2010 - The year so far....

Hey everyone,

Sorry if I've surprised you by dusting off the old blog magic, but I've finally got my act back in order and wished to bring you all up to speed on whats been going on in 'Sparky World'.

I can't believe that my last post was in December 2009. I knew it was a while ago but 3 months?!

So, I thought a Quarter 1 (Q1) summary would be pretty timely and hopefully interesting reading.

2010 is a really exciting year for me, due to the variety of goals, races and adventures I've got lined up.

After being totally focused on Ironman for the last few years, and then achieving that goal (twice) last year, I was keen to achieve some new goals this year. So, with no Ironman on the cards, I've lined up some different goals.

The main goal for Q1 was Eco-Trail de Paris. This is an extraordinary race held on the trails around Paris. I opted to go for the 80km Ultra distance, by far the longest foot race I've ever done.

The run focus really started in November and continued all the way through to the race on 20 March. It was tough to miss out on the swim & bike work, but there was just no way I could have developed the run volume whilst trying to fit in the other disciplines.

Firstly, I signed-up to the Endurance Life Coastal Trail Series event, a great series of trail races held on the south-west coast of the UK. This meant I had a trail marathon booked in for every 4 weeks from December onwards. Due to the off-road nature of these races, its near impossible to get the distance spot-on, so if they're in doubt they go longer!

Two of the three races I did came in at 28 miles, on some seriously challenging terrain. As tough as they were, they were perfect training for Eco-Trail, and knocking out 4 marathons in 10 weeks was a big factor in me hitting the cumulative volume target.

Eco-Trail on 20 March was an experience I'll never forget. It was pretty mind-blowing stuff both during and since the race. I remember when my friend Ian did the race last year, I couldn't comprehend running for 9 hours, it just seemed insane!

So to be lining up at the race this year with an aim to come in at under 10 hours is clearly an indication of my insanity!

I won't bore you with all the details, but in summary, I was really pleased with my race. I held a consistent pace throughout and was pleased with how I managed myself. Of course, it hurt like hell. 5000ft of climbing can do that to your legs.

The finish is on the 1st floor of the Eiffel Tower which is just a mind-blowing end to such an incredible experience. Maybe it was because I was so exhausted that it just made the whole experience kind of surreal but I know the memory will live with me for a long, long time.

With my Q1 goal achieved, I took the liberty of booking some much need vacation time and headed up to the Amalfi Coast in Italy. I had a wonderful time in an incredible part of the world. Doing absolutely nothing for 8 days was bliss, which just told me how much I needed the rest, as I'm using raring to go with 3-4 days.

I literally couldn't stay awake for the first few days and it was only the legendary Italian espressos which get me going!

I've got a few more points I'd like to share with you all over the coming days and weeks but will leave here for now as I've already gone on for too long.

Quarter 2 is already lining up to be a corker - so I can't wait to share some more tales and adventures with you all.

I've just to make sure I post more often!

Speak soon,

M.

2009 - Job done

Surprise!

Its been too long, where have you all been, what have been upto?

Oh, thats right, this my blog and its my job to tell you guys what I've been upto etc, etc.

The fact that I'm sending out my first post in months is indicative of a few things.

Firstly, that I've got a bit of time on my hands. Not loads mind you, but enough to squeeze out a few lines.

Secondly, I've got the mental energy & appetite for wishing to share my thoughts & feelings. This hasn't been the case for a while.

Thirdly, its almost the end of what has been an incredible year for me and I wished to lay out a record (for my own memories) of the last 12 months.

Fourthly, it was a deal I struck with myself during last weekends trail marathon.

So, in fact, this post is more for my own selfish reasons than any 'social' reasons. That in itself is quite apt as that has been the story of the year for me, i.e pursuing my own personal ambitions at the expense of wider social 'benefits'.

Ok, enough rambling, lets get on with it.

2009 was a huge year for me.

I set out at the start of the year with ambitions, goals and dreams. I am immensely proud that all of these have been achieved, met and exceeded.

I have become a multiple Ironman, I have become an ultra runner, I have met and spent time with some great, inspirational like-minded people, turning acquaintances into friends and I have gained the respect of people of whom I respect greatly.

Have I enjoyed myself?

Absolutely.

Has it been challenging?

Very, the sacrifices one has to make can sometimes become too much but the rewards do make them worthwhile.

