It's all over

Well, day 6 and I finally gave in.  I can't point to one thing, but this is how it went.  I arrived at the cycle track ready for a full day and 150 mile target to hit, only to find that contrary to what I was told the day before, I would not be allowed to use the track until 4pm.  I could physically feel the hope drain out of me as I heard this news.  Anyway, not to be deterred, I tried to find a new route near the track, so that I could still get back to my car where I was storing all my food and spare clothes etc.  I ended up going round a local park, but after 3 hours in the pouring rain, on return to my car for a break, I just gave in.  Physically, apart from a sore backside and a bit of pain in my left Achilles tendon I felt OK; it was the mental side that gave way.  A broken bike, more rain, dodging dog walkers for another 5 hours just overwhelmed me and I decided enough was enough.  Although I'm disappointed, I'm not devastated and I feel I gave it a decent shot.  I've learned a lot and realise the mistakes I made in preparing for the event.  I'm still pleased with doing the swim - something that I thought was impossible for me before I started training for the Deca.  I will post up a bit more on later, but for now I just want to say thank you to everyone who came out to support me, who believed in me and wanted me to succeed.  I cannot tell you how moved I was to see you all, especially those who stayed throughout the night while I was swimming.

Finally for now - if you have sponsored me, but now no longer wish to do so, please contact me and I can arrange how to refund you your money.  If you are still happy to make your donation - thank you - and you will be giving to a good cause.

He's on the road again....

 He has the plan!  For anyone who knows about Myers Briggs profiling our 'J' boy is much more at ease when he knows what's coming and can tick things off.  This is Miles explaining to me (the opposite 'P' preference) how good this plan is.  The 'are you sure' face he's displaying is probably more about my reaction -  I must work on my non verbal communication!
Kate

Day 5 - back on the positive pills.

So, overnight I did some thinking.  I'm way behind schedule, the Elswick circuit isn't working for me and the weather isn't brilliant.  The Buckshaw circuit is smoother, shorter, but has busy traffic at times and there fewer amenities (no loos, for example, and when you are drinking SIS Go all day, you need to go a lot!).  It occurred to me that I had dismissed the idea of using the local cycle track when they said I wouldn't be able to use it during the hours of darkness, but that didn't mean I couldn't use it during the day.  So up at 4am to do a short set at Buckshaw,with the intention of spending the rest of the day at Preston Sports Arena.  So, a good plan and one which put me in a more positive frame of mind.  (My two mantras that I recite to myself throughout the day are 'I can always do one more' and 'I can always find a way').  But, inevitably a couple of set backs.  A downpour at 7.00am left me soaked and chilled, despite wearing my winter weather gear.  (I wasn't the only one and I saw quite a few riders out testing the Ironman UK route, passing me with resigned expressions on their faces.  You couldn't even see the top of Rivi pike, so I can only imagine what they had experienced at the top!).  So back home to get warmed up, pick up dry kit and sort the latest mechanical.   My bike computer had given up.  Guess what?  Just as with the tyres yesterday, which were the only batteries that I hadn't got?  Headtorch, yes, front light, yes, rear light, yes, bike computer, No.  So, now a two hour wait for Maplins to open and re-set my bike computer.  Luckily I had recorded all my previous mileage before the computer went down.  But for around an hour I had to cycle with an alternative means of measuring distance travelled.  So here is what I came up with.  I had four batteries and a bag of Powerade Cola Shots (A total favourite of mine).  Each bag contains 9 shots.  One of the circuits I use at Buckshaw is 1.7 miles long - I know this from trialling the route, and had logged the distance, just in case mishaps like this one happened.  So, every lap I'd take a battery from my topbox and put in in my pocket.  At the end of four laps, all batteries are in my pocket, eat one Powershot.  Hey presto, my own mileometer!

By 12 noon I was on the cycle track and making some good progress.  The weather was almost perfect (still windy, but a bit more opportunity for shelter.)  No traffic, no need to brake or accelerate and no need to change gear, just a nice steady pace.  I could also start to plan much better intervals, rather like I had while doing the swim, and the ability to chart progress like this can be very motivating.  So all going well, the plan being to stay on for about 6 hours and try to get to 400 miles.  But at 4 pm came the next mechanical.  What was annoying about this one, was it was a repeat of a fault that I had had 'repaired' in my final bike service before the Deca.  What was more annoying was that my mate identified the fault in five minutes, when two bike shops and a £90 spend, had failed to do it previously.  My main bike is a Cannondale Synapse, with Shimano Dura-ace group set.  Cannondale use their own non-standard crank and bottom bracket set up.  What is happening is that the metal socket is moving within the carbon fibre crank, and this cannot be solved simply by tightening the crank.  It's probably terminal and will definitely be expensive and it means that tomorrow I'm back on my heavier winter bike, but at least I'm on a smooth cycle track.  Gavin, my mechanically-minded friend has volunteered to take my bike to get repaired, so hopefully I won't be without it for too long and I shouldn't lose any more time.  So at 350 miles I called stumps for the day.  It's highly unlikely that I will now complete the whole Deca in the 14 days I allowed myself, but I will carry on and see how far I can get.  I definitely want to get to the run section, so that I can say that at least I did all three disciplines.  I realise that most of my setbacks have been problems of planning or just bad luck and so far, my fitness has been OK, although I'm not covering the mileage I had planned to make each day.  No real injuries to speak of.  Backside a bit sore (but Assos cream hasn't lost it's magic) and left Achilles tendon feels a bit tight, but that's about it.  I feel much more positive now, and plan to increase the miles tomorrow.

