Swim, turbo, run x3 (1000km for 2022), gym, ride (plus pigeons, sloths and someone else’s wheels falling off)

It’s the first week of the taper to the ultra on 9 July – just 30km this week. After last Saturday’s bad run, my quads were still sore on Monday so I gave running a miss and booked a massage.

The swim doctor session on Monday evening was very good – 950m in a mixture of strokes and drills. It felt like the sea swimming in Corfu had helped a bit although it was, as ever, hard work.

Tuesday was my wife’s birthday but I managed to fit the massage in between a very good lunch in the garden of a riverside pub and chauffeuring her to and from a friend’s for drinks in the early evening.

The massage (my second ever) went well. ‘Kimmo’ is a very pleasant and interesting chap, originally from Finland but he spend 40 years in Canada. His diagnosis confirmed my guess that my quads were very tight/knotted and it was that which caused the hip and knee pain, by virtue of interaction with the iliotibial bands.

It’s exactly what I had 24 years ago when training for the 1998 London Marathon (my first). I suppose that if I go another 24 years before the problem arises again, I’ll have done well (but at 90, how will I know?).

I was trying to work out what might have caused the problem now, having done 17 weeks of training without any big hitches. His guess was that the muscles were getting tight and while the three treadmill runs in Corfu weren’t likely to have actually caused the problem, they probably did finish the job off.

Kimmo suggested not running on Wednesday but to give it a go on Thursday. With luck I still might be able to fit in this week’s 30km – but it won’t matter if I don’t. There isn’t too much running to be done over the next three weeks leading up to the ultra so I suppose I’ll only know for sure if it’s worked when I try the real thing.

As long as the issue can be sorted, I’ll be relieved that it happened now and not on the day of the ultra – I would have been a dnf if the race had been on last Saturday.

I fixed the puncture on the turbo trainer and had a (sweltering) spin on Wednesday (30 minutes @ 29.4kph – 18.3mph). I went for a run on Thursday. I was apprehensive but took it gently and the 13.5km (8.4 miles) took me through 1,000km for the year.

Everything had improved hugely since Saturday’s horror show but the left knee isn’t 100% right so it will need one more massage session – which I’ve arranged for next Tuesday. From despair on Saturday after the run, to optimism on Tuesday after the massage, to doubt now – this is getting very wearing.

My second run of the week was a hot 5km on Friday in the gym – left knee still protesting but if last week was 6/10 for pain, this was down to 4/10. There are five treadmills and only after I finished did I realise that I’d chosen one of the two not in the path of the breeze from the air conditioning unit. I did some weights (and stretching) before the usual stint in the bike shop.

On Saturday I took a turn leading the blue group for the cycle club. We have friends who have taken in two Ukrainian families and Lyn appeared with three 12 year old Ukrainian lads so I rode with them – 34.2km (21.2m). With stops for one puncture (good job I was there to fix it), a phantom puncture, two dropped chains, water, snacks, regrouping, undone shoe laces and rain, it didn’t exactly flow but it was still the most worthwhile ride I’ve done for years.

Final run of the week on Sunday – 13km (8 miles) to complete the week’s 30km. Right thigh, hip and knee all fine, left knee became unhappy after 6 km but down to 3/10 on the pain front. Once started, it didn’t get any worse so fingers crossed for Tuesday’s second massage.

Well, that was better than last week, with success for treatment for the right leg but the need to try again with the left. Until that’s sorted, I’m not really going to be able to relax about the ultra. I am, of course, a reformed character and will diligently stretch as if it’s going out of fashion (as long as I remember to do it).

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: Only a wise person can solve a difficult problem

2. BBC News website: Pigeon fanciers say red tape having a devastating effect

Before Brexit, enthusiasts could release their birds in France to race back to the UK, but now Britain is outside the EU birds must now have an export health certificate before they can take part in trans-Channel races.

The certificate has to be signed by an approved vet after completing various tests like an examination of the birds and a check on transportation conditions.

Coo

3. BBC News website: Life in the slow lane

Sloths sleep for about 15 hours a day and move so slowly that algae grows on their fur, acting as a natural camouflage to hide them from potential predators. They move as little as 40m (130ft) a day and can spend up to a month digesting a meal.

They are most at risk on the ground, where they can take more than a minute to move two metres (6.5ft). As they need to leave the trees to go to the toilet, they have developed high-capacity bladders and rectums, which mean they can go for up to a week without having to answer the call of nature. Sloths are extremely good swimmers, their slow metabolism also means they can hold their breath for up to 40 minutes.

