Course Photos

OK a collection of photos of the course, looking at these has boosted me a bit as the cycling was starting to become a cloud. The top photo is the run route, the middle is part of the cycling and the bottom shows the little island with a tree on that I need to swim out to and back in.

Here is the main page regarding the race details.

Remember to click on that wee blue link if you want to see more folks.......

Race Details

So after having Brownie tell me more about the race details than I knew myself I decided to do some digging......Firstly I'm confirmed in the starting line up. Although they are saying I'm Belgian rather than Scottish. It must be based on your current location, its not on my command of French thats for sure.

I checked out some photos and while I was looking I got a profile of the cycling course...Its 2 laps of a 45km course and hidden in there is a 300m climb over an 11km section....in old money thats nearly 1000ft.

Thats a fair climb and I need to do it twice. There is 20km flat section, 11km uphill and the remaining 14km is downhill. Its not the coast I need to be training at its the Ardennes.

The run route as you can see is flatter with just one climb of just 30m or 100ft over 1km, this again needs to be done twice.

The roads after inspecting the photos however look like billiard tables so its not the dreaded Pave.....The scenery looks absolutely stunning as you can see from the photo.


The start will be staggered based on the different age groups as you can see from the table below:-

08.55 a.m. Professionals Men and Women
09.00 a.m. start Age Groups M18 / M25
09.20 a.m. start Age Group M30
09.40 a.m. start Age Group M35
10.00 a.m. start Age Groups M50+
10.20 a.m. start Age Group M40
10.40 a.m. start Age Group M45
11.00 a.m. start Age Groups all categories women

Prizes
The first 10 men and women in the Pro category of the IRONMAN 70.3 SWITZERLAND will receive prize money as long as they cross the finishing line within +10% of the time of the second-placed athlete.

The prize money of US$ 25'000.– will be distributed equally to the men and women as follows:

1st place:	US$ 4'000.–	6th place:	US$ 750.–
2nd place:	US$ 2'500.–	7th place:	US$ 500.–
3rd place:	US$ 1'750.–	8th place:	US$ 350.–
4th place:	US$ 1'250.–	9th place:	US$ 250.–
5th place:	US$ 1'000.–	10th place:	US$ 150.–

Short but not Sweet

Left work later than I planned and so ended up way behind my training schedule to get out for another 20km test while it was still light. It was getting darker by the time I got home around 6pm and I thought I didn't have the time to do the full 20km without any lights.

I took a shorter route that I sometimes run, its 16km long and flatter than the normal 20km route. I was in a rush and shot out the door. The first 4km were really really great. I'm up above 40kmph on the first section and then easily keeping it above 30kmph on the next section which isn't so flat.

As long as the road is smooth its easy to get up to speed and keep it there. The problems start when the route gets bumpy, it gets too steep or when the wind gets into your face. I know I just need a wind in your back downhill 90km run in Switzerland.

In my rush to pick a route and get out I'd forgotten that for about 2km of it, it's the dreaded Belgian Pave....and typical of Brabant-Wallon its bad Belgian Pave at that. I reach the road to hell around the 9km mark and its a nightmare. Wrists and arms aching within less than a minute. My speed drops right down to low-mid teens. Eventually I'm having to ride on the dirt at side to get a break from the constant pounding. The tyres are almost solid with such high pressure and the carbon forks and frame transfer the vibrations in a highly efficient manner. My hands and wrists are numb by the time I finish.

I realise now why they go on about Paris-Roubaix being the Hell of the North. I only had 2km, these boys have 257km of it in a day.....I had a lot of respect for them before. Now I'm wondering if they are human.

I finish in 40:05. I blame the Pave, you could of course blame the lack of fitness.....

A weekend of firsts

We were back in Germany for the weekend staying at Brownie Towers. As ever the three sirens of Margaux,Pomerol and Rioja were there enticing me off the wagon. A quick 5km run on Saturday morning with Brownie through the woods of Konigstein was the kick off to an all day medium paced session on Saturday, althought there was nothing sporty about this session as it was my first drinking session since May 2008.

Sunday I was surprisingly fine and even better when I received Tea and a Bacon buttie in bed. I can't recommend the hospitality at Brownie Towers high enough.

We got home around 4:30pm, the bike was calling me from the garage as soon as I opened the door. I got changed immediately and got right out there. A 3 and a half hour car drive from Germany not being the best preparation but I needed to wear off the guilt and I was dying to try the bike.

The roads round here really are terrible and I felt every bump through the carbon frame. Speed wise it felt faster than the mountain bike and the first 4km went off in a flash, well apart from my chain falling off.....which was easily and quickly fixed.

On the flats where the roads were OK I could coast at 30kmph without any real effort. Its a big improvement on the mountain bike in that respect. Up to the first big test Hedgehog hill. Up up up and hammer hammer hammer. Up to the top and definately faster than before. Down the other side and the speedo maxes out at 56kmph.......I had a quick dab on the brakes at that point given my fear of tarmac induced gravel rash.

Round the rest of the course was great even though it was windy I was above 30kmph quite a few times and on the flat and on the few smooth parts it was a real dream. On the rest of it it was a battle to stay on the thing as the steering is very quick and the bumps crash right up your arms and through you. I even managed to lock up both wheels as I braked for a pedestrian crossing. The effect of the speed and the high pressure in the tyres means you are forever pinging out stones and grit from under you.

