Coniston Old Man triathlon, the best, most under entered event in the UK??

I had heard great things about this very local event from various friends and past competitors. Once described as the toughest 70.3 in the country, until Wasdale tri came into existence, it had been on my list for a few years. I had heard it was a well organised event with a friendly atmosphere that seems to accompany all My Tri Events but always a little low on entries. I knew I would enjoy the course, 33% climbs on the bike and a proper fell run with an awesome descent from the Old Man of Coniston.

Almost perfect timing for a last stretch of the legs before the Celtman in 10 days time. It was a tentative decision as its a little closer than I would have liked, but my recovery has been great so far this year (Berry Power;)), I feel fit and decided if I did not feel good I had no worries about pulling out or easing off. Its all training after all. :)

There is no doubting the course suited me, so I had some expectations going into the race but did not want to bury myself for a result and risk injury or a slow recovery. I wanted to feel in control and smooth for the whole race, so I had to manage those expectations and accept the outcome. This was all going to plan, until the final 2km of the run, but it all turned out very well in the end.

The Swim-

Kind of less said the better for this really, cant work out if it was slightly long or I was very slow but its just one swim in one race. If it was long I swam well, if not, I was well off my normal tempo training pace. Anyway, chimp aside (Thanks Blair!:)), I missed the start as I was making my way back from warming up to find some faster feet, lesson learnt. With no one to draft at least it was a nice clear swim round, I came out of the water in 6th place, but already 6mins down on the leader, Sam Steele from Newcastle University Tri.

The Bike-

I love this bike course! A steep, hilly start with my 2 favorite Lake District passes ;) (Wrynose and Hardknott), followed by the awesome Birker Fell interspersed with some flat to rolling sections at the back end. Oh and one more hill, Kirby Moor. 1500m of climbing in about 70km, is it possible to save the legs for the run with 33% gradients thrown in? Sort of, but those hills never feel any easier, I find a HR monitor really useful for this, early on  its easy to push on a bit to much with the adrenaline. Each hill passed in control and below my pre determined HR. I planned to ride around the 2hr.40 mark and came into transition just under. Very happy with this and knowing I was clear in second place, I asked Jo how far in front the leader was. 12mins now! Sam had put in a super bike split for that course, a really good effort. I knew I had my strongest discipline to come, a proper fell run, so I thought I might catch him, but it was quite a lot to make up.






The Run-

Awesome does not do justice for this run! Basically following the Coniston horseshoe, over Wetherlam, Swirl How, Brim Fell and lastly the Coniston Old Man, before a rocky, technical slate descent, another 1000m of climbing. Starting the run I knew my legs felt good, a nice flat run out for about 2km before climbing onto the ridge leading to Wetherlam. This is steep in places, but I was happy to run most of it and felt good doing so. I kind of forgot about chasing anyone and just enjoyed moving smoothly over the technical terrain, enjoying being in the hills despite the clag and mist. The course was superbly marked so no getting lost to worry about. I felt sure footed on the greasy rocky sections and soon reached the summit of the Old Man. No idea how far I was behind, did not even bother asking, too busy enjoying the excellent running. The descent was fantastic, I felt smooth and relaxed, not pushing and knowing that I was in 2nd and could relax to the finish, saving the legs for the next race. Then I spotted Sam, about 3km from the finish, not moving great, I knew I was going to catch him, it had to be quick, decisive and ideally on the last bit of technical trail before the road. I did not want be racing someone clearly as fast as him on the final flat section! I put in an effort, opened a gap and that is how it stayed. He did not break though, I had to keep on the gas till the final 400m into the finish line.

Movescount Link for the run



It was a nice confidence boost to pick up the win and a great little battle with Sam at the end. I learn more every time I race and the relaxed feeling having let go of a few expectations before I started meant I enjoyed every bit of the race. Certainly something to bear in mind for the future.

