Dambuster report
Second qualifier for the World Championships and the English National Championships. On the Friday I went to my boys sports day and was a proud mummy as they both came second in their running races. I headed into work for 3 hours to deliver an integrated programme with ourselves and the psychologists for ladies who have had breast cancer. Our topic was mindful breathing (which came in good use during the race). I did my last gentle brick session to keep the legs ticking over, packed the car and headed for Dambuster with my husband after work. My little sister had kindly or rather bravely offered to look after all four children for us overnight. We were so grateful as it really did mean both of us could focus on the race and better preparation than we had been able to do previously.
We arrived in Dambuster after a fairly relaxed drive, registered, ate a light dinner and headed to bed for 9:30pm. We were both exhausted having juggled work and the children's sports day and school fete.
Alarm set we woke up at 5am and left at 5:15am sharply. A stark contrast to Deva when it had taken half an hour to wake up four children and get them and their things out the door and in the car. I ate my rice pudding in the car and for once i managed to stomach it without feeling sick. We arrived in good time, found bike out and in, run out and in and checked out the swim route which had been reduced to 1400m due to the choppiness of the water and the waves. At the race briefing we were advised to breath only to the left due to the waves (a good thing that is my favoured side). I warmed up properly and headed for the start. It took my husband, Dave and I three attempts to get me in my wetsuit - definitely worth doing to get it right.
The start was a beach start where you run into the water. The boys waves had been running along the edge of the water and then diving in giving them a huge advantage. The girls waves were banned from doing this and so we had to start between the buoys. The count down started and we were off. I tried to position myself in the middle away from the masses so that I could get into my rhythm without arms and legs in my face. However this was unfortunately unavoidable. The water to the first two buoys was so choppy and the waves vicious. We were being tossed about in the water all over the place. There didn't seem to be a break away group and the masses just kept tightly knitted together past the second buoy. Coming up to the third buoy it was difficult to see and some of the girls in what was now the first break away group turned and headed back towards the start. Drafting one of these I followed too. About 50m or so later I heard a banging and shouting. I stopped with another girl and we looked to see what was going on. It appeared we had missed the fact this was the middle buoy not the last one. (Several of the girls continued swimming and were later DQ'd. ). Myself and the girl (who ended up winning our age category) turned around and headed back towards the direction we were supposed to be in. We ended up back in the mix where I took a heavy handed blow to my forehead with someone's elbow. Not nice but luckily with adrenalin pumping and the cold water I soon forgot my pain. Exiting the swim gave a horrible feeling of sea sickness from all the throwing around in the water. I had opted to use ear plugs which did make a big difference.
Into transition to yet again get stuck in my wetsuit and then a rather ridiculous 1:48seconds later I hit the bike route. Not for long though as I could not get my shoes clipped in. Finally I was off. The bike course was very hilly, windy and there were lots of bits where there was a lot of traffic that required me to slow up including a horrific accident between a motorbike and a car on the opposite side of the road that one of the male competitors had stopped at. I overtook several woman and men. My legs were working hard up the hills but I was determined not to let my average speed drop and so "danced" up them, in my husbands words, and every time I thought I could push no more I would talk to myself and thought about what my legs and body were doing rather than the lactic build up in my legs. I worked hard and was pleased. Every time I hit a hill though my lower back began to spasm and I had to go back to what I had taught my ladies who have had breast cancer about the importance of mindful breathing and relaxing and it seemed to work reducing my spasms and allowing me to continue.
Off the bike and onto the "flat" run which started with a steep hill! My legs were numb and my head didn't want to continue. I knew that at this point I just had to hang on but there was a big possibility I would be being chased as the run is my worst discipline. It took about six minutes for me to find my rhythm and relax into my pace. I found the pace and held on. There were many times when I just felt like stopping and had to really talk to myself to make me continue. I could see two girls in front of me who had overtaken me on the bike and I tried desperately to catch them but I had nothing in my legs to do so. The run was fairly windy and as we crossed the lake an older gentleman in front of me was running whilst enjoying the view, which was beautiful. I decided to do the same and it allowed me to relax and run better. Ten minutes to the finish and I was struggling. I overtook the two girls I was chasing but knew there were potentially three coming in fast behind me. I was overtaken by all three of them. Two minutes to go and I felt like passing out and was not sure I was going to make it to the end. However, as I turned the corner my speed increased as I saw the end and I sprinted home in 2nd place for my age group and 4th fastest woman meaning qualification for the Worlds. The saddest thing was that there were three or four outstanding athletes who were DQd for cutting the swim. Two of these were my age category. I was delighted to have achieved what I did but these athletes have proven themselves in the past and are highly competitive. In reality I still have a lot of work to do in all four disciplines to ensure I am still up there with them and I intend to put even more concentration and determination into my training to prove that I can be even faster. There is always room for improvement and I plan to demonstrate this later in the year. First off it is a few days recovery and family time and then back to full on training!
