Triple Iron race report & Weil's disease battle

I sit here now, three weeks after completing the Triple Enduroman (7.2 mile swim, 336 mile cycle, 78 mile run), its been the most emotional month, the journey through the race weekend itself was both physically & mentally more challenging than I had imagined, but unfortunately the battle intensified a week or so after the race as during the swim I had ingested bacteria called leptospira that would develop into Weil's disease and hospitalise me for 5 days with serious liver & kidney issues.

But for now let's go back to the race.

We'd arrived at Avon Tyrell on the monday afternoon (race started 2pm Friday) I'd booked a lodge for the week, much more comfy than camping, and so for the next few days we chilled and enjoyed some family time with Sarah & Georgie going on high ropes and climbing walls.

Georgie joined me on a lap of the 11.6 mile bike course, I then did a few more laps just to keep the legs turning over. A few laps of the run course every morning before breakfast was very pleasant.

Wednesday Vicki arrived, the third member of my four strong support crew and we started reviewing and confirming the nutrition/ hydration strategy.

Swim (7.2 miles - 42 laps)
Hydration plus half banana every 8 laps

T1
Steady walk, change.
Porridge, coffee.

Bike (336 miles - 29 laps x 11.6 miles)
every 2 laps replace hydration bottles & every 4 laps stop for 20 mins food (pasta/ rice pudding, etc)

T2
Shower/ change

Run
Small amounts of quality food every few laps (two/ three mouthfuls), rather than cake/ sweets i did on the double

Regarding sleep, my plan was simply keep going until I got tired, this proved to be a huge mistake, one that would make me suffer greatly during the race. In hindsight I was over confident, I'd raced the double 2 years earlier and finished well, 8th actually (European Double Iron distance Championships)  and gone sub-30 hours which is seen as the holy grail at the AT Double. I simply thought my strategy would work for the Triple, I made a monumental error in not researching blogs of previous Triple competitors (as I had with the Double) if I had done so I would have followed others plans with a sleep strategy, I found out after the event  that many competitors were talking 20 minute bursts of sleep every few hours, I didn't sleep until I had been racing 24 hours, this was far too late for me, and I would suffer greatly for the remainder of the race.

Andy my fourth and final crew member came straight from work Thursday night, a long drive, also arriving was Matt, who had ridden 407km to "pop" down for the start of the race, great to see them both, we all sat down for a great evening meal, good conversation then early to bed.

Race day came, registration, bike rack (both road & TT), race briefing all came & went without much time to think. Before I knew it, it was time to get down to the lake for the start. I had no nerves at all, felt confident & ready, it was great to have so many friends and some banter.

Georgie, Vicki, me, Sarah, Andy - Team Gorilla 

No sooner had I entered the water and the horn went for the start, I casually slipped into the water and eased away to the first buoy. The swim went well, I felt strong, i knew I was up at the front from comments from marshalls as I passed through lap control. I was in 3rd/4th position. I've been really enjoying my swim training and getting some good long swims in, so was confident of a total swim time around three & half hours. I'd never swum this far though and the last mile & half were really hard, I was struggling to lift my arms clear of the water, lap times were not massively down but it was  hurting. To hear the lap counters say last lap was an absolute joy, and I tried to keep my technique all the way to swim exit. I stood up and felt strong, none of the wobbles and dizziness I had two years ago in the double swim, quite impressed actually.

A steady walk up the hill to T1 to dry, change & eat before setting off on the 336 mile bike, which I expected to take around 24 hours. I started the bike in 4th place (from 18 Triple starters).

29 laps of 11.6 miles on an undulating route through the New Forest, I had opted for my road bike as thats what I had trained most on, I was riding strong, too fast actually, I knew I needed to slow down but thats easier said than done when you feel good.

I began to make another mistake, I had moved up to 3rd place and was now thinking podium, what an idiot! there was so far to go yet, I should have backed off here but didn't, I felt great, felt strong in body & mind, but I was soon to find out the lack of sleep would soon start messing with my head, a situation I just hadn't planned for.

The laps and the hours ticked by, I had ridden through the night, the nutrition & fluid strategy was working well, as I came in for food later that morning at around 200 miles (I sat down & must have looked knackered, the medic came over and asked when I last slept, I hadn't, he gave that "what an idiot" look and ordered me to bed for an hour, I wasn't going to argue, I couldn't wait, instead of sleeping in the crew tent on course, we went the 50 metres to the cabin, a good hour in a proper bed would be great, must admit it felt very strange sleeping during a race, but thats what I did.

An hour later Sarah woke me up, jeez, I felt bad, really bad, "I need another hour Sarah" and went back to sleep.
When I awoke again after two hours sleep, my head was all wrong, I couldn't get the thought through my head that I'd still got 100+ miles to ride and then run 3 marathons, my head had totally gone, I couldn't do it. I sat with Sarah & Georgie in the lounge and burst into tears, "I'm sorry I've let you down, I can't do it, it's too far", lots more tears from everyone.

Georgie tearfully said "I was really looking forward to running a lap or two with you Dad" that really tugged at my heart, more tears. Sarah said "come on, do one more lap, if you're going to quit, quit on the bike not on the sofa". I know how much it must have hurt Sarah to send me back out in that state but it's what she needed to do, so I out I went. I felt terrible, one more lap, I'd give it a go.



Apparently there was great apprehension as to what my decision would be when I came back after that lap, I came in, took more water and went straight back out again, I was back, knocking off the laps, I'd only lost a few places and was riding well again. The laps ticked by but darkness was looming again, a second night in the saddle, jeez, this is tough, far tougher than i had ever imagined.

