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Celtman Extreme Scottish Triathlon 2017

Photo credit: Colin Henderson Photography

Friday morning my support crew Sam and Eilidh, and I drove to Sheildaig in preparation for Celtman. We headed straight to registration at Torridon Community Centre to register, had a quick lunch and then back to the community centre for race briefing. I saw a few friendly faces, we caught up and talked about our excitement for Celtman the following day.

Race briefing commenced with a short film of last year’s race, with a musician playing music that inspired him during his race at Celtman in 2015. It was inspiring and emotive, I nearly had a tear in my eye watching the film! This was followed by the Torridon Mountain Rescue Team, who support athletes during the mountainous part of the course. They are currently fundraising for new facilities, they are a vital volunteer team that save lives in the mountains in and around Torridon (including 17 Munro’s!). Please donate: http://www.torridonmrt.org.uk/

The rest of the race briefing was the usual do’s and don’ts as per the race pack. After leaving the race briefing my nerves well and truly kicked in! We arrived at the accommodation: I checked my bike over; had a quick spin and short run. I made up all my food ready for the race. We all had dinner and I was in bed by nine. Eating dinner was a real struggle, I was extremely nervous and quiet (very out of character). I don’t think I’ve ever been nervous the night before for a triathlon before. This race had such a big build up, seven months of training and sacrifices all for one day. I wasn’t even this nervous before my own wedding! I knew I could complete it but that didn’t settle my nerves. I was also a little worried about the weather, it was forecast for strong winds and rain all day.

I awoke at two, got ready and slowly forced myself to eat my bowl of porridge. I double checked, then tripled checked I had everything ready for transition. I was convinced I had forgotten something. Sam and I made it to transition, leaving Eilidh to sleep. I collected my GPS tracker and set up my bike and bag at transition. I stupidly forgot my midge spray (I was right) and got bitten lots in transition. I had about twenty fluid filled blisters a few days later! Sheildaig was a little windy and warm so I was optimistic about the weather. Once I got acquainted with my surroundings and my kit in transition, I got my wetsuit on and walked over to the swim pick up point on the other side of Sheildaig.

I saw Kevin who I did a recce of the bike course a few weeks earlier by the coaches and boarded the coach with him to the swim start. Sam waved us off. I was so lucky to sit by Kevin, he was chatting away, whilst I was so nervously thinking about the race. He was a great distraction, and put me at ease, thanks Kevin! The journey was short but once we were off the coach I felt an instant relief. I had a quick toilet stop, donned my neon pink Celtman swim cap and had a group hug from Andrew, Kevin and Robin (Celtman recce crew). Before I knew it… the Celtman sign was lit, bagpipes and drummers started playing, followed by a group photo before heading into the sea. The majestic start to Celtman that everyone sees on the videos and clips I didn’t really absorb or enjoy, I was too focused on getting in the water for the start on time. It all seemed like a blur looking back.

Once I was submerged in the water, I was pleasantly surprised how warm the water felt, in May on the recce it felt so cold. The water was still only 12-13 degrees but having a heat vest under the wetsuit and gloves on definitely helped or maybe it was also the adrenaline pumping through me. I made it to the start line between the canoes just in time and we were off. I was a little too wide at the start so initially felt quite far away from the front pack. For once I didn’t have my usual panicky start in the swim, I kept my cool and swam at a comfortable pace. I didn’t want to overdo it on the swim as I had a long day ahead. I was able to pick people off one by one, I could see the fast swimmers ahead so I was sighting them and the White House on the hill (as per race briefing instructions).

Photo credit: Steve Carter (I’m on the left looking at the rock/ tree with blue goggles)

The jellyfish appeared about 20-30minutes into the swim. There were so many however I was fortunate that they were about a metre below me, apart from one that touched my face, yuck! I actually found it quite fascinating watching hundreds of them swim below me, the water was so clear. I was mesmerised by the volume of jellyfish dancing beneath me, it was a great distraction. I found I was breathing every five so I could observe them all flout in the water. It was like they were performing and I would have been disappointed if I didn’t see them. They have become such an iconic part of the swim in the race.

