IronMan 70.3 UK Race Report

Wimbleball was to be my first 70.3 race of the season and one I'd been looking forward too for a very long time, a local-ish race for me, hills and a tough run. I came down to Devon a few days before to catch up with everyone at home and to have a look at the bike course.

Race weekend came around quite quickly, I'd been feeling really quite tired in the lead up to the race and slept quite a lot in the days before. It was quite surreal really, I was just ticking off the last few race prep training sessions, getting kit ready and then suddenly it was Saturday and I was there getting registered and racking up the bike ready to go. I tried to be quite canny and get all my pre race meals ready in a cool box but the sweltering day on Saturday meant all this went off and I decided it would be a good idea to source something edible. After a couple of laps of Tiverton passing weird looking takeaway places I came across a quirky little cafe. I ended up having a rather posh solo meal of parma ham and watermelon salad with roast chicken.

On race morning I did my usual pre race warm up, a 10-15min run with mobility work, getting some weird looks from the other competitors as I ran around. We then assembled in transition and headed down to the swim start. This was to be the biggest mass start race I'd ever done. Having 800 swimmers around was quite claustrophobic but I got my head in the right place and pressed on. The field soon spread out and I came out of the water with a swim time that needs some work, but one I was pleased with on the day.

Swim Start. Photo curtsey of "Stephen Pond/ Getty Images" 

The rain started to come down really heavily and the wind was picking up, not ideal for what faced us all on the bike, but I got stuck in and worked my way up through the field making use of the steep climbs. The course was reasonably challenging requiring constant concentration. I came over the brow of one climb into a fast decent, to find someone had misjudged the bend at the bottom coming off quite badly, one of those moments your heart jumps into your mouth. I really enjoyed the bike leg, it was great to have something I could get into with no let up for the duration I was out there.

On the Run: Photo curtsey of "Stephen Pond/ Getty Images" 

Coming off the bike into T2 someone shouted "You're in 8th place!" which was encouraging but I was optimistic of my chances of bridging to the lead. T2 went very smoothly, opting for the no sock option, figuring every second would count now. I went off quickly, picking off a couple of guys in the first km…6 to catch. I set in my mind to run as fast as I could and to see what happened. Each turn bought the front runners closer, I passed a couple more at half way. A slight wrong turn set me back 30-40 seconds which I wasn't too happy with but back on track I managed to settle back into my rhythm again. The support from everyone throughout the race was phenomenal, every athlete I lapped shouted encouraging words, and coming though the crowds the noise was amazing, giving me goose bumps and a rush of adrenaline. On the last lap I finally caught a glimpse of the leader, marked by a mountain bike rider. Only now did I believe I could catch him, as a spectator shouted " The gap is 2 minutes". I put everything into bridging the gap and made it 2 thirds of the way through lap 3. I then pushed on again to put as much time between us as I could, racing against the lead mountain bike marker to the finish. Coming down that finishing tunnel was one of the most thrilling things I've every experienced. It was such a buzz of atmosphere and realisation of what had just happened.

Finish.  Photo curtsey of "Stephen Pond/ Getty Images"

I was incredibly happy with the result but couldn't have got there with out the fantastic amount of help from my coach Luke Watson and the set up at Loughborough, also the help and support from Aske Bikes, Pedal Potential, Le Col, HUUB, Jeremy Willson CT.

What's next?
In two weeks I'll be racing the AG Europeans in Geneva, and then the Gauntlet at Castle Howard at the end of July. As I qualified for the IM 70.3 Worlds I'll be heading off to Austria to race there at the end of August too.
I'm incredibly motivated to make the step up to Pro 70.3 racing in the near future and really hope that what happened at Wimbleball will prove to be a stepping stone to the next level.

Race Season in Full Swing

Since the start of March the race season has started to get into full swing. I've raced Leicester Sprint, Belvoir Olympic Triathlon and my first Elite Olympic race at Lough Cutra. Training has been consistently progressing and I'm really pleased with how everything is going so far this season.

Leicester Sprint was a very well organised race put on by Race Time Events and close to home. Three of the Loughborough performance squad guys raced meaning competition for the win was going to be tough. The race format was a 400m pool swim, 20km bike and 5km run. I finished in 4th place with a good bike and run time. Results: http://www.stuweb.co.uk/race/ZJ/178.html

Two weeks after Leicester was my first olympic race of the season at Belvoir Castle. The swim was in a lake in the estate's grounds followed by an undulating 45km on the bike and an out and back two lap 10km run to finish. The swim was cold and very murky. As the lake was so shallow, all of the silt whipped up and as a result the water tuned black. Every time I came up to sight or breath it would be bright sunlight and then back underwater it was completely dark, a very strange experience. Following a long run to transition I was then out on the bike, I got into a good rhythm and managed to make up many places after my swim deficit. I came off the bike in 21st place and then ran my way up to 7th. I posted the fastest run split of the day by a couple of minutes.
Results: http://www.stuweb.co.uk/event/1937#1011

