Snowman 2019

Im writing this having completed the Snowman Legend 2019, my second attempt at the Snowman Legend event. It was a great day and i’m going to try and summerise it as best as i can in the following blog.

My training started not long after completing the Snowman Legend 2018. I was happy with my time of 7h34m28s, however I felt that I could go back and do better, so thats what I decided to do.

Snowman 2018

I entered the 2019 event in October and got my B&B booked, so I was committed. Now for the hard part, training.

I got a training plan from the internet as I didn’t want to use the same one as the previous year. I mapped out my training on Training Peaks (which I love by the way) and it had me being much fitter in time for race day 2019. Over the winter I trained hard, particularly on the turbo in the kitchen as I felt that my bike section was my weakest part.

As part of my training, I had two events booked. First up was the London Landmarks Half Marathon, which took place in March. What a great event it was with great support and fantastic organisation. I was over the moon when I finished the 13.1miles with a new HM PB of 1:38:03.

London Landmarks 2019

Following the LLHM, I was entered on the Monster Mojito in Peterborough at the start of May. This is a local(ish) race to me and I had done it for the previous two years. On the day it was freezing and the air temperature was only 3oc. The swim was shortened due to the temperature of the water and this made me nervous. Once in the water it was cold! I managed to get through the swim and onto the bike. It took a good 30mins to feel my feet again and before I knew it I was onto the run. I had warmed up by this point and had a good run. Cant be a race PB as it was a shortened swim but my swim pace was a PB ,bike route was a PB and run was a PB for that event. I felt good and knew my training was starting to pay off. (Unfortunately no pictures as I raced alone and official ones had a HUGE watermark on)

Over the next few months, I continued to train hard and could see my metrics improving on Training Peaks and I was getting excited. Then a possible tragedy happened. I was 4 weeks out from the big day and on an interval training run. I was running on a usual trail and my foot went into a new rabbit hole. I ended up going over and felt immediate pain in my right foot. I managed to get home slowly and took my shoe off to see it was already bruised.

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I woke up the next day and it really hurt to walk on it. I got through the day but it wasn’t good. A family member was a doctor so had a look and recommended that it was X-rayed as it could have broken one of my metatarsals. So the next day I was in the local hospital awaiting an X-ray. All kinds of thoughts were running through my head but I was just worried that the year of hard training was going to be in vain as if it was broken then that was race over. The X-ray luckily showed no break and was advised that it was some tendon damage. Lots of RICE and anti-inflammatory drugs were needed. For the next two weeks I did nothing but rest, ice and elevate. After two weeks I spent the next week starting to swim (mainly pull) and cycle gently on the turbo. I was still feeling a little pain in my foot and it was within two weeks of the race, my worry was that I would go and not get around. In the last 10 days before the big day, I slowly added a few gently runs, my furthest being 6k at a very gently pace of 5:25m/km.

The Big Day has arrived!

Finally the big day had arrived. For the last few days I had no pain in my foot so was feeling good, if not a little annoyed at the loss of fitness over the last month! My wife and I arrived at out B&B, Bron Eryri (excellent if your ever in the area) the night before the race as we had been to a wedding on the Saturday. The weather forecast for the morning was for heavy rain so I went to bed hoping it to be wrong! I had an early start as I had to register in the morning. I got up and had a tea and porridge, checked the weather and it showed that there would be drizzle, slightly better than the night before, and then set off at 5:15 with a gentle 2km ride to the event base at Plas Y Brenin.

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  My tea and porridge, a race tradition

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  Outside B&B, with Moel Siabod, which I could climb later in the background

I arrived at Plas Y Brenin and register and got ready. Once in transition, the usual routine was followed and I was soon getting ready to get into the water. It was surprisingly warm and then nerves then kicked it. Once in the water, the strong wind coming up the valley could be felt and it was making the water more choppy than i’m used to. I got ready and the hooter went, the race had started.

