Am I better for doing IM?

Is this heresy? Last Sunday I was suffering from motivation issues since having got up early to do a long ride I was faced with a Deluge of biblical proportions outside combined with thunder and lightning made seek shelter on the sofa with a scared cat for company. The option to get on the turbo at that time would have meant waking the household which is probably a bit unfair at 6.30 so I elected to wait and read a bit. Children stumbled downstairs at 7 and we spent an enjoyable half hour just chatting and watching rubbish on the tv. Eventually at 7.45 I thought it not unreasonable to start up on the turbo since my wife is usually getting up at this point. Sure enough the rain stopped and outside was looking better but at this point I was committed to 150 mins of turbo hell.

As the house sprung into life around me kids and cats wandering in and out of the spare room where I was spinning away and time passing incredibly slowly as it always seems to on a turbo I got to wondering whether the life as an Ironman was still a force for good. A recurring theme at ironman races where I meet with other racing dads is that its the wives who suffer. Is it fair me shooting out the house every sunday even if I am back by 12. Do my children understand why I need to go out for a 2hr run on Friday evenings and does the time I take out of the family through chasing my personal goals compensate by enabling me to have a better balance through the rest of my week?


Undoubtedly through being fitter I have more ability to cope with the stresses of general life. But training for Ironman actually involves a lot of time trashing your fitness through further cycles of training and can leave you feeling a bit ratty some times. I guess this is however no more than I get anyway and in fact I feel more calm since IM than in my preIM days and I often find the process of training helps me to work out the day to day stresses of life.

With less than 3 weeks to go to IM swissroll I am feeling solid but nothing spectacular. I have a traditional midnight 100 miler (38 laps of Regents Park) to be knocked off and a few more runs then a whole year before I do another IM

Same

So that was lanzarote. One year of training later and I raced nearly identically in every aspect to last year. Except that at nearly every step I felt fitter and stronger, even when I felt tired and slow out on the marathon course. I guess I had a choice of finding perhaps 5 minutes more out on the run but once I felt a sub 11 was beyond me I was not to bothered about the time and started to enjoy myself!

So to the swim start. This was my roughest of 4 IM swims. I got kicked punched blocked and generally chucked around. I think last year was just a lucky swim. As a consequence I was quicker in my second lap and had the joy of overtaking numerous others as I came back against the tide on the second lap. I am not sure why the swim was so rough this year but I was struggling to swim straight and found myself close to the bouys which was probably the cause of all the grief.

Out of the sea and on to the bike. Last year I went off like a bat out of hell. This year I felt much more evenly paced and generally enjoyed most of the bike. My key mistake was to believe the Km markers which were completely out. I guess I wanted to believe them too! (they were well short and at half way showed me headed for a 5.30-40 split time when in reality the 170 km matker came with about 25 km still to go instead of the 10 it should have been.) This lead to me virtually sprinting the last 5 km in a desperate bid to get under 6hrs (and I failed.. tho' not on my bike computer). Could I have gone faster? probably. Could I have gone significantly faster? I doubt it. So there must be a lesson there somewhere.

Out onto the run and I really struggled to get my HR down. Accroding to my HR monitor it was stuck at 170. Either my HR monitor is bust or I have a problem... I think the HR data is out of wack. But I still took a while to get going, and as I wrote in the intro could perhaps have found a bit of pace as the run went on but not more than 5 minutes max.

A week on I can honestly say I really enjoyed the race, perhaps most of all down to the fab support from tri londoners both in the race (Jo, Marc and Alex) and from the sides (especially Steven and later in the day team Sayer).

I need to think a bit more about what I have learnt in this cycle of training but now its time to start focusing ahead to this years "A" race- Ironman Switzerland

My aching heart

Feeling as I do at the moment which is to say as fit as a fiddle and happy as I can remember I thought it worthwhile to look ahead at what to expect post raceday and specifically at some of the science on what racing an ironman does to your body.

Obsessed as I am I recognise the impact an ironman race has on my body in the days after. Lets face it you cant help but notice as you struggle down the stairs (and if you dont know what I mean are you sure your racing hard enough?).

There is quite a lot of evidence that, at least in the short term IM has a potentially quite serious impact on your health and hence the very serious advice that you should not race if you have a bad cold. Some colds are caused by viruses that can cause myocarditis (inflammation of the heart) and this is something you really want to avoid. It also reflects the stress doing this event can put your body under thereby making you susceptible to the risk of serious harm from a virus you would normally shrug of after a few days.