Towards the end of the swim at Sheildaig the water got a little choppy but I managed a fast finish. I was assisted (yanked) out the water by one of the volunteers, thanks! I always get a dizzy feeling after a long swim from horizontal to vertical. Sam met me by the water, kept me steady and held my hand going up the ramp. Swim time one hour, twenty five seconds, I was aiming for under an hour but pleased as I felt really fresh for the bike and what’s a few seconds in a fifteen hour race?

Photo credit: Alligin Photography

Both Eilidh and Sam helped me out my wetsuit and into my cycling gear, I had a quick sip of hot chocolate, and was ready to go. Suddenly I started feeling this burning feeling on my neck. I had crazy neck burn which developed the following day into what looked like ligature marks around my neck and proceeded to scab over. Maybe I forgot to use my bodyglide? Luckily I had a long bike ride to distract me! Transition was 6 minutes, 17 seconds and whilst getting changed I was interviewed by one of the camera crews. It had started raining so started the bike with the waterproof on.

Neck burn!

Photo credit: Meg Jones (Just out of transition and on the bike)

Out of transition and onto the bike, the course starts with a short steep hill. The first twenty miles, to Kinlochewe, were quite challenging- the rain was lashing down with strong cross winds, I was barely on my TT bars even downhill as it felt so unstable and unsafe. Some parts I was clinging onto the bike, praying I wouldn’t fall off. A few competitors overtook me during this period but I couldn’t have gone any faster. I did manage to eat and drink well. My watch was only showing me my overall time but not my distance and pace. When my support crew appeared, I was getting them to work out my pace. As I had previously done on recce of the course I did have a fair idea of what distance I had done so I had a vague idea what pace I was doing. It wasn’t until I started the run I noticed I must have pressed my watch twice so my transition two time was actually my bike time, pants! When I first saw Sam and Eilidh it was about two hours into the cycle. I got them to pull over, I had drunk two bottles in 90 minutes, so had a quick toilet stop and swapped my bottles. The rain had stopped so took the waterproof off, as I was hot. The wind was an absolute killer, and the roads wet. I tried to go as fast as I could when it felt safe to do so.

Photo credit: Ross Millar

Just after Gairloch I caught up with American Parker, we were chatting prior to the race. I got him on the hills and he would pass me on the way down or flats. We had a little chit chat about the great Scottish weather and encouraged each other on. I didn’t see Parker after seeing the seals on the rocky beach by Little Gruinard. I also have to mention Parker’s partner she was full of cheer and support on the bike course thanks!

Photo Credit: Ross Millar

Second quick stop, for the loo and topped up my food and drink. I was feeling a little tetchy, I hadn’t eaten enough so after a talking to by the team, I ate as much as I could stomach. It really helped and I felt good going over the last of the big hills. From mile 70 the pace slowed down, the cross winds were strong, I just kept peddling and eating when I could. I stopped for a third time, kept needing the loo, I was drinking lots as I did really struggle eating. Both Sam and Eilidh were great at giving me updates, encouragement and making me eat during a pee stop. My stops only lasted 1-2minutes so I was speedy and back on the bike quickly.

Photo credit: Ross Millar

After mile 100 I had well and truly bonked. It was raining again and the head wind was so strong (20mph). I had my emergency cheese twist and thought I was going to be sick. I got lots of support from my team and other support crews as they drove past. I kept drinking, having gels and eating when I could. I had Eilidh’s voice going round my head, “you have to keep eating and drinking”. Bananas went down easily so kept eating them. I was genuinely worried I couldn’t finish the race and felt awful, cold and was in a ‘dark place’. I loathed my bike at this point. I didn’t want to stop as I thought I wouldn’t get back on my bike. It felt like other athletes were flying pass me, when I was almost at a standstill. The last twenty miles were tough and more about survival. I knew at this point, it was unlikely I would get to the check point for the blue t-shirt time. Surprisingly, in the last 3-4miles on the bike I got a second wind, felt alright and went as fast as I could towards transition.

