Technical changes - Bike

I've put on my two new tyres , Continental Grand Pix 4000S. This is a change from the original Michelin Race Pro 3's I had on the bike from new. The tyres felt nice and went on without too much difficulty(still not as easy as it looks on the internet though). I pumped them up using CO2 cartridges to give me a little practice in using them before the race.

I was having some difficulty in gear changes yesterday between 5-6 and 7 but when I checked today after cleaning the sprocket and chain etc the gears changed fine. I'll do a quick test run tomorrow morning. This will let me bed in the tyres and also check the gears are OK.

I'm leaving the tri bars on for the moment but will make the final choice dependent on how the course looks next week. If I see a lot of straights where gear changes and braking are not required and the road surface is good then I may keep them. However at the moment I'm seriously thinking of dumping them on weight grounds and the fact I'm not using them much and feel the bike is unstable during the short periods I am using them. I really don't need an off on the bike whilst trying to imagine shaving a few minutes off with wind resistance.

Right now I'm off to shave my legs :O)

Long Weekend, 7 days to go

Saturday is first day of a long weekend here. I'm not planning any mind blowing training this week as I have just a week to go and I'm looking to avoid injury and conserve energy. I did a quick 30K ride on Saturday morning including a 10K hill climb session, not hard just seeing how long a gear I could push up the Policeman's hill 5 times. I then finished the 20K time trial circuit including the hedgehog etc. Total time was over the hour and average speed 26kmph. So nice and easy and no major dramas. I was a little tired on the first climb but settled in once I'd done it a few times. I tried as much as possible to stay in the seat, I also timed myself dropping to the lower chainset but it was slower over the 1km climb. I'll stick to my usual strategy of pushing as big a gear as possible in the race as long as I can keep cadence sensible. I'll need to check the course out next week to see where I'm looking at > 6% climbs as this is the point where I'm hovering between big and small chainset.

I did a nice easy 10K run on Saturday afternoon, again it was warm around 24C but I took my time and finished in 59 minutes. I had some foot pain on my right foot on the sole. I've had issues there before and I think it was down to pushing a big gear up the hills earlier in the day. It was more painful on the rocky paths but nothing that a hot water bottle and some rest won't cure.

Swim session - UK

Had a swimming session with SUN-Tri triathlon club on Tuesday evening at a local school in Sunderland. We did 5x500m sessions , I was feeling a bit sick for the first set as I'd eaten too much during the day and the water was way too warm for me.

I was in the middle group and was struggling to keep up in general and definately as a couple of girls in the group were very fast. Once I got into the 3rd set I felt better and was much more in my stride and I finished not too far off the pace. Nice session to keep me ticking over.

I need a training plan for this long weekend but it will be very easy.

Inspirational Video

Right click and open this to get this fantasic video of last years Half Ironman in Rapperwil.


Just looks like an amazing day. I can't wait to get in there and get going.

Race for me starts at 10:20am on Sunday 7th June. 1.9km open water swim, 90KM bike ride and ended with a half marathon. I'm aiming for a finish around 6hr:30 broken down as follows:-

• 60 minutes 1.9k Swim/T1 change to bike.
• 3:30 Cycle 90K/T2 change to run
• 120 minutes half marathon run.
  

My best training sessions over the last 5-6 months have been

• 44minutes for the swim.(indoor pool, so lake swimming will be slower)

• 3:04:48 for the 90K cycle.(It was too fast a pace for race day)
  

• 1:47 is my best race time for a half marathon which was Alloa in March this year. I've not ran the full whack half marathon since then but I'm a little bit faster now than I was in March. I'm certainly fitter.
  

The Heat is On

Right , two weeks to go till the big race. After yesterdays outdoor swim I'm ready but we agreed one more big brick training session(although I wasn't keen due to it being 28 Degrees C outside..)

That tune was playing through my head all the way round.

Today we'd do 90K bike followed by a run. Philippe wanted the full half marathon after the 90K bike. I wasn't commiting to that distance as I knew it was going to be a scorcher and I know how punishing a bike ride with him is for me. Therefore I said I'd run but won't do the full length. I'm mentally and physically fine on the run leg and anything now is just junk miles for me. My 2hr target time should be achieveable even after the two previous legs as I know my run pace is fine for a fair bit less than 2hrs for a half marathon.

We set off on the bike leg and Philippe sets a blistering pace right from the start. I'm dropped in the first 10K. I catch up as a women pulls out on him and nearly causes an accident then his speed sensor drops off his bike. Its only a temporary situation. At 20K he has about 700-800M on me and at 25K I can no longer see him even on a straight road. I keep going but I know my pace is dropping and the distance will be growing, its unavoidable. At 35K mark I've made up my mind to turn back at the roundabout and leave it at a straight 70K. However Philippe suddenly appears back on the other side of the road. I say I'm jacking, he says get on my wheel and lets do the next 10K. Then we'll turn back. I don't want to but say I'll try. His first 30K was under 56minites. I was 60 minutes and I'm absolutely dying in the saddle. We go another 2KM and I try to jack it in again. I'm again convinced to keep going and Philippe drops the pace a bit to give me time to get an 8th or 9th wind.

We drop into Namur and traffic lights are all against us. At one I'm crawling up to and I unclip my right foot but the bike falls to the left. I'm about to hit the deck and I just jump right out of the cleat binding. Obviously my legs are a little bit stronger than a few weeks back when I fell off in similar circumstances. I just land on my feet and set off. I'm laughing at how it must have looked to the drivers.

We setoff back and its uphill all the way out of Namur for about 4km. Again I'm struggling but not stopping. I get a little bit of stickyness to his wheel around 50K mark and I manage a good few km's without getting left behind. Its very hard work though and just a few inches too much between us and I'm gone. Although its cool on the bike as you effectively always have a breeze I know it is very hot. I'm forcing the liquid down even though its making me feel sick. I carry two 750ml bottles so its a fair amount. Does this sound like fun ?

We get back to 8km to go and my legs feel like they have been wrung out. Philippe is well ahead again. I click off 90K on my computer in 3:04:48. Thats as fast as I've done it but I needed carried most of the way and I nearly got on the broom wagon three or four times. Its OK for training but I can't race that fast or I'll blow up. I can't get that speed on my own as its faster than my normal pace and so I need to be dragged to it. I'm looking for a 3:30 cycle leg so I'm well under it today but with an effort beyond what would be OK for me to do on my own. I'm also not sure of the impact of the climbs in Switzerland on my time. I'll need see the course close up.