So what is the evidence for harm following an IM race. There are two principle effects. The first is that an Ironman reduces the function of your neutrophils (so called white cells that help fight acute infections) and at the same time is associated with quite a marked inflammatory response as part of your immune function response. This inflammatory reaction is what classically happens when we get a serious injury, have an operation or have some other stress put on the body (and can be induced by heat stroke, alcohol poisoning and may other things). The effects of this can be to cause tissue swelling (odema) and pain. It almost certainly occurs in response to the micro trauma associated with 10 odd hours of continuos exercise and the muscle damage associated with this exercise. It will probably be exacerbated by dehydration, heat stress and getting you nutrition so wrong you race prolonged on empty and hence catabolise your muscle a bit more than is strictly necessary. There is alot of science to suggest this state can last up to and beyond 2 weeks post race.

The other principle effects are on your heart. Tests that are typically used to determine whether someone is having a heart attack work by detecting enzymes and proteins released into the blood stream from damaged heart muscle cells. Perhaps the most common of these tests is a test for Troponin T a protein found specifically in cardiac muscle. While it can be raised as a consequnece of other things it is typically raised in response to damage to heart muscle cells. Worryingly this is found to be raised in nearly all IM finishers and when present in what are termed clinically significant levels are usually associated with significant abnormalities of heart function when studied using an echocardiogram. In fact nearly all IM finishers demonstrate some mild impairment of heart function in the first 24 hrs post race. The significance of all of this is not clear. Troponin T levels can also be raised in association with muscle injury and perhaps this is the cause but this would not explain the abnormal heart function.

On a happier note we are no more likely to have knee problems than a non Ironman age matched population.

So in summary ironman takes a toll on your body but this is largely recovered from by 3 weeks. To reduce this train well, race well and recover well.

Finally we will also live longer and find the path to secret super powers foregone by our mortal colleagues.




(sorry but I made that last bit up)

Where did I get to?

I thought the proximity of a taper would be a good time to review my goals from last autumn against reality and try and get my excuses in early!

Back in August I set some big swimming goals of doing 15000m feb through March (current average is 8000m). I was gonna avoid injury (managed to have a total of 7 weeks of no running between now and then) and was gonna get a power meter for the bike (failure due to sales issues!). Along the way I have ditched 3 running events (snowdon marathon, luton marathon and brentwood half) and have lost 4 regular training partners to slipped disks and broken wrists, and prolonged sabbaticals!

In spite of this I feel in a good place and have enjoyed my training more than I can remember. The crucial point this year is when I feel that grey fatigue I either bin or shorten the session. I still dont know if this is good or bad. Sure there are days when we just dont feel like getting out there but equally endurance training does require a degree of pushing on through if the gains are to be maximised.

Yesterday I knocked out a solid 6hr 106 mile solo ride taking in all the hills I could find so I guess the bike is there or there abouts. Running is slightly backwards and swimming is where it is.

For me there is still a few key sessions to fit in including a solid 70 mile mid week bike ride and a set of 3 x 2-2.5 hr runs in the next week before the taper starts with 11 days to go.

B minus

The picture is the Barcelos cockerel famous to portuguese legend and Nandos!

So back from Lisbon and I am not entirely sure what I have learnt (except for the cockerel legend). Overall I kinda did what I set out to do but somehow it was not entirely satisfactory. The swim was a solid 30 mins (and a second) so just above my target but pretty much where I want to be. It was quite a feisty affair with 600 in a mass start with a turn at 300m. The field appeared to me quite talented with a significant number using this event like me as a warm up to Lanzarote.

A leisurely transition and the out on the bike a 4 lap course. My plan was to go steady on the first and then push hard on laps 2 and 3 then hold on for the 4th. This worked well; I had a familiar dead leg feeling out of the swim but allowed them to slowly tune up to speed. The bike was essentially an out and back with a 1 mile hill just before turn around. We had a whole section of motorway closed off for us which was fantastic, but there was a strong headwind on the way out which was less good. It did make for a fantastic return leg with speeds topping 42 mph, and in general was good practice in holding a tight aero position for a sustained block of time. I was disappointed to clock what I thought was a slow 2.37 for the bike leg but the whole field was at least 10-12 minutes slower than last year which again puts me about where I felt I should be. I did however start to fade of the pace a bit in the last lap with a few I had passed in lap 3 clawing me back and then riding away from me. I felt that I had may be a bit more power to squeeze but it was not easy and settled on maintaining a steady rhythm through the last leg.

Finally out onto the run. I wrote the plan was to run steady 8 min miles as per goal IM pace. Fact was I had only one pace and that was to keep going. I think/hope it was down to a lot of running in the last 10 days and the deliberate non taper for this race (OK so I had a rest on friday but trained as normal the rest of the week) otherwise I think I could be in trouble come May 22nd. I got progressively slower on the 4 laps and was struggling a bit on the last. Still I posted a 1.43 which was worse than anyone who finished above me (so yes I did go backwards through the field on the run quite spectacularly) but was pretty much my target time (even if it was probably on 20.5 km).