Day 4 - A disaster

Another 4.30am start!

Went out to the Elswick circuit today with the intention of riding my spare bike, the idea being that a change in frame geometry would give my back a rest.  This did work, but what didn't was that I had a tyre burst (not a tube, a tyre).  I'd flat-spotted it and it wore through.  Of course, the one thing I didn't have with me was a spare tyre, so at only two hours into my day, I had to drive to Kirkham to get spares.  This was a huge oversight on my part and cost me a lot of time.  A big thanks to Fylde Cycles for a quick and efficient service.  

Then back on the next lap and of course, the wind.  By 250 miles I was totally demoralised and was making such slow progress that I decided to abandon.  The Deca was just too much for me, I was sore, tired, thoroughly pissed off and feeling very sorry for myself.  But when I finally finished what I thought was going to be my last lap, I was met by three friends from Tri Preston, who in the nicest possible way told me to 'Man up'. Thanks Nicky, Nic and Shirls! I left for home, as the rain started again, making a solemn promise to my mates that I would get out again that day and see how I felt.  In the evening I did 30 miles on the Buckshaw circuit, with the surprise of being joined by a friend, Simon McGoran, who helped me round by talking about things other than the Deca.  (Simon was an elite triathlete, back in the days when it was OK to get naked in transition and noone cared!)  His support was invaluable.   I also realised just how much smoother the circuit at Buckshaw was and despite the rain (again!) it all seemed a bit more bearable.  

On the topic of support, this was one of my research areas while studying for my Masters in Sports Psychology.  The latest thinking is that in the world of sport, there are four forms of support that are important, Emotional, Esteem, Information and Tangible.  The first two have been extremely important for me over the last few days and I've been amazed at the sacrifices that friends have made to come out and see me.  It is much appreciated.  These two types of support are about strengthening belief and resolve.  Tangible support is about providing practical resources.  An example is Alan giving me his swim cap when mine split.  This might seem like a small example, but the fact that I was swimming with a hat held on only by my goggles was also a big distraction, which caused me to lose focus. So all forms of support are linked and different people will need different types and at different stages in a race.

A very poor day, but ultimately I'm still in there fighting.

The blogger in update mode

Day 3 update

A hard day today, with much wind and rain for the early part.  The rain, I could do without; it's uncomfortable, but that's all.  The wind on the other hand, sucks at your soul, robbing you of any determination to keep going.  At times I was doing 8 miles an hour (some of my fellow Tri Preston team mates might say that that is not too far off my usual average speed!).  This event really is a case of mind over body.  Any little setback seems to nag away, eating at your resolve and with every pedal stroke the desire to abandon seems to grow.  I did 60 miles at Elswick, then travelled over to Buckshaw, hopefully to get a bit more shelter from the wind.  This circuit is much shorter (2 miles instead of 7.6) so even though it was still windy it wasn't as long and, there were sheltered parts too.  I've started to get to know the Elswick circuit intimately.  I now know every pothole, rut and ripple, and have learned the best line round the course.  It gets really annoying when traffic prevents me from taking my preferred line, and my backside gets another bruising as I batter my way across the latest pothole.  I've also started to name parts of the course - Dad's Corner (just because I seem to think of my father every time I get to that point!), Slowman's Hill (not really a hill at all but seems like Everest when you have done it for the 10th time that day), Rubbish bag straight and finally Cow Crossing Farm (last two fairly self-explanatory!).  I did wonder why I was thinking of my Dad.  I'm not one to believe in fate, but I got in tonight to hear that the last of his four sisters had died.  He had left a message to tell me not to worry and to carry on with my challenge.  When I'm exhausted I find it hard to control my emotions and this news was hard to take.  I love my Dad, and my thoughts are with him at this time.

Early start tomorrow to try and make up some miles.  Currently on 218 miles, so a fair way to go.  Keep following me on Twitter (@enthiostraining #Doingthedeca) for updates, or you can also find me on Facebook.  Cheers all, and thanks for your support!

Day 2

Day 2 started with completing the final 3.5k swim at Total Fitness in Preston then back to base for some porridge and a well earned rest.  The bike started in earnest at Elswick with 7k laps around the local villages.  A warm humid day with a mad downpoor around 3pm where our challenger got completely soaked.  Tri Preston did him proud again today with some shoulder to shoulder riding from various members and a base set up at Jonathan, Emily and Charlie dogs house (the lovely dog with an amazing resemblence to Basil Brush - that's for all you 70's kids - boom boom!!)

Our man has 100 miles in the bag when he decides to hit the sack. 4am start will come round all too early for day 3 - watch this space!

Kate

Ribby Hall - set to swim in the warm!

Day 1

A quick update on Day One's antics.  A start at 12.00 noon at Blackpool Wakepark and 29 hours later, stepped out of the pool at Ribby Hall, having completed 34.5 Km of the 38 Km swim.  I could have gone on  longer, but chose to finish early, get a proper rest and then swim the remaining 3.5 Km tomorrow.  (Not strictly in the rules, but it will do for me!)  Worst parts were the first 500M in open water when I had a mild panic about failing in the first 10 mins of starting, and between 20-25KM, which seemed to go on for ever.  Best parts - the massive amount of support from my Tri Preston club mates - totally unexpected and very much appreciated.  Without them I would have given up in the wee small hours.  