We get back home and we agree a run, I set out knowing I'm not going the whole distance as its way too hot and I really don't need a run session that much as I can't improve my run fitness that much now. However loyalty gets me out as Philippe dragged me back on the bike by the scruff of my neck. So I need to return the favor and help him on the run leg. Its only fair.

We agree we'll run at his pace and I'm OK with that as its nice and easy and I'm not personally looking for any personal best time at this late stage in my training. Its always been that running has been my relatively strong leg and biking my weaker one(although swimming occasionally dips it toe into weakness too). Therefore mentally I feel my hard work is done on the running already. I'm also 100% sure my 90k on Thursday, my PB 10K on Friday and back to back 2K swim sessions(fri/Sat) have left their mark on my body.

We click off 10K in 1:09 but we're just coasting and its really hot. Philippe says he is definately going for the full 21K as he isn't tired, I'm not going to go that far so I up my pace and take a shorter route home.

I do 14.5KM and my legs are tired at the end. I'm suffering a bit with bladder pain and the intense sensation of needing to pee at the end. I go to the toilet and it would appear I'm trying to pass what feels like a boiling water and ground glass mixture. The pain is intense and it doesn't go away for about an hour. I managed to drink down 1.5 litres of fluid(not beer) and after a shower and some cold/hot treatment on my legs I'm feeling better.

All in all a very tough session for me , especially on the bike. However thanks due to Philippe for keeping me in the game. The bike run was a killer and I no doubt added something to my armoury as a result of the hard work. The run was just punishment in the heat. Hat tip to Phlippe for doing the full 21K run though. Therefore he's now confident of finishing as a result of todays session.

Average heart rate on cycle leg was 145bpm with a max of 169bpm. Max speed was 61.3kmph and average was 29.1kmph. Average cadence(pedaling revolutions) was 87 rpm.

Average heart rate on run was 144bpm and a max of 169bpm.

Just a note for the calorie conscious readers. Todays energy consumption for me according to my watch/heart rate monitor was 3490 calories....nice.

My final jigsaw piece was yesterdays fantastic open water swim. Confidence is growing slowly but I don't want to peak mentally too soon. I'm off to the UK this week and will just take my swimming gear.

Open Water Swim

After much searching we found the perfect bit to start off from. It was clear that one thing that was not missing from the lake was regulations, so the opportunity to swim open water was effectively banned . Its a pretty weird requirement anyway, who in their right mind swims a couple of km's in a cold lake in May....

However we'd travelled a long way and I needed to know if I could do the distance. I'd trained for it and done it in the pool, however its another thing to jump into a big body of water and swim its length or breadth. I've probably never swam more than 200M from the shore in my life, even at that it would make me breathless with anxiety.

Ironically, we parked up next to the large state of the art indoor swimming pool. I carried my wetsuit down to the waters edge and managed to get into my wetsuit quite easily. We'd looked at a map and saw the lake was just short of 1Km across. We'd therefore swim at an angle to make up the distance to at least 2KM. The distance looked very substantial to me standing on the shore. I have never swam so far outside and the buildings on the other side were hardly visible from this side. I was more than a little nervous as I waded in.

The water was cold as it hit my face and as a little dripped down my neck and back. I just started right away and decided to keep going but at a steady and easy pace. After 10 minutes I looked back and could see I'd covered a nice distance, the far side buildings though I could now not even see as I was so low down in the water. I just put my head down and kept going, aiming for the trees at the top of the hill. As we reached the middle the lifeboat appears...no swimming the guy says... I knew we should have gone to the place I'd been recommended near Mechelen.

However we argued the case that we were two and had wetsuits on and obviously were in no distress at all and in fact were only just going over the other side and back. That statement alone I think blew his mind and in typical Belgian fashion he just gave up and said OK I've warned you so my job is done then sped off. We continued the journey. There is in any regard little or no danger as you can actually float on your back without any effort due to the wetsuit. The additional bouyancy is pretty dramatic. We were already in the middle so clearly turning back wasn't a realistic option for us.

The sun was out and shining down through the water. You obviously couldn't see the bottom as it was so deep but it was nice and bright with a green tinge and after a few minutes any remaining nervousness of reaching the goal went and I just tried to concentrate on my technique. I even stopped looking at the distance.

The first thing I worked out was that I was taking a very indirect route and was effectively zig zagging across the lake. As I'd do a sighting I'd see I'd be heading too far right or left and need to correct my course. That won't be such a big issue in Zurich as I'll be guided by buoys and boats on a narrow track out and back.

I found the way out pretty relaxing and I didn't suffer from any oxygen debt or over tiredness at the start. I was soon at the other side and I was jubilant. I went to the shore and stood up just to look back over. The view was amazing. I'd just swam right across. I plunged straight back in and set off back. I was 32:30 out and 24:28 back, this included time chatting with lifeguard and stopping at the far side. I think my route back was also less zig zagging and maybe a little faster as I was now on the home leg and I now knew what I needed to do it..

I measured the distance on google earth when I came back and it was just over the km mark but my zig zagging was adding some distance.

I felt fine when I came in and was laughing as we'd seemed to have drawn about 10 or 12 spectators on our journey. Even though I say so myself it looked an impressive feat from the shore and the two swimmers must have been an interesting and unusual sight.. Speed wise it was OK and I was totally fine at the end. Not washed up at all and I doubt my heart rate was elevated much the whole journey. I tried as much as possible to stay relaxed and I did lie on my back a couple of times on the first leg just enjoying the experience.

I can do the distance on the swim leg and I can do it outside in open water. That was the whole point of the exercise. My previous competitive 750M open water experience in Roybon was a bit of a shock. I should now hopefully not be intimidated at the start in Zurich now. I'll just start at the back and side and keep out of trouble.

I would not recommend doing this on your own. If you have no choice then swim the shoreline, don't swim directly across on your own. Having someone else there is a very good safety net. It also helps mentally to see some other madman doing it.

After work swim session

2Km straight freestyle swimming. As ever first 400m were a real push and I was really struggling, probably due to having too fast a starting pace at 8 minutes dead and the usual difficult start to a swim in relation to getting my breathing settled.

