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Training for a shorter Tri
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Chili must be nice to have someone to try to keep up with but that is a fast pace don't try to go too hard and injure yourself. When is your marathon? It must be coming up soon
Hi I'm doing a 90 mile bike ride a week on Saturday 17th August. It's for Lorros/McMillan charity. My web page is www.justgiving.com/Darrell-Bettoney/ or text 70070 JRFC99.
Hey,
I ran yesterday for the first time since my op. I went out with the slow group who are...slow...but it was good for me as I'd have probably done myself an injury if I'd gone on my own.
Good return Pete, I have missed quite a few run sessions, so I know how you feel.
My mind wants to go out training but the body says no. I hope to be swimming and cycling at the weekend.
Well, you did ask:
Open Adventure 2 Day Wales Race Report - EcoSeal Team: Temporarily Misplaced
So the race format: 5 stages, 4 are scored so you get a map with checkpoints marked on and you have X amount of time to collect as many points as possibly. Only as you cross the start line are you given the description and score value of the checkpoints and some of them don't even exist so you have to do route planning on the hoof.
The final stage is an all out fell race.
Preamble - Very long journey up to Wales as I had to do site visits for work, arrived in midge hell, pitched tent and faffed.
Saturday - 3 stages
Race briefing and it turned out that the first two stages were taking place at Coed Y Brenin MTB centre, this was about a 6 mile cycle away so a nice little warm up.
Stage 1 - 2 hour Trail run
Things started off well I knew from the outset that this weekend I wanted to get my navigation perfect, my fitness isn't great at the moment and this event is a big step up from the 5 hour events I'm used to.
Between the first couple of checkpoints I got a nose bleed and so looked a right state by the time I finished the stage, lots of "you should see the other guy" jokes.
Due to the terrain a fair few people had overshot the time and lost points for being late.
An hour break to grab some food before the next stage. . . . . . . TBC
Continue... continue.... this sounds cool!
Stage 2 - 5 hour MTB
Now MTBiking isn't my strong point so my aim was to collect a few checkpoints then head back to camp and the finish (6 miles back) with plenty of time so I can have a power nap and lots of food before stage 3.
First 2 hours went really well, then I had a slight navigational error and it took me 30mins of uphil fire road to get back on track, by now it was turning out to be the 2nd hottest day of the year and I was flagging. Clearly I hadn't eaten enough, I was probably 2 miles into the 6 back and the wheels fell off. I totally bonked, I managed not to cry but I had to stop and eat, apple juice was my saviour at this point. I limped back to the finish, promptly stuffed my face and passed out in my tent.
Stage 3 - 90 min night nav.
Waking up and feeling awesome again I was really excited about the night nav, I love it and I suppose it comes from watching james bond and imagining yourself infiltrating a secret russian missile silo in the middle of the night. . . .anyway, again fitness was the limiting factor. A large number of competitors made the mistake of thinking the boundary between non open access and open access land was a wall and once you go wrong with night nav its very hard to get back on track. It also suprised me how a number of competitors expected to just stumble upon controls, in the dark, on open bogland. The controls aren't marked by orienteering kites its litterally just the dibber box and a bit of red/white tape, you have to get yourself to the exact location if you want to find it.
My nav was spot on and bar ending up waist deep in a bog got back with 30 seconds to spare and a smile!
Bed
Stage 4 - 90 min Kayak
I've been on a kayak taper for roughly 8 years so I wasn't entirely sure how this stage would go. After the night nav this was my 2nd favorite stage, blue sky, mirror flat lake and utter stillness, truely truely beautiful. I continued to play it safe and I'm glad I did because paddling a two person sit on top on your own is tiring. My shoulders just about lasted but when I came to stand up my knees were screaming in pain.
TBC
Pre-Stage 5
So Sunday turned out to be THE hottest day of the year, hitting 30'C and the trail run was due to start at 1:30pm. I was in a really bad place, basically you get two options the long or the short, I was always going to do the short run but it was still 10km across rugged welsh bogland. I wasn't looking forward to it, I was totally and utterly knackered and the last thing I wanted was to drag myself through a very hot 10km.
It came down to this though: Did I want to not do the stage and DNF or complete the stage, regardless of how slowly and complete. It was always going to be the latter.
I packed loads of water and thought I'd packed food, I'd learn later I didn't.
So off we went, I jogged the downhills/flats and walked the uphills, managed to get to the turn around point and found myself in a very deep dark hole of hell.
I'd used up all my stores and the 5km back to the finish would be a journey of grit. The sweat was pouring off me and on a 2km uphill boggy slog where I ended up losing my leg up to my hip down flooded rabbit holes a number of times I felt like stopping and just curling up in a ball. I had to keep moving, every time I stopped I'd sway from side to side, not ideal.
Cresting the final summit I could see the end. . . . I pulled together every positive thought I could find and forced my head to send the positivity to my legs rather than making me cry. I'm not sure crossing the finish line was a relief, more of a grateful acceptance.
Post finishing I found myself in stood in my underwear in the lake eating a burger and coke, recovery at its best!
