Vachery Triathlon Festival 21st July

On Sunday 21 July, The Vachery Estate near Cranleigh organised Surrey’s first major triathlon sports festival. Over 1,500 triathletes of all abilities were competing. There was 3 distances you could choose from. First was Middle distance (70.3), second was Standard distance (Olympic) and third was SuperSprint. I decided to do SuperSprint distance.

The Vachery SuperSprint Distance Triathlon is 400m swim, 15km (9.5m) cycle and 5km (3m) run.
 
Part of this festival was camping and you could do it from Friday evening. Saturday evening they hosted a pre-race pasta party. Sunday morning they served an energy packed breakfast menu including porridge, cereal, toast, juices tea, coffee and much more. Competitors started early on Sunday morning. I wanted to drive there with my friend Gaby as my starting time was 9 am. As soon as we got there we heard live commentary and music as well as cheering supporters and spectators. We arrived around 7:30 am to register. We also received news that is would be a ´non wetsuit swim´. I had never done a race without my wetsuit and I was hoping that was not going to affect my swim time. Usually you are faster with wetsuit as you better float on the water. On the other hand the smell of breakfast was wafting around the area and I was tempted to have second one.
 
My race began with a single lap (400m) swim in Vachery Pond. It was surrounded by woods and covered water lilies and water grass. At some parts the grass was so thick that I had to use my breaststroke technique. Despite this difficulty I enjoyed it. It was a good challenge.

As we exit the water and we run to the transition area where we changed from swim to bike. We cycled through the Surrey Hills, an area of outstanding natural beauty. We completed only one lap. Luckily some roads were closed. There was one food and drink station for our route.

The race finished with an off road run and it started from The Vachery Estate along Knowle Lane and back. There was a single drink station for this lap to. I always carry my energy nutrition with me so I didn't need to top up.

Over all there was a great atmosphere with lots of fun! I ended up 5th in my age group out of 9th. I was slowest on my swim but fastest on the run. I would recommend this triathlon race as it is a very good challenge. So maybe I will see you there next year!  ;0)

The National Three Peaks Challenge

The National Three Peaks Challenge is an endurance event in which participants attempt to climb the highest mountains of Scotland, England and Wales within 24 hours. Walkers climb each peak in turn, and are driven from the foot of the mountain to the next. The three peaks are:
Ben Nevis (1,344 m or 4,409 ft), the highest mountain in Scotland
Scafell Pike (978 m or 3,209 ft), the highest mountain in England
Snowdon (1,085 m or 3,560 ft), the highest mountain in Wales
The total distance walked is estimated at 42 km (26 mi) or 44 km (27 mi), with a total ascent of 3,000 m or 9,800 ft.

The organiser of this trip was Brent Curless, a member of Datchet Dashers running club. My sister Denisa is a member as well as Brent so this way I knew about the challenge.

We were split in 2 teams. Team A and Team B. Team A hired people carrier because there were only 5 of us. Team B were 10 people, including myself, and we hired a minibus with 17 seats. We left Windsor at 9:30 am and drove to Glasgow.

We arrived at around 7 pm as our minibus was too slow! Unfortunately, the maximum speed was only 60 miles per hour. In our group were 3 people who wanted to be drive. After check in we went to have a dinner together and we had a little briefing too.

The next morning we drove to Fort William at the foot of Ben Nevis. We arrived around noon and had a lunch. We set off at 2:15 pm. Weather was warm but as we climbed up weather changed from sunny to foggy, windy and damp. Almost on the top of Ben Nevis was snow. We managed to have a snowball fight. The climbing up took us 3 hours and going down it was only 2,5 hours. As soon as we all got to the bottom of the hill we drove to Scafell Pike in England.

We got there at 3 am. It was so dark so we prepared head torches. After 45 minutes climbing we could see sunset. It was such a beautiful sight. We found climbing of this peak a bit difficult as it is covered with shattered rock debris and its steep in many parts too. We finished within 4 hours. Again we bordered the trusty minibus but this time to Wales. We hit some traffic but that meant more snoozing time. We were so lucky with the weather. Snowdon was welcoming us with summer temperature. We arrived at 3 pm. It was the busiest peak. On the way up we took a shorter route which was around 11 km. Surprisingly, at the top there was a buffet with drinks and food. On the way back we took different route down that meanders the stunning lakes which was 13 km long. We were so tempted to jump into the water. When we finished this peak it was already 7 pm. Then we went to a hotel which we booked in advance in a village called Capel Curig.

After this achievement we had all dinner and drinks and swapped stories on what we liked best about the magnificent mountains and scenery.

