Author Archives: rosemarybyde
Haglöfs Open 5 South Downs
Lucy and I had a plan. A plan to race the Open 5s together. Until last Wednesday that wasn’t going to start until January though. I was going to do the South Downs Open 5 solo as a warm up (against my better judgement about the practicalities of travel to these far flung locations). Lucy decided to come last minute – and suddenly I was pairing up!
After a ‘slightly arduous’ train journey to Leeds on Friday afternoon, I met up with Dawn and Tom and we set off for Liphook. A smooth run through and we ready for a nice ride round the area on Saturday morning.
Well, two of us were ready and one of us (Tom) wanted to sleep in and needed encouragement to come out and play! Then one of us (me) decided to pop into Liphook Cycles to get some new cleats (my foot kept flying off the pedal). I’m glad Dawn told me to change them right away – as it was practically impossible! After much drilling, rummaging in boxes for shoe plates and tutting at the state of my old bolts, the new cleats were safely installed by the mechanic. I thought for a moment I was going to have to buy new shoes on the spot! Many thanks to the guys in the shop who helped me out :-).
Finally we were on our way. We started with a nice pootle along a bridleway which was promising in parts, but interrupted by sticky mud holes. This was followed by a lovely ride up the only hill we could find. Even Tom was heard to say “it isn’t much of a hill”, though you wouldn’t know it from the complaints that followed later! Highlight of the ride were the Belted Galloway cattle, christened ‘pandas’ by Tom.
Race day was bright and cold. It was exciting to be racing as a pair. Number 1s on our bikes and legs. A good omen?
I went through my usual planning routine for the bike, with Lucy breaking from her traditions to do it with me! I wanted to look carefully as the map was covered in different rights of ways and not-rights of ways. Lucy did most of the run route planning and we were ready to go.
Planning, my style
We ran first – I prefer it this way though Lucy normally goes the other way round. With five more races to go there’s time to experiment. Straight out from the start we were sprinting! Yikes, I was thinking I wasn’t sure I could keep this pace up … then we promptly got lost!
Who has done / said these things before?
- Maybe that path just isn’t on the map?
- The fences must be different now.
- What we see doesn’t fit where we think we are. Let’s just ignore it!
- I think my compass isn’t working properly.
- If we just run up here maybe it will all be alright …
After narrowly avoiding getting sucked into ‘crowd indecision’ with everyone else who was lost, we nipped through a gap in the trees marked ‘serpent trail’. I knew it should go past one of the controls eventually, as we had ridden some sections of it the day before. Then we were saved! An info board! With a map and a ‘you are here’ arrow! As Andy will tell you, I love info boards and have never loved one as much as this.
After a 20 minute / 2.5km detour we were on our way again and Lucy navigated the rest of the run faultlessly. I huffed and puffed behind her and felt guilty for asking her to slow down sometimes to let me drink / eat / breathe. I did well at being trusting as I never looked at the map once we got moving, though I didn’t have time to anyway!
We timed arrival into transition perfectly – we left after exactly 2 hours and started bombing it along a road. My legs felt the run in them when we hit the first hill, but I soon recovered. I loved going up Blackdown hill on the firm trails and racing down a fast descent. The rest of the ride was nearly all on road, punctuated with little off-road forays. This suits me from a race point of view, though it can be less interesting.
We finished the riding on a similar note to the way we started the run – with a mistake! I was looking after bike map reading. We wanted to squeeze in an extra 15 pointer and get ourselves over 500. We were also lured by the control location … ‘Titty Hill’. Unfortunately, I under-estimated the distance to get this and get back. On reflection, my route choice between the last 5 controls was also sub-optimal by about 3km.
How is Lucy smiling?! I feel sick!
We ran out of time 3.5km from the finish, just after we had been reduced to pushing our bikes up a road bit of hill. I had missed the fact we were on the Roman Road, and couldn’t savour riding through ‘Shufflesheeps’. My legs were empty, I felt a bit sick and I longed for the finish line. I told myself since giving up is never an option, the only thing for it was to turn off the brain, urge Lucy on and get us up to the end as soon as possible.
Glasses all steamed up and still not recovered!