I settled into my stride and despite getting cramp twice in my right calf and once in my right foot(due to kicking off the wall) I finished the session in 48:21. My breathing was OK and I managed to swim more than 50% with bi-lateral breathing(every third stoke on alternate sides) Its hardly a fast time but its quick enough for me and in reality I'm just looking to survive the swim leg with a time like that. I'm going to swim outdoors tomorrow at a lake nearPhilippeville, 60km south of here. My race target for swim and cycle transition is still 60 minutes.

Lets hope I'm still blogging tomorrow night :O)

Inspiration at lunchtime

Lunchtime run, I've been inspired by Stuart's fantastic 44 minute Polaroid 10K in Helensburgh. I set out for a flat out 10K. My previous best for 10K is 47:38 . My plan is to blast out the 10K and I'll walk the rest(1.8K) to the house.

Its pretty warm and just a light-medium breeze so not bad conditions. First 3K and I'm feeling the pace as I finish the first long hill. I knock off 5K in 21:28 but I'm absolutely dying on my feet at the effort so I know thats as good as it gets and I'll be well over 43 minutes. I get to 7K and I almost stop twice on a long hill I'm so burned out. I've decided that I'm definately not built for speed. However I somehow keep going.

If I thought I was tired at 7K I was absolutely wiped out at 8K and then at 9K it was just the fact it was mostly downhill and I could smell the finish that kept me going..I know where the 10K line is but I must have checked my watch 6 or 7 times wishing the distance to magically get shorter.

I end the 10K in a new personal best of 45:00,08. Its as hard as run I have done and certainly the fastest training session. Sadly I didn't have my Heart Rate belt with me to see how much cardio effort I put in but I've attached the speed,time and altitude stats above.

Thanks to Stu for the inspiration. I'm just leaving you enough of a gap to get to the bar first and get the beers in, so nothing new in that. I look forward to the results from the Clydebank race, let me say now, a sub 40min 10K will be an absolutely huge achievement. Get in there.

Holiday bike run

It's Ascention day and today I'm therefore a Catholic, since it gets me the day off work. Up at 7am(showing Protestant work ethic). Checked the bike and tyres and my prayers were answered as they were still OK. Nice work for a confirmed Atheist.

I had a big breakfast of museli and a cup of hot chocolate whilst watching British MP's defending their expenses on TV. A powerbar and a powergel down my neck and I'm off. I'd almost settled on doing a repeat fo the brick session from last weekend 70K bike and 17k run. I headed down towards Namur, hardly any wind and traffic was extremely quiet.

I started to hear a rattling noise around 25k mark and I stopped as it was obviously something loose and I was going to lose it if I didn't tighten it up. It was the Frame bolt that holds on one of my bottle cradles. About 30 seconds and its tight and I take a quick drink. I'm stiff just from that short stop and it takes a few minutes and the next hill to get back in the groove.

I finish the first 35K in 1:12 which is 4 minutes faster than last week but it was windier then. I turn round and head back. I again get a second wind about the 50K mark and get a little respite by drafting a tractor for 2-3K at 30KMPH.

Then near disaster, some mad bastardo in an HGV truck passes me on the N93 and obviously hadn't seen me as he hadn't moved out at all. I get blown right into the kerb and gutter and as the back of the truck roars passed me and my bike wobbles the tarpaulin from the truck just clips me on the shoulder. I only just manage to stay upright.

The red mist descends and it spurs me on in the hope I catch him at the lights and I have visions of dragging him from the cab , putting the bread on him and then me using my cleats on his teeth. I put the hammer down and manage to keep him in my sights for a while but at the next lights sadly he is nowhere to be seen.

I get to 65K and I'm OK apart from a little back ache. I decide to go a little longer and take a right off the N5 and head towards Rixensart. I've been trying to use the new Tri Bars on and off but am finding them way too twitchy. The bike doesn't feel stable as my leg motion is causing the bike to move side to side. Using them on the bumpy roads is also very difficult and the bike moves across the road when you hit bumps.

I'll give it another go at the weekend but they may be getting dropped. I'm sure you could get used to them but I'd need more practice miles on them and certainly better road surfaces. They are no use on hills and the fact I need to take my hand off them to change gear or brake makes them more trouble than they are worth at this late stage.

I drop into Lasne past the police station and then head over the Hedgehog hill and up the killer hill towards Ohain and then Ransbeeke following my 20K time trial route. I finish with just over 88K on the clock and a time of 3:05:32. So nice enough run but nothing earth shattering pace wise. However its still well under my 3:30 target so I'm happy.

Average speed 28.1 kmph
Max Speed 59.1 kmph
Average Cadence 85 RPM
Max Cadence 122 RPM
Total Climb 2974ft
Average Heart Rate 131....nice, just ticking over.

I don't run as its close to lunchtime and I fancy a nice lunch and a enjoy whats left of a real day off. We're off to Le Petit Fis for lunch....

After my shower I see I've a couple of blisters on my right foot but my left is fine. I'm pretty much recovered in 20 minutes. I can hardly feel I've been out.

Looked Easy on the Internet

My back tyre has a few holes in it and I wanted to swap the tyre and also practice changing the inner tubes on both wheels in case I ever get a flat tyre. I've never changed a tyre on a racing bike before so I had to look it up on youtube how to do it.

It looked fairly easy. In hindsight the tyres they were using for examples on youtube must have been made of marshmallow, mine on the other hand seem to be made of concrete and barbed wire.

I found getting the tyre on and off the rim almost impossible. The tyre rim was very very tight over the wheel. So getting the first edge off to get the tube out and then get the last edge back on was really hard As a result I've overlevered my tyre levers to the extent that the plastic is weak and whitened. The guys on the internet get their's on and off using no more than fingernails and a big smile.

Its 3 hours since I started. I've burst one perfectly good tube by pinching the tube when I was levering the tyre back on and I subsequently found out through three trial and error repairs that its impossible(for me anyway) to fix a high pressure(8 bar) tube with a normal puncture repair outfit. So I had to bin the tube as the patches were being blown off after it was blown up.

However I've eventually now put the tyre on with a new tube(my last one). If both tyres stay up overnight then I'll do a long run in the morning as its a holiday here tomorrow and roads will be quiet. This will probably be my last big miler on the bike before the race.

I'll however be flying on no spare tube though as I don't have any left and the shops will be closed. I was as good as doing this without knowing anyway given my hamfisted efforts tonight.

My fingers are currently throbbing, like they have been scalded.

I fitted my new tri bars pretty easily with just 4 bolts, I just need to try them on a longer run before making any further adjustment over what felt ok when I sat on the bike.

