Preparations for Annecy 2012

I've received my instructions for the Lake Annecy Training Camp 2012.  I loved it last year, I had never done anything like it in my life and came back so much fitter and stronger than before.  If I'm ever going to step my distance up and be a half-iron athlete like I want to be, I'm going to have to get to grips with this sort of training.

"Pain is temporary.  It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place.  If I quit, however, it lasts forever."  Lance Armstrong

We're due to arrive in Annecy about 11.00 am. It will be a quick turnaround of sorting kit out and then down to the lake for a quick swim.  The daily timetable will cater for 2 groups.  Group 1 will be aiming to do 100 miles a day, group 2 around 60-70 miles per day.  Last year I started in Group 2 for the first 3 days.  On day 1 I was dead on my feet, I was literally draped over the handlebars of the bike and dreamt about getting off.  I vowed never to get back on a bike again....well at least until day 2.  Day 2 seemed a bit easier and by day 3 I had got into my rhythym so day 4 saw me step up to Group 1 with the big boys!!! I will never forget that day because I was so incredibly nervous, I didn't want to ruin anyone's ride and yet on the big climb of the day (Signal De Bisane) I was the third person up! I had chicked everyone bar Hywel (double Ironman champ) and Greg (ex-pro cyclist!).  A lucky day? Perhaps not because the same happened on another climb.  On the flats and descents I haven't got a hope in hell of keeping up, but there's something that little bit different about climbing.  I'm just hoping I can rekindle that sort of form this year now that the bar's been set!

Overtaking the first of many men!

Annecy training camp gives a great chance to practice race day techniques. Last year we practiced sighting, drafting, sprint start fighting and intervals at race pace. We swam for at least an hour a day and then headed back for breakfast. I found it hard eating enough after a 1000 calorie swim.  Days 1 and 2 I didn’t fuel up or hydrate enough.  I won’t be making that same mistake again!

Fuelling Up!

The climbs are what makes Annecy famous. Whilst we are there this year, we need to make the most of them. We can ride on flat roads anywhere in the world, but the epic climbs are there to be used. We've been told not to be surprised if some climbs are included just for the sake of it. The challenge is to complete the climbs at our own pace, not just get home as quickly as possible. When starting a climb last year I got so sunburnt, my skin was burnt to a crisp!!! But......by the time I got to the top of the climb hours later we were having snowball fights and I was freezing my ass off! I have never known anything like it!

At the top of Signal de Bisane

Dealing with long climbs

• Be prepared for at least an hour of climing
• Try to stay in the same gear but alternate position
• Think that the steeper the climb, the faster you gain altitude
• Look around and enjoy the sights
• Climbing is all about finding a rhythm, so don’t try too hard too early
• Keep drinking water, try to fill up at the base of the climb if you can
• Nothing is too steep to climb,  you will make it
• Try to base your climbing on 4, 5, 6 or 7 minute kilometers
• Put a jacket on as soon as you reach the top and remember to rehyd rate
• Enjoy them, that’s why we are there

The Classic Climbs

Col de La Forclaz - 8k - 1150m - Average Gradient 9% - Difficulty ****

Le Semnoz - 16km - 1700m - Average Gradient 8.5% - Difficulty *****

Signal De Bisane - 15km - 1938m - Average Gradient 9% - Difficulty *****

Col De La Croix Fry - 14km - 1477m - Average Gradient 8% - Difficulty ***

Col De La Colombiere - 11km - 1668m - Average Gradient 6% - Difficulty ***

Cormet de Roseland - 22km - 1986m - Average Gradient 7.8% - Difficulty *****

Col Des Aravis - 12km - 1455m - Average Gradient 8% - Difficulty ****

Col De Saisies - 15km - 1655m - Average Gradient 8.5% - Difficulty ****

With 5 days to go until we're off for the 2012 camp, to say I'm excited would be an understatement! The banter has already started with Hywel writing odds for everyone to be "King of the Mountains".  A surprise package last year, Sam has been applying sunblock through the winter in order to prevent a repeat of last year's debarcle. The Jewson Jewel will be tough to beat. Already proven this season that she can climb hills, its going to be interesting to see who can hold her off. I'm the only girl going this year, let's hope I can show the men how it's done! 



Last year's sun burn!!!



Grendon

Grendon Triathlon

13^th May 2012

I was really excited about racing at Grendon; the first of three European Qualification races.  It would be the first time I had raced most of the GB athletes since Israel and I was keen to show that my performance there wasn’t just a one off.  With the 3 Brits who beat me in Eilat not racing, I was confident I would win my age group and put my mark down as one to watch.  That was until Thursday when I was struck down with some horrendous bug that left me being sick all day and night and continued all day and night on Friday, until I woke up on Saturday morning feeling weak, drained, about 4 stone lighter...and still feeling sick! It was hit and miss whether I would race on the Sunday as I knew I had lost a lot of strength – and also didn’t know if I could get through the race without throwing up! That said, I wanted to book my place in the GB Team for the European Championships next year so decided I would go and, provided I wasn’t about to pass out on the start line, I would just try and come in the top 4 in my age group.

I saw lots of old and new faces.  Some had done the whole GB Age Group thing lots of times before, some were completely new and trying to qualify for the first time.  The water wasn’t too cold for the start of the race and the sun had come out.  I had a surprisingly good swim considering how I felt, I managed to draft effectively until the first buoy, then I lost the lead pack but held my own and came out the water in 10^th place, about 30 seconds down on the lead pack but 30 seconds ahead of the next girl.