Within 100m of the start, I had been punched, kicked, pulled and dunked. It took a good few minutes to find some clear water and get into my stroke. Once I did I felt good and powered along. After the end of the first lap, i started to feel my neck hurting. It then dawned on me that I had forgotten to put any Bodyglide on my neck and I knew that once I finished I was going to have a nice bit of chaffing on my neck! I got out the water having swum 2100m, according to my Garmin, which was longer than last year and longer than the 1900m it was meant to be. I didn’t realise this at the time and looked at my swim time and was a little disappointed that I was slower than the previous year.

Swim Exit

I spent more time in T1 than last year and this was fine. I knew that with the chance of rain, I needed to be warm. I put a jersey on and some arm warmers, packed a rain jacket into my pocket and set off. I turned left out of transition and headed up Pen Y Pass towards Llanberis. There was a strong head wind all the way up the pass and down the decent into Llanberis. I had put my previous years time on my tri-bars as a guide to how I was going and at 15km I was around 5 minutes slower than the previous year.

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Over then next 50km of so I managed to claw that time back and even get ahead of last years time. What I had learnt from the previous year, was that I was exhausted at the end of the bike. I made a real conscious effort to drink more and eat more this time around. This meant that I stopped at the feed station to fill one of my bottles up and doing this put me back a little on time. There were not bottles to swap so had to unscrew and fill from a canteen, losing me around 90 seconds. Then came the Crimia pass. This is a 7.5km drag with an average of 5% (according to Strava) with sections at 8%. Last year when climbing this, I went all out and tried to get up as quickly as possible. This broke me! So this year, I took it a bit easier and got into a nice rhythm and just tapped my way up it. It took an extra 1m14s but I felt good at the top. It did however, start to rain just as I got to the top. Not being the most confident descender, and in the wet, I made sure that I went down without going as fast as I may of. The road then went downhill most of the way to Betws-y-Coed. It was here that I felt drained the previous year, really struggling to get back. This year I felt great and rode strongly back to T2.

Riding back into T2, at the end of 92km

I got into T2 and made the decision to put on my calf guards, something I hadn’t done the previous year. I had to carry all the compulsory gear (waterproof top and bottoms, water, food, hat, gloves, phone and foil blanket) so put my hydration pack on and off I went. The run is a 6.5k out and back before tackling Moel Siabod. The first 6.5k were hard. It took awhile for my legs to come and it was a head wind with rain all the way. Once I turned it was a little easier as there was no wind and the rain eased and I started running and chatting to a guy called Will. This took my mind off the now painful legs and my pace and mood lifted. We arrived back at Plas Y Brenin together and said goodbye as he stopped to say hi to his wife.

Will and I. Thanks for keeping my going Will!

This is where I made the decision to try and get close to last years time. I knew I was a little behind and knew the mountain would be tough as it was windy and the clouds were down on the mountain. I started up through the woods and tried to keep a fast walk / slow run making sure my heart rate didn’t go into the red. It was hard going but I felt good. I stopped half way up to put my jacket on as I was getting cold and then carried on to the summit. I got to the top around 7 minutes faster then the year before! There was no photographer this year at the summit so I got my phone out and someone took a photo at the top. Now for the down..

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  Half way up

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  Summit of Moel Siabod – 872m

Going down hurt. My legs were burning, my left knee hurt and my toes were being bashed into the front of my trainers. I stopped to help someone who had fallen and to put my jacket away again and kept up a reasonable pace. About half way down I changed my watch to total time. It said 7h4m. I know a PB was on. I kept working hard and eventually got to the flatter final 2km on the gravel track. I pushed and managed to get to 5:30m/km and powered on to the finish. I crossed the line in 7h24m09s. A PB of 8m17s. I was over the moon!