I guess I learned I am still an aspirational AGer with no discernible talent but a lot of enthusiasm and that the breakthrough to elite superstardom will have to wait another week, lifetime or dimension.

As for the race itself. I think it is fab. The wind aside it is pretty well organised, a good strong field, fantastic venue found myself good accommodation and for a capital city relatively cheap. I think I may well be there next year if I am not doing London Marathon (or perhaps even the lisbon marathon which was the weekend before!)

Tuning up

As I start to focus down on the first race of the year, a nice little tune up race in Lisbon I have started to think about where there might be any little hidden benefits that might make me race quicker without expending more effort training.

Some new kit has been purchased including a new wetsuit, since my 4 yr old xterra suit now has more holes than augusta golf course. This I tried out yesterday and due to the upside down zip had to ask random bloke to secure me inside said suit. Once done I positively flew up and down the pool finishing my set with 10x100 coming in on 1.25 for EVERY length. I have also got some lovely new carbon easton attack aerobars which definitely make me feel quicker and some shiny new silver bike shoes (ditto).

Kit aside and without unearthing some magic new training programme, where are the other gains to be made. Certainly nutrition is a key factor as is getting adequate rest in the peak training stages. I am not sure what significant gains are to be had there but will continue to get to bed early and to take afternoon powernaps where possible. I have decided to use some torq recovery drinks for replenishing the energy stores after long/hard sessions (cheers stef)but again what are the margins for performance enhancement?



Perhaps one of the key factors to enhance race day performance is keeping calm in the build up and during the race itself. I guess some of this is a given in terms of your natural temperament and clearly some can be developed through practice races. I find the prerace build up can sometimes be like the period before an exam when fellow contestants boast either about how much or how little the have done and seek assurance from you that you have done more or less than they have. People who engage in this sort of stuff are often to be found doing one last "session" the day before the race and frankly good luck to them.

Having avoided other peoples' ego trips in general I love the prerace day or two as at is often the first time in several weeks I can be alone and can really turn off my brain and body (assuming my family are not with me). The luxury of an afternoon nap and time to read, fiddle with the bike, watch a few dvds is all part of my prerace taper. The other big step is building a positive state of mind. No matter what you have done up to the 2 days before raceday, a good or bad build up, the last 48 hrs are for being positive and developing a frame of mind to see you through to the finish line. Quite how you do this I guess is up to you. Personally I use a lot of positive mental imaging, and allow my own natural self assurance ;-) to build me up to the race.

So for the race I would like to see a sub 30 swim, a 2.25-2.30 bike and then I will aim to run 8 min miles and no faster (which should see me going gloriously backwards through the field). I have to remember this is a practice race and not the main event (which my take some in race discussion with my ego)

There is gold in them hills

I spent the last month hanging out for a long awaited weeks holiday in Majorca. Back at the planning stage it was either Majorca or Lanzarote and when we looked at it in darkest December Majorca seemed the better choice. We already had a week in Lanzarote at the IM so a change of venue seemed the thing and the weather looked OK and the facilities for my own spring training seemed good. Sadly the week of sun they had before we got there stopped the day we arrived, dark clouds moved in and it rained for 6 days straight, pretty much without a discernible break. The first we saw of the sun again was as we got into the car to head back to the airport!

But we had a great time. The villa was fab and got on a special "recession offer" complete with freezing pool which my kids enjoyed in spite of the rain. We stayed near Pollenca in the hills to the northeast of the island. We enjoyed good food, long walks, lots of swimming in a brand new and empty heated 25m pool, the odd bottle or two of red wine and a few runs across the hills with my missus. In addition I got to explore a few of them there hills.

I have cycled a few thousand miles since I started triathlon, but have only ever taken my bike overseas to race. Majorca afforded me the first chance to try out some long hills and this was an eyeopener. Majorca was absolutely full of cyclists, a bit like Richmond Park at 11 on a sunday morning only bigger. I tried out a few hilly rides before negotiating a day away from the rest of the family for a 6 hr ride (ish) where I took in a few 500m climbs and then another 900m climb at an average of 6% incline. And now I understand about hills.

The necessity to keep going at a steady heart rate and the relentless nature of the climb forces you to develop or build your muscular endurance which is surely the key to a good IM bike ride. Each climb is followed by a downhill recovery and then repeat. No number of Boxhill repeats can mimic this. An equivalent sustained effort on the flat can be done but sees you travelling further and faster and is harder to keep steady since at speed minor variations in incline etc have significant impact on you effort levels. Also when you finish your long climb you are at the top of the hill and that is always a good feeling.

So my advice for those who want to improve their training is to move to the nearest 1000m steady climb and train on it. Failing that I have always maintained that East Anglia is too flat so perhaps they could build us a mountain there to train on there!