I may be part man, part sloth (apart from the bladder and the swimming)

4. BBC News website: 2,700 electric vehicles recalled

The recall comes less than two months after the car was launched in Japan. Toyota told the BBC that bolts on the bZ4X’s wheels “can loosen to the point where the wheel can detach from the vehicle” after “low-mileage use”.

A spokesperson added “If a wheel detaches from the vehicle while driving, it could result in a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash”.

Those spokespersons certainly know a thing or two about the importance of car wheels

5. BBC News website: Strava tracks security personnel at secret bases in Israel

A disinformation watchdog has found that by uploading fake running “Strava segments” inside secret facilities, a user could learn the identities and past routes of people active in the area, even if they had the strongest privacy settings. Information about 100 individuals who exercised at six bases was viewable.

Used by more than 95 million people, Strava has a bit of previous – in 2018, the company published a global “heatmap” that revealed the exercise routes of people at military bases around the world, including US facilities in Syria and Afghanistan.

6. My uncle always said ‘Laughter is the best medicine’. He was a great guy – but not a very successful doctor.

Wheels falling off? – Gym and a bad run (plus burkinis, and Happy the unhappy elephant)

After getting back to the UK late on Monday, I drove back to Oxfordshire on Tuesday morning and started doing the washing, while my wife took on the burden of watching the tennis at Queens.

We seem to have brought the sun back with us from Corfu – the temperature was due to rise over the next few days to a fairly rare 30℃ (86℉) on Friday. With the heat, the bruised toe, the washing, gardening (and mowing) and some work being done on the house, I decided not to run until the weekend but that needs to be a long one – the last long run before the ultra on 9th July.

Last week’s long run (which I missed because of the holiday) should have been 45km and this week’s is scheduled at 55km – but I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen. When I decided to sign up the 100km I thought it would be my second ultra – and now I see that, if I had followed the training plan properly, it would have actually been my 4th because of two training runs of ultra distance. Madness!

I went to the gym and did my slot at the bike shop on a very hot Friday. Saturday lived up to the forecast of a cooler day so I ran. I had inspected my tri belt and realised it’s falling apart so I bought a (cheap) running hydration vest in the week and gave it a go.

I had no real idea of how far I was going to run but decided to practice the ‘walk up the hills’ approach recommended for ultras. That’s fine but accepting that walking is OK is, to me, a slippery slope – I’ve run all the way in my three marathons but now I found myself walking a bit on a run that was only 32.5km (just over 20 miles).

A horrible run in just about every way – a real slog with three dumps of pretty cold rain and lots of hip, knee and thigh aches and pains that I’ve not had during the training. Most worrying were pains on the outside of both knees. It was a bit reminiscent of the ITB issue I had more than 20 years ago. I hate the idea of a ‘scented candle’ massage but a sports massage put that right back then so I may be in line for my 2nd ever.

Just the run I didn’t want to go badly …

On Sunday we drove up to London to be treated to lunch by our sons for Father’s Day. Lovely – but the legs are still a bit cranky.

100k corner (an occasional place for ultra news, worries and plans)

Week (of 20)	Event’s training plan (km)	My actual (km)
17	70	32
Cumulative total	664	692

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: Those who accomplish great things pay attention to little ones

2. BBC News website: Grenoble fights to allow “burkini” swimsuits in public pools

Grenoble’s recent decision to authorise all swimwear, including burkinis (which are full body swimsuits covering everything but the hands, feet and face largely worn by Muslim women), in its public pools has sparked a legal battle with the government.

Last month, a local court suspended the council’s policy on the grounds that it seriously undermined the principle of neutrality in public services. France’s Interior Minister called the Grenoble city council’s policy an “unacceptable provocation” that was contrary to French secular values.

No doubt someone thought themselves very clever to mix “burka” and “bikini” to come up with burkini but the burkini is rather the antithesis of the bikini

3. BBC News website: Lynch mob after messaging group rumours

A Mexican political advisor was attacked and beaten by a crowd of around 200 people in the central state of Puebla where he was visiting his grandfather’s house. Rumours began to spread on local WhatsApp group that he had been involved in the kidnapping of a child.

According to local media, the mob then cornered and attacked the man and his two companions, before dragging him to a local field. Police attempted to intervene and placed him in a patrol car, but were quickly overwhelmed by villagers, who doused him in petrol before setting him alight.

