I am Spartan!

On Saturday 23rd June I became a Spartan alongside my team mates Karen, Matthew and Mark! 

All looking quite happy before the start of the race!

I completed my first Spartan Super at Aston Down in Gloucestershire, it was the hardest 9 miles I have ever done! 26 obstacles, 9 miles of brutal terrain, hills, single track, stoney uneven paths, a little bit of water (wading across a stinky pond) but  no mud... boooo!

It was brutal but amazing all at the same time!

I had my doubts a few weeks ago about whether I could complete this course, I was worried about letting my 3 team mates down, Matthew and Mark have both completed Half Ironman's so are good runners but Karen talked me round and said we were doing it as a team and no one would be left behind and they were true to their word and awesome team mates on the day!

We decided quite early on that we would walk it, Karen suffers with hyper-mobility in her ankles and cant run that well, I've got a grumbly knee which is fine some days and a pain other days!

It was HOT on Saturday, we were running at 11am and by that time the heat was intense.  We ran from the START line to the first obstacles, a series of 4' walls, we all got over those no problem, ran a bit more then started slowing down as the first few obstacles were in the open fields and the temperature was rising and after that we just started walking.  None of us were there to run to be honest, we didn't care about times, we were there to experience Spartan as a team and have fun, and we did!

We all helped each other over the walls, it was great having 2 tall men who were willing to give a hand up, a push and be on the other side to help me and Karen get down.  We all encouraged each other, high-fiving after we completed each obstacle!  Some of them we needed a little extra help from marshals, who were all happy to lend a hand, after all they want you to succeed and no one wants to do 30 burpees! 

I tried pretty much every obstacle, even though I knew my upper body strength wasn't good enough for the twister, rig etc but to be honest I couldn't reach them, I seem to have T-Rex arms! I could have completed the block wall if my arms were 6" longer but I just couldn't reach around the final external corner to grab the next block :( 

We were all starting to suffer towards the end with the heat and the gruelling hills, they don't call one section Death Valley for nothing! We all had to complete a series of burpees towards the end after failing the spear throw,  rope climb (Mark completed that one) and the monkey bars but it was great to all hold hands as we leapt across the final obstacle, the fire jump!

It took us 5:13 to complete the course, we were almost the slowest people out there but we didn't care because we started and finished together as a Team and we're all good friends now!  

I'm itching to have another go, sadly the others aren't quite as keen and would rather be doing a Half Ironman as it's easier apparently! lol

Ignore the time on Strava, it only shows moving time and even that isn't correct as according to my Garmin watch moving time was 3:42 and total time was 5:15

This was meant to be a course map, but a lot of the obstacles were in different places!

List of obstacles completed and failed..

1. 4' walls - completed 
2. U-O-T (over, under, through) - completed 
3. 4' walls - completed 
4. Inverted walls (3 of them) - completed 
5. Stairway to Sparta - completed 
6. Barbed wire crawl - completed
7. Twister - tried but failed (30 squats)
8. Block wall - tried but failed (30 squats)
9. A frame - completed 
10. Barbed wire crawl - completed 
11. Sandbag carry - completed 
12. Multi rig - failed (30 squats)
13. 6' wall - completed
14. Atlas carry - completed 
15. Herc hoist - completed 
16. Z wall - tried but failed (30 squats)
17. Plate drag - completed 
18. Block drag - completed 
19. Slip wall - tried but failed (30 squats)
20. Bucket brigade - completed
21. Balance walls - completed 
22. Monkey bars - failed (30 squats)
23. Spear man - tried but failed (30 squats)
24. Rope climb - tried but failed (30 squats)
25. 8' walls (2 of them) - completed 
26. Fire jump - completed

So out of a total of 26 obstacles, I successfully completed 18! I did all the walls, all the carries, I couldn't do the twister, bars, rig as I don't have the upper body strength yet and that's down to my shoulder injury from last year but I know what I need to work on for the future and I will be doing a Spartan Sprint in October so should have time to work on that.

A huge thank you to my team mates for all their support on Saturday, I couldn't have done it without them! I definitely have the Spartan bug now! :)

So I am officially crap as keeping this blog updated!!

Wow was my last post really 12th August?

So much has happened and I haven't blogged any of it!