Monday Evening Swim Session

First up many many thanks to Sebastian for all the help and encouragement tonight :O)...I'm a lazy trainer and he makes sure my lazy side isn't allowed to come out for more than a few seconds. Lots of drive and encouragement from him and he definately gets a lot more out of me than I ever would get out of myself. I felt I was close to collapse at times but I managed somehow to just keep going.

Session details are below. It was a hard session at points especially the 4x100M increasing tempo sprints.My 400m time two weeks ago was 9:26 As you can see I'm improving which makes me very very happy.

A big run and swim session and its only Monday....plus my Tri Bars arrived this morning. I'll fit them tomorrow, I'm too busy eating tonight.

One box of cheesy pasta and a huge bowl of cornflakes. Now whats next.

SWIMTRAINING 18^th May 2009 – 18.00 – 19.30

TYPE: Semi Endurance Distance: 2650 M

Warm-up

400M ( 200 M crawl/ 2 x (25 backstroke/ 25 crawl, 25 breaststroke/ 25 Crawl)

Technique

10 x 50 M Drills

50 M Regeneration

Training

4 x 100M Crawl (75%, 80%, 85%, 90%) 1^st, 3^rd with paddles.

1^{st –} 2.07

2^{nd -} 1.56

3^rd – 1.52

4^{th –} 1.51

100 M Regeneration

6 x 200M Crawl with fins ( 75MCr, 25M Drill, 100M Cr)

100m Regeneration

Monday Lunchtime Run

I had Sunday as a rest day after my long brick session on Saturday. So I started the week with a 11.3K run from office to house lunchtime tickler. I had 10K ticked off in around 48:20, full 11.3k in 54:47.

I tried throughout to keep pace better than 5Mins per km and keep my heart rate above 160. I'm looking to do faster but shorter training now as with 20 days to go I've just about done as much as I can on the endurance side and I want to try and add some speed.

I did some sprints(100% of max speed) once I was warmed up and then let my heart rate recover to under 160 then went again. I also did longer faster(80% of max speed) legs near the end.

My average HR was 162(tick) and average speed was 12.3kmph and max speed was 18.7kmph. This equates to an average of around 4.53mins per km, so sub 5 minute km's for the whole 11k(tick).

I still think I can in general run faster but my issue is that I seem to lose speed naturally unless I'm constantly monitoring it and pushing myself. I'm not sure if my watch has max/min speed alarms. I know it has a HR zone that beeps annoyingly if you fall out of either side of it. I need something to keep my pace up. I'm not running out of energy and can tackle the hills with gusto. I just seem to occasionally lose focus and when I check , then I see my speed has dropped and I'm cruising around 5:20mins per km.

I've picked up 4 blisters on my big toes on both sides, nothing serious but I'll stop running till they dissapear. I've also strained my left thigh a little and have had the hot water bottle on it all afternoon in the office :O) Its nice as the smell reminds me of my living at my grandmothers house when I was young :o)

Brick by Brick

I left my training session to later today as I had some shopping for sports gear to do :O). The Technical manager(Wallis) and I did a quick bike lube service and put on my new bar ends and put the cadence sensor back on the crank. I'm still waiting on my tri-bars.

Todays session was to be a close to full length event, with 3 weeks to go I'm peaking my long distance training now and will have one more long session on Thursday holiday this week and then I'm moving to swimming and short interval training for bike/run.

It was blustery wind and a little overcast with the odd shower, wind coming directly from the south so would kill me all the way down the N5 then cut across at right angles on my N93 out and back leg. The return on the N5 would be plain sailing with the wind at my back.

70K cycle leg in 2:27:20 which is an average speed of 28.4kmph. It seemed quite long on the outbound leg and I got a second wind about the 45km mark and really got a good pace on. Road conditions as ever vary from bad to really bad, especially when I was on the cycle path.

That 70K time would extrapolate out to a 90K leg of around 3:15. I'm hoping for better roads and less wind. One can always live in hope.

Average cadence was 80, Total climb was 2415ft, which if correct is pretty much in line with Switzerland course. Max cadence was 118 and max speed was 56.9kmph.

I was pretty whacked at the end and my back was stiff and sore and I was a little unstead on my feet for the first minute off the bike. I timed the transition to run at 3:45. This included a 500ml drink and a sports gel. Changing my shoes and top and getting my running head on.

I did the whole session in my new tri suit but with a cycling top(new one sent by Stu and Chico) and a running top for each leg. The tri suit was OK but padding on the bike was less effective than my cycling shorts.

Run leg was 16K in 1:24:27. I was running nice 4:45 and 4:55 km times for the first 4K but my legs just gradually got slower. I managed a second push around the 12k mark and kicked up my average again. Average speed over the whole run was 5:25 per km. Average heart rate 151bpm and max was 165bpm. I think I can go faster if I was pushed. I need more competitive drive.

Swim Drills

Did a swimming session last night.

400M warmup

40 minutes of worked drills on reach, breathing, relaxation and leg work. I've come to the conclusion that swimming is more like golf than running or cycling. Its more technique than fitness. You also need to remember the oxygen debt problem that you get at the start of any exercise is much more severe in swimming than other sports due to the limitations on breathing. No need to panic, its all much nicer after the first 300m or 10 minutes. Well maybe nicer is an exaggeration, it just stops getting worse :O)

600M slow and steady practice

200m warmdown and stretching.

I'm sore today, probably hardest swim session I've done. Need to get my mind on relaxing in the swim leg and just cruising round the buoy and back. No need for heroics. Finish in a state to continue. I still need more confidence in this leg. Truth be told I'm frightened and excited by it in equal measure.

Quick Dip

1100M swim in a rather pathetic 25:50. First 300M were very windy but after that I got my oxygen deficit back I was going along fine. Nice big 50M pool and facilities but a little busy. Some bugger nicked my quid out the locker as well.

Costa Del Sunderland

Sunny in the North East, out for a run at 6:30 round the River Wear and past the Durham cricket ground where the test match will be taking place over the next few days. 10K in 52:45 and 11.6K in 1hour.

Sunderland Swim

Taxi pickup at 7am and off for a 1km swim in Sunderland Aquatic centre, I didn't get into the 50m pool as it was closed so I had to swim in the 33m diving pool. Not too busy but I wasn't really motivated to put in a big distance as it wasn't the big pool. I'm trying to switch to bi-lateral breathing now as its faster and I think with some more practice I can do it for the full distance. Its more tiring as I'm breathing on every 3rd stroke rather than on every 2nd or 4th. This forces you to breathe on both sides when normally I breathe on the right. I spent half the session breathing only on the left to get used to the sensation. That was fine except it damaged my ability to breathe on the right...I just need to blend them in together.

