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