Training Camp

27 Saturday Apr 2013

Posted by in Blog, Dan, Tony

≈ 1 Comment

The boys Sitting on the 29th floor of Silverene tower in Dubai looking at the English sky, well that’s what it appears like, thick cloud and its due to be like the tomorrow.

Anyhow that’s good news for training, although the body feels broken currently, we have now completed over 400 k of cycling with another big one to come, on the purpose built bike track that is a 50k loop into the desert – this morning we did a 10 k run and swim race, Dan excelled completing the 10 k in just 43 mins. The swim was brutal with the waves causing problems and in fact after one lap I called it a day, however Dan came in around 1 hour 24 great effort.

.
Brekkie
So with only eight weeks to go things appear to be ok, however tonight is prize giving with a steak at Meat and Co and possibly a naughty red or two – btw only two pints have passed our lips all week, with a fair amount of green stuff, omelettes with only the white of the egg used and loads of fruit, never eaten so healthily but feeling good.

It still seems daunting in terms of the distances required so lots to do but currently in good shape.

Colin’s weekly blog – by Helen

22 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by in Blog, Colin's Blog

≈ 7 Comments

<As a total change from the normal way of doing things, this blog is being written by Helen. Colin is having a bit of difficulty at the moment with sequencing events, dates times and even years so I am taking over this week.  Hope that’s OK with everybody but if not – too bad it’s happening anyway!

I would like to take the opportunity to say how much I appreciate Bootsy and all his other mates at football for taking such great care of Colin and leaving me with a worry- free few hours to myself. It was really kind of Bubbles to ferry him about in his black cab and for bringing him home. Colin enjoyed the day even though Chelsea had the audacity to lose. Don’t ask me who they played – football does not melt my butter!

We have had lots of family time sitting in the sunshine in the garden and screaming with laughter at some of Colin’s hallucinations.  Apparently he saw ET complete with bicycle, a black labrador which even licked his leg and an array of other insects and animals.  He takes all this in his stride and is aware that they are not there in reality, thank God!

Tomorrow is the birthday of both our daughters, Shelley and Charlie. Colin is so proud that he managed to produce such beautiful girls on St Georges Day, he is such a patriotic bloke and a fantastic Dad so it’s marvellous to celebrate both at the same time.  The day after, Wednesday 24th, it will be his own birthday and so the girls want to organise a BBQ for him here and it seems that the weather will be on our side. The grand children won’t be coming to this because it will get too hectic and will add to his confusion.

Nurse Ratched

Colin seems to have a obsession with Family Bargains and on good days I have been known to wheel him up there at least three times so that he can stare at the hardware section.  This has resulted in my hating the place and when I refused one day to go there again, he tried to jump out of the car!! He was so desperate to get there I had to give in.  He calls me Nurse Ratchet after the nurse in “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest!” and after that event I am definitely going to act like her- ha ha!

Anyway, that’s it for now.  Nothing else to report.  Chat soon, as they say!

Cycling takes the lead

19 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by in Blog, Tony

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Wiggle New Forest Spring Sportive 2013Whilst the shoulder is on the mend I have turned all my attentions to cycling, with in the past few weeks the odd run.

So over the past two weekends I have been testing that training in two organised events, the first in Newmarket where it was 120k cycle around the countryside in what turned out to be an acceptable day with regard to the weather, cold to start but then almost blue skies, the course was quite flat but a few nasty hills got the heartbeat up and I completed that in 4 hours 54:13,

The following Saturday and I set off at the crack of a sparrow to the New Forest, weather seemed ok at 6am….but as I got closer the rain began…..arrived in a field that was already under mud and checked in wondering what I was doing……I was already soaked by the time I got to the start line as there were over 2000 idiots all waiting to have a go at the 95k course…..anyhow the weather got worse and the landscape just opened up exposing rider to the elements – which was cold rain in the face for the next few hours…..well 3 hours 49 to be precise.

Having got back to the car, my hands decided to not work and getting the wheel off to get the bike in the car took 15 mins, which was followed by a comedy sketch for any one that cared (nobody did btw) of me trying to get into warm dry clothes whilst sitting in the car….anyhow two good cycles and now off to warmer climates to check up on my Ironman buddy as he continues to impress in training…..

