The 'Life-Juggler's' Guide to a Sub 3 Marathon continued....

London Marathon Race Week

Nursery Flu.

Brilliant.

One can read as much of the scientific and lay press as one likes - and hence apply logic to circumstance - but when it actually happens to you, you never fail to get this - why me why now face!

I upped the mileage in a pre-race mild panic that i wouldn't be able to cover the distance despite having run my fastest ever half marathon in Bath — didn’t down the other stresses and immersed in the viral milieu of babyhood - i got ill, as did everyone else in the environs. 

I don’t do ill very well - as i am sure not many of you readers do either. Taking to bed - admitting that you are not bulletproof is a toughie. I threw everything at it.

• Lemon/Ginger/Manuka honey/Apple Cider Vinegar combo on waking
• Oregano and garlic oil capsule three times a day
• Doubled my probiotic powder (Had just started Dr Grace Liu’s BifidoMaximus)
• Put turmeric and black pepper on everything
• Drank rosehip tea like it was vintage pinot
• Vintage Pinot ;)

3 days of night sweats, drenching the bed and the Friday before the marathon - after a short 20 min ‘test’ run - I followed this by lots of food and an afternoon in bed.. bod went into conservative mode as i battled with the voice in my head saying I really was not well enough to tow the line at a marathon. 

I know the medical director of the London Marathon - Prof Sanjay Sharma and asked his advice. 

The words - viral endocarditis - were mentioned and i was told to be sensible. If you experience a heavy colds with fever in the lead in to a race - medics will advise you not to race. The risk of the virus - even if feel better for race day - there will likely still be virus in the body - travelling to the heart and causing a potentially life threatening condition is real.

Now i am not sensible - never have been - although i have become progressively more and more responsible since having Sophia.

Medical words of caution heeded - but still - these are things that happen to other people?You read about them - but its rare… right?

Not as rare as you think. My friend and prior training buddy Parys Edwards experienced this after toing the line at the Ironman 70.3 Champs in Vegas a few years ago. She was hospitalised and given high dose anti-biotics through a drip for days. She was lucky but it took a long time to recover. 

Still I managed to convince myself that Parys and me were different. I have trained with many people over the years - but aside from Jodie Swallow and Declan Doyle - I have never known anyone who can over-ride their central governor and push themselves past exhaustion - like Parys.

I have never been able to do that - always cautionary - always holding out for that sprint finish. Brett Sutton always told me that this was my downfall - my continual self-analysis - ‘just shut that brain up and race’ .. ‘suicide pace’ always alluded me. Perhaps this is a good thing. 

Saturday morning before the Sunday race.

Still not decided. Eat - go back to bed ( not so easy when you have a 1 year old toddler climbing all over you!)

4pm - Go to London and see how you feel.

'You can always run with a hippopotamus'

A Tweet i received which cheered my dour countenance  - you have a get out plan - always have a get out plan even if it does involve a slog with a hippo.

Slept on the train and arrived at my friend Kiri’s place - where a bounty of healthy foods awaited me and my race pack. Thanks chick! A positive sign for my recovery came out of the fact i was constantly hungry in these last two days and allowed myself to eat freely and increased the amount of carbs in my diet.

Although i am well fat adapted - as in i can burn fat to a relatively high heart rate - i still do have carbohydrates to maintain some metabolic flexibility. I just need less off them to maintain steady energy levels in an event.

 I think i ate almost whole loaf of home-made Deliciously Ella Seed Bread (gluten fee) with Avocado mash, amongst other delicacies.

More of said supplements above, a himalayan salt bath and bed.

Never sleep well before a race - even if I have low expectations - and I honestly did at this point. Not particularly helped by the fact Kiri lives a stones’ throw from the famous Fabric nightclub.

6.45am Race Day

I will run. 

There is a reason London Marathon is said to be one of the best marathons in the world.