I was grimacing as we approached the finish banner and was glad it was over! 14:25 late = 45 penalty points giving us 465 overall. Slightly disappointing. However, with two significant errors it wasn’t so bad … and you never know how anyone else’s race has gone until you get the results. So we were delighted to find we had won the female pairs category. A lovely purple Haglöfs fleece in the prize bag made my day. I even found energy to help push the car back onto the road for a bump start when we found it with a flat battery :D.
I feel like we have room to improve and could get stronger as a pair than we were solo. All fired up for next time now! Scarborough, January 2013 – the date’s in my diary!
Here is Lucy’s report.
And the full results.
Kendal Mountain Festival Trail Run
Andy has a new-found love of both running and adventures in the hills. This had lead him to enter the Kendal Mountain Festival trail run, organised by our friends at Open Adventure. At first I was just going to watch – I have had an iffy knee since the Terrex. But then I decided that because any running I have done has made the knee no worse, I’d rather take part than travel all the way to Kendal to hang around watching!
After an early start, our train from Manchester arrived 5 minutes late. Doesn’t sound like much, but we were cutting it fine anyway! We had to run quite fast to the registration point, with me navigating from a map in my head that I had tried to memorize the previous night. No worries, we got to the back of the queue before 10:30 – though not the front!
Me on the top of the hill having fun!
Then Andy wanted to ‘warm up’. I stood near the start watching him do his stuff looking pro in a proper running vest from his new club. He said: “If only you could see what was happening to your VO2 right now”. I said: “Running around now just means less energy for the race”! 😀
The crowd seemed reluctant to move to the start area, so I positioned myself on the second line. I wasn’t going to begin at a disadvantage! The route was flat for a few km, but muddy with pungent smells wafting over from the fields. A couple of girls came past who I tried to hang on to, but in the end this race was just for fun and I wasn’t motivated to kill myself too much! I decided to wait for the hill.
Turns out that sneaky Andy was also tucked in just behind me. I have a general ‘don’t look back’ policy (if someone in front of me looks back, I know they are worried and it spurs me on), so never knew it. He was thinking about flying past but was biding his time … too late! As soon as we started going uphill I dropped him – ha ha!
The weather was gorgeous and sunny. I thanked the marshals, checked the views and told myself I wasn’t going to walk a single step, no matter how steep the last little bit of hill got! I could still see a couple of girls just in front, but I wasn’t making any ground even on the ups, so I left them too it. On a very slippery bit of descent my shoes had zero grip in the mud and I found myself on the floor. No damage done, though just then another girl came past! I urged her to catch the next one as we hit the road. The sole of my shoe is falling off and I keep delaying getting new ones (so expensive and they don’t even seem to last 6 months). It slapped on the road as I ran.
Andy … taking it more seriously. Or is he just more cool than me?!
More fields, more mud, back under the railway and suddenly rounding the last bend to the finish gantry. Hurrah! Andy came in 5 minutes later – a massive improvement on his previous off-road ventures. It was a moderately hilly and very muddy 9.8km. I was 6th female in 51:55. My knee complained a bit but felt better afterwards. The only trouble with doing events like this is that my legs get so stiff and sore the next day! Maybe 30 minutes a week run training just doesn’t cut it.
The day was rounded out with a visit to the Quaker Tapestry veggie cafe for lunch and a wander round the shops. We bought homemade marmalade and lime curd from the market, spinach and feta bread from an enthusiastic Italian and VPud from Booths for Andy (he just can’t resist). There was still time for a sojourn to the Chocolate House for some fine hot chocolate, cake and a bar of my favourite chocolate that my local stockist has dropped (I can’t have been buying enough). We finished with a trip up to Kendal Castle before our train home.
All in all, a fun day!
Triathlete’s swimming gala
When I got the email sent round the club’s triathlon section advertising a fun swimming gala, I thought “why not?”. It was at the newly refurbished Commonwealth Pool, with loads of races to choose from. Only triathlon clubs were invited, and I reckoned my swimming could stand up to the competition. It couldn’t be as bad as trying to swim in a lane next to those 15 year olds at their club sessions. When I arrived it was all a bit chaotic, which lead to a logistical boo-boo on my part! More on that later …
I was already signed up for the 200m freestyle and got myself into one of the club’s 4x100m relay teams. I like everything except backstroke, but my favourite is breaststroke. So I decided to also do the 100m breaststroke, the 4x25m IM (Individual Medley –one length of everything) and the butterfly leg of a 4x50m relay.
