Peer pressure and screaming legs

For the last few days I have had my best girlfriends with me at my mums villa in the Algarve.
There were 6 of us and words don't describe how much fun it was and how lucky I am to have such an amazing group of friends.

But this blog is mostly about sport and team work. Four of these girls I spent a summer with in 2005 training for racing in a lightweight coxless four rowing boat. Without realising, that summer we cemented a life long friendship and formed the most solid bond you could between friends; trust, honesty, competitiveness and loyalty. And I didn't really know them before we started training together that Spring. It took just five months in a boat.


Through our mutual desire to succeed and win, we went through calorie-deprived arguments (discussions), relationship and work stresses, self doubt, and negative energies from other coaches & crews. Together we helped each other get through all of this and we did win. We won Henley and the National Championships. Together. As a team. We learnt a lot about each other, and its left us with a very honest and healthily competitive relationship.

The reason I'm writing about this is because of how they still have a positive effect on my training. We now don't row together. One of us is an amazing marathon runner, the other does little sport but has an active outdoor life in Devon, and the other has a mental strength that pushes her through anything she puts her mind to. But this week we cycled together on holiday.

Because we have been through so much together and have so much trust in each others ability, we are a great team. We know how to work on each others strengths and weaknesses, supporting and pushing each other to the end.

Our last ride together this week was a toughie - steep hills; over six of them in a 30k ride. At a max HR of 170bpm on a couple of occasions I know I wouldn't have pushed myself so hard in any other training - they brought out the best in me, because competition between us is healthy and FUN.

In the last hill I had stupidly considered taking it easy, until one of the girls cruised past me saying 'I thought this was supposed to be a hill session miss smith'.......well that was red rag to a bull! Three of us then raced up the last hill, legs screaming, lungs bursting, until we got to the top, and could then cruise down to coffee and cake.

I also learnt something that at a ripe old age of 48 I should know by now...that you can do anything you want to. You have to put your mind to it and you have to face the fear and just do it. Practice will make perfect.

Thanks for an awesome weekend girls, you're amazing and I love you lots. You've inadvertently helped me in my triathlon training as I'm sure my bike legs are stronger than they were, thanks to your persistent cajoling.

A win!

Whooo hooo!!

I came first in my age category (40-50) at Berkhamsted Triathlon at the weekend, and 3rd female overall. £25 prize money in the bank!

It was a lovely race: the bike was on familiar country roads through Wigginton, Cholesbury and Tring. A little bumpy& gritty in places, but that's part of riding on Hertfordshire roads, and was expected. The run was lovely, once you got over the 1km uphill at the very start - but hey, from there, there were some lovely downhills, great views over rolling hills, and mostly on paths and trails. A second nasty hill on the run nearly reduced me to a walk, but I kept going. At a 5:12min per K pace, i was fairly happy.

The swim was a pool swim and the hardest bit was the turns as we had to duck under a lane rope at each second length. And I have just realised that for 400m we swam 16 lengths, meaning the pool must've been 20m, and more turns than usual! No wonder I was a little slower than expected.

Oddly, the night before the race I was feeling quietly confident: I suspected it might be a small event and the competition not too tough, but you never know until you're in it. You don't know how you'll feel on the day or who you're going to be up against. The stars just aligned on that day, and I'd like to think the training is paying off.

One thing I'm clear about is that at last my race running is getting easier on the legs and lungs, so much so that I also look forward to the run leg of the event! Freaky!

My first encounter of real parkrun tourism

This Easter weekend Toby and I headed down to Penarth in Cardiff to see his dad and stepmum.

On my training plan was do try and attempt a 5k run if it fit with our weekend plans. As it was a recovery week for me, there was no pressure either way.

As run director of recently created Rickmansworth parkrun and also two year old South Oxhey, I was keen to try a bit of this renowned 'tourism'. Toby, having enjoyed his 5 minute jog to Rickmansworth parkrun was also getting into the weekly routine. To be fair I've volunteered WAY more than I have run, but my triathlon coach is determined that I kill myself in a 5k timed event as often as possible at the moment. parkrun fits the bill and I'm lucky enough to be able to run AND volunteer (if I'm not RD).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was one within 3 miles of where we were staying - Grangemoor. So our Saturday morning was set.

Although we checked it all out online, we had no real idea of the terrain, route, gradients. It said it was 2 laps in a t-shape and we were to park at Asda and walk to the start underneath a bridge of a main road. It went alongside the River Ely and there would be a park nearby.