The following weekend was Lough Cutra. The first in the elite castle series races held every month from May to September. Me and Max travelled over to Ireland on the Thursday, it was a bit of an epic road trip but we managed to get it done and had Friday and Saturday to chill in Ireland before Sundays race. We stayed in a very odd B+B, but it did the job for a couple of nights. The race was an olympic distance so 1.5km swim, 40km bike and 10km run. The swim was in a spectacular lake in the castle grounds, but it was incredibly cold, 11 degrees. I really struggled with the temperature and didn't properly warm up until the run later in the race. On the bike I managed to ride my way up though the field into 6th place, although the power I was trying to hit was reduced by how cold I had become in the swim. I had another good run with the second fastest run time overall and fastest finishing lap. I was 4th overall in the olympic distance race. Results of the race: http://www.stuweb.co.uk/event/1873#250.

 This was my first taste of the Castle series, organisation was fantastic and the event was run incredibly smoothly, in a very iconic and stunning location. If you are thinking of racing triathlon for the first time this year or are still planning out your race calendar I would highly recommend giving the caste series a go, visit  http://www.castletriathlonseries.co.uk for more info and to enter online.

I've got a busy couple of months ahead now with Deva Olympic 14th June, Ironman 70.3 Exmoor 28th June, European AG olympic champs 12th July, and Castle Howard 70.3 26th July.

Client Testimonial

Jamie Stevenson 

Triathlete 

Age 34 from Torquay 

I've been running for 8 years, riding for 5 years and competing in triathlons for 4 years. 

After doing some power tests at Exeter uni in late 2013 & starting to ride with power soon after, I started to train myself using books and online articles. But I always had a doubt that I wasn't doing it correctly, as I seemed to plateau in my training performance, so I contacted Brennan to have a chat about what he could offer me.  At that time he primarily offered cycling coaching, but Brennan Townsend had just started triathlon himself, so I started getting coached by Brennan. 

Being coached by Brennan takes all the guess work and uncertainty out of my training and also makes me more committed. As I receive my training through Training Peaks I know what I'm doing that week and can prepare for it. Brennan is very professional and helpful in my training, and if I have any questions my emails are always replied to within a day. 

They also understand that I only have limited time available to train and fit my training around my day to day life. 

Brennan has helped me understand how to train more effectively and has helped me understand my body & what I can and can't do. And also to set realistic goals that are achievable which keeps your motivation up. 

This year I aim to continue to increase my FPT and to increase my running speed, & hopefully a sub 5hr half ironman.

One great example of being coached by Brennan was a couple of months or so before a half Ironman event. I was worrying that I wasn't running enough distance, a quick email to Brennan and he explained why I wasn't running big distances and what he was trying to achieve with me, that put my mind at rest. If I was training myself I would have ramped the distance up way too early and over trained. 

Final thoughts, if you want to get stronger & faster as a triathlete it would be much more beneficial to get Brennan to train you rather than spending your money on some new kit (aero wheels). The the new kit might give you a quick gain but being trained will give you a bigger engine & the confidence to race your own race, so you will go faster. 

I would highly recommend Brennan.  

Cycling Coaching

Cycling Coaching

I am launching coaching using the training peaks software aimed specifically at cycling and cycling within triathlon. 

Ive been working as a coach for over a year now passing my ABCC (Association of British Cycling Coaches) cycling coaching qualification in May 2014.

Training, performance and nutrition have interested me ever since I began cycling as a junior and I coached myself to win the Junior of Wales in 2011 and 3rd overall in the Junior National Series.

I spent two seasons as a professional cyclist riding for teams Raleigh GAC and Madison Genesis. I raced multiple UCI stage and one day races. I gained experience at the top of the sport against World Tour teams. I've experienced all levels of coaching myself, and have truly come to appreciate how much a coach can increase cycling performance and fitness. 

I now am mixing my racing up between long distance triathlons and road races as I study my Sports Science degree at Loughborough University. 

As a coach I like to give riders all the contact time that they need and keep training plans up to date and specific to the riders or triathletes goals and ambitions.

What you'll receive:

• A premium Training Peaks account 
• Initial consultation analysing goals, strengths, weaknesses, fitness and setting of training zones 
• Daily emails with your training for the next two days 
• Coaching to power, heart rate or feel.
• Regular contact via email, text phone and Facebook as necessary.
• Monthly assessment of fitness and necessary fitness testing. 
• Race tactics and advice leading into competition.
• Advice and help with nutrition for races and training

Contact me at brennantownshend@hotmail.com for more information.

The Build Phase and Early Season Preparation Races

Since my last update I've competed in a variety of different races; an off road duathlon, cross-country, a standard duathlon, a couple of 5km road races, a 10km race and my first sprint triathlon.