Being photographed during the open water swim while holding the Olympic torch, thanks to my mate Jonathon Evans who carried the flame last weekend.  A humourous and much welcomed distraction. Finally, being interviewed on local radio - totally unexpected and with me barely coherent after 18 hours of swimming, I hope I made some kind of sense!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00tb245/Graham_Liver_27_06_2012/
Many, many thanks go to Garry Thompson of Blackpool Wakepark and Colin Kershaw of Ribby Hall.  Also to the lifeguard Katherine Hoyland who also swam with me, and completed 20K in about half the time it took me!  


I'm now sat in bed, having stuffed myself with pasta, showered and cleaned my equipment.  Feeling rather fatigued, but generally satisfied.  The swim was by far the part of the event that I was most nervous about and it now looks like I will complete it, something that seemed an impossible task, when I first started researching the Deca

Tomorrow's revised plan is to complete the swim, then start the bike.  I'm behind schedule but hopefully I can make it up on the bike.


PS I will never swim that distance ever again, and I think I have had my fill of bananas and malt loaf!

24 hours to go

Well in just under 24 hours I'll be in the water, having started my big adventure.  I say, 'big' but in Friday 22 June edition of The Times there was an article about a 3000 mile foot race in the centre of New York, with competitors going round the same block repeatedly.  Apparently they are due to finish sometime in August!  It just shows what you can achieve when you put your mind to it.

Final preparations have been completed and I'm now surrounded by lots of plastic boxes, packed with kit, food and additional equipment.  It's a bit of a logistical challenge and as I'm organising all of this myself with on a shoestring budget and the help of family and friends, it's been tough.  A big thanks goes out to all the people who have helped get me to this point and those who are about to help me during the event itself.  You are all amazing and I will try not to let you down.

Thanks also to everyone who sponsored me - very generous and the money is going to a good cause.  A special thanks goes to Ian and Alison Short who had a whip round during their 25th wedding anniversary celebrations last Saturday.

The plan, should you want to come out and cheer me on is:

Day 1 swim - starting at Blackpool Wakepark then overnight at Ribby Hall (from 9pm)
Day2 - 7 - finish swim then cycle.  The day route will be around Elswick, the night route at Buckshaw.
Day8-14 - run/walk/crawl around Preston Docks.

Obviously all of the above is subject to change!  The weather isn't looking too good for the cycle so I may have to alter my plans as I go along.

if you want to follow me, keep checking in on this blog and you can also find me on Twitter @enthiostraining (#Doingthedeca).  And if you would like to sponsor me you can find me at:

www.justgiving.com/Miles-Peacock

A huge thank you for all your messages of support.  I promise to give it my best shot.  I'm only going to have one go at this so if I fail it won't be for want of trying.

The final countdown

One week to go - it's all feeling a bit urgent now, as I start to put all my gear together and do my final preparations.  I got inspired over the weekend, watching the live feed of the Regensberg Ironman as five of my friends from Tri Preston competed in their first long distance tri.  It's very exciting watching their split times come up and then to hear their comments of the race as they put posts up on Facebook once they've finished.  There is something very inspiring about setting a challenging goal and then finally achieving it.  Here's hoping I can do the same.

A bit of promotional wear!

T shirts arrived back from the printers today.

A quick update

With only around 6 weeks to go, I thought I'd just give you all a quick update on the organisation of the event.  I've decided that I'm going to start a little earlier on 26th June and that means I will be doing part of the swim in open water.  Thanks to Garry and family at Blackpool Wakepark for helping out http://www.blackpoolwakepark.co.uk/.  It's a great place to go swimming and it is where the local tri clubs, including Tri Preston, do much of their practice sessions.  I'm now in the process of getting some promotional T Shirts printed, which I will be wearing on the event, and I've started to put together my 'Operations File' - ie my daily checklist of things I need to do, nutrition plans, equipment required, goals for the day etc.  When you put it all down on paper it looks like you are planning a trip to the moon!  I've just finished two very interesting books 'Nutrition Timing' by John Ivy and 'Ten Minute Toughness' by Jason Selk.  I'm now reading around the topics of sleep deprivation, blister management and nutritional strategies.  My oversize trainers are now well and truly broken in, although I'm still toying with the idea of some lightweight walking boots for greater ankle support.  I've checked out a variety of bike courses and settled on two - one a seven mile circuit, for use in the day time and the second a shorter circuit of two miles, which will be more suitable when it is dark.  So, it's all systems go at the moment.  Four more weeks of hard training, then a bit of a taper as the event approaches.  I'm still flip-flopping between thinking 'maybe this is possible' and 'this is totally crazy'.  When I used to go do a lot of rock-climbing there is a point at which you are so far above your last bit of gear that if you fall, it won't save you.  You are past the point of commitment.  Before you reach that point, there is an over-riding fear that can be hard to break through, but after that point somehow it feels quite liberating.  With regards to the Deca, although I still feel fearful, I also think that I've past my point of commitment.  I've already started, so it's now a case of doing the best I can.  That challenge will be as much mental as it is physical.