Highlights?

Becoming an iron-distance athlete at Roth. An amazing experience, an incredible race, memories which will last a lifetime.

Developing a great, new network of friends within the 'endurance community'.

Being in some really low places but keeping going and coming out the other end a better man.

Lowlights?

Not many but there were times when all I wanted to do was ride with my mates but I had to go and do 5 or 6 hours on my own.

Having to miss Neil Young in Hyde Park because I couldn't miss my last big ride pre-Roth.

OK, thats the Q&A over with!

In summary, the most pleasing result for me has been my own personal development in terms of strength of character.

They say sport doesn't build character, it reveals it.

I couldn't agree more. So what have I revealed this year?

I feel I've revealed that I'm a fighter.

Not in the 'Mike Tyson' aggressive, smack it up sense. But in the 'Rocky Balboa' sense, ie I keep getting up and keep going even when I'm hurting more than I can describe in words.

In the past I have been plagued with self-doubt at crucial times. This year I fought through those personal demons & feel a different man for doing so.

I have beaten myself up for being 'a quitter' - not seeing things through to the end. This year, I did see everything through, I didn't quit even when the inner voices were screaming at me to stop or to walk, I didn't. I ran every metre of both of Ironman marathons. That means more to me than than the medal, t-shirt etc.

Never the most naturally talented of sportsman, I do feel that I am making the most of what I have.

That, my friends, is the most fulfilling achievement for me.

Before I go, I do want to send out some thanks to a few people:

Ian - my coach - the man with the plan.

John & Jono - my mates - thanks for the banter.

Clif Bar Dave - supplier of the finest sports nutrition / life-saving fuel on countless occasions.

Eve & Ant @ Skinfit - for supplying the best kit going.

Cheers everyone, I'll aim to post again before the year-end with some musings about 2010 plans.

Best,

Sparky

Catching up

Hello, remember me? I know its been ages since we spoke but I hope we can pick up where we left off....

I'll try and wrap up the last few weeks into a reasonably concise post but can't promise.

In summary (good idea!) its been a solid few weeks. Getting back into consistent training has been great, albeit a shock to the washing machine!

I've been pleased with the training - particularly the bike. My plan for getting to Barcelona was to focus on the bike, developing more power, enabling me to get off the bike in better shape than Roth and therefore able to run closer to my potential. During the week, a fantastic article hit my in-box which summarised perfectly what my thinking is for Barcelona - here you go.

So, one superb bike fit session, some new bars & stem and some consistently decent rides and I'm feeling like its coming together. Ironically, the run hasn't kept up the pace (literally) but I'm confident that with more focus that this will come good.

Swim-wise, its feeling better. The new suit feels good, a session with the swim team helped me get back to focusing on a long, smooth stroke and my times vs. effort in the 50m pool are improving.

In fact, as I've been so "in the moment" and just focusing on hitting the plan, it hasn't really sunk in that I've got my second iron-distance race in only six weeks. This is a total contrast to Roth, where I was literally counting down the days & weeks and correspondingly topping-up the pressure cooker.

My whole attitude to Barcelona is different. I'm seeing it as a great opportunity to test out my development in a non-pressure environment. Roth was all about getting an iron-distance race under my belt, Barcelona is all about enjoying putting my training and training theories to test.

One of those training theories is training with power. I've been doing a lot of reading and speaking to some valid sources about adding power to my training tool-kit. This week I managed to borrow a Powertap from a local bike shop and took it on my Saturday ride. I rode the same course as last week, a pretty tough 57 miles over the North Cotswolds. There is plenty of climbing involved, and this is where I found the power data to be very useful. As I hit the gradients, you could see the numbers shoot up and knowing that I wouldn't be able to sustain that kind of output, I backed off the pedals. Using the gearing to hold the wattage at a sustainable level I climbed in far more-balanced way than my usual "crash & burn" way.

The end result of this was - a) I didn't go pop, ie hit max HR! which enabled b) a far more balanced ride which felt much more comfortable than the previous week and left me in a much better position to be able to run off the bike (if I needed to).

The total ride time was equal to the previous week, but with a lower average HR and definitely a lower RPE, and I was really pleased with how much more "intelligently" I rode.

The next challenge is to figure out how I'm going to be able to afford to buy one - which is a fiscal endurance challenge in itself!

Speak soon amigos,

Sparky