It lives up to the hype. I was in the Club Championships (CC) entry having got a qualifying 1/2 mara time so was lined up metres behind the row of Kenyan Cheetahs. 

For many a common complaint is that it is difficult to run the first few miles of the mara at all as you are barging past aforementioned hippo’s et al. Thankfully being in the CC start meant it was full pace from the start.

I found myself next to Hywel Davies - someone who I usually think of as an endurance nutter - i then reminded myself that to many I myself am an endurance nutter. 

He was aiming for sub 2.30 and blazed into the distance. Steady and Easy were my mantras. I rarely run with heart rate but the cautionary tale from Prof Sharma was ringing in my ears so i watched my heart rate like a hawk. It formed part of my decision to tow the line. Resting HR and HRV normalised in the 48hrs pre race - muscle aching persisted but its common to feel heavy pre race as extra glycogen in the muscles store water alongside. See how you feel. There is always the Hippo.

I generally felt ok during the first miles - i knew my legs were heavy - no real bounce - but i tried to stay in the moment - take in the crowds, keep my leg turnover high and not get carried away running threshold pace like many around me. Pacing is one thing I have always been good at. I prob under-pace rather than anything. It was quite cold at this point and i felt silly for ditching my gloves at the start. Body fine, peripheries not so. I noticed there were many discarded gloves at the side of the road, so i stopped and put some on. Bit cheeky but it took my mind of my cold hands - solvable discomfort - we like that.

At Tower Bridge we approached the half marathon mark and i was still feeling good - and really did draw energy from the crowds at this juncture. I reminded myself running past my medical school Kings College - that running a marathon at that time to me (2003/4) had seemed like an impossible task. Here i was trying to do it at a pace which i could at that time not even run for 5 minutes. 

There were some dark times at medical school - a severe head injury after a skiing accident, binge eating/starving/over-boozing - a story for another time. Suffice to say i felt a mixture of sadness and pride crossing that bridge.

At 13 miles i stopped for a quick pee… then noticed less felt heavy on starting again. Hang on - they didnt feel like this at the end of the Bath Half and i still had over half way to go….hmmm … turned to the guy running next to me - ‘Do your quads hurt?’   (misery loves company)…

“No.. The real pain doesn’t start until mile 22”.. Damn that is 9miles away.. i don’t think my legs will last. 

I am stubborn - often very stubborn - and like the majority of you reading this i do not like to quit. 

When the pain hit - I asked myself

Why am i in pain ? 

Too little mileage ? But i never get quad pain? You’ve only run 27k as your longest run… Shut up coach said didn’t need to run long - must be the post-viral inflammation… muscle contraction less effective. 

Will the pain improve or worsen?

At Ironman UK the last (and only) time I ran a marathon I took paracetamol at the start of the run. Studies shows it can reduced perceived effort - especially in the heat. It wasn’t hot - but at this point i was thinking perhaps i should have considered having some on board. Considered asking a random member of the crowd - maybe a boozehound had some prophylaxis in his pocket. Decided was silly thought. Note I NEVER recommend pain-killers other than paracetamol in endurance events as studies have repeatedly shown they can cause kidney and even heart damage. Chronic use even worse. One of my criticisms of former coach Brett Sutton - used to dish out Voltaren like smarties. 

As a side note - NSAIDS like this can quite easily burn a hole in your stomach esp. when taken whilst exercising which generally increases gut ‘leakiness’ and acidity - As Multiple Ironman Champ Lucy Gossage will tell you from her personal experience of NSAID induced gut bleeding and subsequent anaemia (before she turned pro) - it is NOT worth the risk. Some say - 'well i’ll just take an acid-blocker alongside the painkiller' - we have acid in our stomachs for a reason - it aids digestion and prevents harmful bacteria/viruses/parasites from getting in. Do not recommend. GI Upset in endurance sport is obviously a blog post in its own right. I use activated charcoal - £3 on Amazon.. superb for gas/bloating - and also for mopping up the toxins from booze on a night out :)

The next 13miles went from being cheery/waving and - ‘isn’t this incredible, i am finally running the London marathon’ … to ‘bugger… i may not make this.. the pain in my quads was amplifying.