In preparation for the race, I had dug out a tight fitting non-saggy costume. The only one I could find was from way back when I was at Bristol University for a year, but it was the best I had! I also had the shiny brand new goggles I won at the Snowman. I was ready.
Warm up:
We had about 5 minutes. I tried diving from the wall. All went well, goggles stayed on. Then I contemplated the diving blocks. Wow, they looked high! I gave it a go and got a major adrenaline rush! Goggles still on, me still in one piece. The only difficulty was judging my depth as we were in the diving bay – deep enough for a 10m high board!
Race 1: 200m freestyle
Won my wave in a time of 2:39:00. Awesome! Didn’t know I could still go that fast!
Race 2: 4x100m freestyle relay
I was on last leg. There was a girl just ahead in the next lane. I wanted to beat her. I was catching up. My style was out of control. I nearly killed myself. She just held it on the touch. I was very wibbly wobbly and had trouble breathing and walking.
Race 3: 100m breaststroke
Should have been my best race but I was not feeling recovered from the last one. Did a time of 1:34:26. Well off my pb from 15 years ago, but not too bad!
Race 4: 100m Individual Medley (IM)
Oops! I was out of the water from the breaststroke and straight back onto the blocks for the IM! No rest at all, except what I could muster from dawdling out of the water. I did actually realise this mistake before we started, but Chris wouldn’t let me change. He said as a Celtman veteran, this should be easy peasy for me. Afterwards someone said my lips were the same colour as my hat (blue). I was a bit tingly. 1:26:21.
Race 5: 4x50m Medley relay – Butterfly leg
I just tried to hold my own, I can’t even remember where we finished!
Race 6: 4x50m T-shirt relay
Yes, we had to swim in a t-shirt. There was only one per team. Changeovers between team members were done on the poolside at high speed. We had a system. We won!
And then it was off to Hemma for a buffet, chat and celebrations. ERC won the gala by sheer weight of numbers, but I think a good time was had by all!
Haglöfs Open5 Series – Pentland Hills (Course Planner!)
The first round in the Haglöfs Open 5 series for 2012/2013 was on my home ground in the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh. For once I was not competing, but had spent 11 months planning the event.
The Pentland Hills, looking good
I was delighted last year to be invited to plan the first Open 5 course north of the border in Scotland. I was excited but also knew I had standards to maintain – expectations from competitors and Open Adventure would be high! The part of event planning I really wanted to do was the maps. By the time the event morning dawned bright and crisp, they were burnt onto my brain! The Pentland Hills have an amazing network of paths and tracks. Unfortunately, a lot of them aren’t shown on the Ordnance Survey maps, and even the 1:50k and 1:25k versions are not consistent. So one big job was to get out onto the hills and get gps traces ready for uploading. This translated into a lot of late nights fine tuning the map. I was really getting into the detail, but knew it was needed.
Spot Tom approaching a control by a difficult route!
Something I really enjoyed was getting out on foot much more than I would normally. The planner guidelines instructed me to be adventurous with control placements on the run, so I was busy exploring off-piste options; I had fun finding a little tree in a gully, a stake on a rather steep hill at the base of a crag, and a dilapidated stile in a wooded valley with an innocent looking little bog of doom at the top (I know this caught at least one person out!).
On Saturday we had to place all the controls. Luckily we got a sunny day for the job. I was a little surprised to be sent out on foot – though at least I had come prepared with my trainers! My ‘little’ loop took longer than expected as I dawdled a bit enjoying the views, making sure the controls were really firmly attached and triple-checking I had put the right one in the right location… Then there was a short but surprisingly muddy bike loop, and a second run to double check a couple of placements. We moved both of them a few metres, so it was worth it! I felt reassured that the trio who went out on their bikes and did a route including the ‘infamous’ number 20 (only visited by two teams in the race) said they had a fantastic ride. All that was left to do was wait. The maps were printed, the control descriptions were ready and 31 little boxes were sitting out on the hills…
It was a VERY early start! We went up to Bonaly Primary School to get set up. I had sore legs from the previous day’s exertions (though that dodgy knee was OK). How odd to be there starting a race day like that!
