Month: Oct 2018

IBIZA! Part Two – The Holiday

Six days in Ibiza supporting friends racing did mean there was some free time to mooch about. If you read Part One, then you will, if you hadn’t already realised, that Ibiza is in the process of closing down for winter. We were staying in San Antonio. The closing parties of the clubs on the island had been the first weekend of October and many of the remaining bars and hotels were. gradually closing up. Some of the bars and hotels that were open on the Sunday were, by Monday, closed and boarded up.

With Ibiza slowly winding down, we were not sure what to expect. Ibiza isn’t world renowned for it’s culture as such, so we made the most of chilling and a bit of exploring. Many books were read! So, what did we do?

SUP – Stand Up Paddle boarding. I messaged one of my friends who was out on the island for same reason as me and asked him if he fancied it. Turns out he was. So Monday morning, we both found ourselves on the south coast of Ibiza SUP’ing. There was a group of about 10 of us in total and we could not have asked for more glorious conditions. This is the third time I’ve done it but this was definitely one of the most amazing locations – crystal clear waters, beautiful bays and blue skies as far as the eye could see. It was also very quiet, a few boats dotted here and there but overall, very little. Peaceful and chilled, with a little bit of exploring and some caves to wind through. If you ever get the chance to SUP in Ibiza – it is worth it. It wasn’t expensive either although one of the things I noticed compared to the UK – lack of form signing and buoyancy aids.

Ibiza town – my friend visited some of the museums but wasn’t really impressed – lots of little shops and definitely the hub of the island – rather enjoyed my cocktails in Hard Rock Cafe too! The old town, and the castle, really are beautiful and the views are amazing. You need to be fairly fit though to get to the top. Well connected with buses too (which are so cheap – they are subsidised and busy).

Boat cruises – we did the ‘Sunset cruise’ with one company but it wasn’t really sunset when we got off – it was a three hour cruise to the west coast of San Antonio and around some of the smaller islands. It stopped at one of the popular family beaches to drop off/pick up some people but it also stopped in a beautiful bay so people could get off and swim. Was rather annoyed I didn’t take my swimming costume but hey ho. It was really lovely to be out on the sea and seeing the island from a different perspective.

Swimming – one of the highlights for me personally was swimming in the sea. Along a lot of the coast line, there are areas cordoned off from boats and shipping to allow people a safe area to swim in. Monday night I got a text from one of my friends who said that she and a few age groupers where going to go and swim and would I like to join them. I was hardly going to pass that up! I’ll admit – I could have swam without the wetsuit but in one respect I am glad I did as it gave me an insight into just how buoyant you are in the sea, with a wetsuit. Twenty minutes later – 1km OW swam. Fastest OW swim in a while. Although swimming with the speedy age groupers reminds me that I’ve still some work to do!

Run – I did my first run outdoors for a while early on Tuesday morning – and what a place to run! Sun already shinning and plenty of areas/space to run safely around the bay. Five kilometers in the bag!

Aquarium – My friend (who has 0 interest in racing/sport) and I walked round to the aquarium. Apart from the slight novelty factor of it being in a cave and there being a poor injured turtle in there, cant say I was overly impressed, however…. the walk around the bay to get there was lovely. I was tempted to do some geocaching while I was there but thought I’d best not subject my friend to that!

Would I go back?

Yes. Yes I would, but I would definitely hire a bike and cycle – a lot. I was quite envious of my mate cycling about everywhere, even though it was really hot! I would swim more and definitely hire a car. I would also go more in season – even though it would be a lot busier – just for choice of places to eat/visit and I would get myself round to Cafe del Mar and watch the sunset properly! I would also choose a better hotel. Would I stay any longer than I did? Probably not but then it isn’t a long flight.

IBIZA! Part One – ETU Championships

Getting of the plane at Leeds Bradford Airport a couple of days ago was a bit of a shock to the system. Six days of glorious sunshine and warm weather, watching friends race and generally chilling – fabulous!

I will be honest – I wasn’t sure what to expect. Ibiza’s main reputation is that of party island but all the main clubs had their closing parts around the weekend of the 6th of October and as we arrived, many bars and hotels were closed or closing for the winter. It is quite a strange feeling being somewhere that is slowly closing down.

Clearly not there for the party scene, this week Ibiza has been the host to the ETU Championships – which was actually the reason for me being there. Initially this trip had been planned and booked while still with the ex. When he left me, I had him cancel the original holiday so I could rebook it. After seeing my mate’s hotel, I wish I’d rebooked into their hotel (it was lush and would have been worth the extra expense. Lesson learnt there!). Anyway, back to the important stuff – the reason for being there was the fact that some of my friends and club members had qualified to race representing GBR in their age category, so I headed out to go and support. A most excellent excuse for a holiday.

