Unsurprisingly, having done a race with a bad cold, the cold would only get worse in the following week. I am bitterly disappointed that I didn't get to spend the rest of my holiday in the way that I had planned (swimming across Lake Zell, getting a pedalo with a slide out on the Lake, spending time in the hotel spa) - I just couldn't face doing anything wet - which is most unlike me. Even when we got back (after an epically long road trip..) I still wasn't interested - I went to the pool, but just couldn't get going. (It didn't help that my sinuses were so filled that every time I did a flip turn I had an excruciating pain in my face - and if you're not flip turning then it's soooo easy to stop at the end). I've finally managed to get a bit of swimming done but not quite what I hoped. My hip is still excruciating so no running even though my legs are twitching.
The other odd thing was today. I went to the lake for a swim as we were having a photoshoot of club members in their GB kit. We got there early enough for me to swim for over an hour, the photo was at 9 and then we came straight home. So by 9.30, I was home, having trained. That felt seriously weird after literally weeks of Sunday bike rides (with the only exception being when I wasn't at home on one weekend to do one). I did lots of stuff, ate lunch, and I wasn't even tired and needing to go to bed! Weird.
What did I get up to this week?
Monday - Weds: off, had bad cold
Thursday: 2k swim
Friday: 2.5k swim
Saturday: 3k swim
Sunday: 3.5k swim
Total: 11k swum - 3.5 hours of training
What is the plan for this week?
Monday: 2.5k swim
Tuesday: 2.5k swim
Wednesday: Aquathlon World Championships
Thursday: 2.5k swim
Friday: OFF
Saturday: Chillswim Coniston (8.5k)
Sunday: OFF
Sunday, 8 September 2013
Wednesday, 4 September 2013
Some of the official pictures from Sunday
Monday, 2 September 2013
Ironman 70.3 Zell am See/Kaprun 2013 Race Report
Preamble
Since I last blogged, I came down with a bad head and very sore throat on Friday evening. This was worrying as I felt quite poorly on Friday night. However, paracetemol dealt with the head, if not the throat, my pulse rate wasn't too high and I didn't have a fever so I was hopeful that things could still go ahead if they didn't deteriorate. On the advice of various medic friends, the aim of the day was to rest as much as possible to give my immune system the chance to fight back. I had planned to do the Iron Girl run in the afternoon but that was ditched in favour of rest. So on the Saturday we just went to the race briefing (which was very informative) and then rested, and then took our bikes over to transition and dropped the transition bags off (a confusing process for a first-timer or maybe that was just because I wasn't feeling tip top). We rested again before an early dinner in the hotel (who kindly offered to make whatever we wanted for dinner - although our requests did get a bit lost in translation) and then off to bed by 9.30.
Race morning
We were both awake before the 7am alarm, with the usual pre-race dodgy tummies. The condemned girl managed to eat a hearty breakfast (cheese and rice cakes and peppermint tea - the planned peanut butter was just too nauseating), and we filled our drinks bottles, I filled my bike snack box with biscuits and crisps, and I did a last bit of facebooking. It was raining hard at one point but had eased off as we walked the mile and a half over to transition at the end of the lake. Transition closed at 9.30 so we had to get there in time to put drinks etc on bike, and for Mr Tuna to give me a neckwarmer to wear around my sore throat on the bike. We left transition, and found a quietish spot to sit, until in a moment of crisis I realised I was still wearing my glasses and would need them on the bike! Although it was after 9.30, transition still seemed to be open, so I ran back in and popped them into my bike bag. Being blind for the remaining 55 minutes was preferable to spending the rest of the day blind [yes, I know I should try contacts but I just can't bear touching my eyeballs...urggghhh] [in the pre-race plan, I'd expected it to be sunny and I would have had my sunnies in the bike bag and just left my regular glasses behind]. I delayed as long as possible getting into my wetsuit and handing my streetclothes in as it wasn't that warm, but eventually it had to be done.
The race started at 10am with the pros setting off; we had a little bit of time to wait as there was another wave at 10.10 before Mr Tuna set off at 10.20 and I set off at 10.25
The swim
Getting into the cold (ish, it was about 18C, but please remember that I had a horrible sore throat) water was particularly grim, especially as it had started raining again and I knew I wouldn't be dry again until I had finished the race. The one thing that I can't stand when I have a cold is getting wet, even in a warm bath, so this was particularly unpleasant. Weirdly, there was only a 5 minute gap between our wave and the previous one so it was a bit of a struggle for everyone to get in on time (I'd wondered about this and had made sure to be near the front of the queue). Unusually, the swim start area was nice and wide, so it was all spread out nicely for once, especially as some people were still getting into the water and a number of people were holding back. I managed to get lined up with the first buoy (900m away). There wasn't much warning, suddenly the cannon went off, and I was wondering "is this it" but everyone had started swimming so it was time to do so! It was pretty grim immersing my sore throat in the water and my nose started running, but I knew if I could keep going it wouldn't take me long to get around. Almost immediately, I was catching up with the slower swimmers from the previous wave, and for nearly 600m to the first buoy I had to fight through them. Round the buoy and towards the next one was more of the same, until I then started to run into some swimmers from the wave before that. Then towards the last buoy. In my slightly muggy head-state, I'd forgotten to check where we were getting out, so I lost a little bit of time looking for where to aim for the exit (in the process overtaking 2 swimmers from the very first wave), but I was out, in under 33 minutes. Not a bad time given that I'd had to swim through a lot of swimmers, but it was slow for me, but then I couldn't have expected to go much faster given that I had never really pushed it hard in the swim as I knew I had a long day out.
