Gloucester Marathon 23rd January 2011

Best Laid Plans.....

Back in September 2010 I decided to attempt another long distance tri event. Although I started 2010 well by completing some running events, my plans to complete a further 3 triathlons during the summer fizzled out as I seemed to loose my mojo for training and racing. I guess this was partly due to lazyness, but also due to a change in job, complete refurbishment of the house, and the ever demanding but rewarding role of father and husband.

Mindful of the demands that an Ironman would have on my personal life I opted to enter the UK 70.3 – 1.2 Ironman event. I also decided to enter the Gloucester Marathon in January, focus solely on my running from October to January, and then start the Tri training post Marathon. I am much more successful at focusing on short terms goals, and the Glos Marathon came with a further challenge… Marcus had completed it the previous year in a very good time which I wanted to get as close to as possible. This was to be first Marathon in isolation, the previous two being a shuffle walk at the end of an Ironman. So, armed with a 16 week training plan, new trainers, a Garmin 305 and a renewed mojo I set myself the following targets.

• To beat my previous best Marathon time of 4:39 – set at the UK Ironman in 2008 – Shouldn’t be too difficult
• To complete the Glos Marathon without stopping to walk – Achievable
• To finish under 4 hours – Getting harder
• To finish in under 3:15 – Going to be mighty tough

Read the full blog entry here: http://stoddy.blogspot.com/2011/01/best-laid-plans.html

Gloucester 10 Mile - 9th January 2011

So the first event of the year for a member of the team was the Gloucester 10 mile road race which Martin took part in under his pseudonym of Mark Pierce.

The race was won by Robert Farley in a time of 00:58:07 with Le Fassett finishing in a respectable 64th (out of 207) in a time of 01:15:29.

2011........what lies ahead?

So here we are in 2011 and plans are being hatched, entry forms submitted (some already) and cheques for ever-increasing amounts being written. Training plans are being dusted down with the first challenge being to rid the body of the Christmas excesses and then larger goals ahead.

First up is meant to be Nigel with the Gloucester Marathon on 23rd January. Judging by his tweet this morning, "...No running for 2 weeks nowand no sign of when I will. May have to revist my aspirations for the glos marathon..." this looks to be in jeopardy as a dose of man-flu keeps its grip on him.

Martin is probably the most prepared and with plenty of time on his hands will probably be the most trained. He's entered the following.....

9th January - Gloucester 10 mile run

20^th March - Cotswold Marathon (26.2 mile run)

22^nd May - Swashbuckler  (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) – The New Forest

19^th June - Ironman UK 70.3 (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) - Brompton Regis

31^st July - Ironman UK (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run) - Bolton

3^rd September - Vitruvian (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) - Rutland Water

? September - River Dart 10 km swim

Mark will continue to plough a furrow throught he veterans field and is entered into the Ironman UK (70.3) event for starters. The Dart 10k will also feature i am sure.

As for Marcus - it is a case of continuing recovery from ACL surgery and so no hard targets are set. The River Dart 10 km will be on the calendar and hopefully a late marathon (particularly if either Nigel or Martin break the club record of 03:15:00 in the coming months).

Details of Darren's events will be added once he has decided what his wife will beat him at this season :). 

Good luck to everyone with their training and Happy New Year! Lets hope 2011 brings some great performances at every level of competition.