Shoes, shoes, shoes...

I have been trying to move slowly to a more minimalist shoe for a while now and it has been going pretty well.

It started off way before the build up to IM Austria this year and I even had a pair of Newtons when they first came out (look at me, what a trend setter ;o)), although it didn't really work out at the time as like a lot of us triathletes, just wanted to look good and not follow the reccomended build up period - ended up with very, very sore calves :o(

So, with this little bit of experience in mind I have built up slowly this time and well over a year ago I changed from the Asics 2100 series to their DS Trainers. When I initially got them on I thought I'd never be able to run a marathon in them but I took my time and my feet and lower extremities adjusted - I did experience sore calves but with regular massage and eccentric strengthening this abated.

With regards to minimal, the DS Trainers aren't really in that category but they are a stepping stone. I am not sure what their heel to toe drop is but I would hazard a guess that it is over 12mm? I completed IMA in them and it was time for the change...

After some post IMA rest, I was ready to make the step and go even further into minimal foray - not the whole hog as I still believe that we do need some protection on the feet, especially in todays age of running on pavements that are littered with rubbish, glass, dog poo poo (fake or real - Top Secret fans will know what I mean ;o)) or whatever.... I was going to go for the Newton Distance shoe (the neutral one) as I had tried them on at Ten-Point with help from Helen and Robin there but they didn't have my size and after a call and a no response email I decided against it. Even though the real reason I guess, was the price tag!!!

So, after a no-no on the Newtons I was looking for something else??? The hunt was now on....

I had been looking at many shoes and was just getting myself a bit confused, do I go the whole and go for something with a drop of less than 5mm or still keep adjusting and get something with around a 10mm drop - I just couldn't decide? So as luck would have it, I was up at the London triathlon watching a friend and also having a weekend away with the wife when I saw that PureTri were doing the Brooks T6 for a very price :o) I was amazed at how light these were - comparing them to my DS's, they seemed like carpet slippers - didn't even want to compare them to my old 2140's!!! I tried them on, had a quick run and bought them, there and then...

I have been happy with them but my legs have been getting pretty tired after running in them - any run of about 7-8 miles seems to really bring on the fatigue, whether this is the shoes or just my technique, who knows? And also, after a bit of research they still have quite a subsequent drop to them - not really in the minimal/barefoot mould at 13mm.... Even though they are as light as a feather :o)

So, I have been looking for another alternative and these were what I tried:

Saucony Kinavara - this was an OK shoe but had some fit issues and it felt as though there a few seams inside the shoe that would rub on me? This was a good shoe though I'll admit... Very well cushioned and with only a 4mm drop, it would have been an ideal shoe I think for the longer runs? Maybe a half size up would have been better?

K-Swiss Blade Run - I liked this shoe. It stood out, had some good design features but I just felt it was too heavy!!! I reckon that once you have run in something like the T6, then you are probably never going to go back to something a bit heavier??? The drop was 10mm, so not ideal but another good stepping stone. I could possibly re-visit this as a winter and or, a longer distance training shoe???

Nike Lunaracer - this was interesting.... For one, I needed a half size up when I went to try it on so I couldn't really get to good run in this one as it was just tooooooo tight!! I could though, see why people like this. It was very well cushioned, had a drop of 8mm (I think?) and was light but after an impossible search of trying to find a place that had the right size in stock, I gave up on this!!

Adidas Aidzero Ace - As with the lunaracer, the shop I tried these on didnt have the half size up that I needed!! This had a pretty firm sole to it and I am not sure that I could have got away with it for longer distance runs? Again, I think this has a pretty good drop to it???

The finally...

The Asics Hyperspeed 4's - These were lush (pardon the Vicky Pollard!!!).... Very comfy, low drop (5mm) and cheap, what more could I ask for!!! As you can guess, I got a pair.