	2018	2019	Difference	Total difference
Swim	34m48s	36m28s	1m39s	+1m39
T1	3m41s	4m50s	1m09s	+2m48s
Top of Pen Y Pass	20m33s	23m08s	2m35s	+5m03s
Mountain Centre – Llanberis	37m25s	41m52s	4m27s	+7m14s
Waunfawr	56m24s	1h00m27s	4m03s	+6m51s
Rhyd Ddu	1h16m52s	1h17m41s	49s	+3m37s
Beddgelert	1h26m09s	1h26m22s	13s	+3m01s
Garreg	1h43m54s	1h44m11s	17s	+3m05s
Tanygrisiau	2h22m59s	2h22m58s	-1s	+2m47s
Top of Crimea Pass	2h42m00s	2h43m25s	1m25	+4m13s
Turn into Betws-y-Coed	3h03m00s	3h05m54s	2m54s	+5m42s
Finish	3h32m09s	3h34m36s	2m27s	+5m15s
T2	1m57s	2m31s	34s	+5m49s
Run turn	41m25s	43m12s	1m47s	+7m36s
Start of Moel Siabod	1h22m05	1h21m40s	-25s	+5m24s
Summit	2h30m53s	2h23m34s	-7m19s	-1m30s
Finish	3h21m52s	3h07m46s	-14m06s	-8m17s
Total	7m34m26s	7h26m09s	-8m17s	-8m17s

Looking at my times against each other, I can see how important it was to fuel better on the bike. I know that my bike was slower, mainly due to the wind and rain. I ate much more and drank more, including my stop for extra water. This allowed me to be stronger later on into the run. The turn of the 1st part of the run was where my times were the furthest apart at 7m36s but the extra fuel paid coming into the end of the race where I blew up the previous year. I still cant believe that my run was 14m06s faster, amazing!

In summary, an amazing race and a great experience again. Despite the wind and rain, I really enjoyed it, even more than last year. As a result i’m already thinking about a 3rd year and trying to go faster again.

Thanks for reading

The Snowman

So back on 2nd November 2017 I entered the Always Aim High Snowman Legend event. For those of you who don’t know, it is a 1900m swim, 92km bike ride and a 21.1km run. If that wasn’t hard enough, it’s in Snowdonia and the run includes the mountain Moel Siabod.

Leading up to the event I was incredibly nervous. I live in Lincolnshire which is rather flat and try as I might I couldn’t replicate the hills on bike or run training. This was making me have doubts to whether or not I would be able to complete the event.

I arrived the day before the race to register and book into our B&B which was only a mile from Plas Y Brenin where the event was being held. I had seen Moel Siabod before having visited just before entering but it somehow looked bigger than I remembered. The view from our B&B window was also of the summit!

Moel Siabod from the B&B

The night before the race my wife, Amy and I walked the last part of the run route and into the finishing funnel. It was exciting to see what would hopefully greet me at the end of the following day. We walked back to the B&B and attempted to sleep, which I didn’t really do.

The alarm went off at 5am and it was race day. After some porridge it was a 30 minute walk to transition. It was warm for 5:30am and was due to be hot all day. I got to transition and got set up while Amy found somewhere to watch the swim from. Transition was as friendly as usual and having a chat with others made me relax a little. Many people were talking about the hills to come and the was one guy, Nando, from Holland who really didn’t feel he had managed to get the hill training in! I got into my wetsuit and it was time! The forecast was good with clear sky’s and temperature peaking at 25oc by midday.

The lake was lovely and warmer than I was expecting at 16.2oc. The swim was two laps and was hectic at the start and until for first turn. There were feet and arms everywhere and it made was hard work until everyone spread out. I managed the 1900m swim in 34:48 which I was happy with.

Out of the swim was a 300m run to T1 and after a quickish removal of the wetsuit and bike shoes on, it was off. Turning left out of transition was uphill and it continued up until the top of Pen Y Pass, about 9km away. The end of Pen Y Pass was steep and the small gear got its first outing of the day.