Eek, they’re all looking at my course!
As people started arriving I was getting nervous. Looking round the room there were so many top racers who had made the trip up, and I couldn’t believe they were all going out on my course … would it be up to scratch? One of the challenges in planning an event like this is to design something that is almost (but not quite) clearable by the very best, but still fun with plenty of route options for total beginners and everyone in between.
Other considerations include making sure that the course is still interesting with good options in bad weather, it uses interesting trails, it is off-road as much as possible and that control placement and values and mapping of tracks discourages use of the boggier routes. The sort of strategic challenge I enjoy!
I had a flurry of questions about the map (the favourite was one about whether a certain ‘footpath’ was out of bounds – yes, because it was actually a power line!). I also loved seeing so many new people who looked excited at the prospect of heading out in the sunshine.
The girder control, views across Edinburgh and the Forth.
Once the last racers had left the hall to get started, I wandered outside to cheer people off and chat to the marshals. We had to make a late decision to use the school playground as the start / finish / transition area. Not the normal scenic field, but it was quite funky and people liked it being close and not muddy! The hopscotch funnel into the transition / finish area was an optional challenge (sadly worth zero extra points).
Waiting for the first people into transition was more exciting than I expected. Seeing competitors come and go with various tales (spoken and unspoken!) of fun, mud, exertion and adventure was rewarding. I was anxiously waiting for the racers we thought would be at the top end of the field to come in. I was under no illusions that if I had got it right, no-one should clear the course! Had I made it hard enough? They started coming in from the running after 1h45m – I thought that would be enough that they wouldn’t clear the bike course and started to relax a bit.
Later, I was looking after the finishing control box, with Lisa giving me ‘feedback’ when I forgot my lines 😀 (“Well done, did you enjoy it? Please download in the hall as soon as you can!”). I got a bit over-excited and nearly tripped over the gantry several times, narrowly avoiding injury.
Even round-the-world cyclists can look a bit tired at the end of an Open 5
In the final analysis, the highest scorer (Kim Collison) got 570 out of a total 600 – perfect! I also got some fantastic positive feedback on the course design and the weather (for which I take all personal credit).
I was proud that people who had travelled to compete had been treated to a great showcase of what my area can offer. Plenty of local people also turned out – some experienced adventure racers, some new to the whole thing.
Special mention to Anna Sloan who topped the female solos after losing her partner at the last minute. Also to our celebrity, Mark Beaumont who was 3rd in Male pairs!
On reflection, all the hard work was worth it. Next time round I will be back to racing though!
Results:
Full results are here.
Blogs:
Andy was supporting and dog-sitting. Here’s his blip.
And here’s a view from a competitor – Dawn’s blog.
Pictures:
Official ones from James Kirby.
And some from Andy Kirkland.
Snowman Triathlon
Back to Wales again to finish off the Always Aim High triathlon series. I entered the Slateman back in May as warm-up training for the Celtman. But I did better than expected, so thought why not enter the series, as there was a great prize on offer! I knew that the Sandman would be a challenge, only three weeks after the 5-day Terrex expedition race. And so it proved, but not only because of that – I also got a puncture which cost me many minutes. These things happen though, so I came into the Snowman with nothing to lose. But I wanted to still do well anyway, to make up for last time! 🙂
Properly rested and recovered from previous exertions, I had spent at least two or three weeks feeling human again. This was a good sign! Andy was also doing this race. The fell run at the end wasn’t going to play to his strengths, but he seemed set and it was nice to compete together for once. He was more nervous than I was though and got stressed about not having time at the start to get set up. Goodness knows what else he wanted to do though, as I was hanging around for a while!
