Triathlon in a day

I came in to work running this morning, I went swimming at lunch time and soon I will go home on the bike (with new front inner tube). I even had a photo shoot at lunchtime for a book showing the various activities that employees get up to. In my case I got to ride my bike in the forest nearby (it's actually a private area open only to employees - I personally prefer to use the rest of the forest as the whole point of training outside for me is not to feel like I'm fenced in).

With the logistical challenge of a triathlon (with press photo shoot!) during the week, it was inevitable that I would end up cutting some corners, some intentional (like wearing my RunAmoc Dash shoes which were small enough and light enough to carry in my backpack) and some unintentional (let's just say I forgot a couple of key items of clothing). I think I was really pushing the envelope of what can be considered formal business attire. I think I play the "oh, he's English so he's a bit eccentric" card a bit too often...

Never mention the puncture demon

I was telling someone only today about the last time I got a puncture on my mountain bike and how I ended up with a broken elbow as a result. Never mention the p word. I haven't had a puncture since then. Damn, I just said it again.

I went to get my bike and found the front tire was completely flat. If it hadn't been for the fact that I realized that I had over inflate it last night before letting some air out again, I would have thought that it was the work of a malicious security guard for having parked the bike outside the rack. When you over inflate a tire, i the inner tube expands into the holes where the spokes go and potentially creates a massive rip. Not only that, but you may have to put new tape over the spoke holes to stop it from happening again (note to self). As it has been so long since I last got a puncture (shut up!!) it turned out that the spare inner tube I had was actually for a road bike. Never mind, I thought, I have some patches. Fixed up the tire, got it to a reasonable pressure, one more pump should do it then psshhhhh.

Had to call the bike rescue service (my long suffering wife) to pick me up. I could either go in running and cycle back or - what seems like a better plan - drive in and drive the damn thing back home (supposing it hasn't been nicked in the meantime).

Mixed bag

Last week I slacked off a little - I didn't do a single hard workout. Fact is, I just didn't feel like it and work was stressful enough without piling on any extra stress. I decided to do a set of 3 long, progressive series of 15 minutes running on the treadmill last night, starting off at 15.5 kph and ending at 16.5 kph (while watching "Hellraiser VII"!). It didn't feel as tough a workout as the shorter, more intense series I had been doing a few weeks ago but it was still hard enough. It probably did more more good self-esteem-wise than physically. I really don't need to worry that I will "go to pot" if I don't have someone cracking a whip over my back. It feels good to run fast now and again!

Talking of running fast, I decided to sign up for the race organized by my company, the II Carrera Solidaria Santander. I opted for the 5k race even though I prefer longer races where I don't have to push the envelope so far, but the 5k route is much flatter. The race is a week on Sunday and, if you live in Madrid, Valencia or Santander and haven't already done so, then sign up! The proceeds go to Unicef.

This morning I came in by bike even though it took a huge effort to get out of bed the prerequisite hour earlier, especially with my heavy legs from the running series the night before. It's the perfect weather for commuting right now - cool enough in the morning that I don't work up a sweat, not so cold that I have to wear anything more than shorts and a t-shirt - and so it is no coincidence that two colleagues have approached me this week asking for advice on coming in to work by bike. There is still a chance that it catches on here as this is the first summer since the official cycle routes were announced back in October last year. (By the way, the cycle racks they have used only support the bikes from the wheel and are too wide for a racing bike wheel and too narrow for a freshly pumped mountain bike wheel. I'll have to see whether I get told off for chaining the bike to the signpost this morning.)

I enjoyed cycling along the same route that I went with Luca on Sunday, imagining he was there with me this morning. It's been a while since I have used that particular route to get to work because it is 99% off road and lately I have preferred to take a more roundabout route that allows me to cycle faster, getting a better workout and in less time. But, in terms of cycling pleasure, there is no doubt that the off road route is best. Luca had to write a short paragraph about his family for his homework last night. He wrote:

My dad is big and strong and likes to do training every day. My mum is kind of the opposite. She is short and has long hair. When I go cycling with my dad she says "Don't push him too hard!".


I realized today that I am much less obsessed about running, shoes, gadgets, triathlon, bikes, the blog (sorry), personal best times, injuries, etc. I'd love to know how to control my obsessions, how to turn them on and off, how to direct them. It's great that I was able to go from not having ridden a bike for ten years or even knowing how to swim with any semblance of technique to completing an Ironman in a decent time only a year and a half later and certainly shows a level of dedication (obsession?) - but if only it could have been in doing something more useful! To be fair, it is very "useful" to be in good physical shape - not only has my life expectancy been extended but, according to advocates of regular exercise, I should even have more energy and be more alert as a consequence (I also believe this). But this could have been achieved in a less dramatic fashion, surely...

Anything is Possible

"Anything is Possible" is actually a trademark owned by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), best known as organizers of the Ironman (TM) series of long distance triathlons. I'd always thought that Adidas had chosen the "Impossible is Nothing" as a kind of tongue-in-cheek reference to the same, being sufficiently different for the lawyers to let it slip. I hadn't realized until now, that "Impossible is nothing" was taken from a famous quote by Mohamed Ali.

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing." (Mohamed Ali)

Weekend sun

The Casa de Campo was completely overrun by triathlon events all weekend. I popped down there on my bike on Saturday to watch a bit of the "popular" races. It was great to see such a mixture of abilities and bikes. I didn't manage to figure out a way to get there using only cycle routes and back streets, so my plan to run with Luca on his bike to see the triathlon on Sunday turned out to be a bit too ambitious. Just as well, because we would have had to go there during the hottest part of the day.