Heading out of T1 up Pen Y Pass

There was a massive decent into Llanberis and not being used to downhills like this, I was cautious. Other riders were flying past me but I just didn’t have the guts to go that fast. Out of Llanberis was flattish for a bit and I had to stop for around two minutes at some roadworks which was a little annoying but meant I could refuel easily. There then followed lots of ups and downs and I was feeling ok, once again having to stop, this time to remove my cycle jersey as it was so hot.

It wasn’t until the Crimea pass that I started to struggle. It stared and was about 7k in length with an average gradient of 5%. The upward trend has started about 10k before so after around 17km of uphill I was knackered. The downhill was great and I topped out at just over 70kmph, which for me was fast. Once again, others were braver than me! You could smell the brake dust coming off the cars as they tried to stop on the corners which was a little weird. There was then a nice 13km of downhill with an average of -3% so managed a small rest. Once at Betws-y-coed there was a final climb up to Capel Curig with a 2.5km 4% rise. I was really struggling at this point and Amy had stood outside the B&B to cheer me on. Just what I needed!

Bike route elevation

The run into T2 was short and downhill and I got ready for the run. You had to carry water and a long sleeved top (less than originally states due to the good weather) so a hydration pack was donned and the run began, straight up a flight of stairs! The first part of the route was a 13km out and back toward a mountain called Tryfan. There was about 100m of climbing on the way out and the path was covered in slate and rocks. It was hard and hot. My pace was down as my run legs were not there. I recovered a bit at the turn around and the return to Plas Y Brenin felt good.

We ran over the bridge at the swim start and then into the wood. This is where the mountain began! It was horrid. The path to the summit was about 3.7km in length with an average of around 17%. I climbed over 650m and it killed me. I wanted to give in at times but just kept my head down and put one foot in front of the other. Other runners on the way down were giving encouragement and that was really needed. The views were amazing and it took a little over an hour to reach the summit. I had done it!

The summit of Moel Siabod

Run elevation

The route back down was the same and passing people on the way up I gave the same encouragement that I was given. The down as just as hard as the up with pain in my feet and quads. I tried to be as careful as I could while being quick as I had passed a man on the way up who had fallen and dislocated his knee. He was in pain and awaiting removal from the mountain, I hope he was ok.

The whole decent was a bit quicker at 48 minutes and the finishing chute was then in sight. What a feeling, I was a Snowman Legend!

The whole course took me 7h34m26s. The goal had been 7h30m but given the heat I was happy with my effort as I don’t think I could have given any more. It has been said by competitors in the past that the event was harder than an Ironman but I couldn’t tell you until I take on that challenge. The whole day was amazing and the support from everyone, especially the marshals on the mountain was fantastic.

A special mention must go to Amy who has endured my training over the last 10 months and was there to support me on the day. She is the one who told me it was possible and pushes me to be the best I can be.

So what next? Well, Always Aim High so a series that includes the Slateman, Snowman and Sandman and that looks like it’s a possibility. I may drop down to Olympic/standard distance for a year and work on a shorter and faster race, possible GB in the next age group? Only time will tell.

Starting to get nervous

So I haven’t blogged for ages and it’s not something that I really do but wanted to just write this down, more for my own piece of mind than anything.

My “A” race is “The Snowman” by Always Aim Higher and it’s only 7 weeks away. I get a constant reminder on my Garmin and whilst it was there for motivation, I feel it might be a weight on my shoulders.

I have been training hard all year minus a holiday to South Africa (I did manage a few runs while where), but for some reason feel that I’m still not ready. Maybe it’s the fact that I live in the really flat county of Lincolnshire or the fact struggling to hit my self imposed training hours due to family life but there is still a nagging doubt in my head that I’m not going to get around.