Thing is, I cant see why this great little event does not get more entries. I have seen this written in the past, now I understand. It adds adventure to your standard triathlon, with a very well organised and friendly feel. Hopefully it will get the attention it deserves next year, Its part of an amazing weekend of swim events and triathlons put on by My Tri, perfect for a family weekend, running commentary, stuff for kids to do, food on site and even camping. Long may this race continue. You could even do the double, Standard Triathlon the day before then the Old Man....There's an idea :)



Next up its the first of the big ones. Cannot wait :)

Massive thanks to the team at My Tri, TrueMountain and all the amazing marshals that made the event possible, 10/10 from me, great job, see you next year!

Photos are courtesy of MovieIt and TrueMountain, thanks guys!

As always thanks for the support from Zone3, CurraNZ, Eleven Sprocket, La Sportiva, Blair Davies Coaching, TrecNutrition and Designed2Run.

Slateman Triathlon 2015

So there it is, first triathlon of 2015 completed, its always a relief to get the first one out of the way, I find pre race nerves are always a little heightened, but soon as the start gun goes all that disappears and race auto pilot takes control.

What better place to kick things off than Llanberis, Snowdonia and the amazing Slateman triathlon. It really has a big race atmosphere, friendly feel, great competition and an awesome course. Over 1200 people took part in the race on Sunday, long may this continue.

Ready to roll!

The race is short and fast by my usual standards so pre race goals were short and sweet. A better swim, hold back a little on the bike and finish with a strong run. Last year I was 178th out of the water and finished 27th, I had to really hammer the bike for that, hence all the work on swimming through winter.

Last year I was actually scared at the start of the swim, this year I felt loads more relaxed and confident. I was a bit disappointed the swim was shortened, but again not enough to worry me. I decided not to change my plan for the swim, go out hard, not too hard, then settle down. With the shortening,  flat out from the start  would have been more appropriate strategy but the plan will go with me to Celtman and Norseman, good to get it ingrained. I made a mistake positioning at the start, way to far right, but at the front. I tend to pull slightly right and the distance was greater, mental note, think about this and assess as soon as you get in the water, it was a little too late before I noticed.

I hit the first buoy wide, nice not to be involved in the madness in tight, turned and settled down. I felt stronger as I went on and swam at a pace I would be comfortable at for a long time. Only one lung full of water on the way round, the water was fresh but I did not feel cold. I got out and realized I had actually enjoyed that swim and felt fresh. From 178th last year to 71st this year, think we can take that as a success Blair Davies ;).

Happy with the swim! :) Thanks for the pic Warren :)

Heading out onto the bike there was still work to do, but certainly less than last year. The bike course is amazing! Undulating, lumpy, with a couple of significant climbs but open roads, it feels fast. I felt strong as we hit the first climb, Pen Y Pas, defiantly more in the tank to play with than last year and the descent from here to Capel Curig is unreal. Perfect road surface and open, you can really hammer it. As we turned onto the next climb over to Ogwen, we hit the wind. I settled down and stayed on the bars, last year I was still hammering here but this years effort level felt easier. Another fast descent had me smiling, the locals were out in force again with cowbells and people stopped cars to cheer us on. Another reason I love this race. :)

It was good to come into transition feeling fresher than usual, I had held back a little and could not wait to get out onto the run. Its another cracker, the runable zig zags of the quarryman's climb eventually lead to a technical single track descent through the woods, with a slight sting in the tail. The course had changed slightly from last year and was longer. I found my running legs quickly caught a few places before the climb. I did not feel great here, but was gaining on a few and running with 2 others. I knew my cards could be played on the downhills and technical running to come. Running with 4 others as we hit the first bit of single track, I hit the descent really hard, dropping 3 straight away and eventually the 4th, but it took a really big effort, not much left in the tank. The 4th guy would eventually pass me on a steep downhill on the road, I managed to maintain contact and we passed 2 more on the final sting in the tail hill. Could have done with a bit more speed in my legs for a better run, but my game plan worked as well as I could have hoped for.

Chasing and being chased to the end!

