Lakeland 50 Ultra Trail Marathon - race report

Lakeland 50 2018

Pre race

After a fairly short and restless nights sleep on the Friday night, which wasn't unexpected due to the amount of people on the camp site and the general buzz of anticipation, as to what awaited us on Saturday morning. I was up early and pottering around the campsite, with virtually no one else about, having the choice of all the thunderboxes and I actually found one with loo roll in, which saved me from a panic and wasting a pair of socks. From the near 30 degree heat that we'd had on Friday as we cheered the Lakeland 100 competitors off, it was a pretty chilly morning with some torrential rain showers and heavy skies. Which to be honest was a bit of a relief for most of us fair skinned competitors. I was surprisingly relaxed and felt no nerves at all, which was really out of character for me, so I just enjoyed the build up and getting my kit on and as others started emerging from their tents and motorhomes the atmosphere started to grow too. I'd had a sausage and egg barm from the caterers on site and was looking forward to getting on with the day. Other Invictus team members started arriving and we were soon all together and going into the briefing, which had the usual humour from Marc Laithwaite. Then it was time to get on the coaches and head to Dalemain for the start.

Dalemain start

At Dalemain it was already busy with loads of supporters there already, as well as the competitors in the Lakeland 50 getting themselves sorted, there were also cheers and applause every time one of the Lakeland 100 competitors came through Dalemain, which was the halfway point on their race, those guys are something else completely. It was really good to see Clare, Gemma and Dave who had driven up from Wigan to support us, so it was quick hugs all round, last words of encouragement and then being herded into the starting pen, ready for the start of the Lakeland 50.

Dalemain to Howtown 17.8km

I still hadn't been feeling nervous, but I knew that it was going to be a tough day. I'd not been able to run properly for 5 weeks leading up to the race, due to injuries to my hip, thigh and glute and the arthritis in my knee had flared up a bit, but this wasn't going to stop me enjoying myself. The plan was to stick with Jack until Howtown, then I'd probably fall behind and settle into my own rhythm. So off we set, to the sound of ACDC, Thunderstruck ringing out from the p.a. system. What I hadn't banked on though was how warm it was when the clouds cleared and the sun came out and within 5 mins I was boiling hot and had to take my jacket off, this was the last time I was to see Jack. I set off again and just gradually settled into my own pace. Chatting to the odd other runner, having a laugh with some and generally just plodding along. It always takes me a good few miles to get into my rhythm, so I knew that I just had to relax and wait for that to happen. As we came through Pooley Bridge the atmosphere was great, with loads of people shouting and cheering and with the tourists thinking "what are these lunatics up to"? After an hour or so my back had started to hurt, which was slightly sooner than expected (it's usually about 2 hours), so I decided to take my first painkillers. I was carrying enough drugs to fell a baby elephant, so knew I'd be ok if I took them at the prescribed intervals throughout the day. So down with the first 2 codeine, pressed lap on my watch so that I knew when I'd taken them and I couldn't have any more pain relief for another 3 hours and just crack on. By the time I got to Howtown we'd had a couple of heavy showers and although the niggles in my legs were sore, I was happy with how I was going. Straight into CP1, quick dib of the dibber on my wrist, to check in at the CP, then I picked up a handful of jelly babies and biscuits and popped them into a plastic sandwich bag and off out again, ready to take on Fusedale.

CP1 Howtown

Howtown to Mardale 15.2km

Feeling fresh and energised by the little stop at Howtown I set off up Fusedale. I'd read comments earlier in the week that Fusedale is often referred to as "the cauldron" because it's so notoriously hot and humid in summer, but there was to be non of that today. I'd got chatting to a lad about stuff in general and we stuck together for a mile or so, until the climb started. It was about this time that the hail started too, so I just put my head down, pulled my hood up and kept plodding away. It soon became clear that many of the competitors were really struggling with this weather and were having some proper sense of humour failures (they obviously weren't northerners 😉), the pace got slower and slower until eventually I just stepped off the footpath and started passing them. The higher up we went the worse the conditions got, some people were literally being blown over by the gales and the hail stones were getting bigger and coming at us horizontally, it was that windy. Some competitors were even just stopping and sitting down. This just seemed to fuel my energy levels and I was overtaking loads of competitors, all the time I just smiled to myself, remembering that if you smile you can't feel fed up at the same time. As we got over the top of Fusedale and left onto High Cop the hail had stopped, but it was still windy and blowing a gale, so I thought it'd be nice to have a little trot with a tailwind. As I started to run though, the pain in my knee and hip suddenly went through the roof, I literally couldn't run at all. So I just had to make my way down to Low Cop and then down to Haweswater as best as I could, stopping regularly and keeping my mind occupied by taking water, salt tablets, jelly babies etc. Everyone who I'd overtaken going up Fusedale had now repassed me and I was feeling frustrated and a bit down. Fitness wise, I felt great, but the pain just wouldn't allow me to do anything more than walk downhill. As we got onto the footpath that runs parallel to Haweswater I managed a few little runs where the footpath was flatter and it was a relief to get some better pace going again. I'd stopped at a stream and refilled my bottle and the ice cold water tasted absolutely amazing, so I was using little things like that as a way of staying "happy" and focused. The weather was still changeable, going from pleasant sunshine to torrential downpours with virtually no warning at all. So it was a case of constantly jacket on, jacket off, jacket on, jacket off. At one point at the top end of Haweswater, at Mardale, there was a huge black cloud and a massive bolt of lightning and that's exactly where I was headed but I just focused on getting to CP2 at Mardale where I could regroup. Thankfully, by the time I got to the Checkpoint the cloud had passed and I could take on board fuel. I had what felt like a litre of Coca Cola and half a loaf of ham and cheese sandwiches, before setting off again.

CP2 Mardale

Mardale to Kentmere 10.4km

Not long after leaving Mardale we were treated to more of the Lake District's finest summer weather, with more driving rain, hail and gales. This time, directly into our faces. Ascending Gatesgarth Pass it was just a case of head down, grin and bear it, using my poles for balance as well as helping to push me up the incline. I'd done this part of the course a couple of weeks earlier, with Jack and Ste, as a recce and it was tough then, in nice weather, but today it was just brutal. I just concentrated on not looking up the mountain and just kept putting one foot in front of the other and the top would arrive sooner or later. Cresting the summit and we were going straight into the teeth of the gale, the driving rain sapping any body heat and I'd started getting colder and colder because I wasn't going fast enough to generate heat. Halfway down and I was shivering uncontrollably and getting a bit worried because I knew I had to warm up somehow, and fast. I was starting to let my head go down and I had a thought that "if I can get to Ambleside, I can drop out there", I quickly told myself to shut up, get a grip and keep moving. So I put my waterproof pants on and carried on shuffling down the steep descent, which was as much as the pain would allow. As I got nearer the bottom of the descent the footpath levelled off a little bit, so I was able to increase my pace to a slow trot. This felt amazing, not only because of the body heat it generated, but also because it felt so good to get some proper movement back in my legs. I caught up with a bloke who was just ahead and he'd been crying, so I asked if he was ok and he told me how cold he was and that he couldn't feel his hands, so we stayed together for a while and we both carried on towards the bottom. As we dropped lower, he seemed to pick up a bit and the feeling came back to his hands, so I set off again at a slow, painful trot. This was a key stage for me because I knew that by the time I reached Kentmere I was over half way, but as I went through the couple of fields before the Kentmere CP I looked at my watch and knew that any hope of a 15 hour race was a rapidly fading possibility, so then my focus shifted towards just finishing it. I was sore, cold, soaking wet, tired and hungry, so the next CP couldn't get here soon enough. The marshalls at the Kentmere CP were amazing, not just for being dressed in grass skirts and having a "beach party" but also by taking my bottles off me and filling them up with Coke, or blackcurrant juice, making sure I had enough to eat and drink and then I was off out again. I'd decided before the start of the race that I was going to spend as little time in each CP as possible, so I was still trying to maintain getting in there, quick refuel and fill up, sort myself out and get going again.