After finishing a good consistent winter training block off and with spring on the way I've switched to a focused build phase leading into the main races of the season starting in May, finishing in October. During the season I am going to be racing Olympic and 70.3 distance triathlons so a large focus with training will always be to push my endurance levels up. This concept applies to my swimming, cycling and running. With the swim in need a lot of technical work so I have to mix in drills and technique reinforcement sessions, which sometimes take priority over general conditioning. One tool that I've been using has been a set of neoprene shorts which enable me to hold the correct body position in the water allowing me to focus on swim mechanics. I swim a little quicker in the pool (in the shorts) too which is ideal for group sessions. My running training is focused on speed, muscular endurance and mechanics work, with some fast running off the bike thrown in as well. With the cycling I've been trying to keep up a good volume, mixing session up with group race scenarios, TT work and aerobic devopment. Personally for me a good aerobic volume on the bike seems to push up the endurance across all three sports as I can tolerate a solid amount of hours riding. Ive been working on a very specific gym programme focusing on mobility work and running mechanic development which so far is helping a huge amount in the pool and during run sessions.

I have been doing quite a mix of early season preparation races; off road and road duathlons, running races and a pool based triathlon. I kicked off with a 10km XC running race which was done with Loughborough University at the Birmingham District League, it was a good hit out in the mud and I enjoyed getting stuck in. Following this was an off road duathlon in Frimley. It was extremely cold for the race with -3 showing on my temperature gauge in the car, so I plastered myself in warm up embrocation and vas-aline to keep the wind off my skin, I was actually quite toasty during the 2hrs of racing. The duathlon had a 10km trail run, 30km off road mountain bike, 5km trail run structure. I tried to pace the first 10km conservatively and came into transition 2nd after a hilly and technical 10km run in the woods. Then it was onto the bike, from the start it was clear that my MTB skills had been left behind in the last decade when I used to do a lot of dirt jumping and XC MTB riding, but I got stuck in and tried to use fitness to get me round. I ended up loosing a few places on the MTB. Setting off for the last run I knew there would be some work to do so I just went full gas, posting the fastest final run split and overtaking 6 of my competitors along the way. I worked my way up to finish second. I was happy with the result but feel that the off road scene doesn't play to my greatest strengths. I followed up the race with a standard distance duathlon on the road three weeks later. This race didn't go so well, I misjudged the level of fatigue that id built up in the weeks leading up to it and had a very difficult race. However mistakes are never a bad thing as I came away from it having learnt that the approach I took into the race didn't work for me so I would know to avoid it next time.

After the duathlon I suffered from some very tight calves and to prevent serious injury I stopped running for 10 days and got a good 20+ hour bike week in. Another change to my program mainly in the last few months has been my inclusion in the elite Para-triathlon swim training, as I've been able to get a bit quicker I manage to keep up with them in the water and it has been great to be able to have a lane slot and involvement with their open water adaptation sessions with no lane ropes in the pool. The para triathletes are very inspiring and a great group to swim with.

My biggest early season race was to be the Elite Duathlon Championships, but unfortunately due to weather conditions the race got turned into a 10km run instead. I was gutted about this but at least I got to test the run legs against some very quick runners. I ran a 34:11 in tough conditions. Results : http://www.stuweb.co.uk/race/11N. It was great to see squad members Adam Bowden and David Bishop on the podium.

In the last couple of weeks I've had some good performances in my first local sprint triathlon and local 5km evening run series. I raced the Race Time Events Desford triathlon on sunday 12th April, finishing 4th overall behind squad and training partners Carl Shaw, Chris Hine, and Matt Dewis. I managed to post the fastest run time of the day and second fastest bike spilt, just the swim and transitions that saw me fall behind. The race had a nice chilled atmosphere and it was a good place to put the first swim-bike-run together leading into my main race season that will kick of in May. On the Wednesday following the sprint triathlon I raced Derby 5km. I was looking to go under 16mins and managed to pull it off after some very solid weeks of training and a race in the legs. I was really pleased to come away with a time of 15:55 and to see so many of my squad mates post some rapid times and achive their own PB's.

Looking ahead I now have two 25mile TT's , Leicester Sprint and The Little Beaver triathlons before I will be lining up in the elite field in the Lough Cutra castle series race on the 24th May.

Challenge Mallorca 2013 - Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana - Highlights

Castle Series Triathlons

This season among other races il be competing in a selection of the Castle Series Triathlons. The series is held in the UK, Ireland and France, and consists of six races. The distances range from Junior all the way up to long distance "Bastion". The series provides race opportunities for everyone from beginners to elites.

The races are held in stunning locations on castle grounds, giving competitors and spectators fantastic surroundings to enjoy and take in before, during and after the race.

Here are two video montages of Castle Howard  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx_iCd27Tcs and Hever Long Distance Triathlon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auEA3KkV8Jc from last year.

You can enter here at: http://www.castletriathlonseries.co.uk