THAMES TURBO POWERBAR 2011

James Brown reports on his 10:05:34 finish, and 13th place at Ironman Lanzarote:

I got my place at Lanza 5 weeks before race day! Not long but very welcome as I hadn’t had a big race day for a little while and I was starting to get impatient. Fitness was going in the right direction anyway, as I was already starting to increase training for my target race Ironman Switzerland.

It was my first trip to the island so a lot to take in on arrival. I found myself constantly monitoring the wind and trying to get a feel for the climate and landscape.

Despite this I managed to stay pretty relaxed leading up to the race. As the race started typically I got stuck smack bang in the middle of the frenzy. For some reason it took the entire first lap to get clear water. Very frustrated about that but these things happen!

In to transition And a quick glance to see if my training partner Jon Heasman had got away safely. His bike had gone. So far so good.

Onto the bike, and time to experience the Lanza course for myself rather than hearing the stories! The early stages were undulating, I rode with trepidation as I had been warned about the climbs and wind later in the course! A few hills later, some frightening fast multi directional winds and rocky road surface and I caught sight of Jon Heasman up the road! We had about 2k of the bike left to go. A pretty measured performance! You could tell we trained on the bike together! Unfortunately as quickly as I had seen him I managed to lose sight as I took a wrong turn (or Jon turned the signs!).

Onto the run and feeling great. The course was completely clear ahead and it was very tempting for me to put the hammer down!! A good number of spectators too. At this stage I was running next to my teammate both in TT Powerbar kit. Nothing like a bit of flag flying for the team sponsors when you’re at the sharp end!

My race plan from here was to cruise home and above all enjoy it as I had tweaked my leg running 6 days before the race and still hadn’t worked out why, so I didn’t want to push my luck and have to pull up with a nasty injury.

With hindsight this may have been overcautious which is not really how I like to race but it was also a great opportunity to test my pacing, nutrition and hydration.

There’s a lot of learning to do in ironman triathlon and I learnt a lot at Lanza. It wasn’t my fastest ironman or the most challenging but I believe it has been my best performance so far.

I finished the race in good shape. Of course however it still got tough towards the end! Finish time was 10hours 5mins 60th place.

This race also had a double meaning as it was Tom Cunclife’s stag do! It was great to race with the guys and enjoy a beer after the race!

All the very best TC and Katherine.

Well done to the others I raced with Matt Brewster, Rich Hopkirk, Jon Heasman, Chris Barton and Mikey Turner.

Thank you Thames Turbo Powerbar race team for equipment and support. The Ceepo katana bike felt like it was made for that course. I used loads of Powerbar nutrition and can confirm it works very well. Also, thanks for the help of Aurelie (The Tritouch) and Tom Bennett who were on call out of hours for advice and helped me settle my injury.

- James

SBR 1:05:33 / 5:28:57 / 3:23:25

Total 10:05:34 

Rank 60 

AG Div 13

Race Report by James Brown:

It’s Friday and I’m sat in the office exercising my usual distant manner, deep in thought and everyone having to ask me twice before getting a response. Usually, this means there’s a race coming up! Although, far from the biggest race I’ve set my targets on this season it would appear sub-consciously I am attaching a great deal of importance to it.

Perhaps, because it’s the first multi sport race of my season, the fact that some top guys were racing or could be because it is race one of the London league and it generally follows the London clubs put there A teams forward. With the benefit of hindsight it was pretty obvious why my heart rate was raised.

My condition was fine everything flowed well and the weather was perfect. At the gun the pace was quick, I was aware a few of the field had recently raced the elite duathlon championships so I didn’t want to put my cards down in the first kilometre and be made to look foolish! The first run was 6k, best described as a fast pace from the start, it felt like the real race was who could get back to the bikes first. I was slightly concerned as once the first 6 was over I knew I had some of the most powerful bikers in UK triathlon to contend with and with their experience I knew they would be just following and waiting to make their move on the bike.

With this in mind I came off the gas a bit and slowed my pace slightly in order to save a bit of speed for later. However, almost as soon as I thought it, I got immediately punished as two guys took the opportunity to attack and launched themselves up the road in a massive turn of pace.

This was one of those moments when your brain says you should probably try a bit harder now, but I felt like I had been put on the ropes. I had used all my KERS and was waiting for it to charge! The run turned in to a proper battle, runners were competing for the shortest line on every corner elbow digs etc etc. At T1 one of the two attackers had managed to hold the gap he had created although I had recovered slightly. 

On to the bikes my first objective was to get back up to the guy who had escaped asap. Luckily I caught and passed and was able to regain some composure. I had been burnt once so wasn’t going to leave anything to chance now in this race. I had a little lead which made me feel a little bit like I had gone the wrong way but the spectators were clapping so I kept going to the end. Top marks to the CEEPO Katana once that bikes up to speed it will look after you.

