X-Country - Mud and Hills

In a huge shock, I now have a tidy flat. Genuinely tidy, not ‘everything crammed into areas where I don’t usually look’ tidy. It’s quite a novel feeling, and almost certainly won’t last more than a week, but in the interim I intend to enjoy the feeling of not thinking I’m going to trip over and fall every time I head to the loo in the night.

Last weekend was good, even if it was spent mainly in Leicester, a place which becomes more and more aesthetically displeasing the longer you stay here. I had a solid ten hours sleep on Saturday, more because I wanted a lie in than because I needed all of it. It was a bit of a struggle to get on the bike if truth be told, and at thirty minutes in to my steady, very hilly ride, I was not feeling remotely enthusiastic. As time went on the situation improved, and by the end I averaged 17 mph for the two hours I spent in the saddle of my heavy(ish) training bike. Obviously this is pretty slow going, but the terrain was serious (a couple of thousand feet of ascent), and it was an endurance ride, not a time trial.

Had a good swim on Saturday afternoon too, though the presence of a one length wonder in the lane next to me got on my nerves. He’d wait until I was midway through a 100m pull buoy set, then storm out a length, finish at the same time as me and brag to his girlfriend that he’d done something impressive. Any moron can crash out 25 metres in 20 seconds, but it’s keeping it up, length in length out for long periods that counts. I took it easy on my 8 x 100m Pull Buoy set, concentrating on technique alone, and not going for any kind of speed. I averaged 1:21/100m, which was pretty tidy. The 500m time trial followed, and I felt good, despite the kilometre and a bit of swimming I’d already done. I timed in with a very pleasing 6:54. Would be quite interesting to know what I could get going absolutely full tilt, but there’s little point in a triathlete doing that – we need something left in the tank for the bike and run.

Race day on Sunday morning. Decent weather – an overcast five degrees, good running conditions. The course was very hilly, with thick mud in places. A proper multi-terrain cross country. Ten miles was the nominal distance, though the GPS equipped runners reported 10.35, so that’s the time I’ll use for stats. I set off at a comfortable pace, with about 40 of the 400 strong field in front of me. Every time I race I’m amazed by how many people, decent club runners included, over estimate their own speed. Very strong field, and a lot of people clearly thought they were Olympic beaters, as they went off at a rate of knots only to be hammered by better club runners. I settled quickly, and made up a lot of places. Eventually finished 17th, not a bad day at the office for a triathlete taking part in a run race. Averaged about 6:52/mile, pedestrian on the flat, but for a very hilly, muddy x-country ten miler, I was happy.

It’s been a decent week too, with a personal set over a hilly 9k tempo run, and the usual disgusting sweat fest on the turbo trainer. Swimming has been tough, as I’ve lead the fast lane out on Wednesday and Thursday night – always more tiring than sitting on someone’s heels. I’m getting in just under 10km of swimming a week at the moment, together with about 100km cycling (not including the 30km of work commute) and about 30km of running, so endurance wise I’m in OK shape. It’ll soon be time to start upping the speed though, which’ll be a pain fest.

Leaving Leicester for York this evening, so it’s from the sublime to the ridiculous in terms of aesthetics.

12/02/2010