News
| Chiltern League XC Match 2008 Round 2 - 8th Nov 2008 |
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| Running in my first XC race for many years proved to be a fast and slippery affair at RAF Halton last weekend. The course was 3 laps with 2 climbs and several tight corners. I really enjoyed the wooded section and moved up well from a low starting place. Laurie had told me not to go out too fast so I used Vasili and Gary as markers on the first lap but moved ahead as the race progressed. The 15mm spikes in my New Balance XC shoes were perfect as I had more traction than other runners. In the last km we were on 400m pace and 15 seconds seperated 5th-10th I finished 8th overall (6th senior). Pleased with a good effort, the course was measured at 5.8 miles on GPS, my time was 31:50. So, obviously I'm still carrying a bit of form from Maui in the fairly grim UK conditions. I enjoyed the race and will definitely try to attend a few more for a bit of speed work over the winter. (Winner: Adam Bowden (HARROW) in 29:48) |
Maui Sunset
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| No words needed. View from Makena Beach :-) p.s. gallery updated today. |
XTERRA World Championships - October 26th - Maui
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Above Pic: Number 37 going alone on the left attacking Heartbreak Hill early on the bike course. |
| So, the season ended last Sunday for me with a very pleasing 21st place in the pro class at the XTERRA Worlds. What's even better is I managed to post the 9th quickest run split of the day, showing good strength to the end of the race. It was a hot day, around 30 degrees, with a bit of cloud cover during the race. 561 athletes frothed up the ocean and I swam OK for me, using a Maystorm swim skin. This is a new product from a Japanese manufacturer - and I have to say it feels good, increasing buoyancy and slippery. Sleeveless, with a long leg and lycra in the back section to allow a bit of water flow through the suit to avoid bagging. Out on the bike, I quickly climbed from 167th (!) through into to the top 30 .. but sadly cut my tyre once again on the razor lava and used 2 x CO2 catridges and one foam can to stay alive back to transition. I was more than happy to get back safe from what is a tough bike course, catching Julie Dibens just in the last couple of km's. Everyone works hard but there's a big element of luck in this course. So, I headed out onto the run with Julie and Hector LLanos (Eneko's brother), but got my teeth stuck into the hill and managed to post the 9th quickest split on the day, picking up places all the way to the line. Happily I achieved my goals of 1: Giving everything I had 2: Top 30 place and 3: sub 3 hour time - 2hrs 55. Next year I will be back with a quicker swim, full supsension bike and no punctures to see what improvements I can make on this year!! Keep posted.. |
| XTERRA Nevada US Championships - Race Report - October 5th |
| All athletes were relieved to see the skies blue and lake calm for the start of the XTERRA US Champs in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, yesterday. The air temp. was a chilly 46 deg F for the start of the 2 lap 1500m swim. I headed out in the pack of 300 plus pro and amateur racers forcing air into my lungs. After a bumpy first 750m I exited the water mid pack and rejoined for a better 2nd lap before running the 500m to transition. Due to the low temps I was using an extra Specialized jersey over my tri suit and my Skinfit arm warmers. The first twenty minutes of the bike was up up up from 6000 to over 8500 feet with patches of frost and snow visible on the Flume trail. Making up places is easy on the bike when you're a poor swimmer like me so I picked my way carefully past 15 or so riders in the first half of the bike section. It was cold and fast. The colours of the lake and autumnal yellow aspen trees were inspiring me as I headed to the top of the course to begin the long tricky decent. By this time I was up to around 20th position and moving well. Starting the descent, my new tubeless Bontrager XR Jones tyres came in their own on the sandy trail giving loads of grip and rolling fast over the rocks. Time to really flow and enjoy the famous singletrack descent, I picked off several more riders with good line choices spotted on our pre ride day. Safely out of the fastest section of the sandy descent where riders were reaching 50mph I hit the road and headed back to transition. A quick transition and off to the 2 lap 10k run .. twisting its way around a lumpy wooded area. Conrad Stoltz had said the run was PAIN .. and by half way around lap 1 I was inclined to agree. The cut in my leg gave no trouble which is a big positive for training going forward and a strong focus to perform meant I was able to finish strongly in 17th position, just two places behind top Ozzy pro Andy Noble. Mission accomplished for me - a safe return to top level racing.. Overall time for 2h 54m 22s. The legendary Mike Vine brought the race home in a speedy 2h 32m. The next 10 days will be spent in Tahoe to recover and start the build up to the World Champs in Maui in 3 weeks time. My plan is to bring an extra level of fitness to the toughest test of the year. |
| XTERRA Nevada warm up - October 2nd |
OK, so this is real XTERRA land! Sleeping at 6000 feet and riding to 9000ft on trails with names like Rim and Flume .. all famous 'scorching' (local word!) sandy trails known to locals with smiles on their faces.. We're just back from pre riding the bike course again .. finishing with a grinmaker 20 minute downhill!