Looked at my watch - i had averaged 6.30 mile pace for the first half and was capable of talking all this time - felt easy .. then the leg pain - so CV discomfort (why would there be i was well below threshold).. energy felt constant.

Mile 19 - Do you legs hurt more now than they did at mile 15?

Not really.

Great … Its therefore not pathological .. they will not give way..  

Heart rate?  Steady not going over 150bpm.

pace had dropped to 4.30 pace for a couple of miles - i couldn't seem to keep my cadence up. Coming back past Tower Bridge I had another word myself. Its now or never.. you may not be in top shape but you have come here to run a sub 3hr marathon and if you want to do that - then its time to up your game. 

You play these games with yourself which in reflection seem a bit silly.

For me i was picturing my daughter Sophia (just 14months) and the tenacity she now shows lifting and walking with things.. what would she say to Mummy? You didn’t make your goal because you couldn't stand the pain? I pictured my Mum and Sophia watching the marathon on TV willing me on - they weren’t - they were on Bournemouth beach - but it is what i chose to believe at that time and it worked. Why do you run? 

I had my second gel - Torq Rhubarb/Custard and sipped it slowly - all the time practicing the psychological tip of externalising. I thought of my summers with my beloved Grandpa - eating freshly rhubarb - topped with steaming homemade custard. 

The Tunnel - at this point you only have a few miles left - a friend had told me the BlackFriars tunnel was a lonely place - but i welcomed the sensory change and felt somewhat energised by heavy based music. 

The Embankment - I saw a man collapsed just ahead. He looked in a bad way. I had to resist urges to go over and help as medical aid had just arrived. I learnt later he died. RIP David Seath.  You just never know when you card is up. This thought pressed me for a few minutes. Prof Sharma had told me that is should not race if i was ill in race week, yet i felt confident enough in my self awareness/physiology that i could at least start.

Heart Rate 152.

Those final miles were painful. I had imagined trotting along the embankment smiling at the crowds and taking in the atmosphere but all i was looking at was the clock fast approaching 3 hours. Now or never its just a bit of pain. I had to do a bit of elbowing past folks in the final mile as from somewhere i found some leg speed and finished with a sub 6.20mile. Always like a sprint finish me. 2.58 (which in my head is infinitely better than 2.59). Semantics.

 

I did my own personal high five and then had a few tears. Boxed ticked… you can be a little bit proud of this one. 

Yes my predicted time based on half mara performance was around 5 minutes faster - but all things considered - i am happy - and i’m ok. Heart rate dropped into normal range relatively quickly - and i didn’t feel unwell. I’d like to say i put my feet up with some of my wonderful friends who came to watch me (Kiri, Arianna - thank you for the fuel and massage) - I did - but only for an hour - as back to the mommy role… race to get home to see Sophia before she went to bed. I’ll pretend she is proud of me for now.. and maybe one day we can run a marathon together.

Key Take Away Points.

1.” It Doesn’t Have to be fecking Hard - But it Does have to be Consistent - which in turn makes it fecking hard. “    Thanks Sutto.

2. Long Slow Steady Runs in my opinion are not the pinnacle of marathon training.

3. Functional Strength training pays dividends.

4. Mental Resilience cannot be under-estimated.

5. Knowing that your Blood biomarkers are optimised is important - esp. if you are not feeling as ship-shape as you once have done. 

