Sports Day Fun

Last week, my kids took part in Ralph Allen’s sports day.  It was a scorching day and a struggle to keep cool just spectating.  That aside I was so impressed with the attitude of them all.  Without exception, every single child gave it their all and the camaraderie and encouragement shown between pupils was outstanding. 

My memories of secondary school sports day are not so great. You could only take part if you were good enough to be picked and being a very slow runner, I never had much opportunity. This is not the case at Ralph Allen.  Every child had been given the chance to sign up for any event they liked and all pupils cheered and clapped until the last runner came over the line.  It was an excellent display of sportsmanship and the school should be extremely proud of instilling this behaviour in its pupils.

The positive support network around running in Bath is growing and growing.  This Mum Runs is a group specifically created to inspire women to run and the Jimmy’s Angels project, run by local charity Sporting Family Change, is another example where families are offered mentoring and support to start running and get fit.  Not to mention the weekly, free Park Run 5k and Junior Park 2.5k as two regular events where everyone of all ages and abilities are welcomed to give running a go. The fact that so many groups exist in the local community is excellent for improving and maintaining a running legacy in the city.   Perhaps then its unsurprising the Bath Half is one of the UK’s most successful half marathons.

If you are not keen on joining a group but like the idea of starting to run, then why not download the free BBC Couch to 5k App.  The App allows you to choose a celebrity trainer to talk you through each run.  You start with a simple walk-run strategy and 9 weeks later, you should be up to running 5k.  I chose Michael Johnson, which is certainly the closest I will ever get to running alongside him.

@lindatodd74

First published in the Bath Chronicle 19.7.18

Finding excuses to exercise

It is a scientific fact exercise produces feel good hormones.  The better we feel the more inclined we are to do more of the good stuff that makes us feel this way.   Exercise and happiness goes hand in hand for me.  I feel better about myself and more motivated when I am regularly training than if I am not.

While that is all well and good for those already in the exercise cycle for others it is often much harder to get motivated and started.  What stops you?  I imagine a number of things, but the biggest is finding excuses not to do it.  Be honest how often have you used the weather; it’s too cold or too hot outside, or the piling up of laundry and housework or the not enough time in the day excuse and so many more. 

As a contrast would thinking up some positive excuses to actually do it have the reverse effect?  For example, when it is cold outside you could try thinking you will warm up soon, you won’t be in any danger of overheating and you will feel fantastic when you’re finished.   If the laundry is piling up then at least you can quickly add your sweaty kit to the next wash when you are done.  When you can’t afford to join a gym then running or walking is free, change your shoes, get out the door and before you know it you will be at the end of your street.

But if none of these excuses jump you into action then maybe a thought on how lucky you are to have the ability to exercise might just do the trick.  Being injury free, able and healthy is a luxury not everyone has.  Linking your exercise with doing some good for a charitable cause could be a way to motivate you to set a goal and be more active.  Getting away from the laptops, the mobiles, the office desks and the couch is healthy for your body, your mind and your soul. Don’t let those excuses stop you, I guarantee you will feel 100% better for it.

@lindatodd74   

You are what you eat

I have a healthy appetite.  There is nothing much I don’t eat; meat, fruit, vegetables, beans, dairy and everything in between, in fact just trying to think of something I don’t like is quite hard.  

While I like my food and eat well, I have never had much knowledge beyond the basics about maintaining a healthy balanced diet.  So last year when my training stepped up a notch and my desire to eat more did too I did not think this was a problem, assuming I would burn off so much I could pretty much eat what I wanted in whatever quantity.  However, the scales told me a different story and while I consoled myself in thinking muscle is denser than fat a quick bit of research on the weight to height ratios of athletes suggested I was probably going in the wrong direction.   I needed to know more.  

The trouble is with so much conflicting advice about dieting it’s hard to work out what is factually accurate and I was not simply looking for a diet.  I wanted to know more about nutrition and specifically how to find and maintain my healthy weight as well as understand how to fuel my body better for training and recover it faster afterwards.

I decided to enrol in a nutrition course to get some more in-depth knowledge.  While I am only beginning to scratch the surface of a very big subject I am already seeing the benefits of putting into practice some of the theory.   One of the best tips I have is to track your calories and the proportions of protein, carbohydrates and fat you consume daily, alongside the calories you burn from exercise.  Now this may sound onerous but made easy using myfitnesspal.com which is a free calorie counter.  For specific information on what to eat, I recommend the “10 mins to change your life - Time to eat well” booklet which is downloadable from the British Heart Foundation website. 