Colin’s weekly blog

12 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by in Blog, Colin's Blog

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

Well, it’s blog time again and we started the week by beating Sunderland 3-1 then on Thursday we beat R. Kazan going through 5-4 on aggregate and this Sunday we go to Wembley to face Man City in yet another  F.A. Cup semi-final.  After beating R. Kazan we will meet Basle in the Europa Cup semi-final and I hope I’ll be well enough to go to these games because (phew!) it’s a hard life being a Chelsea supporter at this time of year.

I have been feeling tired but busy this week. We have collected a different car for Helen, which we nearly wrote off within four yards of leaving the garage (the wing mirrors were not set properly) and we have had two separate visits from McMillan and district nurses.  They ordered me a hospital bed which was delivered and erected on Thursday but as yet I have not slept in it.

Tony and Dan have been training hard, keep it up boys! Bootsy is still awaiting a puncture repair kit for his trike and Nick is coming to grips with his sewing kit because his lycra has ripped beyond reasonable repair after having a tumble!

Here’s a date for your diary: 26th May at The Cock in Hitchin from 2pm -5pm.   An old school friend of mine and a fellow Chelsea supporter, Brett Healey, has organised a sponsored full body wax to raise more funds for Headcase.  There will be a jazz band, “Rance Rocking Chair Band” and a BBQ. I am really looking forward to having the first pull on the wax strip and from then on I’m sure others will be able to join in the fun. Fun for us, but not him because he’s really hairy!!  Apparently, Barclays Bank will match any proceeds raised, which is fantastic.

Breaking news! Our local Slimming World group have decided to have Headcase as their charity this year according to Gill, a member of the group who works in Tesco.

And finally, I would like to say a massive Thank You to Bootsy, the staff of London Underground and the stewards at Chelsea for allowing and directing the two of us to all the disabled entrances at the ground which really made life easier.

More places for Lunch…

11 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by in Blog, Tony

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Oh Joy, but what a view!

On the heights of Gourdon

At the 62nd kilometer of the bike course, you will pass near the village of Gourdon. One of the most beautiful villages of France and medieval fortress, Gourdon overlooks leafy “Vallée du Loup”.

From Victoria Square, listed in 1940, a breathtaking panorama unfolds over 80 kilometers of coast revealing the Mediterranean, from Nice to Théoule !
On the road of flavors and scents, the village retains an authentic charm with its Romanesque church of the twelfth century.. Yer right sure we will feel like popping into the Church !!

At the heart of, the bustling streets, the houses of Provence, many craftsmen and the quality of its hospitality make it one of the most popular places in the area.

During your Biking course inspection or during your stay in our region, take the time to stop at the auberge de Gourdon. A traditional cuisine depending on market and season awaits you. Strolling through the streets, you’ll also discover homemade gingerbread and it’s worth the detour
Scene1

The Ascensionde Gourdon

scene 2

Colin’s weekly update.

07 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by in Blog, Colin's Blog

≈ 1 Comment

Well, another week of survival and I had wanted to see Chelsea whoop The Mancs and they did! This leads us to another semi-final at Wembley and even… possibly…the FINAL!! On Thursday we moved another step further towards another European final In Amsterdam. I am determined to get there if Chelsea does. I always said that Rafa would come good and he did! Ha ha! To round off a very busy week we have another match against Sunderland today and, with any luck, that will push us even further up the league.

Last Sunday we went across to Steeple Morden and had dinner with Charlie which was very nice. My appetite is coming back due to the steroid increase. After a few months since diagnosis and I have finally got a visit from the McMillan nurse, she has ordered me a hospital bed for the downstairs room as sometimes I have a struggle to get up the stairs. She has also offered me a day visit to the Hospice.

We have been to Car Giant to look for a replacement car and eventually have found a Renault from Enfield so that Helen can make a gradual return to work when her leave ends.
Finally I’d like to say a big thanks to Richard Washbrooke Photography for donating ALL of his proceeds from the Littlington night to the Headcase charity.

Brilliant.

A weekend of sand, ice and invisible oranges

07 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by in Blog, Dan

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

OrangeWith sandstorms hitting the UAE this weekend it gave me the perfect excuse to lock myself in my new gym and put some mileage in the legs after loosing the first 3 days of the week with a sinus infection.

Friday turned into a rather unexpected drill session with a PT in my new gym. She saw me on the running machine working on my foot striking Thursday evening and came up to me to help me film it. From there she gave me some advice on training and offered to help me (for free) with a number of things including my core strength and technique. If there is one thing I’ve learnt from talking to people and reading the countless blogs and websites about training for an event like the Ironman is that these two areas cannot be ignored. There is no question that you have to put the miles and hours in to build the endurance but if you can work on strength, technique and endurance at the same time, then you’re on to a winner. So after very little thinking I gladly accepted her offer. I had no idea what I had let myself in for…..