God, where to start, a quick, very quick recap so I don't bore everyone to death, not that anyone is reading this...

So I did Torq in your sleep 12 hour August Bank Holiday and it was disastrous...  I was under prepared for it, nowhere near fit enough to manage the pace being set by most people and in my head I wasn't strong enough either, it's physically and mentally challenging!

I managed 2 laps, it was hot, really fucking hot and the heat killed me almost from the start, I don't like the heat, it saps my energy! Starting at 12noon at the hottest part of the day wasn't ideal but you never know what the weather is going to do especially on Bank Holidays, it usually rains!

Lap 1 was ok, it was hot so I decided to take it easy, I wasn't planning on doing loads of laps so really was just bimbling round.

I got back to my pitch and had some food and a drink and it was about 2.30pm before I went out again.

Lap 2 I felt ok, legs were fine and I was dealing with the heat.  Then I had an off in the first section of wood just after the campsite, cos some guy was keen to get past me and nudged my elbow and I crashed but I was ok, he was very apologetic and I carried on.  I was getting into it, I knew what was round each corner and going a bit faster just trying to keep out of peoples way and do my own thing, I came to a section called Banksy which is quite narrow with a long downhill section which I really like.  This is when the first wave of 6 hour racers appeared and of course they're all on fresh legs and a bit gung ho and I was coming down the downhill section when a guy came behind me, I literally could feel him breathing down the back of my neck and I shouted for him to wait till I got to the bottom but he didn't, he pushed past me and pushed me off the line and it's quite tight with pine trees either side, and I clipped one and went crashing to the ground just stopping short of facing planting into a tree!

It really winded me, really upset me and I was in tears, I had had enough by then so limped back to the campsite, it took me about 2 hours, with me riding some bits, walking others..

Turned out my bars were bent, so I couldnt carry on anyway, so just packed up and went home!  Vowing I would never do it again but we'll see!


End of September was Warwickshire Triathlon, OMG I had so much fun, I loved every minute of it, even the run which was agony as I got cramp in my left calve but I finished and within the time I wanted too!

I finished 18th out of 22 and would have finished higher had I not faffed about in transition for nearly 10 minutes but it was a charity event so I wasn't really bothered about times but it's something to work on for 2018!

I love these photos, seeing me smiling and the last one with my hubby waiting for me at the finish line! I definitely have the triathlon bug now and have started planning events for  2018 to get me where I need to be fitness wise for longer events.

So that's a quickish recap of my events for 2017, not all bad, I certainly learnt loads from both events and the next blog will be about what I am doing over the winter and the events I already have booked fr 2018

What ya' been up to?

Quite a lot actually, training, on the bike, a little bit of running and swimming... not too much, little and often mainly and once a week a long ride on the bike, and I'm definitely feeling the benefits!

Hubby and I joined our local fitness centre a few weeks ago which has a 25m indoor pool, gym and various fitness suites and classes, everything you could possibly want.

I've been swimming 3 times a week and getting up at silly o'clock to do it!  In a weird way I've actually enjoyed swimming first thing in the morning and my husband has been joining me.  It really sets you up for the day and once I get over the initial shock of having to get up at 6am, eat some breakfast (my trusty overnight oats) and trudge off down the road, I'm usually buzzing by the time I'm dried off and done.

Many many moons ago, way back in the days when we didn't have t'internet or blogs, I was a very good swimmer, representing my county and holding all sorts of records.  And although I haven't been a regular swimmer since I moved to Nottingham 6 years ago, it's a bit like riding a bike for me, I've got good form and get back into it really quickly.

So for my triathlon next month I have to swim 200 metres indoors; 8 lengths of our pool, although on the day the pool for the triathlon is 33m so it will be 6 lengths.

First time I went swimming I managed 400m (16 lengths), that was a surprise! :o)

But, I can only swim breast stroke at the moment cos I've got a painful left shoulder, which has taken some abuse over the years from crashing motorbikes on trackday's and a nasty road crash in 2002 and then recently a couple of off's on the mountain bike, the last in March when the front end washed out on a left hand berm and boy did I go down hard, so hard I bruised my jaw! 