To be fit and healthy requires a combination of good food as well as regular exercise so it seems the saying you are what you eat is quite literally true.

Race Report: Ironman Santa Rosa 2018

At 4am on Race morning downtown Santa Rosa was already a hub of activity when we arrived.  Volunteers pointing athletes in the right direction and about 30 yellow school buses all lined up ready to transport us to Transition 1 and the start line at Lake Sonoma.  

I was feeling a bit nervous but as I had slept really well, I felt rested and I had also managed to get my breakfast down.  The transfer took about 40 minutes and although everyone on the bus seemed to be wide awake and chatting, I said very little to my partner Adrian, who was also taking part and nodding off next to me (unlike me he had not slept much at all). 

Arriving at T1, we were met by a team of body markers who marker penned our race number on our arms and our age on our left calf.   I then checked my bike over, pumped my tyres and added my nutrition and drinks.  Although it was a beautiful morning, there was a slight chill in the air so I got into my wetsuit early to keep warm.   The start line was below the bike transition and with nothing much else to do we decided to walk down early.  There was no opportunity to get in and have a quick warm up swim so we waved our arms around a bit, and did a few stretches in an attempt at a warm up. 

Soon the announcer asked us to get into our swim pens.  I said goodbye to Adrian and decided to seed myself near the front of the 80 minute swim pen box.  The sun was just coming up and Lake Sonoma was glistening and beautiful.  I was glad I had taken the time for a practice swim a few days earlier as I knew the lake would be warm and clear and I was looking forward to getting in.   The American National anthem played, gun sounded and the race began. 

The swim is two laps with a short Australian exit and re-entry after the first lap.  You swim out, directly into the sun which makes sighting a bit interesting before doing a right and swimming under the iconic yellow bridge into what is a sheltered cove where you loop round and come back to the start before doing it all again.  I really enjoyed my first lap, I was swimming almost stroke for stroke alongside the man that got into the water next to me.  He had a lovely gliding technique which made me think about slowing my stroke down and eased me into the swim.  Lap two was uneventful and although I clunked into a buoy with my head I never got battered or swum over by anyone.  I got out the swim feeling good and with a smile on my face before starting to jog up the fairly steep 400m uphill climb to transition one.

(Picture me on left, googles on head)

Half way up the hill there were wet suit strippers who quickly pulled off my wetsuit, pulled me up and before I knew it I was being handed my bike bag and in the tent getting my bike helmet and shoes on.  Two lovely ladies carefully smothered me in sun screen and then I was on my bike and off.  Riding over the bridge above the lake was fabulous, you can see swimmers below and there was a lot of supporters cheering.  The sun was out and the first part of the ride was a long downhill section which helped dry me off and get myself settled down for the ride.  I covered the first 50 miles pretty quickly and I was conscientious about eating, I think I ate a piece of high five power bar into my system every 15-20 mins or so.  The aid stations were frequent and this time I remembered to grab water to cool me down as well as an energy drink.  I did not stop at any station for the first 70 miles just pushed on until I really need a toilet break and some more sun cream.  The volunteers were marvellous.  A volunteer held my bike while I went to the toilet and another lady sprayed cream on my shoulders. I cannot fault the enthusiasm and support of the volunteers at this race.

The bike ride was mostly undulating with a few short sharp hills.  Chalk Hill was fine, I span up it and concentrated on keeping my power numbers down and so the whole way round the bike I felt I was pushing but not overdoing it.  The road surfaces were pretty crappy and uneven. I have cycled on pretty bad roads in the UK but this was a different level.  Such a pity as while I was down on my aerobars for most of the ride I felt that I could not really look around and enjoy the scenery as I was 100% concentrating on the road, avoiding potholes and cracks as well as debris from other riders.  I had to stop to tighten my bottle cage which came loose but other than that the ride was pretty uneventful.  There were a few people drafting and a couple of obvious packs came past which is a bit annoying but that is racing for you.  As I got past the 100 mile mark I was desperate for the end of the ride, I was getting a bit fed up with the headwind and I was keen to just get off.  As I rounded into downtown Santa Rosa there was lots of supporters on the route and finally the dismount line.  I got off and a volunteer grabbed my bike to rack it.  My toes on my right foot were feeling a bit numb so I stopped to take my bike shoes off before running, actually more like hobbling, to the transition tent. 

(On the bike course on my beautiful Cervelo P2  Picture: Courtesy Justin Lau Photography)

Inside T2 another helpful volunteer emptied my bag and helped me get ready for my run.  I got my cap on, sunglasses and trainers and did not hang about, just a quick sun cream application from another volunteer and I was off. 