Down the last big hill and up the final hill and I manage to get 75% up before I need to drop down the front chainset gear, usually I'm on the lower front chainset about a third of the way up. I finish the 20km in 46:31. My previous best was 51:56.

I'm reasonably pleased given the poor lead up to the session and it was my first time out on the bike for real. I also need to get real cycling shoes and pedals as I just have the pedals from my mountain bike on the racing bike. So some improvement there will be possible.

I am however a little concerned at the distance I am from my goal regarding average speed for the triathlon. I'd wanted to try and get a 30kmph average and so have around a 3 hour time for the cycling leg. This is far away from my current pace and I've not cycled more than 20km in the current training. So a lot of hard work to get under my belt before I'm as confident about the bike leg as I am about swimming and running.

13 weeks to go now. I have Alloa half marathon in two weeks and I'm 2 or 3 days in the UK this week. So time an opportunity are slipping away. I'm really starting to get worried. I don't want to turn up in Switzerland hoping for a flat course and smooth tarmac as being the only way I'm going to get round.

The Bike Arrives

Endlich kommt es....The bike is here.

Initial impressions as follows.

Its very very light....almost impossibly so when you lift it, it feels like its not real.

The wheels are very thin.

Its got 2 x 10 gears.

Tyres pumped up to 8 BAR...whats that all about....unbelievable. You can't do that with a hand pump.

The bike frame is made in Austria....a good omen as its my favorite country...Austrians are like Germans but with big faces, happy outlooks and usually very good at ski-ing. The seat is Italian and the technical bits from the Peoples Republic of Shimano Ultegra.

Took me an hour and some internet surfing to work out how to change down a gear. The lever for up changing sits nicely under the brake lever.....there is only one for each gear and they only go one way. So after that I was stuck. Eventually I worked out the brake lever itself is the change down lever , you just push it to the side. Those wee lads at Shimano are as bright as wee buttons.

Saddle actually felt OK although fitting it to the seat post was very fiddly along with taping the handlebars. The internet world of HOW DO YOU do that again filling the gap in my knowledge.

I got a free bike speedo/computer thing as compensation for my long wait...which when I took it for a quick run showed me flying at over 40kmph.....unfortunately I've not become Jacques Anquetil(personal life excepted).

Reality intervenes and I realise the computer needed calibrating based on my wheel size. So after I inspected my powerful thighs and fixed the computer it was too dark to try it further...I'll sleep tonight dreaming of being the first 42 year old Tour de France debutant.

The Thick Thick Air

Late start to first run of the week. I'm out and away with 18km ahead, a long run test just to see how the last week has affected my fitness levels. I was expecting a positive effect of having been at least 1400m for the last week and now being down at 90m among the thick air.

First 4K went by in a flash, probably the best start I've had. I felt great and really fresh despite not having ate much today. Up over the big Hedgehog hill without too much huffing and puffing....fantastic.

At the 11k mark and I'm at 52 minutes. Its starting to get a bit cold and the wind is now into my face for the run back. Along the main N5 and the runners high kicks in about the 1hr 10 mins mark...soon blown away with the cold wind.

I finish in 1hr 30m 22secs. This includes messing about with my MP3 player and my laces on the way round...Its good to be back. The double positive whammy of thick Belgian air and my boosted red blood cells from a week in the mountains was definately evident...Unfortunately it won't last....

Winter Training week

Ski week meant reduced opportunities for specific triathlon training activity. I did manage to fit in 3 shifts at the gym. 20km on mountain mode in 1 hour . a second 25km flat road in 50 minutes and then a 10km early morning sprint. All with weights sessions to follow although post 10km it was just 60 abdominal crunches with a 30kg of weight as I’d somehow strained a stomach muscle. Probably while eating afternoon tea.

Ski week was good and air was thin at 1400m, first gym session was especially difficult and involved a minor faint mid way through although I was so dizzy that just keeping upright was a major achievement. It was a busy week and lots of our Dutch cousins had made the journey to the snowy but sunny Austrian Alps. This enabled their smoking and queue barging to be shared equally across the European highlands.

I did notice on this trip that ski-ing is now attracting lets say a fuller figured crowd. It used to be the preserve of reasonably fit folk but I saw quite a few bloaters up blocking the light and flattening out the bumps on the slopes. It’s a little disconcerting to see Snow Kitten on the back of a snow suit that has what could pass for a Giant Panda inside. The guys designing it must have been pissing themselves as they sent out a size 20 snow suit with Snow Kitten on the back. Although given how much I ate during the week maybe they had just been there a week or two longer than me….I ended the week at a rather rotund 74.8kg….. up 0.8kg

The bike was allegedly shipped on Thursday last week so I expect delivery between today and Wednesday. I still need to get pedals and shoes. I also need to book my flight back for Alloa half marathon on 22^nd March but Ryanscare flights are cheap although with no Saturday flight available. As long as I can avoid using the toilet it should not be too expensive a flight. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20090227/tod-oukoe-uk-ryanair-toilet-d987f7f.html

Training plan for this week is running……