Photo credit: Alligin Photography

When I got to transition cars were turning around and blocking the road, I had to go between cars and cycled up the ramp to finish. My bike time was 8hrs 25mins, I was disappointed and I know I could have gone quicker but the conditions were horrid and I should have eaten more on the bike. My goal was 8 hours. I’ve also got to stop being so harsh on myself, only a few weeks before I cycled my first hundred miles on the bike and last year I hadn’t cycled more than sixty miles. I am still relatively new to triathlon and this was my first long distance event. I met Eilidh in transition two, had a quick change of shoes, toilet stop and we commenced running together. I spotted other athletes with fold up chairs, changing. I was pretty jealous, whilst I looked and felt like Bambi on ice changing my shoes.

The heavens had well and truly opened, the rain was lashing down. It felt amazing to be off the bike and running. Eilidh informed me that no one was going across the mountain because the conditions weren’t safe so everyone was doing the lower course. The run starts with a long hill up Coulin pass, I was picking off people up the hill and was the only competitor running all the way to the top of the hill. That was down to Eilidh pushing me and distracting me from my groin pain, that settled after a couple of miles.

Down the hill the path was a mud bath, I was so glad I had trail shoes on. Eilidh kept me going and telling me to eat and drink. I was having small sips if water and gels when told. We both knew after the hill it was unlikely I was able to run a personal best run time to make the blue t-shirt cut off of 11 hours to Transition 2A(T2A). I felt alright so kept a steady pace to T2A, so my race plan changed to trying to get the best white t-shirt time and enjoying the race. I got to T2A in 11hours 14mins 55secs, 15mins short! I had my mandatory stop for two minutes for a kit check and I ate a banana. A few of the volunteers for Celtman were from Edinburgh triathletes and I had a quick chat before I set off for the second part of the run.

In the second part of the run, I was feeling good, running up the trail and walking only at steep or rocky parts. The trail was really water logged and felt like we were gorge walking and river crossing rather than running. I started to get cold at this point as I couldn’t run due to nature of the course and we were completely soaked. We both swapped our wet tops for dry tops and put on our waterproofs, hat and gloves (I was so glad of my mandatory kit!). I didn’t think we realised how cold we were until we did this!

Photo credit: Alligin Photography (looking tired)

Along the ‘trail’ we regularly passed the Torridon mountain rescue teams, cheering us on and providing us with homemade cakes and gummy bears thank you! We also passed a bag piper playing in the pouring rain which kept my spirits up, thanks!

Photo credit: Alligin Photography

My pace slowed but when we got closer to the road the trail became a path so started running again. Back on the road I was overtaking the runners that overtook me on the rocky parts of the path, most were walking and I ran all the way to the finish. The rain finally stopped during the last couple of miles and Torridon looked beautiful.

When I saw the finish after the last hill I sprinted to the finish. I was so elated and sore, and so very glad to have finished! I hugged Eilidh, then John (race organiser and Edinburgh Triathletes coach) and Mandy (fellow ET member and John’s wife). It was wonderful seeing friendly faces at the finish. Sadly, Sam missed my finish. I received my beer from John- I completed Celtman!! Overall time 14hours 37minutes, 47secsonds, little disheartened I didn’t make the cut off for the blue t-shirt but I wasn’t far off. This was my first long distance and extreme triathlon in awful conditions. It didn’t go to race plan but I kept going and finished.

Post Mac ‘n’ Cheese

Post-race, we all had a meal at the community centre-macaroni cheese- and caught up with other finishers and volunteers. I was even talking about doing the race again to get the elusive blue t-shirt! We headed back shortly afterwards for a shower and set off back to Edinburgh. I was going on holiday the next day. Sadly, I couldn’t go to the ceremony the next day but received my white Celtman finishers top before I left. Celtman was a truly amazing experience. This race is a community of friendly like-minded nutters, like no other. I’ve enjoyed the whole journey from training, to the organisng and the race itself. It really did live up to expectation despite the weather, typical Scotland!

Me and Andrew post Celtman

I honestly couldn’t have done it without Sam and Eilidh, they kept my spirits up and supported me amazingly throughout the day. I need to thank my coach Barron for his support and training plans. My friends and family, I have to thank you for all your encouragement and understanding this year. A special mention for Sam who has supported me during these last seven months of training, including lots of early 5am alarm starts and mood swings from hunger after training. I can’t thank you enough, I’m a lucky lady!