CP3 Kentmere

Kentmere to Ambleside 11.8km

Leaving Kentmere I was still struggling with the pain, the painkillers didn't feel like the were still having a great effect and my back was aching even on flatter sections (it only usually hurts going up hill), but I knew that every single step I took, it was a step closer to the finish line, albeit 23 miles away. I'd had my third lot of painkillers by now and I tagged on to a couple of competitors from Manchester, so we spent a few minutes chatting about random stuff, until we got to the climb up Garburn Pass and they started to fall behind. I was feeling ok ish, so I just ploughed on, knowing that when I got to the top of here it was comparatively flat all the way to Ambleside, with just a few hills in between. I then caught up with another group and we stuck together most of the way to Ambleside. One of them asked me how I was feeling and I remember saying to him "I wish my body felt as fresh as my mind", I was content with how I was doing, knowing that I was strong enough to finish. Passing through Troutbeck was a surreal moment because there were 4 ladies wearing massive duck costumes at a road junction. Either that or these painkillers had just produced an awesome side effect. Dropping down to Ambleside the group I was with pushed ahead and I was alone again, until I caught up with a bloke who was by himself too. So we stuck together 'til Ambleside. He told me he wanted to start triathlon and had heard about the sport. He didn't know I was so heavily involved in the sport and I think he soon came to regret mentioning it when he couldn't shut me up talking about it. Coming up the road into Ambleside and we started jogging and it was a great feeling when I saw a friendly face in Gemma, who told me that she had a message from Ruth and Hannah and that they loved me. I think I managed to disguise my bottom lip going at this point. Luckily normality was resumed soon after when Clare told me that my mate Phil had posted to say "get a move on" or words to that effect 😃. Coming into Ambleside CP and it was great, partly because it was nice to see some proper civilisation for the first time in what felt like ages and I spent a while (far too long) talking to Clare, Gemma and Mike, before setting off again. 

CP4 Ambleside

Ambleside to Chapel Stile 9km

Leaving Ambleside and feeling ok I was almost looking forward to the next section. It was a nice flat few miles to Chapel Stile, with only a small hill in it. However, within 5 minutes of leaving Ambleside I remembered that I'd wanted to take my waterproof trousers and jacket off and put my headphones on, ready for some tunes if the going got tough in the dark. So there I am, stood in the pitch black, trying to strip off and get my headphones out, without knocking my headtorch off and with not enough strength to balance properly, I must have looked ridiculous. Wardrobe change completed and off I go again, before getting to a cross roads only to have complete brain fade. I was stood there looking at the Lakeland 50 road book guide that we all had, cross referencing it with my GPS map and I still couldn't work out which way to go. Maybe I wasn't as mentally fresh as I thought! Until someone coming up behind me shouted "go left". So off I went again. I knew that at the top of this road we went onto Loughrigg Fell and then it was on to Skelwith Bridge. After Skelwith we followed the river to Elterwater and I was hoping to trot again along here because it was so flat, but with the state of my legs, feet and back, there was no chance of that, so I just walked but used my poles and tried to set a good pace walking. I was actually catching a few people up and passing them, even though I was walking, so that did wonders for my morale. During this section I'd developed hiccups and they lasted for what seemed like hours. I was behind someone and had been hiccuping for ages and I'm sure he actually tutted, the cheeky sod. I'm pretty sure they were getting on my nerves more than his! Coming into Chapel Stile and I nearly took a couple of wrong turns and had to be corrected by another competitor a few times, before finally arriving at Chapel Stile Checkpoint and the most amazing chocolate cake. Again having my bottles taken off me to be filled with Coke, but my request for them to add a shot of Jack Daniels fell on deaf ears. I'd been feeling sick every time I'd tried to eat anything but jelly babies since the Kentmere CP, so when I tried the chocolate cake and didn't have any side effects it felt great.

CP5 Chapel Stile

Chapel Stile to Wrynose 10.6km

From leaving Chapel Stile I knew I only had about 10 miles to go and although my body was screaming at me to stop and let it rest, but there was absolutely no way I was going to pack in so close to the finish, I could almost touch it, it felt that close. Just after leaving Chapel Stile and it started chucking it down again, so it was back on with the jacket. A couple of miles later and my headtorch started flashing, letting me know that the batteries were starting to run out. So I decided to change them, holding my phone in my mouth, with the light on, while I fumbled about in pouring rain trying to swap the batteries, before cracking on to the last checkpoint. During the next few miles groups started to form as competitors caught up with those in front who were starting to suffer now and this wasn't helped when we came to the first of two ladder stiles. All I could think was that Marc Laithwaite must be a very sadistic man, to put two 10ft tall ladder stiles in the course, at about 43 miles 😂. After these it was up another hill and following the footpath to the small forest, before the unmanned Wrynose CP. At one point, near the top of the hill, I looked behind me back down the hill and it looked absolutely awesome to see a really long line of torch beams all the way down the hill. After the forest it was just a case of traversing a hill and fighting our way through another sea of ferns and across some rocky ground, before emerging onto what's normally boggy ground, but was much drier because of the recent weather and a short walk towards the CP, which was the penultimate one. 

CP6 Wrynose Pass

Wrynose to Tilberthwaite

This was the penultimate leg of the race and I knew we didn't have all that far to go. By this point though any small hill felt like a mountain and each step going down hill felt like I was being struck by lightning, with shooting pains in my feet, ankles, knees and hip. Not to mention the constant ache in my back and shoulders. I was holding my poles behind me and lifting the weight of my pack up, to relieve the pressure on my shoulders and that seemed to help quite a bit. Coming to the bottom of Wrynose Pass and we turned off the road and up another hill. I knew that we weren't far from the finish now and I kept smiling to myself as I recalled some of the laughs that we'd had on the recce's that we'd done as a group. It was along this stretch that Mick put some dried grass on Jack's shoulder, only for Jack to chase him and try to throw him in a bush, with Mick squealing like a schoolgirl 😂, I don't think I'll ever forget memories like that and it was recalling those that made this section seem easier than it possibly was. I don't recall much else from this bit, apart from one bloke asking me how far to the CP and I said about 2 miles. I thought he was going to either start crying or punch me, such was his shock. I was obviously more tired than I thought, because it turned out to be just round the corner, oops. Shuffling into the final CP and I felt wrecked. I'd been on the course for over 16 hours and hadn't sat down since 1100 on Saturday morning, so I just asked if I could sit in one of their chairs. I knew this may be a mistake, but I just had to take the weight off my feet and knees. Luckily, after a few minutes I climbed out of the chair, actually in all honesty, one of the marshalls lifted me out. I grabbed some more jelly babies and was ready for the final 4 miles. I asked where the box was that we put our £1 toll fee for the Tilberthwaite steps, which was actually a charity donation to someone's young son, called Jacob, who is suffering from cancer, so just for one night the steps had been renamed Jacobs ladder. 