Now I need to admit something. . . .there were five people in my category - one dropped out, another lost all her points in the first stage for being late that she went round the MTB with her partner so withdrew herself as non-competative. . . so I came 3rd by default
First and second were 2 women who are basically adventure race pros and compete all over the world for pro teams, well out of my (non)league.
So I have a trophy which says I came third, to be honest I don't look at it and think "woo podium" I look at it and think "I didn't know I had the strength or depth of character to get through that". It reminds me I did something crazy and pushed myself, it also motivates me to train harder (which is working).
Finally, in my boggy slog of hell, it was remembering fun times with my OH that gave me the strength to finish.
So even when life is stressful and you have no time, do something fun with the people who mean the most to you because that moment of laughter, that smile that only you get to see, it'll make all the difference when you feel at your lowest.
Sounds AWESOME EcoSeal!!!
And hey, you DESERVE that third place! the girl who lost her points, that's because she didn't plan ahead, she was late, it's all part of the competition. You enjoy that trophy, you worked hard for it!
Eco Seal epic report, very honest which always makes it much better!
Totally agree with mikasa you deserved it. Enjoy it and be proud of it!
Seal that sounds very cool.
WELL DONE!!!!!!!! 
ST where is the bike ride? is this a sportive?
Seal that sounds scary but also huge amounts of fun. Your trained you turned up, you planned your race well and completed it in 3rd place. That trophy is all yours baby.
Ecoseal that is an amazing report and massive well done for finishing. You totally deserve that trophy. A lot of people would not have had the strength to finish
Played and swam in the sea a bit with the kids did a 2.25 mile run now my knee hurts and I am feeling so fed up with my lack of running progress.
Mathschick hope that gets better soon for you. I hate being injuried
I have a 5K handicap run this evening. Hoping for improvement...
Quick turbo today in between bits of work, hopefully getting out for a long run this weekend.
Build up slow Maths if you push to much you'll only break yourself.
Great report EcoSeal.
My mind is willing, the body is not, I keep falling asleep whilst on these tablets and worse I have not been able to celebrate my PB with a drink.
Wow Ecoseal!
Fantastic report for what sounds an incredible event. Well done. Your stickability is impressive.
Today was cross training by 1hr 20min rollerskating with my girlies and a few teenagers. Was trying to be clever and fell once rather hard on my lower back. Not painful but a bit stiff and am hoping it wears off cos tomorrow is my last long run of 20 miles.
Hi Cake it's from Leicester clock tower to Skegness clock tower
will be my longest ride to date.
Hi Cake just seen thanksYou for your donation mate
Nice one EcoSeal. My running club has a few people that do adventure races. We all camped and they ran one for us. After an hour on the bike I managed 1 point only. Hard to map read and concentrate when cycling.
How was the 5k Kritter?
Did a TT tonight on a lumpy course. Really wasn't feeling the love for it, and the past few weeks of drink and lack of training showed. Had an annoying finish time too which really made me with I'd just man'd up.
1500 swim done last night at the quays,41 minutes.
will run tonight with Horse and bike on Sunday then taper for Salford Tri (Olympic distance) next Sunday, looking forward to it, we are in wave 5 at a civilized time at 9.20am.
EP leave him alone for a few hours. When I was on crutches I soon figured out I could make coffee in a Thermos and put it in a backpack to transport it to the sofa!
Hope the physio helps him though
Managed a nice walk today but now icing my knee as it is sore. TTY tomorrow we travel down to Madrid and fly home on Sunday so I can do without it being bad!!
Nice swim Razor!
Hope you get your knee sorted Maths!
Another slow short shuffle today at lunch. Getting back into this running malarkey is hard and frustrating work. My easy pace is now ~12m/m.
Slowly slowly catchy monkey...
EP let him find out for himself that he can do more than he thinks, or else get the physio to give a kick up the bum.
I have done an Evans sportive, seemed just the same as anyone else's. Note I have only done 3 in my life.
Mikasa, do not worry about your speed, I am still at about 13m/m pace.
The ones I have done had refreshment stops, the number dependent on how far you were going. Most events advise taking enough food and water to last, so that if you are unlucky and the faster ones have eaten everything you are not caught out. Think they provide High5 drink, water, bananas and cakes.
Eco - sounds utterly rocking, top report
. Worked hard for what you got!
top swimming Razor! Showing us all the way as usual
chili - I'm cross training tomorrow with a 2&4 yr old... More tiring than traditional training I find!
mikasa - I started about that pace. Slowly bringing the time down It gets there!
Maths, sorry the knee bugging you again. Not what you need! I have everything crossed for You... You can swim tho yeah
Taking a week off to let the
*sorry*
So, taking a week off to let the ankle and foot settle. Nights have improved my 'doing nothing' approach. More next week.
OH enjoying his training. Got his bike all set up and some new kit arrived in parcels this week. I love proper post!
steady - smashing race report and quality PB. You must be proper chuffied
Cake - he's not swayed by doughnuts. Cider, my dear cider!