Dream Team!

Now a month on from the race, I definitely want to return, surely it can’t be bad weather two years on the trot?

Go pro Video of my Celtman race coming soon.

Jenwaar

May Training update

_{May Training Update}

_{May has been a busy month! Big birthday, big training sessions and weekends away! I’ve been a very lucky and busy lady.}

_{Big Birthday….So a few days ago I turned the big 3 0! I’m excited to be in my thirties, just worried how quickly the last few years have gone! I’ve been spoiled rotten with a surprise trip to Copenhagen with one of my close friends Naomi, trip to Las Vegas, LA and San Francisco in June, meals out and my birthday party at Musselburgh races last week. I’m so lucky to have such wonderful friends, family and husband. Thank you for all your love and generosity!!

Big training sessions… less than two weeks to Celtman, I feel ready to race, I think training has gone well, my fitness has vastly improved over the last few months and I just want to complete it now!

Over the last few weeks, once a week I have a long brick session usually consists of a bike ride followed by a run. Progressively over the weeks the distance and time has got longer and longer. During the longer rides and runs I have been asking friends to come along with me for support. A few members of the triathlon club also have upcoming Ironman or long-distance events and have been keen to join me, thankfully! Although on the race day I will be by myself, during training it helps to have a friend to keep moral and make the training more fun. Thanks for the support everyone especially Sam, Zoe, Laura and Carrie!}

_{At the start of May, I finally got time trial (TT) bars on my bike and a bike fit with Edinburgh Bike Fitting. I don’t know why I was ever scared of getting TT bars, I find the position comfortable and not as unstable as I thought. I feel I am faster on the bike}_{especially with a head wind. I may even buy a TT bike in the future.}

_{In May,}_{I have been trying to focus on doing my long runs on trails and hills and at least one open water swim a week. I have been running mostly on the Pentland hills or up Arthur’s seat to try and mimic race conditions. I’ve also managed to keep up my open water swims every week, even on holiday in Copenhagen without a wetsuit in fourteen degrees sea dock water (it wasn’t a long swim)!}

_{Early May I went up to the north of Scotland to Sheildaig, to recce some of the Celtman course with my husband Sam. I met up with other competitors over the weekend, Robin, Kevin and Andrew. On the Saturday, we cycled the bike route (plus a little more), my longest bike ride to date 135miles! On race day, it will be 127miles. Sam joined us for the first hundred miles, and}_{Robin for the first forty due to work commitments.}

_{We were very lucky with the weather with only a sprinkle of rain but mostly a cloudy dry day. The first part of the route takes you along the west coast, it’s a beautiful coast, and we even spotted seals sunbathing on the beach! After mile 75-80mile the route takes you back inland, it is less hilly but we were hit with a brutal head wind for about 20-25miles. Kevin’s wife Louise was practising supporting Kevin driving the course and stopping at lay bays. We were fortunate to be able to give our drinks and food to Louise, and top up when we stopped. I was able to practice eating and drinking regularly on the bike. We stopped three times in total to refuel, it took us just over eight hours in total.

On Sunday early morning, I had a quick dip in the sea at Sheildaig with Andrew and Kevin. This is where we will be coming out of the water on race day. The water was cold but once I was fully submerged and swimming I warmed up. The water temperature was cold but living in Scotland I’m used to it, so not too shocking for me. I have been told about jellyfish during the race. That morning there were no jellyfish but I have been warned they come in June. I will definitely be wearing gloves, I really don’t want to touch their slimy bodies!