We had done it! We did it in 28 hours. We all were more than happy about our challenge and had a nice memories about the peaks. A great challenge, with old and new friends. Back home safely. ;0)

Brent and I

                                                             Top of Snowdon

FT London Cycle Sportive

The Financial Times London Cycle Sportive, supporting Access Sport took place on Sunday 30 June. The event started in Dulwich Park, not far away from the iconic finish on the 1948 Summer Olympic Velodrome at Herne Hill. It was organised by leading mass participation events company Human Race. They offered riders completing 48 km, 100 km and 100 miles distances. My friend Robert decided to do the 100 km route with me.

We set off early in the morning. At the park before the start we prepared our nutrition as well as our racing numbers. The forecast was looking good, sunny and dry around 26 degrees. Our start time was from 8:20 am till 9:15 am.
 
The medium route 100 km headed out from south London to the North Downs and offered a few stunning views over the Kent/Surrey countryside and Biggin Hill, then the lanes between Reigate and Dorking where it then took on the 2012 Olympic climb at Box Hill. The total height climbed was 812 metres with a maximum elevation of 275 metres.

Around the 24th mile we stopped at the first drink and food station. We drank lots of fluid during the ride so we had to top up our drinks bottles. We spent around ten minutes taking some refreshments and doing some stretches. As we were ready to go one of the organisers told us to join a large waiting group as there was a car accident further up the road. We lost a good 20 minutes just waiting. The delay was very frustrating and I lost the buzz I had been feeling earlier. When the marshals had sorted out a diversion around the accident we started cycling again. It was not as enjoyable now as we were now a big mass of cyclists. Our leader was a motorbike who made sure that we were following him on the diversion. They had to extend our cycling route due to that car accident.

All along the route we could see a few minor accidents that had happened to some cyclists who had broken their chains or had punctures. Luckily nothing happened to us.

Around 35 miles the mass was clearing up and lost completely on climbing the infamous Box Hill. It was such a great feeling to be on the top of the hill with beautiful views of Dorking and Leith Hill. After that there was the second and last drink and food station. So we topped up our bottles again and had some food. Robert just had a banana but I ate a tray of Jaffa cakes. We spent probably another 10 minutes at the second stop. The last 20 miles were still awaiting. After the break I felt a bit tired so I started cycling slowly. I really enjoyed the flat roads and downhills as I could go fast. Robert was faster on uphills than me but slower on flat roads. We were supporting each other all the way long. As soon as we hit London the traffic was very heavy and there were a lot of traffic lights on the main roads. This slowed us a lot but despite this we were still pushing it. The end of the route was to cycle around the Olympic velodrome track. It was such a unique experience. We did it! Our time was 5 hours and 21 minutes with 103 km distance long. We got a medal too. At the end we were pleased with all of the event and weather. We couldn´t ask more. :0)

Top of Box Hill

                                                                 Robert and I

SUP festival 15th & 16th June 2013

After my main challenge of this year, Ironman 70.3 in Austria, I decided to try something new which I have not done before. The name of the sport is Stand UP Paddle (SUP) boarding.

Stand Up Paddle Boarding is a relatively new paddling sport whereby the paddler stands up on a board similar to a surf board or a windsurf board. The paddler and the board are propelled across the top of the water by the use of a long single-bladed paddle.

My first attempt at this sport was two weeks before the festival and I loved it. I do my open-water swimming at Bray Lake and they have a wide variety of water sports. I decided to try SUP a few times and each time I felt like I was improving and getting better. After I gained some confidence I signed up for a race called the 10k SUP/Run Duathlon, one of the three main events of the festival weekend.

The main events were:

10k SUP/Run Duathlon

This race requires participants to run and paddle two 5k distances, 10k in total. Similar to many SUP beach races, the duathlon was be split into five segments - 1.6k paddle, 2.5k run, 1.6k paddle, 2.5k run, and 1.6k paddle.

200m Survival Sprints

This was an exciting race format that saw the entire field of racers compete through a short sprint course with three different buoy turns. The slowest three paddlers of each round were eliminated until a final round decided the overall finish of the top three female finishers and top five male finishers.

Adventure Race

This was a 12-18 mile race on the River Thames from Hurley to Windsor.

There was a competitive race category and a non-competitive adventure category with an option of a shortened route for the non-competitive paddler. The course was set between Hurley and Windsor passing many iconic River Thames towns and landmarks including Marlow, Cookham, Maidenhead, Eton Dorney, and finishing in front of Windsor Castle at Eton Bridge.

