First Triathlon Completed!

I feel like I've just won my first triathlon (I came 31st out of 105)

It's a great feeling, I stuck by it had loads of help along the way but now I've completed my first triathlon

So i was fully prepared physically on Saturday night, i had tried to be really good with my food intake and making sure my body was getting everything it needed, i wasn't so prepared with actually getting there, on a second inspection of the race details we would need to be getting up at 3am on Sunday and leaving the house at 4am to get there for final chance registration at 6am-ish, so i was packed and ready Saturday night, let my dad know (who was going to come and see me) that the event was actually 2 hours away (and not the 30 mins i had first thought) that i didn't mind if he couldn't make it, then got an early night

Up early at 3 the next morning, we checked, double checked then went through everything again to make sure there wasn't anything we had forgotten one last time

We got to the venue a little earlier than expected, there didn't seem to be anyone on the roads at 4 in the morning on a Sunday, weird! Dani drove while i got some more sleep (Thanks Dani)

After getting everything i needed into the transition area i realised my first problem, to save time and baggage i wore my running shoes there, but then had to leave them in the transition area meaning i had to walk around bare foot till the race

Then my Dad and his wife Pam showed up, I really didn't expect it and it was a great boost just before the race

I took on board a shake 2 hrs before the race, thermo, quickspark, nrg tablets 30 mins before the race and had prepared a H30 / Niteworks / liftoff energy drink for my water bottle now attached to my bike

First the swim, it was very cold in the lake which was actually a huge positive for me as i overheat while racing so i knew that would be fine, there were legs in front of me, arms scraping my legs behind me, it was a mess of people all swimming together, like salmon upstream, i found the swim really easy, my pace was slowed by the person in front of me who i couldn't get round, but i think with the slower pace i didn't get tired at all

The transition was a flurry of runners looking for their bikes in the 600+ bike rack

Then off on the bike, after a couple of swigs of my H30 / Niteworks / Liftoff energy drink i dropped my water bottle, I panicked, do i go back for it or continue without any more fluid for the rest of the race... I continued, i couldn't bring myself to stop cycling, the cycle was long but on fairly flat roads, i overtook a few people which was another boost for me and about three quarters into the race i was getting tired i hadn't overtaken anyone in a while and was feeling a bit low, so i picked myself up and tried to think of something to do to raise my moral, so what should pop into my head at this very moment? that's right the theme tune to Gladiators "Do you feel the power of the Gladiators?" The song was in my head and then i found myself singing it out loud whilst cycling along, it really did help me, my spirit lifted, i started smiling and went hell for leather, overtaking a few more riders

The second transition was faster, without a wetsuit to get off i was out in under a minute

The run started very SLOW, my calves had started to cramp when i got off my bike (something the H30 / Niteworks drink would have prevented, Grrr) but i lifted my knees up and after a minute they were back to normal and i was on the run, i overtook a few racers here as well, more boosts for me to carry on, i also heard some of the racers encourage others on their way round

round the bend and over the finish line with a total time of:

1:02:09

Race Info Is Here

Argh the race info is here:

http://www.triferris.com/cotswold/raceinfo.html

This means it is a real race with real people now, before it was just something I was training for, something that I was working my way towards, now it's real and fully booked

I need to go and see the venue beforehand to get my bearings sorted for the race, getting nervous now a little

Went down the gym again this morning, more muscle training and abs workouts, was back down in the pool last night, my breathing in the water has definitely improved this last week, I was doing 100-130 meters non-stop last night and at the end of it I was breathing fine, so I'm feeling a bit better for that, i was swimming for the whole hour this time though, just with small breathers here and there

My goal for this Thursdays swim is to time myself doing a true 400 meter non-stop swim, it's roughly 16 lengths in the pool i'm training in at the moment

Last years Results

I've found the results for last years Cotswold super sprint Triathlon:

http://www.triferris.com/results/supersprint10.htm

So I'm aiming for a sub 1 hour finish time :)

Rainy Weekend, Challenges and Meetings

What a rainy weekend!

But for me it was a very long weekend, not that I had much extra time just that it seemed longer than usual

Friday night saw me and Dani (Dani has been picking holes in my grammar on my blog so 'Dani and I' just for her, probably still isn't right) going round fellow Herbalife friend’s house for a few drinks, not being a big drinker and having the excuse of being 'In Training' (both of which are true) I drove us there and back again, had a very good night while having my toes bitten by a little kitten (Don't worry there's no personal cutesy names here it was in fact a small few week old cat biting at my feet) After probably staying past our welcome (Seriously people we don't know when to leave, kick us out when you've had enough of us) we went home

Saturday was the beginning of our challenge weekend, Dani and I (Me and Dani for the rest of us) thought we could see how many days of only Herbalife food we could eat (now for the uninitiated Herbalife is a company that we are both associated with, they make low calorie yet uber high nutrition food, so that you can eat it say for breakfast and lunch and you'll lose weight as your consuming less calories without sacrificing your nutrition) so I got up early as I personally (sitting on my backside) need to consume roughly 1800 calories for the day (Do you remenber the page on my Stats? It's Here, the Basal Metabolic Rate is the stat i'm talking about), now this is easy when you take the average diet, but with Herbalife only foods it can be a bit of a challenge, I was eating all day and got up to roughly 1600, I had 4 different chocolate bars, 2 soups, 2 or 3 shakes and still was able to trim 200 calories from my diet on Saturday, Dani done 1200 which is about right for her
Saturday was also Harry Potter catch up day, we only had enough time to get through the first 2 as we were out and about for some of it looking for a George Foreman for healthy grilling, Couldn't find one though