Swim: 32:39
Transition 1:
Out of the water and around the corner into transition. Transition was really very big compared to other races that I've done and it seemed like I had a long way to go each time getting in and out of it. Struggled to get out of the top of my wetsuit, grabbed my bag, and went to the changing tent. Found a spot to perch, and tried to get my clothes on and a bit dried out, so that at least I was going to be comfortable (ha!). Out to the bike - pink tyres make it easy to spot - and deliberately ran past where Mr Tuna's bike was to make sure that he'd got away (he was a bit worried about the swim, and although I knew he'd be fine, I would have waited if his bike hadn't gone). Across a now fairly muddy field, and then a good 300m of carpet to push the bike along (not fun in cleats) to the mount-line.
Transition 1: 8:44
Bike
Secretly, in my head I wondered if I could get under 4 hours for the bike course. My best ride previously for 56 miles was 4h 6 minutes, but that had been on a much hillier course. However, it was wet and I was under the weather AND still had a half marathon to do. I had planned to take some paracetemol at the start of the bike (it being 4 hours since I'd last had any) but I forgot, and decided to push on, having a stop at around halfway or before if I started to feel thirsty. I suppose the good thing about the rain was that it meant that I didn't get dehydrated. But with water sloshing around like mini swimming pools in my bike shoes by the third mile all I could think about was my rooky error in not having put another pair of socks in my T2 bag :( There's not too much to say about the bike course except that I tried to cycle as fast as I could. With our names and nationalities on our numbers on our backs, I got a few shouts from some other GBR people as they passed me, and I tried to shout also for other GBR people (interestingly it was only the men who really cheered me rather than the women, with the exception of someone who is a friend of a friend of mine from tri-club who recognised). Of course I did not overtake anyone on the bike, but I thought smugly as people continued to overtake me well into the second lap, that I had had a much faster swim than them (since I had been in the last wave to leave). I eventually stopped for some food and drink just after the first lap was done, about 29 miles in. I was sure that I would fancy something savoury so had packed crisps, but unusually for me I didn't, but luckily I had my Sainsburys Free-from shortbread (very low fibre too!) so I had three of those and a good swig of orange squash (none of those gross gel things for me). (There were feed stations but as they were positioned on hills they were too awkward to stop at) This was the only point at which I felt cold but I had to keep on going. I wouldn't have minded stopping again, but I did want to get around in a decent time and I wasn't too keen on getting cold again so I just kept going. With 9 miles to go, I went past the run course (I was up high, so I couldn't see the runners) and Mr Tuna spotted me and yelled at me. I was able to tell him that there were 9 miles to go! The nearer the finish got, the more relieved I was that I had not had a puncture or a mechanical fault as I had seen a few people stopped because of that sort of thing. I was looking forward to getting back, not least because the course had been full of spectators on the first lap cheering people on, but they had rather disappeared by the second lap. Finally, I was turning off back towards transition, it was about 2k from the main bike loop back and seemed to take forever! But eventually I made it!
Bike: 3:48:52 - I actually averaged 14.6mph - my previous "solo" best was 13.9, and my previous group best 14.5!
Transition 2
I got off the bike and was faced with having to walk in my cleats back to my rack - another 300 m or so. I wondered if I should start running, but behind me was another GBR athlete, Jamie, who said "Don't run Verity, we've still got a half marathon to go", so we had a bit of a chat as we pushed our bikes along - it was his first half as well. We also worked out that we had enough time to walk the half marathon if necessary! I racked my bike and grabbed my remaining shortbread and drink, and headed off to pick up my bag - easy to find as not many left. I decided on an entire change so dived into the women's section of the tent and stripped off my wet shorts and soaked top and replaced with my Mind running vest and my favourite skorts. A nice 11 year old Austrian girl put my stuff back into my bag whilst I struggled with my shoes and shoved the shortbread in, and gulped a bit more squash down. And then I was off and running out of transition (another 200m or so)
Transition 2: 9:12
Run
So, out on the run I went, no idea at all how I'd fare. After I'd managed to conquer my fears about getting around a 56 mile bike ride in training, my thoughts had turned to how I'd manage to run after that. I just thought I'd see how it went and be prepared to walk some of it. Unfortunately my back was hurting from the run (usually I go for a nice lie down) and it wasn't too many km before the hip problem that I've been struggling with joined in. The run was a 3 and a bit loops thing, with 4 loops through the town (where you picked up a wrist band each time you went through, except the last time when you turned left and went down the finish line), this was a bit undulating as the town is sort of built on a slope, and then 3 loops out towards the top of the lake and back. There was a feed station at the top of the lake that you went past twice in the space of about 500m, and then one in town which you went past twice, which was nice, as there weren't any points when I felt I was desperate for one. I suppose that the cool and slightly damp conditions did really help at this point, my run would have been a lot slower if I had been hot as well!