My (Historical) Issues

1. Low Iron (Ferritin <20)
2. Inappropriate Vitamin B12/Folate metabolism (MTHFR mutation - 23andMe > Genetic Genie)
3. Low Progesterone ( Agnus Cactus and appropriately timed natural progesterone helped with this).
4. Low free/available Testosterone (from years of being on the contraceptive pill which increases binding protein)

5. Low Magnesium

6. Too much Omega 6 compared to Omega 3 - measured as red cell Omega 3: 6 ratio.

7. Low Thyroid

My GP gave me ferrous sulphate which upset my gut (causes inflammation which as an athlete already predisposed to leaky gut is the last thing you need)

Floradix 2 full capfuls/day is my preferred effective option - although ferrous gluconate/bisglycinate with vit C is effective & tolerated well.

The other tests are not available through the NHS so we did them through my company www.curoseven.com - alongside a host of other integrative health testing (dutchtest.com, Metabolic/Organic Acids Testing, and Gut Function Testing.

Its only in the last few weeks after a few tweaks to my supplement regime based on the results of the above and through the help of incredible and infinitely humble Dr Tommy Wood that I have started to feel like a million dollars.  

Despite juggling of all the plates commonly known to fit, full time working, mums.

My house is not tidy, however.  I’m looking to out-source this one   :)

I recently presented with pal Ben Greenfield at The Biohacker Summitt and at The Public Health Collaboration event. 

Exciting, Busy Times.

I recently heard a term coined - "productivity addict" - anyone else like to put their hand up to this one? ;) Must Forest Bathe more.

Next Up I will be part of the Expert Panel with Dr Kelly Brogan and Dr Rangan Chatterjee (BBC Doctor in The House) at

This Event  in July.

Sure will be interesting. 

Cheers!

2014 Sportiedoc Race Updates

We are a little way into 2014 and with a few races under my belt to blow off the winter rust, here is  a update on my 'progress'.

In October 2013 we set up CuroSeven.Ltd. a company which offers proactive health consultations and performance optimisation through physiological analysis. (Blood/Saliva testing).

It has been an exciting time with much interest in the service but also a busy time. 

Training to race the best pro athletes in the world cannot be undertaken half heartedly and this is something that most age-group and some pro athletes will understand.

I average around 16 hours a week training - many pro's train for double this time. 
Ensuring there is quality in every session is key (easier said than done ;)

If you have to work between training sessions, your recovery both mental and physical can be compromised. Have a read here if you are interested in more about this. The crux is don't do your quality - hard sessions when you have had a mentally challenging/stressful day.

Caffeine seems to prevent the decline in performance seen with mental fatigue, but then recovery and adaptation may be affected if the workout is in the evening. 
Interestingly caffeine tends to be performance 'enhancing' in the morning but not pm.

See : Improvements on neuromuscular performance with caffeine ingestion depend on the time-of-day

Race 1 - Challenge Fuerteventura.

If this race has been 2 weeks earlier I would have been confident about my ability to fight for the top spots. I had my best ever training camp with coach Tom Bennett at Ferrer Hotels in Mallorca.

But as is often the case when things are going well, i noticed a niggle towards the end of the camp in my peroneals which was revealed by a timely ultra-sound scan (thanks @ParysEdwardsTri) to be a peroneal and calf tear.

Lesson - Don't change cleats (from SpeedPlay back to Shimano and fiddle incessantly with the position..) Constant microtearing of the muscle has resulted in a significant tear all the way along the peroneal border and part of the soleus muscle. 

Result - 8 days no running pre race.

This race is held out of Playitas Resort which many Pro Athletes use as a winter base - hence a stacked start list with multiple IM and 70.3 winners.

Performance on the day was decidedly average. I missed the pack in the swim and swam alone - need to work on the first 400m acceleration - as being a one-paced wonder - does not cut it.  Goggles got kicked off - so Sighting was interesting. 

Bike was ok, but perceived effort was higher for the power that i was hoping to push and my calf injury niggled with each pedal stroke, mentally undermining my race head. 