I can't really remember the last few laps, they seemed to take forever, the last few times climbing up Braggers Lane Hill were tough, its not difficult climb, about a mile long, averaging only 4% but with a 8% gradient half way up, after 29 times it begins to get a little tiring, but this was the last time, downhill at the top into the event centre. I planned to run one lap straight off the bike and then get some rest (again on medical advice). I wanted that one lap for one reason & one reason only, to make Georgie's dream come true and run a lap of Enduroman with me, Sarah had it authorised by race control, I got a bit emotional on that lap with Georgie, I really didn't think I'd get here a few hours earlier. The run lap is off road, all down hill from the circle, wet & muddy around the lake, then a long drag & two steep hills on the way back to the circle, with tree stumps, tree roots, puddles & bog everywhere, not an easy run at all.

Back into the circle, Georgie with a big smile on her face, me thinking "I need sleep".

I needed rest, we agreed to I'd sleep till sun rise, the course was difficult as it was in day light but at night it was awful & my head just wasn't in the right place, I went to sleep that night, knowing I wouldn't finish the run, but that I'd wake up, hopefully a little refreshed and at least get a few laps in on the last day of the festival, soak in the atmosphere and all that.

There were 7 events on in total that weekend, Triple, Double, Single, Half and  three runs 50 mile, 100 mile & 24 hour run till you drop!. All events start at different times so that they all finish on the Sunday, a great atmosphere around the course.

I awoke at 5am, it had been light for an hour, it didn't really phase me as I was still in the "just go and run for a bit" mind set, I knew I couldn't finish, who the hell would want to run THREE marathons after all that !!!

So breakfast, changed and at 5:38am Sunday I started my second run lap.

I kept running, it was a lovely morning, there were loads of runners out on the course, I had now dropped to 12th place and someway off 11th, I was the last triple athlete on course, six had dropped out, I kept going, enjoying the atmosphere and chatting to other endurance athletes as we ran down hill & walked up hill, a proven technique for athletes on this tough course.

10k turned into a half marathon, the half marathon turned into a marathon, "cool" I thought, and carried on for the next half marathon, sticking to nutrition & fluid strategy, I was actually quite enjoying it. During mile 26 to 39, the sun came out, it was heating up, I ran with a buff over my head that my crew drenched in water each lap, jeez, it was getting hot.

At 39 miles, half way on the run, I remember thinking wow, didn't think I'd get this far, but I made another mistake here, instead of just carrying on enjoying running the next 10k, not thinking of whats left to do, I started lap counting, 36 laps (39 miles) to go, big mistake. One lap after the next I kept going but the laps remaining just didn't seem to come down quickly enough 35, 34, 33 ....... this was getting depressing, in hindsight I guess this was a turning point from just going for a "fun" run to actually thinking I've got to finish this now.

Dusk was coming for the third time during the race, I had 20 miles to go, my feet were now in bits and a huge blister on my right foot was causing intense pain on every step, my head was all over the place, I was descending into a very dark and desolate place, and descending quickly.

For the last few laps I hadn't stopped at the circle to eat/ drink with my support crew, I had continued straight through and met my crew half way up the hill, where I would walk and take on food/ hydration while walking in order to save time. We already knew it would be difficult to meet the official IUTA cut off at 2pm due to the late start that morning but this is Enduroman, and the Enduroman family want you to succeed so the IUTA cut off became irrelevant, this was about finishing, whatever it took.

A few laps later I was approached by a marshall who told me I couldn't stop at my crew station anymore, else I would miss the cut off, this just threw my head all over the place to be honest, what the hell was he trying to do, I wasn't stopping, I had been racing for over 50 hours, I was a mess, my head was all over he place, and this guy is telling me I can't stop when I wasn't stopping anyway, but for the next lap I just couldn't get this out of my head, it tumbled round and round, frustrating me more & more, if I'm going to get stopped with a few laps to go, I might as well bloody stop now and save the agony & pain I thought.

I remember Georgie meeting me at the top of the hill before the short descent to the circle, I had totally lost the will to continue, the pain was unbearable, the thought of carrying on for another 20 miles was blowing my mind, especially if there was a chance I could be stopped a few miles short.

I asked Georgie to get Sarah, I needed to talk to her, I needed someone to say, yes its ok to stop, something we had discussed earlier, when I went back out on the bike, we'd agreed next time I wanted to quit, I could, that would be it, this was that time, I just needed that "yes, stop".

Sarah passed me some soup, I couldn't eat it, we walked up the hill away from the circle, and started the descent through the woods to the lake.
PB: "I can't go on Sarah, I've had enough"
SB: "you're so close sweetheart, you can't stop now"
PB: "I can stop, I want to stop, my feet hurt, I hurt, I can't do it"
SB: "you can do it sweetheart, you can, you are so so close"
PB: "I can't do it, you promised me I could quit, you're not supporting me" <shouting>
SB: "I haven't come all this way to see you quit now, you can do it" <shouting>

With that I threw the soup past Sarah and walked off down the hill crying, Sarah shouted "do what you like" and returned to the circle crying. What a mess!

For some reason I carried on walking the run route, thinking, crying, thinking, I was hurting, I was in total despair.

As I turned at the top of the hill for the descent into the circle again, I saw the outline of two ominous shadows through the gateway to the circle, I knew I was going to get a right grilling now. As I entered the circle I was flanked by TC & the Rev, two Enduroman icons.