Llyn Mymbyr at sunset the evening before when we registered
The swim was in Llyn Mymbyr. It was reportedly 11 degrees C. This didn’t worry me too much as my exploits with the Wild Ones had me splashing about in colder than that the week before, and this time we’d be racing. I was determined to actually push it hard on the swim for a change. It was chaos at the start, with bodies everywhere, people stopping to put goggles back on and arms and legs flailing. I did head up crawl for a while, negotiating a way through. I should have started nearer the front. Anyway, I eventually got moving and remembered to work hard. I couldn’t see too many people in front as I ‘landed’. I was 12th out overall and 3rd female.
My transition was OK. I cunningly left my toasty wetsuit all tangled up round my feet to warm them up a bit whilst I sorted out my top and helmet! Into the bike and I felt good. One thing I had worried about coming into this race was a persistent knee / sartorious muscle problem which came on a few weeks ago and wouldn’t clear up. It was complaining a bit on the bike, but was solved by switching to a lower gear and spinning away like mad. The course was short – only 31km with an easy gradient drag back up to the finish. I had a great ride and came into transition 1st female. My bike leg was also fastest female by some way – I only wish we had had to go round again! 😀
Zoom!
Next up was the fell run. I decided to take my poles with me, partly to protect my knee and ankles and partly because they might make me go faster. I am very used to them, so I felt comfortable. Plenty of people said they wish they’d had some! Up to the summit and I was still in first, but as I descended I saw several girls not far behind. Indeed, halfway down two of them (Sheona Schofield and Helen Pitt) came flying past. This was reflected in their final run times – they did the whole run 10-12 minutes faster than me! However, I held on for third and was delighted to stay on the podium.
Me coming into the last couple of km on fireroad
I ventured back up the course to cheer Andy on, madly ringing the cow bell my dad had acquired at every competitor. Just as we thought Andy might have got lost, he appeared with a smile on his face!
The men’s race saw the fell runners taking a big advantage too. We all spent longer running than we did cycling! It is nice that the series overall plays to different strengths in the different races – it makes the podium less predictable. In the prize bag I got a pair of my favourite goggles from Aquasphere and also some sunglasses from Scott. Nice!
Bethan, who won the Slateman and was second at Sandman put in a solid time and won the series.
Full results here and event report here.
Bad luck aside, I had a great time at these races. They were well organised and I was especially impressed with the course marking and strict transition entry / exit security checks. They are also set in some stunning locations. I haven’t decided on my final race plans for next year, but these will definitely be on the potential list.
Oh, and although my knee hurt on the way up the hill (as it had done on every practice run in the preceding weeks), 3 days later I still can’t feel a thing. It could be masked by the intense pain in my quads preventing me from getting down any steps. Or maybe an 8.5km mountain ascent and descent is the perfect cure?!
Polaris Challenge – Askrigg, Wensleydale
I had hardly had time to get over the disappointments of the Sandman before it was time for the next race. I had entered the Polaris Challenge a week later! I spent the week feeling tired and wondering why on earth I had signed up for this. By the time I got to 15:30 on Thursday afternoon I didn’t think I would make it through Friday and asked my boss for an ‘emergency day off’ (to be deducted from annual leave, of course!). He agreed – and what a good decision it was.
I relaxed on Thursday night, had a lie in on Friday, sorted out my packing without panicking and did a few chores before it was time to get the train. By then I was feeling much more positive and cheerful about the whole venture :-).
I entered the race as a female pair with Lucy Harris. Lucy and I spent the winter sparring over the Open 5 series, so we knew we ought to be well matched! This was a bit of an experiment to test that out and to see how we got on working with each other instead of the usual head to head.
By the time we had registered and got to Lucy’s friend’s very nearby house for the night, it was late. I wanted to examine maps, the others wanted to chat! I looked at the map anyway, after they had gone to bed, and felt better for it :-). The difference between this and an Open 5 is the size of the thing. 4x A4! It was also very pink, which suggested many contours.
The map
Me all cozy in sleeping bag in roomy tent!
This event had the option of an overnight camp at a remote location, which we took. It brought back many memories for me of my first ever adventure racing event. Myself and Robert got hopelessly stuck on ‘indistinct paths’ in a place named ‘Hannel Bog’. On day 1 we lost all our points for lateness, didn’t have much food and squeezed into a tiny tent for the night. This time it was going to be different!