Throughout the run I just kept bargaining with myself. Run to 5k (with walks through the feedstations) and then maybe have a walk, then at 5k, let's try to make it to 7 as that's 1/3 of the way around, then to 10k, because that would be a respectable distance to have run to, then to 11k because that's more than half way round, then to 14k because that's 2/3 of the way, then just after 15k I saw Mr Tuna who had finished which really perked me up! Each time that I went over the timing mat, I remembered that loads of people at home were watching the splits and I hoped that they were working ok, it really helped me! I got to 16k, ran a little bit further and then started walking. My friend Monika had sponsored the 16th kilometre for me as she says that she always finds that one the hardest, so I gave myself permission to walk, and actually enjoyed seeing the mountains and not hurting. I had 4 jelly babies and wished my training friends were there with bananas and flapjack! After that it was pretty much run/walk all of the way back, although I was managing 9 minutes for a km walking, so it wasn't really too slow. When I got back to town for the final time, Mr Tuna walked a little bit with me and then headed to the finish line. Unfortunately now most of the crowds had dispersed but I started hi-fiving a few people as I got nearer to the finish. Final tiny uphill and then left down to the finish line! Amazing! I had such a big smile on my face as I got through the finish arch.
Run: 2:14:02 - about 18 minutes slower than my standalone half marathon time. Interestingly, Mr Tuna's was about the same amount slower.
TOTAL TIME: 6:53:29
The finish
I sat down at the finish line and was wrapped in a space blanket. Unfortunately, the volunteers had started to lose interest at this point as I nearly didn't get a medal! And there was no obvious explanation of where to go to get a drink/my t-shirt/pick my bag up - but luckily Mr Tuna had done it an hour and a half before (5:42:41 on very little training - insane!!) - and we did these things before I sat down outside the expo and started sending a few text messages to let everyone know that I had survived. Which everyone knew already, as there was a huge party going on on facebook and twitter!! Mr Tuna then went to retrieve the bikes (another 3 mile round trip to the bottom of the lake) and I went home to shower. Or rather, check facebook!
Wow - whilst I was out on the course, the lovely Liz had followed the tracker and posted updates, and it seemed that a fair few people had had quite a tense afternoon watching me go around. I was overwhelmed by it all!
Afterwards
When Mr Tuna got back, we eventually went for dinner, where I disgraced myself by crying a lot into my dinner. Ooops. We then lay on the bed, too tired to do anything at all, and eventually put the light out at 9.30. My sore throat returned and it was a very very long night.
Today we're off for some sports massages shortly, and then I hope to head up the mountain (NB we intend to drive to the bottom of the cable car...)! I haven't really made it out of bed yet, so I'm not quite sure how sore I am, but I suspect pretty sore. Hopefully the massages will help a bit!
Thank yous
This has been such a very big challenge for me - 237 hours of training over 5 months, and a big commitment financially, emotionally, and in terms of time. I think it has been worth it - to raise money for Mind, and to give myself a distraction from the depression-demons.
I have had a lot of support along the way for which I am very grateful and so I want to say a few thank you's now (in no particular order!!) - I really hope that I haven't left anyone out - I may well be editing this as I remember other people who have been so kind!
Mr Tuna - an obvious one perhaps, but as ever I could not have done my latest challenge without the support of my husband. Which this time meant helping me to learn to ride a road bike and putting up with the most immense tantrums and tears as I struggled to do it. Seeing you on the run course at 15k and your pleasure that I was on the last lap really cheered me up.
Liz and everyone on facebook/twitter yesterday - thanks to Liz for keeping everyone updated and leading the facebook cheer-squad and for everyone who cheered. I thought of you all watching the tracker everytime I went over a timing mat!
Martin - for the two excellent tridynamic swim camps that I attended where I met triathletes, and quite possibly picked up the inspiration for doing this event. But also for the fantastic support along the way, reminding me that cycling was more important than swimming, even if I didn't listen to you as much as maybe I should have done :)
Dan - for last minute swimming/wetsuit advice, but also for getting my swimming into such good shape last year that I started to contemplate doing other things! I'll be back to just swimming very soon
Mandy - for encouragement on twitter and for loaning me a saddle which didn't hurt my bum so much - that made such a difference!
Vicky and Tarsh - for being such inspiring fellow triathlete friends in entirely different ways. My journey is only small compared to your own ones but I gain so much inspiration from following what you are both up to.
Oxford-Triathlon "beginners" cyclists and anyone who has had to put up with waiting for me on one of those rides over the last 10 months. I really appreciate the advice and encouragement given and that no-one laughed at me when I shared my goal. I can't say I ever really enjoyed any of the rides, but they definitely helped me get around yesterday!
Claire and Monika - the two best training friends and encouragers that a wannabe-half-iron-lady could hope for. It's still probably a no if you offer me a banana, but it would have been yes, yesterday, the one time when you don't offer me one!! The humour and fun that we've had this season on bike rides and going to the lake and unpacking my house-move have made it all a lot easier and more entertaining. I didn't know either of you when I entered the race a year ago, but so glad to have got some new friends along the way.
A shout out to other twitter and facebook friends who have been especially encouraging - "liking" my training related posts and responding to despondent tweets - there are far too many of you to mention by name as if I did, I'd be sure to forget someone!
Everyone who has sponsored me - at the time of writing this post this is 67 of you! I hope that the donations will continue to roll in as I'm just over £300 short of the target. Link is: www.virginmoneygiving.com/verityjdo Mind is a charity very close to my heart, and I am extremely proud to be raising money for them for the 5th year running.
Everyone else - for understanding that I have not had so much time on weekends this year due to the dreaded long bike rides, and that I have often been tired from training. This understanding has been hugely appreciated!
PS: Photos to follow - I really hope there'll be some official ones!!