I made up some of the lost time on the swim but had hoped for more and came into the T2 in 4th. I went out tentatively as I didn't know how the leg would feel. Any sharp pain and instructions were to stop - no sharp pain and I jogged on. And this is how the run went - no digging deep, no fighting for the podium - just a run which didn't tax my injury and which may have had been sidelined from upcoming races. Eimear Mullan whom I have battled with in races before - came through with a storming run to run through from 6th to 2nd, with only Camilla Pedersen remaining ahead.  Read more about Camilla's incredible return from coma to racing here. To put it in perspective I ran a 1.30 half marathon which is often what my long sunday runs end up being.  (Coach says I am over-striding in this photo btw.

First race done, dusted and onwards.

Race 2 - Ironman 70.3 Mallorca 

This was one of my A races - I have trained in Mallorca numerous times and know the roads and the one big climb in the race (up to Lluc) well. (Still holding the Strava QOM last time i checked) I felt fit, ready and strong. I had my Dad, Coach and boyfriend all there supporting me and making sure my bike went into the race mechanical free (for those that know me - know that mechanics ain't my strong point - but i have learnt the hard way from my laissez faire attitude to the allen key.)

Race Day. 
Smooth right up until the start. I had decided to race with my one armed wetstuit - a modified BlueSeventy Helix

I know it looks odd, but it has worked for me in the past. 

Reason - 2 x collar-bone breaks means that I have restricted range on that side - even the most flexible wetsuit affects my ability to get into a high elbow catch - this helps, but downside is water gets into the suit - meaning more drag. I have tried to get hold of the sleveless wetsuit, but availability is low.

Swim - Beach Start. Sophie Goos, Liz Blatchford and Last Years' (and this years') winner - Lisa Hutthaler - (who's reputation and ban for EPO use - amongst other things - precedes her)...
all went out hard from the gun. 

Liz Blatchford as a former ITU athlete and super swimmer immediately got ahead with a few perfectlly executed dolphin dives. I swam with Lisa and Sophie alternating position for most of the way until we caught some of the slower male pros who then tried rather viciously to usurp my position and i lost feet, got dunked and had to swim wide to get clear. I exited T1 around 20secs behind this group and a few minutes behind Liz. Game on. 

On to the Bike, legs felt good from the start which is rare for me and I pushed ahead on the road through Pollenca - catching Sophie,  Astrid Ganzow (Also a Doctor who won her AG in Kona last year.. ) and Natasha Schmitt. Then in the lead into the climb I started to get a cramp in my calf ( the healing injury_) and my watts dropped as I tried to stretch and offload it. Not too bad and back on it quickly. 

The girls came past me once more at this point and we went onto the climb together. 
I had instructions to cap watts on this climb (sub threshold) and I did... but suprisingly the others were pushing hard all to'ing and fro'ing. I kept them in my sights but didn't attack, biding my time. 

Over the climb and onto the descent which I have done countless times. I am descending well this year, thanks to some practice and learning how to place weight appropriately on the pedals when cornering. 

Thank you to http://ulrichscherbaum.wordpress.com/ for the photo.

I do, however, have the tiniest tri bars which can make handling somewhat interesting. 

Through one of the last corners on the descent and a Goat came out of the blue - trotted onto the road - i could see it perhaps 20m away. It stopped - seemingly assessing my intentions - and then aborted its crossing the road mission - and ran back the way it came. I had gambled on it continuing to cross so swerved that way to avoid and then narrowly missed hitting it as I came off the side of the road. 
This was all a blur which I did not remember until hours after the incident when I slowly started to replay the event in my mind. I had hit my head hard, as my helmet showed, but aside from feeling dizzy and nauseas (it will pass - I told myself as I got back on the bike... - i was roadrash free (body landed on the verge - head on the concrete)..

Not the actual goat - he was caught and curried ;0

ARE YOU STILL WITH ME??

Back on the bike - steady - steady - as I was turning onto the road to Campanet some time later my vision started to blur and i kept nodding my head to bring it back... then more dizziness.. then I vomited. A race motorcycle who had seen the fall, kept me in its sights and as I was they pulled up to me and told me to stop. Seeing sense - I did, got off the bike, sat down, still shaking and vomited again. An ambulance was called - which arrived in what seemed seconds, and soon I was in Inca Hospital.