After breakfast, we headed over to transition two (T2) to complete part of the run course. The first section of the run is called Coulin Pass, its 18km. This section starts with a gradual hill for the first few kilometres, followed by a downhill and fairly flat to Transition 2A (T2A). From T2A the run starts climbing up Beinn Eighe. Unusually, there are two transitions on the run T2 and T2A. The second transition you are checked to see if you’re fit enough to go over the mountain and also a time limit cut off for the race. The first limit is 11 hours (blue t-shirt) from race start to completion of the full mountain course and 13 hours (white t-shirt) for the lower mountain course. After 13 hours, you have to stop the race. We took the run fairly leisurely, my legs were very tired from the ride the day before. After the run, we headed home. Ideally, I would have gone up Beinn Eighe to get an idea for race day but didn’t have enough time. Thankfully I have a support runner to help read the map and guide us up the mountain on race day.}

_{It was a successful weekend and it was great meeting fellow competitors, Celtman triathlon has a real family feel to it, supportive rather than competitive. It gave me a real confidence boost, I now know I can complete the bike course (my biggest worry). Being faced with Beinn Eighe Mountain however, looked very daunting! I am fully aware I will be walking some of the marathon on the climb up the mountain.}

_{With only two weeks left, I’ve now started my taper before the race. Tapering is basically when you reduce your training load over a period of time leading up to a race. Aiming to recover from training fatigue and maximise race day freshness.The key is to cut back your mileage, but to maintain training intensity (not to}_{stop or relax). I am actually finding it strange reducing training but enjoying the extra time. However, that is being filled with race preparation, ha!}

_{Overall, I am excited about the race and looking forward to putting the last seven months of training to good use!}

_{My next blog post should hopefully be me celebrating finishing the race. Not long now, eeeeekkkkkkk!!!}

Jenwaar

Great Edinburgh Run Race Report 2017

Great Edinburgh Run Report 2017

The Great Edinburgh Run is one of my favourite races. It’s my fourth consecutive year completing the run. I may be a little biased, as I live in Edinburgh, but the route is a scenic hilly run through the heart of this wonderful city.

Sunday, I woke up feeling fresh after a good night’s sleep. I had my usual pre-race breakfast (porridge, blueberries and golden syrup / honey) and left the house. I’m fortunate to live close to the race and walked to the start line, meeting my friend Tiffany along the way. The sun was shining and I then realised I forgot my sunglasses. It was too late to go home to retrieve them, the same error I made last year!

We managed to get to the start line with a few minutes to spare and joined in the group warm up. We were in separate waves and parted ways. This year the run had a shorter five-mile route as well as the usual ten-miler. The short run had an earlier start at 9.30am and 10.10am for the longer route. We were penned in our waves on the grass and when the start was ready, moved onto the road. I found this difficult to work out how to get near to the front and ended up nearly at the back.

I had no plan or time in mind for this race… my training has been focused towards long distance, keeping heart rate low and slower pace for Celtman (think Duracell bunny). I decided I would just run how I felt on the day, practice pacing and try and get close to last years’ time.

My start wasn’t great, the first couple of miles I was running around other competitors. The roads and paths in this section are quite narrow and it was hard to pass. Once I got to the first hill up the royal mile from the Scottish Parliament building, many runners started to space out and slow pace so I was able to get pass and settle into my own race.

After the first hill, I was so relieved that I decided to wear shorts instead of tights, the sun was shining and I was already feeling hot. The course no longer goes along Princes Street up the mound. Instead you go up Market Street, a steep hill by the mound. To make up the extra distance, the race now has loop through the meadows. My friend Eilidh was cheering me on at this stage, it was great to see a friendly face.

The half way point mile five goes through Grassmarket, lots of supporters and bemused tourist were cheering and clapping everyone on. I felt really good at this point, I looked down at my watch and I was keeping 7min 15secs pace I decided to try and keep this pace. I knew the next hill would be tough, it’s a steep start followed by a long incline up The Pleasance to the Royal Commonwealth pool. I got to the mile six sign and looked at my watch 44minutes.

After the long incline of mile six, you are rewarded with couple of miles downhill along the railway path to Duddingston village. I kept my pace steady, ready for the last hill of the course. From Duddingston village, the hill commences with wonderful views across South Edinburgh. At this point a few fellow runners around me started flagging and I encouraged them to keep going.

The last mile is downhill with a short flat dash to the finish. I just let my legs go and ran my fastest mile on my Strava! I finished strong with a sprint finish to the line.