I've tried front crawl and back stroke and it really hurt for a couple of days thereafter so I'm being sensible and every session I've done has been breast stroke, slow and steady, not my favourite style but it's exercise at the end of the day and I can do 200m -8 mins, not brilliant but I don't want to wreck my shoulder so I can't ride my bike!

My last swimming session was nearly 2 weeks ago but the shoulder was being problematic so I decided to rest it and get myself booked in with physio.  Luckily for me, a member of my bike club is a newly qualified physio and she was offering a members discount at her clinic so I went to see her this week and she's diagnosed neurological and muscular problems and joint scarring (I already have thickening of the AC joint from the m/b crash in 2002) so the shoulder is weak so I've got exercises to do twice a day and I'm going back to see her next week.

She says I can continues swimming but only breast stroke, oh joy!

The good news is the shoulder isn't affecting my riding, so I've been out on the mountain bike 3 times a week, lots of sessions at my local TC hitting the blue and red routes and really enjoying it and I've bought myself a lovely little cyclocross/touring bike to play on and to use for the triathlon.

I'm not gonna lie, riding a road bike is the weirdest thing ever!  Firstly there's the riding position, not just one but a choice of 3 different positions! The saddle feels like an ironing board and as for those skinny tyres... I was quite literally terrified the first time I rode this as I was convinced I wouldn't stay upright! 

This photo was from the advert so I have removed the reflectors (lol) and I've fitted some spd's so it looks the biz now!

With 2 weeks until Torq in your sleep, I'm feeling the pressure to up my game a little bit and get out on some longer rides, so I'm done with work for the rest of this month (joys of being self employed!) and I'm gonna focus on cardio and stamina for the next week and a half and resting for a couple of days before the bank holiday weekend so I feel nice and relaxed for the weekend.

No stopping me now!

OK, so I've had another moment of madness..

I've booked my first, wait for it.................................  TRIATHLON!!!!!! 

What??? Yes, you did read that correctly, a Triathlon! Now before you go imagining me swimming across open waters, cycling 100 miles and running a marathon, I'll stop you there! 

This is a beginners triathlon with a 200m indoor pool swim, 18km bike ride and 2.5km run, it's a Pink Wave Triathlon to raise money for Cancer Research and will be part of the Warwickshire Triathlon run by UKTriathlon.

It's on Sunday 24th September, 4 weeks after Torq in your sleep, so hopefully my legs will have recovered by then! 

Training has already started, I have joined my local leisure centre along my hubby, he's a keen mountain biker too and did Mountain Mayhem a few weeks ago, so is just as enthusiastic as me about training and getting fitter.  It's a really good centre with 25m pool, fully equipped gym with personal trainers who I intend to badger with questions and requests for help and it's walking/jogging/limping distance from my house!

My first swimming session was at the 'moonlight swim' last week and I had originally planned to just try and swim 8 lengths = 200m but I actually surprised myself and swam double that and I've been back again this week and swam 500m, although this time it was an early morning swim... we were there at 7am, can you believe that!! And I followed it with a long walk with the dogs!

I'm easing myself back into running too, I have really rubbish knees and low arches and the beginnings of a bunion on my right foot (it's a hereditary thing, we've all got awful feet in our family along with arthritis and dodgy joints!)

Of course I now have to find myself a suitable bike, the MTB ain't gonna cut it, especially if there are hills!  I went 1x11 back in April so I don't have the luxury of granny gears anymore and I'm not gonna put myself at a disadvantage trying to ride a full sus up a huge hill on the road with big chunky tyres so the hunt is on for something second hand... so watch this space.

So yeah, mad woman strikes again! I'm really excited to be doing this though and it's more exercise and all stuff that will help with Torq in your sleep and the Hopetech Women Enduro - hopefully!

Get it right or set yourself up for a BIG fail woman!

So I've entered the 6 hour race at Torq in your sleep, and now the reality is that I have to train for this, properly train cos if I don't do this right I'm going to set myself up for a BIG fail!

Thing is I'm crap, in fact if they gave out prizes for being crap, I'd sweep the board, big time! All hail the Queen of being crap!

OK, I probably shouldn't be so hard on myself, afterall it's not like I've entered the Elite class is it! No, I'm just a middle aged, menopausal, slightly mad woman who is doing this for no one else but me, so if I don't do this properly who am I letting down, me right? 