Since I last blogged, I came down with a bad head and very sore throat on Friday evening. This was worrying as I felt quite poorly on Friday night. However, paracetemol dealt with the head, if not the throat, my pulse rate wasn't too high and I didn't have a fever so I was hopeful that things could still go ahead if they didn't deteriorate. On the advice of various medic friends, the aim of the day was to rest as much as possible to give my immune system the chance to fight back. I had planned to do the Iron Girl run in the afternoon but that was ditched in favour of rest. So on the Saturday we just went to the race briefing (which was very informative) and then rested, and then took our bikes over to transition and dropped the transition bags off (a confusing process for a first-timer or maybe that was just because I wasn't feeling tip top). We rested again before an early dinner in the hotel (who kindly offered to make whatever we wanted for dinner - although our requests did get a bit lost in translation) and then off to bed by 9.30.
Race morning
We were both awake before the 7am alarm, with the usual pre-race dodgy tummies. The condemned girl managed to eat a hearty breakfast (cheese and rice cakes and peppermint tea - the planned peanut butter was just too nauseating), and we filled our drinks bottles, I filled my bike snack box with biscuits and crisps, and I did a last bit of facebooking. It was raining hard at one point but had eased off as we walked the mile and a half over to transition at the end of the lake. Transition closed at 9.30 so we had to get there in time to put drinks etc on bike, and for Mr Tuna to give me a neckwarmer to wear around my sore throat on the bike. We left transition, and found a quietish spot to sit, until in a moment of crisis I realised I was still wearing my glasses and would need them on the bike! Although it was after 9.30, transition still seemed to be open, so I ran back in and popped them into my bike bag. Being blind for the remaining 55 minutes was preferable to spending the rest of the day blind [yes, I know I should try contacts but I just can't bear touching my eyeballs...urggghhh] [in the pre-race plan, I'd expected it to be sunny and I would have had my sunnies in the bike bag and just left my regular glasses behind]. I delayed as long as possible getting into my wetsuit and handing my streetclothes in as it wasn't that warm, but eventually it had to be done.
The race started at 10am with the pros setting off; we had a little bit of time to wait as there was another wave at 10.10 before Mr Tuna set off at 10.20 and I set off at 10.25
The swim
Getting into the cold (ish, it was about 18C, but please remember that I had a horrible sore throat) water was particularly grim, especially as it had started raining again and I knew I wouldn't be dry again until I had finished the race. The one thing that I can't stand when I have a cold is getting wet, even in a warm bath, so this was particularly unpleasant. Weirdly, there was only a 5 minute gap between our wave and the previous one so it was a bit of a struggle for everyone to get in on time (I'd wondered about this and had made sure to be near the front of the queue). Unusually, the swim start area was nice and wide, so it was all spread out nicely for once, especially as some people were still getting into the water and a number of people were holding back. I managed to get lined up with the first buoy (900m away). There wasn't much warning, suddenly the cannon went off, and I was wondering "is this it" but everyone had started swimming so it was time to do so! It was pretty grim immersing my sore throat in the water and my nose started running, but I knew if I could keep going it wouldn't take me long to get around. Almost immediately, I was catching up with the slower swimmers from the previous wave, and for nearly 600m to the first buoy I had to fight through them. Round the buoy and towards the next one was more of the same, until I then started to run into some swimmers from the wave before that. Then towards the last buoy. In my slightly muggy head-state, I'd forgotten to check where we were getting out, so I lost a little bit of time looking for where to aim for the exit (in the process overtaking 2 swimmers from the very first wave), but I was out, in under 33 minutes. Not a bad time given that I'd had to swim through a lot of swimmers, but it was slow for me, but then I couldn't have expected to go much faster given that I had never really pushed it hard in the swim as I knew I had a long day out.
Swim: 32:39
Transition 1:
Out of the water and around the corner into transition. Transition was really very big compared to other races that I've done and it seemed like I had a long way to go each time getting in and out of it. Struggled to get out of the top of my wetsuit, grabbed my bag, and went to the changing tent. Found a spot to perch, and tried to get my clothes on and a bit dried out, so that at least I was going to be comfortable (ha!). Out to the bike - pink tyres make it easy to spot - and deliberately ran past where Mr Tuna's bike was to make sure that he'd got away (he was a bit worried about the swim, and although I knew he'd be fine, I would have waited if his bike hadn't gone). Across a now fairly muddy field, and then a good 300m of carpet to push the bike along (not fun in cleats) to the mount-line.
Transition 1: 8:44
Bike
Secretly, in my head I wondered if I could get under 4 hours for the bike course. My best ride previously for 56 miles was 4h 6 minutes, but that had been on a much hillier course. However, it was wet and I was under the weather AND still had a half marathon to do. I had planned to take some paracetemol at the start of the bike (it being 4 hours since I'd last had any) but I forgot, and decided to push on, having a stop at around halfway or before if I started to feel thirsty. I suppose the good thing about the rain was that it meant that I didn't get dehydrated. But with water sloshing around like mini swimming pools in my bike shoes by the third mile all I could think about was my rooky error in not having put another pair of socks in my T2 bag :( There's not too much to say about the bike course except that I tried to cycle as fast as I could. With our names and nationalities on our numbers on our backs, I got a few shouts from some other GBR people as they passed me, and I tried to shout also for other GBR people (interestingly it was only the men who really cheered me rather than the women, with the exception of someone who is a friend of a friend of mine from tri-club who recognised). Of course I did not overtake anyone on the bike, but I thought smugly as people continued to overtake me well into the second lap, that I had had a much faster swim than them (since I had been in the last wave to leave). I eventually stopped for some food and drink just after the first lap was done, about 29 miles in. I was sure that I would fancy something savoury so had packed crisps, but unusually for me I didn't, but luckily I had my Sainsburys Free-from shortbread (very low fibre too!) so I had three of those and a good swig of orange squash (none of those gross gel things for me). (There were feed stations but as they were positioned on hills they were too awkward to stop at) This was the only point at which I felt cold but I had to keep on going. I wouldn't have minded stopping again, but I did want to get around in a decent time and I wasn't too keen on getting cold again so I just kept going. With 9 miles to go, I went past the run course (I was up high, so I couldn't see the runners) and Mr Tuna spotted me and yelled at me. I was able to tell him that there were 9 miles to go! The nearer the finish got, the more relieved I was that I had not had a puncture or a mechanical fault as I had seen a few people stopped because of that sort of thing. I was looking forward to getting back, not least because the course had been full of spectators on the first lap cheering people on, but they had rather disappeared by the second lap. Finally, I was turning off back towards transition, it was about 2k from the main bike loop back and seemed to take forever! But eventually I made it!