Heading out on the run I felt okay.  My legs were fine, my head was in a good positive place as I had noticed my bike time was 6.37 a lot better than my previous IM race.  I had no idea at this point what my overall time was as I had intentionally decided not to use my watch in the swim in case my time was rubbish as I did not want anything negative to affect my race at the start.  For me long distance is as much about the mental state you are in as the physical, keeping positive keeps you going and makes the race easier, start getting negative and it all goes downhill from there.

The start of the run was through the centre of the town, before hitting the main part of the route which was a mixture of pavement and trail.  The support was crazy in the town.  Loads of people cheering your name and whooping and shouting.  The heat was also pretty noticeable and I was glad there was an aid station positioned early on the course. I started to religiously follow my plan of throwing one cup of water over my head to keep me cool, one cup of water in my mouth and to regularly take in an energy gel.  I took a gel roughly every third aid station and while I struggled like mad to swallow it I did force them as I didn’t want to run out of steam.  The run is three laps so you are running approximately 8 miles each lap.  It’s mostly trail surfaces which I like with a few hilly sections just to keep your quads engaged!  It was fairly quiet at the far end of the trail with very few supporters, so you had to dig deep and really keep your focus at times.  I was concentrating on my run cadence and all the things that my coach Paul Ransome, has been drilling into me for months about keeping my form, pawing back, and keeping my head up, taking on my nutrition and just easy zone 2 running.  I enjoyed the first lap, I was coping with the heat and feeling good.  I kept telling myself if I felt this good on lap 2 then I would be winning.   I started to look out for Adrian, who I knew would be ahead of me on the course and just kept as many positive thoughts going in my head as I ran forward.   Coming back into town to start lap 2 I was still enjoying myself.  The crowds were fab and I high fived the volunteer at the turn around point.  As I ran back along the trail I spotted Adrian coming in the other direction.  We stopped for a brief kiss as we passed and he said he was heading in to start his third lap, he looked tired but okay.  Lap 2 went by similarly to Lap 1 and surprisingly I found I was beginning to pass a few people.  I was smiling as I came into the turnaround point for the last lap.  The crowds were roaring support and I shouted “Last lap” which got an even bigger cheer.  I was really enjoying myself even although my big toes were really starting to ache, I ignored them and pushed on.  Somewhere around this point my watch died so I had no idea what time I was on or what my heart rate was doing however, having trained for months in heart rate zone 2, I know by feel if I am overdoing it so I was not too worried.  Half way round I started to feel stronger again and although I thought I was going to throw up my energy gels I did manage to keep getting them down.   Everyone on that run course was an absolute legend in my eyes, the number of people who passed and said “Good job”  “Keep going” was just brilliant.  I kept encouraging everyone as much as I could particularly those that were walking.  The volunteers at each aid station were superb too.  During the last three miles the sun was getting low and I started to feel a bit chilly.  I heard myself say out loud “Come on, three miles lets go” and then laughed as I realised I said it to no one but myself.  Although I had no idea what my time was, I hoped I might be close to 13.5 hours and as it was still daylight I thought that might be about right.

(On the finishers chute)

Those last few miles seemed the longest ever but eventually I was back in the town and heading for the finishers chute.  The crowds were building and the noise of people cheering was fabulous.  I remember putting my sunglasses on my cap and starting to sprint for the line, like a woman possessed.  I threw my arms up in the air and soaked in the moment.  Mike Riley, the Ironman announcer said  “Linda, you are an Ironman” and I crossed the line elated.  I had done it and in a time of 13 hours 6 minutes.  A massive PB for me and far beyond what I had hoped to achieve.  Adrian, was waiting at the finish line, complete with his medal on and a huge grin on his face.  Ironman Santa Rosa was in the bag!  

  

Entering a race should be simple.. right?

Over the last few years I have entered many races; from sportives to swimathons the list is long and the experiences mainly good.  But while some race organisers simply open their entry pages and welcome you to join on a first come first served basis, others seem to make the whole process unnecessarily difficult. 

We currently have situations where online entry is promoted as opening on a certain day at a certain time and then when it does, promptly crashes due to the number of people trying to enter at once.  Registering is by a process of luck rather than orderly queue.  This scenario seems to happen consistently with limited participant events, which are largely run by well-meaning volunteers but who don’t have the IT solutions in place to cope with the volume of interest.  