As for my SUP/Run Duathlon experience, the day race weather was not that great. The wind was so strong and the water choppy. I arrived two hours before the race to register and pick up a paddleboard that I had reserved earlier. We had a briefing and everyone began to get ready about fifteen minutes before the start of the race. I decided kept my running shoes on as they suggested in the briefing. Once on the board and on the starting line, an air horn signalled the start of the race and we started to paddle.

I started slowly as I struggled to fight against the wind. I was next to last throughout the first lap, however, I managed to overtake four people on the first leg of my run. As I got back on my board for my second paddle I was overtaken by a few competitors, however, again I was able to overtake a few more on the second run and even managed to cheer a few competitors up. On the third and final SUP lap I knew what to do and how to deal with head wind. It was my fastest lap despite the burning in my arms and back. When I crossed the finish line I was very happy and I even got a medal too. My position was 6th out of 12 ladies with time 1 hour and 33 minutes. Not bad for a beginner who has only been on a board less than a handful of times.

After sprint races we had a barbeque with live music. It was great to catch up with the race organizers and participants. The atmosphere was brilliant.

I would like to say thank you to Ben Swails for introducing me to SUP and to Bray Lake for organising such a fantastic event. I will be back on the board soon!

Ironman 70.3 Austria St. Polten

Seven months ago I decided to do a big challenge doing Half Ironman which involves 1,9 km swim, 90 km bike and 21,1 km run. I have been doing triathlons for 2 and half years but I had never done this distance before. I trained hard, mainly focused on the bike as it is the longest part of the triathlon.

Last few days leading up to the big day, I ate and hydrated well, around 3 litres per day. Part of the drinking regime was a beet root juice, which I heard helps to break down lactic acid.
A day before the race I registered and checked in my bike. We received bad news that the swim was cancelled due to a cold air temperature. It was very cold for this time of the year, was very windy that day and also the following day. On the day of the race I had my usual breakfast, but my tummy shrank from the excitement. After the breakfast I went to the transition area where my bike was placed. I checked the tyres, prepared bottles with energy drinks and nutrition as well as my transition bags for the bike and the run. The  athletes were split into number of waves, mine was at 8 am. I walked over to the start line with other ladies in my wave, which was in the transition area. We started off with a brief run to our bikes, hopped on and set off for the ride. We were so pleased that the bike route was closed off to the cars. First 30 km were relatively easy with a little bit of sunshine and light wind. As we cycled further the weather deteriorated, the wind became stronger and it was drizzling too. The course was hilly with beautiful scenery of countryside, mountains, castles and a river. As I was going down one hill, I went so fast that I almost hit into barriers on the road. There wasn´t a sign to slow down. After 62 km when I climbed up a 11 km long hill, my chain got stuck and I fell off my bike. A few participants passed by and asked me whether I was ok. I checked if I had any wounds, but it was only a little scratch on my knee, so I jumped on the bike and carried on. Despite this glitch, I had encouragement from the local people cheering me on along the way. There were 2 drink and food stations on the course. After finishing the ride, I quickly changed from bicycle to running gear in the transition area and then I set off. The running course was varied, partially around a stadium, then on the road and also along a river trail. There were 3 drink and food stations. When I was coming closer to the finish line I started to sprint. I surprised myself that I still had a little energy left. I was ecstatic when I crossed the finish line. I had a smile on my face and clapped my hands. Shortly after tears came out of happiness. I did it! My bike time was 3 hours 26 minutes and 13 seconds (178th position), my run time was 1 hour and 45 minutes (79th position) and overall time 5 hours 15 minutes and 28 seconds. In spite of my cycle leg being weaker in comparison with my run, I managed to catch up and improved my over all position to 130th out of 212 women, 29th in my age group (30-34) out of 53 ladies.

Having my parents and my sister present on this big day showing their support and sharing this great achievement meant a lot to me. My sister acted like my personal trainer, she ran by my side a few times which gave me a big boost.

I would like to say thank to my coach Hank Jandrell www.sports-plan.com, my masseur Robin Allan www.robinallan.com, to my training partners Evolution Triathlon club www.evotri.co.uk And special thank you to my parents and my sister for sharing my accomplishment in person! ;0) xxx

Circuit training

  

Circuit training is a good choice for developing mobility, strength, endurance and coordination. These exercises also allow for maximum recovery of muscle groups.
 

Circuit classes consist of 6 to 10 strength exercises. They are usually completed for 60 seconds in sequence with 20 to 30 seconds work on each exercise with a 30 second recovery between each exercise and 3 to 5 sets with a 3 minute recovery between each set. Each exercise is performed for a specified number of repetitions or for a set time before moving on to the next exercise. The total number of circuits performed during a training session may vary from three to six depending on your training level (beginner, intermediate, or advanced) and your training objective.