CP7 Tilberthwaite

Tilberthwaite to Coniston (finish) 5.7km

Leaving Tilberthwaite I decided I'd put my headphones on, so searched for a suitable playlist, turned it up loud and hit the steps with all the ferocity and speed of a baby garden snail. I'd got Metallica - Blitzkrieg blaring out and all I could do was wince as I tried to lift a leg up a step at a time, before using my poles to push my body up and repeat all the way up. Luckily there are only about 25 or so steps and they were all lit up with green Cyalume sticks (so looked amazing from the bottom), but it felt like each step was 5ft tall and they were never ending. After conquering the steps I just used my poles to push me up the hill before I came to an old ruin. There was a low wall that was about 2 ft high and it was just too inviting to walk past without sitting down for a few minutes and have a little rest. I ate nearly all my remaining jelly babies, drank all my coke and set off again. Getting to the rocky scrambling section and standing at the bottom of it, looking up and thinking "how the hell am I going to get up there"? I just inched my way up it, taking it slow (very) and steady, eventually emerging onto the grassy footpath again. From here I knew I just had about 1.5 miles to the top before it was all downhill to the finish. As I got further up it started raining heavier and heavier, I'd got Slayer - Raining Blood playing now and the thrash metal just kept me going through the final bit. The rain started to ease slightly but I started to get really worried because my vision had started to blur, the higher I went the more blurred it got, so I was thinking all sorts of things about what was wrong with me. I was wiping my eyes to see if that helped, but it didn't. Then it dawned on me, I was walking into a bank of cloud and it was actually fog that was reflecting the beam of my head torch. The mind can play some funny tricks when it's tired. Panic over and it was up to the summit and down the other side. Descending was the usual pain with every footstep, but I was soon on the tarmac road that led into Coniston. At the T Junction I was met by Angie from McLovin' bikes who gave me some praise and told me Mark was up the road, so after getting up to him and telling him that he was a liar for telling me I'd love the event, I was off to the finish line, crossing with a time of 17 hrs 35 mins and 30 secs. After a quick finish line selfie I was taken into the marquee and met by a roar of cheers and cowbells (I still hate those bloody cow bells), before burying my face in my hands and blubbing like a baby, before sorting myself out and getting my medal and finisher photo. I was in absolute bits, physically, but I was buzzing from being able to get through the day and being able to dig deep when I needed to.

Finish Coniston

In conclusion

From last September, when I was lying in a hospital bed, feeling completely broken and in a world of pain, I've never looked back and thought "if only". I've only ever tried to look forward and remain positive. Yes, there have been many days of pain and many days where I just couldn't face putting my trainers on and getting out running again. But I've only ever tried to lead by example and remain positive for as much as I could. On some of the training runs that I've done, when I've been in absolute agony, bent double in pain and the people I've been training with have encouraged me to carry on and that I'm doing ok, when family have showed unwavering support, from literally lifting me out of bed and drying me off after a shower in the early days after my crash, or by helping Ruth out by giving her lifts to the hospital or to come and visit me themselves, or by just being subtle in their support, things like that have kept me going. Without the support of friends, clubmates and incredible family, I'm not sure I'd have got this far in such a short space of time. For all that, I'm incredibly indebted.

All the way through the Lakeland 50, I tried to remain as positive and mentally strong as I could. There were times when I could have let things get on top of me and stopping at the next checkpoint would have been the easy option, but I kept going. Drawing strength from recalling listening to people like Marc Laithwaite say that getting to the finish line should always, always be your goal and don't make any rash decisions that you will regret for a long time. When I said to those competitors that "I wish my body was as fresh as my mind", I meant it. I was so utterly focused on not giving up and knowing that the mind is by far the strongest weapon in any athletes armoury, because ultimately your mind will give up before your body will and I wasn't prepared to let this happen. On the Thursday before the race my dad gave me some advice (as dad's do) and he told me not to "over do it" and I could stop if it feels like it's too much. I told him that "that's just a state of mind". I didn't mean to sound arrogant or blase, just that I knew that I was mentally strong enough to finish this race and if I stayed strong mentally, my body wouldn't let me down.

The Lakeland 50 was the most brutal race that I've ever done, by a long way, to see grown men crying because of how they were feeling, to cope with not only an extremely tough course, but the weather conditions as well made it feel all the more like a great personal achievement. If you go into it with any sort of niggles and pains, it'll find them and amplify them tenfold. Similary, as you progress through the race you may find other parts start breaking down and will hinder your progress. But as long as you keep going forwards, putting one foot in front of the other, you can do it. These races are meant to be "enjoyable", but they're meant to really push you. Afterall, how do you know where your limits are, if you don't push yourself beyond them?

Heart rate zone training

What are heart rate zones?

Heart rate zones are a series of predetermined ranges of an athletes heart rate relating to a set intensity of exercise. The actual BPM of each zone will vary quite a lot from athlete to athlete, however the actual effort that each athlete is working at will be roughly the same. 

Depending on what literature you read, there can be anything from 5 to 8 hr zones, and other coaches even split the upper zones into "sub zones". When I'm producing zones for the athletes that I coach, I tend to group the 3 sub zones together that are sometimes used in zone 5, although this is mainly for simplicity and ease of use for the athlete.The zones that I use range from Zone 1, which is the easiest level of exercise, up to zone 5 which is Threshold and above. 

I've heard people say things like using zone 1 or 2 for fat burning, but in my opinion, this is the wrong way to look at it for endurance athletes. In it's very crudest form, we'll burn fat at all intensities of exercise and some studies suggest that we'll burn more fat at higher intensities. That said, it also depends on whether you've eaten and what it was, before exercising as this will relate to what fuel source your body will use first. In order to change the way that we think about zones, instead of thinking about their fat burning efficiency, think about what energy system being used in each zone is intended to work on. 

In zone 1 and zone 2 you're working at the bottom end of the aerobic zone and this is the area or intensity that approx 75% of your training should be done in, if you're an endurance athlete. No matter what distance of triathlon you're doing, it's an aerobic sport and so that's the energy system that you need to pay most attention to. When people talk about using zone 2 for fat burning, what's really meant is that if you're doing a long aerobic session on the bike, or a long zone 2 run, in order to maximise the way that your body will utilise fat as a fuel source is to start off in a fasted state, then you're "forcing" your body to utilise fat as a fuel source which is a highly efficient way to fuel yourself during a long race, even though you'll still need to maintain an intake of roughly 60g of carbohydrate per hour in order to keep glycogen stores topped up. On a sprint or standard distance triathlon you can get away with using gels, or similar, as a fuel source, but on a 70.3 or 140.6 distance race you need to pay extremely close attention to how you fuel for it. 