For a start, I persuaded Lucy to let us take the really roomy tent at a 500g weight penalty, in exchange for leaving behind the big stove, my thermarest and some unnecessary extra food. The sun was shining; we set off in high spirits. As others passed us we carried on at our own pace, chatting away non-stop. I had a bad time between hours 4 and 5 but then got a new high, especially as we really started racing along about an hour from the end (7 hours in total).
At the camp location we were surprised to find that we were up near the two leading mixed pairs on points, and just in front of Iwona, who well and truly beat me last year in the solo category.
As the cold started to bite we dived into our toasty down sleeping bags well fed and happy. We chatted until ‘late’ – or so everyone commented the next day, but it was only about 10pm!
Day 2 started cold and misty. The atmosphere seemed different from the previous day, perhaps also because we thought we should take it seriously now. We got caught up with some people dithering over navigation and it was a distraction. Lucy was also not feeling as good as the day before. It turned out she had a bit of a cold coming on. But we got ourselves untangled and cleared our minds.
Our route seemed OK until we found ourselves bumping down a highly technical ‘byway’ = narrow, rocky, rooty, strewn with vicious stinging nettles! Then we emerged onto the road and followed an arrow for a ‘bridleway’ = overgrown and covered in those big leafy giant rhubarb like plants you get near water. We were heading for the ‘ford’ of which there was little sign. After considering turning round and going the long way round the road, I suggested we were here for the adventure and should go this way, even if no-one else clearly ever did. We eventually clambered out with very wet feet and big smiles (well, from me anyway!)
The stones were definitely NOT visible, and neither was the track clearly defined as it is in this shot!
© Copyright Gordon Hatton and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
The second half of the 5-hour day went well, and we were moving at a good speed similar to the day before. After an agonising debate on a final control (would penalties wipe out all 60 points it was worth?) we sped to the finish. We thought it had all gone OK. But straight after download we realised something was awry. Our Saturday score was 11th best, but on Sunday we were only 26th and about 100 points down! This was a bit of a low point. However, on reflection our route choice wasn’t daft – we just didn’t have quite enough oomph on the day to pull it off properly at the end. There were also one or two smart tweaks that would have saved us energy or got more points for effort earlier on.
These things can happen, but we were 17th overall and first female pair. More importantly, we did get on and we did have fun!
I also learnt what happens to Lucy when she gets a bit low on food. Some sort of mild mania sets in. We got back to the van to find two flat tyres. Lucy assured me this was normal and that she would fix it with her track pump. Whilst I was half naked in the back of the van trying to get changed, the pump broke and I could hear panic going on outside but could do nothing! As soon as I was decent, I hopped out and suggested using my trail pump. I got going and it was truly working (slowly) – though it felt faintly ridiculous pumping up a tyre with the weight of a van above with this:
Luckily a man came and helped us out with a proper compressor, and wasn’t until we had to try and negotiate incompetent reversers in the train station car park that the craziness set in again! 😉
Anglesey Sandman
Before I did the Sting in Stirling I decided to enter the Anglesey Sandman. It is part of a series of three which included the Slateman. Because I did so well in that race I thought I’d take the chance on being recovered enough to do this one and get a decent time for the series.
Three weeks after the Sting, I wasn’t really sure I was ready! I’d done what I could to recover, which meant generally eating and sleeping a lot. I’d also done a few gentle rides and short runs to get the legs moving again. I’d had a slight niggle at the back of my knee which I ignored as it seemed like something just settling down.
On the morning of the race the wind was up and it was raining. Usually I relish bad race day conditions, but today I wasn’t so certain! The swim was moved to be more sheltered but still, it was very big and bouncy. I had so much fun, I’d happily have just done the swim leg three times (despite an annoying leaky goggle). Unfortunately for me, the swim move meant an extra 1km run leg back to transition! I jogged through it and got my bike. I dithered about what to wear and in the end put on my long sleeve jersey.
Out on the bike and I was really enjoying it … for a while! I caught one or two girls, including Jen who had won this event last year. But then it started to hurt. Jen (who went on to finish 3rd) came back past me looking strong and jumped across to a group in front. I was left feeling the burn as we went up another short climb. I was still well in the mix, as I had just come past the girl who eventually came first with a storming run. I was hoping that it was only feeling tough because the conditions and course were tough – maybe everyone felt the same!