My swimming feels good and at my last race, the Monster Mojito Olympic distance in Peterborough, I got a 2 min PB over the previous year. I have been doing well in both the pool and lake and average times for 100m are consistently lower than last year. My bike has not really improved over the last year in terms of speed but does seem easier to maintain and my run speed is easier to hold at a faster pace. All races I have entered this year have been ones I have done previously and all have been PBed. All this should make me confident but it doesn’t.

The original plan for “The Snowman” was 7h30mins but I think it will just be to complete at the moment. Will have to see how I get on during the event and manage expectations as I go, or is this just a defeatist attitude?

I have Woodhall Sprint Tri tomorrow and using it as a threshold training session and hope to smash it! Anyway, I will write another blog closer to race day and keep my legs turning over.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks Always Aim High!

So I woke up yesterday and sorted the kids out as I normally do. Watched some mind numbing CBeebies and had breakfast and then checked my phone. I had a reply to a comment I had made on a competition page from Always Aim Higher saying to contact them. “It can’t be can it?” I was thinking and it was. I was the winner!

I had won a Suunto Spartan Sport. I had entered never expecting to win as you never do on these Facebook competitions. I don’t know much about Suunto watches and currently use a Fenix 3 so hopefully this is as good if not better. Would just like to say right now, thanks to Always Aim High, and see you in August!

The training has properly started for next season. The turbo is back again and I have started some Strength and Conditioning in the gym. I have also joined Training Peaks as I liked what it did during the trail I had.

The real issue I have is trying to get hill training done. Living in Lincolnshire it’s about as flat as it can get and my “A” race, “The Snowman” has a rather large hill (well a mountain) to run up at the end. I am trying intervals to build power, there are a few short sharp hills I’m trying to do do repeats on. Any ideas of sessions to help?

Now to book onto my B and C races. Looking at the Monster Mojito Olympic distance and Woodhall Spa Sprint as well as some 10ks and maybe a half marathon.

Thanks once again goes to Always Aim High for the competition win.

Is Garmin’s LTHR fit for purpose?

So today I tried to complete the Garmin LTHR test and it was a massive failure. I think I have now found out why but will have to wait and see when I try it again.

The watch has my max HR at 230 and this had come from the “auto detect”. Not sure where this had come from but it is defiantly not right. My current LTHR was set to 167 and wanted to see if this was still correct.

It was clear from very early on that I wasn’t going to get a new LTHR. My first “target zone” was 161-185 which was close to my current LTHR. It then moved on to 185-195, 195-205, 205-215 then finally 215-230. From the second zone I had no chance. I’m hoping it was due to the incorrect max HR from the auto detect.

Does anyone have a reliable way other than 220-age to get max HR? Have set to 188 as that is 220-age currently but any suggestions would be great. I maxed out at 176 during this test but wasn’t sprinting as knew I had to keep going for 3-4 mins per zone not just for 30-45 secs.

Might give Joel Friels 20 min time trial a go, or might try the Garmin one again now max HR is lower.

Here is to hoping that the Garmin test is fit for purpose and it was just my mistake with max HR that was the issue!

Week 1 – The road to “The Snowman” starts now!

Hi all,

My plan is to try and write a blog each week on how my training is going. I am going to try and write it on a Sunday night but it wasn’t possible this week.

Training this week has gone well. I have signed up to a free trail of TrainingPeaks and love it! Good data analysis and workout creation, just need to try and find a way to pay for a year!

The goal this week was the National club relays at Nottingham, but more about that in a bit.

Monday

Did some Yoga, I’m enjoying this but not many people know that! Also did an hour on the turbo. It should have been two but it was messing around. What with iPad, HR monitor and baby monitor all with about 5 ft of each other, think the signals interfered with each other. Still it was a hard hour

Tuesday

I managed some OW swimming at Tattershall. Not the fastest but steady. Got a horrid wetsuit rash, must have missed a spot with the glide!

Wednesday

Again it was another 1hr bike session on the turbo. It again should have been two but my legs were feeling it and with a race at the weekend I called it. I also did 30mins strength work. No weight, just body resistance but it was hard after the turbo.