Instead, we got up fairly early and we did a 16 kilometre out and back route that was 100% pavement, cycle path and forest. We managed to keep up an average speed of about 10 kph and Luca seemed to enjoy it, as long as we stopped for breaks now and again. He also got to eat a Donut, a Kitkat and a Magnum ice cream because I figured he would have burnt that many calories. I really enjoyed it, I suspect much more than he did. Even though we weren't going fast, there were stretches where I had to run quite hard to keep up and I felt like I got a good workout. He had to walk up some of the hills because his bike weighs nearly as much as he does.

I'm not sure that we will make our (my?) goal of completing the "anillo verde" (64 km bike path all around Madrid) as it would mean repeating this feat another three times and would take about 6 hours. My wife is worried that I will push him too hard - some kind of Münchausen training by proxy - but we will just see how it goes. Now he knows what the deal is, if he wants to go on another training ride we can try to go a little further; if not, then we just leave it for another year. The absolute last thing I want to do is put him off doing sports. I looked into a racing bike in his size and Decatlon had one but it was the best part of €300. What a bad dad, you may think, to spend €€€'s on bikes for himself but to balk at shelling out a fraction on a bike for his son... That's not the problem: he needs to feel like he has earned it first. It's not a question of getting a better or more expensive bike, I just wish there were cheaper, lighter, simpler bikes available, like there used to be when I was growing up. Maybe I can find one second hand.

In the afternoon we went down to the Casa de Campo again, to watch the elite men compete. It was a bit difficult to work out who was where from the blur of bikes as they whizzed past

but I did manage to catch the bike-run transition which was impressive for the sheer number of people arriving at the transition zone at once and for the speedy dismount. Jonathan Brownlee (the younger brother of former World Champion Alistair) was the eventual winner. What I found even more exciting, was to watch the para-triathletes because, if the elite (able bodied) men all finished within minutes of each other, there was much more to separate these athletes. It was also moving, of course, to see how each one of them was locked in their own personal version of "superación" (overcoming their own limits). The athletes compete in categories of people with similar disabilities but, even so, it is inevitable that you wonder whether those who could only swim with one arm will be able to catch up those who can only pedal with one leg on the bike. Or imagine having to swim, ride a hand-bike and then push yourself in a wheelchair: your arms would get no respite. I like to think that if (God forbid) something happened to me that left me with a disability that I, too, would attack life like these guys but there is no way of knowing how you would respond: you have to remember that these people are at the top of their game. It's like when I see an 80 year old running a Marathon - I may think "I'd like to be like that when I get to his age" but I am comparing a complete outlier (unless it becomes standard fare) with a middle-of-the-pack. Won't stop me trying, though...

ITU Triathlon World Championship Series (Madrid)

What better way to celebrate my one year Ironman anniversary (Ironman Florianópolis 2012 takes place on Sunday) than to go down to the Casa de Campo to watch the World's best Olympic distance triathletes battling it out for first place.

One thing that I really like about triathlon is the way that "popular" atheletes (or "age groupers") rub shoulders with the professional, elite athletes - in Ironman distance events, perhaps even literally in the swim. The elite men's race is at 13:56 on Sunday but there are a series of events open to all on the Saturday, before the elite women's race. As none of the three disciplines in Triathlon involve football or basketball, there has been very little publicity; the only reason I know about it is that I happened to cycle past the start line last night, where the boxes are already set up.

I think I will go there either running or cycling alongside my eldest son - this can be his first "training" for the ride around Madrid. My wife and my youngest can take their bikes in the car and meet us there. Now there just remains the question of who I will support - the Brownlees or Javier Gómez Noya?

Ten

When I was ten years old, my dad decided on the spur of the moment that we would go to London, on our bikes. At the time we lived in Cambridge and London was about 50 miles (80 kilometres) away. I don't remember if the plan had always been to get as far as London or whether we just kept going, but to London we did get, after about 6 hours of pedalling and a long pub lunch in the middle. About the only thing I do remember clearly was the feeling of lead in my legs after that lunch. I think we even had the idea of going back home by bike but, in the end, we caught the train from Finsbury Park.

This trip became a bit of a legend in our household to the point that my brother also made the pilgrimage with my dad when he turned 10, 8 years after I had done it. The feeling of achievement was fantastic although, for some reason, I never thought of it as a "sporting achievement" - that is, not until now. In fact, it was 5 years later before I even understood the concept of endurance sports - for me, sport was synonymous with "games". In team sports I excelled in the skill of looking like I gave a shit when in fact I did not. Having spent all of my life up to that point in Cambridge in a family with no car (neither of my parents can drive), I was used to getting around everywhere by bike so it was perhaps not as crazy as it might sound to ride 80 kilometres without any kind of specific preparation. The bike was not a leisure or sporting activity: it was a means of transport. It was my freedom.

My eldest son is about to turn 10 and I thought that it would be nice to try to continue the tradition. Unlike me and my brother, he lives in a place where not having a car would be the equivalent to not having shoes so he doesn't have the background training that we had. Once, a couple of years ago, we went from Pozuelo to Majadahonda and back through the forest - some 10 kilometers. He was tired (his bike didn't have gears) but very proud to have done it. Why is it that kid's bikes these days are so heavy? If it tips out of balance while he is stopped, the weight is more than he can manage and the bike crashes to the ground. Do they really need a replica mountain bike? I have had to disable the front derailleur because it was too confusing and unnecessary to have so many gears. Now, if I were to buy him a racing bike like the one I used to have, it would cost a small fortune.

We have quite a long time before he turns 10 in November so we can train for it. My idea is to complete a full circuit of Madrid cycling along the "Anillo Verde" which is more or less the same distance as Cambridge to London (if you include the bit to and from our house).