The bike route, lumpy elevation and my heart rate dropping as I fix the puncture, and rising as I pump it up! We had W / SW winds.
Then disaster struck. About 7km from the end of a 60km ride, I got a puncture. This has never happened to me on my road bike in a race before and I was momentarily stunned. I thought about riding back on the rim but that would have been nuts! So I stopped and set about fixing it. I was in driving rain and a strong crosswind on a nice exposed section at the time – of course! I’d never heard of magic hole sealing foam, and don’t carry CO2 canisters, so it was manual job. Wheel off, tyre out, found source of puncture (a small metal staple), new tube in and start pumping! I now know that the shiny mini pump that Andy got me as a present works a treat, but takes some effort. By this time I was starting to get cold – thank goodness I made the choice to put on a jersey.
I looked this bad and there were still about 4km left to go!
Apart from the time lost fixing the puncture, I lost a bit more as I set off with cold muscles and a little less motivation. I rolled into transition and started the run rather unenthusiastically. Luckily for me, partway round a girl from Chester Tri came past and she was just the right speed for me to sit in behind. I tried not to think about how much this was hurting. Eventually a marshal said ‘1km to go!’ (though I think this could have been a ‘marshals 1km’ 😉 ) and I put an extra effort in. But when we hit the choice of sand or stones on the beach my legs nearly packed up and I was in a sorry state at the end.
Those little niggles turned into enough pain that by the evening I couldn’t bend my knee and ice wasn’t helping. Although it got a lot better very quickly over the following week, I still felt quite down and very tired for several days. I think the effects of the Sting hadn’t quite worked themselves through!
If I hadn’t had to stop, who knows how the race would have gone for me. A good result and a positive mind can make you feel so very different (physically as well as mentally). But bad luck can happen to anyone and it was out of my control, so I have moved on quickly. The series isn’t realistic for me any more – though my dad keeps suggesting that you never know who might get attacked by a peacock on the bike course at the next race. Any potential Snowman competitors out there – you have been warned! 😀
Adidas Terrex Sting in Stirling – reports from the race
Last week I spent 5 days ‘holiday’ competing in a team of 4 at the Adidas Terrex Sting in Stirling. This is a non-stop 5 day adventure race. You can read all about it here.
During the race we had to do mandatory blogs … Well, we were told they were mandatory but not every team did them, and we almost missed one or two because we didn’t know when we were supposed to write! But I was very keen to fulfil my allotted role as team blogger, even when we were grumpy, ready to go, and had to wait 5 minutes for a computer to be turned on for us! I don’t know how the team let me get away with that one – thanks guys :-).
Our team were ‘AVT Asset Management’. Here’s our profile, some photos and links to our reports from the race. I don’t know how long this page will be up for though, so I have copied the content here too, for safe keeping :D. There’s also a few extra pictures in the reports – many thanks to James Kirby and Open Adventure.
Team profile
Reports from the race
Trail mail
Reflections on the race to follow!
Edinburgh Swim Festival
The Edinburgh swim festival was a fun race for me! I entered the 2km event two years ago and was 13th – this year I wanted to be top 10 and beat Andy by 10 minutes (he set the gap, not me 🙂 ).
At the festival, your entry fee covers as many of the races as you like. First up was the 2km. Clad in our wetsuits with bare feet we clambered on the coach in Portobello and were whisked off to the pier at Musselburgh.
Next task – warm up, get in and get ready to swim back again! The water was quite warm, so it was OK getting out ready to run back in again when the gun went off :-). Here we are just after the start. I can’t be sure which is me, but I’m near the front-ish on the right-hand side in an orange hat!
The start
I seemed to go a bit wide at first and, as usual, found it impossible to get onto some good feet for drafting. Halfway over one of the bouys was more inland and I had to decide whether to follow the bouys and the people or cut straight over to the one after. I did the latter and it felt strange to be out alone. I couldn’t even see a safety boat when I was turning to breathe!
Funny faces getting out!
