefully it is just a sign that I have done the training and the preparation that I need to see me through.

I'll let you know how it goes!

Long run

Did the same long run as last time but added a bit more on so it included a hill for 10 hill sprints. It was great weather again, although there was a little drizzle it was warm enough to be quite pleasant.

It was fantastic to be able to run 13 miles after my mammoth Saturday session but it felt great. It hit me at 4pm the when I started to get grump but a yogurt helped!

I also used up a Christmas gift voucher tonight...

A full body massage. Yum

I can do this!

Saturdays are a mega training day for me. The plan is to do swimming, cycling and running. Really push the body in these last few weeks before I can start to taper (only 11 weeks to race day!)

I have had doubts in my head in my ability to do my Half Ironman in Antwerp on 2nd August. Yesterday, I had a realisation. I can do this!

This is what happened...

I left the house at 7.30 and cycled 6.5 miles to swim training. Swam for an hour, about 2500m. Had some luck warm porridge then jumped on my bike. I haven't been cycling with this group before, but it didn't matter, they weren't cycling in their normal groups either! 40 miles later we arrived back at the swimming pool were I grabbed my swim kit and cycled the 6.5 miles home. When I got home, I stripped off some layers, put on my trainers and went for a run. The legs and body will always feel sluggish off of a long run so I just grinned, with my head held high and put one foot in front of the other. I was going to do 3 miles but after 2 I decided that I could, and should, do more. So I continued on my 5 mile route. At mile 3 I put in ten 10 second 'sprints' followed by 20 seconds of recovery jogging. The sprints got slower and slower and so did the recovery jogs but I kept it up. I then jogged the last mile, down hill, to home.

I did the maths.

I swam over race distance. I cycled 4 miles short of race distance. I ran over a third of race distance but also included 10 sprints.

I started the day at 7.30am and finished at 1.45pm. 6 hours 15 minutes. Including 30min faff before and after swim, including faff of taking my bike up to my flat and slowly changing my footwear.

I can do this race! Yippee!

Long Run

What a stunning morning for a run. There was hardly a cloud in the sky and just the right temperature to run in a t-shirt but not get too hot. (I did wear gloves though, my hands get soooo cold.

The plan was to run at race pace, put in some hill sprints at 3/4 of the way round and finish off running any way I could. I decided to run to work (drop the work bag), run to Portobello along the promenade, run to Holyrood park, do 10 short hill sprints, then jog back to work.

This worked a treat. When I got to work (3 miles), I had a wee drink. I then ran along the sea front for 5 miles. Stunning, simply stunning. The sea was as flat as a millpond. The sun was shining, there was a gentle breeze to keep me cool and the fresh smell of salt. At mile 8 I popped in to a gym for another quick drink and headed to Holyrood park.

I miss judged the distance a bit and didn't make it to the hill for 1.5 hours in to the run so I did 10 second sprints followed by 10 second easy. I was supposed to hurt. It was supposed to make me feel nauseous. I was supposed to find it hard to finish. The sprints did hurt, I didn't feel too sick and I didn't find it too hard to finish the run to work.

I was totally stoked by the run. 12 miles before work is great. AND in 1hr50min! That is a PB for me and would have ended in a sub 2hr 1/2 marathon if I had don't another mile.

As a result, I think that I need to either run quicker (?) or judge my distances better and get those sprints on a hill. I think I'll try for the later.

I'm loving my running now, even if I couldn't walk properly for the rest of the day!

ET training

On Saturday I joined Edinburgh Triathletes for a bonza training session.

It all started with a gentle ride to their swimming pool in Dalkeith, 6.5 miles away. It is a gentle ride, just up hill most of the way!

The swim session went well. There were quite a lot of us in the lane so we did lots of 50m sets. It would have been a mess if we did anything different, we would have been annoying the hell out of each other trying to overtake.

After the swim we went straight out on to the bike. My training now involves my cycling as hard as I can and when I think I can't go any faster, to spin really quickly for 30 secs. I did this for 30km and my legs felt like mush from the start. Never fear, the bike was followed by a...