After cycling 30k Friday morning she  showed me the set up she’d put together outside. It all looked pretty standard for a core session with relatively low weights and steps etc similar to what id been doing in the summer with cross fit. I won’t bore you with the exact exercises but I did 3 rounds of running drills, low weight squat movements and a few other core drills and it had me on the verge of puking my guts up which is something you don’t really do when working on endurance. It was really tough but one of the most valuable hours of training I’ve done so far. Ive been working on trying to switch between forefoot and heel striking when running so I can learn how to use different muscles and conserve energy over longer distances and these drills are going to be a massive help in that transition.

What I didn’t consider howeverimage was the effect it would have on my legs which hadn’t been exposed to this level of abuse for a while. Suffice to say that today’s endurance session was a lot harder than originally thought but I got through it in the end even if I looked like was trying to balance an orange between my legs when I walk! A gruesome ice bath was next followed by an evening on the sofa watching Arsenal stumble over the line to beat West Brom and leapfrog Chelsea (even if its for only for 24 hours) capping off an enjoyable yet painful weekend.

I just want to quickly echo the praise already shown to everyone that’s helped us reach the 10k milestone. It really is inspiring to see so many people make such an effort and certainly gives me that extra 10% I sometimes need when I’m thinking about missing a session. As always Colin you continue to be a legend with your weekly blog posts which not only have my laughing out load regularly but have taught me what can be achieved when you have a positive attitude no matter what you’re faced with.

Update on Fundraising

03 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Blog, Tony

≈ Leave a comment

So we move through another milestone…..£10,000 great effort everyone, but we still need more and it gets tougher.

Events that I know about coming up…

  • Lloyd’s the Musical – an event in the City on the 23rd June – 150 people, musical, quiz and auction, should be a good night.
     
  • Back to School Ball – Well done Vicky Marvel – 16th June
     
  • Faye and her girls bash – 11th May – Can she do better than the Chelsea boys ?????
     
  • Three Peaks scheduled for July but is starting to take shape
  • Lee the Cabbies collection at Heathrow, seems to want to wait until it gets warmer…….
     
  • Donna’s Furniture Store has already contributed but is still going
     
  • Applications into a number of companies about corporate sponsorship  – what about yours ?????

In addition there are a number of collection tins around the place which is all good, think that’s about it…for information about any of the events please view the blog….. www.headcase-ironman.me

If anyone else can think of anything else that may add to the funds and needs a bit of help let us know as we are determined to reach and exceed the target.

PLEASE you know its for a great cause…………..thanks

Best till last

02 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Blog, Dan

≈ 1 Comment

best till last 1The last week has been slightly difficult to train as I’ve had a number of visitors over. That said I’ve still been able to do some work and combining it with a bit of rest hasn’t done me too much harm. The drinking on the other hand….

Saturday morning marked my 5th and final planned preparation race before the big event in June. This was the Jebel Ali sprint which to my suprise had some very competitive athletes entered in it. Faris Al Sultan who won the world ironman championships in Hawaii in 2005 was the stand out name but all of the leading local semi pro athletes were there which gave the event a bit of an extra buzz.

For the first time in my relatively short triathlon career I wasn’t even a little bit nervous at the start of the swim, I just really wanted to get going and go balls out right from the start. I did that and although coming out the swim I was blowing quite hard, I had finished the 1st split in just under 13mins which for me was pretty decent.

It took me a while to get my breath back on the bike but that was partly because I went for it again. I just wanted to see what would happen if I went as hard as possible from start to finish to basically test my fitness. The bike was only 18k which was a bit annoying but it meant it was really fast and quite fun. Not sure on the exact split time but my watch said around 32.40.

On to the run which was quite technical around the Jebel Ali resort I saw Faris flying around his second lap. Still makes me laugh how quick these guys go! There was also about 600metres of running on the sand which was very interesting and slowed the times down a bit but I actually enjoyed it in a weird way as it was different. As like the other 2 splits I was hammering it as hard a possible and got through the line in 1.07.41 (27/151)

The bike was obviously 2k shorter than usual but even with that difference my time is by far the quickest sprint time I’ve ever posted. Faris Al Sultan came through in 53.01 so there is still some work to do but for now its all about smashing the endurance and training well.