The Rev pushed a pot noodle into my hands, I said I couldn't eat anymore, he shouted "EAT IT", I didn't argue! TC & Rev walked with me round the circle and out on another loop, I hadn't seen Sarah in the circle (I later found out she was in tears at the medics tent, it must have been so difficult for her to see me break like that in front of her but to have to be so strong to stand up to me and send me back out, I am a very lucky guy, although must admit I didn't think so at the time, I was just willing someone, anyone to agree with me and let me stop, but this was never going to happen)

TC went off to get some of his Hoka trainers that are double the cushioning of normal trainers to help ease the pain on my feet for the next lap. The Rev just talked to me, I wanted to quit but everything I threw at him, he sent back twice as hard, I just couldn't win. He kept repeating that only 30 Brits had completed this event, one of the toughest amateur events in the World, the Triple Enduroman at Avon Tyrell, did I really want to give up with less than 20 miles to go?

I could see his point, but the pain seemed unbearable, then he asked the killer question "What's the level of pain 1 -10", this made me think, I thought about this for a few more seconds, arghhhh, it hurt, it hurt a lot, but it wasn't a bloody 10 was it, I grew angry with myself, then embarrassed, I said 8, it's a bloody 8 out of 10, knowing that I had now had no option but to continue.

We carried on walking and talking that lap, the pain in my feet was still intense, but I knew I had to finish, however long it took, I had to keep going, there were still plenty of other athletes out on the course but it was growing dark again now.

For the next few laps someone ran/ walked with me every lap, which helped, I can't say it was fast, or even moderately medium paced running, but I kept going, talking to my company, my crew and friends (Steve & Josh from my Team GB Quadrathlon days) had also turned up a few hours earlier to see me over the line.

Josh must have run a half marathon with me in the end, I started to forget about laps remaining and just got into a slow and painful rhythm. We were well into single digits now, it felt like there was only me out there but occasionally I saw the lights of other runners.

The last couple of Triple athletes had finished, although they had chosen to run the last lap in the same direction as previous laps to avoid any directional mishaps after 60 hours of racing. In Enduroman at AT, the last lap is usually run in reverse so that other athletes can see you have finished and congratulate you, as I came in to complete my penultimate lap, the race organiser asked me to continue in the normal direction, I said I wanted to run in reverse, I knew the course 'backwards' so to speak, I wanted that reverse lap feeling, I wanted to run down the last hill with Georgie & Sarah at my side & over the line. Eddie agreed and allowed me to run the last lap in reverse as normal, there were still a couple of 100 mile runners out there that had shared my pain over the last few hours, a couple of hugs as we passed and I was on my way back up the hill, nearly there.

Josh ran ahead to let everyone know I was coming, I saw Georgie in the distance, running towards me, it was simply amazing & very emotional, Georgie turned and held my hand, running down the hill with me, Sarah running up to join us. Those last few metres certainly weren't pretty, they weren't fast, but it was over and I was running over the line with the two most important people in my life, Sarah & Georgie both beat me to the line I think, difficult to remember.

Sadly, I didn't feel any elation at all crossing the line, and to be honest even now, I haven't had that WOW feeling that I had completing the Double, I'm sure it will come at some point, maybe?.
Eddie presented me with my medal & t-shirt, amazingly I had enough about me to thank everyone who had remained awake into the early hours to help me complete this challenge, it totally broke me. Within seconds of finishing, my legs seized up, Sarah & Andy supported me for the short walk up to our cabin, I vowed then that this was the end of my long & ultra days, I couldn't put my body or mind through anything like that again, I was a complete and utter mess.

I woke the next morning, aching like you can not believe, I was pleased that I'd finished but it would not have been possible without so many people Sarah, Georgie, Andy, Vicki, Matt, TC, the Rev, Steve, Josh, Sally, Eddie, Chris, Dan and many more ultra athletes. The Avon Tyrell course is simply brutal and unrelenting, I had completed one of the toughest amateur races in the World, and was one of only 30 Brits to complete it, that felt pretty special actually, still no elation but pretty special.

One thing that did make me feel proud was that one week before the race, Sarah & I had decided to raise money for a charity, something I had never done in any race over the last 9 years of competing.
My father had died from cancer earlier in the year, only a few weeks before the race I had been introduced to Ethan Maull, a 10 year old fighting bone cancer, who was raising money & inspiring others to raise money for the Ethan Maull "Up Yours To Cancer" foundation. Unfortunately Ethan passed away shortly after we met so we decided to support his cause and raise money for the foundation, although the just giving site www.justgiving.com/philbinch was only set up one week before the event, we have raised over £1,200 for the charity, something for which I am extremely proud and if I'm honest certainly helped me keep going through those dark moments.

Normally this would be the end of the write up, however what followed proved to be just as or dare I say more challenging than the race itself.

That week I had a few days off work to recover, severe diarrhoea became the norm for the next week but this slowly lessened and my body returned to normal, but just over a week after completing the Triple I developed flu like symptoms, I felt dizzy, shivers, sweats, high temperature and generally very unwell.

I took a few days off work thinking, wow that race has really messed me up. I became more and more lethargic, I couldn't eat, soup was the best I could manage, this went on for a few days, Sarah ringing NHS direct and seeing GP out of hours medical at the hospital initially put it down to a glandular virus that I would just have to sit out, then a liver infection was diagnosed and antibiotics were prescribed.