My first run was in them today. It was an easy hours run (probably a little too far for a first one with a drop as low as 5mm?) with some drills and technique work thrown in... First impressions were very good but then I hit the first bend in the road and I felt as though my whole foot was starting to fall inwards!!! I was not expecting that!! This was occuring on every bend and I was having to watch myself that I didn't go over on it... On the flat, they felt very good, I had the odd twinge as the run went on and the calves were a little sore after but I was kinda expecting that but I have been a bit put off by lack of toe box at the front... That is the problem when you try a shoe on at a shop on just a treadmill - you only go in one direction and can never test it properly!!! I guess that was just my bad??? I am not giving up on these because they have some very good points to them but I will just have to be a bit carefill in them...

Still gonna keep on looking for others though - seems to be my favourite hobby at the moment ;o)

As my mate said the other day "You've got more trainers than Imelda Marcos has shoes"... And he's probably right :o)

Move along slowly, nothing happening here...

As the title says, not much is happening really at the moment - well, there is a little ;o)

Training - going OK. In the 'get strong for the speed work phase' at the moment and it is going well, I'd just say OK. I am actually enjoying getting back into some sort of structure of strength training - the knees and other lower joints are not thanking me for it at the moment but I will persevere with it as it will pays dividends, I am sure :o) Have got a few little niggles that I am a little concerned with like a sore groin that comes on at about 15 minutes into any run but disappears a little later into it and also my right lateral calf is kinda feeling, well, wierd... It feels really tight and like it is going to pull but then sort of eases. I know it is not quite right and I just need to keep on top of it with regular massage and eccentric strengthing... But the strangest one is every morning when I get out of bed, I am getting a pretty bad shooting pain around the cuboid region of my right foot!!! It doesn't come on when I am walking around during the day or even to mention, when I am running but it is a bit worrying :-o

Doggy - my boxer George is getting old and over the last few weeks he had taken a turn for the worse. I took him to the vets fearing the worse and he confirmed that he has a dodgy ticker and possibly kidney failure and or, Cushings disease :o( So, I was faced with the choice of putting him to sleep there and then or taking him home for the night and see how he was in the morning? I thankfully decided the latter. He had a shot of a painkiller there and then and took him home. After another restless night and not too much improvement, I made the decision to see how he would be after another day? The next night, he kinda improved. He started eating a bit more and getting up without to much encouragement :o) As the days have progressed, he has really started to turn things around... He is not laying down for a rest after 10 yards of walking and he is seeming far more alert than he was and just those little things you notice about your pet when they are well, are coming back :o) I'll be the first to admit that he is far from out of the woods as he is an old boy, but his time to go sure ain't yet ;o)

Other stuff - sent of my forms and money off to join REPs and just waiting to hear back from them? Also, my BTF Fast track coaching form was sent off as well and once again, waiting to hear back from them... Still trying to think of a name that encompasses all that I want to cover for my 'little' business? Even though I am very much triathlon focussed, I don't want to corner myself just into one market and don't get me started on what my main focus is going to be!!! Am I a sports therapist who does a bit of PT and coaching on the side or am I a Personal Trainer who dabbles in massage and coaching or, I think you get the message ;o)
Also looking at booking a few more courses for next year, Biomechanics level 2 and possibly a Kinetic Chain Assessment Specialist one - both of these seem really interesting and are right up my street but finances are tight at the moment so I may have to either sell a few things or pimp myself out - again ;o)

I feel a change a comin...

Well, I have been studying for some time now and I only have one module left of my 'Total Immersion' PT course to do and then that's it - I am done!!! So far I have Diplomas in Personal Training & Advanced Instructor (Level 3), Sports Nutrition, Nutrition & Weight Management, Client Psychology & Motivation, Gym Instruction, Core Stability & Torso Training, Circuit Training and also my Sports Therapy (L3) which I completed back a few years ago...

So I now need to get up off my (slightly fatter than usual!!) arse and do something about it!! I have a couple of people who I am coaching for tri, a few clients whom require my Sports Therapy help and a few people needing nutritional advice - so why am I doing this for free when I could start charging and get some back some of the £xxxx's it cost me to get qualified!!

So, short term goals are:

Get myself onto the REPS register asap - for those who don't know, this is the Register of Exercise Professionals. This will get me recognised nationally and is THE place to be seen if you are serious in becoming a fitness professional...