Well no, actually all the people who love and support me will be let down, my Husband Leigh for a start who despite his piss taking a lot of the time (He suggested the name Team Tena Lady) I think he's quite proud I've booked in and appear to be taking this quite seriously!

I've created this illusion on Instagram of being a healthy eater, great cook, sharing pictures of all these amazing healthy, colourful meals and yes I do make this food pretty much every day but I'm going about it all wrong!

It's all well and good preparing meals with healthy ingredients but if you don't know when to eat, what to eat and why you should eat certain food pre and post workout, it's all rather pointless and I might as well go back to ready meals and burgers and chips!

I do have breakfast, I didn't eat breakfast for many years and only started doing so when I started my health kick back in March 2016.  But to be honest I eat my breakfast at the wrong time of day! Instead of having it in the morning when I get up, before I exert myself walking/running the dogs, I have it when I get home AFTER walking/running 3 miles... eeeeeeer plonker!

So that's thing number 1 to change from now!

I quite often have no lunch, in fact I quite often eat nothing between my breakfast and evening meal, then wonder why I'm so hungry when I get to the evening.

I kind of know why I do this, CALORIES, I obsess about calories and in fact I don't need to anymore... I did a year ago when I was entering every morsel that came within 10 yards of my gob into MyFitnessPal, when I was a chunky monkey desperate to loose that huge muffin hanging over the top of my trousers!

But that's gone now, and I am slimmer, and with the amount of exercise I do, there's not much chance of Mrs Chubby Nuts returning so why am I still obsessing about how many calories I eat in a day?

If I am to train for Torq in your sleep properly, I need to be eating properly, not worrying about calories instead making sure I eat appropriately for the amount of exercise I am doing each day and that includes walking/running the dogs.

I've had a bit of a wake up call this last couple of days, after a week of exercise/training I am tired as hell and I'm wondering why?  Hence the blog, I'm the only one reading this but if I give myself a good bollocking on here, where I can come back and read it at anytime, then maybe it will sink in?

I sat in bed this morning feeling absolutely knackered! I had told my husband last night I would get up with him at 6.30am and take the dogs for a gentle 3 mile jog round the park/lake.. well I felt so crap this morning it didn't happen.  Well actually it did happen but not til 9am and it was more like 1.5 miles as one of the dogs decided he didn't want to join in!

Anyway, I'm sat in bed at 6.30am with a mug of coffee my husband had brought me, and I decided to Google 'Why am I so tired after exercising?'

I expected Google to say 'Your old and unfit my dear, get off your arse and sort yourself out!' well actually it didn't say that but the jist of various websites did say this...

Stolen from the interweb (from here actually)

Eat or Feel Beat

When blood sugar levels drop too low, exhaustion may occur. Pre-workout meals prevent this by stabilizing blood sugar levels. Eat a high-carbohydrate, moderate-protein and low-fat snack between one and three hours before working out. This can be a banana, oatmeal, juice or low-fat yogurt. After-workout meals eaten within 20 minutes also help. A snack with a 3-to-1 ratio of carbohydrates and protein will restore glycogen and replenish tired muscles, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Good post-workout snacks include trail mix, yogurt with granola and chocolate milk.

Not Drinking Enough

Dehydration can lead to muscle fatigue, heat exhaustion and diminished energy levels, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. To monitor hydration levels, weigh yourself before and after each workout. Also monitor the color of your urine, which should be light. Drink eight to 12 ounces of fluid 15 minutes before working out. Drink at least 3 ounces of water every 15 minutes during your workout -- make that a sports drink if you exercise longer than an hour. Within two hours after working out, drink enough water to replenish each pound lost. The rule of thumb is 20 to 24 ounces for each pound, according to the American College of Sports Medicine

Outpacing the Body

Post-workout tiredness may simply be a case of “too much, too soon.” The body needs rest not only to repair itself but also to grow stronger. Not allowing for sufficient rest may lead to fatigue and future injury. In addition to fatigue, over-training causes moodiness, confusion and impaired immune reactions, according to the American Council on Exercise. Incorporate at least one rest day after vigorous exercise.