Bike: 3:48:52 - I actually averaged 14.6mph - my previous "solo" best was 13.9, and my previous group best 14.5!
Transition 2
I got off the bike and was faced with having to walk in my cleats back to my rack - another 300 m or so. I wondered if I should start running, but behind me was another GBR athlete, Jamie, who said "Don't run Verity, we've still got a half marathon to go", so we had a bit of a chat as we pushed our bikes along - it was his first half as well. We also worked out that we had enough time to walk the half marathon if necessary! I racked my bike and grabbed my remaining shortbread and drink, and headed off to pick up my bag - easy to find as not many left. I decided on an entire change so dived into the women's section of the tent and stripped off my wet shorts and soaked top and replaced with my Mind running vest and my favourite skorts. A nice 11 year old Austrian girl put my stuff back into my bag whilst I struggled with my shoes and shoved the shortbread in, and gulped a bit more squash down. And then I was off and running out of transition (another 200m or so)
Transition 2: 9:12
Run
So, out on the run I went, no idea at all how I'd fare. After I'd managed to conquer my fears about getting around a 56 mile bike ride in training, my thoughts had turned to how I'd manage to run after that. I just thought I'd see how it went and be prepared to walk some of it. Unfortunately my back was hurting from the run (usually I go for a nice lie down) and it wasn't too many km before the hip problem that I've been struggling with joined in. The run was a 3 and a bit loops thing, with 4 loops through the town (where you picked up a wrist band each time you went through, except the last time when you turned left and went down the finish line), this was a bit undulating as the town is sort of built on a slope, and then 3 loops out towards the top of the lake and back. There was a feed station at the top of the lake that you went past twice in the space of about 500m, and then one in town which you went past twice, which was nice, as there weren't any points when I felt I was desperate for one. I suppose that the cool and slightly damp conditions did really help at this point, my run would have been a lot slower if I had been hot as well!
Throughout the run I just kept bargaining with myself. Run to 5k (with walks through the feedstations) and then maybe have a walk, then at 5k, let's try to make it to 7 as that's 1/3 of the way around, then to 10k, because that would be a respectable distance to have run to, then to 11k because that's more than half way round, then to 14k because that's 2/3 of the way, then just after 15k I saw Mr Tuna who had finished which really perked me up! Each time that I went over the timing mat, I remembered that loads of people at home were watching the splits and I hoped that they were working ok, it really helped me! I got to 16k, ran a little bit further and then started walking. My friend Monika had sponsored the 16th kilometre for me as she says that she always finds that one the hardest, so I gave myself permission to walk, and actually enjoyed seeing the mountains and not hurting. I had 4 jelly babies and wished my training friends were there with bananas and flapjack! After that it was pretty much run/walk all of the way back, although I was managing 9 minutes for a km walking, so it wasn't really too slow. When I got back to town for the final time, Mr Tuna walked a little bit with me and then headed to the finish line. Unfortunately now most of the crowds had dispersed but I started hi-fiving a few people as I got nearer to the finish. Final tiny uphill and then left down to the finish line! Amazing! I had such a big smile on my face as I got through the finish arch.
Run: 2:14:02 - about 18 minutes slower than my standalone half marathon time. Interestingly, Mr Tuna's was about the same amount slower.
TOTAL TIME: 6:53:29
The finish
I sat down at the finish line and was wrapped in a space blanket. Unfortunately, the volunteers had started to lose interest at this point as I nearly didn't get a medal! And there was no obvious explanation of where to go to get a drink/my t-shirt/pick my bag up - but luckily Mr Tuna had done it an hour and a half before (5:42:41 on very little training - insane!!) - and we did these things before I sat down outside the expo and started sending a few text messages to let everyone know that I had survived. Which everyone knew already, as there was a huge party going on on facebook and twitter!! Mr Tuna then went to retrieve the bikes (another 3 mile round trip to the bottom of the lake) and I went home to shower. Or rather, check facebook!
Wow - whilst I was out on the course, the lovely Liz had followed the tracker and posted updates, and it seemed that a fair few people had had quite a tense afternoon watching me go around. I was overwhelmed by it all!
Afterwards
When Mr Tuna got back, we eventually went for dinner, where I disgraced myself by crying a lot into my dinner. Ooops. We then lay on the bed, too tired to do anything at all, and eventually put the light out at 9.30. My sore throat returned and it was a very very long night.