Speak to the good old HMRC as well to see how setting up a small business will affect me taxwise? It's not like I will be raking it in to start with but I must be legit from the start!!

To come up with a name for the business?? I want to be triathlon focussed but at the same time, not leave myself cornered into just one market... My main priority will be sports therapy but I am also looking to expand my coaching and PT along with this so getting the right name is a tricky one! May need to call upon the experts out there for advice?

Long term goals:

Quit my job and start up running my own business and make millions ;o) Not really too interested in making the millions to be honest, I just want to be comfortable and to be able to get up in the morning and look forward to the next working day doing something that I love doing, rather than the dreary daily trudge to a job that I am not really suited to and not really any good at!! Helps if you are interested in it in the first place...

Post over :o)

Gutted x2!!!!

Gutted - part1.

Well, today was d-day!! Decision time for whether I will be fit enough to take part in the Gosport Half Marathon...

Short answer: I am not :o(

Long answer: My plan for this race was to go sub 1:25 and to succeed at this target I would need at least 4-5 good, solid weeks of run-focussed training under my belt. However, after picking up a calf injury at my last race I gave myself at least 10 days of rest, icing and massage to try and speed up the healing process but after trying a little run today (OK, 30 minutes may not have been the best idea...), my calf didn't really want to know!!! OK, so it wasn't very sore but after 10 minutes it started to get tight so I stopped and stretched and did a bit of self-massage (to the calf, pleeeeeaaaase.....) and this eased it a bit but it soon started to get tight again so I knew that I had come back a little early and it needs more time, so I decided to pull the plug on the half mara there and then...

Gutted - part 2.

I was having major issues with my TT shifters on my new bike at the 'OneLastTri'. They would shift down but when you wanted to change up, you literally were pulling the whole bar up to do so!!!
Took it to my LBS and they have taken the shifters off and without the cable in, they move up and down freely but when the cables are in them, the are as stiff as a stiff thing!!
So, they do not think it is the shifters themselves causing the problem but in the internal cable routing... If this is the issue, I don't where I will stand with it being fixed? I have only used it probably three times so that is not a good ROI!!! I'll await the final verdict from the shop and then I may have to get back to Jamie from Blue???

Late race report...

One last tri - 3rd October 2010

Preparation for this race wasn't the best it could have been to be honest... I have had a lot of issues, like ongoing stomach problems (blood tests needed, medication etc), a slightly tweaked calf and not a whole huge amount of training was done to be honest!! One thing I was looking forward to was the run :o) My run training had been coming along quite well and had been doing some good interval sessions (yasso's - these are a predictor in what you can run a marathon in and say, if you think you can run a 3hr marathon, you have to do 800m in 3 minutes and then have a recovery of the same time.). So I chose the 3 minutes as bit of a laugh as I though how hard would it be... VERY, was the answer!! I started off doing 4 reps and then planned to work upto 10 and start again but with cutting the rest down. Over the weeks that I was doing these, I averaging around 2.57's for the 800's so I was pretty chuffed to say the least - now only if I could do a 2.57 marathon ;o)

Race week:
Picked up a cold, the race distance was cut in half, was in two minds whether to do it!!!

Made the decision on the Friday that I would give it a go and just tough it out - it was only a cold...

Racked up and registered on the Saturday and this took a bit longer than expected (got bit of an earful from someone for that!!) but had a good chat with the brothers Bairstow (friends and also guys I am coaching at the moment). The forecast for race day was not good so Chris kindly got a huge cover for our bikes (well, I think it was so big it would have covered the whole of transition!!) and this was a godsend, as nearly as soon as we were finishing it off, it started to rain :o(

Race day:
Got up at around 3.45am OMG!!! Had 2 x croissants with honey and a cup of coffee and then waited for Mr T (No, not BA Baracus but this was the Bionik Man from Tri talk) as he was supporting us down there - he was a real help on the day :o)

As we set off, there was no rain and no wind - what do these weathermen know!! Quite a lot actually... As we drove 5 minutes down the road, the heavens opened and the wind started to gust :o(

Got down to Sandy Balls and checked the run bag was OK and kept with the racing flats even though Richard (the race director) had advised us not too due to the conditions. Got onto the coach in good spirits - I think it was the madness setting in, as the conditions were now awful...Thank god Chris was there with a spare set of goggles as I had stupidly left them in my car!!!