Tides of emotion came as I lay in a cubicle in the hospital with a drip and heart monitor attached. I am not one to cry normally, but I couldn't stop the tears.

Frustration, disappointment, self-blame/pity you name it.

All augmented by the wails of clearly unwell patients nearby. Its a powerless feeling being the other side of the fence in a hospital, waiting for the medics to pass by, make decisions and the very atmosphere of a hospital makes one feel infinitely more sick than one may actually be.

I was kept on a heart monitor as my initial ECG showed Large T Waves - common in some athletes - but not common in the general population and also a few ectopic beats. A look of concern on a doctors' face is always invokes apprehension, but i assured her that I was feeling ok, just a slight headache and persistent nausea. I was advised to stay and I did as I was told for 4 hours (no mean feat ;) . Blood tests and a skull xray ruled out rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown which can cause kidney failure) and a fracture.
I was diagnosed with concussion and told to take it easy. 

Back to the hotel and I slept for some hours before waking hungry (always a good sign)... 

The days post crash were similar - I felt a bit battered, heavy and with a lingering headache. My hip was bruised and a little swollen, but otherwise not too bad.

By Wednesday, I started to consider the possibility of putting my goat demons to rest and approached Ironman to ask if I could race Ironman 70.3 Barcelona. 

I was told it was too late to arrange entry, so tried a second option of Ironman 70.3 France, where I have raced twice before and know the organisers. Thursday they agreed to arrange entry, and I booked flights to arrive Friday.

Friday morning arrives - I wait at the airport for my 'Meet N'Greet' to pick up my car. 20minutes later than scheduled he arrives and I race to the checkin desk only to be informed that they could not accept my bike 45mins pre flight. No other option - Can't board - must reschedule. 
Told reschedule would be the same time Saturday..  and a million thoughts go through my mind - I have never arrived to a foreign race the afternoon before - and the logistics of the race in France with a T1 30k away from T2 means it would not be an easy pre-race day. 

I agree and I fly out on Saturday.
At least I know the course. 

Hastily build bike - no mechanics on site to check it over and I could feel my rear derailleur was out after a quick spin - tried a Di2 reset - it did something but didn't quite fix it.
Have to make do. (No boyfriend or coach for mechanical check :)

Race 3 - Ironman 70.3 PAYS D'AIX 

A Few hours of sleep stolen. Does anyone ever sleep well before a race?

I can guarantee I will look at my phone clock every hour from midnight until the 5am alarm.

Swim.

Struggled to get my breath... panicked (its been years since this has happened).
Stopped pulled at wetsuit around my neck..

a few diaphragmatic breaths and self reassurance.. heart pounding (your heart is fine Tam...) onwards. 
Tried to follow feet but they kept moving. (or was that my sighting ?)
Got into a rhythm and swam alone.
I'm in a funk with my swim at the moment as have changed from a six beat kicker to a 2 beater. it helps with my rhythm/balance - but in a wetsuit - I'm so buoyant I don't seem to get much out of the kick at all - hence accelerating/changing speed is difficult.
 

Couldnt wait to get out - and onto the bike - even though the swim course is in a beautiful calm lake. (Turn Volume down!)

Onto the bike ... Game on..  Head down and Aero. 
Damn forgot to look at the road and a newly built speed bump. Bang - am on the ground again. 

Chain lodged against frame -- pulled it out - sliced hand (a g a i n ) picked up bike .. jumped back on. 

Gears slipping noisily from the outset must have hit derailleur and back wheel as brake now rubbing. Got off - rectified wheel position - but another Di2 reset did nothing for my gears. 
Make Do - Just Make Do. 

