Saturday 30 May 2015

Slaying the Slateman

"Why choose to compete at Slateman over the many other races on offer?"
Stephen from Dream TV asked me, during the pre race interview on Saturday afternoon.

Good question, why did I choose to come and race in Snowdonia? To swim in a Llyn Pardan, the 11degree mountain lake, cycle 51 hilly kilometres and tackle an 11km mountainous trail run?
Having given Stephens question some more thought.  Here is my answer. In a more concise, coherent format to the one I gave in the interview (pre warning you, before you watch the race/interview on TV)
1) I have fantastic memories of my 1st Slateman experience last year, I wanted to relive that magic.
2) Racing the whole series (Slateman, Sandman, Snowman) last year meant I got to know North Wales, some of the athletes, supporters& members of the Always Aim High team. I was keen to return to this stunning part of the UK and to catch up with many of these people.
3) As defending champion I felt an obligation to return to defend my title. I am a huge sports fan, one characteristic that I greatly admire in athletes, regardless of sport is consistency. Winning the same race, back to back several years on the trot is a huge ambition for me. Mastery of a course and its unique challenged holds great appeal.
Mountains, fresh lakes, steep winding trails. Slateman is epic with a capital E in terms of scenery. This is why I was back.

 In March, 220 Triathlon magazine asked me to write five top tips for slaying the Slateman Triathlon.
So did I take my own advice?
1) Try and do a Course Recce
Last year, I arrived on Saturday night, just with enough day light left to put the tent up and quickly drive the bike route. This year I was staying with Stel and her family, in their house perched on the mountain side above the lake we would be swimming in, Llyn Pardan. On Saturday, Stel and myself checked out the lake temperature by having a quick dip and I discovered the run route would be slightly different to last year, with a nice steep jaunt up a flight of steps to a castle to start with. It was a shame the swim was shortened to 500m, but rules meant 1km in 11degrees wasn't allowed. Yes, you heard right, I said "It was a shame". I never thought I would want a longer swim, but having overdosed on chlorine this winter I was keen to put the hours of swimming into action and compare myself to last year.
2) Pack warm. Mountain weather is unpredictable.
I had 3 swim caps with me, all of which I wore. I had arm warmers and socks but decided on the minimalist approach, which my feet didn't appreciate, cold feet trying to get into my trainers is one tricky manoeuver I discovered. (Yes Ele, I know what I said to you when you offered me over shoes "I'm not that soft, I don't need those!" I eat my words!)
Cold feet, made getting the trainers on harder than getting up in the mornings!
3) Attack the bike
My top tips included going for it up the Llanberis pass, the first climb and then enjoying the following descent. I decided to use my Garmin on the bike, this was the first race I have ever done this, usually preferring to just "get on and race it". Having been training with my Garmin and specifically a power meter this winter I decided to change tact. I wasn't focussing on Watts but my goal was to keep a high cadence on both the hills and the downs and use heart rate to prevent too hard a start. With adrenaline I easily failed at the latter point! I managed 207watts for 50km completing the bike 3minutes quicker than last year in 1.31.
4) The run- "save some energy for the run beyond the zigzags" was my advice.
I looked over my shoulder at the start of the zig zags and saw 2nd place female Natalie Seymour, not far behind me, probably only 15seconds adrift. Well, all thoughts of conserving any energy went out the window. "Go Go Go" was all I thought, I ran up and down that mountain like a lunatic, managing to completely fall flat on my face on the descent as I attempted to jump between rocks (2 week later the knees are still bruised). I managed a sufficiently non sensible, all out run, to finish 45 seconds up on Natalie and retain my title, and the Quarryman challenge (fastest female up the zigzags in 10minutes 52seconds, 30seconds quicker than last year) every bit sweeter because it took every ounce of energy to manage it.
Little side note:
Slateman 2015 marks the 4th time I have had the pleasure of racing Natalie Seymour, our head to head encounters stands at 2 a piece:
September 2013 World Triathlon Championships London 25-29age group Natalie 9th, Suzie 15th
May 214 Slateman Triathlon Suzie 1st, Natalie 2nd
June 2014 Blenheim Sprint Triathlon (British elite Super series) Natalie 11th, Suzie 15th
May 2015 Slateman Triathlon Suzie 1st, Natalie 2nd
Natalie is a great competitor, unfortunately last year after Blenheim she had a bike crash that ruled her out for the rest of the season, so it was good to see her back in action and she absolutely pushed me all the way to the line, at Slateman this year. An athlete who represented Team GB at London 2012 in the Hockey squad, she is one quality athlete and I look forward to doing battle again!
Well done Natalie Seymour 2nd and Ruth Purbrook 3rd. Top racing.
The smile says it all. So much love and support out on the course THANK YOU
5) Make a weekend of it
Llanberis and the surrounding area, really is a beautiful area. I took my own advice and made a weekend of it. Staying with Stel, Mabon and Merin over the weekend. Saturday night was a 10 person feast with my Mum, Mike, Rohan, Madi, Jess and Robin celebrating  Madi's birthday and enjoying a pre dinner walk around the Slatemines. This area is quickly becoming one of my favourite spots in the UK and Stel and her family are fantastic hosts.
Slateman Triathlon will be shown on Channel 4 on June 6th. Here is a sneak peek.