You can sponsor me at http://www.justgiving.com/Miles-Peacock

Countdown

It's all getting a bit close now.  I was interviewed by the local paper, 'The Lancashire Evening Post' last week.  While I wanted to publicise the event so that I could hopefully influence a few more people to donate, it also adds to the pressure.  Underneath it all is a fear of failure - what if it all goes disastrously wrong?  Anyway, I'm well past the point of commitment, so it's now down to me to give it my best shot.  Just over two weeks to go, and final preparations are underway.  I've got my diet plan from Helen Walker, my bikes are being serviced and I've tested all the the equipment I intend to use.  I'm still learning though.  A 15 mile Nordic walk in very wet conditions on Saturday showed me that my blister protection needs a bit more work!  (A simple wrinkle in my sock, coupled with soaking wet shoes caused a blister on my heel, which I didn't attend to quickly enough).  I've done a couple of small events recently, (The Coniston 3.8km swim and a 52 mile sportive on closed roads in Manchester).  I've felt fine on these, with a feeling that there is more in the tank, but I'm still daunted by the distances that I'm going to have to cover each day for two weeks.  The only way to find out is to do it, I guess!

The Kite Runner

If you want to know why the work of Right To Play is so important, (and you like a good story!) get a hold of a copy of the film/book 'The Kite Runner'.  A very moving tale, which graphically shows what happens to children as a consequence of war, and how play is closely linked to culture, friendship and loyalty.  Find out more about Right to Play at http://www.righttoplay.com/uk/about-us/Pages/mission.aspx


Help me raise £20000  for Right to Play!  http://www.justgiving.com/Miles-Peacock

Looking for feedback

Has anyone tried either of the following products, especially for recovery purposes?

Cherry Active - a cherry flavoured cordial that is supposed to aid recovery

Nocte - an SIS product, again supposed to aid recovery, especially for stopping that leg twitching thing you get after endurance events due to the imbalance in minerals

Please post up any experiences you have of using either of these.  Thanks

Redemption (of sorts)

So, in an attempt to get things back on track I set myself the target of doing double Ironman distance for the swim and bike disciplines over the weekend.  And not to shabby an effort, given the abysmal training effort in April.  My reasons for doing this were really just to test my commitment and also to have a bit of a test run at doing long back-to-back sessions.  The swim went OK, felt hard towards the end but it's helped me get some clarity on how to approach the main event, especially nutrition and rest periods.  The next day I did a hilly 91 mile ride with 3 friends.  The first two hours were really hard, just couldn't get my legs moving, but after that I seemed to get going.  On the Sunday, I awoke feeling a bit heavy-legged, but went out with a larger group from Tri Preston on a 104 mile flat ride.  I was quite surprised at how good this felt, as I was worried that I might bonk at some point then not be able to move!  Monday, finished off the balance of 224 miles with a short lap circuit that I might use for the Deca.  Then a very short walk, just to see how it felt to do the third discipline after three long sets (followed up with a 10K walk the day after).  So, the plus points are I feel a re-motivated, there does seem to be some endurance/stamina in my body despite the poor efforts in April, and the nutrition strategies provided by Helen Walker seem to be working well.  Minuses?  Well, I need to do over 5 times the distance in about half the time!  Mummy!

A duffer's guide

As I pick myself up from my malaise brought about by a poor month of training, I've coincidentally just finished reading 'French Revolutions' by Tim Moore.  It's a very funny account of one man's attempt to cycle the Tour de France route, with only minimal training and very basic knowledge of cycling.  He sort of achieves his aim too, (with the odd detour), so it just shows what you can achieve with mental strength, if your goal is clear enough and your desire is strong.  Maybe there is hope for me yet....

The pressure is on

Well, a dismal April in terms of training.  Not able to follow my plan and not doing much to compensate.  Again, I could put forward a variety of reasons (or excuses) but who would I be fooling?  The fact is that I haven't done anywhere near the amount of training I intended to do.  I've let some the self-imposed pressure get to me and as I go more and more public with my challenge, I've let the enormity of it overwhelm me.  Instead of focusing on the things I can do, I've been spending more time worrying about what I'm not doing and it's been getting me down.  So with just over 8 weeks to go, I'm redoubling my efforts and starting to re-organise when and how I do my training.  (Some of the longer sessions are proving hard to fit around work).  I also want to put in a few 'test' sessions in May, to acts as convincers that I can do this thing.  On the plus side I've been really amazed at how many people have been willing to help me, by offering there services or donating to my Just Giving page http://www.justgiving.com/Miles-Peacock.  


I'll post up more soon, but I need to get some training in and return to a more positive state of mind!  Right now I feel like apologising to all those people who have put their faith in me.

Big thanks

Since going public with my quest to raise £20k for Right to Play, money and sponsors have already started to commit to the big adventure.  Thanks to all the following:


Mike Barber and colleagues at NRL  http://www.nrl.co.uk/
Paul Concannon at Elysian Training  http://www.elysiantraining.com/welcome.html
Carolyn Blunt at Real Results Training  http://www.real-results.co.uk/
Liz Couchman at Alex Merlin  http://alexmerlin.co.uk/
Anthony Clarke at Design Force  http://www.designforce.co.uk/

Thanks for your support and your generosity.  It keeps me motivated to train!