Got to T1 with a bit of time to spare and just managed to get everything set up (drinks, extra clothes, hair dryer) before the generator that powered the lights failed!! Thats how miserable it was down there :o(

Headed off to the swim start and the atmosphere was surprisingly good - the aforementioned madness had started to spread ;o) We were nearly all huddled under the canopy of a little hut trying to stay dry, uh, we were all about to go for a swim....

SWIM: We were called into the water and it was surprisingly warm(ish) - well, warmer than the outside temperature! Thought I'd start far left and go pretty hard for the first 100m's or so. Off we went and got going pretty quickly but then I started to hit some weeds, I mean ones that you put your arm into and it almost gets stuck!!! Then tried to head towards the centre and got into a bit of biff - there was only around of 100 of us and for fook sake, I still manage to swim into people!! I was trying to find some feet to swim off but I only managed it with about 200m to go - my sighting was that bad!!! I really need to work on this as I have the short distance speed and my predicted times are a lot quicker than this but once I get in OW, I just cannot put it into practice!!!
Got out in about 30th odd place and saw a time of 20.xx - I was actually really pleased with this at the time as I thought that this time for 1300m was good - worked out that the swim was a tad short :o(

T1 - Spent a little while trying to put a jacket on and also trying to find get my race belt on as this had blown off my bike due to the wind... Total time for this and swim was 22.45.
Bike: Got onto the bike and set off pretty quick overtaking three riders within the first few hundred metres :o) Negotiated the nasty wet cattle grid near the start and was off...
The bike is my strongest discipline so I had hoped to give Bluey a good first showing. One major mistake I made was wheel choice! Opted for a disc cover rear and a tri spoke front as the conditions on the Saturday were pretty good but did I listen to the weatherman, did I eck!!! The rear was fine but it was the tri spoke, it was a twitchy as a twitchy thing in those strongs winds!! I had to on several occasions, sit up a grab the handlebars - the aerobars were not a safe place to be... This (along with my new SRAM gears seizing uparound half way) cost me a bit of time, however, I did still manage the fastest bike split of the day - well done Bluey :o)

T2: Pretty quick but had to take jacket et al off so was quite time consuming...

Bike time and T2 (I think?) was 1:14:10.

Run: Got my racing flats on (oops, bad decision...) and shot out of T2. At this time I was in fifth place :o) The run course was a basteward to say the least, up then down, round and up a bit more, you get the jist... Managed to catch up to 4th after about a mile and a half and was running too fast as I was getting excited as I had never been this high up in a race before!! Not long later caught the third runner (found out later that one of the other runners ahead of me had dropped out) who in fact was second... It was just past this stage that I felt my right calf (remember the twinge I mentioned...) starting to hurt and not just that, my left hamstring was also - in fact, both legs were in loads of pain!!!
I spotted the leader about 150m up the road at one point and I thought I might get him however, it was at this same point I looked back and spotted two runners that I hadn't passed behind me - damn!! Well, they quickly overtook me and the young girl (eventual winner) flew past me and I tried to stay with her but by 200m at her pace I let her go and then to compound it, another guy went past but this time I stayed on his feet for a while longer but once again I had to let him go as I was pushing much too hard and if I wanted to finish, I had to back off!!! So, I was back down to fourth, a little disappointed but happy that I was in the top five. With about 1 to 2 miles to go I was passed again (chicked for a 2nd time...) but I kind of expected it as my calf was really bad by now and I was just hoping that I could get to the finish at all!!!The course did not lend itself to racing flats at all and at points on the run, I was over ankle deep in mud and it was this, along with all the ups and downs, jumping over tree roots etc that led to my now pulled calf!!!
Ended up with a 1:14:32 run which was 6th fastest of the day - just wish I could have been able to show my true potential on the course but it was never to be...