We touched down in Ibiza on the Saturday – the first day of the championships. The first race to affect our group was the Standard Distance Duathlon in Santa Elulia on the Sunday. When I arrived it was to find my friend, who was racing, slightly panic stricken – the transition had moved (washed away off the beach the night before due to an unusually high tide) and confusion over the race route, which had changed numerous times. Either way, push come to actual shove, everything went well, and certainly better than the previous day’s sprint duathlon by all accounts. We took it in turns cheering my friend on as me and her partner kept and eye on the children playing on the beach (a whole afternoon in the sun on the beach was blissful). At the end however, we all made a beeline for the finish – to which there was a total of 10 of us cheering her in to a marvellous sprint finish! First day of racing over, my friend could start enjoying her holiday!

The second race I was in Ibiza to watch was the Aquathon on the Wednesday evening – and what a glorious evening it was for racing! A 1km swim and a 5km run, with three club members racing into the sunset, it was always going to be fast and pacy. Eight of us stood waiting patiently near one of the switch backs for the race to start – and waiting for one of our club members to pass us. While we waited and watched, it was inspiring to see the elites go past but also the parathletes too. We had a good vantage point and were at one of the quiet points – until our first club member and friend ran past, at which point we made a mad dash to the finish. We were so close! Most of us managed to get stood on one of the seating blocks along the front and had an excellent side line view of one of the switch backs as well as the finish line, both of which provide amazing moments, sprint finishes and some more amusing moments. We were also an excellent home cheering crowd for our members as we watched and cheered loudly. All doing well as the sun set.

Race Day.jpg
Duathlon

Once everyone was in though we all made our way back to our own hotels but not before agreeing to catch up for drinks. Well, I say that. One was staying with family and one disappeared off drinking with other age groupers into the Irish bar that was still open along the front. The rest of us meet up at one of the hotels along the front where they were staying to celebrate the end of season and the fact we were all in Ibiza. Cocktails and laughter flowed – included one of our club coaches (I feel my work as social sec here is done!). It was about 1.30am before I rolled back at my own hotel, with a 6.30 alarm for our transfer to the airport. I wasn’t really looking forward to the impending hangover.

An impending hangover that, thankfully didn’t materialise – more just tiredness! I was actually quite gutted to leave in one respect, knowing that some other club members were just heading out for the Middle distance race on Saturday, but alas, all good things must come to an end and as we boarded the plane, I was debating whether I should book in some races abroad next year – although after seeing the stress that can comes with racing abroad – I know I will need to be mega organised!

Decisions decisions!

‘Don’t make a permanent decision for your temporary emotion.’ Unknown

I’ve been meaning to write for a few weeks, but as always, life gets in the way. I’m about to fly out to a small island in the middle of the Med to support friends who are racing.  Discussing this and next years race season with one of my friends last Tuesday has made me realise I really need to decide now what I want to do next year race wise. It has been on the back of my mind for a few months really but my training is currently aimless and even though I know I should be building my base fitness – what am I building it for?

This is where the quote comes in above as being quite apt. As for permanent decision – not long after the split up, I bought another bike (ok not a permanent decision but still!) and I bought a business (a slightly more permanent decision!). Why is this relevant to my training/life/race decisions? Well, the thing is, I’ve been debating going long course next year and to me, this is a bigger commitment than the business – maybe not so much money wise, but certainly time wise. I’ve a half already booked (its not up on my ‘Races’ page yet for various reasons) – I’m doing this with some friends. I know I can be race fit for this as my base fitness has improved massively already since the summer. I’ve proved I can do the distance in the swim and the bike – running is just the thing to conquer next.

The issue is – what else do I want to do?

There are so many awesome races out there that I could do.

I’d like to go long course, but I’d like to do Coniston End to End swim. I’d like to do Red Bull Time Laps too. I’ve even been asked about doing Brecca Swim Run at Coniston.

I’ve not wanted to make too hasty a decision as if I do go long course, it has to fit in with my half-iron in July and my life in general. If I do go long course I also need to make far more serious commitment to training but it also means I have to be more careful planning out the rest of the season so I don’t over do it.

I need to be making the decision and soon.

I always said 2020 would be the year, but that was 12 months ago and a lot has changed, but I am worried that I am thinking long course next year to prove a point and therefore potentially for the wrong reasons. I know I have nothing to prove but still. Experienced and unexperienced friends alike all have their opinions but even on their advice, I still need to make the decision. And soon.