I finished in 2.32 (2.41 last year) and 17th place overall. A successful day, more race rust shaken off and some good improvements on last year. I feel confident things are looking very good for the seasons main goals :).

Mountain running legend Ian Holmes does triathlon too!

Massive thanks to the organizers and the amazing support from locals out on the course, this is an amazing event, highly recommended, it should be on every ones bucket list of triathlons! Probably see you next year :). Great to catch up with friends who also had great races, well done everyone!

Also thanks to Zone3 wetsuits, my VictoryD wetsuit was amazing in its first race, pretty sure I did not feel the chill in the lake thanks to this and its unreal to swim in.  If your looking for a new set of hoops, check out Eleven Sprocket, awesomeness in a carbon clincher, hand built with pride in Yorkshire, the 58mm wheel set was perfect in the blustery conditions. My LaSportiva HeliosSR shoes worked great without a sock, perfect for off road triathlon.  As usual TrecNutrition and Curranz looked after nutrition and recovery.

Next triathlon stop, Coniston Standard distance! Maybe see you there!

Summer In Torridon, be prepared fellow Celt-People! :)

A short clip from MovieIt taken on the recent training camp in Celtman country, the moral of the story is be prepared! Top of the Coulin Pass and a mini blizzard, in summer, I love this race :)

Was this only 2 weeks ago running through the Coulin Pass...? enjoyed having the sun on my back this morning Zone3 Lyon Outdoor Curranz Blair Davies Coaching
Posted by Chris Stirling on Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Celtman Training camp, Torridon

As I write this blog, we are just under 8 weeks out from the Celtman, the first main race of the season. The way I structure my training means I am currently deep into the build phase of my program. Race specific challenging workouts are the key during this phase, the previous months of training have all been keyed to get to this point ready for some serious work. I believe it is the next 3/4 weeks training, will ultimately make the difference on race day. It means a little more rest between sessions/blocks but we need this to get stronger. Luckily race specific for me means more time in the mountains, hills and lakes. Time for a trip to Torridon to test the fitness on the Celtman course, cant get more specific than that! :)

The forecast for the 4 day trip was not great but after the amazing weather of the last 2 weeks I decided it would be a good test and toughen me up a bit. During the 4 days we had everything from sunshine, snow, wind and rain. Very different to last year, it was back to full winter in the hills but at no point did the weather or conditions interfere with the quality of training. The weather gods played ball but still threw a few tests our way to keep us on our toes.

I find its important to have a plan and some goals for trips like this, so I had  key sections and some splits from last year that I planned race pace efforts on. For running, the climb out of t2, the main climb from T2a and most importantly the final descent to the road from the Loch under the triple buttress. I lost time here last year, its the only part of the race I felt I under performed so it has been a key focus in training so far. More running hard downhill, which I avoided last year. On the bike the plan was to ride 95% of the course and make a few efforts along the way. Swimming in Loch Shieldaig was also on the cards, just to get used to the temperature and remind myself that its not that bad ;).

We based ourselves at the amazing SMC Ling hut, the perfect base, everything you need and sitting under Ben Eighe looking up at the trig point, no shortage of inspiration. :)



Day 1- Bike- 191km- 2400M ascent

We started in Glen Torridon, a few miles from the finish line, road the whole course to Achnasheen, then headed back over to Torridon via Kinlochewe. Steve dusted off his bike and joined me for the whole trip, having barely ridden this bike for ages this is some feat of endurance, from the couch to 195km is a pretty big ask! The day was perfect for it. The big learning point and a reminder for me was its a long way from Garve to Achnasheen (espcially if you are low on calories!) and even further to T2. I hit an effort from Braemore Junction to the end of Loch Glascarnoch and down to into Garve. Its really fast here, but would be really easy to burn too much and suffer on the drag from Garve to T2. It needs a bit of attention to pacing for sure. A lack of attention to nutrition lead too a tough climb back over and down to Kinlochewe. Another lesson learnt/reminded.