Today we're off for some sports massages shortly, and then I hope to head up the mountain (NB we intend to drive to the bottom of the cable car...)! I haven't really made it out of bed yet, so I'm not quite sure how sore I am, but I suspect pretty sore. Hopefully the massages will help a bit!
Thank yous
This has been such a very big challenge for me - 237 hours of training over 5 months, and a big commitment financially, emotionally, and in terms of time. I think it has been worth it - to raise money for Mind, and to give myself a distraction from the depression-demons.
I have had a lot of support along the way for which I am very grateful and so I want to say a few thank you's now (in no particular order!!) - I really hope that I haven't left anyone out - I may well be editing this as I remember other people who have been so kind!
Mr Tuna - an obvious one perhaps, but as ever I could not have done my latest challenge without the support of my husband. Which this time meant helping me to learn to ride a road bike and putting up with the most immense tantrums and tears as I struggled to do it. Seeing you on the run course at 15k and your pleasure that I was on the last lap really cheered me up.
Liz and everyone on facebook/twitter yesterday - thanks to Liz for keeping everyone updated and leading the facebook cheer-squad and for everyone who cheered. I thought of you all watching the tracker everytime I went over a timing mat!
Martin - for the two excellent tridynamic swim camps that I attended where I met triathletes, and quite possibly picked up the inspiration for doing this event. But also for the fantastic support along the way, reminding me that cycling was more important than swimming, even if I didn't listen to you as much as maybe I should have done :)
Dan - for last minute swimming/wetsuit advice, but also for getting my swimming into such good shape last year that I started to contemplate doing other things! I'll be back to just swimming very soon
Mandy - for encouragement on twitter and for loaning me a saddle which didn't hurt my bum so much - that made such a difference!
Vicky and Tarsh - for being such inspiring fellow triathlete friends in entirely different ways. My journey is only small compared to your own ones but I gain so much inspiration from following what you are both up to.
Oxford-Triathlon "beginners" cyclists and anyone who has had to put up with waiting for me on one of those rides over the last 10 months. I really appreciate the advice and encouragement given and that no-one laughed at me when I shared my goal. I can't say I ever really enjoyed any of the rides, but they definitely helped me get around yesterday!
Claire and Monika - the two best training friends and encouragers that a wannabe-half-iron-lady could hope for. It's still probably a no if you offer me a banana, but it would have been yes, yesterday, the one time when you don't offer me one!! The humour and fun that we've had this season on bike rides and going to the lake and unpacking my house-move have made it all a lot easier and more entertaining. I didn't know either of you when I entered the race a year ago, but so glad to have got some new friends along the way.
A shout out to other twitter and facebook friends who have been especially encouraging - "liking" my training related posts and responding to despondent tweets - there are far too many of you to mention by name as if I did, I'd be sure to forget someone!
Everyone who has sponsored me - at the time of writing this post this is 67 of you! I hope that the donations will continue to roll in as I'm just over £300 short of the target. Link is: www.virginmoneygiving.com/verityjdo Mind is a charity very close to my heart, and I am extremely proud to be raising money for them for the 5th year running.
Everyone else - for understanding that I have not had so much time on weekends this year due to the dreaded long bike rides, and that I have often been tired from training. This understanding has been hugely appreciated!
PS: Photos to follow - I really hope there'll be some official ones!!
Friday, 30 August 2013
Two days to go!
We made it to Austria fairly easily, although unusually I found it very difficult to get comfortable in the car to sleep. We stopped over in Heidelberg on Tuesday night and had dinner with one of Mr Tuna's friends at an amazing vegetarian organic cafe, where everything was marked to show whether or not it contained gluten.
On Wednesday we proceeded to Austria and Zell am See. The plan was to keep going until we got to Zell and then have a swim in the lake (Tuesday had been a rest day), but as we came through Ellmau, I remembered my favourite pool EVER! The Kaiserbad! The day was overcast and it was only about 18C so we were met with incredulity when we asked if the outdoor pool was open, but it was. There is a very warm indoor pool, where you can swim through to an outdoor lazy river, and then you can hop out, down a slide into the lido. The lido was pretty chilly, fine for me acclimitised, but a bit cool for Mr Tuna. We had it to ourselves, so I swam a km (approx) before we went back into to ride on the flumes. When we had warmed up a bit, we went back outside to the Bio-Pond for a bit of lake swimming, before some more flume rides. It was absolutely AMAZING!
Yesterday, we took the bikes out for a brief spin - Mr Tuna's is sounding a bit wonky so hopefully we can get that fixed. Cycling through Zell am See on the wrong side of the road surrounded by Austrian traffic was frankly terrifying. It's been a while since I cried on the bike, but I did yesterday. My knees were knocking when I got off. On the plus side, the roads will at least be closed for the race on Sunday. I had to go for a swim to calm down, but apparently the weather was too bad for the lakeside bathing place to be open. I did what every self respecting swimmer in need of a swim does, and just hopped in off a jetty designed for motorboats. Didn't swim for long but rather enjoyed it - the water was about 19C and perfectly pleasant. After a shower, we drove as much of the bike course as we could (nearly all of it) - it's two loops, so about 28 miles each - and it seemed a very long way. However, compared to the rides I've been doing in the UK, it seemed pretty flat. There's only one hill, and a couple of long inclines and a few shorter ones. Nothing like around the Cotswolds!
We then had a lovely afternoon/evening in Salzburg. If I'm honest that was a bit too much after the morning exertions but it was lovely to walk through the Mirabell Gardens and go to see the Marionette Theatre production of the Sound of Music! We also had a nice dinner before driving back to Zell.
