All done!

All done and dusted! I finished the last leg of the triathlon this morning, after swimming 192 lengths in 87 minutes. Three miles is about 4.8 kilometres, which works out at 192 lengths. I was keen to do it under 90 minutes, but wasn't sure what kind of pace I could sustain over that distance. It's not just the distance, of course: swimming 192 lengths in the pool involves 191 tumble turns, which takes its toll on your back, knees and ankles as you flip and then push off. So, for much of the swim I wasn't swimming too hard, only really pushing it over the last forty or so lengths.

In the end, it wasn't tiredness I was feeling by the end of the swim but friction: it's probably indicative of a bias in my stroke, but the for last ten lengths my left armpit (!) was getting really sore as my arm rubbed against my chest on the pull-back. By that stage, I could also feel the goggles starting to cut into my face (turns out, low profile racing goggles aren't very comfortable after 87 minutes). But I was nearly done, so I picked up the pace and finished three tough days with a final couple of sprinted lengths before gladly peeling (yes, peeling) the goggles out of my face. I tried to pause my Poolmate to get a photo of the distance and time readings, but I haven't quite figured it out, so I have some photos of the lap count and another of the time elapsed (after being out of the pool for five minutes), but not both together. If I can figure how to transfer them, I'll post them tomorrow. The lifeguard on duty at East Sands witnessed the readings for me, though, just in case anyone doubts me.

So we're done!

I'm not quite done with the blogging though: various people deserve some honorable mentions for their input, either as sponsors or supporters. I'll do that tomorrow. For just now, let me just point you once more to the official websites for Project Zambia and remind you that, however much I have enjoyed the last few days, there has been a reason for it all. All of this has been undertaken to raise money in support of a University of St Andrews project, sending students to Zambia to raise awareness of HIV-AIDS. These students are making huge sacrifices to be involved in this exciting project. Dig deep, folks.

stage 2 done (in)

Well, we did it. We weren't quite as fast as we might have liked: I was still struggling with my cold and Sean wasn't used to running up such constant steep gradients, but we made it nonetheless, in about two hours to the summit. The descent was somewhat faster; as always, though, it was that part that I found the most difficult. On the climbs, my aerobic capacity and lactate threshold mean that I can keep going up the steep gradients, and hill-running is all about marrying that to an economic, centered kind of running. The going on the path up Nevis gets pretty unstable underfoot after the 2,500 foot level, though, and there was a bit more walking than running. The last 800 feet of altitude was still covered in snow, frozen and rutted after a winter's climbing, so there was a fair bit of caution to be exercised there, but the run across the last section to the summit was fun nonetheless. The descent really hammers the muscles, though, as you fight against gravity in a very different way, struggling to keep momentum under control, and that's when I get tired. By the time we got back to the car, my quads were well and truly wrecked. Thankfully, Shawn was tired too!

Interesting observation: Shawn and I were very careful in our choice of footwear and ran the hill with backpacks stocked with warm clothes and recovery foods, but all the way up we were passing walkers with woefully inadequate clothing and footwear. I can't help but feel that with treacherous conditions on the summit - hard ice, cornices, and fresh snow falling while we were there - it might be a kindness to our rescue services if walkers could take some basic preparations ...

Anyway, 2 down and 1 to go. The last leg is tomorrow: a 3 mile swim before work. That's about 200 lengths of the pool.

Click on the links above to give to Project Zambia.

Stage 1 done!

Well, that's part 1 of the three day nightmare done and dusted: the Bealach race completed in a just under three hours. It nearly never happened. Since my practice run last weekend I have been feeling washed-out and on Thursday it turned into a cold (several colleagues have been down with the same thing). On Friday it was looking like I might have to pull out of the race, but I downed a traditional Fife cold remedy (a Fisher and Donaldson fudge doughnut - a legendary combination of condensed energy and hope) and come Saturday morning I felt like I at least had the energy to give it a go.

The morning of the race was sunny but freezing, with a hard frost on the ground as we drove across. After registering, we grabbed some serious porridge at Nanny's cafe: porridge made with cream, covered with brown sugar and more clotted cream. Bearing in mind that we would be burning off about 4,000 calories in the next few hours, it felt justified. I was still feeling pretty washed out from my cold, too, so I was looking for any energy I could find. I followed the porridge with a chocolate bar and a tube of gel.