Having never properly planned my race season and going with the flow, this is proving to be a tougher decision process than I thought! Maybe five days on a sunny island, surrounded by friends and triathletes will help me make my mind up!

Triathlon X Half Relay Antics

‘Empathy is about finding echos of another person in yourself’ Mohsin Hamid

I’ve rewritten this post more times than I care to remember before publishing. For various reasons – including being too wordy! September was a very busy month – three out of five weekends saw me travelling to the Lake District, all because of some link to the Tri Club, so not all bad.

So, why was I back in the Lakes?

The last Bank Holiday in August, a group of us went open water swimming. Not an usual event considering we’re triathletes, but this time, one of my friends – who doesn’t like swimming at the best of times, had a mini panic attack in the water. This led to a conversation about the fact that she had signed up to Triathlon X half and how she felt she couldn’t do it anymore. Two of us offered to do it for her if she could do it in relay. That turned out to be me. I had planned to come up anyway to cheer her on as I had nothing else on. So a couple of emails back and forth later and I was entered into Triathlon X half to do the swim! Now, TriX has a reputation. It is possibly the hardest triathlon (half and full) in the world. I definitely had the easy part. To put it in perspective, I was done with the swim by 8.44 – she was only finishing at 5pm – and she is an Age-group standard athlete for duathlon. If you want to see the elevation involved, I would just go search it if I were you.

Back to the race planning  – after a few conversations back and forth, I booked my own accommodation. It’s the first time I’ve stayed in a YHA on my own in a dorm room. I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was actually ok. It is nicer having your own room but for £27 and to be located right next to the start line, I wasn’t going to complain. I hadn’t booked breakfast knowing that I would be swimming and up early (6am to be precise). I also didn’t check out when I left for the swim. Knowing I’d be finished before 9am, I decided to wait so after swimming I could go get a shower. This turned out to be the best plan ever – who doesn’t want a warm shower after swimming in a cold lake?!

Drinking coffee and eating some oaty breakfast bar I heading over to transition and met my friends. Dressing in neoprene – literally head to toe – hat, gloves, booties as well as wetsuit was more than novel compared to normal. I had been feeling ok about the swim until the night before. Then nerves started to kick in. Although I’ve been swimming again more regularly, this was going to be my longest continuous swim since Leeds Tri in June (1500m) and the water was a lot colder than I normally like to swim in.

The actual Swim 

I can now say I have a far better understanding of what my mate feels about OW swimming.

Not that I am not empathetic – just that I have a better understanding and wish there was more I could do to help her.

Water temperature was 13.3 degrees. Coldest I’ve been swimming in for a long time, especially any distance! It was definitely warmer than it was in April though. It was a deep water start and there was about 135 of us but there wasn’t too much of a washing machine effect as normal – although I started near the back. I spent the first 3/400m wondering what on earth I was doing? Debated getting out, decided I hated OW swimming, wondered how I was going to make it all the way round etc etc. It was awful. I’m not usually negative when I’m swimming but the first part was just awful. If this is even a fraction of how those who dislike/hate swimming feel – wow. This was bad enough and I am a fairly confident swimmer and love being in the water normally.

I finally found some sort of rhythm after I got past the first triangular buoy at about 800m and started to enjoy it. I was surprisingly warm (thank you neoprene!) and took it steady – to try and save my shoulder. The last 200m were cold and long but I was apparently smiling when I got out. Was a bit annoyed with myself as my time was 44.17 and I know full well I could have done a sub 40. My mini stress at the beginning and have to physically stop a couple of times to sight properly and get my bearings definitely didn’t help. My shoulder still isn’t perfect either but it’s only twinging a bit at the moment. I really need to rest it up I think and make sure I keep stretching it out.

I will point out though, that I was smiling when I got out – and dare I say it, I finally managed to enjoy it!

Racing in relay

Racing in relay was new, but the nature of the race (see comments about about elevation), meant I was actually quite glad I’d finished. I definitely feel I had the easiest part of the race. There was a picture of my friends stood watching the swim looking so worried. It turns out they actually were. A few got out during the swim and DNF’d – that worried them. The temperature worried them. My mates nerves got to her. The picture in question is worthy of a caption competition to be fair!

I got out of the water and hung around long enough to see my friend disappear up the road on her bike and I went and got a shower and changed. It was going to be quite a long day. I wasn’t completely on my own though. My day consisted of eating and drinking and generally wandering about until about 5pm when my friend finished. I do not know how she did it, and I am in genuine awe of her achievements. She is so unassuming, quiet and quite shy – I don’t think she realises her own strength, stubbornness and determination. I suppose that’s why I love her, and was more than happy to jump in a cold lake for her. I’d do it again too!