If you would like to make a donation you can do so at http://www.justgiving.com/Miles-Peacock

Going Public!!

OK, there are 12 weeks to go before the big event.  I start at 9pm on 26th June 2012.  

As I've said elsewhere, I'm doing this event to raise £20000 for Right to Play.  Check out what they do on their website, http://www.righttoplay.com/uk/Pages/Home.aspx.  

If you would like to make a donation, you can do so on my Just Giving Page http://www.justgiving.com/Miles-Peacock.

If I can get 1000 people to sponsor me 1p per kilometre, I will exceed my target by £2600, so tell your friends and let's get this crazy idea going viral!  

Thanks everyone for your support. I'll be posting up my progress, so keep checking in on my blog.


 Miles 

'Could try harder'

Did you ever get that kind of remark on your school report?  (Usually a plea from the teacher to recognise your potential yet kick you up the backside too).  It just about sums up my last month's training.  It's been an enjoyable month, with some testing sessions and an opportunity to do some altitude training in the Alps,  but as for adhering to Ian's plan, not very productive.  On the plus side, I got in a couple of 'Ton' bike rides in the last week, but on the downside only a tiny amount of swimming. (Less than I have been doing in a week, in other months).  There have been a variety of reasons for this, most notably an injury, but ultimately they would be excuses.  There is a fine line between paying attention to your body and not overtraining, and listening to it so much that you fear every niggle, itch and pain.  I've certainly been reluctant to get back into the pool since my 10K attempt, and I plan to put this right in April.  April is a real marker post for me as it signals the start of the 12 week run in to the start of the Deca.  

Thanks to Ian Murphy, my endurance seems to be improving, and I'm still enjoying the adventure but my mind always returns to the enormity of what I have taken on.  I finished my last 100 mile ride on Saturday and felt quite pleased with my efforts but then had to immediately remind myself that I have to do nearly twice this distance for 6 days in a row.  It's easy to get overwhelmed, and this is where psychology can play apart - keep your eyes on the prize, yet focus on the present.  

So, onwards and upwards.  Training volumes increase for April, mostly on the bike and run.  

March stats are as follows Swim 10.3 Km, Bike, 538 Km, Run 125 Km, XC Ski, 44 Km, total of 64 hours training.

Ups and downs

Mmm... a bit of a strange month so far and not in a way that I would have wanted.  A week's holiday in the Alps was a welcome change from the normal training routine, where I spent most of my training time running in stunning scenery or cross-country skiing on our local tracks.  (Highlight of the week was the high level route between two small mountain villages).  Also, I had put my heart monitor in for repair I could train without any added pressure and for the sheer enjoyment of it.  (I did need to train though, as French alpine diet consists of cheese, ham and pastries, so plenty of excess calories to be burned off!).  On the downside, the week before and the week after the holiday were more or less a wash-out as far as structured training was concerned.  This was mainly due to work commitments but I don't want to use that as an excuse.  Consequently, I am well down on my planned swim and bike targets for the month.   I'm supposed to have a rest week this week with only easy training sessions, but instead I've decided to repeat the sessions that I missed this week (of which there were many).  My coach, Ian, always says, 'Don't go chasing training sessions!' but in this case I think it's the right thing to do, as I didn't train on 3 days last week, so feel quite rested.  I did manage two test sessions this week, one of which went well (a 100mile easy bike over rolling terrain - felt I could have done more) and one that didn't.  This was a 10Km swim set (my first).  I got to 7Km and had to stop.  The reason I had to stop was not one that I would have predicted.  I broke my ankle in 1996 in a skiing accident and since then I have to be careful with how much impact work I do as it can sometimes cause me pain.  For the first time I experienced this during a swim.  I think it was the constant extension of the ankle during the leg kick, so by 5 Km every time I kicked I got a shooting pain down my right leg.  I think it may have been weakened by the previous week's running and skiing (a bit too much jumping while snowboarding didn't help either!).  I've not felt the injury this week and it was OK on yesterday's 2 hour trail run, so I'm going to have another go at the 10Km swim tomorrow and see how it goes.  I'll finish this time, even if it means doing breast stroke to get the distance in!  Grrr....

Going public

A recovery week this week, so relatively quiet, with low intensity work only.  The first few days of spring too, so it was actually a pleasure to be out on the bike!  (I even treated myself to an outing on my 'posh' bike, which I never like to get wet!).  Biggest highlight of the week was undoubtedly getting permission from Ribby Hall to use their pool for the swim.  I now just need to get some lifeguards for cover during the night.  It's amazing how many people will step up to help you out when you decide to commit to your goal.  Going public makes it all a bit real, which has the dual effect of making this whole adventure very exciting, but also can lead to added pressure.  I just need to stick to Ian's plans, do the work and build gradually.  I received Ian's next 4 week block  of training last night - looks tough, with a few test sessions thrown in so we can chart progress.  A bit of variety too, as I'm off to the French Alps for a week to do a bit of XC skiing.  What a fantastic sport that is.  If you want a sport to raise your pulse and one which takes place in stunning scenery so you can take your mind off the pain, this is it - if only I wasn't so rubbish at it!