But I digress, back to zones. 

So, now we know that zones 1 and 2 are aerobic zones, this means that when you're training in these zones you're actively developing the efficiency at which your body synthesizes something called ATP. ATP or Adenosine Triphosphate stores and transports chemical energy and is what converts chemical energy into physical energy at a cellular level. Within the ATP are organelles called mitochondria and these are often referred to as the power house of the cells all of which can be developed and increased in number during zone 2 training. Therefore, when you're working in zone 2 you're developing your aerobic fitness at a cellular level, which will yield massive results the more you do and the longer you do it for. It's because of these factors and the way that we develop our aerobic fitness that triathletes and distance runners / cyclists and swimmers do as much as 80% of their training at zone 2. It takes months and months, but with correct structure, progression and recovery, the results speak for themselves.

Zone 3 is also an aerobic zone but it's what we often refer to as tempo and depending on which coaches you speak to, or what literature you read, this can be a bit of a grey zone because it's working at the very upper limits of the aerobic system, but it's not hard enough to push into the threshold and anaerobic systems. So it's not developing your aerobic fitness as well as the zone 1 or 2 stuff and it's not making you faster and stronger as the sessions done at threshold and above are. 

So then we start getting up to zones 4 and 5. Depending on the formula that you use to determine your heart rate zones, your threshold will be somewhere between mid zone 4 and the bottom of zone 5. In these zones you're working hard and although you're not developing your aerobic fitness as much, your speed will improve and your body will get more efficient at processing the lactic acid that you're producing. You'll also become efficient at utilising carbohydrates as a fuel source. As you push above your threshold your heart and lungs are working pretty much to their max and the lactic acid will build up in your blood to a level that you won't be able to continue exercising at. When you reach the point where you can't breathe any faster, you will have reached what's called your VO2 max - your maximum capacity of oxygen use, the higher your VO2 max, the fitter you are. These high intensity interval sessions are good for building up the body's resistance to lactic and will help promote fast twitch muscle fibres to fire and work. However, because the benefits for endurance athletes lie within zone 2 aerobic training, we try to limit the amount of high intensity sessions that we do to a max of 25% of our training. 

Calculating HR Zones

There are quite a few different formulae that can be used to determine your HR zones. The most basic of these is the 220 minus age formula, which will give you your theoretical max heart rate, which you can then use to set your zones as percentages of that. The main issue with this is that it doesn't take into account any underlying issues that you may have. Some people have a slower heart rate, sometimes because of medical reasons and others because of medication. Similarly, others may have a higher heart rate. 

The method I prefer to use is to do a test to determine your max hr and then work it out off that. To do this a running track is ideal because it's so flat, so there are no fluctuations caused by gradients etc. Start off by doing a good warm up for around 20 mins, to include some drills and strides etc. then carry out a 20 minute test. To do the test, the easiest way to do it is to have a run specific watch like a Garmin etc. Start off at a pace that you can just about manage to hold for 20 minutes, after the first 5 minutes, press lap on your watch and continue to run for the next 15 mins. By the time you finish your test you should be at a max effort and should struggle to go much further. Ideally, there should only be a few BPM between your average and max hr, as you'll learn that you can hold a high intensity for the duration of the whole 20 minutes. When you've finished the test take the data from the 15 mins of the test, looking at the average and max hr. These can then be used to set your zones. If you're using the max heart rate, zones can be set as:

Zone 1 - 50-60% max

Zone 2 - 60-70% max

Zone 3 - 70-80% max

Zone 4 - 80-90% max

Zone 5 - 90-100% max

Your average heart rate for the 15 mins of the test is what we refer to as threshold. This isn't the most scientific way of determining your threshold though. To do that you need to do testing in a laboratory environment where blood samples are taken at various intervals to determine lactate levels within the blood. The reason why we don't use the data from the first 5 mins of the test is because for this period you'll be settling into the test and your heart rate will still be rising to near max. 

What you'll notice as you do more and more of the tests is that your max heart rate will gradually become more consistent across the tests as you develop as an athlete and learn how hard you can push yourself

Using the RPE method

RPE refers to Rate of Perceived Exertion and is usually on a scale of 1 - 10 or 1 - 20. This scale is called the Borg scale and can be used to measure how hard your training sessions are. If you think of Zone 1 being the very easiest of exercise, probably a very fast walk and zone 5 being the hardest effort you can imagine and then look at that on a scale of 1 to 10, it'll give you a good indicator of how to grade your effort

Summary

So to summarise very briefly, try and complete at least 75% of your training at zone 2 to increase your aerobic efficiency during a race or training session and complete the other 25% at a very high intensity to promote lactate tolerance and to develop speed. I can't stress enough just how important zone 2 training is though and without it or with not enough of it you'll not reach your potential within endurance sports. 

If you'd like to speak more about your goals and ambitions and how I can help you on your triathlon journey, click on the link below which will take you to my coaching Facebook page, where I can be contacted through

Certa Cito Tri Coaching

The importance of recovery

We've all done it, finished a big session, swam, ran or cycled our blood to water and what do we do when we've finished? Just jump in the car, go home, have a shower and chill out, often neglecting to refuel and / or rehydrate properly.

There are many different ways that we can and should recover after a training session, whether it's just doing some stretches, foam rolling or eating and drinking the correct food. Some even go so far as to have an ice bath (bbrrrrrr).

Before we can start thinking about how and what we should be doing to help our bodies recover, it's a good idea to know what happens to your body during and immediately after training or racing

During exercise

The first thing you'll notice as you start a training session or race is your breathing increases and your heart rate rises. This is to supply your muscles with more oxygen and to provide your brain with more blood, which can help you to feel more focused and there will also be a number of "feel good" neurotransmitters are also triggered, such as the endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, glutamate, and GABA. Some of these are well-known for their role in mood control, which is why we can feel elated or content after a hard training session or race.

If it's a hard intervals session, as you continue through the session your body will be using carbohydrate as its primary fuel source because the body wont be able to metabolize fat for fuel efficiently at this intensity and your muscles will be using the glycogen stored within them for fuel. At a cellular level the skeletal muscle will be synthesizing something called Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) in order to produce the muscle contractions that we need to move. In order to produce more and more ATP we need to increase our oxygen intake, so your breathing rate and heart rate will continue to increase. We can actually develop how well our body synthesizes and produces ATP by doing a lot of zone 2 or lower aerobic training, which will mean that we're far more efficient as athletes, more info on zone 2 training and how it works can be found on the links below:

https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/zone-2-training-for-endurance-athletes/

https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/the-power-and-importance-of-mitochondria/

When you reach the point where you can't breathe any faster, you will have reached what's called your VO2 max - your maximum capacity of oxygen use, the higher your VO2 max, the fitter you are. As you progress through the session and your muscles start to fatigue and you can't take in enough oxygen to fuel the muscles, your muscles will start to fill with lactic acid, which is when you'll start to "feel the burn" or are heavy legged etc. At the same time, while you're exercising hard, your muscles are being pushed literally to breaking point. This doesn't mean that they're going to snap or fail, but all the time you're exercising your muscles will be suffering from trauma and will start to develop micro tears in them as they struggle to cope with the intensity and workload. It's this trauma and these micro tears that gives you the feeling of DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) for a few days after a really tough session or race. As we progress as athletes, it's this constant trauma, recovery and adaptation that makes us faster and stronger.