However, things weren't all bad ;o) Got fifth overall, 3rd male and a I won the 35-39 age group and got a £50 Primera voucher (already spent!!) and a nice little trophy :o)

A big thanks to Richard & Jo & Paul at RNF for the great organisation and also the free food at the end, that was great...

Oh, forgot to tell you Mick (if you are reading this?). We were talking to a couple of TTers (ManVsTarmac and MarkD) and they actually thought you were a girl with a name like 'Tweenster'... I had to chuckle ;o)

Now onto the Gosport Half Marathon in November - if I can shake this calf pull off...

What a stinker!!!

Well, the title sums up todays race....

Try to keep this as short as possible, but this was not good!!

Lessons learnt:

1. Do not eat chilli and garlic prawns the night before a race

2. Do not spend the whole of the day before, painting the skirting boards

3. Check your brakes dont stick to you rear wheel...

Pre race:

Got up at 5ish, bit of muesli and then drove to the start in plenty of time. The three 'pit stops' were an ominous sign of things to come, little did I know...

Red bull downed, and ready to go.

Swim:

Target was 6:45 - actual 6:38. Valuable lesson here, dont need to practice swimming as my times don't getting any quicker with it... I was in the first wave, the cycleworld and soton tri club one and I was in the lane with Dave Savage. Set off too hard as usual and got past Dave in two laps then settled down into my normal pace and got out feeling OK.

T1:

Pretty pleased here as this was probably one of my quickest transitions ever - at least something went right today ;o)

Bike:

This is where it all went wrong... Set off going quite well and was sat behind one of the cycleworld guys (Anthony I think? He came 6th overall, so good for him...) for a little while and was closing in on him slowly but then after around two miles I came to the first little climb and it was like someone was sitting on my back!! I felt fine and looked down at the bike quickly and everything seemed OK so carried on as I thought I was going through a bad patch. People were flying by and no disrepect to any other competitors, this is my strong point and I very rarely get overtaken - OK, I was on my road bike but even so, something wasn't right...

It wasn't until 6 and a half miles that I eventually stopped to check the bike and the rear brake had clamped onto the wheel and I had been cycling with this since the start!!! I tried taking my wheel out and re-aligning and I was getting in a total mess... Thought I fixed it and off I set.

Dave overtook me in the meanwhile and was not far up the road and he also had his fair share of mechanicals what with his chain coming off twice!! Things still weren't right... The brake was still rubbing and tried to centre the brake on the fly but to no avail, so I just tried to power through it. To be honest, I'd sort of given up on my top ten finish and now I just wanted to put in a good run to redeem something in this race...

Bike time - don't know and didn't care...

T2:

This again was pretty good...

Run:

Got the shoes on and sprinted off - must have been at around 5.15 pace - this was more suited to a 400m race rather than a 5k!!

Tried to settle down and reel in the first guy I spotted who was another cycleworld guy and he was moving pretty well but my stomach wasn't having any of it! I needed a crap, and I had to go but should I go now or try and wait till the end??

I got up the first and only real hill in the run and I was only about 20 metres away from the next guy but it was no good, I had to go....

Was running around a grassy layby looking for a place to go - sorry if anybody saw me but I just had to go!! Must have lost around a minute and half here easy looking for a good place to squat!!!

Finished what I had to do and just tried to go as hard as I could to the finish. Got a time of 20.xx with an average of 6:49's and that was including the 'pit stop'...

Finish time: 1:09:xx

Position 55th!!! This is a personal worst...

Was pretty annoyed with myself for schoolboy errors that cost me dear but ho hum, you live and learn...

Next race, 'One last Tri' and things will be different there, oh yes, they will be different ;o)

Something blue sir....

Well, I have finally made my decision after much deliberation and I have chosen the Blue Triad sl as my new steed :o)

It came down to basically two things: 1. being sensible with the money I had and the 20% off that Jamie (from Multisport distribution) gave me was a big factor and 2. getting the right bike from the stats of my previous Retul fit back in February.