It's attitude that counts

Colin Kershaw of Ribby Hall is a legend!  Within 24 hours of my request he's got back to me to confirm that Ribby Hall will let me use their pool.  Just a few things to sort out, mainly due to risk assessment, but what a relief to have met such a 'can do' bloke.  All behaviour starts with belief - if you think the world is a friendly or unfriendly place, you will find what you believe.  Likewise, if you take an optimistic view and believe in the possible, not what might stop you, great things can happen.  Thanks Colin!

Good news

Fantastic bit of news today.  I think I have found a venue for the swim section of the Deca.  The problem with finding a pool is one of insurance and security; most commercial venues won't entertain the idea of someone swimming out of hours.  So what a delight to meet the manager of the sports centre at Ribby Hall, Colin, whose instant reaction was, 'Yes, how can we help?'  It's great to meet someone with a 'can do' attitude, who really gets what you are trying to do.  I haven't received too many knock-backs so far, as I plan this event, but it's just easier for people to say 'No' rather than 'Yes' if it's going to cause them extra work.  I still need to get final confirmation, but so far, this feels like real progress.  (Although it's now getting a bit real!).  You can find more about the Ribby Hall Leisure Village at:


http://www.ribbyhall.co.uk/


It's also the home of the Ribby Triathlon, one of a series of three along the Fylde coast.  I acted as marshal there last year and it looks like a great event.  Also while there, I had a good conversation with the dealer at Sweat Shop about the right running shoes and socks for the run section.  Now planning to get my gait analysed.  Question: is it possible to be excited and afraid at the same time?

February stats

Finished the month with total of 56 hours training, 45km swim, 464 Km bike and 137Km running.  These equate to 118%, 25.8% and 32.5% of the Deca distances.  I feel a bit light on the bike distances at the moment, but see earlier posts for reasons why this has happened.  Running is coming on steadily and I'm most pleased with progress on the swim.  Just need to stuff it all into two weeks and learn to do successive days of long efforts.  

A testing week

A good week this week.  It was always going to be a challenge as coach Murphy had set me a tough programme, which just happened to coincide with a very busy work schedule.  However, I managed to do everything, bar one 70 minute run session.  The downside was that I had to load most of the training to the back end of the week, so I finished feeling quite fatigued.  Going through my training records has highlighted a pattern of missing one of my sessions the day after a rest day, and this is something that I am going to have to address.  (Should be easy to solve now that the days are getting longer).  Highlight of this week was undoubtedly Ian's bike/run session at Preston Sports Arena.  Two hours of cycling, including a 1 hour trial, riding 'through and off' in gangs of 8.  Superb interval training, although riding at a slightly faster speed than normal made the run section (pyramids going from 200M to 1200M in 200M increments) rather painful!

Totals for the week:  11km swim, 119Km Bike, 48Km run.  A key milestone too - since the start of Feb I have exceeded the total swim distance required for the Deca (Just need to get fit enough to do it all in 24 hours now!)  Bring it!

An ordinary bloke

I guess I should introduce myself, now that I’m two months into preparing for the Deca.  I’m a 47 year old bloke, who is no great athlete, but has always been active, mostly in mountain sports like rock and ice climbing, mountain biking and various winter sports.  I have an interest in sport psychology and more generally, what makes some people excellent at certain things.

I’ve always liked taking on a challenge and although I’m a long way from being a good athlete, I do enjoy testing myself and having a taste for what I call ‘an adventure’.  I got into triathlon a few years ago because I wanted to do an Ironman – I just couldn’t understand how anyone could do such a thing, yet the idea never seemed to disappear from the back of my mind.  And that’s pretty much how my sporting career goes – I learn of an event, it starts to sound exciting and then I start musing over how it might be possible to do it.  Consequently, I do a lot of things once or twice and then want to do something else.  Not a great strategy for excelling at something, but it does add variety to my life.  Entering competitions and studying sport psychology have really emphasised the difference between what I do and what it takes to actually race with the intention of winning. 

I’ve done a few Polaris events (orienteering on mountain biking), got roped into a C Class KIMM once, ran the Nid d’Aigle race up Mont Blanc, and twice took part as an age grouper in the Winter Triathlon World Championships.  If this starts to sound impressive, it isn’t – I’m OK if I go at my own pace, but rubbish if I actually compete against others.  So why do I do it?  For me the answer is simple – at the end of my life I want to look back on things that I have done not what I talked about doing.  The Deca is the latest in a long line of activities that I fit the category of ‘daft....but what if it were possible?’

A better week (and staying warm on the bike)

Well, a better week than last week, for sure.  A total of 12K swimming, 112km cycling (with no dramas!) and around 35km of running.  So the distances are slowly coming up, and I am undoubtedly feeling fitter already, but my mind keeps telling me that there is so much still to do.  Due to pressures of work, I had to re-jig my training plan for this week, which meant that most of the longer sessions happened at the end of the week, so I finished properly fatigued and also having to miss one 70 min session on the bike.  So, today’s rest day is very welcome!  Also, the final few sessions were not of the best quality in terms of adhering to the required heart rate zones, but as this challenge is about doing the distance, I was more focused on this aspect and treated the sessions as an opportunity to improve my mental toughness.  On that subject, I’m about halfway through Jason Selk’s book, called ‘10 minute Mental Toughness’.  It’s actually quite a good read – it’s really a ‘how to’ book, which takes a complex topic and turns it into something practical that an athlete can use.