Jocky and I set out at about 10:35, five or ten minutes after the first bunch. In the photo above, Jocky is in front, which is pretty much how it remained for the rest of the day! The wind by now had picked up, which was pleasant for the first few miles as it was with us; by the time we reached the top of the Bealach, it would prove to be a nightmare, with 40 mph crosswinds. The climb up the Bealach took me about 44 minutes: I could probably have gone faster, but with my cold, I didn't want to burn out early on the climb, so I held back until the hairpins. It was slightly gratifying to make it to the top without stopping, especially as the people who passed me at the lower part of the climb were forced to walk on the steeps.

The drop down the other side was tricky; those crosswinds pushed the bike into a wobble at one point, so I was very cautious with my descent. Jocky was now a couple of minutes ahead of me, so I had a few gruelling miles on the other side, toiling alone against the strong headwind. Eventually a group caught me and I worked with them for the rest of the race; drafting, taking turns at the front, grinding up the frequent 20% climbs. With about 8 miles to go, as I was beginning to make my way up the pack, something failed in my front mech. I spent about 3 minutes trying to fix it, eventually giving up, and finished the remaining miles of the race on my inner chainring, which was fine on the climbs, but frustrating on the descents and occasional flats. Eventually reached the end, with an official time of 2 hours 59 minutes. That's twenty minutes faster than last week and, given that I had a cold, a decent time.

More blogging later.

Hard going on the Bealach

I didn't get a chance to post anything yesterday on the blog: it was late and I was shattered by the time I got back to my folks' place. So here is my update on yesterday's (not so) dry run on the Bealach.

I got to Shieldaig about 4pm and set off at about 4:30. There is a gentle and steady climb out of the village and some undulating terrain before you hit the Bealach turn-off after about 14km. The climb itself is steady but not too steep for the first few kilometres, and I kept a general pace of about 15kmph, watching an eagle gliding below me and dark clouds gathering above. The road eventually makes its way into the glen below the pass, at which point the gradient begins to kick up. I had read that the long straight climb at this point is worse than the hairpins, but had assumed that it was because psychologically it would just be a slog. Nope: it's this point that the road is at its steepest, steep enough that the front wheel was lifting off the ground when I put too much force through the pedals. My speed had dropped to 7kmph and I was genuinely wondering if I was going to crack. Just at the point where I thought I was going to have to stop, the gradient eased off as I reached the hairpins which, to be honest, were a skoosh after the straight. Looking back down, the gradient of the straight was apparent. You do need a little bit of a head for heights at this stage, as the terrain plummets below you and the crash barrier sits disconcertingly below knee height. The photo above looks down on these; I'm not sure how well it conveys the difficulty of the climb and bear in mind that this, to me, was the easy bit. After the hairpins, the road levels off for a more gentle climb to the actual summit. Now, I had noticed the temperature dropping as I came towards the hairpins, my breath visible in the air; by the time I reached the summit it was cold enough that the rain that had started to fall had turned to snow. As I stopped in the car park at the top to down some energy gel, the snow got heavier. I toyed with the idea at that point of going down the way I had come up, which would have made for a shorter day in the saddle. I was nervous about the prospect of the remaining miles being a slog through wind and rain, but part of the reason I had done the climb was to get a feel for the descent, so I committed myself to doing the full route and dropped down towards Applecross. It was probably one of the coldest, wettest and most miserable times of my life. The road was slick with sleet and I had limited visibility, so I couldn't go at any real speed; my brakes were on all the way down and were gradually dissolving under the pressure. By the time I reached the bottom of the descent my fingers were blue, my toes were numb and I was shivering badly, which is not good: once you get cold, you get tired, and it is very hard to get your body out of that state. Still, I turned towards the coastal route back to Shieldaig and picked up my speed again to try to warm up. Actually, I was going much quicker now than I had on the descent. The sun came out, after a fashion, but there was a fierce headwind that kicked in when I crested the next rise in the road. That was basically the story for the next 15 miles: a 20-25 mph headwind made for a tough ride, made tougher by the constantly undulating terrain, with short steep climbs killing any momentum. My legs still felt heavy and dull after the cold and without anyone else around to draft and work with, it was just a psychological battle, as the miles went past much more slowly than usual.