Sarah went to work that Thursday, I became worse, I just didn't have the energy to move from the settee for food or water, I finally found the strength to move as I needed the toilet. I remember walking away from the toilet feeling a little dizzy, the next thing I remembered was waking up on the hard floor of our hallway, my arm, side & head hurting where I'd fallen. I was really very worried now, I knew I'd fainted but didn't know how long I'd been out, I made it up and to the kitchen, for the next few hours I forced myself to drink as much water & soup as I could.

That night, I had a huge shivering fit, I was sweating like mad, but shivering that severely the bed was shaking, my breathing started to hurry, I was panicking, it must have taken Sarah 30 minutes to calm me down. This was getting worse, what the hell is the matter with me.

That morning (Friday) I couldn't get myself out of bed, every time I tried to lift myself  I got incredible pain in my knees, the pain was so intense I just couldn't push through it to lift myself, in the end I had to gently turn on to all fours and slowly back off the bed with Sarah supporting me. It just gets worse!

At 2pm, Sarah & my mum (who had come over to help as she was worried) noticed that the whites of my eyes were turning yellow, as the afternoon progressed my skin turned yellow, something was really wrong.

Sarah rang NHS direct for the third time, "get him into A&E quickly" was the reply. Within 20 minutes of arriving at A&E I was in a bed and having my blood taken, they must have filled seven different test tubes, I guessed for several different tests to see what was the matter with me, I also had a chest X-ray, think they were looking at my lungs.

Within minutes I was in the Clinical Decision Unit with an IV placed in my arm. For the next 3 days I had fluid and antibiotics pumped into my veins. The pumped rate seemed to lessen as the days progressed but it appeared to be quite an aggressive rate at first.

That morning (Saturday), feeling a little better, I was moved to the gastro ward, the doctor came over and went through the results of my blood tests, I'm no medic and the blood markers he talked about meant very little to me, all I knew was that mine were significantly out of the normal range, one thing I do remember him saying was some numbers to do with efficiency of my kidneys, basically it meant they were only able to deal with 40% of the toxins in my body, my organs were deteriorating, toxins were building up in my body and worsening my state, I knew I was in trouble now and to be honest it really scared me.

I still couldn't eat but had been told I must drink water to help my body pass the toxins, this meant I was peeing every hour sometimes twice in the hour, both day & night, it was so tiring.

Early on the sunday morning I found out that another competitor from AT (someone who I had met for the first time down there and had done the half enduroman was also ill with similar symptoms) It was 4am & I noticed she was on Facebook so I messaged her, we discussed each others sypmtoms for a while, it was then I realised my illness was not as a result of putting my body through the Triple, this was something else, a virus, a disease. I spent the next hour researching on my phone, I'd heard of Weil's disease before but knew very little about it, the more I read the more adamant I became that this was the problem.

I made some notes and spoke to the Doctor that morning on his rounds, explaining I had found someone else with similar symptoms and that I believed it could be Weil's disease or something similar. The Doctor said he knew very little about this disease but it was a good information and he would look into it immediately.

The medical bit ...

Weil's disease is a secondary phase of a form of a bacterial infection also known as Leptospirosis. Leptospirosis can infect almost any animal, but is most commonly found in rats and cattle, and is most commonly passed to humans through water contaminated by their urine.

Symptoms can occur between 3 and 21 days from the time of infection. There can be two distinct phases of leptospirosis.

The first phase
- symptoms are similar to those of the flu, including high fever, severe headaches, chills, muscle aches, and vomiting, and may also include a rash.
- it may last between 3 to 5 days before recovery.
- in mild cases the patient will recover after just the first phase but they can suffer fatigue and depression for some time afterwards.

The second phase
- initial symptoms will reoccur
- further symptoms can very according to severity and may include jaundice (yellow skin & eyes), red eyes, abdominal pain and diarrhoea.
- symptoms can be similar to those of meningitis.
- severe cases can also cause the failure of kidneys or liver.
- death can occur due to heart, liver or respiratory failure.

The next few days all blend into one, I continued on IV, I slept, I drank water, I went to the toilet, thats about all I did. My phone and Facebook became a much needed distraction. The support from family & friends was incredible, only allowed two visitors around my bed in the limited visiting hours, I would have four or five, with a record nine one evening, the banter was a blessing, even if it was at my expenses, I didn't mind.

Soon it was confirmed that my friend had been infected and was ill with Leptospirosis, which had developed into Weil's disease. My Doctors suspected the same but they were still waiting for my test results to confirm this, the meds however were working, I was feeling that little bit better every day.

Next the whole saga went international, I was contacted by the President of the IUTA (International Ultra Triathlon Association) another athlete in Germany who had done the Triple was ill with suspected Leptospirosis, I shared all the info I could and passed on my Doctors contact details so they could share what actions they had taken with myself.

After 3 days of IV, I was really tired, sleep was difficult on the ward, it was tiring visiting the toilet every hour or more. My IV was due to be replaced, so I asked if I could have it out for a few hours so that I could have a little freedom, dragging an IV stand around had become a pain in the arse, I was thankful for it, don't get me wrong, it had got me out of what could have been a severe organ failure. When the Doctor came round he noticed I had no IV and questioned it, I said what was happening and he asked me if I was able to take oral meds, to which I replied yes, we discussed this further as it would mean I would be able to finish meds away from hospital when he thought I was fit enough to leave, this I liked.  I had been eating much better for the last day, and actually was now looking forward to food.

We swapped to oral antibiotics, the IV drip was no more ............ fantastic. I was allowed to take responsibility for my meds myself when they arrived.