This morning we were up early to go and see the swim course - the buoys were out already. It was very casually arranged to my surprise, no safety cover, so I had to swim round with Mr Tuna. The Austrians were all complaining about the water temperature (19C); I tried not to overheat in my wetsuit and told someone that we were swimming in 11C at the start of the season in England! I have decided on the advice of Dan Bullock to wear my wetsuit, because it will make me a bit faster. Also, if there is a lot of hanging around at the start (and the weather forecast isn't that great...) then it will keep me warm. It was so beautiful!
Mr Tuna has now gone off to cycle a bit of the bike course, I'm resting in bed but actually starting to feel pretty twitchy. This afternoon we will go to the Expo, and to register, and then chill out in the hotel spa. Tomorrow is the race briefing, I have the Irongirl race, and then we need to rack our bikes and drop off our transition bags.
In other news, it's been a while since I've mentioned my sponsorship page on here - I've now raised £1457 for Mind, which is nearly 3/4 of my target! The address of the fundraising page is www.virginmoneygiving.com/verityjdo
On Wednesday we proceeded to Austria and Zell am See. The plan was to keep going until we got to Zell and then have a swim in the lake (Tuesday had been a rest day), but as we came through Ellmau, I remembered my favourite pool EVER! The Kaiserbad! The day was overcast and it was only about 18C so we were met with incredulity when we asked if the outdoor pool was open, but it was. There is a very warm indoor pool, where you can swim through to an outdoor lazy river, and then you can hop out, down a slide into the lido. The lido was pretty chilly, fine for me acclimitised, but a bit cool for Mr Tuna. We had it to ourselves, so I swam a km (approx) before we went back into to ride on the flumes. When we had warmed up a bit, we went back outside to the Bio-Pond for a bit of lake swimming, before some more flume rides. It was absolutely AMAZING!
Yesterday, we took the bikes out for a brief spin - Mr Tuna's is sounding a bit wonky so hopefully we can get that fixed. Cycling through Zell am See on the wrong side of the road surrounded by Austrian traffic was frankly terrifying. It's been a while since I cried on the bike, but I did yesterday. My knees were knocking when I got off. On the plus side, the roads will at least be closed for the race on Sunday. I had to go for a swim to calm down, but apparently the weather was too bad for the lakeside bathing place to be open. I did what every self respecting swimmer in need of a swim does, and just hopped in off a jetty designed for motorboats. Didn't swim for long but rather enjoyed it - the water was about 19C and perfectly pleasant. After a shower, we drove as much of the bike course as we could (nearly all of it) - it's two loops, so about 28 miles each - and it seemed a very long way. However, compared to the rides I've been doing in the UK, it seemed pretty flat. There's only one hill, and a couple of long inclines and a few shorter ones. Nothing like around the Cotswolds!
We then had a lovely afternoon/evening in Salzburg. If I'm honest that was a bit too much after the morning exertions but it was lovely to walk through the Mirabell Gardens and go to see the Marionette Theatre production of the Sound of Music! We also had a nice dinner before driving back to Zell.
This morning we were up early to go and see the swim course - the buoys were out already. It was very casually arranged to my surprise, no safety cover, so I had to swim round with Mr Tuna. The Austrians were all complaining about the water temperature (19C); I tried not to overheat in my wetsuit and told someone that we were swimming in 11C at the start of the season in England! I have decided on the advice of Dan Bullock to wear my wetsuit, because it will make me a bit faster. Also, if there is a lot of hanging around at the start (and the weather forecast isn't that great...) then it will keep me warm. It was so beautiful!
Mr Tuna has now gone off to cycle a bit of the bike course, I'm resting in bed but actually starting to feel pretty twitchy. This afternoon we will go to the Expo, and to register, and then chill out in the hotel spa. Tomorrow is the race briefing, I have the Irongirl race, and then we need to rack our bikes and drop off our transition bags.
In other news, it's been a while since I've mentioned my sponsorship page on here - I've now raised £1457 for Mind, which is nearly 3/4 of my target! The address of the fundraising page is www.virginmoneygiving.com/verityjdo
Monday, 26 August 2013
Race resume
I saw an excellent post by Running for People who don't back at the end of April, which I saved up for now to copy. It's a race resume to "total up your experience and keep you calm and focused when you panic that you have not done enough"
I've felt pretty tired again today, but after a tea-drinking session with one of my tri-friends, and as we start to pack up the car, I'm starting to feel jolly excited. I've yet to have the taper-twitchies that I've heard about - I kind of hope they will arrive as then I definitely know I'll be ready for my race. So here's my go.
Objective:
Finish my half ironman within the cut-offs, with a smile on my face, and having raised lots of money for Mind.
Education:
Beginner cycle rides with tri club
Tridynamic/Swim for Tri Swim Faster Training Camp (Feb 2013)
Lots of reading of 220 Triathlon/Triathlon Plus/blogs/books about triathlon especially blogs from other age-groupers which has given me an insight into what to expect.
Achievements (2013)
Cycled from London to Islip (April 2013)
First half marathon in under 2 hours (February 2013)
Top 3 female finishes in ALL my swim races this season (3 x 3.8k, 2 x 1500m)
2 Sprint Tris (April 2013, June 2013)
Olympic distance tri (July 2013)
Qualified for the Aquathlon world championships
236 hours of training since April 1st.