Since XTERRA France last weekend I seem to have spent a lot of time in the air just getting here, but settled now, sleeping properly and even a couple days decent training. I'm out here training with Sam Gardner and Renata Bucher. We had a good pool swim today although the thin air really makes usual efforts hard, then checked out the run course, 5k slow and 5k fast, and lastly the bike. It's all
gentle stuff now in prep for Sunday's race. I'm super happy about the weather so far but it is forecast to get really cold, maybe snow .. yikes! - see the pix below of massive Lake Tahoe and the Flume Trail. The excitement is building as the adrenaline is growing in my body!
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| XTERRA France - XTERRA Xduro 12km Run - Cote D'Azur - October 2nd |
| Last week I was just outside Cannes supporting other racers in XTERRA France as the leg injury was still keeping me out of the water. However I raced on the Saturday in the Xduro 12km Trail Run and managed 49:53, just about 30 seconds ahead of a local mountain runner in 2nd. The course was testing with 4 big climbs on loose rocky ground. My Saucony Grid Tangents out of Run Oxford worked well as did my Skinfit run gear, keeping me cool all the way around! I was happy to hold off 4 or 5 local mountain runners who were seriously catching me as I took the descents quite cautiously. |
| Jamie Whitmore Fights Cancer - Headset Top Caps - September 24th |
| Just got a few minutes to let you know about the funky bling headset top caps that Rory at USE has kindly donated to the Jamie Whitmore Silent Auction to be held at the USA Champs in Tahoe on the 5th October. Have a look at www.supportjamiewhitmore.org/use-jamie-whitmore-custom-headset-top-caps to see what's up for auction. Unique! Thanks Rory. OK, busy schedule off to Beeline Bicycles to pickup a goody bag of spares to see me through the next 4 weeks! |
| Unilever / Caravan London to Paris - September 19th |
| Writing this quick note on the ferry from Portsmouth to Caen. It's Day 2 of the last Charity Challenge London to Paris this year .. enthusiastic group, blue skies and the ususal 7am ferry. I think today's ride will be great. I'm Tour leading this trip so providing backup on the road. We got in early enough last night for me to get out on the road bike for 30 mins and run 15 mins last night. Overall I feel fresh but I think cut in my leg is still fixing so I'm going really easy. I can't manage a full knee bend yet and there is some stiffness. Injury management and rehab is tough mentally, but the core work, paddles, stretching, revised diet and lots of sleep are super important to the quickest recovery. This time next week I'll be on a plane to XTERRA France. Gulp. |
| Antibiotics, Ibuprofen and Arnica - September 11th |
| So, the black hole project in Geneva didn't get us .. but I tried hard to maim myself last week.. I'm sitting with my leg up this week after an innocuous crash off the MTB last Friday.
On inspection the injury was quite severe and I went to Kendal A&E. Thanks to Doctor Ted there who cleaned it out and stitched it all back together quite neatly. 7 stitches inside and 12 outside. Today I am resting and catching up on all the paperwork that thrives when nobody is looking. Obviously this setback will hit my training into XTERRA France and it is unlikely I will be recovered fully to race. In the meantime I am dryland swimming (which I quite like), stretching and doing core work. I hope to be back training properly on the French course though. After France it gets exciting as I just booked last night to go to Tahoe and do XTERRA Nevada. This will precede 10 days altitude training there and then transferring across to Maui to complete final preparations before the World Champs on October 26th. I plan to be fully fit and am motivated to produce a strong race!  