Day 2- Swim- 1.3km and Run 19km, Ben Eighe mountain section

First swim, tide was a bit low and the windy conditions made for a choppy sea, not ideal for quality training but it could be like this on race day so good to get in and get it done. Its also good to see the hard work in the pool has payed off (Thanks Blair!). Temp was about 8.5 degrees, think its gonna be a cool one this year! Tried out the Zone3 Neoprene Warmer Vest with my VictoryD suit, no problem with the cold, core nice and warm,

The run was interesting with full winter conditions on the tops and large patches of neve guarding the exit to the ridge below the trig point. No problem, we found an alternative way round the back, all part of the fun. Still got the important split, 3mins up on last year to just below the ridge, felt comfortable too. The ridge had plenty of snow which made for difficult running and the traverse into the col at the top of the gully was guarded by more neve. The next key section was the downhill from the Lochan overflow below triple buttress. Rough but very runable if your comfortable on fell type terrain. This is where I struggled last year, on what should be my specialty. 4 mins quicker and again more comfortable. Another successful day.

            

Day 3- Brick- Torridon to T2 bike- 43km- Coulin Pass run- 15km- Swim- 900m

The aim of today's session was to ride the bike hard enough to have a bit of it in the legs when starting the run, the key section being the climb from T2 to the top of the Coulin pass. Same split time, but lower average HR and peak HR. Good signs. We were met with a blizzard at the top, like I said conditions were different to last years sunshine but its all very good training.


The weather miraculously cleared in the afternoon, so finished the day off with another choppy, low tide, fresh swim. Sure this is great for recovery. So was the refueling Pizza and chips from Shieldaig Bar, awesome does not do it justice! Perfect end to the day.



Day 4- Run- 15km, Final road finish and back.

Legs well and truly toasted by now, bit like they will be at the end of the race so the perfect chance to run the final road section. The sessions goal was keep a steady pace for the first half, then lift the effort level a bit on the way back. I could certainly feel the last 3 days in my legs but kept the cadence up, time for a bit of visualization of the finish of Celtman, on tired legs.

So another 4 tough days in the bank, The total hours for this six day block added up to 27hrs, a big week for sure. I also managed a good weeks training last week, so recovery has been great. Another solid week to go before an easy week leading into the first triathlon of the season, The Slateman in North Wales. Cannot wait! :)

Massive thanks to Steve from MovieIt and his Peter for the photos, film, company and laughs along the way. :)

Celtman Training Clip

Just back from an amazing 4 days up in Torridon training on the Celtman course with Steve from MovieIt. He kindly collected some footage and put together this small clip to give a flavor of the trip and conditions. Great company, bit of adventure and happy to find out that training is right on track for this years race.

A little more challenging than last year for sure but to be honest with all this good weather recently it was good for the mind to be a bit more out of the comfort zone. Stay tuned for a more detailed blog, in the mean time I hope you enjoy the clip.

Whinlatter Xtreme Duathlon

After a winter of very successful training and hard work it felt great to be back racing again. Such an amazing race to kick off the season as well, loads of hills and a very technical course, another HighTerrain Events masterpiece, it certainly lives up to its name and has to be the hardest (most fun?) of its type in the U.K. It was also my first multisport race since the Wasdale Triathlon way back in September, so I felt a little more nervous than usual standing on the start line. I knew the field had some great athletes racing this year so it would be a very good test of where the winters work had left me.

The format is 9km fell/mountain run, 25km MTB and 9km trail/fell to finish, with over 1600m of ascent/descent. The summits of Grisedale Pike, Seat How, Lords Seat and Barf are all visited on the runs.

I think the rustiness and lack of racing showed from the start, my warm up was not great and I was not fully switched on and ready for the fast 2km loop to start. A gap opened up to the leaders quickly, I decided not to spend any more than I was already. Never the less my head was down a bit, the race plan was to be out front and I thought I should have been. This is not something I usually worry about when I am into my racing more, much better to race your own race than someone else's and its pretty much essential to do this for the longer stuff. I settled in for the rest of the run, but never felt I got going till the final technical part of the descent. Single track down into the woods, steep and twisty, I finally felt I found my legs and had warmed up.