I also had my first session with a sports nutritionist this week.  An hour spent with Helen Walker confirmed a lot of what I suspected – all my favourite foods have to go and the rest of my life will consist of surviving on a diet of cardboard and water.  OK, not that bad, but I am eating too many simple carbs, and not taking enough water and could do with increasing my protein intake.  Helen also had some really interesting things to say about the timing of eating various foods.  She’s recommended a couple of books on the subject so will be looking into this further.

Most pleased with the swimming this week, one session of 4.2Km and another of 4.5Km, so I’m learning to establish a sustainable, if slow, pace.  It ain’t half boring following that line at the bottom of the pool though!

Big week this week, with Ian Murphy putting in some hard sessions, before an easier week at the end of the four week cycle.  I get to mix it up in March a bit with a week in the French Alps, so some running and cycling will be replaced with some cross-country skiing at altitude.  Also, just for fun, I decided to enter a 5 hour endurance race (mountain biking and trail running) which will take place in April.

A frustrating (and cold) week

I was really looking foward to starting Ian's plan for February, but the week didn't go entirely as planned.  My first run session was on a cold morning at 5.15 am and I just couldn't elevate my pulse into the required zone.   Worst of all though was the long bike session planned for the Saturday.  It was meant to be a steady flat ride for 4 hours but at 1 h 50 I suddenly started to get so cold that I couldn't hang on to the handle bars.  I stuck with it for another 20 minutes until I found a store where I could stop, get warm and eat some food, but immediately I set off again I was in trouble.  It took me 15 mins to do the next mile and I eventually made it to a pub on the East Lancs road, where I climbed off.  I used to be in a mountain rescue team, and have done a fair bit of winter climbing so I can recognise the difference between cold and the onset of hypothermia and this felt like the latter.  (One of the symptoms to look for is when you are so cold you have stopped shivering).  For the first time in my cycling career I had to phone someone to pick me up and over the next 30 mins as I slowly warmed up I experienced uncontrollable shivering and feelings of nausea.  And this was all down to a combination of not fuelling myself properly, not enough warm gear and going on an unfamiliar route where I didn't know where the cafe stops were.  Once I got home I binned any hope of doing my run session and spent the rest of the day in bed, just making sure my core got properly warm again.  On the plus side it's taught me a lot, and it's definitely not something I want to experience again. 

Other sessions went quite well this week.  I did my first 'Brick'  (75 mins bike, 30 mins run) and it was nice to do this, if only for adding a bit of variety to my training.  I'm not sure how important these sessions will be to doing a Deca.  They are key sessions to do in shorter distance triathlons, and you do still need to be fit to do the run section after all that biking, so it was good to get such a session into the programme.  Also the 90 min easy trail run on Sunday was just that - easy, and I took that as a sign that my base fitness is improving.  Finally, I did 11.2 k of swimming this week, with one session of 4.2k and although this is all very slow, I do seem to be developing the ability to swim longer at a sustainable, steady pace.  Maybe this Deca thing is actually possible! 

Off to have my first session with a sports nutritionist tomorrow.  Should be interesting.

A 'big up' for Paul

I thought I'd already told you about Paul, but I haven't so here is a little about him.  He's a keen triathlete and a very strong swimmer, with many top finishes to his name.  He's really enthusiastic about his physiotherapy work and it's very interesting listening to him explain the mechanics of the body.  (He's also got a nice friendly way of telling you that basically you are a bit of an old git and many of your aches and pains are just down to wear and tear!  And here was me, thinking I was crap!).  What is especially good about working with Paul is that he gives practical advice which seems to have immediate benefits.  I've set up to have a regular 'maintenance check' with him every month.  You can find Paul at:

http://paulsandersonphysiotherapy.co.uk/

Things start to get serious!

A quiet week to finish off Ian's first 4 week block of training.  I managed to get every session in, but had to fit it all in around a busy work schedule so the latter half of the week was loaded with more exercise than I wanted to do.  Overall this week I did 10Km swim, 116.5Km bike and 25.3Km running, all done in Zone 1.  I start Chris's core programme this week and I also started work with a physio, Paul Sanderson, who has given me some stretches to do.  These seem to be making a big difference to a persistent shoulder problem that is most noticeable while swimming.  One knock back this week was being told that I wouldn't be able to use the local cycle track for the bike section of the Deca.  It would have been an ideal venue, but it wasn't a total surprise that I wasn't allowed to use it.  No reason given, but I'm guessing that insurance and Health & Safety issues played a large part.  I've got a few alternative routes in mind and now just have to go and check them out.  As I tell more people about my challenge it is all seeming to get a bit real now, and the level of commitment is ramping up, as is Ian's training plan for Feb!  I'm going to have to be more disciplined about when I do my training now, if I am to follow his plan.  Off to see a dietician this week, which should be interesting.

January's stats

Just completed my training records for January.  After not quite a full month of proper training, courtesy of Ian Murphy, I did a total of just over 50 hours, 28.2k swim, 504k bike and 127k running.  Weight loss was exactly 2kg and a reduction in body fat of 1.5% points.  I feel very positive that I'm making progress, but also still daunted by the amount I have to do.  The distances recorded in January correspond to 74%/28%/30% of the full Deca distances respectively and that all has to be done in 2 weeks!  One other positive is that I don't feel so exhausted after this amount of training.  In the past, I've got fatigued and then had to stop training for a while.  It's obvious that Ian has me on a gradual path of progression and this seems to be working for me.  Train smarter not harder, as they say.