I also changed the way I breathe out and am doing it more controlled and it feels less uncomfortable on the 3rd stroke when I slow down the exhale in that fashion. To get a feel for this blow out all the air in your lungs and then see how long you can stay like that, its not long. Even if you keep them 30% full they feel less stressed.

I want to be able to swim 4KM and maybe 5km in the pool, non stop before Switzerland. That will give me enough confidence in my swim leg. I might try and get another swim in tonight depending on what time we get finished here.

I walked it from the pool to the office :o)

Sunday double

I was lying in bed around 7am this morning looking for excuses in my mind as to why I could not train today. The best I could come up with was calling Philippe to say I'd forgotten that it was mothers day and that I had booked lunch for Alison and so I could not train.

I went out for the papers and croissants just after 8:30. I came back and Team Kennedy manager asks me right away. Have you called Philippe ? I said not yet but I've sent him a text as he may have been out last night and he doesn't need me getting him up before 9am. I was secretly hoping he was also looking for an out....no such luck. He'd done 60k on his bike yesterday and was as keen as ever.

Texts were exchanged and I managed to negotiate us down to a 45K cycle and 17k run. Philippe was looking for the full 90k cycle plus a run of 15k minimum. I said I'd do the full 90 on the bike but not the run as well....Thats how it goes when your heart isn't quite in it yet. Even once we agreed 45K and we were out on the cycle leg I was still lying to myself that I didn't need to do the run leg when I got back anyway....

It was a fantastic day weather wise, sunny and blue skies. Only downside was that it was a little windy. We set off for Namur and traffic and other cyclists excepted I was managing to hold my own and not drop back too much. Only fly in the ointment was that after 20 minutes when I had a look at my computer I could see my pedaling cadence wasn't showing up . When I looked down I could see the crank attachment had fallen off at some point. Needle in a haystack to find it on the way back and I was pretty pissed off as I only bought it two weeks ago..

We were soon heading down the N98 and I was as usual sitting just behind the point where all the hard work was being done, straight into the wind. Once on the main road and off the cycle path and into our rythm I didn't get dropped. I had to work hard on the hills but I managed not to fall too far behind at any point. After what felt like no time at all Philippe said we were halfway and had to turn back. I did at this point offer the 90K option but no run but Philippe said we needed to do a double session. He was right of course and I was thinking well I could just do the 90K and be done. Avoiding the horrors of the bike-run transition on a sunny Sunday is well worth cycling another 45km for. We turned back and the run leg was still on.

On the way back I even had the cheek to lead for a couple of km's but it was with the wind in my back and it gave Philippe a chance to have another picnic on the bike. Normal service resumed on the N5 and I did drop back a bit with about 8KM to go as I was looking for the bit that fell off my bike. Amazingly I saw it and picked it up and so I now just need to put it back on. We finished 45K in 1hr:28min which is a good time and I felt OK.

Running gear on but my watch wasn't working right as I needed to change the battery and didn't have the time to mess about. I ran again in my cycling shorts and just changed my tee shirt. I managed to stretch my legs on the bike by standing up on the pedals for a few hundred metres and they were not as heavy as they felt last week when I did the bike-run session.

It was pretty hot now and I was happy I'd downed 500ml of sports drink on the last 2km on the bike, I knew that last time out I hadn't taken on enough fluid and I could feel the positive difference this run. I was however having to drink when I didn't feel like it, just ramming it down my throat for effect. Like drinking cans of warm lager before a school disco.

Our pace was pretty even around the 4:40 per km mark for the first 4km. Then we dropped to around 5:00 per km. We went round by the school to avoid M.Hedgehog but instead of one big climb you get faced with a much longer medium climb that really saps your legs.

I was pulling a little distance out on Philippe as he was suffering in the heat as he had a black top on and with long sleeves. His knee was also taking no prisoners. I was though expecting him to pass me like a steam train at any moment.

I finished the run and although the last 2km were a little sore on my legs I was still in pretty good shape at the end and adding another 4km would have been possible for me to do the full 21k.

I ordered tri bars and a tri suit this week to hopefully claim me a couple of minutes on cycle and on the transitions. The suit you wear for the whole race and despite it making you look like the wettest gay in the village it does speed up transition as once out of your wetsuit you are only ever changing shoes. I saw the positive side of the suit for others in the race two weeks ago.

The tri-bars allow you to have a much lower position on the bike and improve your aerodynamics. Therefore making it easier to keep a slightly higher pace, especially on flat sections.

Legs currently feeling OK but I know I've been out. I'm in the UK this week so training opportunities will be limited. I will be taking my running gear and my swimming gear though.

Swimming Session

Did a session at the pool, worked on technique rather than just banging out the laps. The new lower arm reach with lifted elbow seems to be paying off. My 33m times were around 55 seconds on my old stroke and I'm now around 45-48. I did a 400m test swim at 9:26. Still pretty pedestrian pace if you are a swimmer but faster than I was before and with what feels like a bit less effort required. Its a much slower stroke and requires less shoulder strength.

I then did some exercises with Philippe helping me in the shallow end, I was getting some of it but was still finding it hard going. I finished with some easy 50M laps as the full pool had opened up. Not a strenuous effort but progress, the 400M time would have been a 750M time of around 17:30, last week I was around 21 minutes for 750M. OK its was open water and mayhem start but it still looks and feels like an improvement.

We were out at friends for dinner last night and although I'm not drinking(1.5 glasses wine) we did get back very late and so I was very tired this morning and spend most of the day dozing in the garden. I think I just needed a day off.

Injuries - Summary

I'm just under 5 months into my training regime, I thought I'd review the physical damage and problems to date.

I've had 2 colds in the last 5 months, this has affected training for 4-5 days at a time.

I've had knee problems on both sides but nothing that has stopped me training, just general specific pain. Mostly when I started bike riding.

Saddle induced pain, was an issue until I'd clocked off about 300km in total. I don't notice it now and myst be around 800-850km mark.

I've had ankle issues two or three times with what I could describe as impact related pain,swelling and bruising. This is something I've suffered from before when I was training for the Glasgow half marathon last year. It seems to be sporadic just occasional and I can't see any specific cause other than long distance running(>20K).

