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What's your next event Nursey? Getting something booked in will definitely help.
I'm planning for Frankfurt Mara in October (sub 3 attempt whoop whoop), Eco trail de Paris in March then Outlaw again for next year (spousal permission is in place for the first two so far)
All that's definite is Outlaw relay next year
On hols this coming fortnight, so will search for a few targets when we get back
Post IM blues Nursey ... quite common, best solved by entering another race
Or drinking and eating loads
Funny you should say that Cat...........................
Ive spent all day wanering where I was this time last week. Any one else, keep looking at the clock?
Yep, I just worked out where I was before I came on here,
How is everyone's recovery going? I did early morning run then open water swim and a 2 hour bike this morning, all at easy effort so I guess mines going good.
don't want to overdo things but i'm still enjoying the training.
I felt back to normal by Weds...
I've pool swum gently Tues/ Wed/ Fri, lake swim Thursday and short run.
Olympic Tri yesterday
- water so warm it was a non-wetsuit swim
swim and run today.....
Ripon, by any chance, K9?
Short bike Wed, 3 mile run Fri and 6 miles today. All good - glad to be getting stuck in again, really. Got Snowdonia marathon in October
Yes Britrisky....I've done it twice before. My slowest time yesterday...but mostly because of the no wetsuits I think rather than being tired
Have you done Ripon too?
Good luck with the marathon!
Did it last year - it was my first tri! Really enjoyed it, especially the barbecue after!
Are you a local, then?
Hour and a half away....but worth the drive as its a great event
Same here - contemplating having another crack at the Rubicon in September ...
Brit if off to St Neots oly in sept are you interested?
Ilooked at that one last year but did wild boar instead.
Is it good?
Nice river swim, small and friendly. I have a free pass due to the other half not been able to use his winning from last year
Rubicon's a middle distance - with a down river swim (bit of walk to the start, as a consequence). The river was very cold, but the bike route is very similar to Ripon oly, and the run is four laps around Newby Hall - very pretty and v. spectator friendly. I'd recommend it - small and friendly, free camping
RP - mm, tempting, but clashes with our running club's barbecue ...
Here we go
THE OUTLAW Race report.
By Dave (Razor) Wilkinson
This journey started 20 months ago in December 2012 when I was presented with my 2012 Outlaw entry in my Christmas card from my Daughter Sharon and Son-in Law Des (Horse).
So training began in earnest following the 30 week Don Fink just get round plan. We trained together as much as we could and pushed and encouraged each other. As the winter weeks passed into spring things were progessing nicely until disaster struck, I came off my bike and fractured my Tibia and dislocated my ankle, this ended my 2012
Outlaw dream.
Re entered Outlaw for 2013 and carried on much the same training routine with Des but this time with more quality sessions and made it unscathed to the taper weeks which started with a 52 mile cycle around the roads of Manchester, this was my last ride until Outlaw.
Friday evening at 6.45 I said my goodbyes to my wife Sandra who wished me luck and headed off to pick Des, Josh (grandson) up en route to Nottingham. Got allthe kit ,bikes and camping gear on board and off we go.
Arrived at HPP camp site at 9pm said a few hello’s to some fellow Pirates and erected the tent and gazebo and settled down with a brew.
Saturday we went to register and a walk around the expo then did a recce of the lake picking distance markers out for the swim. 11am came and it was time for the briefing which was well attended and met more Pirate mates. Then it was back to the campsite to check out the bikes and sort our kit into transition bags. Had a quick brew and then back to transition to rack bikes and leave bags in T1.Back at the tent we could finally relax as everything was done.
We ate at the local pub (The Bridge) and then headed back to camp, it was now 7.30 ish so chatted about what Sunday would bring.
Then went to bed at 9.30.
Race day.
Alarm went off at 4.15 got up washed and had breakfast consisting of 2 weetabix with milk and honey then headed down to transition to put nutrition on the bikes an d check tyre pressures and back to cmap to don my wetsuit. This done we went to the swim start, over the timing mat and entered the water for a quick swim to loosen up. I was looking to be out of the swim in 1.30 ish which was bay 3. but we were told if you start at the back of bay 1 you will have clear water once the fast swimmers have gone so opted for back of bay 1. We were called back to the bays for the start but there were that many swimmers with the same idea that it was crowded, as I tried to make my way back as the klaxton went for the start.
The Swim
I was cought up in the mele of fast swimmers coming towards me, I tried to turn but was too late , I was swum over, elbowed in the face knocking my goggles sidewaysand then kicked under the chin but I survived and found clear water eventually. Got into a steady stroke and looked out for markers I had picked out the previous morning before I knew it I was at the turn bouy across the lake and turn for home, the home stretch seemed to go on for ages but that was proberbly me tiring a bit, got dragged out by 2 marshalls and unzipped. Swim done 1:39:32 A little disappointed.
T1 Ran with wobbly legs to the change tent where I was stripped of my wetsuit by the lovely lady marshals and into the tent,grabbed my bag and got my wet gear off. Tried to towel myself down but it dtiss a job to get
type faster........
What happened next????
looking forward to the bike and run....
Are you alright Razor? Talk about a cliff hanger!!
did he just do the swim?