Post Exercise

Immediately after you've finished the session, your body will be trying to normalise lactate levels and you're likely to still be breathing pretty hard and with a high body temperature but as we continue to recover our heart rate and breathing will start to slow down and will return to normal and as a general rule, a good indicator of fitness is how quickly you recover after an interval or a session.

30 minutes or so after you've finished your session you'll probably start to develop a raging hunger. Often a hunger so great that you'll feel like you could eat a horse. This is your body's way of telling you that you need to replace the glycogen stores that were used during the session. Carbohydrates are stored within muscles in the form of glycogen, so if you treat yourself to a slice of cake or something else that's high in carbohydrates after training is perfectly fine, within reason. 

The ideal time to start refueling after a hard session is to consume a meal within an hour or so of the session / race completion. This can be either whole food or liquid form, and should contain both fast-digesting carbs and protein. This will prevent your body from using its own muscle tissue for energy and help encourage muscle synthesis. Regarding the muscle synthesis, it's important to help the body to start the process of repairing and strengthening the muscles that have suffered from the trauma and impact of a hard session and one of the best ways to do this is to provide them with protein and carbs. Whey protein is an ideal protein supplement for this. When refueling after a training session, bear in mind the type of session that you've done. If it's been a really tough intervals session, or a session where the muscles are likely to have suffered trauma, then you're going to want to help their recovery and repair by taking on board proteins, as well as carbs. However, if you've just done a long swim and the muscles, although tired, won't have suffered the same level of trauma, then a more carbohydrate based refueling may be beneficial. 

As well as refueling the muscles with protein and carbs, it's also important to rehydrate the body and to try and regain the electrolyte balance within. There are many different supplements available on the market, often in a tablet form and a popular one is the electrolyte tablets that you can dissolve in a normal drink. It's important to replace the electrolytes as well as lost fluids because if you just drink a lot of water after a hard session, there's a risk that you can suffer from an electrolyte imbalance, which is when the amount of a certain electrolyte that you've lost via urine or sweat isn't properly replaced, or it can become more diluted by drinking too much water, which doesn't contain electrolytes. In extreme cases you could have a blood-sodium level that falls too low, or even develop something called hyponatremia. This can occur if you drink too much water during an event, such as a triathlon, because you lose sodium in your sweat. This dilutes the sodium content of your blood, so when your sodium levels are too low, your body’s water levels can rise too high which causes the cells to swell and in extreme cases can be fatal.

I've sometimes heard people say that no matter how much they eat after a hard swim, that they're still hungry. Hunger can actually be another sign of dehydration, so it's important not to confuse the two, especially if you're on a controlled diet. It's no good taking on board 2000 calories to refuel, if all you need is to rebalance your hydration levels.

Recovery methods

In the following section I'll talk briefly about some recovery methods that can be very beneficial. However, these don't relate to DOMS, that feeling that you get a day or two after a killer session when you really start to contemplate getting a Stannah Stairlift installed. When you're suffering from DOMS, as mentioned previously, this is actually trauma and damage to the muscle, which is totally different from just being a bit stiff, tired and aching. If you're suffering from DOMS there's little that you can do apart from just waiting for the pain to subside, although you may want to do a very gentle spin on the turbo or an easy swim or some pool jogging, but until the muscles heal, you should refrain from doing any strenuous training or racing, which will delay the healing process and will probably just exacerbate it.

Stretching

Often the most familiar and widely used form of recovery after a training session is to do some stretching. Each stretch that you do doesn't really have to last long and their main purpose is that it helps to keep the muscles flexible, strong and healthy, We need that element of flexibility in order to maintain a good range of motion in the joints. Without it, the muscles shorten and become tight, Which can lead to poor form, which will ultimately and inevitably lead to injury. Stretches are best performed straight after a training session because the muscles are warm and supple, so will be responsive to the stretch. Never stretch a cold muscle though. If you think of muscles as if they're like plasticine, if it's cold and you pull it, it just snaps, but if you roll it in your hands for a while you can really stretch it, muscles can be thought of in a similar way. 

When doing the stretches, work on the muscles that have been used during the session and perform them in a controlled manner. Don't overstretch, push just to the point that you can "feel" it in the muscle and hold it there for 15 seconds or so. I find working through the stretches in a logical manner helps. ie, lower calf / achilles, then upper calf, then hamstrings, quads, glutes and into the upper body and so on. 

Foam Roller

The foam roller is a great bit of (torture) equipment and can really help to ease out the aches and pains that we suffer from. As triathletes, we put our bodies through a hell of a lot. often far more than a single discipline athlete, as we work all the major muscle groups from shoulders to ankles and feet. 


The process of foam rolling is called self-myofacial release and can be done using a traditional foam roller, as seen above, or a hard rubber ball or even a rolling pin or golf or cricket ball. Foam rolling works by identifying trigger points or "knots" in the muscles and as we roll over them we can feel them as painful areas. Nearly every single athlete or triathlete etc will have muscle soreness and knots, so it's important to identify these and treat them regularly. By foam rolling regularly you will help to "iron out" the knots and help to keep all the muscle fibres running nice and parallel to each other. If you think of your muscles as fibrous tissue, sometimes these fibres become more rigid and can "stick" together. It's this that we can feel as knots. Deep muscle compression helps to break up or relax tight muscles and adhesions formed between muscle layers and their surroundings. Imagine you are tenderizing your own muscles. They should be soft and supple like a baby’s muscles.

The most effective way to foam roll is to apply pressure to a specific muscle or muscle group, often your body weight is sufficient for this. Then roll slowly at a rate of about 5cm every couple of seconds. As you pass over an area that feels tight or painful, stop and pause for several seconds and try to relax the muscle. This can sometimes take up to 30 seconds or more. As you relax you should start to feel the pain ease. 
If you come across an area that's too painful to apply direct pressure, you can adjust the roller so that instead of applying direct pressure, you can work on the surrounding area and loosen the whole area. 

You should roll as many muscle groups as possible and do it as regularly as every 48 hours or so. The more you roll, the more supple and loose your muscles will be, which I can guarantee will have a direct positive effect on your running. There are countless videos on YouTube that will demonstrate good foam rolling exercises.

Ice Baths

Possibly even more dreaded than the foam roller is the ice bath. This is really one of the most counter intuitive things to do for recovery and I'm not going to lie, is absolutely horrible for the first 5 minutes or so, until you go numb. 

The theory behind ice baths is that they help the micro trauma that the muscles suffer during a tough session or race, in much the same way as applying ice to an injury works. Another way that they're thought to work is the cold causes your blood vessels to tighten, which in turn helps drain the lactic acid out of your tired muscles. If it's something that you're going to try, you don't actually need to use ice, I often just filled the bath with cold water only and sat in it for around 15 mins. That was perfectly cold enough, trust me. 