I've had numerous feet and toe problems from blackened nails to a lost toe nail. I've had toe and feet blisters quite a few times and I get usually one of two on any run >20K. I've once had a specific sharp foot pain in the sole of my right foot after the 26k run I did in March. Again these issues have not severely affected my training but I've skipped running and replaced with cycling a few times. I've also added the odd rest day.

I fell off the bike and injured right side including pretty bad bruising/abarsions to my hip,knees,elbow and ankle. The abrasions are mostly healed now but the bruising/tenderness remains.

Nothing more serious that that so I think I've been lucky

Cycle-Run Brick Session

I had back to back conf calls at 17:00 and 17:30. Therefore time was tight before it got dark and I was secretly hoping the second call would run long and I could avoid any training today. Unfortunately it went to plan and I had to remind myself of how hard Sunday was to encourage myself, I therefore went out to do a double training session.

Training plan was 20k Bike Time Trial round the normal Time trial route including Hedgehog hill then a repeat of yesterdays 14.26k run.

The bike leg produced a new personal best and beat the seemingly impossible 40 minute barrier with a rather pleasing 39:14 for the 20K. My new Blackburn Neuro computer says total climb over the 20K was 799ft(243m) which isn't a flat route but it only about 80% of the main climb in Switzerland. I have to do it twice though :O).

I had a 4 minute 27 second transition and then set out on the run. I made this reasonably realistic with a run through the garden/house and getting changed in the garage. I took on 250ml of fluid(not enough), I kept my cycling shorts on and just swapped my top,shoes and then I set out.

The first 5K was really tight on my thighs and it took that long before my legs felt as if they could actually run. Once that was over it got a little easier. The hills were tough especially running the cobbled section up towards Butte Du Lion. My pace was roughly around the 5min per km mark for the first 10K then dropped off to around 5:20/5:30 per km.

I ran the same 14.28km as yesterday in a somewhat slower time of 1:15:37 with an interim 10K time of 53:31. So slower but thats due to the fact I did the cycling time trial before plus I'm running on my own which is less competitive so I can't drive myself as hard. Running time still not bad as I think it would extrapolate out to around 1:40 for a half marathon, my target for Switzerland is 2hrs and my previous PB on a real half marathon race is 1:47. It was an 8 out of 10 difficulty with respect to how I felt at the end. I could have ran onto do a full half marathon in a competitive situation.

On the bike leg my average heart rate was 154 with a peak of 174. Average heart rate on the run was 150 and peak of 162.

I'm not sure if this is a problem but it is something i have noticed in my training over the last 5 months. Essentially as I go longer it gets progressively more difficult for me to keep my heart rate in the higher zone. I think my lactate level is about 166-168 and so I normally run around the 159-165 level anything above this kills my breathing in about 5 minutes. Anything below 155 feels like I'm not exercising at all.

I'm not sure if its normal but I usually find in the first hour I can easily cope with 165/166 BPM without real discomfort but after that my sustainable limit drops to 160 for the next hour/45 minutes and then down to 156 the following hour.

As this happens I obviously slow down and I see the effect on my overall speed and reduced effort. I've seen it in action in my two half marathons when I'm a fast starter but then get caught by people in the last third of the race.

Overall a nice 2 hours reasonably high intensity training session, not at the same pace as yesterday but it was obviously longer.

Beep Beep

14.26km run at lunchtime with Philippe. A bit more energetic than my usual training run as we know he is ultra competitive and likes to lead from the front. However its a lot closer in the running than it is on the bike so I'm not as easy to drop on the run, especially on the up hills :O). It was a nice pace and we had 10K clocked off in 47:32 and the full 14.26K in 1hr 09min. We had a couple of brief stops for Philippe's dodgy knee but I suspect its not going to stop him on the big day. Its time to let go of the liferaft :O). I'd say at the current pace he will be looking for around a 6hr finish. Which will be more than enough time for him to finish,recover, pick up his medal, get a table and order me lunch and a beer.

Todays HRM image attached, you can see I was working a bit harder than usual and that my heart rate was a little higher(159 average) than the last image(155 average) but the course I was on today has more hills and my pace varied much more than I'd normally have on a training run. The sprints were good fun as its not normally something I do, especially not the last km.

Lunchtime Swim

Did 1 km or maybe a little more. Used my new paddles for half the session to try and build up some strength in my arms. I bought new Speedo competition goggles(€25) and they were really a big improvement on the old Arena ones I had. The Speedo ones were clear the whole session and not a drop leaked in.

I got some good tips from Philippe on my swim stroke and that seemed to be both easier and faster, which is a double bonus. It felt a little strange at first as I needed to shorten my arm stroke quite drastically and bring my arms up parallel with my body. I could describe my previous stroke as a windmill type technique.

I'll have another go later this week maybe at the 50m pool and see if i can get some timing improvement. As ever my eternal optimism is overcoming the mental pain of the swim on Sunday and the negativity is fading and my confidence is coming back.......There might be treatment I can get for this somewhere.

I did a 5k run with the dog and Wallis on her bike, she got the all clear from the hospital today to resume sports following her leg break in Feb whilst ski-ing. She was very pleased after the hospital, I'm not so sure now though as she is currently half asleep on the couch....

Lunchtime Run

A quick leg stretcher at lunchtime on Monday after the race. 10K in 49:06 and a gentle finsh to around 11.4k. OK on the run but after I finished the calf was stiff same place as I had cramp at the weekend. I attach my heart rate, speed, climb,VO2 stats etc, please remember I'm 42 soon and apart from the last 12 months I haven't seriously exercised since The Jam were at number 1.....make sure you watch that video....

Roybon - The photos...Click the photos to get the full glory

Getting the techy bits right. In the transition area pre race. "All the gear and no idea". As you can see its a functional setup to get changed in.

Ahhh the smiles of dumb ignorance. This is before the start.




Words cannot describe what this is like...I was in that and it was better to watch than to take part in. I'm the one with the red cap on shouting for his mum. Make sure you see this in full size by clicking on it....Its like watching the start of Holby City or Casualty wondering which character is going to be in the big accident.


I think my head is fish shaped and I'm breathing through gills, I'm running as I'm expecting to be caught by the 3 grandmothers I beat in the swim at any moment.

Cycle leg finishes and another leg awaits, I was never dropped the whole ride, not even once....



Someone is actually going slower than me and looks more tired but its on the run.




And now , the end is near and I face the final curtain.....that's relief on my face. If you can see that far.