Intriguing.

So we parked at Asda and sure enough, followed the other brightly coloured legging-clad runners to this bridge. We were directed across the road to the starting area by a very smiley marshall clasping his Starbucks to keep warm.

The run briefing was wonderfully standard, with a Welsh twist welcoming a group of runners doing all 23 Welsh parkruns in 23 weeks (not on the same day as cleverclogs Toby chipped in!).

We had a lovely run with 170 or so others, following, as promised,  a 2 lap-shaped course - basically it was roughly 6 x 800m laps.

Both of us got PBs (I was happy to be 4th lady) thanks to the flat tarmac surface and as usual, organisation and support was exceptional - including the bunny-eared marshalls supporting us at each turning point! I don't think I've seen so many marshalls at a parkrun (although I am by no means an expert).

What continues to amaze me, is that parkrun will squeeze itself into any corner of the country, and is supported and run by tirelessly enthusiastic volunteers, attended by equally enthusiastic runners of all abilities and ambitions.

Grangemoor really is squashed behind a retail park, along a riverside path underneath a busy main road but its a quiet little oasis you wouldn't expect to find. Its not a regular circular loop, and for whatever reason it had to be fit into a small little T-shape, out and back a few times. It was a perfect start to our Saturday with the olds!

Thanks Grangemoor, we might see you again!

TT race

I signed up for a 25 mile TT race last weekend - part of this training/race thing I'm doing...

Arriving at Great Missenden for registration at 0730 on a chilly 7'C but bright Sunday morning, I watched the fanatics on their turbo trainers by the side of their cars warming up, just like Bradley in the Tour de France. Bit over keen, I thought. At least I too, had a TT bike, but this was the first time I had done a race like this before.

Then I heard the solid wheel whoosh sound of a fancy TT bike riding past me by a skinny man in a skin suit and a twat hat.

There were one or two other Hillingdon triathletes there, but I wasn't in the mood for being sociable at that time of the day.

At my pre-determined time of 0803, I was at the start - a grid in the road of a junction with the A413, with a man and a stop watch and another holding my bike in an upright position. I was clipped in and ready to go.

Within the first 12 minutes, my legs were screaming. I heard my watch beep that I'd done the first Toby set off 1 minute behind me.

My watch beeped with each 5k, my heartrate was good, but the legs were tired. Crouched into a TT position, my left hip started to cramp a little. But Toby didn't catch me.

In the end, I completed the race in 1:19, an average of just under 30kph. Not too bad I thought. Toby was 39 Seconds faster but most of the others were at least TEN MINUTES faster!!!

Maybe the skin suit, solid wheel and twat hat might have been been a good idea...

Stronger legs?

We have just come back from 2.5 weeks in Thailand, our first proper holiday with no work, for many years. This was a holiday to get back on the bikes after the cold Winter, when riding is no fun as the extremities freeze after an hour.

So we booked onto a trip with SpiceRoads (KE Adventures) to cycle supported from Bangkok to Phuket. We chose carefully, looking at the online photos (to see the type of person on the trip) and picking a trip labelled as 'challenging' to make sure it wasn't a cruisy ride. We wanted this to challenge us and at an average of 100km for 8 days that was enough - having not really done more than about 50k per week for the last few months!

The trip started on Sunday morning, meeting the other guests at the hotel and en-route to the start of the ride, just outside the city. This is always a moment of trepidation as you eye up your fellow riders to see if they look like fitties, or fatties, also what age, demographics and sex they are - it all makes for an interesting holiday, as you never know what you are going to get. It could make or break the trip!

In the end, we got:

• Andy & Fiona (Scottish Bike shop owners)
• Barry - Aussie geologist
• Michael - US retiree
• Ollie - Swiss bloody good cyclist
• Alain - French banker
• Will - Spiceroads newbie employee
•  - dutch guy who has been on a 3 month holiday
• Plus our wonderful guides, Kan and Bottle - two excellent Thai cyclists with great choice in food!

The first day was just 60k and we set off late morning. My god the heat was almost unbearable. Having come from 5'C only four days earlier it was a real shock to the system. My shins were sweating and the hot headwind was like cycling in an oven. Also, being the first day, we were all trying to prove something so we didn't want to be left behind. We got to the hotel at the end of the day in Hua Hin, and beautiful boutique hotel on the beach. Happy hour at 6pm couldn't come sooner.