There's much conflicting information as to whether ice baths actually work or their effectiveness, so if it's something that you feel is benefiting you, keep doing it. If you simply hate them and can't imagine anything worse, it's fine to steer clear. 

Compression clothing

There's a plethora of compression clothing that's available to us. Big brands like 2XU, Compressport, Skins etc. etc all claiming to offer the best recovery products out there. 

Many people talk about the effectiveness of compression clothing, but personally, I've found that if my calves are a bit sore or tight, when I put my calf guards on it almost feels like instant relief, so it must do something. 

The theory behind compression is that when the muscles are "held" or compressed by a specific garment they are stabilized, which in turn helps to reduce the amount of muscle vibration and oscillation, which is thought to help reduce fatigue. 

As a post exercise garment it's said that through this stabilization that an increase in blood flow is promoted to the muscles and this will help to heal the micro trauma in the muscle and to aid recovery

Sleep

Lastly and possibly the most important fundamental of recovery is sleep. Most people take it for granted, but if you're not getting a decent night's sleep, especially after training, it'll eventually have an impact on your body, which in turn will impact your health, recovery and subsequent fitness. Ideally, you should be aiming for 8 hours sleep per night. When training for long distance races and feeling the pressure to fit as much training sessions in as possible, one of the first things that people will sacrifice is often sleep. You might think to yourself that you'll get up at 0500 and get out to do your long run or ride before you start your daily commitments, but you need to be aware that if you're going to do that, you need to go to bed earlier and make sure you still get a good nights sleep. I know children, work, stress etc can all impact your sleep, but if you employ certain things into your routine, it should help you to get a better nights sleep. 

1. Stick to a consistent sleep schedule and routine. Go to bed at the same time each night and wake up at the same time each morning. A set sleep routine will "train" you to fall asleep and wake up more easily.
2. Cut down on caffeine. For some people, a single cup of coffee in the morning means a sleepless night. Caffeine can also increase the need to urinate during the night.
3. Be physically active. Regular aerobic exercise like walking, running, or swimming provides three important sleep benefits: you'll fall asleep faster, attain a higher percentage of restorative deep sleep, and awaken less often during the night.
4. Limit daytime naps. Prolonged napping can disrupt your natural sleep cycle and prevent you from feeling tired enough to fall asleep.
5. If you use tobacco in any form, quit. Nicotine makes it harder to fall asleep.
6. Use alcohol cautiously. Alcohol depresses the nervous system, so a nightcap may help some people fall asleep. But this effect disappears after a few hours and may even lead to waking up throughout the night. Alcohol can also worsen snoring and other sleep breathing problems.
7. Improve your sleep surroundings. Remove the television, telephone, and any other devices from the bedroom. This reinforces the idea that this room is meant for sleeping. An ideal environment is quiet, dark, and relatively cool, with a comfortable bed and minimal clutter.

In summary

Never neglect your recovery, it's equally as important as your training and if you want to keep progressing and keep the chances of injury to a minimum it's probably even more important than the training. It doesn't have to take hours and hours, but if you build it into your routine and make it something that you just do 3 or 4 times a week, it will pay dividends. I've lost count of the amount of people who regularly tell me they've got tightness in muscles or a niggle that wont go away, yet prevention is often much better than cure.

If you'd like to speak more about your goals and ambitions and how I can help you on your triathlon journey, click on the link below which will take you to my coaching Facebook page, where I can be contacted through

Certa Cito Tri Coaching 

It's ok to fail

Goal Setting

Last year I wrote a blog about mental strength and my thoughts on its importance within our sport. Within that blog was a section on how to break down your targets into manageable chunks. This is so that you make it easier and less daunting to manage your goals and targets. If you think about revising for an exam, you don't try to memorise everything that you've learned or everything you think you should know on that subject matter all in one go. You break it down into small chunks and you work on that until you start to build up your knowledge and get ready for the exam. 

Similarly to academic progress, in order to progress as an athlete, if you want to really improve it's important to set yourself some goals. You may have a long term goal that may take a few years to reach, but within that you have to have short term goals as well and ideally these should be goals that will really push your limits and goals that you will sometimes fail at. They can be goals that you either set yourself in training sessions or in races, or goals that your coach will set for you.

Learn how to accept the pain

Part of our role as coaches is to identify areas that we can see where an athlete or club member can improve on. We've all got them, even the best triathletes in the world like the Brownlee's, Daniela Ryf, Jan Frodeno etc have all got areas that they can improve on. Granted, at that level of performance, the margins for gain are much smaller than they are for the majority of athletes of our level but they're still striving to find an advantage over a fellow competitor or to push themselves further and faster.

As a loose rule, I try to construct training plans so that they work out at about 80% - 20% with about 80% of the sessions being completed in zone 2 and the other 20% being really hard sessions. At the end of the day, triathlon is an endurance or aerobic sport, hence the necessity to really build the engine that we're so reliant on. Yes, we might be blowing and really fatigued at the end of a longer race, but there's no way that anyone can race a triathlon if they're working anaerobically for the whole race. 

Daniela Ryf said in an interview a few months ago that although they do so much work in zone 2, the sessions where they're really pushing themselves need to be really taking them out of their comfort zone. She said if it's not hurting, you're not pushing hard enough. If you learn how to push your limits in training, it makes it a bit easier for you to either break out of a pack during a race, to drop that annoying swimmer that's constantly tapping your toes, or to gap the runner that's on your shoulder and breathing down your neck. This is really where the really hard sessions come into their own. An analogy that I heard for this was on a recent podcast were they called it "visiting the well". Meaning when we have to really delve into what we perceive as our reserves, if we do it in training and constantly push the limits of those reserves in the hard sessions, the easier it is to push yourself in a race, when you're in a dark place and hurting. 

A study was done relatively recently with some track athletes. They were told to run a very hard 800m. Their times were recorded and they were given time to rest and recover before being told to do it again. What the scientists found was that nearly all of them ran the second 800m faster than the first one. At first they thought that this was because their pacing strategy had improved, but when they looked at it in more detail, it wasn't that, it was just that they simply ran faster. The main theory behind why this happened is that either consciously or subconsciously  they mentally accepted how hard the first time they ran and how much it hurt, but their brains thought "that wasn't too bad, we can push a bit harder next time". Again this links to part of my mental toughness blog were I talk about how your brain will give up before your body and the importance to train the brain to let your body to be able to push itself harder and further.

Failure IS an option

Going back to my original point of goal setting. It's important to realise that when we fail, it's actually ok, as long as it doesn't become a frequent occurrence. When we set a goal it can be anything. It can be to go a bit further in a run session. It can be to push yourself a bit faster up a hill on a bike. It can be to shave a few seconds off a pb. But they need to be goals that will push you. If you enter a race or attend a training session without a goal, it's much easier to become either a bit complacent or just go through the motions. 

With a lot of the people that I coach, the majority of them are coming into the sport as novices and they make rapid and big improvements in a relatively short time. This is because of the big improvements that they make purely from more structured or consistent training. Almost every race is a pb for them. However, as an athlete improves and gets fitter and faster, their improvements can plateau a bit as the huge initial jump in fitness levels out. This is where we need to start thinking about setting more and more goals in order to challenge us and push ourselves. 

