Tag Archives: cycling

Sports

No excuses

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It’s not an excuse, nor a veiled attempt at justification of a poor result – I haven’t trained anywhere close to what I should have done and the results will show. Preparation, in any world, is key to success.

So much so that for the first time in seven years, I debated whether to participate in the Zürich Triathlon. Four years ago, this would have been unthinkable. My current level of fitness, however, has cretaed some doubts as to my ability to actually finish the race.

I surveyed my performance during training (the little I did) over the past months and calculated that I should finish in a time of around 90 minutes (best 89 minutes, worst 93 minutes). My calculations do not take into account the adrenalin of the race, the nerves and tension and the inborn human competitive spirit. Either way, I doubt it’ll be that far off from my prediction.

My best time was a handful of seconds over 71 minutes, so I am way off where I should be. But you never know – if I have a good day, I may perform better than expected, which is why giving up is out of the question.

At 8.40am, I will take the plunge – literally – into the lake and give it my all. Soon after, I’ll be on my bike and then tackle the last bit on foot – hopefully running. Anything less than an hour and a half will be a bonus, but I must admit I will be disappointed if I do worse.

Sports

Disappointing result, rekindled spirit

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To say I’m disappointed is an understatement. My triathlon result was not what I had hoped for, even though after two disciplines I was actually more than a minute ahead of last year’s time.

I dropped four places to 78th (out of a field of 110 racers) from 74th (102 participants) last year. My time was 1h21m02sec compared to 1h19m38sec – 84 seconds slower. The heat played a part, but the lack of proper training and lack of form were the real reasons.

Swimming was great with my time eight seconds quicker compared to last year, and the usual stress that has dodged every triathlon I competed in – and it’s more than 20 over the past seven years – was conspicuously absent.

The cycling didn’t feel great, but I still managed to complete the 20km in 1m13sec faster than last year. Counting in the two transitions (both exactly 2m06sec), I was around the 50-minute mark coming into the running.

My muscles reacted as the always do – badly. But it was no different from the past years. I calculated that I could make it as my time of 26 minutes last year was well within reach.

After the first kilometre, I realised that it wasn’t looking good. It took me more than seven minutes to complete. A quick calculation meant that at the same pace, I’d cross the line in well past the 1h19m mark I had set myself.

Try as I might, I was running on empty. I had nothing left in me. With two kilometres left, I was barely 10 minutes away from my self-imposed limit. I ran hard and dropped my time to under six minutes, but it was too little too late.

The last kilometre was my best, but around 400 metres from the end I was at 1h19m40sec. I still ran as hard as I could (and even passed another runner) to cross the line to wild cheering and riotous applause from the thousands who turned out to see me (That didn’t happen, he’s delusional – Ed).

The key take-away from the whole event was that I had fun, I really enjoyed it. And now, I feel incredibly motivated. I might even do the Zug Olympic triathlon with my mate Fergus, who clocked a fantastic time of 1h15m56sec on Saturday.

This time, more than any other time, I’ll get it right (with apologies to the undefeated England 1982 World Cup team).

Sports

Misplaced confidence, maybe

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My 2013 triathlon – the only one I plan to complete this year – is two weeks away and I feel unprepared for it, which comes as no surprise since my training program started terribly late. However, I feel that I may surprise myself this year.

My confidence is higher than it has been in some time. I don’t know why, but who cares.

I’ve done very little swimming but am optimistic this will be my best swim ever. It’s probably down to the fact that I know my limits and can therefore adjust accordingly. Two years ago, after a year of intense training, I decided to swim in the middle of the pack. It turned out to be a disaster and something I won’t repeat anytime soon..

This time, I’ll start from the side – it means a slightly longer distance, but I believe it’ll save me time in the long run.

Biking – my strongest discipline – won’t pose too many issues. My lack of time in the saddle may not help improve my time. And I can either nail the running part or drag myself along to the finish line – won’t know until I start running…

Last year, I completed the triathlon in 1h19m38s – it would be great to shave a few seconds off that time, especially considering that I completed the last kilometres with an excruciating eye injury (Only you can injure your eye, of all things – Ed). And who knows, I may repeat my staggering 2007 run, which I had completed in 21m20s – my fastest ever.

Previous times

2012: 1h19m38s

2011: 1h21m28s

2010: 1h18m41s

2009: 1h15m27s

2008: 1h16m50s

2007: 1h13m44s

2006: 1h24m36s

Sports

No Olympic glory, but 40 minutes more sleep

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Saturday sees me participate in my first – and probably only – triathlon for 2012. It was supposed to be the year I moved up from Sprint triathlon to Olympic, but there’s no way on earth that was going to happen. At least, thanks to a change in scheduling from last year, I get to sleep 40 minutes longer.

My plan was simple – train hard, eat better and get in shape in time for the Zurich Triathlon. I did none and so decided – reluctantly – to be realistic and stick to Sprint for now – I didn’t want to take on the longer distance, do badly and get de-motivated.

The thing is my running is still very weak (average 5:30 per km) and I did very little time in the saddle. On a positive note, my swimming has improved tremendously – especially thanks to my Trigether swim trainer Iris. Only this week, I managed 500 m in 10:45 min, my fastest ever. That on its own, however, is not enough to progress to the next level.

So on Saturday, at 8.40am, I’ll be joining hundreds of others in the Sprint distance – 500 m swimming, 20 km cycling and 5 km running. A year ago, the start was at 8am, so I guess it’s 40 minutes more sleep for me. I almost feel better now.

Last year, I clocked just over 1 hour 21 minutes – anything quicker will be a bonus.

Sports

Disappointing, but a happy finish

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I knew it was going to be hard, but didn’t expect it to be so hard. I hadn’t trained half as much as I should have and therefore have no real excuses to offer. But I was hoping to equal my time of last year.

It didn’t happen and I was a whopping three minutes slower. My time at this year’s Zurich Triathlon (Short) was something over one hour 21 minutes, which honestly is a bit disappointing. And as what happened last year, I am putting off moving up to the Olympic distance for now.

The swimming part was the usual disaster – my goggles fogged up, I felt out of breath and believe someone had cunningly tied a 20kg deadweight to my leg, thus dragging me down – at least that’s what it felt like. This was topped off with a kick to my chest and kidney courtesy of other competitors.

The ‘hard’ part over, I got on my bike – my strongest discipline – but once again I felt I was a V8 with just three cylinders working. My time was, however, respectable at just over 31 minutes for 20km.

Running, or moving-just-a-little-bit-faster-than-walking as it was in my case, felt as though somebody was beating me up with every stride. A colleague past me at the 3km mark and I decided to use him (he was relatively faster) as a pace maker. This plan was unceremoniously abandoned around 30 seconds after it was hatched.

The ending was surprisingly positive. I picked up pace for the last 200m and people were really cheering me (and all other athletes) on. And at the very end, six cheerleaders cheered me (as they do) past the finish line. Probably the first time someone in so much pain smiled so happily!