The Spanish nurse explained that I take one antibiotic tablet today and the next in 10 days ........... what? this really puzzled me, I'd been on an IV drip for 3 days, pumping strong antibiotics into my veins and now I only needed 1 tablet for 10 days, that all sounded wrong so I challenged it. Blooming good job, he had read the report incorrectly, I should take 3 per day for 10 days !!!

That evening I took my meds at 9pm as instructed, one antibiotic and one potassium tablet, at 10pm a nurse came round, placed my meds in front of me and asked me to take them. I've already taken them I said and don't need anymore till tomorrow morning, I got "a look", she then proceeded to tell me that my folder hadn't been updated to say that, I wasn't sure why that was my fault to be honest, anyway I said, "I've taken them and no more till tomorrow", she then challenged me about my water in/ out chart which was a mess and difficult to understand (the doctors needed to see how my water intake compared to output) I had been having to pee in bottles and the nurses were measuring and recording the amounts, no idea how they knew how much I was drinking but thats another story, anyway apparently that was my fault to ....... err, correction, no it wasn't, in fact I told her I'd got that fed up with not knowing my in/ out levels so I'd started my own tracking, writing on a tissue to make sure I was drinking enough.

She looked at me and then realised I wasn't a complete idiot "would it help if you had a proper sheet and measuring jug to do it properly", "absolutely" I said & with that I was in control of my own water in/ out chart, peeing in a measuring jug and then flushing it straight down the toilet, which was much better than wandering around with pee bottles trying to find someone to measure it or stacking them up at my bedside. I was much happier.

I spent five days in hospital in total, the last day and half were a bit of a drag but I understood that I needed to be there, my bloods were coming back to normal but still not quite right.

As soon as the Doctor said I could go that Wednesday lunch, I was packed & waiting for the discharge papers, meds and sick note, fair play to everyone, they made it all happen really quickly for me and within the hour I was out breathing fresh air & waiting for Sarah to pick me up.

We went for a walk with the dog that night around the village, well half the village actually, only about a mile, I was knackered at the end. I weighed myself that night, prior to the race I had consistently been 13 stone 2 pounds, and always struggled to get any lower. I was shocked to see 11 stone 13 pounds on the scales, jeez, I'd lost over a stone, I was super skinny and desperate to put some weight on.

Next steps for me, well, I need to finish my antibiotic course off, another 7 days, I honestly have no desire at all to return to open water swimming, I've read contradictory reports about whether I'm more or less susceptible to Weil's disease now, so decided I'm just not prepared to risk it, I just can't put my body through that again, its a real shame as I've absolutely loved my swimming this year, but it has to be, I certainly don't want to put people off open water swimming, at the end of the day the risks have always been there, there are no UK waterways that can guarantee to be disease free, I would however urge anyone who develops signs of flu up to 30 days after open water swimming to seek medical advice and explain the risks associated with open water swimming to their doctor so that a full assessment can be made to avoid any complications.

So a big re-think for me on plans going forward, my body is still incredibly weak, its going to take some months to recover, I've cancelled all remaining races this year and we are going to have a great family holiday in the sun with friends, I have plenty of time to think about the future and what that might entail, its really quite exciting, a whole new word of challenges ... maybe !

I'm also signing off this blog, its been a great help to motivate me and reflect on what I've done, but its time is done, I hope those of you that have read my posts have found some inspiration or ideas to help you going forward.

All the best for the future

Phil

Triple Enduroman Avon Tyrell finisher
Double Enduroman (sub 30 Avon Tyrell)
Ironman Austria, UK & Outlaw
National Quadrathlon Series Over 40 Trophy winner
GB Triathlon age group Sprint & Standard distance team
Lincoln Triathlon & Southwell Triathlon age group winner, 
GB Quadrathlon team
Run the Date

One more "must do" ...

So with less than a month to go, where am I at?

As I've said before I would have liked to have got two or three more hours in every week this year, but that's just not been possible, but I am happy with the quality of my training, I've not over worked my body, I've finished most sessions strong in body and mind, could easily have carried on.

I've completed a number of long sessions, not race distance, which is 7.6 mile swim, 336 mile bike & 79 mile run, but good long sessions, plenty of century rides, double digit runs and 2 mile plus swims, with some key "tester" sessions in there, a 30 mile run & a 5 mile swim.

I felt strong after each long session, confident I could carry on, but I have tried not to over train and avoid tiredness, also trying to avoid risking injury in this 45 year old body of mine, so far so good!

This is a similar plan I followed for the Double Iron two years ago, I guess you could say that worked finishing 8th in the European Double Iron Championships!, the main difference this year was that I had a full time job, so balancing work, home & training has been a challenge to say the least, I guess only time will tell whether I have been wise or not.

In my mind for the last few week's has been one more "must do", an all day ride, in reality I'm going to be cycling for around 24 hours, so I'd decided that 200 mile was a good mark to aim for, it would require a focused effort, I could practice my nutrition strategy but more importantly I wanted to enjoy the 200 and finish feeling good, strong & motivated.

I had planned to ride from dusk to dawn through the night, but on reflection decided that practising my bike nutrition strategy would be the best course of action, the all night ride I can save for another day.

So a 7:20am start, the plan was to ride a local 44 mile route, we call the Two Bridges, Keadby Bridge in the North & Trent Bridge, Gainsborough in the South, the route was equivalent to 4 laps of the Enduroman bike route, so worked well as my plan was to eat well every 4 laps, only to stop for 20 minutes for food, refill water bottles (1 water/ 1 Gatorade) and set off for another lap.

I'd need to do 4 laps plus a little bit extra, Sarah (wife) was ready with meals for each stop (Chicken & Bacon pasta, omelette, rice pudding, more pasta & plenty of coffee), so that I could pull up, eat & get straight back out there, just like it will be on race day.