 Writing this, a year on from winning my first Slateman in 2014 and having managed to retain my title in 2015, I started thinking about what I have done differently in the year between the two. Sure, the basic are still the same, I still swim, bike and run, a fair amount each week, week in week out. 
 There are two main areas I have given a bit more thought too in the recent year.
Movement and mobility
We call it crazy voodoo magic, but it's basically me and Ele having a laugh!

In summary, I buggered my Achilles last season, I have been working with Sarah Pitts along with a few other professionals in Leeds to sort this out. One key area of weakness I found was my mobility and range of movement  so I have been working with Sarah at The Movement Therapy Centre to increase my range of motion. Alongside the Leeds Bradford Tri Club weekly Yoga practice with Kirsten Steffensen and building in better daily movement habits. The power of habits, why we do what we do and how to change by Charles Duhigg is a fantastic book that I fell in love with in my old job and is well worth a read. Read this book and you will discover why my most disliked word is "talent"... if I can increase my range of motion through practice then surely the same is true for all skills?
 Nutrition. A hot topic and something I have been experimenting with recently. I have written a piece on the OTE website explaining how I fuelled my Slateman adventure.
Banana and chocolate chip cakes and Tapioca Pudding essential goodies for the hosts (and for me!)
Finally, a shout out to The Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation, Two years ago, out of the 100s of emails I sent they were the only people who replied with a 'Yes' to my request for financial help. They gave me a cheque for £500, which helped me to buy a TT bike.
Helping the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation. You can read about the launch here and see the piece on ITV here
This week I have been helping them with their yearly launch. To raise awareness of 1) The grants they give out to support young people with ambitions and 2) The awards. You can find out more on both of these here.
Good Luck with all your own racing. Go have fun!

Wednesday 6 May 2015

On your marks, get set, go. Go miniature pony go!

Seasons are changing. Homemade soups are being replaced with homemade salads.


The cherry blossom is out, the trails are drying up.

And strength training now involves keeping the veg patch well fertilised.

As we shift from soups to salads I have found myself shifting from training to racing. The 2015 race season has begun in earnest and just like our soups and salads, it's all about having a colourful mix of ingredients.

Racing, getting from A to B the fastest? An exhibition of physical skills and prowess? Maybe but not always. I enjoy the challenge of racing but there is more to it than meets the eye. I will take you through four different races I have done recently and explain the different purposes of each of them and what I have learnt along the way.

The event: Northern Road Relays, Liverpool, Saturday 28h March
The purpose: Having spent more time aqua jogging (jogging in water, travelling at the pace of a snail) this winter than running on land. I wanted to stretch my legs and see where I was in terms of running fitness. Also I have a soft spot for road relays, having grown up on a diet of road relays for Bristol AC as a junior. I enjoy the team element and having missed the XC season with a grumbling achilles, I was itching to get out and join Leeds City for a team day out.
How did the miniature pony fair? The road relays comprises of 6 runners in each team, 4 runners run a 'short stage' one lap of Sefton Park, 3.7km. The other two runners run the 'long stage'  2 laps 7.4km. I was the first runner for the b team and ran a 'long stage'. I finished 8th out of 61 on leg one, 28.39 placed me 15th on the day out of all 120 runners who ran the long stage. A decent run, and more importantly an achilles that was in one piece.
The main take away: Aqua Jogging at times has felt like pricking my eyes with pins. But it works when you are coming back from injury. I managed a decent run and it was a great day for Leeds city with the ladies A team winning the whole race, the B team came 12th overall and 1st b team and the men took the win as well.
Running with Hudak, always good catching up with old Loughborough buddies