At last the road bent round towards the east and that wind stopped blowing in my face. The last ten miles were a bit easier, though just when I thought I was starting to make time back and pick up my speed, I hit a couple of nasty climbs with brutal gradients, the front wheel lifting again until I came out of the saddle. I also nearly got taken out by a psychopathic sheep. Eventually, much later than I had hoped for, I rolled back into Shieldaig and enjoyed the glorious refreshment of a Snickers bar and a cup of coffee. At the time I thought, I really don't want to do this again next week. But a day has passed and now I'm looking forward to it again. And at least, should anything happen over the next week, should I get a cold or an injury, I can still say I have ridden the Bealach, and claim that sponsorship with integrity!

On which note, if you haven't given already, please click on the links at the top of the page to donate to Project Zambia.

First attempt

No training yesterday. I thought I'd give myself a break in advance of today's first attempt at the Bealach. So, in a few minutes I'll jump in the car and head up to Shieldaig. If I get the chance tonight, I'll post some comments.

The steeper the better

Not much time for blogging this week, I'm afraid: a heavy teaching load taking its toll.

Training wise, Tuesday was a day off, partly thanks to the after effects of my disastrous run the evening before. Yesterday was a hybrid session: an hour in the pool followed by half an hour on the spin bike. It was a good session, but the combination of the swim and cycle was pretty tiring: it's a while since I've done any proper combined training of that kind.

I had limited time to train today, and with the threat of rain in the skies I decided to pull my heavy winter bike out of the garage and do some climbing work. I only did 30 km, but almost all of it was climbing and descending. Maybe it was because I knew it would be a short ride, but I felt better attacking the hills than I have all year. Even on the heavy bike, with the standard chainset, I felt like I was flying on the steep inclines. A good confidence booster ahead of the Bealach and an indication that the training is paying off.

The weather looks like it will work out for me to pop up North this weekend and give the route a go ahead of the race. Hopefully the road will be reasonably quiet.

Please click on the links above and give to Project Zambia. I'm not doing this for fun, you know! (Well, actually I am, but as the Joker said: "If you're good at something, never do it for free.")

Ouch part 3

Sorry for the lack of blogging over the weekend. I was down in England for a viva on Friday (so no training), and was too tired on Saturday evening, after a tough but rewarding 70km cycle in a bit of a wind.

Today was a hybrid session. An hour on the bike, fighting the wind again, but still managing a decent 28 kmph on a very hilly route, was followed by a 5k run. At first the run felt fine: my calf seemed okay and although I was tired from the cycle I felt quite relaxed. About the 4k mark, though, I felt the calf give way and ended up limping home. I am now dosed up on anti-inflammatories, but I can still feel the muscle as being stiff.

So, looks like another trip to the physio ...

Still snowing ...

Well, not only was there a brief flurry of snow here in Fife yesterday, but the forecast for the Highlands also promised snow accumulating from 300 metres upward in the West Highlands. Ben Nevis, of course, is over 1000 metres high, which means that a fair bit of this run is likely to be through snow. I am starting to think much more seriously that this might turn into an adventure run in full climbing gear. That is going to make it even tougher ...

I didn't quite manage my planned cycle and run tonight, having had to take care of some other matters. That may have proved to be a blessing in disguise, though. I just did a brief 5k run, which was a good opportunity to see how my calf is holding up, especially with my new arch moulds. I felt pretty comfortable running, and very relaxed (moreso than has been the case since I started to run again). Still a slight niggle in that leg, though, and it feels quite stiff now; hopefully it will have settled down by the 10th May.

Check out the links above for details about the Project and how to donate to it. It seems there was a problem with one of the links, but it should be fixed now.

More thanks!

Big thanks to Mengmeng for her donation to the project. What a star!

Training-wise, today was a swimming day. I'm not devoting much time to swim training, as I am a decent swimmer and can handle distances. I do need to ensure that I do a session about once a week, though, to avoid losing the flexibility in my joints and keeping the muscle memory intact. Actually the light training has been good for my swimming, and I managed to sustain a stroke count of 16-17 over the first twenty lengths, which is pleasingly low for me! It crept up to 18-19 for the remaining 70 lengths, with one very sloppy 21 length (dodging people doing breaststroke).

So a session of just over 2 km: the triathlon will be closer to 5km, just short of 200 lengths. C'mon: that's gotta be worth some sponsorship!