Deva report
So, first race of the season and first qualifier for the World Championships in London. The lead up to the race was not great. A combination of lots on at work with a new project (it was all good stress but still took its toll), my sisters wedding the weekend before and a bout of illness in the week before made me think back to last year in the lead up to Auckland. I could not believe it was happening again. I had to put training on hold and just rest and recover. On the Saturday we drove up to Chester children in tow (never a relaxing journey). The kids were so excited about seeing Grandad and Granny Sherman and staying in a hotel which was lovely. We arrived in Chester and drove the bike route but this was difficult as the children were getting restless and hungry. We discovered they had re surfaced one of the roads - not ideal for the bike ride. We registered and then headed back for some food. Time came for bed and the children were too excited to sleep despite my request to be quiet due to the early start in the morning. Eventually they settled and we all slept.
5am the next morning the alarm went off and I tried to eat my obligatory rice pudding but for some reason just could not stomach it. I think a combination of having been ill, being tired and the stress from the previous day with bringing the kids. (I love them dearly but when trying to think and prepare for a race they can make concentration very difficult!) My husband tried to mix my gels in the water but they would not mix and just sat I the bottom. We then packed up the bags and set off to the venue. On arriving we could not get near transition as the road was blocked off. I had to get my bike and bits and bobs out on the road side whilst my husband put my tattoos on with my youngest sons wet shorts (it was all we had that was wet!) Disgusting!
I headed off for transition whilst my husband tried to park the car. Both he and I exclaimed that we had never felt so unprepared for a race before. I could not decipher bike out or in run out or in and could not find where to head down for the swim. Normally I know exactly where every exit and entrance is, know what times I need to be at the swim and what each disciplines route is. Not today!
I headed down for race briefing and the swim. We entered the water but i did not have time for a warm up. Also not ideal for me as it takes while for my body to warm up and get going. Normally being a faster swimmer I place myself at the front but I got stuck in the middle but due to legs being out and ready I could not get in. I set off in the middle amongst arms, elbows and legs. The first 200m I could not even swim properly due to this and my main thought was just keep above the surface at this point! We started to separate off in two front groups, mine being the second group at this stage. Our group swam into the bushes and nearly hit a huge black boat moored on the side. The swim upstream for 850m was really tough and seemed to go on for ages. There were several points when I had to stop and do breast stroke to see which direction I was going in due to goggles fogging up plus it felt like it was so far I could not believe we had not reached the turn around point.
I came out the swim in the top few and headed to transition where I got stuck in my wetsuit (as always). I headed out on the bike and begun what was a great route but turned out I did not work hard enough. My justification for this was that I was cycling with a couple of girls of similar speed and I was so concerned about being done for drafting (a two minute penalty) I had to keep holding back. Next step was the run. Whether it was having been ill or my gels not mixing I don't know but I had nothing left for the run. Normally it takes me a couple of minutes to get my legs used to coming off the bike but today there was nothing. I finished in 7th fastest for my age group missing out on qualifying by two places.
All in all it was a terrible lead up to the race and terrible preparation. However as weekends go it was amazing. The children had a fabulous time and we got to spend quality time with my parents. Put into perspective it was just a race and what was more important was the time I spent with my family. Lots to learn from and now ready for the next qualifier -Dambuster.
5am the next morning the alarm went off and I tried to eat my obligatory rice pudding but for some reason just could not stomach it. I think a combination of having been ill, being tired and the stress from the previous day with bringing the kids. (I love them dearly but when trying to think and prepare for a race they can make concentration very difficult!) My husband tried to mix my gels in the water but they would not mix and just sat I the bottom. We then packed up the bags and set off to the venue. On arriving we could not get near transition as the road was blocked off. I had to get my bike and bits and bobs out on the road side whilst my husband put my tattoos on with my youngest sons wet shorts (it was all we had that was wet!) Disgusting!
I headed off for transition whilst my husband tried to park the car. Both he and I exclaimed that we had never felt so unprepared for a race before. I could not decipher bike out or in run out or in and could not find where to head down for the swim. Normally I know exactly where every exit and entrance is, know what times I need to be at the swim and what each disciplines route is. Not today!
I headed down for race briefing and the swim. We entered the water but i did not have time for a warm up. Also not ideal for me as it takes while for my body to warm up and get going. Normally being a faster swimmer I place myself at the front but I got stuck in the middle but due to legs being out and ready I could not get in. I set off in the middle amongst arms, elbows and legs. The first 200m I could not even swim properly due to this and my main thought was just keep above the surface at this point! We started to separate off in two front groups, mine being the second group at this stage. Our group swam into the bushes and nearly hit a huge black boat moored on the side. The swim upstream for 850m was really tough and seemed to go on for ages. There were several points when I had to stop and do breast stroke to see which direction I was going in due to goggles fogging up plus it felt like it was so far I could not believe we had not reached the turn around point.