The event: V214 10mile Cycle Time Trial, 17th April, a dual carriage way in North Yorkshire
The purpose: I like routine, but I also like variety. So I replaced the weekly TT effort I often do on Mondays on my normal Monday road loop with an official TT on Saturday afternoon. Putting a number on the jersey, setting off at 1 minute intervals gets the adrenaline going and helps explode the lungs and legs just that little bit more than normal.
How did the miniature pony fair? 4th female out of 12 with a 24.54 clocking for 16.2km. 39.5km/h not too bad for a miniature pony, with little legs on a windy dual carriageway.
The main take away: It is still possible to go wrong on an out and back 10mile race, along a  dual carriageway. Good job that if, potentially you do come off one junction too early, you can always go round the roundabout, back up the slip road and re join the route, pretend nothing has happened. Minor detours, just taking in the local scenery. Got to get the money worth, make that 10mile TT as long as possible. For any one who wants to put their legs and lungs in the hurt box, then time trialling is for you!


The event: Stockton Duathlon, Sunday 26th April (10km run, 40km bike, 5km run)
The purpose: Time to combine the running with the cycling and to commence battle with club mate Ele Haresign. 
How did the miniature pony fair? I have written a more
comprehensive race report on the Race Skin Website here. In summary; the same 3 ended up on the podium as last year, but with Ele getting her revenge, smashing me on the 2nd run and scooping the win. I was 2nd and Emma Holt again picked up 3rd. Top racing ladies.

The main take away: Stockton Duathlon is hands down the best Duathlon in the UK that I have experienced. Great value for money, closed roads, top prizes, high class competition, a fantastic course and atmosphere. I would highly recommend it to anyone. I have written more on why I love the Stockton Duathlon in my race report here.

The event: Women's Tour De Yorkshire, cycling road race, 80km. Saturday 2nd May.
The purpose: Hell, why not! Getting to compete on closed roads with some of the country's best cyclists, finishing just before Wiggins et al cross the same finish line in York isn't an everyday opportunity. Atmosphere and crowds is what this race promised (See the BBC preview here) And it didn't disappoint.
How did the miniature pony fair? 58th out of 102 starters. 2 hours 11minutes of racing around a 20km road loop in York. 36.5kmp for 80km. What a buzz. I managed to hang onto the main group for 2 laps, getting dropped early on lap 3, I worked hard to catch a few riders in front who had suffered the same fate. We got organised, eventually. OK so I can get a bit loud and shout at others during races, hey it's best for everyone! We chain ganged it round, picking up a few who had been chewed up and spat off the main group and we lost a few from our small group off the back. The pace slowed in the final kilometre's as it got a bit cat and mouse like with people saving themselves for a sprint. As true out and out slow twitch lass I was sat on the front of the group, grafting hard. I have no sprint to save myself for! Alba club mate Seonaid, led a chase group behind us and sniffed us out with 200m to go, a few sprinted past, I was happy enough to dig in, see them fly by and finish. I survived the broom wagon, many didn't, getting pulled off the course if you fall too far behind the leaders is standard practice. The crowd was incredible, my ears were ringing from the cheers, drums, whistles and Alba Corner; a sea of pink and black club mates from the cycle club dominating one of the corners on the course was overwhelming support. 




David vs Goliath.Dame Sarah Storey's Pearl Izumi team vs happy go lucky local AlbaGirls
The main take away: What's the worst that can happen when you line up against 100 cyclists including Olympic Champions Dame Sarah Storey, Joanna Roswell and GB rider Katie Archibald et al? You fail. Who cares. You can also exceed your own expectations and the feeling when you do that is worth the challenge.
With Alba Team mate Seonaid at the finish, we didn't quite manage to finish in the position of our start numbers!

Unfortunately the women's race wasn't televised, but you can watch a great little video summarising the race with Dame Sarah Story providing a good race preview here.
So that's it, a running race, a cycle time trial a Duathlon and the Women's Tour de Yorkshire to kick start the 2015 race season. I look forward to the upcoming races with excitement. Especially after the delivery of nutrition from OTE and run trainers and gear from Always Aim High. Goes well with my 2015 Race Skin Triathlon Suit.


 It was with a sad heart I read of the tragic earthquake disaster in Nepal. A country close to my heart, having spent a few months there in 2005. I recently read a nice quote "I divide my money into thirds. I save, I spend and I give" I really liked this quote so I have decided this is how I will divide any prize money I win. Therefore I will give a third of my prize money from Stockton Duathlon to the Teach for Nepal organisation in an effort to help the remote communities they work with, who have been affected by the earthquake. Information on this and how to donate can be found here.

Stay safe, have fun and good luck with your own racing