Sorry guys though it had all copied
T1 Ran with wobbly legs to the change tent where I was stripped of my wetsuit by the lovely lady marshals and into the tent,grabbed my bag and got my wet gear off. Tried to towel myself down but it dtiss a job to get my bib shorts and cycle top on when I finally managed it I realised I had forgotten to put my HR monitor on, so tried to thread it through my bib short braces under my top to no avail so had to take arms back out of top and start again, finally sorted socks, shoes gloves , sunglasses and helmet on and out to my bike. T1 time 17:16 (I know I could have read war and peace whilst I was in there)
The Bike
Set off around the lake and out onto the roads, got my head down and just pedalled nice and steady,at about 6 miles I heard something rubbing on the bike so I stopped to have a look, was passed by 2 other ricerd and then the mighty Sid Poppyfields in his morphsuit, he asked if I was ok, said I was so off he went .Couldnt find anything wrong with the bike so set off again, got onto the big ring , down on the aerobars and powered my way back to catch Sid and the other 2. reached the first feed station which was manned by the Pirate posse and got a great big cheer as I went through, I didn’t take anything on board as it was only 16 miles in and I still had plenty on the bike. I would be taking 1 gel every 45 minutes amd 750ml of High 5 per hour, this would increase as the temperature rose.
The first Southern loop passed without any problems so along the long stretch towards the Northern loop where I could see the leaders coming back towards me to do their second Southern loop and they were flying past.
Got to the the Northern loop and the temperature on my bike computer was reading 34C, how accurate this was I don’t know but it was certainly hot, making sure not to dehydrate I drank more often and took an Isogel at the bottom of Oxon Bank I passed a fellow pirate, Cake at the side of the road ,asked if he was ok, said he was just taking a breather before Oxon Bank so off I went up the hill. I treated myself to a mini pork pie after the hill. The rest of the Northern loop passed by and was now making my wayback to the Southern loop again, this part of the ride was the most challenging as I was on my own and I started to go into dark places thinking ,I’m riding too slow , am I going to make the cut off , things like that so I gave myself a good talking to and told myself “It’s not a Knitting club” now get on with it. I stopped at the next feedstation took on 3 x 750ml bottles of High 5,had a toilet break, the first one in nearly 6 hrs got back on the bike with renewed energy and motivation, grabbed a banana on the way out and thanked everyone for their efforts. Now I was pulling myself together and pushing really hard and managed to catch 3 riders which boosted my confidence. Then it was off on the final 12 miles back to HPP,the milkes seem to go by really fast and then I was back and off the bike.
Bike done7:29:31 I drank 9 x 750 ml of High 5 and consumed 11 gels. And into T2
T2 got in to the change tent and to my surprise Des was still in there, I thought he would be long gone as he is a stronger bikes than me but it appears my bike time 4:19min faster than his ,said he needed to take a few breaks out of the sun because he was feeling the heat which accounted for his slower bike than mine but was I glad to see him and he likewise was glad to see me so we could run the marathon together. Quick change of kit and off we went. T2 10:10
The Run
We set off at a steady pace suprisinglymy legs felt good the first mile passed in 10:45 which was ok as we had walked through the feed station, second mile almost the same pace then and picked up band 1. Des had a problem with his quads cramping so we walked for 5 minutes and then set off running again. Then it was my turn to cramp up so we walked for a few minutes this was to be the pattern for the rest of the run, the heat was so energy sapping so it was fluids at every feedstation. Collected band 2 Its true what they say you do get band envy looking to see how many band the other runners have got, and off we went around the lake past the Pirate support in the stands and off around the out and back loop along the embankment, got to the suspension bridge and the kids were jumping off into the river, how good it would have been to take a dip at that moment. Anyway run/ walk back to the lake and met up with the family on the bank , had a quick chat a photo and a kiss from my lovely wife and off we went, collected band 3.Round the lake ,past the Pirates again and out onto the embankment, the second loop we actually ran more of it than the first loop and back to the lake ,collected band 4 (YES) and the final loop, ran to the end of the lake and walked to the feedstation then ran down the home strait to be met 300mts from the finish by my 2 grandkids Isabele and Josh carrying a big flag with the Pirate skull an crossbones on they then ran to the finish chute with us to a roaring crowd as we entered the finish chute the noise was overwhelming and off up to the finish where we were met with a wall of noise from the Pirate massive on the finish line this something that I will remember forever. Crossed the line to finish in 15:48:15
This took me 20 months of dedication and sometimes bloody mindedness to get to the end but I did it. Its amazing what you can put you body and mind through with the right approach, if a 62 yr old codger like me can do so can you. It was tough mentally and physicaly but I enjoyed the whole experience and I want to do it again.
I would like to thank my best mate and training partner Des for getting me into this and for being a great Son-in Law and to all the marshals on the course for making it a brilliant day and to the Pirates who cheered and encouraged not just Pirates but everyone taking part. And last but not least thanks to my long suffering wife Sandra for putting up with me and my training all these months, I love you,
I AM AN OUTLAW.
Fantastic report Razor
Especially after the nightmare of breaking your leg last year!!!
razor, brilliant report
well done
i'm filling up ...
well done!!! See you next year, then?!!