The Outlaw. race report

Well I done it, I completed The Outlaw ironman distance race.



I travelled up to Nottingham on Thursday afternoon and camped until Monday. This was so I could get there and chill out for a couple of days before the race. I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of myself for completing the distance. Lots of people thought that I wouldn't do it but to be honest non more than myself. I admit now my time isn't great but it's inside the cut of time of 17 hours so therefore it counts.



The swim 2.4 miles: My time 1:44:59



I very nearly got it to the water without my timing chip and had to run back to transition and get it. The organisers set up 4 bays fastest swimmers on the left then moving across to the right for slowest. I started in the slowest bay which also meant you ended up swimming further because of the angle. The lake was full of weed and at times you were fighting to get through/ over it. I got my first bout of cramp just after the turn round point thankfully nothing to bad but meant stopping to stretch before continuing. Mentally this was the hardest leg for me, knowing that I'm slow plays on my mind and with the weed I was convinced for much of the downward leg I was convinced I was going to be timed out. With about 500 meters to go I got a bad bout of cramp which wouldn't go away I stopped for a while trying to stretch it out. A kayak came over and offered his bow which I took while I stretched it out. During this time I could see the score board which had a clock on it it read 7:37. This gave me a huge boost I could see the finish and was well inside the cut off time. All in all I am happy with my time.



T1 My time :11:51, took the time to dry my feet properly and put on a dry top. Also applied sun block to neck legs and face but regrettably forgot my legs, more on that later.



Bike 112 miles: My time 7:11:15



The bike course was made up of an outward leg then 3 x 30 mile loops then a return leg. The bike was pretty uneventful for me, 2 thirds of each loop was quite comfortable for me but there was a lumpy section at the start of each lap which I didn't like. I struggle with rolling sections of road. Kept a decent pace throughout the course.



T2 My time 6:53



Standard T2.



Run 26.2: My time 6:28:33



I was shattered when I came out of T2 but set off trying to run but cramped in my thighs so started to walk to try and get the blood circulating again and clear some of the lactose acid.I pushed myself while I was walking and over the first 3 miles tried to run but with out success but slowly I was getting into a good rhythm while walking. On checking my garmin I started to realise that if I kept up this pace I would still finish inside the cut off. At this time this was what it was about for me I wasn't going to quit no matter what, if I timed out then fare enough but I decided during the first part of the run I would still be out there and moving at 11 pm.

I did the first lap which is the longest of 3 laps in 1:56 the second lap I did in 1:56 and the final one in 1:56. The first 2:95 miles out to the first loop I did in 40:28. This the thing that I'm happy about although I admit I walked the marathon I did it at the same pace through out the whole 26.2 miles. That's an average speed of 6.5 kmh.


I finished in a time of 15:42:47 not fast but well inside the 17 hour cut off time. I'm so proud of my achievement specially when I saw the colour of my thighs at the finish. I rather caught the sun even though it was cloudy most of the day. My own fault but I should have remembered to apply sun tan lotion.



This definitely added to the discomfort on finishing. I ached all over, 15 odd hours of racing had taken it's toll on my body but mentally I felt strong and had a huge smile on my face the whole way round.

The supporters and Marshall's were amazing they truly made it a day I will never forget. I thanked as many as I could specially on my last run lap. Today I still ache and the sunburn is pretty sore but I'm home now and waiting for the crash to happen I only managed 5 hours sleep last night hoping tonight in my own bed I will get a good nights sleep in.



Deep down I was never sure I would have it in me to complete this distance but I have to say I am an Outlaw :)

3 and a half weeks

Since I last trained, my back pain which actually turned out to be Sacroiliac joint pain, has taken an age to improve. I've learnt available lesson as regards going to the doctors, I put it off for nearly 3 weeks thinking that I would get better with time. Where as what I actually needed was the anti inflammatory that he prescribed.

So tonight is the night I'm going to the gym after work, I'm going to start off gentle and see how we go. I'm looking forward to getting back to it I guess. I have missed it but at the same time part of me has enjoyed not having to go to the gym.

I'm yet to ride my bike properly in anger, I'm pretty excited about doing that although it's a scary prospect getting in that position. I've got to get my head down from here on in, I've got a huge amount of work to do if I'm going succeed in my goals for 2010. My friends on tweeter are a huge inspiration to me, seeing the training they do everyday is showing me what I need to be aiming for.

