The season that was....

My first season of triathlon is over.  Unfortunately, unable to race at Hever this weekend due to a persistent chest infection, I have no more races left this year.  Looking back on my season I think I can take away lots of good points and a couple of things I would really like to work on.....

Positives

- I qualified for GB Age Group, which I was pretty convinced would not happen. 

- Went sub 40mins for a 10km for the first time.

- Developed my cycling so that I am much stronger over longer distances now. I also feel like my 5 and 10min power has improved considerably. 

- With help from Swim Smooth I've managed to get my 400m time down from 6min40 to 5min37 and my 1500m time down from 27min-ish to doing a 23:0x at Bedford.  

- Snuck onto the podium for the first time with a cheeky 3rd place at the Thorpe Sprint Triathlon (1st race of series).

- Sorted out all the bike bling I will ever need and got a pretty good position sorted too.

 Negatives

 - A big, fat DNF at Bedford.    

 - Not nearly enough racing across all disciplines. I need to race more without a doubt.  

 - Still no real PBs over straight TT distances (though mostly due to only doing a couple all year).  

 Looking back over this list, I realise I actually had a fantastic season and it is all to easy to be too critical. On the other hand, who knows what sort of time I could do in Turkey if I correct all these little bits? The racing can be quite easily sorted. I have several ParkRuns very close to me so could race over 5km every week without too much hassle. There's a great little lake near to me too which hold swim races and aquathlons when it's warm enough. I've also begun to get quick enough to join the quick boys in the Club on their rides - they are considerably stronger than me at the moment, but it gives me something to aim for and will undoubtedly really help my cycle leg.

It's at this time where I also need to start planning for winter base training.  I know I need to keep working on all 3 disciplines but it's my running in particular that would seem to hold the most gains.  My swim and bike legs are of a good level, but I always lose time on the run.  I'm going to be putting together some sort of a plan over the next few weeks which will then make it's way up to this blog.

J

Swimming Smooth.....

Swimming is something I do not have a huge amount of talent for.  I surfed for the best part of 8 years before I moved to London for University and that has undoubtedly set me up quite well in terms of muscle development but I have never had any swim lessons past the absolute basics, let alone been part of a swim squad.  This complete lack of knowledge left me at a loss as to what my swim training should consist of.  There is information out there, but I had no real idea as to how to put it together.  This made itself obvious by my fairly average swim split of 28min at my first triathlon (London).  I didn't really know what I needed to do to really improve until on the recommendation of another swimmer I had a look at the Swim Smooth plans.

There are 3 different levels of plans, the Swim Smooth website describes them as:

Level 1 is for swimmers who swim around 7:45 to 12:00 for 400m or faster swimmers returning to fitness after a long layoff. A typical session is around 2300m. Don't be put off if you're quite new to freestyle swimming, these plans are just what you need to improve your swimming - and motivate you too!

* Level 2 is for swimmers around the 6:00 to 7:40 mark for 400m swam hard. Each session in the plan is 2500 to 3000m in length. This plan will direct you and challenge you - giving you the perfect mix of training and technique to get you into top shape for your triathlon season.

* Level 3 is for strong swimmers who swim sub 6 minutes for 400m. Each session is 3000+m in length. As an advanced swimmer you may feel your need to swim further than this but these sessions are highly focused and avoid 'junk yardage'. Exactly what you need to keep you motivated and gap the field.

I opted for the level 2 plan as fitness tests for work showed that my base level of fitness had me splashing my way through 400m in 6min37 - not exactly what I was hoping for.  Best will in the world this was going to give me a 1500m time of 26-27min, which is way off what I really needed to do if I had hopes of qualifying.  I only got round to ordering the plan just before the Easter holidays began giving me just enough time to complete the 11 week plan before my first 'A' race of the year and my first chance to qualify at the Bedford Triathlon.

So, the plan began.  3 mornings a week I dragged my weary body to the local pool and did around 2700m of swimming.  This was either a long swim (concentrating on endurance), a "fresh and fruity" set working on speed or a technique set.  Some of the techniques and drills seemed very odd to me and I couldn't really see their purpose.  Then, as I read some more articles about the Swim Smooth technique, I began to see what they were targeting and were hoping to improve.  I knew I was beginning to actually swim and not just power (read splash) my way down the pool.  I felt fluid and I felt as if the rhythm that was noticeably absent before was beginning to develop.  However, I was not prepared for the result of my session #14 (4th week of the plan) which called for me to repeat the 400m and 200m time trials that I used to set my CSS* pace.

I needed to check my watch again.