So taking all that on board I am back on the Lean in 15 meals, I love the Joe Wickes recipes, they're yummy and easy to cook!  And I've read up about hydration and after seeing a post on Facebook from Steve Day (single speed 24 hour World Champion who I happen to be friends with on FB) I've bought some amazing hydration products from Precision Hydration, which I hope will help me as well.

Hopefully if I can get this right, I won't feel so groggy after exercise, I can push myself harder and training will be easier, well as easy as it can be for a middle aged, menopausal, mad mountain biker!

What am I doing here?

Many a time I've been sat the top of a steep trail looking down into oblivion, asking myself that very question, wondering what on earth possessed me to take up mountain biking in my late forties!

And once I've given myself a little telling off for being so negative, I remind myself I took it up to get fit and loose weight and I do it because it's FUN! 

It's challenging and bloody scary sometimes, and it hurts sometimes (yes I have crashed several times!), and I want to cry sometimes when I get frustrated at my cowardice and then I get to the bottom whooping with delight all the way and then laugh because actually it wasn't anywhere near as scary as my silly little brain told me!

So that's what I'm doing here, having fun, scaring the shit out of myself, trying to push myself way out of my comfort zone, falling off, getting back on and learning new things.

I follow a number of lady mountain bikers on Instagram and blogs, I'm in a couple of women's mountain bike groups on Facebook and I really admire the other ladies who are around the same age as me or older and are out there being Badass and Gnarly! 

Some of them write blogs, and I do love a good blog!  It's a bit like being a nosey neighbour and getting a little insight into what goes on behind closed curtains at the weekend!  I love reading about how they were scared and unsure at the start of an enduro race or 12/24 hour endurance race but by the end of the blog, it's quite apparent they had heaps of fun, there were lots of lovely people at these events helping them, cheering them on, and in fact pretty much everyone was there having fun too.

I'm still a newbie having only been riding a year, I've lost weight and I'm way fitter than I was 12 months ago.  I'm quite confident on the trails and willing to try new things and push myself and I decided that now is the time to up my game a little bit and have a go at some of these events as well.

So last week I booked myself into my first enduro event, the Hopetech Women Enduro at Gisburn Forest in October.  

"Following the huge success of the Hopetech Women rides in 2016, organising a grass-roots Enduro race was a natural step for us. The PMBA race series is one of the most popular amongst racers. Known for being inviting and unimtimidating for first time racers, but also fun and competitive for the more experiences, advanced riders – the PMBA races cater for all. Partnering up with the PMBA at our local Gisburn Forest trails was the perfect combination.
The race is intended to be a grassroots enduro for women only, with emphasis most definitely on fun. Racing for the first, second, third or twentieth time can be a nerve-wracking thought. The idea behind this event is create a fun route, which can be ridden solo or as part of a group – where some of the more down-hill sections of the route are timed. You can cruise down the trail at your own pace, test yourself and push a little harder or really take it seriously and see how you fare against other ladies. The choice is yours, there is no pressure.
We, (Hope Technology) have heavily subsidised the event so the PMBA can pass those savings onto you. The event will run if we have 30 or 300 entries, and part of the “Hopetech Women” 2017 event program.
A shortish lap with 3 stages will give plenty of time to chat to the other women on the day. 3 stages – suitable for novices but fun for the experienced racer too. Morning practice Afternoon race lap."

There's 88 women entered but I'm hoping more will enter nearer the time as word spreads! Quite a few of the gals from MTBChix have entered and I'm relieved that quite a lot of them are veterans as well, so I won't be the only old codger out on the course! 

So now I'm entered into that I decided I needed to do something else as well, not content with a day punishing myself on the Gisburn Forest trails, I've just entered into Gorrick 12:12 'TORQ in your sleep' endurance race, in the solo women's class!

There's actually 2 races; the 12 hour and the 6 hour and as a novice I decided it's probably best to not throw myself in at the deep end, so I've entered the 6 hour race, I've got to be sensible about this, even if I am bonkers for entering.  After all I'm no spring chicken, and rather annoyingly there's no women's veteran class this year so I'll be 'racing' against 18+ not that they'll have anything to worry about with me bimbling round!

So there you have it, my first post, my first 2 races entered... maybe my last? Hopefully not!  I've got to focus on 'training' now and getting as fit as I can, so I don't make a complete tit of myself.