The exercise circuit should be set up to work out each body part. For example: Full body, Upper body, Lower body, Core, Full body, Upper body, etc.

For each training session it is important to include a warm up at the start of the session and a cool down at the end of the session.

Here are some examples of exercises that can be used in a circuit training session:

• Full body
• Skipping, Star Jumps, Burpees
• Upper body
• Push-ups, Triceps dips, Pull-ups
• Lower body
  • Stationary Lunges, Squads Thrust
• Core         
• Sit ups, Stability ball crunch, Plank        

                                                   

Why is circuit training good for us?

Because :      it develops strength and endurance

                    exercise is simple enough to make you feel sense of achievement  

                    it suitable for any age, health and fitness

                    there are many range of exercise to select from

                   

If you have any other question about cuircuit classes and training feel free to join us.

Kaya Therapy and Total Active

 

Advanced Personal Training - Triathlon Coaching - Open Water Swim Coaching

 

Tel: + 44 (0) 7810088955

email: info@totalactive.co.uk

web: www.totalactive.co.uk

 

Kaya Therapy recap March 2013

 

 

1st- 3rd March The Triathlon Show

The event was held in Sandown Park in Esher. It lasted for 3 days and it was such a great experience. There were over 140 exhibitors displaying and retailing the latest swim, bike and run kit.

There were attending stars like Olympic Triathlete Helen Jenkins who won the 2008 and 2011 ITU World Championship, Chrissie Wellington who is four-time World Ironman Champion (2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011). She wrote her autobiography which could be interesting reading as it might be my next challenge for next year. Also Chris Boardman attended who is a cycling legend who won an individual pursuit gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics and broke the world record three times.

The Triathlon Show also had a theatre which has a sessions on injury avoidance, nutrition, training and swimming. I was so fascinated with a display in the Endless Pool. There were top coaches and athletes who provided demostrations of swim technique and stroke efficiency. There was a technical swim analysis session for visitors. I was so tempted to try it but the water was too cold. I would not go without my wetsuit.

At the end of the day we were pretty tired but filled with useful information and good stuff.

 

                                           Helen Jenkins and Karin Polcerova

 

 

 

 

17th March Reading Half Marathon

The Mizuno Reading Half Marathon is a mostly flat, fast course with an awesome finish in the Madejski Stadium. Over 15 000 runners took part supporting a few charities too. That morning was relatively dry but the forecast was rainy and cold around 5 degrees. As I am training for a half ironman distance triathlon my aim was beat my PB from 2011, which was 1hour and 44 minutes. I trained hard and the last 2 weeks before the race I focused mainly on my running. I have improved my speed each week by about 13-22 seconds per mile. I thought that this winter and such cold weather would push me to go faster so I wouldn't feel the cold. So the day arrived and I had my usual breakfast and I took some nutrition (3 gels) with me too. I usually train without them just to see my performance and progress. About 30 minutes before the start the weather changed to showers and I was carrying all the race with 20minutes break. Quiet a few runners wore bin bags to keep them warm and dry. Then we went to the start line. There were pace makers and I stayed with the 1h:40min one but he started running a bit slow. The atmosphere through the whole race was amazing. Even though the weather wasn't great people were cheering and children were giving high fives and jelly beans. Also I can't forget that there were bands playing and singers singing to push runners to run faster. I had my watch which was telling me how fast I run. The first few miles I tried to take easy. If I went fast, I slowed down. Later I ran a bit faster. The 1:40 pace maker overtook me after 3 miles. He probably had difficulty getting through that many runners. I followed him but he was a good 2 minutes ahead of me. I wasn't stressing about that as I wanted to have enough energy to finish the race in a decent time. As I was coming closer to 12 miles I over took the pace maker and from that point I felt that I'd got my new PB. A couple of tears were coming out but I carried on and stayed focused. I had the last 400 meters left so I started to speed up a bit but not sprint. I was already in the stadium and when I was sprinting and the crowds of people were cheering it was wonderful. As I crossed the finish line I knew that I'd got my PB but I wasn't sure about my time. I looked on my watch and it was 1:39:56. More tears were coming out but nobody noticed it as we all were wet and soaked. The only wish I had after my PB was to be in a hot bath. Later in the evening I checked my chip time and it was 1:40:05. I was so pleased with my time and result. It's a such a great feeling that your hard work is paying off. Now it's time for me to recover from my cold and cough as my main challenge starts in 8 weeks time. ;0)

 

 

                                                  Tomas, Christian and Karin