At the final bouy before the turn, I rejoined the field and put the effort in to strike for shore. I finished 25th overall, 8th female, 5th ‘senior’ female (i.e. when you discount any juniors and veterans who beat me!). Goal one achieved, but Andy was only 7 minutes behind – so he won that one!
Andy making sure he finished hard
Last time I felt seasick at the end. This time I was fine, though I always look a bit weird getting out 😀 !!
A smile on my face as I do the turn in the 800m!
After a long wait on the beach it was time for the 800m. This was two laps from the beach. I had got quite stiff and never really felt into this one as a race. However, it scored high in the fun stakes as the wind and swell were getting up. We were swimming straight out into the waves, then across them, then surfing back in. I was with a group of other girls and didn’t realise at the time that if I had been motivated to push past them and swim 6 seconds faster I’d have been on the podium :-).
14th overall, 6th female, 3rd senior female.
High elbow or straight arm?! (I’m the one with pink squiggles!)
Finally, after a quick turnaround (good for staying ready) it was straight back in for the 400m. It was free, so why not?! And knowing it was my last chance, I went for it, was clear of the group I was with in the 800m and finished in the top 3 females! Persistence pays off :D.
11th overall, 3rd female, 2nd senior female.
The weather stayed sunny, we all had fun and even Andy’s jellyfish sting didn’t put a dampener on things. We rounded it off with a fantastic meal at the Roseleaf.
One of the safety kayakers – Jim from the Wild Ones – thanks Jim!
Thanks to Bob Marshall for the great photos.
Next race – a big one – the 5-day Adidas Terrex Sting in Stirling. I haven’t met all the team before, let alone ever raced with them. This is also the first time I’ve done anything as long as this. I hope it will be all about the experience and having a bit of fun! You will be able to follow us live on the trackers (it’s team AVT Asset Management) and look out for my report when I’ve recovered enough to write it!
East Kilbride Summertime Classic
A few years ago I dabbled in road racing but found it impossible to stay with the bunch in men’s races. There weren’t a lot of women’s only races, and you might as well enter a time trial if you’re just going to get dropped in the first kilometre!
But now there are a few more women’s races in Scotland and I wanted to support at least one of them this year. If you don’t use them, you lose them! The opportunity came last weekend, squeezed between the Celtman and the Sting. My dad was visiting and agreed to drive me over to Fenwick in Ayrshire.
14 riders started on what had promised to be a very wet day but turned into a showery day, with one little burst of hailstones. I had swotted up on road race tactics by watching the Tour de France ;-). I also expect Andy to be an expert in absolutely anything bike related, so I gave him a good grilling beforehand!
I had only entered for fun and had nothing to lose, but I still wanted a good ride. So I got in position in the bunch on about second or third wheel and stayed alert to any moves. I was nervous when I found myself in the middle of the group so stuck to the outside edge. This wasn’t so good though when I kept getting squeezed out into the road. I should have sharpened those elbows a bit better!
At the start of the second lap everyone was rolling round chatting. It didn’t feel like a race at all. So despite my resolution not to work at the front I went forward to pick up the pace a bit. People stopped talking but the group sped up and stayed together. It carried on like this every time anyone made an effort. There was a tail wind on the long straight section, a strong headwind on the hilly twisty section and no teams with enough people to keep driving the pace. This meant no break was going to get away, the strongest riders weren’t getting tired out and very few people got dropped. It was a bit frustrating as there was never going to be any other finish than a sprint at the end. I haven’t done any training for sprints!
I was feeling good on the final hills but got slightly boxed in when I might have liked to push ahead a bit. Suddenly a move went and I was in my small chainring spinning down a little dip! My legs went like a whisk and I had just got back on when they went again! I wasn’t ready! So they all whizzed away up the hill finish and I was left trailing. I caught two on the way up though, as now my chainring choice was just right :D.
Afterwards I pondered if I should have been more reckless, pushed it harder or tried a jump … even though it probably wouldn’t have been sensible. I wanted to try again and see what different tactics might work to shake things up a bit. In some ways, I wish it was a computer game where I could keep hitting replay!
I finished 6th, enjoyed myself and stayed safe. I also got a chance to chat to Elizabeth and meet some new friends, so all round it was a good day out :-).
Planet Byde 