1Brown, JamesOpenThames Turbo Powerbar01:09:23

2Malynn, NickVetFul-On Tri01:11:24

3Hammon, CharlesVetOptima Racing Team01:11:36

4Wade, SamOpenBrighton Pheonix Triathlon Club01:12:06

5Bradbury, OliverOpenThames Turbo PowerBar01:12:12

Full results at http://www.tri247.com/results_9878.html

Whole Foods Kingston Breakfast Run race report, from Thames Turbo PowerBar member James Brown. 2nd place with 1:31:29.

This was going to be un-explored territory for me; I had two battles to overcome 1) how to pace the distance over 16 miles having not raced this distance before 2) how to psychologically overcome running a route I normally just run once in training twice!
 
Fortunately, I was able to speak to Jon Heasman from POWERBAR regarding nutrition pre-race and during so I was confident I had enough fuel for the journey.
 
It felt like a very early start as the clocks moved forward effectively making it a 7:25am start! Despite everything I felt relaxed on the start line, I had no pre-race plan I just wanted to complete the distance in a good time. As the gun went I had flashbacks to the 2006 breakfast run (8 mile) as Phil WICKS accelerated away with me chasing. In 2006 I tried stick with his pace, however now a wiser runner and on a longer course I decided not to take any risks and let him go.
 
After mile 1 I was in 2nd place I had a little lead on the main field after chasing WICKS along Kingston High Street but I was in no-mans land, WICKS was flying at sub 5 minute mile pace and I was running above my comfort zone. I new there were a lot of experienced runners in the main field and there was a long way still to run so I eased off the pace slightly and waited for the footsteps behind to catch up. I settled into cruise control and took stock. It was a perfect temp for running and I felt good. It was the first time I had really tested the 2XU running kit and I can confirm it does everything it says on the box very comfortable.
 
Before I knew it I was running in to the market place and bypassing the finish line to start the 2nd 8 mile lap. The support was pretty cool I was surprised so many people had turned out and I heard a couple of shouts of my name which is always a good motivator! Out of the market place I settled back into the task at hand, WICKS had broken away and was now out of sight but I was still in 2nd and enjoying the run.
 
I held my pace and position in 2nd. Very pleased to have completed the distance and climb another step towards preparing my Ironman season.  WICKS also took the course record in the same fashion as the 2006 8 miler!

Ben Unsworth, Thames Turbo PowerBar race team member, reports on his 3rd place at the first running of West Suffolk Wheeler’s Bury St Edmunds Duathlon.
 
After talking my parents in racing and marshalling the Thames Turbo Race Series it was only fair that I make the trip to my folks in Suffolk for the first running of the Bury St Edmund’s duathlon, put on by their club – the West Suffolk Wheelers http://www.westsuffolkwheelers.co.uk. The Wheelers have been a cycling club since 1922, they expanded to include Triathlon from 2010 and I was lucky enough to take part in their first multi-sport race on Sunday 27th March.
 
The event was held in the school grounds in the village of Beyton and it was brilliantly well organised, with loads of marshals at registration and then all over the course cheering the competitors on.
 
As a long distance triathlete a sprint duathlon would not normally be my cup of tea, but this race was a lot of fun! I was in the final wave with the two guys who would finish ahead of me. My plan was to try and keep the first few people in sight by the end of the run so I had someone to chase on the bike. This worked for a little while, but Kevin Murphy put in a quick first run and was already on the bike by the time I got into transition in 2nd place. A bit of a fumble with the helmet straps and I managed to loose another place or two before I was out on the bike course.
 
The bike was two 11km laps in the Suffolk countryside, with West Suffolk Wheelers marshalling every junction and cheering everyone on (thanks guys!). I worked my way back up to 1st, but did not stay there long as Chris Beck from Tri Anglia came storming through on his way to the fastest bike split. Much faster T2 and out onto the second 4.4km run lap with first place in sight and – unfortunately – a much faster runner behind me! Ross Welton made short work of the small lead I had and passed me inside the first 800m, going on to pass Chris and take the win. Chris also put in a strong run and was almost a minute up the road by the time I crossed the line in third.
 
A big thanks to WSW for a fun morning - I hope to be back for the sprint triathlon in September. Thanks to the Thames Turbo PowerBar sponsors, especially Jonny at Profeet in Fulham for sorting me out with the Adizero Tempos just in time for my first race of the season.

*TTPB team member Liz Pinches, with fellow Thames Turbo Triathlon Club members Iain Roberts and James Ogilvie.

Last year Thames Turbo PowerBar athlete Liz Pinches struggled to compete through a season tarnished by a hip injury. This year, she returns to form following surgery in November and tells us the tale:
“In 2010 I somehow tore a hip cartilage,  which made  my  race season extra painful, turning every run into a real battle, and sometimes even the bike as well. So I set about preparing for a long winter of athletic discontent with hip arthroscope surgery to repair the tear, followed by a 12 week rehabilitation programme to get be ready to race again. And my chosen race was none other than Abu Dhabi- a hot and windy jewel in the freezing early season race landscape.  Given it was such a hotly contested and widely reported pro race, I thought you might be interested in the amateur’s experience of it all.
 