You guessed it, a run. 4 of us donned our trainer and went to a run. For my runs, I am supposed to run at race pace, for that distance, and when I get to 3/4 of the way round, I'm to put in 10 hill sprints. We had no hills where we were so I had to make do with flat sprints, but that didn't really work either. My legs felt like mush.

I was pretty pooped by the time I got back to my bike but I simple changed my shoes and headed home. The journey home is mostly down hill, apart from the hill out of Dalkeith. That nearly finished my legs off! Half way home the heavens opened. I mean properly opened. Oh well, I'm sure it would have done my legs good AND I was going home.

Great day!

Start them young

I got my Niece a bike helmet for her 1st birthday, got to start her young!

About 16 months old.

Confession

I have a confession to make.

When I entered Antwerp 70.3, I got told that I could withdraw at anytime until a date in June AND get some money back. It has been in the back of my mind as a get out clause if it all gets too much.

Not now!

My accommodation AND travel across the English Channel has now been booked. I will book my train down south next week when the tickets become available.

I can't and wont back out now!

Bishopbriggs Krystal Klear Sprint Triathlon

On Sunday 3rd May I entered Bishopbriggs Krystal Klear Sprint Triathlon. I was really looking forward to it. It was my first triathlon since Gullane in July last year and I wanted to test myself out. A sprint triathlon involves 750m Swim, 20k bike and 5k run.

My goal for the day was to get a faster time than my last sprint tri, which was 1.25, race on my new bike for the first time and to check out my fitness after a winter of training.

Swim

The swim takes place in swimming pool, rather than open water, which was great because it felt quite cool outside. When you enter, you say what your swim time will be. I took my time from last year, 12.50, and took 20 seconds off. I have done more swimming this year so I hooped that it would make me quicker. I chatted to a girl, Suzanne, I met in training about her entry time and started to think that I should have put a faster time down. The format of the race means that you swim with 4 or 5 others all who have entered a similar swim time. You start in the pool, with different colour hats on and go at 5 second intervals. I'm glad to say that I was the starter in my lane, when the whistle went I was off. It became clear to me that I had miss-judged my swim time pretty early on as I pulled away from the man behind me. By the end of the swim I had lapped one chap twice, and others at least once, maybe twice too. I was the this out of the pool which felt really good, really strong.

T1

Ok, no records just number, helmet, shoes, unrack bike and go.

Bike

I had my new bike with me today. I haven't been out on it much at all so I was always going to be a bit slower that I could be. The course was pretty slow. It was an out and back thing that you did 4 loops of. What made it slow was the turn by transition, it was more like a chicane with a right, left, 180 turn round a cone, right, left and off again.

(Taken by Alister Russell)

I was a nearly half way through my third lap when I noticed a body being attended too on the verge. It was Suzanne, one of the girls from our team. She was being attended to so I carried on, my plan was to get medical attention to her when I got to the marshal at the far turn around, but when I turned the corner in the road they were already driving towards me. I don't know whether I did a bad thing carrying on, I had only met her the day before. When I got to the turn around by transition, I shouted to her coach and friends that she was down but had medical attention. When I cycled past her she was sat up. I shouted was she ok. She said yes, get a move on.

T2

Again, ok. Rack bike, remove helmet, change shoes and off.

Run

The run went well. I just ran at the pace that felt ok. I have no concept of how fast I was actually going. Nobody past me for quite a while, which was good. I came to a sign that said 2k and I got a bit demoralised, I felt like I had gone further, but I was in my stride so I picked up the pace. 1k later there was a sign saying 1k! I don't know if I missed 2 other count down markers or if these were the only ones but, boy, it helped me. I picked up my pace again, over took some folks and dug in. I started to lose it again towards the end, got re taken by a chap. The supports start to to shout 'dig in, your nearly there' so I dug. I heard a familiar voice from our team, so I sprinted! It felt good.