Sunday we went to a meeting with more Herbalife friends, it was a great day out and got to meet up with some readers of this blog, hello people, feel free to say hi in the comments section below

Stats

When checking my body stats before the race:

Body fat was down to 13.9%
Visceral fat was down to level 2
Metabolic age was down to 16

My race results and times:

Position 93rd out of 108
Shirt number 49
First run: 00:13:41
First Transition: 00:00:49
Bike: 00:33:17
Second Transition: 0:00:37
Second run: 0:17:01
Final Time: 01:05:25

Full race results: http://www.votwo.co.uk/results.htm

Look for: USN Silverstone Duathlon Race 3. July

Well done to the winner Phil Holland with a final time of: 00:44:22

Stats

These are not so regular readings but here are my beginning stats with my new stats

04/04/2011 (taken for a laugh)
Weight = 166.2 lbs
Body Fat % = 19.3
Hydration % = 56.1
Muscle Mass = 127.4 lbs
Physique rating = 5
Basal Metabolic Rate = 1796 Cal
Metabolic Age = 29
Bone Mass = 6.6 lbs
Visceral Fat Reading = 4

28/06/2001
Weight = 157 lbs
Body Fat % = 14.5
Hydration % = 60.1
Muscle Mass = 127.4 lbs
Physique rating = 5
Basal Metabolic Rate = 1781 Cal
Metabolic Age = 17
Bone Mass = 6.6 lbs
Visceral Fat Reading = 3

New Bike Stats

For all those stats junkies (Just me? Okay)

Products (From Ashcycles.com)
------------------------------------------------------
1 x Giant Defy 3 2011 - 15% Worth of Free Goods (2011) = £590.00
Frame Size Road 53cm
1 x Giant P-R3 Road Tyre 700 x 25C (2011) = £17.69
F / R Front
1 x Giant P-R3 Road Tyre 700 x 25C (2011) = £17.69
F / R Rear
3 x Giant INNERTUBE 700X23-25C 27X1-1-1/8 PV (2009) = £14.97
1 x Giant Tyre Patch Kit (2010) = £2.99
1 x Giant Axact 13W Computer (2010) = £29.49
Colour White
Sub-Total: £672.83
Shipping: £0.00
Discount Code: giant15 : -£88.50
Total: £584.33
---

Giant Defy 3

Frame
Size: 53.5cm
Colors: White / Black / Silver
Frame: AluxX SL aluminium, Fluid FormedTM
Fork: Advanced-Grade, Alloy OverDrive Steerer
Shock: N / A

Components
Handlebar: Giant Alloy
Stem: Giant Sport
Seatpost: Giant Sport
Saddle: Giant Defy
Pedals: Wellgo Caged w/ Clips

Drivetrain
Shifters: Shimano 2300 24 speed
Front Derailleur: Shimano 2200
Rear Derailleur: Shimano 2300
Brakes: Tektro TK-R 350
Brake Levers: Shimano 2300
Cassette: SRAM PG 850 12-26
Chain: KMC Z7
Crankset: FSA Tempo 30/42/52
Bottom Bracket: RPM Cartridge

Wheels
Rims: Giant CR51 DW aluminium
Hubs: Formula
Spokes: Stainless Steel
Tires: Vittoria Zaffiro 700x25mm

Stats

Here are the race results for last nights Duathlon

I've put the first 3 then Team BB then the last 3 to get an overall picture

Congratulations to Phil Holland, Charlie Palmer and Ian Turner

For a complete list of results go here: http://www.votwo.co.uk/results.htm

Stats and more

Back from gym
Okay before i get into my workout i've been getting some stats of my body from Dani's Tanita scales:

04/04/2011 (taken for a laugh)
Weight = 166.2 lbs
Body Fat % = 19.3
Hydration % = 56.1
Muscle Mass = 127.4 lbs
Physique rating = 5
Basal Metabolic Rate = 1796 Cal
Metabolic Age = 29
Bone Mass = 6.6 lbs
Visceral Fat Reading = 4

06/09/2011
Weight = 157.6 lbs
Body Fat % = 15
Hydration % = 59.6
Muscle Mass = 127.2 lbs
Physique rating = 5
Basal Metabolic Rate = 1780 Cal
Metabolic Age = 18
Bone Mass = 6.6 lbs
Visceral Fat Reading = 3

Okay beforehand i had a Niteworks and a fruit juice shake

Workout:

Walk 5 Min's
Run 15 Min's
Walk 5 Min's (3.3Km Total)
Back resistance machine (1 set of 100 reps)

Then I asked an instructor to some us some exercises for the back and abs on the exercise balls

He suggested we use a 65cm ball instead of a 55cm, then showed us a few different things we could do and you could really feel them working, due to having to keep balance as well as do the movement it works more muscles, he said that working the core would also automatically help with whatever other sports we were doing

He also said that he is running a fit ball session tomorrow for an hour so we might go along to that as well

afterwards i had a Soy milk shake with multivitamins and fibre and herb tablets

i feel exercised but no aches, yay

This just in

Just got back after an unaided run, by unaided i mean firstly i couldn't find my water bottle so i couldn't take a drink with me and Dani wasn't there to spot me as she was working so i was all alone

I did manage to get the GPS watch partially working so i now have some beginning stats, i'm not sure where i ran though as i went around in circles at one point so i won't be able to map this run

I ran 2.9 km it took me 17:07 min's and my average speed was 10 k/h

I could really notice the lack of my isotonic drink, my chest got tight about half way through and i was struggling near the end

I felt much better and more controlled on Monday's run

I still warmed up and cooled down before and after but it just wasn't the same