Flying in to Abu Dhabi and lounging around amongst the bling and glamour of the expensive hotels, the Formula 1 track and just the general excessiveness of living in an oil-funded desert Emirate was a great way to get away from it all. But back to business- there was a serious race to do – and seeing Macca coming back from a sweaty run session soon reminds us mere mortals that  we do this for fun, and the big day is all about pushing yourself to new limits and learning what works and what doesn’t.

I took part in the so-called ‘Short’ distance, a mere 1.5km/100km/10km in the wind, heat and dust of the desert.
It was run as 3 waves, starting at 10 minute intervals on a 1 loop swim. The water was clear, and almost refreshing, plus the optional wetsuits meant that all age groupers could choose how much dehydration they wanted to endure – I opted for a sleeveless wetsuit for a little more comfort. The swim was a bit messy at the start, reminding me how rusty I am in beach starts, but it settled out and I was relatively pleased with a 25 minute – 5th ranked swim –there was one girl in my wave ahead of me (Rut Brito), but I didn’t see her – she led the wave the remainder of the race, finishing an eventual 2nd place. 
As I mounted my bike, it was touch and go whether my choice of deep section wheels were going to penalise me with the strong winds on the course. As it turned out, it was lively, but just about under my control. The course is not exactly picturesque but then its not every day you head off into the desert, on such beautiful roads, the highlight of which was of course the Yas Marina F1 circuit- it is impossible not to race this section just a little bit harder than you should! With the wind behind me at last, the ride back to T2 was smooth, resulting in a bike split of 2hours 58.
I enjoyed the novel feeling of getting going out of T2 with no pain – it seems that the surgery was a complete success. Hopefully I no longer need to be thinking ‘how much pain will I have to go through this time?’ and can just enjoy the final section of the race. With plenty of water being handed out at the air stations the heat didn’t seem too bad and I managed to clock the fastest run of the day - 4:08/km all the way for a 41:10 and a new PB. After so long without running at all, being able to return to that kind of form in a race under those conditions this early in the season is a big confidence boost for me, and of course the hip specialist(SportsDocLondon) and Physio at Active Sports Therapy I’ve been working with deserve a lot of the credit.

Thanks also to Sancture Sportifs, 2XU and Powerbar for supporting the Thames Turbo Powerbar Race Team.

We stayed to recover, watch the British women staking their claim over the long distance race and indeed seeing the men battle it out in such a close finish was inspirational.  It was a great fun event to do, and I’d recommend it to anyone who is fed up with the weather at home! “
- Liz

Ollie Bradbury: 1st place by over 2 minutes!

Monster Duathlon, Littleport
6km run, 30km bike, 6km run

Full Results can be found at http://www.tri247.com/results_9563.html

In Ollie’s own words, “The idea of this race was firstly to gain a pre-season indication of where I’m at, in terms of bike and run fitness having been relaxed with training over the autumn and early winter period. Secondly to try out my sexy new On running trainers, courtesy of FitBrands. And finally to test out some tweaks I had made to my saddle height as advised by Jonny from ProFeet after a Retul bike fit.

My race plan was to relax into the first 6km run, as I’m trying to get out of the habit of starting far too fast and then blowing up! Then once on the 30km bike leg, open up and “Bring The Rain”, and finally on the last 6km run hold on for dear life and empty the tank!

So the starting horn sounds and the race is on!

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Jon Heasman (not pictured)
3rd in Age Group (35-39)
5th overall

It was touch and go as to if this race would even go ahead because of the amount of snow still on the ground! With a race by the name of the Grim being cancelled you would have thought this would have no chance. Ahead it went and after pre-riding the bike course this was clear this was going to be a serious test of bike handling skills.
After falling off numerous times in the warm up it was clear about 30 psi was going to be the order of the day to get some sort of grip. Anything other than smooth seated pedaling stokes would see you on your arse very quickly.

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James Brown

12th in AG (25-29).
59th overall

I’m just back from Mexico this is how it went…

It’s worth noting this was not my original target race. In March 2010 I was on the road to Ironman UK, training was going well and I had just finished 7th overall in the National Duathlon Championships. Everything was taking shape when all of a sudden I crashed my bike and broke my Humerus (upper arm bone). It needed surgery and two months in a cast and when I finally got the cast off I was left with a seriously weakened arm, I was un-able to complete a single length in the pool. With help from Helen Smith and thetritouch I started to make a good recovery. However, in July still unable to swim much more than 400m I realized I would be unable to race Ironman UK on the 2nd August. Reluctantly I withdrew from the race but no sooner had I delivered the withdrawal letter I was on Ironman.com looking for alternative race so I could make something of my season. Ironman Mexico seemed a good opportunity and it wasn’t full so without thinking twice I put my name down. 

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