So a good start and it is only the beginning.  Bring it on!

The team expands

Had my first meeting with a strength and conditioning coach, Chris Stewart, a top class telemark skier.  He took me through an initial assessment and has put together some simple programmes that I can incorporate into my overall training regime.  Most of the work is focused on building strength in the calves, glutes and core, with some flexibility work also included.  Weights work is not my favourite thing to do, but it's important if I'm going to minimise the chances of injury during training and the event itself.

Training camp action!

Overall a bit of a lighter week (all part of the plan), but made a bit more complicated by working away from home.  Highlight of the week was undoubtedly Ian Murphy's training camp, held in the Ross-on-Wye area.  Ian and his wife, Helen (herself an age-group triathlete who has competed at the World Championships) put on 3 days of biking, running and swimming in a stunning part of the UK.  All standards of triathlete were catered for, from people training for the European Championships in Israel, to people new to triathlon.  Ian creates a great social atmosphere where everyone feels that they are stretching themselves and learning, without feeling pressured that they might be 'not as good as the others'.  His technical advice on the bike and swim sessions were particularly useful for me.  One benefit of going on camps like this is that you get shaken out of the 'groove' of your normal training regime.  It's often said that to get better you need to 'shock' the body, and it's all too easy to get into a routine - you end up doing the time and distance on your plan but you don't really improve.  With Ian's blend of advice and encouragement yet his discipline which doesn't allow you to get away with anything, my body certainly felt 'shocked' when I woke up this morning!  Great times.

Structured training is the way forward!

Another good week, thanks to coach, Ian Murphy.  In psychology, one way you can analyse people is whether they are internally or externally referenced.  Internally referenced people judge things by their own standards (They 'just know').  Externally referenced people look to others to help them make decisions (Adverts that use celebrities to endorse a product are aimed at people who have an external reference).  For the most part I'm fairly internally referenced (good for endurance events) but you do need some external reference if you are actually racing, because you need to pay attention to what others are doing.  Another good place for external reference is knowing that you will have to report to your coach if you have missed a session!  So not only does Ian provide a great training plan, but just the thought of having to explain any misdemeanours is motivation in itself.  Best session of the week?  Cycling from Keswick to Milnthorpe through the Lake District (following a bit of the Helvellyn Triathlon route, but thankfully not the Struggle!)

Total hours training 16,  swim 10.9K, Bike 153K, run 37.8K.

Back in structured training

Well a good week this week, thanks to Ian Murphy's training plan.  It felt good to be doing something which was much more structured - also much less chance of copping out knowing that I have to report what I have/haven't done!  Although no one session was particularly hard, I did feel quite tired by the last session: the final swim session took some strength of character.  What seems apparent is that I still have some base fitness, but lack any level of speed or ability to work at higher HR at the moment.  These things aren't so important for a long distance event, but there is some value in doing higher intensity work later in the schedule.  Totals for the week were 10K swim, 195K bike and 34K run.  These work out as 26%/11%/8% of the Deca distance respectively, so lots to go at still!  

Other things this week.  Got my first saddle sore, ever!  (I think it was probably down to a new saddle).  A bit of research and advice from friends has helped inform me about treatment and prevention.  I am very aware that it is going to be 'wear and tear' injuries that I will need to guard against, so this was a good opportunity to explore one specific area (no pun intended).   The general rule is that prevention is better than cure, so the old adage of rehearsing in training what you plan to do in the race is never truer.  Equipment selection, nutrition, hydration, recovery, strength and conditioning etc are all things that can be tried and tested during training.

For the saddle sore most of the advice I'd heard before, but I was interested to read about the benefits of pedalling while standing as a way of avoiding sores.   I've been recommended something called Assos cream for future rides, but in the short term Vaseline was my friend this week.  I already use it for preventing chaffing during longer swims, and also for the occasional 'joggers' nipple' so I'm considering setting up a sponsorship deal!  I also started my research into nutrition and the effects of sleep deprivation, both throwing up some interesting information.  More later...

Well, it's a start!

First week back and at least I got some training in, although work got in the way a bit.  Also managed to ride my new winter bike (at last!).  I was really surprised at just what a difference a set of panniers makes to the weight it puts on to a bike.  I chose a slightly smaller frame than my race bike and that is taking a bit of getting used to, but I think it is going to be more comfortable over long distances.  This week is the first week of a formal plan from the great Ian Murphy - really looking forward to getting back to some structured training, plus the added discipline of having to report back to a coach!  No more excuses then....

2012 - it all starts to get real

Well, after a bit of a disastrous December, including an unexpected house-move and a busy period at work, I now start 2012 more determined than ever to tackle the Deca.  A bit of break in the Alps and a chance to rest up, with a bit of cross-country skiing for fun, helped me reflect on what I wanted to do with the Deca.  So, I now have a coach and will be increasing my support team further in the next couple of weeks.  Ian Murphy is a superb coach and comes highly recommended.  He's helped new-comers and age-groupers alike to achieve amazing things in triathlon.  His knowledge is vast and his enthusiasm is infectious, so I'm really looking forward to working with him.  I'm hoping that he will also provide me with the consistency I will need to train properly for this amazing event.  It still seems crazy, but also possible.  More later!