I caught a few girls and a cursory look from Jeanne Collonge at my bleeding hand and she asked if I was ok. Sweet.  We would ride together legally for a while... Jeanne pulling ahead slightly on some of the climbs (usually my strength but Jeanne is one of the best climbers in the sport - having won Embrunman - an Ironman with over 5000m of climbing).. and me catching and passing on the descents and flats. 

My gears continued to slip throughout the ride - you could hear me coming! But I felt relatively strong.

My Tri Bars and Saddle had slipped as I went over the speed bump, meaning my position was less than ideal - it was all less than ideal - but thats racing - you roll with the punches. 

Into T2 with Jeanne in 3rd behind Tine Deckers (who had swam well).. and the incredible (how many Ironmans?) Gina Crawford. 

Onto the run course and within 5 minutes I get a stop and go penalty for not having my number belt round the wrong way - this has never happened before - perhaps a warning - but no messing - yellow card.. I used the opportunity to go for a much need pee. It is 'illegal' to pee in public on the course, but many can and do pee whilst you are running. But there were a lot of marshalls and regular Vitamin B consumption means bright yellow conspicuous pee. 

Some days you get on the run and know its going to be a good 'un. Other days legs won't do what the body wants them to.

NUTRITION
This is where fuelling on the bike comes in. Because I avoid refined carbohydrates as much as possible my gut really doesn't take kindly to an attempt to take 5 gels on the bike.
They say train your gut to be able to tolerate and absorb carbohydrates but I'm just so put off by all the negative sugar press... that the thought of taking on 2-4 gels an hour on a training ride doesn't happen. I do 'drip feed' carbs on training rides.. but nothing like the 60+g an hour which evidence suggests improves performance on race day. (if tolerated, i.e no GI effects).

I ALWAYS take Buscopan on the bike as well as Omeprazole 20mg pre race to limit GI side effects. They are tried and tested and work, as do Charcoal tabs (reduce bloating and nausea) - but race nutrition needs to be trialled (more than once) in training - esp. if you are an age-grouper who doesn't race frequently. 
GI issues are amongst the most common complaints post race.

I would say I am sugar phobic, but I will happily munch on chocolate (and wine) so its not quite true.

Need to work on this as I may experiment more with a little MCT oil, BCAA's (may prolong exercise tolerance) as well as the carbs - but again at the intensity of an 70.3 absorption of MCT's (fats) is going to be limited.

Like many Pros I empty the gels into a large 750ml water bottle and fill up with water. 
Vanilla Powerbar is my current gel of choice, with 10g of BCAA's. I managed 3 gels on the bike and 1/2 gel and a few sips of coke on the run. The rest was fuelled on fat stores and glycogen.

My hamstring and hip were sore and i felt like I was having to lift the leg through rather than pushing off.. I see Jeanne run away into the distance  (She would run a sub 1.19 run and win the race)... but had no idea where Gina, Tine or Susie (last years winner) were.  I just kept truckin, feeling very blah.
Then on the last lap I saw Susie (superb runner)..
 closing and I thought if I could run and increase my turnover a bit I might just be able to hold her off.. She caught me on the run to win the race last year with me finishing 2nd. (Sept.).. If I could salvage something and finish ahead that would be something. 

Here is My Race Report from The Race Last Year.

I managed it and crossed the line in a respectable 4th. 
Not outstanding and many obstacles en route. But testing times, often make us stronger in the long run.

I am determined not to give up racing until i at least get a glimpse of a near perfectly executed race!

Pipe Dream or Not. 

Build a dream and the dream will build you

I am still deciding on upcoming races.

Ironman Nice is still on the Agenda.. but time to put the nose to the grindstone again and re-balance my training/work schedule. 

Exciting news that my new bike - Felt IA has arrived at Pearson Cycles! 

Thanks for Listening! 

(DO as I say - not as I do ;)

Special Thanks to all my Sponsors for their support and to my Coach Tom Bennett for his endless patience/exasperation...