Tomorrow, hopefully, will involve a 40km cycle and a 10km run. Hopefully ...

Spinning and Snowing

This photo, which I came across on this climbers' blog suggests that I might need to run Nevis in full climbing gear. Now, I'm not going up by that route, but the blog notes that snow fell to about 600 metres two nights ago, which would make even my path difficult.

Gulp.

The Bealach cycle should be fine, though. Training was mainly oriented towards that today, with an hour on the spin bike pushing 360 watts, followed by about ten minutes of hard climbing and sprinting work. My heart seemed reluctant to get above 192 bpm, but I felt pretty strong in any case. It was about 1,200 calories worth of work. I spent a while stretching the calf muscle, following it with 10 minutes on the wobble board. Tomorrow is my first trip to the pool for a few weeks.

Remember, all this hard work is for Project Zambia, an innovative scheme taking students out to Zambia to engage in HIV/AIDS awareness education, primarily through sport. They have already raised about £8,500, but that means we are only about a third of the way to the total. Click on the links at the top of the page to sponsor the Project Zambia team.

Big thanks to Murdo Murchison

A huge word of thanks is due to Murdo Murchison, who made a substantial donation to Project Zambia today. Murdo is a friend of mine, a car dealer based in Doune near Stirling, and I'm grateful for his contribution, in honour of which I am going to try and get a logo printed on one of my cycling tops (actually, just so that I can zip it up as I cross the line and look like a sponsored rider!)

Light training today: with the Sports Centre mobbed tonight, I opted for running instead. The calf problem is still niggling me a bit, but hopefully the arch moulds I have just ordered will take care of that. In terms of my fitness, I am starting to feel stronger running, with my flat pace sitting nicely around 8.5 - 9 mph and my 12% incline pace around 5.5 - 6 mph. Once I push up to 15% incline, I drop back to about 5mph, but that should be plenty for coping with Nevis. I think the ascent will push up significantly beyond 15% at points, but I can drop back to something more sustainable at that level. I just need to get used to sustaining the pace over a steep incline for an hour and a half! My only concern is this ongoing calf problem, which makes steep climbing difficult. Hopefully, though, the arch moulds and maybe another physio session will take care of these problems.

So, just a brief 40 minutes of running

day off

No training today. I felt a bit unwell, actually, which I suspect was just because I hadn't properly refueled after my cycle yesterday. I am feeling better now, though, which should be a good sign.

So no training to report, but I'll use the opportunity to say something about why I am doing this for Project Zambia, since quite a few people have asked. First and foremost, it's a great cause. We live a funny kind of existence as academics, often in a bit of a bubble. When we get a chance to actually serve others, to bring some of our abilities and learning to them, it's an opportunity that should be grasped. So when Gary Brankin told me about a group of students doing just that, by traveling to Africa and developing community education projects, I couldn't help but be interested. I have never visited Africa myself, and may never do so, but I have had many friends who have worked there and seen the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS. My brother cycled the length of the continent a few years ago and brought back stories to further ram home those observations. Project Zambia will change (and perhaps save) lives. The students who go out (who have, incidentally, given up a summer's employment and income, or a summer with family), will have an enormous impact on the young people with whom they work, in sports camps and in schools. So it's a great cause, and if I can help to raise a little bit of the necessary £25, 000 then I will be delighted.

So why the triathlon? Why cycle one of the toughest routes in the country, run the biggest mountain and then swim three miles? Why not some other fundraiser? The truth is, I am doing lots of training at the moment because I can. For several years I had joint problems that were steadily deteriorating, to the point where I honestly thought I was going to have to start walking with a stick. I saw GPs, surgeons and rheumatologists. We still don't know what the problem was: it may have been mechanical joint alignment, solved by the gel inserts that went into my shoes, or a metabolic or nutritional problem connected to the GI disorder I suffered from. Whatever the cause, the problem settled down and now I cycle, run and swim for the sheer joy of it, for the good pain that it involves. Maybe the bad pain will come back someday, but until it does, I'm going to enjoy feeling my heart beat at 197 beats a minute and my muscles screaming at me to stop climbing, to turn the bike around and go downhill. The triathlon is my way of being grateful for my mobility and health; it's a way of saying "thank you" by doing something meaningful with that health. I'm just glad that it has dovetailed so well with Project Zambia.