The city council said it “strongly disapproves this act and reiterates that criminal behaviour must be judged under the procedures of our rule of law”.

Wow, strong disapproval

4. BBC News website: Happy, the elephant, doesn’t pack her trunk

On Tuesday, New York’s highest court voted 5-2 to reject an animal rights group’s argument that Happy was being illegally confined at the Bronx zoo.

While elephants are “impressive”, the court said, the majority decided that they are not entitled to the same liberty rights as humans and that the legal principle of habeas corpus – which guards against illegal detention – should not be extended to emotionally complex and intelligent animals.

5. Congratulations to Geraint Thomas who won the Tour de Suisse on Sunday.

6. BBC News website: Diamond League, Paris 18 June

I apologise, I’ve mentioned this before but I love it. Competing for the UK in the 100m hurdles at this meeting (finishing 3rd) was Cindy Sember – the international athlete and the answer to the question ‘When is Christmas?’

Corfu: swim, run, gym, turbo, repeat (plus the TT races and taxing animal methane)

Looking east over the hotel grounds towards its private beach and the Ionian Sea
(with mainland Greece in the distance)

We stayed in London on Sunday night and drove to Stansted Airport on Monday to fly to Corfu – our first real holiday since skiing in January 2020 (and after the aborted trip to Madrid that Spring).

Air travel from the UK had been a complete disaster all week in the prefect storm of the schools’ half term holidays meeting the airport and tour companies’ failures to recruit quickly enough to make up for the redundancies during the lockdowns.

Being cautious types we decided to get to the airport early but that proved unnecessary as everything held together pretty well – more dead time hanging around waiting, but was probably worth it as insurance. Of course, we got off the ground late but the flight was fine and the hotel had provided something to eat even though we arrived around 11pm Greek time (a short transfer from the airport to the resort was a blessing).

The drive in from airports is often a bit depressing – lots of sad looking car rental and other tourist-based businesses, usually with signs in English. I appreciate that tourist money is vital for many economies but, in visiting, I hope we don’t trample their national identities. Fortunately, I believe that Greece has a bit of history of its own (!!!) and will survive our trampling.

First day we tried both pools which were good – the larger of the two was very long and in all I swam about 400m (among people gently bobbing about, cooling off) but the area surrounding the pool was rather small which made the sun loungers squeezed together (and there were still too few).

On the second day we went down to the hotel’s small private beach which was lovely. I swam about 800m in the Mediterranean (more accurately, I guess, part of the Ionian Sea) which was like a mill pond. Fewer people, plenty of loungers and a good snack and drinks bar so we stuck with it for the remainder of the holiday.

I’m not really one for the heat (just as I’m not really one for the cold) but am happy to sit in the shade and read (this holiday it was F Scott Fitzgerald’s Babylon Revisited, a memoir of the Falklands war by a friend and neighbour, Richard Osman’s The Thursday Night Murder Club and an anthology of short stories by Anton Chekov – which, I think, counts as a properly eclectic mix). I enjoyed them all. The Chekov was very good – as long as you don’t want your short stories neatly tied up in a satisfying conclusion – and if you don’t want them to be happy and uplifting.

We’d booked an ‘all inclusive’ package, more for simplicity than gluttony but within a couple of days it dawned on me that I was eating twice what I would normally – for no better reason than it was readily available. I put that right on a cloudy and breezy Thursday and felt better immediately. Encouraged, I tried the very small and very hot fitness room (barely 5m x 3m) – I did 5km on the treadmill in 27:10, and some weights.

Friday treated us to a fine thunderstorm early on but it improved by midday before the rain returned later. I swam (500m in the sea), ran (5km in on the treadmill, 27:35) and did some weights again.

Back to glorious weather on Saturday so back to the beach, swimming (800m) and later treadmill running (another 5km in 26:50) and an excellent meal in the pool restaurant in the evening. I managed to stub my toe while sea-swimming on a glorious Sunday – I swam about 1km but the badly bruised toe meant no treadmill later (what a shame) so I settled for the static bike (30 minutes @35.12kph) and some weights.

As always the final day of a package holiday is less fun as there are hours to kill after vacating the room and living out of a packed suitcase – but it passed happily with reading and (yet more) relaxing before the stresses and strains of the journey back (what a way to spend our 35th wedding anniversary). Surprise, surprise, the flight was late and the communication non-existent. However, we made it back to the flat in the early hours of Tuesday and I drove back later that (this) morning while my wife is staying to watch the tennis at Queens.

