Justin McDermott

Grand Prix Round 2 – St. Neots Triathlon

Round 2 of the Grand Prix saw ELT taking on the St. Neots Triathlon (Olympic Distance), which was actually held at Grafham Waters. ELT was well represented across several age groups with 10 competitors trying to rack up some early Grand Prix points.

The Water temperature was a cool 13.9-degree Celsius. No surprise given the recent turn in the weather and the race still being early in the season. With several hundred people per wave, the swim got quite rough with a few people receiving elbows to the face. James Swift dominated the swim for the men completing the 1500m in just over 23 minutes. Sarah Burns took an early lead in the women’s ELT competition with a 29-minute swim.

 

The bike course was fairly flat with a couple of short and sharp hills just to throw you off your rhythm. Ben Thomson put a huge effort in on the bike finishing the 37km in just 57 minutes and 24 seconds. Ali Trauttmansdorff started to real Sarah back in with a 70-minute bike finishing the bike split just 30 seconds ahead of Sarah.

The run was mixed terrain with concrete, grass, gravel, and woodland to be covered over the 10km course. Dan Fish felt strong off the bike and got quickly into a good stride and pace until disaster struck! Having not practised his full race nutrition since last year, Dan’s guts started to let him down and he needed to make two emergency stops or face doing a Paula Radcliffe! He lost several minutes there and did not feel comfortable with any intensity on the run. If you haven’t practised your nutrition plan in training yet, go do it now.

Making up for a slow swim, Ben Thomson was flying off the bike and pushed hard on the run finishing with a sub 39-minute run and Ali Trauttmansdorff powering ahead on dodgy hamstrings to finish the run in 48 minutes.

Graeme Bell had the best Transitions off the day beating everyone else in T1 and T2. With Graeme only finishing 30 seconds ahead of Lawrence Shafier, it proves that spending time training for Transitions, the fourth discipline, will pay dividends on race day.

A big well done to everyone that took part. The full race results can be found here.

Round 3 of the Grand Prix is Nuffield Health Super Sprint at Eton Dorney on the 20th May.

By Justin McDermott, ago

Juggling Training

If you haven’t read part 1 of Norma’s journey, read it here.

 

My training this year has been interrupted quite a few times with injury and illness. In particular, I have had a problem with my Achilles tendon that has meant I have been prevented from running for a few weeks and have only recently got back to running longer distances with my ankle strapped.

I had been planning on keeping up the training for both the marathon and the half Ironman in parallel but the reality of daily life, especially with training interrupted by injury and moving house has meant I have only really had enough time to focus on the running in preparation for the marathon. I will have to take one event at a time!

My typical training schedule from around February – March was:

  • Try and go swimming once or twice a week
  • Go to the gym once or twice a week
  • Go running 2-3 times a week with one of those being a longer run (15km plus). Sometimes also doing the ELT track session (once every other week)

I have only managed to do one bike ride this year (Easter weekend) and may not get back into that until after the marathon at the end of May as it is quite difficult to fit in a long run for the marathon training and then do a long bike ride the next day! So far my longest run has been 26km. The longer the run the more challenging it is to decide where to go. So for this run I got the tube to Westminster, started at the Houses of Parliament and ran home to Buckhurst Hill. The long run distances step up from here over the next few weeks. The London marathon is provided a bit of inspiration although I hope it is not as hot in Edinburgh. 2 weeks to go until the marathon and I will have to worry about the half ironman training after that!

By Justin McDermott, ago

Herts and Essex Tri Super Series: Redbridge Duathlon

It was shaping up to be a scorching hot day for the inaugural event of the Herts and Essex Tri Super Series events. The series was created in the hope of bar increasing participation in multi-sport events and create healthy competition between local clubs.

The first race, hosted by Tri sport Epping, was a duathlon at Redbridge cycling centre a.k.a hog hill. The format was a 4K run followed by an 18k bike and for finishing with a final 2k Run. 5 members of ELT had decided to give this one a crack and all turned up with good spirits.

After a quick scope of the course, discussion on the best spots for transition, and a short warm-up; we were ready for the 9am start.

And they were off! Dan Fish and a Havering Tri runner took an early lead down the hill of the first corner Breaking away from the pack. Neill Whittaker settled into a quick and steady pace not far behind shortly followed by Steve Palmer.