Last year I secured an entry to the Dart 10k swim.  This involved taking the morning of work, getting up early and submitting my form a couple of dozen times before it managed to connect with the server and tick me in.  This year, the same situation with the Brownsea Island Swim but without luck. As frustrating as this is, it is a shame for the organisers because it puts people off reapplying and in the absence of holding a reserve list, the same situation will happen year in year out.

In contrast to this some mass participation events ask you to pre-register interest prior to opening.  I am getting a little suspicious of this approach.  For example, Velo South is a new cycling event launched to take place this year.  The organisers had 15,000 spaces and it attracted 30,000 pre-registered entrants without announcing the entry cost. My guess was it would be high and it was, funnily enough it did not sell out immediately even with that registered interest level. 

Organised cycling events on closed roads are fun to take part in but not if the entry fees are high.   Choose your events carefully and make sure you are not paying for the privilege of something you could do yourself, without paying to take part.

Finally, a word of caution when entering races.  Check the terms and conditions carefully and in particular the refund policy.  With so many events cancelled this year because of snow and extreme weather I am reading about many people who are finding themselves out of pocket as some organisers choose not to refund entry fees.  There is actually a statutory legal duty for race organisers to refund entries so if you find yourself in a situation where they say they will not I would be tempted to press them a little further and be very visible on social media in publicising your responses.

Happy racing!

Trains and bicycles - a match made in heaven?

Plans for trains to have dedicated carriages for bicycles and sports equipment are currently being discussed in Scotland as a way to alleviate seasonal cramming and space issues.   During the summer months trains servicing popular cycling routes are absolutely packed with passengers and so the idea of introducing a bike carriage, similar to the old guard van, seems a sensible one.

I have often fancied taking my bicycle on the train one way and cycling back so I thought I would find out how easy it is to do this locally.   A quick bit of research suggests it pays to plan ahead.  There are only two spaces for bikes on most trains which means you should reserve them.  There is no charge, you simply book it when you purchase your ticket which you can do online.  However, you must make a reservation on a GWR train and you can’t travel at peak times, unless you have a folding bike.  GWR states pre-booking needs to happen two hours before travel, so if you pitch up hoping to get the next train then you may be in for a bit of a wait.  This is the same if you are travelling with Virgin Trains.  While trains to Wales with operator Arriva recommend booking they are clearly a bit more relaxed about it and Cross Country sounds by far the cycling friendliest.  Cross Country will let you reserve your bike space by tweeting them or using facebook messenger and promises to respond within 30 minutes.  Its website has a detailed page dedicated to helping cyclists with everything from parking your bike securely to hire points at stations.  

It is slightly harder if you intend to travel with a tandem as some trains won’t accept them at all and others classify it as two bike spaces.  Ideally, if you are regularly going by train the message is to use a folding bike, then you can travel at peak times and you can also use a replacement bus if you are unlucky enough to need too.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with our local train operators bicycle policies, although I have not used them so I can’t truly say if they are just as good in practice, I am now able to plan my first bicycle-train adventure.

• @lindatodd74 

The cold is no excuse not to train

When it’s cold it can be hard to keep motivating yourself to exercise outside.  Yet I find there is nothing nicer than a bright cold day to get out the house and just run your socks off.  The first step is always the hardest but if you wear a couple of layers to keep your core warm you will find you quickly adjust to the temperature.  If it is really chilly, I always run with a pair of light gloves on and a lightweight hat or beanie as I find cold fingers and a cold head hard to cope with on a long run.    With minus temperatures overnight you also need to watch out for black ice on the pavements and the roads when you set off, I have almost got caught out a couple of times over the last week.  Remember to also continue to drink little and often on your runs as even when it’s cold you get similarly dehydrated without realising it. 

At this time of year, I am not out cycling on the roads, I am tucked up inside on my turbo trainer which is set up in my garage.  I know lots of cyclists are out still in this weather, but I am too worried about skidding off and injuring myself so I am assigned to a couple of hours in my garage on a Saturday morning for now. It was freezing in the garage at the weekend but after a quick spin for five minutes I had a sweat on.  The trick to long cycling in the garage on a static trainer is to relieve the boredom which thanks to the wonder of technology and gadgets is easily done.    While I play music and videos I especially love to ride on Zwift, which is a turbo trainer game that you link your turbo up to your computer and lets you ride with other cyclists in a virtual environment.  It may sound nerdy, and admittedly it probably is but don’t knock it until you have tried it, it really is a fun way to exercise.

If you are still  not convinced to running outside or cycling in your garage then there are lots of warm gyms around Bath that will welcome you with open arms.  No excuses now, as it is far too early in the year to break those resolutions.