Roybon Sprint Triathlon- The Story

Team Kennedy manager springs a surprise on me at start of the holiday weekend. She has registered me for the Roybon Triathlon Romans near Grenoble in France, its just in 2 days time. There are two events on the same day a Discovery Race and a Sprint Triathlon. I'm was registered for the longer Sprint event.....thanks for that.

Its a 750M swim in the Lac du Roybon, then a 21km Cycle and a 5km run. There were 300 entrants for the Sprint event and its an open water swim so it was my first taste of the a real triathlon and in real competition circumstances. I'm excited and terrified in equal measure.

We did a couple of drives in the car on Saturday of the Cycle course and saw it was reasonably hilly across two main sections. The road surface was mostly good. The running course was flat and just twice around the lake but with a few dangerous sloping grassy parts, just perfect to twist an ankle on.

The lake you swim the length of out and round a couple of buoys and then back again in a triangular path. Its a mass start from in the water and on Saturday the first thing that struck me was that even though the lake was only 400-450m long...It looked a very very long way. I was wishing my manager had booked me in for the shorter event. To say I was hugely nervous about even finishing would be a massive understatement.

We stayed the weekend with a fantastic family who run their home as a guest house for tourists. We ate with the family both evenings and it really was a fantastic experience. A real good help with my French and the food was very traditional and perfect for a pre Triathlon. Lots of encouragement for the Triathlon race was offered and we had many and varied discussions over dinner including helping Wallis with her school homework around the EU and its various constituent parts. It really was like staying with old friends and we were all very sad to be leaving. Wallis said she wants to have her holidays there in the summer but I think she has her eye on one of Catherine and Christian's new kittens. I'm already thinking about going back next year for the food and the triathlon.

The race was on the Sunday with the shorter race starting at 11am and my race started at 2pm on the Sunday so we arrived around 11:30 and got parked up. The weather was absolutely perfect with temp of 20C, only a light wind and blue sky. We took a walk up to register and by the time we had done this the first folks to finish the first race were coming across the line. The atmosphere was amazing, everyone was hugely supportive. Lots of families and loads of younger teenagers doing the shorter triathlon and even some running with their parents. It all added to a fabulous atmosphere. My nerves however were tempering my ability to enjoy it fully.

The time was clicking down so we went back to the car and I got my bike off the rack and cleared and oiled the gears etc. I had previously checked the tyres before I left the guesthouse and so all was well. Plenty of time to go so I started eating and taking on drinks. I spent some time on my own as nerves were starting to really jingle, music helped till the battery ran out of juice. I thought this was an omen. I took the bike up to get racked and ready in the transition area around 1pm. I also got my arm and leg marked with my number 288.

I set out my gear on a towel at the bike. I decided to just run in my cycling gear and so keeping it simple and just needing to change my shoes for the last leg. My thinking that as its only a 5K run and a nice day so its not going to be a problem.

I could see people getting their wetsuits on. I nipped into the bushes for a last toilet stop and then put my wetsuit on. It wasn’t easy as its new and very tight but I did manage to get zipped up and secure on my own. It wasn’t the most comfortable situation as it was then suddenly sweaty and warm and the transition area was just a car park with all sorts of crap lying around on the ground to get stuck in my bare feet. This of course was the least of my worries.

The security briefing was at 13:45 and to be honest I could not concentrate as it was in French and my mind was elsewhere. I’d just follow the crowd as it was certain there would always be people in front of me to follow, if not behind.

Down to the water at 13:55 and in for a swim. The water was cold on exposed parts and they said the temperature was around 12C so not unbearable. I had a few short swims and felt OK but could see right away that the visibility was only about 2ft and no more. Lots of brown sludge having been churned up by the people in the water. Standing up was out of the question as the bottom of the lake had a thick 30cm layer of sludge...I was thinking about leeches and grubs that burrowed under toenails.

We all got behind the line just before 2pm…and waited and waited and waited…..Eventually the last few folks appear from god knows where and ran down to join the fun. Nerves were high with lots of folk chattering jibberish to each other and laughing at rubbish jokes, I was quite calm before the start and was relaxing by just floating above the gunge.

I was one row back from the start line. 300 people waiting for the off, mostly behind me. The klaxon went and all hell broke loose. There were arms, bodies, legs and heads everywhere. Water was splashing all over the place. I really wanted to be somewhere else. I got my head down and tried to swim but it was just too difficult, I was climbing over people in front as people behind climbed over me. Breathing was difficult as the waves were big and water was flying everywhere. It was an experience I could never have imagined.

I’ve read the description of mass triathlon open water starts as being a Washing Machine start but this was more like a rugby scrum in water. I got a few kicks in the face then things settled down a little bit. I was pretty tired and breathless after the first 5 minutes and struggling to catch my breath. I could see I’d only went about 200m. I got a very hard elbow or head to the side of my head. I swallowed a fair bit of water. I was coughing and gulping water down. My head was spinning and my heart pounding in my chest and ears. Fear flooded through me. I rolled over to get re-oriented and could just see a mass of people still behind me. I could not stop or I’d get trampled again. I was genuinely starting to feel real panic and thinking what the hell am I doing here.

I’m not the worlds worst or best swimmer. I’m reasonably competent and I don’t have any real fear of water and will happily swim in the sea on holiday and am at home in a swimming pool. However I was really fighting the demons to keep a lid on my fears. I managed to get a bit of space and pushed out to the right. I knew I was taking the longer line but I knew I needed space to get myself composed. I got my bearings and could see I was now about 300M out and could at last see the first big buoy. I could also see the mass of identical red swimming caps funnelling towards it and the water spraying all around.

I took the wider route , all the time trying to calm myself and get my rhythm going. I was settling a bit when suddenly I got cramp in my left calf, right at the deepest part of the lake near the dam wall. The demons trying again to blow it for me. I just swam on as I had no option to stop and it passed after 30 seconds although my confidence took a bit of a dent. At this point I remember a discussion in my head saying 'Switzerland is F*&$ing Cancelled'. No way I'm swimming that far. I continued wide round both buoys and took the line closest to the shore on the way in. I was away from the main group and pretty far back in the field. I knew at the second buoy that every stroke from there was taking me back.

I slowed my stroke and just kept going. It wasn’t fast or pretty but I just kept going and although i was tired and very tense I got back in and thankfully stood up. I could hardly stand as my legs were jelly when I got to the finish. The guy is shouting at me something about ‘bonnet’. I'm thinking about lying down.