Personal attributes
Commitment/bloody mindedness/perseverence and discipline - I have missed very few of my scheduled training sessions despite having chronic depression throughout the past year
Motivation
I really really really want to achieve this
It is the hardest thing I have ever attempted and therefore will be the biggest thing that I've achieved to date.
A lot of people have given me an incredible amount of support and believed in me
Zell am See is beautiful, and if it gets tough I could think back to getting married there and the boat trip we took on the lake on our wedding day
I'm doing this in aid of Mind, the mental health charity, an excellent charity which support people with mental health problems and do a lot to promote mental health in the UK - without them I would certainly not have the courage to talk about my own mental health struggles (quick plug for the fundraising link here)
I've felt pretty tired again today, but after a tea-drinking session with one of my tri-friends, and as we start to pack up the car, I'm starting to feel jolly excited. I've yet to have the taper-twitchies that I've heard about - I kind of hope they will arrive as then I definitely know I'll be ready for my race. So here's my go.
Objective:
Finish my half ironman within the cut-offs, with a smile on my face, and having raised lots of money for Mind.
Education:
Beginner cycle rides with tri club
Tridynamic/Swim for Tri Swim Faster Training Camp (Feb 2013)
Lots of reading of 220 Triathlon/Triathlon Plus/blogs/books about triathlon especially blogs from other age-groupers which has given me an insight into what to expect.
Achievements (2013)
Cycled from London to Islip (April 2013)
First half marathon in under 2 hours (February 2013)
Top 3 female finishes in ALL my swim races this season (3 x 3.8k, 2 x 1500m)
2 Sprint Tris (April 2013, June 2013)
Olympic distance tri (July 2013)
Qualified for the Aquathlon world championships
236 hours of training since April 1st.
Personal attributes
Commitment/bloody mindedness/perseverence and discipline - I have missed very few of my scheduled training sessions despite having chronic depression throughout the past year
Motivation
I really really really want to achieve this
It is the hardest thing I have ever attempted and therefore will be the biggest thing that I've achieved to date.
A lot of people have given me an incredible amount of support and believed in me
Zell am See is beautiful, and if it gets tough I could think back to getting married there and the boat trip we took on the lake on our wedding day
I'm doing this in aid of Mind, the mental health charity, an excellent charity which support people with mental health problems and do a lot to promote mental health in the UK - without them I would certainly not have the courage to talk about my own mental health struggles (quick plug for the fundraising link here)
Sunday, 25 August 2013
20 weeks of training - some totals.
Since April 1st, I have:
Cycled: 1448km (899 miles)
Run: 254km (157 miles)
Swum: 355.5km (220 miles)
I've put in 235 hours of training.
Cycled: 1448km (899 miles)
Run: 254km (157 miles)
Swum: 355.5km (220 miles)
I've put in 235 hours of training.
Big Dog Swim
On Thursday night I went over to Reading to take part in the Big Dog Swim. Less than a week after moving house I really wasn't race-ready, but the two ladies who helped with our house move wanted to go, and so we were able to repay their kind help with a lift over.
I decided to swim non-wetsuit - it was 21C for goodness sake! However, I was almost the only one, with everyone else neoprened up. So it was quite easy to be first non wetsuit person home. I was slow, very slow, around 1h 9 for my 3.8k, of which I reckon I lost 4 minutes by not wearing a wetsuit and 4 minutes by being very tired (on Saturday my 100m reps in the pool were about 4 seconds off - if you add that up, it would be around 4 minutes). Still, it was good enough to come home in around 10th and 3rd woman, maintaining my run of podium swim race finishes this season :)
I really enjoyed the swim. The Tri2Open lake is beautiful and virtually weed free. Despite a greyish day, the sun came out as we were waiting to go in, and we got to watch it set during the hour or so of the swim. I felt like I was swimming strongly and well - the picture below shows an excellent body position. There was a bit of bashing around the first couple of buoys but then it spread out, and I had a good race with another guy who was virtually my speed. He led for nearly 2 laps (but I couldn't draft from him as he was not swimming very straight), and then as the faster 1500m swimmers who had started just after us came through at the end of the second lap, I managed to get on one of their feet for 20m or so, which put me in the lead by about 5 metres which I managed to hang onto until the end. Great fun!
Yes - I look pretty tired, but it's more from the post-house-move exhaustion than anything else. I was really surprised by how little this swim hurt me compared to how much they hurt me in the previous season so that is good!
I decided to swim non-wetsuit - it was 21C for goodness sake! However, I was almost the only one, with everyone else neoprened up. So it was quite easy to be first non wetsuit person home. I was slow, very slow, around 1h 9 for my 3.8k, of which I reckon I lost 4 minutes by not wearing a wetsuit and 4 minutes by being very tired (on Saturday my 100m reps in the pool were about 4 seconds off - if you add that up, it would be around 4 minutes). Still, it was good enough to come home in around 10th and 3rd woman, maintaining my run of podium swim race finishes this season :)
I really enjoyed the swim. The Tri2Open lake is beautiful and virtually weed free. Despite a greyish day, the sun came out as we were waiting to go in, and we got to watch it set during the hour or so of the swim. I felt like I was swimming strongly and well - the picture below shows an excellent body position. There was a bit of bashing around the first couple of buoys but then it spread out, and I had a good race with another guy who was virtually my speed. He led for nearly 2 laps (but I couldn't draft from him as he was not swimming very straight), and then as the faster 1500m swimmers who had started just after us came through at the end of the second lap, I managed to get on one of their feet for 20m or so, which put me in the lead by about 5 metres which I managed to hang onto until the end. Great fun!
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