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| XTERRA Austria - August 23rd 2008 |
The trip to Austria started with a rush meet and parking challenge with my good friend Ozzer, but with thanks to Chequer cars we were soon on our way to sunny Klagenfurt.
Arriving in Klopeinersee on Day 1 .. (sunny) .. we were greeted by a pretty little village with a wooded hillside surrounding a deep blue lake. Ahh, breathe in the fresh air. We settled into our pension and headed out for a pre ride on the rooty technical but fun bike course. Day 2 .. sunny After a lap of the twisty but fast run course in the morning meant I'd be using my excellent Saucony Tangents again. However at +22 degrees the compulsory NON WETSUIT (gulp ;-() swim practice left me feeling a little like a fish out of water! One of those neoprene skins is on my most wanted list as a ban for them looks unlikely in the near future.
Race day arrived with grey clouds and a chill in the air. Soon after the swim had kicked off it began to rain, and everyone's brain must have been contemplating the roots on the bike course. As I made my way up through the bike field .. passing all the elite women including Julie (thanks Kahuna) quick realisation meant that using the brakes resulted in a lack of control and copious sliding. I took a brave pill and kept on the gas, making over 15 places by T2. I pegged off onto the run and managed a solid 39 minutes for the wooded 10K, picking up a further 6 places and ending up 20th overall.
A great after party with some not so great singing of the XTERRA Austria official song from the brits washed down with a little turbo shandy (thanks Susan for the not so ideal recovery drink!) and it was nearly time to come home. I took a recovery run out to a small church on top of a hill overlooking the lake and absorbed all the goodness that is XTERRA, friends, life, freedom and health after the race.
Thanks to Robert, Astrid and Dave N. who worked to create a great event with a top supporting team. Not to be missed in 2009. www.xterra .at
 
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| XTERRA France - Auron - Race Report - 5th July |
| I'm on another plane, this time to Nice... heading straight to Stephen Roche's hotel where I meet up with Conrad Stoltz and Amber.
After 2 hours of mountain twistys in the back of a Renault Kangoo we arrive in Auron - a small ski resort at 1600m elevation.
The air is clear, and the hillsides decidely steep! More athletes turn up from all over Europe and more. The buzz is good as people talk about switchbacks and roped descents!
Xavier and his team have definitely engineered a challenging course - one that the Big Kahuna Dave Nicholas spends a while tweaking. (tres dure!) We swim in a small reservoir at 1800m where my drowning rat impersonation is evident.
Australian exits and re-entries put skills to the test as we make 3.5 laps. Very busy .. not ideal!
I'm glad to be out .. but I find I already have a slow puncture in transition .. Oh flip!! Must have happened on the way to the start.
I use half a CO2 cartridge losing valuable time and get back on with the job asap, quickly catching the battle at the front of the womens elite field.
The course is 2 laps and technical to suit the mountain bikers .. I push as hard as I dare with a big grin whilst keeping my wheels safe.
The run starts with a near vertical rope assisted descent into a gorge and through two streams. Awesome!!
Out of that and straight into a 2km climb where a shuffle is brought on by the altitude so lungs and legs feel like they are red lining.
I make more places to finally run down the main street of Auron into the square to be welcomed home in 14th. I'm all in one piece in a points position after a now trademark rubbish swim, ah well Happy days!!
As for the results you can see them here at www.xterra.fr but the quick version - Nico Lebrun kicked Conrad and everyone else's ass again in the men's - he is just an awesome athlete.
Swiss friend Renata Bucher made a welcome return still carrying an elbow injury taking first in the women's devastating the rest on the bike and run.
More Race Action - If you're looking for offroad fun in the form of XTERRA, why not join me, Sam Gardner and the rest of an energetic British group at XTERRA Austria on 23rd August? Mail me for details.. :-)
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