If you haven’t been to Hog Hill, it has a has a fairly short but steep hill (the hoggenberg) on the circuit that truly disrupts all rhythm and kicks up your heart rate several percentage points! This made settling into a steady pace almost impossible and a few people got caught out on the first lap.

After two laps of running Dan Fish pulled into Transition in 1st place. Having thought about transition tactics earlier, he was out on the bike in a short time trying to distance himself on the bike.

But the distance was not to be held for long… Just as Dan was coming over the crest of the hill on his second lap he passed by the ‘mountain goat’ Neill who sped by and really started to put some ground between him and the rest of the competition.

The heat was really beginning to pick up and with 9 laps on the bike, the hoggenberg started to split the entire field. However, Dave Barrat and Paul Dominguez were flying past all of the other clubs making for an excellent bike split.

The final run approached and after a quick transition, a shake out of the legs it was time for the last dash to finish line.

After Neill took the early lead he stayed there and romped home for first place. Dan come home in 6th after being pipped to the line over the final hill. Steve, Paul and Dave all finished strong finishing in 10th, 16th and 17th respectively.

This was a great result for ELT with all those who were racing finishing in the top 20.

Well done all, on to the next race!

By Justin McDermott, ago

An Interview with Ben

After running the hottest London Marathon ever we spoke with Ben about his objectives and goals for the year, enjoy!

Tell us a little bit about yourself…

I’m 38, and live in E17 with a rescued cat and six rescue chickens. Aside from ELT I race for the Les Stables team and I’m an ambassador for Jam Cycling. My wife works in animal welfare and we’re both Triathletes and vegans, which has been a massive boost for my racing.

I joined ELT a couple of years ago when the swim coach at Les Stables told me how good the swim sessions were, and the fact they’re 500m from my house. I was incredibly proud to be awarded the Athlete Of The Year last year. I think probably because I had a slightly crazy year, not only competing at Challenge Roth, but blogging about it for Tri247 and then a week later taking on the inaugural London Triathlon Weekend Warrior. I just missed out on the win after a huge bonk at the end of the first day left me on the floor at Excel eating pizza to recover. Here’s to 2018!

What motivated you to sign up for your first triathlon and how did it go?

I was injured from running so I swam and cycled a lot. Seemed like a good idea to do a triathlon. I forgot to take a spare pair of shoes and spent all day in my socks until the race. It went OK, but I was terrible in the swim. No change there.

What’s your favourite discipline (swim, bike, run) to train for and why? Least favourite?

I’m best at running, and I like getting there as there’s no more chance of a mechanical screw-up, but these days I love the swim. I’m a real fan of having a good race in a fast pack and trying to hold peoples feet.

How do you balance training and what tips do you have for others?

I set my alarm early. Most of my training is done on the way to or from work. A ride or run of the same distance every day can be easy, hard, intervals… Whatever you want. Weekends are for racing. Get involved and push yourself. It’s not just for fun, it really can be social too.

What is the best triathlon experience you have had?

2012 Escape from Alcatraz. It’s an epic race on every level. Jumping into the freezing bay at 7am, swimming past the Golden Gate bridge. Riding the hills of San Francisco, and then running back under the bridge alongside the fast-moving pro field. I’ve never been so broken by a race, but it was worth every moment of the pain.

What was your worst race and why?

The Thames Turbo Sprint in 2017. I turned up at 5:30am for a 6am briefing and I raced at 8:45am. I smashed the swim, then went the wrong way on the bike and ended up back at the start 8 minutes after I started the bike leg. I DNF’d at that point and went home. After 7 hours out of the house, I’d raced a grand total of 16 minutes.

What is the next big race you’re training for?

Challenge Roth. I broke my chain last year and that cost me a sub 10-hour race. I have a score to settle with this course!

What are your goals for the year?

Sub 10 hours at Roth. Or at least not to detonate on the run again.

What’s your favourite part of the triathlon lifestyle?

Swimmers think we’re odd. Cyclists think we can’t ride, and runners think we’re slow. None of us care.

What advice would you offer first-timers based on your experience?

Enjoy it. It’s inherently a mad, ludicrous sport, and everyone thinks you’re bonkers. It’s perhaps the only sport where very good admin skills will significantly improve your race performance. It’s not a sport if you value simplicity.