Thursday

I had planned a run but I have had a sore foot for the last week or so. I deceived it was best to lay of the running till the relays. So I ended up with a rest day.

Friday

Rest day

Saturday

OSB National club relay championships. Loved it! The family came to watch and I managed a PB for this course on all 3 disciplines. A total of 1m46s of last year. It’s a great atmosphere and with rest between each leg you can really push yourself as you have time to recover.

Sunday

I should have done a 1h30m run but my wife, Amy, is having an operation on Monday morning so we had to get prepared for that, more importantly we had to tidy the house as we had parents coming to babysit!

Overall, I was pleased with the week. Would of liked a few extra minutes on all disciplines but that’s just how the week went.

Next week is going to be hard as Amy will have had her back operation and be mainly immobile. Not really fair to go out for hours on end incase she need me. We will see but family is the most important.

Thanks for reading if you got this far! I will try and check in next Sunday with week 2 of Snowman prep!

Planning for “The Snowman”

Morning to anyone who would be reading this. 

So this week I went and purchased the Joel Friel training bible. It has been heavy reading so far but think that it will be worth it. 

From what I have gathered I’m not doing a bad job of my training but I’m not quite consistent enough and my intensity has been a little high. It was good to get some HR zones dialled down and this should help going forward.

It did suggest a few things.

1. Get a power meter if you don’t have one. Been looking but think it might have to wait for a bit, don’t have the money at the moment and don’t think I can just get one anyway. Xmas?
2. Use training peaks. I signed up for the trial and it’s great. Only issue is that it’s £90 for the year. Can that be justified? Why is triathlon so expensive?

So the reason for getting the book? Planning. I am planing to do “The Snowman next year. If you haven’t seen what it is, watch this;

Snowman Triathlon
It looks brutal but got to push yourself. I plan to make it my “A” race next year before trying a full distance in 2019. 

I looked at the finishing times for 2017?last night and it was won in 6h11m! Must be hard. So my goal was then set. TOP 10! That means a time of 6h55m from this years race. Just going to leave the bike and run profile below. 

Thanks for reading!

My 70.3 Journey

First, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Luke Crossland and I am a teacher, dad and husband from Lincolnshire. I would also like to thank my family for the support over the last year in helping me with my training and putting up with my moods after training or when I didn’t get to do the session that I wanted.

I have only recently got the triathlon bug and joined my local club, “Boston Triathlon Club”, in June 2016. I have since then completed some smaller tri’s with the goal of completing a 70.3 in 2017.  I completed my first ever tri in 2007 when I completed the Woodhall Spa Sprint tri with some work colleagues then didn’t do anything until 2016. I was once again encouraged into entering Woodhall by a work colleague and have never looked back.

It was at Woodhall that I meet Julian and joined the club. I completed the National relays at the end of the season and then set my goals for 2017. I had first thought that an Olympic distance would be where I was aiming for but quickly decided that I could do more and wanted to push myself, so set a 70.3 as a target. I chose the Cotswold 113 as my “A” race as I had family doing it. We could stay with them and reduced the overall cost of entering. Many in the club are aiming for Holkham but with entry and accommodation, it was starting to all add up. I wish them all luck, they will smash it!

So, back to planning. I picked Southwell Sprint as a season opener and the Mojito Olympic in Peterborough as my “B” race. The Cotswold 113 was early, on 4th June 2017, and as a result, had 3 weeks from Olympic to 70.3. I trained hard over the winter. I stared with the club, going to weekly swim sessions, but do to family commitment, these sessions dwindled and I ended up doing most of my training alone once the kids were in bed. I spend countless hours in the shed on my turbo and these were the most soul destroying times. The shed sessions were boring and took lots of commitment to do, but I’m so glad I did. They help with my power and kept me going during the race and meant that I didnt really feel like I was struggling.