Final time? 1.22.34

Swim: 12.07, T1: 1.04, Bike: 43.39, T2: 0.53, Run: 24.48

And Suzanne?

31 stitches later!

Killin time

Last Saturday, 25th April!, a six of us headed to Killin in the Highlands for an awesome weekend of camping, cycling, walking and a top BBQ.


We all headed out of Edinburgh in 3 different cars, at 3 different times but joined up again in Killin for drinks in the bar! We set up our uber tent and let me tell you four pairs of hands do NOT make it easier to put up a tent. We all knew what we were doing each persons way was obviously the best! But we got there in the end in good humour and still friends.


After a quick beer in the local hostelry, down by Loch Tay, we hit our sleeping bags in preparation for our next day. The famous five were heading up in to the mountains to bag some Munro's, I was to head out on my bike!

The walkers left and I did the final prep on my bike. My route for the day was to be a 56 mile loop around the mountain chain that the famous five were walking round.

My start of the route was to head from the campsite back to Killin, 3 miles and then up Glen Lochay. Glen Lochay was a great warm up, the road made its way up the Glen, weaving in and out of trees, through the mountains until you ran out of road. That was when my little old road bike turned into an off road bike! The road turned in to a farm track and then with lots of pot holes, nothing my trusty steed could not handle! This is the view back down the valley.





It was a perfect day for a bike ride, blue skies, fluffy clouds and not too much wind. By the time I got to the top of the zig zag track I was down to wearing just a t-shirt. I was loving it all so much that I didn't want to stop to take photos. I was so in the moment, I felt almost like I was meditating. I was at one with my bike and with the mountains.






The ride down the other side, in to Glen Lyon was fantastic. Once the stupid sheep realised that he didn't have to run helter skelter down the road in front of me but could turn right or left at any time on to the grass! I didn't trust the road, which had improved to the point where I could call it a road, not to throw up more pot holes so I kept in good control of my speed. That being said, my forearms were really sore with all the breaking by the time I got to the valley floor.

I popped out from the right, at the far end of the loch. My friends were walking in the hills that you can see in the back ground.

Glen Lyon is about 20 miles long and it is mostly down hill, stunning scenery. I had to stop and put my buff back on and my jacket as there was a chilly head wind but it didn't matter, I was going down hill!

I was naughty, I stopped at the Post Office half way down Glen Lyon for a scone, butter and jam. Yummy. The view was pretty good too. :-)

I was very contented when I set on my way again.

The rest of the ride was really beautiful, but I didn't want to stop to take photo's. It start to get quite hard work and I was beginning to want some company. From the start to the end of Glen Lyon and my turn around point I only saw one other rider. When I turned towards Kenmore, I wasn't on my own any more! The first group I past, going the opposite way, looked like they were on a tour but the next three groups looked like they were part of a club ride. I had been on my own for 3.5 hours by this time and it was a shock and a real nice pick me up to pass 20 riders all in one go. They nearly all said hello or waved or nodded, cyclists can be a friendly bunch.

With my new boost of energy, 20 young me in lycra will do that for you, I pushed on home. I was in with a chance of making it back to the camp within 4 hours, if you discount the scone stop, and that would give me a real boost to my training. So, head down, I peddled hard.

Back at the campsite in 4 hours!

I slept for a bit, I ate, I read my book, I showered, I slept some more, I read some more and still no word from the walkers. 3 hours after my return I headed to our rendezvous point, the pub, and read some more. Finally they pitched up at 6.30 in the evening, 10 hours after they left!

Lots of catching up to do!

I've done loads recently but here is a brief update, I'll give longer reports tomorrow.

• Last Saturday I cycled 56 miles in the beautiful Scottish highlands, I do have photos! 4 hrs + 25 min of scone, butter and jam!
• Last Wednesday I did a 10 mile Time Trial (TT) on my own, 35 min.
• Today I did a sprint tri, 1.22.41 ish. 3 min quicker than last year, 1 min slower than 2007.

More later!