I will admit that the Blue wasn't really on my radar when I was choosing a new frame as I was really lusting after the new shiv and after seeing it up close and personal I was even more taken a back!!! However, the adjustability of this bike isn't very good - you basically fit it or you don't!! There are only minute adjustments at the front end, there is only a few mm's fore and aft in the pads and they can also only go upwards (if you get the chance, check out Jens Voight's stack height on his at the TDF - WOW!!!) and that is it basically as the base bar and extensions stay put!! After much research I decided that I would go with my head as opposed to my heart and it was down to a bike that was more suited to my stack and reach - the Plasma, the Slice and also the Triad.. I'm a tall and narrow sort of guy, you see ;o)

So, after seeing the Blue close up at the London Tri expo and having a good chat with Jamie about it (plus another free Retul fitting included :o)), I was sold... Plus, it is a lovely looking bike - especially with some deep set wheels on it!!!

So now I have got the frame plus all the other bits which are all SRAM Red apart from the front mech which is SRAM Force as I have read that the Red one is a bit flimsy - thanks to Bonger on Tritalk for that little nugget! The bars are the 3T Mistrals which I saw on the bike they had at London and they looked very nice but, after receiving them I am in two minds whether I will get on with them? The first thing of note was the building of them - they look a very well constructed bar but putting them together was bit of a 'mare'!! First off, they included two right arm pads - not good and stupid me, only found out once I had tried to install it - DOH!! Fair play to Wiggle though, they sent me an extra set within a few days :o) Then the actual installation of the pads themselves was a bit time consuming and painful... I had to heat the little plastic sleeves that covered the arm pad holes and then screw a little wood screw into them and pull them out with some pliers!!! What a palava that was and something that you should not have to do for something at that price!! The last thing is, they are quite on the low side and only once I get the bike built up will I be able to tell whether they will suit me as all my previous bars have had a bot of a stack on the armpads? However, there are ways around this with a conversion kit that puts the extensions above the base bar but this sort of takes away the whole idea of this bar!

Now, I am just waiting to get the bike into one of my LBS's - hargroves cycles in Fareham for them to press the headset and also the BB30 bottom bracket (no, it's not ceramic!!!) and then I will start the build :o)

One thing though, how easy is it to install internal cables? Do you have to put the outer cables in as well or is just the inners? My gut feeling is the whole lot but from memory, the hole on the top tube that the cables run into don't seem big enough...

Back to tri stuff and training... Training is going quite well at the moment seeing as the Ironman was only 6 weeks ago (you have to realise that I am the worlds worst at recovering from any event!) so to get back into some serious training this soon (started three weeks ago) is pretty pleasing :o)

Picked up some Brooks T6 racers (yes, the ones Chrissie wears and no, I didn't get them just cos she wears them...) from the London expo at a bargain price of £44 (thanks to Puretri.co.uk...) and first impressions are good. My feet and lower legs have taken a bit of beating due to the heel drop in them compared to the DS trainer that I have been using but it is something that I will have to get used to... They are very light and very responsive, how long they will last I don't know as I have seen quite a bit of wear on the forefoot of the sole already! I was going to go for the Newton Distance shoe (after some great advice from Helen at Ten-Point) but I just can't afford the £120 for them at the moment - they are great shoes but I will have to start saving, especially after the bike build... Don't worry Helen, I will get them from you eventually just to pay back the time and advice you gave me :o)

I have Southampton sprint tri this weekend and I am going off early in the Cycleworld Tri team wave - get to race my old buddy, Mr Fat boy Dave Savage (he of Manchester Commonwealth fame ;o)) It will be interesting to see how much speed these legs have got in them after the Ironman? Got 9th place at Winchester earlier in the season so what with me on my road bike this time (as no built up TT bike yet...), no swim training and the residue of an Ironman in my legs, I'll take 9th place once again thank you very much (actually, top 20 would do me nicely!!!).

Next blog, Southampton race report...

Have a good weekend y'all