If you sit down with your coach and talk about your race plans etc, they should ask you what do you want to achieve at a particular race? In a club environment this can be a bit harder because of time constraints etc. Nevertheless, there should always be goals. Some of these goals may seem out of reach, but they will be there to help focus you and drive you on in your journey. 

If you set yourself a goal, for example, to go under 50 minutes for a 10k but when you race you don't quite manage it. You should reflect on what went well during the race, how you felt, could you have pushed any harder and also reflect on what didn't go so well and what you can do to change that. Then take those thoughts into your training sessions. Train with a fresh focus and think how hard you can push yourself during the relevant sessions. These days I never enter a race with the mentality of "I just want to finish it". Some coaches and people say that if you start putting a time on something that you're just putting pressure on yourself. Yes, you are putting pressure on yourself, but it should be a pressure to focus on what you're doing in training and to push yourself towards your ultimate goal.

What you must never do though is just get used to having no goals, or if you do have goals and you keep failing to hit them, you mustn't let yourself get used to it. This will cause you to almost accept that you're going to fail before you've started and this is when you'll start to "choke" or "bottle it" during a race. You know you've done it in training, but you just can't perform on race day. 

If you'd like to speak more about your goals and ambitions and how I can help you on your triathlon journey, click on the link below which will take you to my coaching Facebook page, where I can be contacted through

Certa Cito Tri Coaching

The road to recovery and the importance of a team environment.

Early days

After my crash, during the Helvellyn Triathlon on the 3rd September, my body was, or at least felt, completely broken. I literally couldn't move for the first 4 days, I was in a morphine and drug cocktail induced haze and the pain was completely indescribable, such was its magnitude.

However, one thing that never, ever entered my mind was "how will I ever recover"? Instead, I was of the thinking that every new day brought me one day closer to recovery. Granted, at the time I had no idea when I would ever be able to get up and move around pain free, let alone train again. But by the following Friday, the physio on the Major Trauma Ward had managed to help me to sit up on the edge of my hospital bed. Through sheer determination, by the following Monday I was able to get out of bed (assisted) and shuffle to the bedside chair and the following day I was able to do it unassisted. I was determined not to be downhearted.

During my stay in hospital my family, close friends and team mates at Invictus Triathlon Club rallied round and were brilliant, helping not only myself but helping Ruth too. Organising lifts for Ruth to the hospital, taking over my Head Coach duties, I had a regular stream of visitors (not to mention all the sweets). My mum also came up from Reading and stayed with Ruth and Hannah to help with Hannah's 13th birthday party.

When I got home my recovery continued to be nursed along, with Ruth and Hannah being amazing in helping my recovery. Whether it was Ruth drying me after a shower, or pulling me up so I could get to the edge of the bed, or Hannah swapping beds with me because I could only sleep sat upright, I felt like I was making improvements every few days.

Tentative steps

Not being one to take things lying down, after a few weeks I took my first tentative steps outside. I decided to set myself the challenge of walking around the block, a whole 400m. Those first few walks took me literally 40 odd minutes and I was having to stop every few metres to rest my body. I was still wracked with pain but I had to do something, anything. One of the things I kept thinking about during this time were my team mates and how, as a coach, I still had an example to set. Although taking a step away from the club in order to convalesc, I still kept one eye on the members and what they were doing and I thought that if I can try and demonstrate a determination to recover, it may give strength and encouragement to some of the members, should they need it.

Gradually, over the coming weeks and months I made small improvements, slowly increasing my walks, albeit they were still a shuffle and still very painful. By the time we reached late November I was feeling a lot better and thinking about a return to work, even if just to get some sense of normality.

Return to training, onwards and upwards

At the beginning of December, 3 months to the day since my crash I returned to work, and with it, decided to try and start rebuilding some fitness again. I also made a slow return to coaching and I think it was being at those first few sessions that really gave me the spark and determination to push my recovery.

I borrowed some dumbells and a kettle bell and started doing some strength work. However, one that really shocked and surprised me was just how weak I had become. I had stopped lifting heavy weights after I started triathlon in 2008, but I'd carried on doing some basic strength work, so when it came to trying to do a press up and finding that I literally couldn't do a single one as a result of the amount of trauma that my body had gone through, I was really surprised. But I've persevered and I'm making slow progress.

I also started doing some very short runs and a few turbo sessions too. I could see how some of our club members were training and pushing themselves and I fed off the buzz that was around the club. My runs gradually increased and I could see very small gains after most of my runs. Throughout this time I did my training away from the club, so I could focus purely on what I was doing, working on my mental strength and making sure I was also keeping the correct technique, but I was looking forward to returning to the club sessions and being part of the vibe again.

We're now at the end of the first week of 2018 and I've just completed my first full week of training. I even managed a swim (of sorts). I'm under no illusions as to how much further I still need to go in order to get back to some sort of full fitness and I know it's going to be a very long road that will no doubt test me physically and mentally to my limit. But I know that being surrounded by so many team mates who are all on their own individual journeys, I know I'll get there. It might not be something that any of us readily think about, but it's hard to explain or emphasise just how important it can be to train in a club where we can all feed off each others enthusiasm. Without my family and team mates I'd still recover, but I think it'd be much, much slower and I'd struggle to get out and do the hard work, but I honestly think my team mates have been and will continue to be an absolutely invaluable part of my recovery.

If anyone's reading this, who isn't already part of a club, get on Google and find one local to you. It's possibly the best thing you'll ever do in your sporting life. If you are already part of a club, get down to as many training sessions as you can. You'll get pushed harder to improve, you'll motivate others and you'll get some coaching that will help you improve. Not to mention the great buzz that you can get from training in a group environment. I guarantee that your results will almost certainly be better than if you train away from the club.

I feel like I've finally been able to start training for the Lakeland 50 ultra marathon and with the help of my coaching knowledge, great team mates and a supportive family I'm confident I'll make it.

If you'd like to speak more about your goals and ambitions and how I can help you on your triathlon journey, click on the link below which will take you to my coaching Facebook page, where I can be contacted through

Certa Cito Tri Coaching

Transition - the 4th discipline

Transition is often referred to as the 4th discipline of Triathlon, it's something that all of us should practice, but it's often neglected. It's the part of the race where big time gains can be made or lost.

Although far, far more can affect your race and training during the swim, bike and run disciplines, it's often the transitions that most multisport novices worry about the most. It doesn't have to be this way though, so I hope that this article is of use and will help to dispel some of the fears that people have regarding transitions. 

Setting up your transition

Transitions are often cramped and hectic spaces and can appear quite daunting to people who are new to the sport, with the hussle and bussle of everyone setting out their kit in their own individual ways, so that things flow smoothly as you go through transition 1 (T1) and transition 2 (T2). Just try to relax and go through things slowly and methodically and you'll be fine.

The first thing to do when you're setting up in transition is to find your number on the racking and put your bike on it. The numbers will usually alternate with one bike pointing one way and the one next to it pointing the other. Most athletes will rack their bike by hooking the saddle on the transition rail, although some athletes hang them by the bars.

After you've "racked" your bike, the next thing to do is set out the kit that you'll need in a race and in a logical way, so that you know exactly where everything is.