5:57.  5min 57 secs.  I couldn't believe it and a little squeak let everyone around me know I was pleased with the result.  In just over 4 weeks of training I had gone for 6:3x to 5:57 for 400m

These improvements just kept coming.  Understandably the improvements were smaller, but nevertheless, by the end of the 11week program, I was down to 5min36 for 400m.  This improvement was reflected in my swim split at Bala where I came out the water at 23:0x (can't be specific, timing mat was on entry to transition).

For winter, I'm going to be moving up a level to level 3 plan and I hope to get down to close to 5min for 400m by the time I go to turkey and a 1500m split of 21:xx and I truly feel that following this plan will see me achieve this.

If your swimming is stuck in a rut and you can't even comprehend how to swim faster - then check out Swim Smooth.  If you like the idea of structured sessions and not having to trawl Google results to piece together a patchwork session - then check out Swim Smooth.  If you like nicely bound books full of techniques and words like "fresh" and "fruity" you can check out these guys too.

James

* estimated pace which is lactate threshold pace

Swim Smooth Website

Swim Smooth Training Plans

Bala Standard Distance Race Report

So that's that.  My first full season of triathlon is over, culminating with the Bala Standard Distance and my last chance at GB Age Group qualification.  I won't spoil the surprise by telling you the outcome now.....oooh the tension.

After a fairly horrific journey up to Bala, I got registered and checked in at the hostel I had booked for the night. A fairly eventless evening, punctuated with several small bowls of pasta and other carby snacks, more than several trips to check my bike hadn't decided to un-assemble itself and a fair amount of nervous leg jiggling before settling in for an early night at 2200.  Bala is one of the few events which starts at a more civilised time, with my wave going off at 0930, meant I almost had a lie in!

The morning after the night before and I was racked, lubed and suited, ready for the off.  A little warm up swim confirmed that the lake really is face achingly cold, but I felt I had my breathing under control.  I've had problems with the dive reflex causing me to catch my breath, causing real problems for 5-10mins before I can settle down, so I was pleased to have sorted this out before the race started properly.  I lined up a little way down the line, to try and give myself some clear water, but as soon as the horn went, it was carnage.  By far and away the most chaotic swim start I've ever been in, with arms, legs, ears, elbows and other assorted anatomy flying around in all directions.  After 300m or so though, everything settled down and I found myself following a nice set of feet (didn't notice the nail varnish colour, but well cared for they definitely were).  The swim exit at Bala involves hobbling over some rocks to the jetty which definitely lost me some time, but a solid swim performance.  Not as fast as Bedford, but quite pleased.  Swim Split: 24:55


T1 was uneventful, did what needed to be done and got out on the bike.  T2: 1:08  

The elastic bands did their job and I got into the saddle no problems.  Then the fun began.  My feet, numbed by the cold Welsh lake did a pretty good job of shutting the straps on my shoes.  However, some awkward wibbling, some frustrated wobbling and I finally got them on and I could start getting on with it!  By now, the calm lake was heavily ripped by a strong wind and I was working hard to average barely 20mph and was worrying my bike split would be way off what I had planned.  However, at the turn around I realised that that wind was easily going to pay back that effort as I easily cruised back at 30mph+ for large chunks of the return leg of the out and back course.  The course is quick, but definitely got some lumps and curves to it.  However, I think this played to my advantage as I see my climbing in the the aero position as one of my strengths, evident by the ground I made up on competitors and several I passed on the two climbs on each leg of the course.  My Rudy Project Wingspan was awesome and kept my head well ventilated in the muggy and warm conditions.  Bike Split: 01:02:15 

T2 was one of my best to date - re-racking the bike by hanging it off the brakes was a great move in the end and I'm really pleased.  T2: 0:41

The run felt tough to begin with as my left quad kept pinging as if it was trying to cramp.  I passed my dad who was sat at the side of the course on the way out, who shouted that a 45min 10km would get me a 2:15 - my realistic goal for the event.  Knowing this, I checked my wristwatch and started counting off the 7min miles.  The course ran alongside the bike course and had a good lump in it - definitely not a PB 10km course.  With 1mile to go I knew I was going to go under 2:15 and I started targeting 2:13:xx.  The last 200m was a weaving little funnel, over some rough ground and my tired legs kept causing me to catch my feet on the pot-holed ground, but I made it across the line.  Somehow, I had the energy to pull out this frankly fantastic finish line photo.  Run Split: 44:29.  Overall Time: 2:13:30.

However, a nasty little surprise was in store as I found out I had received a 2min penalty for drafting.  I honestly have no idea how, when or where I did something that was worthy of a penalty, but I am not one to argue with race officials - their job is hard enough as it is without people arguing the toss.  All I can do is learn from it and be even more careful than I was at Bala.  My official time therefore became 2:15:30. 

And now for the really big news.....I qualified!  Q2 at Bala and I'm off to Turkey in June for the European Championships as a GB Age Grouper!

Who'da thunk it....

James



Full Race Results