I varied the route a little on the east side of the Trent just to mix it up a little, west side I stuck to the Trent bank on each lap except the final lap, when I stayed further west trying to get those extra few miles in before looping back.

The first lap was a little too fast at 18.5mph, so I slowed down after that, but maintained the average speed between 18mph & 18.2 mph all day, even though there was a fairly strong wind from the South.

A few miles into my last lap, I met a friend out for a quick 25 miles, so joined him on his loop, I was really grateful for some company it had been a long lonely day so far, anyway after 15 miles together we arrived back at our village, so I lopped away for one last lap of the two bridges route which would take me to the magic number.

I still felt strong, comfortable except for a little bit of bum ache, but that was fine, in total I clocked 201 miles at 18.1 mph, riding time was 11 hours 7 minutes, with a total time start to finish of 13 hours 29 minutes.

I'm pretty sure I'll slow the speed down a little for race day to around 17.5mph hopefully (although the double was at 16.9 mph), we'll just have to see how it goes on the day, but I feel stronger than ever, so let's just see.

No aches or pains the next morning which was great, I'd planned a nice recovery swim, first open water of the year, water temp was 12.5 degree's, quite cold at first but after a few minutes it felt great, just did a steady mile. Spent some time with the family and an hours ride later that evening just to spin the legs again.

So I guess that's the last biggy now till race day, I'll will get another century ride in next weekend and probably a 10 mile run with a couple of longer open water swims, weekdays will be fairly steady, couple of rest days still and swim/ bikes on Wednesday & Friday when I work closer to home.

I need to start getting things together soon, list making, putting things to one side, I plan to hire a van to take 2 bikes (need a spare just in case!), my daughters bike so that she can join  me on some familiarisation rides before the race, clothing and some food essentials, however normally day to day food we will sort down there.

Looking forward to getting down there early and reacquainting myself with the routes, a few days with family first, then the rest of the support crew join us and 2pm Friday 30th June it starts !

30 mile run

As planned on Sunday 27th April, a long run was the order of the day, I'd not done a massive amount of running recently but had built a good base from winter training & my 50 day run streak earlier in the year.

 

I was supporting some people I'd become quite close to, they had planned a 10 mile walk in memory of their son, Christian, I promised I'd be there & do my bit.

 

The plan was to run two laps of the route whilst the walkers did one lap, it became a little bit of fun in the run up to the day, with Christian's mum determined that we wouldn't lap them, it brought a bit if fun and plenty of smiles to an emotional day for the family.

 

With just over a month to go to the triple, I knew I needed to do more than 20 miles, so I ran the 3 miles to the start, knowing that with a run home that would make 26 miles, with a extra few miles, 30 miles became the target, nearly double my longest run year to date. So with drinks and a change of clothing in a rucksack I set off, the rucksack swung annoyingly from side to side as I ran, but it made sure I started at a sensible 8:45 minute mile pace.

 

Three others from the club fancied the run as well, so I met them at the start in the next village, really pleased to be able to dump the rucksack in a friends car.

 

We walked the first 50 metres with the walkers then set off, a quick nod to the Christian's parents, who jokingly reminded us not to lap them and we were off.

 

Some good banter and fairly consistent mile pacing between 8:28 and 8:56 minute miles, we were soon back at the start, somewhat disappointed that the laps were only 8 miles. This was going to be tough to catch the walkers now it was a 16 mile run rather than 20 miles.

 

So a quick water stop and off for the second lap, the pace and banter remained fairly consistent, it was certainly a big advantage having company on a long session, the majority of my training this year has been solo for one reason and another, so it was a pleasant change to be able to chat and let time just slip by.

 

The paced slowed a little on the long drag section through the woods, but picked up again with a few miles to go.

 

In the distance we could see hi-viz, one & half miles to go, we'd caught the back of the walkers, as we passed Christian's Dad he gave us a huge smile and high five which was great to see.

The pace quickened again with a mile to go up the hill, at the top we could see the front of the walkers and Christian's mum, so we started the final mile, which was mile 19 for me, we were now running 7:44 minute miles, I felt really REALLY strong.

 

As we caught up with Christian's mum, who was zig zagging from side to side with arms spread out so I couldn't pass, a huge smile on her face, I stopped and walked with her a short while, a quick chat and I sprinted off to catch the guys up for the rest of the last mile.

 

19 miles run and feeling awesome, I quickly changed into dry clothing and clapped the walkers home.

 

A drink (non alcoholic of course), a bite to eat and good conversation in the pub, I soon realised that I'd stopped longer than planned, so I made my apologies and said my goodbyes, put the annoying rucksack on my back and tried to force some life back into the legs.

 

Really struggled to get any pace back, I put it down to the rucksack and the growing need for a toilet stop! Only 3 miles to home, I can dump the rucksack, sort myself out & plan the next few miles, as I ran to the front door, I looked at my garmin, exactly 22 miles.

 

Feeling better and loosing some weight (not just from leaving the rucksack) I set off, the plan was simple, 4 miles out, turn & return.

 

I tried hard to get some consistency back into my pace, it actually took quite some effort, but I was unable to maintain it and the pace slowed, so I had to pick it up time and time again. I was really regretting stopping so long, it was the right thing to do but I was now paying for it, legs were aching, feet were aching, I'd felt so good at 19 miles but this was proving quite a mental challenge, there was no real need for me to get to the 30 mile mark, I'd got a long run in the bag and had been feeling strong, but I knew the upcoming race was as much about being strong in mind as being strong in body, so I refused to take the easy option and battled on.