Click on the links at the top of the page to donate to the Project.

Going the distance

Congratulations to all in the team for Project Zambia, for cycling the length of the U.K. without leaving the U.K.! I chipped in with an hour on Wednesday and about 35 minutes today. Between the two slots, I did around 47 miles, which leaves an awful lot of miles covered by those on the Project Zambia team. A lot of money has come in this week, too, so thanks to everyone who has given.

On the training front, I did about 35-40 minutes on the spin bike in St Mary's today, covering 17 miles, before jumping on the bike and doing a 70 km road route. Tough cycling today, actually: there was quite a fierce headwind on the outward leg (not the 6mph that was forecast), and my average speed by the time I got to the top of the Lomond climb was down around 23 kmph, I managed to pull it back to 25.5 kmph after the return leg, though, which I was quite smug about, given the amount of climbing I had to do on the way back.

So, three hours of training today, and about 2, 600 calories burned. Sponsor me per calorie!

Big thanks to Allan Gartshore for arranging physio for my calf problem, by the way, and to Lyndsay the physio for getting that nasty muscle loosened off. I'm going to try to run it tomorrow: hopefully it will hold up a bit better now.

Stay in the Saddle

Only a short time for training tonight, so just an hour on the bike. That, by the way, is a short session!

The route targeted a couple of steep climbs, though, with one quite long more or less sustained climb of about 4km (with one flat section in the middle). Although I generally attacked the hills quite hard, I concentrated on that climb on staying in the saddle and keeping the cadence high, even if it meant dropping the pace and power slightly. I'm thinking of how I will tackle the Bealach na Ba pass, which will have a sustained 9km climb, culminating in that 22% incline up the hairpins. I'll need to try to stay in the saddle as much as possible to maintain efficiency and keep some fuel in the tank for the steep bit.

Given that it was a hilly route, my average speed of 29kmph was decent.

Should be on the spin bike in the St Mary's Quad tomorrow, if any of you are around.

If you are new to the blog and wonder what I am going on about, scroll down to the entries at the bottom of the page. Also, click on the links above to find information about Project Zambia, and to donate online.

Spinning the length of the U.K.

The picture above will make sense when you get to the end of this post!

Today's training session was a little different. One hour on the spin bike, but not in the gym. Nope: outside the University Union, heckling passers-by to give money. Turns out if you just point at people and make eye-contact the guilt is too much for them to bear.

It's one of the fundraising ideas for Project Zambia: the team (with a little help from various staff from the Sports Centre and me, of course) are cycling the length of the U.K. on spin bikes, which basically means all the hard work with none of the scenery. Well, maybe not all the hard work: there are no climbs after all (unlike the Bealach race, which I'll be doing next month).

It made for quite a light session, since the bikes don't calculate the distance covered in relation to output wattage, but in relation to pedaling cadence. In its own way that proved to be a good workout: I kept a cadence of about 120 for most of the hour (i.e., each pedal goes round 120 times per minute). It's a good discipline to push the cadence up like that, although 100-110 is probably a more efficient rate, and on the climbs I tend to drop down to 90.

Should get out on the open road tomorrow, and hopefully do a bit of climbing. At least my weight is back down to where it should be. I'd quite like to trim another kilo of my weight (maybe two), but that requires a bit more discipline with food than I generally show. How Bale did it for the Machinist movie, I'll never fathom.

Motivational reading this week? A biography of Robert Millar, the great Scottish cyclist who was King of the Mountains in the '84 Tour de France. That's him pictured above, in the glory days of team outfits! (Picture from Cycling Weekly). A remarkable guy by all accounts, especially in terms of his meticulous dieting.

Ouch Part 2

Well, today was a running session. I had planned to do about 10k, but after the first 5k lap of a fairly hilly route that runs around the village, that dodgy muscle in my left calf started hurting again. It's a bit of a concern: I had thought it had settled down and was just a symptom of my return to running, but the recurrence of it tonight suggests a longer term problem. I'm going to try some different insoles next time, to see if it is just a mechanical issue. I'll need to let it rest for a few days before I run again, though. At least I can keep cycling in the meantime, as that will probably help to stretch it off.