By Justin McDermott, ago

Getting Ready for Open Water Swimming – Part 2

You’ve put in the hard work and preparation to get you ready for open water swimming, but what should you do before jumping in? ELT’s Head coach writes up her top tips here.

If you haven’t read the first set of tips, ‘Getting Ready for Open Water Swimming’ you can find it here.

Have a drink

Unlike swimming in the pool, in open water you cannot stop for a drink if you get a bit thirsty. As a general rule it is not advisable to drink the water you are swimming in, so it is important to make sure that you are well hydrated before you race. This will not only allow you to race to your full potential (generally it has been shown that a 2% decrease in body weight can lead to a 20% decrease in performance), but it will also help to reduce the likelihood of getting cramp.

Put your wetsuit on with care

Make sure that you spend plenty of time putting on your wetsuit to make sure that it is fitting properly and not likely to hinder your stroke.

If you have been given a timing chip, make sure you put it on underneath your wetsuit. Otherwise, you will have to take it off to get your wetsuit off, and then put it back on again. There are a number of different oils/lubricants you can use that will make getting your wetsuit off much quicker and easier a quick google and you’ll find lots of reviews.

Taking time over the wetsuit fitting process will also allow you to focus on something other than your race nerves.

Wear two swim caps

Generally you will be given one swim cap by the race organisers. If you put your own swim cap on underneath this it can help to keep your head warm in the cold water. You can also put your goggles on top of the first cap and underneath the second (race) cap. This way, if your goggles are knocked during the swim start, they are unlikely to come completely off and disappear into the depths of the water.

Get into the water before the start

If at all possible, get into the water 5 minutes before the start of your race. This will give you time to flush water through your wetsuit to seal it onto your body and also give you the opportunity to get used to the cold on your face and to practice some strokes before the start.

Position yourself according to your realistic ability

Open water swim starts can be quite frantic with hundreds of people all trying to get the best possible start to their race. This can cause people to end up being punched, kicked and swum over which can be off-putting if you are unprepared for it.

It is better to place yourself at the back and to one side of the group if you know that you are unlikely to be leading the swim. The side you choose will be dictated by the position of the first buoy. If the first buoy is to the right, then you will need to position yourself to the left of the group, and vice versa. Although this will involve you swimming a few extra metres, it will allow you to start your race on your own terms and in your own space. You will be able to overtake those who set off too fast or became overcome by panic on being swum over.

Image result for triathlon start

Remember you can float in your wetsuit

Your race is not necessarily over just because you have a panic attack in the water. If the cold, wetsuit restriction and jostling at the start cause you to panic, just roll over onto your back and concentrate on your breathing. Your wetsuit will keep you afloat so you do not need to waste energy on treading water. Once you have calmed down, you can just roll over and try again. By this time, the jostling should be over, and you should have clear water in which to swim.

By Justin McDermott, ago

Getting Ready for Open Water Swimming

As the weather starts improving and with the triathlon season only around the corner; ELT’s Head Coach has written up some of her top tips for preparing for your first open triathlon swim.

Practice swimming in open water!

Swimming in open water has some key differences to swimming in a pool. There is no side to push off from, or to cling on to for a rest. There are no lines to follow at the bottom of a lake or the sea. Open water does not have its temperature regulated and can get very chilly even when wearing a wetsuit. It is frequently the cold, and what feels like restriction across the chest from a wetsuit, that leads people to panic. Having practiced swimming in cold open water in your wetsuit will help reduce the chances of panic on race day.

The effect on your stroke of wearing a wetsuit can feel peculiar. Developments in wetsuit manufacturing are producing wetsuits with increased flexibility around the shoulders; however, this can feel strange when you are not used to it.

The buoyancy in the legs of a wetsuit is great for people who have a poor leg kick, reducing the drag caused by trailing legs. It does make for difficult swimming for those whose preferred stroke is breaststroke, as the high leg positioning makes it very difficult to get real power from that stroke’s leg kick.

Buy or rent a good fitting wetsuit

Make sure that you are not only wearing a suit that fits but also that you know how to put it on correctly. Ideally, you will want to try it on before you commit to buying as each wetsuit will fit differently. Renting is a good option for your first year of triathlon as you get to know what will work for you and how seriously you want to take the sport. If you don’t like the wetsuit you can return it at the end of the year, but if you fall in love with the suit, there is often the option to buy it outright.