Ahhh I understand as my ears clear. He wants my swim cap. I run/walk/jog up the hill about 100m to the transition area. I can’t seem to get my wetsuit zip undone and I ask someone in the crowd to help me. He rips it down and helps me get the sleeves off. Its harder that I thought to get off and I’m very tired.

I am still dazed and can’t seem to spot my bike. I eventually get it and try to get the legs of my wetsuit off. Its hard as there is nowhere to sit. I need to balance on one foot and my head is still spinning from the swim, in tri speak I’ve still got my Fishhead on. I eventually get the suit off and get my cycling shorts and top on. I'm still breathless from that effort alone. I take a drink from my bottle and take some deep breaths. I get my bike shoes on after some trouble as my feet are wet and I can't get the crap off them to get my socks on.

I’m evenutally unracking the bike and walking out with helmet on but having forgotten my gloves, I'm not going back. I get to the line and it beeps as my timing transponder is read. I get on my bike to be told to get off as both wheels need to be over the line. I get off and fight back Mr Angry. I literally take a half step forward and then get on again, the clock has of course already started running. I’m away on the bike leg.

I take it easy for the first short part , it’s a tight path and I get a drink down me and get my bearings. My legs feel good and the bike is smooth on the road. I turn round and right up the hill and I drop the guy in front as he slows going up the hill. I pass another guy pumping furiously at a puncture….there but the grace of god and all that.

My head is starting to clear as the wind hits my face. The first 1Km is a slight incline then its all uphill for the next 4k. The road is smooth and I’m catching and dropping people every few minutes. Its encouraging me on and I’m feeling pretty good as the swim is slowly being forgotten. I started to get some doubts on my pace as I was passing folks and going uphill around 30kmph. The bike just felt like it was so light and easy to drive on. I’m about 5km in and not out of the big chain yet…I’ve passed 15-20 people as I top the first hill. I have a guy in my sights and I know I’ve 2.5K downhill before the next climb. We’re flying at 50-55kmph. I just keep him 10-15m in front as I don’t need any heroics taking him and me out of the race. We turn left to start the climb back. I cut it a bit tighter than him, drop a gear and get out the saddle. I go past like he’s stopped.

I never see or hear from him again. I’m into the stiffer and steeper climbing now and quickly drop to the small chainset to keep my legs spinning. I pass a couple of folks clearly drafting and then another guy who is all over the road and forces me to the other side of the road. There is a group 200m in front now with 3 guys. I am chasing but as it steepens more we all get dragged down to the lowest level by gravity. I’m changing gears up and down and am out and back in the saddle but am only gaining slowly. I'm fiddling between gear 17 and 20 on a 20 gear bike....so its really the bottom of the barrel.

I know the top is about 200m and I get up out of the saddle and grunt and drop the 3 of them as we crest the last big hill. I’m breathing very very hard but I know I'm over the major obstacles. The last guy I could see is in front but as its downhill I just use him to pace my descent. I keep 50m between us and take a chance for a drink on a straight. I see 60kmph on the bike…flying. I’m feeling good now as I know I’ll finish as the 5K run should just about warm me up.

I’m back at the lake and round and up the small path again. Its uphill and the guy in front is slowing and spinning his legs. I go past and up and over. Drop the gears down and spin my legs into the transition area, probably too little too late. I need to get off the bike run down the whole length of the transition area as I’m at the top, so the race length is the same for everyone.

I change my shoes, take a drink and remember to take off my helmet and put on my hat and sun glasses. I go back to the top of the transition area and then head out on the run. I’m OK and not really struggling. I run downhill to the lake and after about 300m I get really bad cramp in my left calf muscle. This is worrying as its not something I really suffer from. I try holding the fence and stretching the leg but as soon as I loosen the tension on the leg its back and its more painful.

I give up and try to run it off. The first 100m are agony and when I lift my foot the cramp attacks my leg. I’m suddenly thinking I can’t go on. I catch my breath , relax and just run slow and be light on my feet. I’m thinking relax ,relax,relax and focussing my mind at my leg. Another 100M at a really slow pace and its easing. A further 100m and its gone. I’m on my way again. The first circuit was OK, I got passed by 10-12 people(probably on their second leg) and I passed about 6-7 myself.

I get round to the transition area for the last lap. I’m feeling OK now as I’ll definately finish. The crowd are helping me round. I get up the last small hill and down to the finish. I’m done. Total time including transitions is 1:41:36. I’d estimated 2 hours before the start but it was a pure guess.

Swim and transition was 20:42 which is in the bottom 5%...so hopefully that can easily be improved.

Cycle was 47:25 which had me out of the bottom quartile, hurrah :O) When I came in from the swim all the 6 bikes in my zone except mine and one other were gone. Then that guy appears for the last one and was gone in a flash as he had a tri suit on and didn't look as dead as me, so suddenly just me and my bike left. When I came back in after the cycle there were only two bikes waiting for me…..

Run and transition was 33:30 which was again out of bottom quartile. I’d expect around 23-25mins for a 5K run and so that’s easily improvable and I had plenty in the tank at the end. You don't need 8 minutes to put a pair of shoes on.

Biggest concern is the swim. The distance in Switzerland is 1900M…I had to fight to do 750M at the weekend. I’ll clearly now be starting at the back and off to the side to avoid the mayhem of a mass start. I need a few more big swims in a big pool to build my confidence up as it took a dent at the weekend. However bottom line is I still finished and I have 5 weeks left.

Bike run went OK and again the 21K felt short and quick but I've had a couple of 90K rides plus one over 100K. The climb was reasonably difficult at the weekend and similar in scale to Switzerland so I just need to keep the training up and keep my endurance. I got round and was happy with the way I felt. I enjoyed the bike ride the most. This is funny as it’s the area I’ve been most dreading as I only started cycling a couple of months ago.

The run was OK apart from the cramp. I could have run on and I was getting into my stride without having to dig too deep. I know it will be much much harder and longer in Switzerland.

The return to Belgium was 800km, so we got on the road quickly knowing it was a midnight arrival. Too quickly as it turns out as I got stopped by the French Police around Lyon and was clocked at 162kmph on the road(the limit is 130 in France and 110 in the rain). 90Euro on the spot fine and we're on our way again. If only I could have carried some of that speed on the swim...A more leisurely pace was taken for the final leg. Luckily as I did spot another speed trap near Metz.