A bit of faffing in transition (its hard to undo laces with MTB gloves on, more rust!) and I headed out onto the bike leg. The trails at Whinlatter forest are great, but I have not been out on the MTB too often recently and do lack a bit of skill so I was pretty happy to make up some places early on and only lose a couple coming back into transition. I felt great on the ups, all the threshold work over the winter has left my biking legs in good shape, good news for the seasons main races. I enjoyed the bike but its hard to tell how you are doing, the trails are in the forest and twisty. On the way into transition I saw Dave Wilby (last years winner) just in front, so I had an idea the ride had been ok, I now wondered if holding back on the first run would pay off heading out onto the the final leg.

I knew straight away I felt good, I love running up hills, I enjoy it even more off the bike. Don't know why, something about the extra challenge of keeping the legs turning over, battling gravity at the same time and fighting the feeling to give in and walk. I know made up around 3 places on the run and actually felt stronger the further into it I got. More good signs that the diesel engine is waiting to be revved up for Celtman and Norseman. A very solid run split confirms I was right to hold back, it was close in the end, under 1min30 to first place and seconds between the rest.

Late to the party but a good performance for the first race of the season and great signs that all the training has paid off. Great to be back racing, time to build and tweak before the Slateman in May.

Recovery has been great, off to Torridon for 4 days end of this week, a little bit of training on the course and chance to get some mega miles in the legs after Sundays speed session!

Congrats to James Walker and Marie Meldrum, winners of Whinlatter Extreme.

Massive thanks to Dave at DPB Images for helping out with a lift to the race, he also took all the awesome photos :). Thanks to Zone3Wetsuits, LaSportiva, Blair Davies Coaching, CurraNZ , TrecNutrition and Designed2Run Sports Therapy as always, helping me concentrate on the training and racing!

Race results here.

MovesCount of the race here.

Strava Bike route here.

Next stop Torridon with Steve from MovieIt!


New Zealand blackcurrant supplement CurraNZ, from Health Currancy Ltd

The Big Week, training for Celtman/Norseman double.

Apologies for the lack of blogging recently but that does usually mean I have been up to plenty, training has to take priority and keeping focussed is key, as I was reminded by a few friends recently. If man calls you a horse call him a fool, but if two do buy yourself a saddle..or at least get sat on the bike one. :)

We have had the Big Day blog, so here is the big week, a training camp of sorts but no travelling involved. The Lake District provides all I need for the races that inspire me so as always I do my best to use it, sometimes even the weather plays ball! If not no worries, at least come race day I can welcome whatever conditions are thrown at me, knowing I have trained in worse.

Bit of background, I had a tough couple of weeks, lots on as well as training and work, a few disappointing sessions, then I got a cold the day before a race I had entered. I took a few days rest and then booked 5 days off from work. The goal was to get back on track, mainly swimming. Blair Davies  scheduled 5 swims for me (love checking training peaks for these!), I planned a recce of an English Champs fell race (Duddon) ) and wanted to get plenty of time on the bike in too. I had a trip to Dublin for a christening at the end of the week so I would get a rest during this time.

So I might schedule 2/3 weeks like this in my build up to racing Celtman and Norseman, both really ultra distance triathlons and with only 5 weeks to recover between. A week like this is pretty hard on the body, so recovery and nutrition are super important. I find CurraNZ such a help to get through sessions/weeks like this and honestly see it as key to the gains I have made this winter so far. 2 caps a couple of hours before my main session for the day seems to work wonders, for recovery and during the training itself, particularly in my experience for threshold work. I have also added some Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA), Glutamine and Beta Alanine to my diet, before and after training. This has also been great for recovery as I have stepped up the training this year, thanks TrecNutrition!