Practice water polo drills

Water polo is effectively ‘head up’ front crawl. It allows you to continue moving forward at speed whilst sighting for buoys or other landmarks to enable you to take the shortest route around the swim course.

This can be practiced in both the pool and open water in advance of the race. One effect of lifting your head on your stroke in a swimming pool without a wetsuit on will be to make your legs drop. In open water, it can cause you to arch your back slightly as your legs will not drop with a wetsuit on. However, it is important to bear in mind that only your eyes need to clear the surface to see, you can breathe to one side as normal. This will reduce the effect on your legs/back.

With your head up, either with or without a wetsuit on, the elbows will need to be higher in order for the hands to clear the surface of the water on the recovery of the stroke. This may lead to a short finish at the back stroke which should be avoided as it reduces the power generated from each stroke. Always try and push back past the hips before starting the recovery phase of the stroke.

Check out the swim course

Knowing the swim route in advance will aid you when it comes to racing. Things you need to be aware of are:

  1. Position of the start line – this can be some distance from the swim entry and is worth knowing. You do not want to have to sprint 400m to get to the start line on time
  2. Which direction around the course you need to swim. Some courses are more complex than others.
  3. Which side of the buoys to swim – this is usually dictated by the direction of the swim.
  4. How many laps you need to do.
  5. Position of the exit from the swim and the route to transition.

It is worth picking non-moving objects (such as trees, electricity pylons etc) that are in line with but beyond the buoys. Once at water level, it can be difficult to focus on the buoy itself due to swimmers, waves, splashing etc in the way. Frequently race organisers issue swim caps that are the same colour as the buoys; this can make sighting accurately a little more difficult.

By implementing just a few of these tips you will be more confident in the water and will enjoy the race all the more.

Stay tuned as the next post will contain tips for what to do right before the open water swim!

 

By Justin McDermott, ago

The Next Challenge

Hi, I’m Norma and I recently signed up to do my first marathon and first half Ironman this year, so I was asked by ELT to provide a few posts to give an update on training and how I am getting on – perhaps to inspire anyone else thinking of doing a longer distance event!

The marathon is in Edinburgh at the end of May and the half Ironman (1900m swim, 85km bike, 21km run) is the Vitruvian at Rutland Water in early September.

First a bit about my background: I was never very good at sports in school and always underweight as a child growing up in Mexico. My friends and family gave me the nickname “Flaka” which means “skin to the bone”, and that’s how they still call me these days. I used to swim when I was younger but hadn’t really done that for years. I also had problems running due to my knees and had never owned a road bike.

In 2015/2016 I started seeing a physio about my knees who gave me quite a few exercises (stretching / rolling / strengthening) which made them much better so I could run about 10km. In 2016 I joined ELT and started going to the swim training once or twice a week, usually a forest run at the weekend (10km or so), and I bought a road bike for the first time and started to go on club rides on a Sunday.

Out on the long ride

In 2016/2017 I did a few sprint triathlons and a couple of half marathons. In September 2017 I did my first Olympic distance triathlon. So having gradually increased my distances I decided to sign up for a marathon and a half Ironman in 2018. I originally tried to get into the London marathon via the ballot but was not successful so entered Edinburgh instead. I chose the Vitruvian as it is a popular half Ironman for the ELT club so there will be quite a few people doing it. I also signed up my husband for both events so he is training with me also!

Over the next few months, I will give you an insight into my journey and experiences into stepping up into the half Ironman. In my next post, I will explain a bit about the training I have been doing.

 

Norma

By Justin McDermott, ago

An Interview with James

This is the first of a series of interviews with our club members, this time it’s with James.

Tell us a little bit about yourself…

Hi, I’m James, I’ve been part of the club for over 3 years, I’m married with 3 chickens and 2 dogs. I work in the city, and have always tried to stay active.

 

What motivated you to sign up for your first triathlon and how did it go?

When I moved to London, I got sucked into the city life, I wanted to join a sports club to keep active, but also meet likeminded people. I had swam, biked, and ran, as separate activities (ran to the office, cycled at the weekend etc). So triathlon seemed like sensible sport to get into to try and aim for something. I was also really bored of to the gym, and found the variety of training suited me well!