I also went to sessions with Paul Folwer and these were invaluable. The help he gave me and others, reduced my 400m time but nearly a minute and reduce my CSS from over 2minutes per 100m to well under. Not only was it a time saving, it was an energy saving. I was leaving the pool / lake feeling so much better and I cant thank him enough for this.

So, first race of the year, Southwell. It went really well and was happy with my time. Just over an hour and it felt good. PB for the 400m swim and a good bike leg. The run could have been quicker, but that hill was rather strength sapping.

Transition from Swim to Bike at Southwell Sprint Tri

It was then back to training for the Olympic distance in Peterborough. I was a little nervous about this as I had never completed this distance and depending on how well I did would chance my mindset for the 70.3. It was an early start and the weather when we got there was shocking. Overall, I was happy with my time of 2h32m and was really pleased with a 10k PB at the end. The lake was horrid and I don’t want to get back in there anytime soon. There was once again a good club presence and I enjoyed the whole experience. With my time came some believe that I could get around the 70.3 in a reasonable time.

 

Exiting the lake

Completed!

Following Peterborough, it was 3 weeks of training before the 70.3. The last week was tapering and this was horrid. I was ready and just wanted to go hard but knew I couldn’t. It also help to build up the nervous anticipation for race day.

Race weekend came and I travelled down to Cheltenham with the family to get ready. Register on the Saturday and then went to bed, or at least tried to, nerves were getting the better of me.

Race Day – 6hr target (told this was a “good” time by various people)

IT WAS HERE! All the training over the winter for the next few hours. It was a 3.30am start to get to the event on time as transition closed at 5:45am. I wasn’t in the water until 6:40am so an hour of waiting then followed. A toilet stop needed and some mental preparation, and then I was in the water. The swim went well, but the first 400m or so were a battle with everyone trying to get a position. After awhile the wave spread out and it calmed down. I got out the water and didnt feel to happy with the swim, but looking at my watch, a 31m swim had been done and a smile came in transition.

I got on the bike and said to myself that I would just ride on feel with 5km efforts followed by 5km of rest. I had set a target of 3hrs17mins with an average of 27.5kmph. It was a 2 lap route and following the first lap, I was on an average of 31kmph. I started to do some maths and figured that if I was to repeat this, I could get a 3hr ride. This could meant a 5hr30m time if I didnt blow up on the run! I managed to hold the bike to an average of 30.5kmph and came in after 2hrs54mins. I knew I could get sub 5h30m!!

First lap of the bike, still feeling fresh

I didn’t know what to expect from the run. I had run the distance in training in 1hr54m but never pushed it, or done it following a 3hr bike ride. I set off and again said to myself that I would do it on feel. I didn’t look at my watch until the end of the first lap (7km) and was averaging about 5m10s/km. This was surly to fast? I just kept going, and completing lap 2 with a similar average time. The last lap was hard!!!! My legs were aching and my energy reserves were almost gone. Gels and jelly bean were not helping, it was just about digging deep and getting over the line. People everywhere were walking but I couldn’t, I had to run. The last km I just shouted at myself and went into “the red”. I crossed the line in 5h19m52s and ended up on the floor! It was over.

Finishing chute

Looking back, was I happy? Hell yeah! Ecstatic even. It was done and sub 5h20m. This wasn’t even a consideration during training as I thought it was well beyond me. Can I just thank again my family for all the help and support and also help Boston Tri Club for the same. I felt proud finishing in the kit and representing the club. A course record to boot as well!

So what next? People have suggested a full IM next year but I think I want to attempt “The Snowman”. (if you haven’t seen it, a 70.3 in Snowdonia with a 3000ft mountain on the run!) Maybe a marathon? We will have to wait and see for now.

Thanks for reading and good luck in any training or race coming up. My only advice, don’t give up, don’t quit and finish knowing that you couldn’t have given any more. No one can ask for any more than that!