From then on, our days were as follows:
0630 get up, have a cup of tea in the room
0715 (ish) go to breakfast - a mix of cereals, fruit, eggs, or Thai rice/noodles etc
0800 meet for heading off on the bikes.

Ride for 30k, stop for snacks. The riding was incredible. Beautiful smooth and fast roads, some busy but those had big hard-shoulders for cyclists to stay away from the cars. 50% of time we were on back roads through pineapple fields, salt pans, rubber tree plantations, palm oil forests and villages,
Smiley Thai families, cows, stunning scenery.
Snacks involved the sweetest, freshest fruit (pineapple, mango, papaya, banana) bought from the local market each morning, together with sticky rice booked in banana leaves - either sweet or savoury. Perfect exercise food.

Another ride for 30k, stop for lunch. Lunch was usually on a beach in a local Thai restaurant, family run. Wonderful spicy, healthy food of fish, meat, rice, noodles, vegetables. Always lots of it, such that we had to take smaller portions towards the end of the week as we were getting a bit bloated and actually putting weight on!



After lunch we would have another 30k or so before getting to our hotel for the night, or if a long day, another 2 x 30k with a lovely snack stop midway.

Hotels were mostly great, all with pools and on the beach. By the time we got to the hotel, all we wanted to do was sit in the airconditioned room, have a shower and wash our sweaty soggy cycling kit. Dinner was always to meet at 7pm, and was served quickly. We were often in bed by 9pm, dead to the world. Again, wonderful Thai food, spicy, tasty & healthy (on the whole).

By the time we got to Phuket, we had cycled 800k and used a lot of chamois cream! Our legs got used to the cycling, and we got stronger, for sure. The group was good company, with a lot of banter. We were glad of a break at the end, and if I hadn't fallen off in the first week and injured my hip, I would be keen for a nice run!

I would thoroughly recommend such a trip. Such a wonderful way to explore a country and visit places you wouldn't even think about. I feel I have experienced Thailand in such a unique and special way and feel very privileged to have done so.


 

not so great really

The last two weeks have been recovering from a cold: still snotty and still coughing.

Its amazing how, just four weeks ago I was feeling amazing. The training was going well and the race in January was great. One bug and the whole thing seems so tough now.

Last weeks training was difficult. Two runs and my legs felt like lead - just didn't have the mind for it, or the puff. It makes you feel like you've taken a huge step backwards, and the while thing about racing is just a waste of time.....give up, you're way to old now & will never make the grade:(

BUT I raced again today, without much desire, or will to go hard. It was in fact a beautiful morning at Dorney Lake (again), just a little warmer this time - by 15degrees!

It was OK - I came 5th in my age group.
The ladies at 1, 2 and 3 were way faster than me this time so I have a long way to go and a lot to learn.
My first 5k and second 5k were identical times...ideally I would have gone faster in the second one. Thats the stuff I have to learn.

Luckily I now have a coach who can tailor my training to fix my weaknesses.
My main one is that I race 'within myself' and am ever totally trashed at the end...I have a feeling I'm going to be working on that one in the near future!

I'm excited about the future though and look forward to racing hard and well. I know I have improved over the years (running a 24min 5k has always been elusive until now), so I know I have more to give.

So I picked up my trophy from last time and headed home to eat some scrambled eggs on homemade bread and smoked salmon and now have 2.5 weeks in Thailand on a cycling holiday.

Maybe I'll build some bike legs during that time:)

Temporary on hold

Today I am sitting under the duvet, with a cup of lemsip and a box of tissues watching films on the iPad and snoozing. I've just had a lovely hot bath and could stay here for the next two days.....

The chesty cough I developed three days ago has developed into a streaming cold and I hate it!!

My nose & head feel as though they have been chemically injected and stuffed with tissue, and the lovely bright day outside is calling which I can't enjoy. Its a real bummer.

I've put my training on hold - being very sensible and doing what I would tell others. My chest feels tight and the coughing brings up stuff that shouldn't be there, so it's better to rest now, let my body recover and then pick up again when its strong. From past experience I know it will only prolong the illness if I try too much too soon.

It's only a week or so, and then I can return even stronger!

Yet I am looking outside and seeing the blue sky, looking at whats on the training plan - a 60 minute run, and wishing I felt strong enough to get out there and make the most of it. I really hate missing out on my training and irrationally think it will hinder my progress if I miss something out.


The reality is, that it will hinder progress if I don't rest.

So the duvet, and the box set of 'Apple Tree Yard' will have to do for now....