What’s your favourite discipline (swim, bike, run) to train for and why? Least favourite?

When I first started, my favourite disciplines were cycling and swimming. Although the swimming was very difficult, the club sessions were achievable, and much more interesting than going to the gym! Now (3 years on) I have found more love for running, and the club run on Saturday mornings really helped this. The Forest is a great place to run, and ELT put on different coached sessions every Saturday.

How do you balance training and what tips do you have for others?

When I first started, I just did the club swim sessions. I worked cycling and running around work. The club put on a number of sessions, but it is important you do what works for you. My tip would be try and do one swim session a week, and one other session, perhaps your least enjoyable discipline. Training in a group helps to make it more enjoyable!

What is the best triathlon experience you have had?

Every year the club enter the “Vitruvian” triathlon, which is a 1.9K swim, 85Km bike, and 21km run. This distance can be quite scary for some, so we organised relay teams where one person does one discipline. We had 7 relay teams enter the event, and many first timers. It was a fantastic way for people in the club to experience “part” of long distance race! We also camped over that weekend, so as well as the racing, there was a lot of beer flowing that evening!

What was your worst race and why?

I was lucky enough to represent Team GB as an age group competitor a couple of years ago, I competed in Challenge Walchsee which was a half iron distance race. The bike section was very hilly, and I misjudged my nutrition. I run out of energy on the bike, with 5 km to go and really struggled on the half marathon!

What is the next big race you’re training for?

This year I have decided to focus on the Olympic and Sprint distance races, The first big race this season is the Nottingham Sprint Qualifiers in May.

What are your goals for the year?

Try and keep up with the youngsters that keep joining the club!

What’s your favourite part of the triathlon lifestyle?

The people! We are all very social, we just like doing some kind of exercise first!

What advice would you offer first-timers based on your experience?

My advice would be to come down and get involved. We all started somewhere, and with the wrong equipment! It really is a complete mix of abilities and people, all brought together by some unique desire to do something active 

By Justin McDermott, ago

My First Duathlon – The Bedford Duathlon

Hi, my name is Isabelle and I joined ELT late Spring 2017. Each year the club creates a list of events that they wish to race called the Grand Prix. I dutifully entered the Bedford Duathlon, immediately forgetting what the distance was. Shock and horror, with about 4 weeks to go I realised I had not entered a sprint event but the standard distance event….

Race Briefing

I kept a brave face when people reminded me that it consisted of 10k run/40k cycle/5k run. I do like a challenge me!! Over the winter I ramped up the running to about 20k a week, I used my indoor cycling solution and took any opportunity to cycle when the roads were not frozen over!

Was I ready on the day? The answer was: to a point! Adding to the fact that work had been hectic with financial year end and we were losing an hour sleep with the clocks going forward… So my lovely partner, a friend, and I arrived suitably last minute in a state of dazed panic. What do you mean I don’t have the time to go to the loo?

Dazed look at my support team!

Before I knew it, the race had begun!

My aim was to go steady throughout and finish! A few days before the race, I had downloaded an app compatible with my Garmin watch, so I could keep an eye on my pace and the distance ran/cycled. I have to be honest, I very quickly felt lonely on the track. As one of the slowest competitors, soon the elderlies and the birds were my only companions. I was overtaken repeatedly by super-fast athletes but still, I stayed in my zone and finished the 10k pretty much at target pace.

This is me in transition to cycle, not hindered by the presence of anyone else!

The transition to the bike was quite shocking; I couldn’t find my shoes, my helmet had been moved to another bike and I ran in my socks to the start line and got my feet wet before being on the saddle, yay! Once on the bike I just carried on a 25k/h pace or more when I could.

In hindsight I should have put more clothes on for the bike leg. There were parts of the circuit exposed to a strong icy wind which was unpleasant and made my feet like blocks of ice on the transition to running.

My furry support team!

In short, I am proud of myself for taking part in this. My time was 3 hours and 8 minutes, not too bad for a first shot. The first person in my age group managed in 2h16! So I will aim to be closer to this next time.

Lessons learnt: it is better if you can compete alongside athletes of similar abilities and I need to be better prepared for transitions. I am going to be 50 in May… next event the ELT Dragon Slayer.

Isabelle

By Justin McDermott, ago