Steve Lumley Triathlete and Triathlon Coach

Highly successful athlete and coach, now looking after a certain someone who shall remain nameless until I get his confirmation that it's ok to mention on this site.
http://www.steve-lumley.net/
Check steve's blog, very funny! http://lummersblog.blogspot.com/

BTW, it's not me he is coaching! I am still with Harry Wiltshire and DrivenToTri.

Stuff

Not a great deal to write about this week. Training is ticking over nicely, had a bit more pool time this week, still maintaining a decent feel for the water even though I haven't been able to get in as much swimming as I would have liked. Dolphin Pool in Poole is still closed!
Hopefully get out and get some long bike miles in this weekend, if the weather is not too bad, some running and swimming. As Tracey and the boys are visiting friends for the weekend it gives me a great chance to get in some extra eating and sleeping between sessions! Bring it on!
Just been looking at the results from Clearwater, man it must have been one quick race. 3hours 39mins won the 70.3 world champs, that is insanely quick. Lots of 'legal' drafting on the bike pushed the pace and quite obvious from the splits that packs of riders formed and 2 hours for 56 miles is quick riding. With a pace that quick you would expect the run times to be down, but lo and behold they were damn quick. Winner ran 1:09 for half marathon. To do that without drafting? I find it hard to believe. Average 28mph on the bike on your own and then run a sub 70 half marathon? Superhuman! http://ironman.com/worldchampionship70.3
Check the website for results.
If I wasn't doing Challenge Roth next year I would give Clearwater another go, but the cost of racing is on the increase, and actually getting into the qualifying races isn't easy. Ironman UK 70.3 is already sold out. So good job I don't want to go to Clearwater, I would have no chance of qualifying anyway!!

Wimborne 10 miler

Nice weather! Seriously, it was warm and sunny and a welcome break amongst all the rubbish we have been having recently.
Big turnout, obviously a popular race, lot of club runners. I ran solid, and that's about it. Bit disappointed I wasn't quicker. I felt good, just never really got going and didn't push hard. I built towards the end and second half was slightly quicker, but I never got breathing really hard and my legs didn't really hurt. 65' 51" was disappointing, really thought I would be closer to 62. But never mind, it's my first one and I now have a better idea of how to pace myself. It's a decent marker, and the upside is that I felt good and could have pushed on for another 3.1 miles, putting my half marathon at 1:25, which I would have been happier with.
So onwards and upwards. Massive thanks to Charlie for the lift down and well done for his 68' finish, he'll get quicker too!! Well done to Simon Harris, back to running and putting in a good effort.
Results on http://www.wimborne10.co.uk
The cakes were lovely post race!!!!!! Well worth the entry fee!!

Wimborne 10

I'm waiting to get out on my bike! While this wet weather and wind is here I'm playing it safe and sitting it out, hopefully there will be a break in it soon, blue skies in the distance.
Just an easy 3 hours today, at some point!
Tomorrow is the popular Wimborne 10. http://www.wimborne10.co.uk
Couple of friends are racing. Charlie, if you are running and reading this, I'll give you a ring today, need a big favour, any chance of a lift there!!? Was going to ride as it's only 10 miles away, but just a bit of a hassle locking it up to something and carrying the keys around with me. Recovery ride in the afternoon.
Simon, see you there, have a good one!!
Hopefully if the rain stays away will be an 'enjoyable?' run!!! Oh well, only an hour or so of pain!

Time

Time, or lack of it, is one of the major problems of being an amateur triathlete. Not that I'm complaining, but it's not always easy to fit everything in. Home and family life come first, then work, and then fitting in with all the other general stuff that crops up! Had to bin a couple of swims this week, through no fault of my own, cut short another one, had to cut a turbo set short. Will not be out as long as I really need on the bike at the weekend. It would be ok if I was getting quality eating and rest, but sleep has been all over the place this week, and if you ain't getting the hours in 'under the covers!' then it makes getting up for the training sessions hard.
So today is completely off, not even commuting to work, and then hopefully I can hit the long bike in good shape tomorrow and be raring to go for Wimborne 10 on Sunday.

http://www.wimborne10.co.uk/

First 10 miler I will have done, so keen to put down a good marker, despite the awful weather forescast!! Report and results to follow.

How on earth am I going to run a marathon?!

Well, I was out today for a solid training session, turns out it was one of the toughest I've done for a long time! 3 hours build on the bike, followed by 20 minutes easy run and then 20 minutes build the pace. Ouch, I was done for with 15 minutes to ride, not enough nutrition, and somehow managed to drag myself round a ridiculously tough run. Should it have been that hard? I'm sure it's done me good, but oh my lord, I just kept thinking to myself, ' how on earth do you run a marathon after 112 mile of riding a bike?'. I rode 66 miles in the 3 hours and was pretty much finished! Oh well, it's only November, and it was cold and windy. And what doesn't kill you etc, etc, etc!
On a lighter note, let's hope James Gilfillan has done the business at Ballbuster today!

What a difference 2 days make!

Well, I am on a relatively easy week, after 2 weeks of good quality work. Just come back from an accelerated run session, and feeling very positive about my running. At last, new shoes have helped. I am now a fully-fledged Nike convert. Off-road, racing and training shoes are all Nike. Never thought I ever would, but they seem to be working for me.
Sat on the turbo for 90 minutes last night and watched Tropic Thunder on DVD whilst spinning away. Great fun! Certainly made the time go by a bit quicker! Indoor biking is not the most fun activity on the training calendar. Bournemouth Jubilee reliability ride this Sunday, sets off from Merley community centre, 50 mile ride. More info on the Jubilee website.
http://www.bjw.org.uk/displayPage.asp?ID=1

AECC Dash Back 10k

Weather! Ouch! Wind! Double Ouch! Somebody using me as a windblock for 8.5k, triple ouch! Advice, if you can't run your own race at a small, local event, go find something else to do. At least share the workload with other runners when faced with such race conditions. Such blatant freeloading is never welcomed by anybody.
Anyway, moan over. This was very much a training exercise in holding a strong pace for 10k. Turned out, it was nearer 11k, at 6.7 miles on the Garmin. It's pretty accurate.
Had a solid weekend, best part of 4 hours riding on Saturday, and a 20 minute easy run off the bike and then a long run warm up before the 10k. Was actually going to be a 3 hour bike but atrocious weather made me think differently, and my legs were a bit tired from the day before. Anyway I stuck it out and actually came away with having done a solid workout. 3 miles on the return into a full on headwind was very hard work and I was at maximum just trying to keep my momentum going forward. I was pretty much gone with 1k to go, and had let my head drop with having somebody sit on me for most of the race, which was poor on my part. But all a learning experience, won't let it happen again.
Had 25 minute jog straight after and recovered well in the afternoon. Bit tired today, but a spin on the rollers later will see me right and I'll crack on with the week ahead!
Looking forward to seeing how James Gilfillan gets on at Ballbuster duathlon this Saturday. Go James!! Info and Results will be out on http://www.humanrace.co.uk/more-info-on-triandrun-winter-ballbuster-361.html