I struggled terribly on the bike.  Girls that I usually put 2 minutes into over a 10 mile TT ended up getting faster bike splits than me.  I had a gel strapped to the bike but daren’t take it in case it came straight back up again.  I didn’t dare to have a drink either.  I felt tired and even the smallest of gears felt like hard work.  I dug in on the bike because I knew the run would be horrendous.  When I came back into T2 I had no idea that I had actually moved up into fifth place overall and was winning my age group!

Sure enough the run was terrible.  My running has gone to pot over the last 6 weeks anyway but trying to run with severe stomach cramps when all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball was something else! It was really a case of mind over matter! The dog legs in the course meant I could see who was ahead and who was behind, and the girls behind were really closing me down! With just over a kilometre to go I got overtaken by a girl in my age group but my fighting spirit had gone and it was more a case of getting over the line in one piece! A fellow age-grouper Kat had also been worse for wear in the week and I saw her spewing on the side of the road on the run.  At least I wasn’t feeling as bad as her! I felt so sorry for her as she had obviously gone with the same mindset as me.

I crossed the line second in my age group, 11^th overall.  There was really no point analysing the results or my race as I had gone to get my slot for Turkey and had achieved what I’d set out to do.  Now it’s time to get back to base.  Training has been hit and miss since Israel and I had lost a lot of mojo and confidence.  With summer approaching and big races to impress in, I need to get the miles to get the results I so want to get.

Hopefully I'll book my slot to Turkey in the Standard Distance too.  There's no more sprint races for me on my agenda.....here's to my next challenges!

Out of sync

I've noticed in the last few weeks that my mind and body have been out of sync.  When my mind is healthy and I've got training mojo coming out of my ears, my body is ill or run down:  Like right now for example; I'm curled up on the sofa feeling as sick as a parrot but all I can think about is how annoyed I am that I've missed this afternoon's run session and that I'm never going to get fitter unless I get the training in. Or alternatively, when I'm feeling down and have no drive or mojo whatsoever, my body is perfectly healthy and fit enough to train.  I think I experienced a bit of a come down after Israel; I'd put so much effort and hype into training for that particular race, that now that it's over, I feel like hanging my running trainers up for the rest of the season.

The bank holiday weekend wasn't as successful as I'd hoped either.  I raced at the Diana Cooke Memorial on Saturday (a 10 mile TT on a slow course) and came 5th out of a field of 40 riders.  Considering most of these riders are pure cyclists, and considering it was my first 10 TT of the season and I won £23 you think I'd be over the moon.....but I wasn't. 

It's hard to put my finger on why. Perhaps I was aiming for a quicker time, or to finish higher up. My brother-in-law told me a quote the other day...."better never stops" and it got me thinking - athletes train so hard and aim so high but even when they get to where they want to be, suddenly the boundary moves and the bar is raised and the challenge to improve starts all over again.

The day after the TT, I raced at The 3 Spires Sprint Triathlon.  This is a great local event that I'd done 3 times before and feeling much fitter and stronger than last time I went with the aim of smashing my previous results.  However, half way into the bike leg I went to take a right turn at a roundabout and (going at some speed) went straight over some diesel on the road that had been leaked from a tractor.  My bike flew into the air and I landed quite heavily on the road; along with 8 other riders.  My rear light smashed to pieces and my legs and arms were cut to shreds but apart from that I was OK and so were the other riders.  After seeing what was what, one of the guys told me to carry on so I leapt back on my bike, finished the bike route and the 5k run and then felt instantly down.  Despite still winning the female race by 6 minutes I was disappointed that I hadn't beaten my previous time - although I'm not quite sure what I expected after a fall like that?!  I was pleased that I'd got on and finished what I started but because the race hadn't gone to plan I found it hard to take the positives.  My cuts and bruises also meant that I missed the Mallory Park Tri the next day, which is really such an insignificant thing considering how much worse our injuries could have been.

Reflecting on the weekend got me thinking about what I love about my sport.  I love training - but when it's for me and not for getting results.  I love racing - but need to learn how to take the positives from every race.  I love new challenges - which is why I'm stepping my distances up after this weekend. Reflecting on this weekend also got me thinking about the perfectionist nature of many athletes and how depression in athletes is far more common than people realise.  If 1 in 4 people suffer from poor mental health that means there must be about 38 people in my triathlon club who are suffering from it.  Yet no-one would know who they are because they smile and they're quite often chirpy and they only show you the side of themselves that they want you to see. I did a bit of research on famous athletes that suffer from depression and a long list of hits came up like Frank Bruno, Stan Collymore, Freddie Flintoff, Vinnie Jones, Ricky Hatton etc.  Our triathlon club are this year supporting MIND as one of our charities; a great charity with a great cause - and more importantly to me, a cause that is fighting the stigma associated around mental health.  Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it isn't there. 

We hope to raise awareness of depression and mental health issues not just in the general public, but amongst fellow athletes too.  After all, sports often attract energetic high fliers with a passion to achieve great things, such people are more prone to the onset of depression.  Please find below some common signs of depression that may be useful for anyone who is touched by this blog and if you're running from something (and I don't just mean T2), maybe it's time to ask for some help and support; you're not alone.