I came out the swim in the top few and headed to transition where I got stuck in my wetsuit (as always). I headed out on the bike and begun what was a great route but turned out I did not work hard enough. My justification for this was that I was cycling with a couple of girls of similar speed and I was so concerned about being done for drafting (a two minute penalty) I had to keep holding back. Next step was the run. Whether it was having been ill or my gels not mixing I don't know but I had nothing left for the run. Normally it takes me a couple of minutes to get my legs used to coming off the bike but today there was nothing. I finished in 7th fastest for my age group missing out on qualifying by two places.
All in all it was a terrible lead up to the race and terrible preparation. However as weekends go it was amazing. The children had a fabulous time and we got to spend quality time with my parents. Put into perspective it was just a race and what was more important was the time I spent with my family. Lots to learn from and now ready for the next qualifier -Dambuster.
Reading Half Marathon
Still now I am not quite sure what on earth prompted me to enter a half marathon. Having still not done as far as 10km unless off the back of a triathlon, this would be my longest distance race to date.
My sister and her husband kindly offered to look after the children whilst my husband and I set off on the morning off the race. Looking out the window we both thought or maybe hoped that it would be cancelled given the torrential rain, sleet, snow etc but oh no 15,000 people turned out to race on what proved to be an incredible experience. So many fantastic inspiring people all with their own agendas. Mine was to run as close to 1:30 as I could and my husbands as close to 2 hours as he could.
It was so wet and cold and everyone was dressed in black bin liners to keep dry but there came a point when I knew I was going to have to strip down to my tri suit, pink leg warmers and arm warmers and just brave the weather. I warmed up through the puddles with the rain pouring down and then set off to find my place amongst the red numbers with the aim to stay near people of a similar pace to me. The atmosphere was awesome with the buzz of so many people and the music banging out a strong beat to get the head focused and the heart beating. I lined up next to my fellow tri2o colleagues, the elites were off and then so were we. With my i pod plugged in and my 80s tunes rocking I settled into my rhythm.
30 mins in and I felt comfortable. We had reached the big hill and that hurt but I stayed focused and relaxed and made it up. Everywhere there were incredible supporters who braved the rain and sleet to cheer us all on. Amazing. The pace picked up when I passed big crowds of people shouting and I had to make a conscious effort to drop the pace back down to ensure I finished. Several fellow tri20 guys overtook me but it was great to see their smiling faces. At times I really struggled and had to talk to myself a lot to keep going. People around me were stopping but I had to ignore them and tell
myself to keep on running. At one point one of the female runners running a similar pace to myself and I drafted each other subconsciously (we spoke after the race and thanked each other). This helped enormously especially when things
got tough mentally. The last stretch of the race was the hardest 3km I had ever run. When we drove it the day
before it looked flat but it certainly was not. Legs tired, heavy and numb I knew I was onto the last bit and it was just a case of keeping the legs in motion. Turning right towards the stadium I picked up the pace but had to balance the feeling of throwing up with keeping up with the pace I wanted to stick to. I could see the pace maker just in front and I knew I had to speed up a little. Running into the stadium I could see the finish line. I sprinted the last 200 m and stumbled over the finish line in 1:31. I was so delighted, not just because I had achieved a time I honestly did not think was possible for me
but the fact I had actually finished my longest race ever!
It was so cold, against all my advice as a physiotherapist, I did not warm down or stretch but put loads of layers on and
ran off to wait for my husband and support him in his last stretch of the race. He finished in an amazing time of 2:05hr, not bad for an ex front row rugby player who also had never run that far. Team Lait conquered their running fears and are now ready for their next challenges! Mine, attempting to qualify for the triathlon world championships in London and my husband Challenge Henley half ironman. Go Team Lait.
My sister and her husband kindly offered to look after the children whilst my husband and I set off on the morning off the race. Looking out the window we both thought or maybe hoped that it would be cancelled given the torrential rain, sleet, snow etc but oh no 15,000 people turned out to race on what proved to be an incredible experience. So many fantastic inspiring people all with their own agendas. Mine was to run as close to 1:30 as I could and my husbands as close to 2 hours as he could.
It was so wet and cold and everyone was dressed in black bin liners to keep dry but there came a point when I knew I was going to have to strip down to my tri suit, pink leg warmers and arm warmers and just brave the weather. I warmed up through the puddles with the rain pouring down and then set off to find my place amongst the red numbers with the aim to stay near people of a similar pace to me. The atmosphere was awesome with the buzz of so many people and the music banging out a strong beat to get the head focused and the heart beating. I lined up next to my fellow tri2o colleagues, the elites were off and then so were we. With my i pod plugged in and my 80s tunes rocking I settled into my rhythm.