A great holiday with the hotel and the location making up for a poor tour company performance. The 15km of running, 3.5km of swimming, a session on a bike and some weights would be a good week’s exercise for a holiday – shame it coincided with a training plan requiring 65km of running. Oh well.

Week (of 20)	Event’s training plan (km)	My actual (km)
16	65	15
Cumulative total	594	660

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: Love, like rain, does not choose the grass on which it falls

2. BBC News website: First sub8 and sub7 ironman distance triathlons

Britain’s Katrina Matthews became the first woman to finish the full Ironman triathlon in under eight hours with victory in the Sub8 in Germany. She finished the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and marathon run in seven hours 31 minutes and 54 seconds, beating the previous best by 46 minutes.

In the men’s Sub7, winner Kristian Blummenfelt (from Norway) finished in six hours 44 minutes and 25 seconds.

There were two athletes attempting each of the records and all four competitors finished inside their respective time barriers.

3. BBC News website: Isle of Man TT

I struggle with the TT races – a great spectacle and no doubt something that competitors love and for which they accept the risks – but a cause of way too much loss of life to my mind. After the TT races had a 2 year absence because of Covid, this year, a rider died in practice, another died on Monday and one of a French sidecar team died on Saturday.

If it could be made worse, race organisers have now confirmed that they named the wrong French sidecar competitor to have died. In a statement, they said rider Cesar Chanal had now been confirmed as having died in the crash during lap one of the first sidecar race of 2022 on the Mountain Course. Last Saturday, they wrongly said passenger Olivier Lavorel had died (but he remains in a critical condition in hospital).

On this Saturday, a father and son sidecar team both died in another crash, making five deaths in this year’s event.

Way beyond sad, my thoughts are with Oliver Lavorel and the family and friends of all affected by the terrible accidents.

4. BBC News website: Taxing cow and sheep burps

New Zealand has unveiled a plan to tax sheep and cattle burps from 2025, in a bid to tackle one of the country’s biggest sources of greenhouse gases. It would make it the first nation to charge farmers for the methane emissions from the animals they keep.

New Zealand is home to just over five million people, along with around 10 million cattle and 26 million sheep. Almost half the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, mainly methane.

5. BBC News website: Woman in for payout after having sex in a car

The US woman said she caught the human papillomavirus (HPV) from having sex with her then-partner in his car. She claimed her former partner knew he had virus but did not disclose his condition, leaving her with “past and future medical expenses” and “mental and physical pain and suffering”.

She and her former partner entered arbitration. The arbitrator determined “there was sexual activity in [insured’s] automobile” that “directly caused, or directly contributed to cause” the woman to be infected with HPV. In May 2021, the arbitrator awarded her $5.2m in damages, to be paid by her former partner’s motor insurers who appealed the judgement. A three-judge panel has confirmed the lower court’s ruling and said the insurance company failed to defend its own interests by entering a defence on behalf of the insured man.

6. Last and, by every means, least: They told me I’d never get over my fixation with Phil Collins – but take a look at me now

Run (x3), swim, turbo, walk, ride (plus big plants, French and how to avoid repeated stuffing)

The Dayton Hawk, second from the camera got an outing (but just a short one)

The ultra training plan makes no concession for Sunday’s triathlon, so back into it with a run on Monday morning – 8.7km (5.4 miles) round the old Badbury hill fort. No aches or pains but tired legs.

Swim doctor class in the evening. My training partner deserved a gold star for his triathlon swim and I merited detention for mine. I have much work to do before September’s olympic distance race – at the moment a 1500m open water swim feels rather daunting. I’m hoping that the answer is more down to me getting happier with the (still) alien environment of the lake than anything else. Wishful thinking?

There’s a vey nice chap in his 30’s who comes along to the swim doctor sessions (and swims very well). Talking to him last night, we find that he has done 11 full Ironman triathlons. Sort of puts you in your place!

I was planning a long run on Tuesday but, luckily, it rained so I postponed it and got on the turbo later – but I found that the rear tyre was completely flat. I pumped it up and rode for 30 minutes @ 28.2kph (17.5mph). It was hard from the outset but by the time I finished it was becoming very tough – not surprising as I found that the tyre was rapidly emptying itself of air. Just a 30 minute session, but with a fairly high training value.