Personally, the way I set my own kit out is to have a towel on the floor next to my front wheel. On top of this I put my cycling shoes at the front, with my running shoes behind them. I hook my helmet onto my handlebars so it doesn't get kicked about by other competitors, although the image below is also common practice by some. If I'm wearing glasses / sunglasses for the bike leg, these will go into the helmet too. As seen in the picture above, some people hang their number belt on the handlebars too, although other athletes sometimes put their number belt on under their wetsuit, before the swim, to save a few extra seconds.

Once you've set up your main bits of kit you can start thinking about the other things to do before the race starts:

• Make sure you've got the right bottles on your bike and they're filled with whichever drink you'll be having.
• If you're carrying a spares bottle make sure it's packed and is secure on the bike (more about this later).
• Make sure you've got your nutrition on the bike, whether this is going to be gels taped to the top tube on the bike or you're using some sort of storage system.
• Your tyres should also be pumped up to the correct pressure, so it's worth taking a pump with you.
• Another thing to consider is sunscreen. Most triathlons that are Olympic distance and above will last anything between 2 and 17 hours, so if the sun's out you need to protect yourself from it. 

When you're happy with all your kit and how it's set out, go for a walk around the transition area. Look at where you come in from the swim and then walk to the "bike out" area and familiarise yourself with this and where the bike mount / dismount line is, walk to the "run out" exit, making sure that you're familiar with everything. Visualise yourself entering and leaving the transition area from the swim and into the bike leg and entering from the bike leg and where you're going to run out.

Up until a couple of years ago you were allowed to use a plastic box in transition at most races. These have now been banned by the BTF. However, you can use bags in transition, but it depends on the race and the amount of space as to whether you'll be allowed to keep these next to your bike. Some races will ask you to store them around the edge of the transition area while you're racing though.

The transition process 

First and foremost is to not try and do everything at 100mph. If you try and rush things too much it'll cost you more time and when it comes to transitions more haste definitely means less speed. That said, you shouldn't exactly stop and have a brew and a butty, which I'm sure some do, based on their times. If you do everything in a controlled manner you'll be fine.

Transition 1

Your thoughts should turn to T1 not as you get to your bike, but as soon as you're out of the swim. If it's an open water swim this should start just before you stand up to get out of the water.

Just before you stand up, pull the front of your wetsuit away from your body this will allow the wetsuit to fill with water and will mean that it will be massively easier for you to get it off. After you stand up, flip your goggles onto the top of your head and then start looking / reaching for the chord to allow you to pull the zip down. Once you've got the wetsuit unzipped, pull one arm out. Before you pull your other arm out, take your swim hat and goggles off and keep them in the hand of the arm that you're about to pull out of the wetsuit. As your arm is halfway out of the sleeve simply let go of your hat and goggles and they should stay in your sleeve. Alternatively, just leave your hat and goggles on your head until you get to your transition space. Ideally, by the time you're entering transition, you should have your wetsuit off to waist level.

The chances are that you'll feel dizzy when you get out of the swim, this is perfectly normal and no cause for concern. Just be careful if you're running to T1, or if you feel really wobbly, just walk for a bit until you've regained your composure. 

As you get to your bike pull the legs of your wetsuit down. The easiest way to do this is by stepping on the wetsuit and pulling the other leg out. Repeat this until it's off completely, then put it, neatly, at the side of your bike.

At this point I usually stand on the towel that I put my kit on so that it dries my feet slightly, making it a bit easier to then put my cycling shoes on. If you're new to triathlon then chances are that you'll have flat pedals that don't require a cycling shoe, so simply put your run trainers on instead. Next thing to go on is my helmet. DO NOT touch your bike until you've got your helmet on, otherwise a time penalty may be incurred. After that I'm pretty much ready to go, so I grab my bike and head to the "bike out" and mount line. 

Transition 2

Similarly to T1, you don't start to think about T2 once you're there. Start to think about it when you're still a few hundred metres away. Think about dismounting the bike, how you're going to do that and thinking about where your transition position is.

When you get to your transition space put your bike back on the rack, remove your helmet and then take your cycling shoes off. A quick swap to your trainers and then set off on the run. Before you head off on the run you may want to grab a quick mouthful of your drink, or grab a couple of gels to keep you going. As T2 goes, there really isn't much more to it than that. However, as with T1, more haste is less speed.

Hints and tips for time saving

Although the above gives a good idea of what you can expect during transitions, there are quite a few hints and tips that can make things easier and will save you time. Not all of what I'm about to talk about needs to be utilised by a novice triathlete but it will give you some ideas etc.

No. 1 - Talc. Whether you're going to race in socks or not, putting bit of talc in your cycling and running shoes will mean that they will slide on quicker in transitions. A top tip if you're going to put socks on for the bike and run is to wear them before the race. This will stretch them slightly and will help in getting them on. If you are going to wear socks, put a bit of talc in these too, then leave them in your cycling shoes.

No. 2 - elastic bands. Many of the experienced triathletes attach their cycling shoes to their bike with elastic bands. This is so that they can simply run with their bike to the mount line and jump straight on, putting their feet into their shoes as they ride off. This isn't something that I've ever done and, in my opinion, the time lost or gained is pretty much negligible at most levels.

No. 3 - bike mount and dismount. I don't want to spend too much time talking about this, but they're areas where time can be made up. There are many different ways to mount the bike: there's the flying mount, semi-flying mount, as well as the normal mount and scoot mount (Google these for more information). One thing that I do, do on the dismount though is to take my feet out of my shoes 100m or so before I get to the dismount line and then just rest them on top of my shoes until I'm closer to the dismount line, then I swing one leg over the bike and as I get to the dismount line I just hop off and I'm straight into the run towards my racking space, with no need to stop the bike to climb off.

No. 4 - Tri specific cycle shoes. Although any cycling shoe is perfectly fine for triathlon, wearing a tri specific cycle shoe can save time when putting them on and it also makes the dismount technique mentioned above a lot easier to achieve. With a Tri shoe they'll tend to just have either one or two wide velcro straps, instead of ratchet or buckle system like many road shoes. However, if you're doing a middle or full distance race (70.3 miles or 140.6 miles) a normal cycling shoe may be more comfortable during the race, providing more support. 

No. 5 - Elastic laces. It's surprising how long it seems to take to do something as simple as tying laces in transition. One of the best ways of getting around this is to use elastic laces. There are many different types of elastic laces and everyone will have their own favourite. When used with the talc, as mentioned above, you can save well over a minute when trying to put your run shoes on, if you use elastic laces instead of traditional tie laces.

No. 6 - spares bottle. Although this won't save you time in transition, it's a great bit of kit and can be in the form of a saddle bag, or a flat topped bottle. In mine I keep a spare inner tube, CO2 cartridges and adapter, puncture patches, tyre leavers and a couple of other bits and pieces. They can be the difference between a DNF and just losing 5 or 10 minutes.

I hope the above is of use to some and will help you as you start out on your Triathlon journey.

If you'd like to speak more about your goals and ambitions and how I can help you on your triathlon journey, click on the link below which will take you to my coaching Facebook page, where I can be contacted through

Certa Cito Tri Coaching

Sutty