 

Once I got to the 26 mile mark it became much easier, just a short 4 mile run home, pace was still up and down but the job was done, 30 miler sorted, that was the goal, I wouldn't need to run this far again till race day, albeit that would be a 79 mile run, but I knew I didn't need to do any more, when I did the Double Iron two years ago, my longest run was only 17 miles!

 

So distance wise I was happy with two disciplines now, 5 mile swim in the bag and I felt strong, could easily have carried on. Now I'd got a decent long run in, I wouldn't say I finished strong on pace but certainly did finish strong in mind, just as, if not more important.

 

I'd got quite a few century rides in, the longest being 130 miles, again finishing all of them feeling strong and comfortable, but I know I need to get more distance in, a big ride with a long time in the saddle, so guess what's planned for next weekend!

a BIG week's training

Late March/ early April saw pretty consistent 14-15 hour training weeks, mainly biking & running, a few century rides in there and feeling strong off the bike, would like to be doing three or four more hours a week really but its just not possible, that said I'm happy with progress, I still needing to push some longer sessions out in each discipline I booked a week off work over Easter, 4 days holiday but the way it fell meant I had 10 consecutive days off work, this would give me a real focus and chance to get some long session in.

Not sure what happened the week prior to my 10 days off, I didn't train Monday or Tuesday and so had to throw 4 miles swimming, 51 mile ride & 15 miles running over Wednesday, Thursday & Friday.

Saturday came, first day of 10 days off work and I went big on the bike, just over 7 solo hours riding time, 130 miles at 18.3 mph, really pleased with how good I felt over the last few miles and getting off the bike, felt strong.

Sunday I had promised I wouldn't train, my daughter was back from skiing with school so a family day altogether was the right thing to do, nice & chilled, legs still feeling good.

Monday was the start of my biggest training week in two years a four mile pools swim followed by 102 miler on the bike, over the Humber Bridge and for the first time I didn't come back the same way. I meandered west, exploring some new roads which I really enjoy doing, had a spot of lunch in the sunshine, then travelled south down the west side of the Trent before crossing the river and returning home North, a great day, and a nice solo 18.8 mph average.

I won't bore you with each days training, but I've added a screen shot from Garmin Connect below, the week totalled, 14 miles swimming, 380 miles riding & 27 miles running, a 31 hour training week whilst still managing to do a few family orientated activities while my daughter was on school holidays. Must add I've had great support from my wife & daughter, they are integral to success on the day as two of my four man support crew, but more importantly encouraging and motivating me to get out and train, really important for anyone attempting endurance events to have this I am a lucky man :)

Another 100 miler on the bike on Bank Holiday Monday completed a great week & a few days, really pleased & enjoying my swimming, it's probably for the first time in a number of years I've enjoyed swimming so much, the highlight was Friday mornings 5 mile pool swim (my longest swim ever) and the 4 four century rides. But if I'm honest I'm disappointed that I ran less than 30 miles, should have done more than that really.

So I'm happy where I'm at on the swim, I could easily have carried on with the 5 miler to finish the Triple distance swim of 7.2 miles, but I felt good, will just keep putting a couple of one to two hours swims in every week now.

Riding, I'm feeling really strong, I'm riding better than ever before and finishing long rides strong, I just need to get a really big one in over the next two weeks, I've got 200 miles in my head, still fancy a dusk to dawn ride, we'll see.

Running, this does need more focus and encouragement now, although by the time I get to the run on the triple, run form won't be the concern, it'll be all about having a strong mind and sticking to the plan, however a 26+ mile run is needed, I've got a date in mind, late April to nail this. A few mates from the club are getting together to support a charity 10 mile walk in the next village in memory of a club mate organised by his mum, it's been a tough 14 months for the family and I want to continue supporting them as much as I can , so two laps of the route will do nicely, a sneaky jog there & back to get to marathon plus territory is the plan. It'll be good having company for the long run, a time to catch up with a few club mates, most of my training this year has been solo so I've missed the club/ group training buzz.

So as I sit here typing it's 35 days to the triple, all is going to plan (I think), again I would have liked to have got a few extra hours in earlier in the year but it wasn't to be, I am and always have been confident about the event, it's so important, you absolutely must have total belief in yourself and your ability to keep going through the pain and tiredness, yeah that confidence is here alright...... big style!

The Race Organiser has confirmed that all Triple athletes need a medical certificate stating we are fit for distance is causing a few problems with everyone, one guy has been told it will cost £120, another's doctor is happy to do a fitness note but won't state "fit for distance". I haven't been to the doctors for years, so not sure how the hell he's going to know whether I'm fit for distance!?! Should be a fun conversation anyway.

Latest update from IUTA (International Ultra Triathlon Association) today is that all we need is basic note stating that "there are no contradictions to the athlete performing" , I guess I know what that means, anyway let's get booked in with the doc and see what they say.

I believe

I do believe the "motivation" question that has plagued me for the last few weeks has been answered!

Not only was last week my biggest training week of the year, but I did it all in the last 4 days of the week, the mojo yoyo is no more, and I'm feeling strong.

I finished off the week on Sunday with solo 100 mile ride, my first century ride of the year and felt really good all the way. The weather was ok, very windy but the sun was out and maintained an average speed of 18mph, happy with that considering I've not ridden as much so far this year compared to 2 years ago.