First up was a 5hr day in the fells, 1800m of ascent and about 30km. Off trail on pretty rough ground, a tough start to the week but maybe best to get it out of the way :). It had everything that I love about training in the mountains, almost perfect weather and great company. The sort of session I would normally expect a bit of Doms from...

http://www.movescount.com/moves/move55332968

Day 2 and the first of 6 swims in 7 days. The thing I love most about Blair's coaching is the variety. Every set has different paces/recovery/focusses but I swim hard, short, long, threshold, you name it. All carefully thought out and scheduled, most importantly specific to my goals. I would like to be racing in Norway, so getting completely left behind on the swim is not an option. My sessions reflect this, but also they also allow me to recover. Today was 6x100, Max effort, with 6mins active recovery between. My Max effort are now 10secs quicker than this time last year, most importantly I am feeling stronger all the time at holding pace. The gains are still coming!

I also did a steady 50min turbo, zone2 and a short bike to spin the legs out from yesterdays efforts. Guess what, no sign of the dreaded Doms, a little heavy to start but warmed up fine. 

Day 3, 1hr30 in the pool, more Max 100's but also an aerobic set to finish. The long warm up with drills etc made up for a tough set and I felt a little tired from yesterday.

http://www.movescount.com/moves/move55509711

Today was also long bike day. I don't really like to just go out and plod, so had one sub-threshold 20min interval on flat/rolling planned the a challenging section with lots of hills for more of the same. It was an awesome day for riding, 5hrs in the saddle, with plenty of quality. My biking is a lot stronger than last year, good to confirm this out on the long rides. This is a classic lake district training loop, well worth a look if your after a beautiful, challenging ride without a super steep pass.

http://www.movescount.com/moves/move55537283

http://www.movescount.com/moves/move55537161

Day 4, 1hr pool, aerobic/endurance focus, 10x200, even splits, every second with pull buoy. Starting to get back into the swimming now.

The afternoon was 2.5hrs on the fells, with the focus being about 1hr, uphill at just below threshold. A weather front hit just as I reached the top, epic! It was hard to run down hill, straight into it. Lucky I had packed the extra kit, finished of with 30mins low level trail running then had a massive cup of tea and warmed back up!

http://www.movescount.com/moves/move55619241

Day 5, today I feel like a swimmer, 4 days on, sessions challenging but manageable and recovery great. First goal of the week complete, swimming feels back on track!

Bike today was short but steady, on the TT bike. Another route I used a lot last year, 1 short steady climb with a 10mile flat section. I will be back here for some intervals through April and May, great for tuning into flat\rolling race specific paces. Steady effort level.

http://www.movescount.com/moves/move55704022

One more swim to go before a rest day, but have to admit I am enjoying it now! It would be a Blair Davies special with the words hard before it though! Bring it on!

http://www.movescount.com/moves/move55795887

20x50 Max effort with 40secs rest, plus an aerobic set to finish. I ended up doing 25 due to a busy pool and miscount, have to admit the rest day was such an appealing thought after the session! Sorry arms!

A rest day the onto swim number seven. I had just under an hour in a 50m pool (love them!) So did 4x100  hard, 2x200 pull, 4x100 hard, 2x200 pull with a warm up and cool down. Swim was confirmed back on track!

In the evening I did 30mins tempo on the road, not far off managing a 10km pb in the 45min 12km session, must have been the CurraNZ and good Dublin air ;).

http://www.movescount.com/moves/move56124788

I won't bore you with a full run down of the stats but it was about 25hrs in 7 days, with plenty of swimming, quality and hills. A good solid week in the bank, best thing is I carried on into the current week feeling great, no recovery issues or niggles. A good test of the winters hard work. Thanks Curranz and TrecNutrition :) Looking forward to an easier week next week though, race season is getting closer and I cannot wait to get started! 

First up will be the awesome HighTerrain Events Winlatter Extreme Duathlon, hoping the weather allows the full 1st run course this year! Maybe see you there. :)