30 mins in and I felt comfortable. We had reached the big hill and that hurt but I stayed focused and relaxed and made it up. Everywhere there were incredible supporters who braved the rain and sleet to cheer us all on. Amazing. The pace picked up when I passed big crowds of people shouting and I had to make a conscious effort to drop the pace back down to ensure I finished. Several fellow tri20 guys overtook me but it was great to see their smiling faces. At times I really struggled and had to talk to myself a lot to keep going. People around me were stopping but I had to ignore them and tell
myself to keep on running. At one point one of the female runners running a similar pace to myself and I drafted each other subconsciously (we spoke after the race and thanked each other). This helped enormously especially when things
got tough mentally. The last stretch of the race was the hardest 3km I had ever run. When we drove it the day
before it looked flat but it certainly was not. Legs tired, heavy and numb I knew I was onto the last bit and it was just a case of keeping the legs in motion. Turning right towards the stadium I picked up the pace but had to balance the feeling of throwing up with keeping up with the pace I wanted to stick to. I could see the pace maker just in front and I knew I had to speed up a little. Running into the stadium I could see the finish line. I sprinted the last 200 m and stumbled over the finish line in 1:31. I was so delighted, not just because I had achieved a time I honestly did not think was possible for me
but the fact I had actually finished my longest race ever!
It was so cold, against all my advice as a physiotherapist, I did not warm down or stretch but put loads of layers on and
ran off to wait for my husband and support him in his last stretch of the race. He finished in an amazing time of 2:05hr, not bad for an ex front row rugby player who also had never run that far. Team Lait conquered their running fears and are now ready for their next challenges! Mine, attempting to qualify for the triathlon world championships in London and my husband Challenge Henley half ironman. Go Team Lait.
Chilly Duathlon February 2013
So, sitting here ill again having had three days off training I'm catching up on my tweets on bowel cancer and ovarian cancer awareness and decided it would be a good time to update on my latest races too.
Chilly duathlon certainly lived up to its name this year with the weather being cold and very windy. Duathlons are definitely not my favourite events missing my security - the swim, however I do them as the advice is always work on those things that you are weakest in. That for me is definitely my run and doing it twice is always a challenge.
My husband and four children came with me to race, never good preparation when you are trying to stop fighting in the back of the car and continuously feed four hungry children. When I arrived the biggest decision was what to wear, knowing that on the run the body temperature goes up whilst on the bike it drops dramatically especially in windy conditions. I went for a mismatch of my club tri suit over the top of leggings, bright green leg warmers and several tops. I certainly would not be missed but more importantly was warm. I racked my bike and then warmed up with fellow triathlete Edwina doing a lap of the run course to suss it out.
Then we were off. I kept my pace steady whilst all around me the adrenaline kicked in and people set off very quickly. I
kept to my pace so as not to burn out. I was pleased with my first run coming in 8th place for the women. Onto the bike and into the head wind I powered past most of those women coming in in 2nd place. Then it was a case of gritting the
teeth and holding on. The legs felt like jelly, a normal phenomena after a hard bike ride, but I knew I had to just keep going. I was quickly overtaken by one lady and had to talk to myself with stern words to ensure no one else did the same. Crossing the finish line in 3rd place I was promptly sick demonstrating that I had put as much as I possibly could into the race. Given the conditions I was pleased with the race but as with all races took away things to learn for next time.
Chilly duathlon certainly lived up to its name this year with the weather being cold and very windy. Duathlons are definitely not my favourite events missing my security - the swim, however I do them as the advice is always work on those things that you are weakest in. That for me is definitely my run and doing it twice is always a challenge.
My husband and four children came with me to race, never good preparation when you are trying to stop fighting in the back of the car and continuously feed four hungry children. When I arrived the biggest decision was what to wear, knowing that on the run the body temperature goes up whilst on the bike it drops dramatically especially in windy conditions. I went for a mismatch of my club tri suit over the top of leggings, bright green leg warmers and several tops. I certainly would not be missed but more importantly was warm. I racked my bike and then warmed up with fellow triathlete Edwina doing a lap of the run course to suss it out.
Then we were off. I kept my pace steady whilst all around me the adrenaline kicked in and people set off very quickly. I
kept to my pace so as not to burn out. I was pleased with my first run coming in 8th place for the women. Onto the bike and into the head wind I powered past most of those women coming in in 2nd place. Then it was a case of gritting the
teeth and holding on. The legs felt like jelly, a normal phenomena after a hard bike ride, but I knew I had to just keep going. I was quickly overtaken by one lady and had to talk to myself with stern words to ensure no one else did the same. Crossing the finish line in 3rd place I was promptly sick demonstrating that I had put as much as I possibly could into the race. Given the conditions I was pleased with the race but as with all races took away things to learn for next time.