 

So taking Monday off as a rest day, ready to start again Tuesday and put in a bigger week, same plan around swimming on Thursday & Friday, a couple of decent bikes Saturday & Sunday, a long run Thursday evening with a few shorter ones in on the other days, really looking forward to it.

So 73 days till the Triple, feeling positive & strong, yes ideally I'd like to be doing a few more hours a week in the pool & on the bike, that will happen over these next few weeks. I do need to look after this old body of mine and build slowly for the best results, maybe I will get to race day and find I haven't put enough hours in training, maybe not, but one thing I do know, and know from experience in the Double Iron, on the day it doesn't matter how much training you've put in, its all in the head, be strong in mind, push the pain and tiredness, believe in yourself and your team .....

.... and hell yeah, I BELIEVE !!

Mojo Yoyo

 Well been an up & down few weeks, I've really struggled to get motivated to train some days and other days I've been right on it and loving it, can't really put my finger on it why to be honest.

When I up, I'm really high, out biking in the dark and long runs on the treadmill, then other days just can't motivate myself to even move off the couch.

Somehow I'm still averaging around 10 hours a week training for the most part, that is except for last week but that was always going to be tough as I was helping friends who organise Cambridge Half Marathon, a great weekend but just didn't have time to get any training in, so only a 6 hour week that week, and the bulk of that was a 2 hour 11minute treadmill run, yep you heard right over 2 hours on the treadmill, I'd only planned to do an hour but got carried away reliving some old U2 video's on You Tube and just kept going.

The late night garage treadmill runs are becoming more and a more a regular part of my training nowadays, it's a bit softer than the road, so easier on the knees and I can get lost in reliving some old video's from the past, also Sarah & G can keep an eye on me and tell me when its bedtime <laughing>. Been quite a few times recently when Sarah's wandered into the garage saying, its late, she's off to bed.

After Cambridge weekend I didn't train Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, so that became 5 days of no training & I began to really question what I was doing, although I still felt confident I could complete the challenges ahead, I just wasn't getting the training in that I need to be able to compete.

The next 4 days would be make or break, Thursday & Friday I was working close to home instead of the 3 & half hour commute, so decided that if I couldn't sort myself out with 4 good days of training then that was it.

Well, I'm always up for a challenge, as you know, so that was it, re-motivated instantly !!

So up early with the OAP brigade at the pods and a 56 minute 2 mile swim in the bag before breakfast, it was tough going, felt like I was swimming through treacle at times, then the next length felt like as was dolphin like!

An easy 45 minute treadmill run that night, and up again for another good swim, about 2.2 miles this time in the hour, felt much better, felt strong & dare I say it, quite enjoyed the swim, it's been a long time since I've said that.

Another treadmill run that night, 7 miler, then into the weekend.

11 mile run this morning, which included a Park Run interval session half way through for a bit of fun, increasing the pace every half mile, average 6:30 pace for the Park Run itself, not to shabby, no where near a PB but nice to stretch the pace out.

Now just chilling before an afternoon ride, and the plan is an early long bike tomorrow.

Still 70 odd days to the triple and I'm positive (always have been), have I lost the mojo yoyo, early days but the signs are good, I need some big bike miles over the next few weeks, the running is strong, feeling very confident with that, and swimming, well it never worries me, and if I continue to enjoy it like yesterday's session then ................. bring on the triple ;)

Run Streak

Today is Wednesday 19th February, day 50 of my Run Steak, I'd already decided that today would be my sign off day from Run Streak, it's served it's purpose and got me really charged and motivated to run, which is exactly what I needed after December.

I really need to spend more time on the bike and I don't want to risk injury with just over 3 months till the Triple Iron.

Yeh, I'm a little disappointed actually, I really wanted to keep going, maybe even run the whole year, but common sense now prevails, it ends tonight.

It should end in style though ..... shouldn't it ?

Absolutely !

Home from work early & straight out on the bike just before dusk, the last time I rode in darkness was the Double Iron 21 months ago, really quiet and calm, that is until I get blinded by cars headlights and struggle to see the road & pot holes. I must get some better lights, one of my key learning's from the Double, I'll sort that tonight when I get in.

Anyhow, a windy and dark 40 miler on the bike, definitely doing this again (when the lights arrive !), quick catch up with the Mrs and runners on, fancy knocking a 10 miler out but wanted a nice quiet smooth road, so in an effort to get used to repetition (the Triple is a multi lap affair), there's a well lit road around the corner, slight incline but very smooth tarmac and 0.4 mile long, so I hit that at a decent 7:10-7:20 minute per mile pace.

12 out & backs later and a short run back home and 10 miles at 7:17 pace was in the bag, 3 and half hours of training, on a work night, awesome, happy with that, and it also took me over 300 miles running year to date, that's an average of 6 miles a day for 50 days, went to bed a happy bunny.

Just a week or so to go till March, when I plan to really up training, I work at a local branch 2 days a week for the next 3 months, thanks to my employers, rather than travel to head office in Nottingham, it means I can get a longer morning and a longer evening session in rather than spending 3 half hours travelling in the car, a real advantage, now that I've got a solid base.

Although I've not done much biking, only 300 miles year to date, I do feel strong on the bike, really looking forward to spending more time out there on the road, but must keep 4 runs per week in the plan, which include 2 long (10 miles plus), just got to get through the next week plus, there's lots happening at the minute, with helping mum & sorting things out for her, jobs at home and some important projects to complete at work, it's going to be a tough 10 days or so. I had thought maybe the wrong time to end Run Streak as it's really made sure I train every day, but no, stick to the plan, focus, train as much as I can, get everything out of the way & bring on March.