The training plan has 55km for this week, with a long run of 35km. I’m 115km ahead of the plan over the first 14 weeks and have done a long run of over 32km (the plan’s longest run has been 25km) so although I’m keeping score against the plan, I’m not really following it.

In that spirit I went out on Wednesday morning, on completely unrested legs. With an oat bar for breakfast, two gels during the run and a bit more water than last week, I proved to myself that having a first drink at 20km is too late as the weather gets warmer and the runs longer.

I ran for 36.6km (22.7 miles). I took the first sign of impending cramp in the calf muscles as a good reason to stop but looked for some decent hills late in the run to practice the ultra marathon recommended approach of walking up the big hills and running the rest – that seemed to work well. I creaked for the rest of the day but managed to pick up our younger son from the station as he comes to spend a few days with us during his half term break from his teaching studies.

On Thursday morning everything was working pretty well which was handy as we had agreed to a dog walk with friends, followed by a pub lunch. A bit over 10km, and it was lovely but the legs were tested. I tried the Garmin again – this time 3h 15 minutes used only 18% of the battery which suggests more battery life than the last test – it’s confusing.

No bike shop on Friday because of the Bank Holiday, so I dipped out of the gym session to get an early start to drive down to Bournemouth, to try to miss the Bank Holiday traffic. I did both lawns (which were looking rather meadow-like) and then went for a run – over 10km to meet the week’s target – along the busy seafront, beyond Boscombe Pier and back. Then I mowed the front lawn again to bring it rather more under control.

Bournemouth, Bournemouth, so good I mowed it twice.

On Saturday I dusted off my 1946 Dayton Hawk and cycled in to Faringdon to take part in the cycle club’s vintage bike ride to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. When I say to take part in the bike ride, I really mean ‘turn out at the start to boost the numbers and then cycle home because of the need to get ready for the village’s Jubilee lunch (which was held at the Tithe Barn and was very well attended and very enjoyable).

Another day off exercise on Sunday as e drove to London to take our son back. Rather apprehensive about the traffic heading back into London – it’s terrible most Sundays but the four day weekend might have helped to smooth the return of people to the capital and it was fine.

A strange week with Bank Holidays on Thursday and Friday, no gym and no lake swim – although my friend and training partner smashed a swim on Friday. His ankle seems to be cured – as he gets back to running, I am looking down the barrel of a good beating in September’s triathlon.

100k corner (an occasional place for ultra news, worries and plans)

Week (of 20)	Event’s training plan (km)	My actual (km)
15	55	56
Cumulative total	529	645

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: A happy man marries the girl he loves; a happier man loves the girl he married

2. BBC News website: Turkey rebrands as Türkiye

Turkey will be known as Türkiye at the United Nations from now on, after it agreed to a formal request from Ankara.

The State broadcaster TRT was quick to make the change as soon as it was announced last year, explaining that among the reasons for the image rebrand was the association with the bird traditionally associated with Christmas, New Year or Thanksgiving. It also pointed out the Cambridge English Dictionary’s definition of one of the meanings of the word as “something that fails badly” or “a stupid or silly person”.

“Türkiye is the best representation and expression of the Turkish people’s culture, civilization, and values,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in December.

Do I now have to have Türkiye at Christmas?

3. BBC News website: The largest known plant on Earth

A seagrass of about 200 sq km (77 sq miles) – roughly three times the size of Manhattan – has been discovered off the coast of Australia.

Using genetic testing, scientists have determined a large underwater meadow in Western Australia is in fact one plant which is believed to have spread from a single seed over at least 4,500 years.

4. BBC News website: Language watchdog promotes French gaming terms

The Académie Française (created in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, and the official custodian of the French language) says “jeu video de competition” should replace “e-sports”, and “streamer” should become “joueur-animateur en direct”.

France’s culture ministry told the AFP news agency that Anglicisms were “a barrier to understanding”. France regularly issues warnings of the “debasement” of its language through imported English words.

Sacré bleu

5. BBC News website: Firm unveils plans for Taser-armed drones

Arizona-based company, Axon, says that the high-tech solution is necessary amid a “fruitless” debate on gun policy in the US and that it has formally begun developing a miniature, lightweight Taser that can be deployed on a drone or robot.

According to the company, “targeting algorithms” will assist operators to aim the device safely and all use-of-force decisions will be made by an authenticated and authorised human operator “who has agreed to take on legal and moral responsibility for any action that takes place”.

Why am I not properly reassured?