Oh, and on the cycling front, here is a gradient profile of the Bealach. The incline at the end kicks up to 21.9%, which will more than justify a fudge doughnut for breakfast that morning.

All this week there will be also be spin bikes set-up at various locations around the uni. The idea is that the cumulative mileage done on the bikes will equal the distance of a Lands-End to John O'Groats cycle. If you are in St Andrews, keep an eye out for us. I'll be doing an hour tomorrow morning outside the Union. You can either put some money into the buckets or give online, using the link at the top of this page.

If you are visiting the blog for the first time, please click on those links to find out more about Project Zambia. Read more of the entries below for information on what I am doing to help raise funds.

Pounds

The good weather continues, but with the routine of teaching (and all that goes with it) starting up again, training times are getting pushed much more into the evenings.

Today was good: a 40k route out to Crail and back. The outward leg was against a surprisingly stiff breeze and the return leg up a general climb, but I managed a decent 30 kmph (decent when you're on your own, with no drafting possibilities, apart from the lorry that passed me and then immediately pulled across my path to turn into a driveway).

I've let my weight creep up by a couple of pounds over the last week, though, having been less cautious in my eating patterns. That's something I need to be wary of: I don't want to squander the power I've built up over the last few months by having some extra luggage to drag up the Bealach. So some more careful eating over the next few days in an effort to keep the chub at bay.

On the road

With beautiful weather today, I managed to get out for a decent cycle, even getting away with wearing shorts rather than leggings for the first time this year.

I managed a decent pace, given that I did a pretty hilly 50 mile route, including the Lomond climb at Falkland, which is one of the better climbs in Fife. An average of about 26 kmph is okay for all that.

Still not convinced about the SRAM gearing on the bike, though. It might be that it needs a bit of tuning: the bike came with a 12-28 cassette on the back, which is not what was advertised, and I wonder of the rear mech has been properly set up for it. Certainly, the 28 sprocket is catching the edge of the the mech cage when upshifting on the 50 chainring. I'll pop it into Spokes on Monday.

Otherwise, little to report.

Rubbish week redeemed!

Quiet blogging this week, because my training has been rubbish! I missed a session on Wednesday, because a domestic chore turned out to be bigger and more complicated than expected: what looked like a section of window that needed patched turned out to be a completely rotten casement frame. By the time I had completely rebuilt and reglazed the window, there just wasn't time to get any training in. Lots of mutters.

Following that failure, I went to the gym yesterday for a session on the spin bike. Rubbish. I felt wrecked after 40 minutes at a reduced 325 watts.

Today redeemed things a bit, though. I went out for just a quick hour on the bike, but managed to keep my average speed up at about 28.5 kmh. That's a decent speed on the landscape around here, especially on the route I was on today, which has some longish (for Fife) climbs and on which I couldn't really attack the descents (too much muck on the roads). Tomorrow afternoon I'll try to get a 50 mile route in, with some good climbing.

Still struggling to get the feel of this compact chainset, though. I'm sure I'll be glad of it on the long climbs, but at the moment it just feels a bit weird, and it's hard to know when to make the jump from the 50 to the 34 chainring.

Nerd.

Aches and Pains

Today's training involved 30 minutes on the spin bike, followed by 30 minutes of running, with about 15 minutes of the run done at a 15% gradient. The bike was fine: 355 watts maintained over the session as a a good base-line warm-up, burning about 600 calories. The run was more of a mixed bag. In terms of my running fitness and psychology I feel I am improving. I pushed the speed up to 5.5 mph while on the 15% incline today, and kept my heartrate stable at around 186 for ten minutes while doing it. I feel pretty comfortable going up to 9 mph on the flat. I had a real ache in my left calf though, especially on the climb, and while I ran through it and it seemed to ease, the muscle is now pretty tight and stiff. It might be that my plyometrics session over the weekend is still taking its toll, but it's a reminder that I have to be patient in building my running fitness up again.

Suddenly feel quite old ...

Still, overall it was a good session. I burned about 1100 calories all told and felt quite comfortable in terms of energy levels throughout. I'm trying to reorient my eating patterns slightly, eating a big breakfast and then a lighter lunch and evening meal. I'll see whether it works and whether I can sustain it (usually I devour huge amounts of food in the evening, recovering from the training sessions), but on today's showing it seems promising. This article was part of the prompt to change things round.