My time; 1 hour 12minutes 5seconds, a personal best, 1min 35secs quicker than last year. Not much difference but last year I really pushed it and felt it! This year I finished feeling fresh, comfortable and I felt I could have run further after the race. I was pleasantly surprised I was 11^th Female overall and 8^th in my female age group.

Tiffany also did really well, with a personal best. We celebrated after by having a roast dinner and a catch up!

The Great Edinburgh run again this year was well organised, with a good atmosphere and well supported along most of the course. This year I noticed they stopped the iconic bagpipers at each mile, I missed them and also the finisher’s bag didn’t have any solid food just water and a yoghurt breakfast drink. I need some sort of substance after a race. Overall I would definitely recommend this race, hopefully next year I can get below 1 hour 10mins.

Jenwaar

East Fife Sprint Triathlon

I woke up Sunday morning feeling tired, and with a sore tummy, not a great start for a race! After breakfast, I did feel a little better, I worked Friday night and I hadn’t quite caught up on sleep. My husband Sam wasn’t feeling great either but that could be down to race day nerves. It was his first ever triathlon!

We arrived in Cupar early, registered and racked up in transition. This was a pool based swim, unusually the swim heats were not in the traditional slowest swimmers first to the fastest in the final heat. They changed the format, the fastest two heats went first followed by the two slowest and then the two heats in between. Sadly, this meant I wouldn’t see Sam swim but I would see him finish the race.

Photo credit; Mac Images Active Lifestyle Photography

After race briefing, I went straight to the pool as I was in the first heat. Pool side nerves kicked in especially when everyone else about you is wearing Scotland and Great Britain age group team tri suits! Once I started I felt fine, the lanes were pretty crowded with 6 in each lane. The swim was a bit of a disaster, I was third in my lane it took a few lengths before I was in front. The swimmer behind me touching my leg and I moved over (as per race instructions) but then she would swim slower after that, basically kept swapping between 3-4 of us. Some of the athletes got a bit vicious with the leg pulling and I didn’t want to go all out on the swim so dropped to second or third in the lane and drafted. In hindsight, I should have gone a bit faster to begin with, then settled into the swim rather than swim at my long-distance pace in preparation for Celtman. Swim time 11mins 50secs but I was aiming for 11mins, but considering what happened I was pleasantly surprised it wasn’t slower.

Photo credit: Chris Wallard Photography

Out of the pool and into transition when it got was a pretty heated between two athletes in my swim lane. I kept my cool and got out of transition as soon as I could. T1 time, 1min 35secs.

Photo credit; Mac Images Active Lifestyle Photography

I felt pretty fresh after the swim, and jumped on my bike out of Duffus park. The first part of the bike race was on a gravely path before getting onto the road and straight up a long steep hill. The course has a two loop around Moonzie and then back down the big hill at the start. I really enjoyed the course, mixture of hills and flat sections, apart from the strong head wind on the A92! I passed a couple of people cycling up the hill and kept my pace. No one overtook me, which is really unusual! I definitely feel I have made vast improvements on the bike and managed an 18.9mph average! My bike time 47mins 54secs- super pleased. Transition two was uneventful, T2 time 52secs.

Photo credit; Mac Images Active Lifestyle Photography

The run course was one lap, 4.7km. Out of the car park and up a long hill for the first couple of kilometres. Surprisingly, it was sunny in Scotland and I actually felt hot in just my tri suit! The run route took us through a farm and along a closed road back to Duffus park to the finish. My legs were pretty tired, one of my club members overtook me towards the end and I couldn’t keep up with him. Run time 20minutes 55secs.

Photo credit: Rose Campbell

After the race I got to see Sam finish his bike leg and cheer him on during the run and finish. He did really well and I’m super proud, however I don’t think I can convince him yet to compete in another triathlon anytime soon.

Overall my race went well… I was fifth female and second senior female! My first ever podium and most likely last, total surprise! My total time was 1 hour 23minutes 7secs. The race was well organised, the volunteers and marshals very friendly. I have a few areas for me to improve on but overall the race was a success. My next race is Edinburgh Great run on 23rd April.

Jenwaar