This weekend I'm heading to the TCR show, it'll be my second year and I'm looking forward to picking up some great tips and advice. I'm still planning what seminars I'm going to see but 1 down on the list is a Q&A with Chrissie Wellington, I attended last year and its was fantastic. I'm going to get fitted for new trainers while there as well, this will be my 1 big purchase this year apart from that my wallet will be closed ;)

Old habits... New habits.

As stated I have real problems with food, in the past I would over eat all the time, bingeing on chocolate, biscuits, cheese and crusty bread. Not forgetting Pepsi max where I could knock off 2-3 ltrs a day.

I no longer binge but I still have to battle to not place these items in my basket when shopping, I can take or leave chocolate now although I do occasionally treat myself with dark chocolate. I eat brown bread now as much as possible but I rarely have it at home. I've given up Pepsi max since 1/1/10, so far so good, thankfully the supermarkets keep the soft drinks at the end of the store so I don't need to pass when shopping.

Cheese is the thing I'm struggling with at the moment, I luv cheese to the point that I will brake off chunks and munch it just in passing. You can't beat a strong bit of cheddar or a nice bit of smoked cheese. I'm sure it jumps into my trolley without me realising :-S. My goal now is to move on from cheese, if I can do it with Pepsi then cheese should be easy.

On a positive note I've got some good habits going as well. I now have porridge every morning and really enjoy it. It definitely makes it easier to eat better during the day because I don't start hungry. I've also reduced the portion size of the meal I take to work, I only have a handful of pasta and I use a smaller container to put it in. I'm working on eating healthy when I get home in the evening and I'm going to continue to prepare a pan of home made soup every weekend.

I feel more secure when I have some sort of bar in the house and although I now buy healthier bars and they do sit in the cupboard for days on end. I'm going to try and stop buying them now.

This week has been frustrating with my back which is still not entirely better. I'm not going to rush it though but get better already. I've noticed that I'm starting to feel better internally, I think this is because it's starting to get lighter. I know it's only a few minutes but it's nice to finish work in daylight. I'm so looking forward to Spring.

This week is going to be exciting ( back permitting) I bought a new bike this week and it arrives next week( see pic). This is a serious bit of kit for a triathlete and means I've got to step up my attitude and training. Lots of stretching ahead, I wasn't designed to be flexible but I'm going to have to try and change this.

I'm also going to go to a swim session with Crystal Palace Tri Club and although I've been planning to do this for 2 weeks and not made it I'm not going except any excuses from myself this week. My swim needs more work than any of 3 legs of a tri and that needs to start now.

My knew bike; Quintana Roo Seduza.

Been a while.....

since I've posted. over 2 years in fact. It's been eventful I've completed the London triathlon twice, the UK 70.3 the Reading half marathon, around 10 10Km and a couple of 6 km races, a few cyclo sportives including The London to Brighton. These are all good things and I'm proud of myself for doing them.

I'm still trying to find away to defeat my food demons and all the exercise has stopped me from getting to big again. I think I'm losing weight but it's a slow process. I struggle this time of year the long nights really bring me down and it's hard to get motivated to do anything. I could readily sleep 12 hours a day and quite often sleep 10 and still wake up tired. How different it is in the summer when I'm wide awake at 04:30 and more often than not I'll be out cycling or trying to run before work.

Over the winter I've kept up going to the gym, usually 4-5 times a week, basically trying to build up my strenght and to keep my basic fitness up. The weather hasn't allowed me to do much cycling but hopefully now I'll be able to start cycling to work again and indeed running also. These are my short term goals along with going along to a Crystal palace tri swim session. I've got 3 more sessions with my PT to go which will be 2 next week and 1 the week after. I also intend to get back to spin class next Thursday. I'm planning to continue a heavy emphasis on strenght training till the middle of February.

This week I'm also going to completed an outdoor run of around 5 km, as I haven't done one since November last year. By the end of the month I'm going to run to work at least once, a distance of 9km. I know I've got a lot of work to do before Reading.

So here it is all published for the world to see, my races for the year as it stands plus a few short term goals. My goal is to complete all the races and do myself justice and also acomplish the shorter term goals which because of the time of year will be harder for me than the later races.