NYC Triathlon 2017

July 16th, 2017, what a day!  This event will be told mostly through pictures, as I've written about the NYC tri on my blog before, and to describe the various elements of the course - the swim in the Hudson (1500m), biking up to the Bronx and back (40k), and finishing along the crowds of 72nd street and in the heat of Central Park (10k), again, may get too boring.

with my beautiful handler Alexis!

But I will say..I remember about 8 years ago trying to get into the Achilles triathlon team.  At the time, they were training at the swimming pool at Asphalt Green in the Upper East Side; I went along for a session and the feedback after was that I was basically too slow and should come back when I'd learnt to swim properly.  Then Heidi Chadwick got involved with the team and was really a game changer for me.  She helped me get my head in the water, and all the swim practice I needed, and fast forward to 2017, I find myself standing on a podium with a 3rd place finish in the para category.    I have gone from swimming about 27 minutes in 400 metres in my first sprint tri (in a swimming pool in Flushing Meadows) in 2009, to a 20 min swim (albeit tide assisted) over 1500 metres in the Hudson.  Heidi, I can't thank you enough!

Transition in Riverside Park

So, if there is anything to by learnt by my experience yesterday, without getting too mawkish and sentimental, it is that with a bit of will power and much persistence, and by surrounding yourself with positive, like-minded people (in my case Achilles athletes and amazing guides), you CAN really overcome your fears - I have been genuinely afraid of getting in open water, and even some swimming pools to be honest - and achieve what you previously thought was impossible.

The day as usual involved an obscenely early start but was helped by being with Alexis, my handler extraordinaire for the day, who was also very understanding when I was quieter than usual before the swim due to a bit of low level anxiety.

As always it was nice to finally be off in the water, at around 6.50 am.  As I can no longer panic about my nose clip falling off (as I no longer wear a nose clip to swim), the demons inside my head had decided instead they'd develop an irrational fear of my googles steaming up.  For a few seconds, about a minute into the swim, a kind of panic mode set in, but as usual it passed, and before long the distance markers were passing by at an encouraging clip.  I was out of the water in 20 minutes, which was one of my fastest swim times but probably a reflection of the speed of the current rather than how much swim practice I've done in 2017.  I definitely managed to avoid the zig zagging all over the place though!  

Oh, the elation of exiting the Hudson!

Out of the water and was met by Alexis with my running leg for the little trot back to transition.  The bike felt really good.  Once I'd made it up the steep section out of Riverside park and on to the West Side Highway, I felt in great shape, with lots of energy, and kept up a steady clip (around 16.5 mph average).  At one point a motorbike with cameraman pulled alongside me and stayed with me for about 5 minutes, so I had a chance to adopt my serious, focussed 'I really should be in the Tour de France' face.  Not to sound self absorbed or anything, but I hope to find that footage one day!

I came into T2 still feeling great, and when I set off for the run definitely felt I had more beans than in previous years.  As I ran past the cheering spectators on 72nd street, began to think I may be able to get through the run more by actually running it than walking it, as I have done in the last couple of years.  The only thing I can attribute this to is having done a marathon about 6 weeks prior. I hadn't done that much running since - only once or twice or week, and no more than 5 miles - but my right leg still felt really strong, and I only needed to stop once, at the very top of Central Park, for some water.  Words of encouragement by the other athletes also definitely helped.  

Finish line!

It was also a huge boost seeing people I knew along the course - Marty from Achilles (who had hosted the entire Achilles crew in his beautiful apartment near transition the night before the race) at Eleanor Roosevelt statue in Riverside Park, Alexis on the entrance to Central Park, my old friend Carol on the West side of the park around mile 2, and Megan and Larry from Achilles on the East.   Such an incentive to keep on going and look strong!  

I made my way down the East side of the park in a slow and steady fashion and finally crossed the finish line in a total of 3.17, and then had the excitement of meeting up with other members of the team to swap stories of our race.  As a very happy finale, I was told by Travis from the CAF that I should probably stick around for the awards ceremony as there is now a prize purse for the top 3 males and females in the para category.  Sure enough, I got the bronze spot and a $750 prize, and was very proud to share the podium with Charles, a very strong visually impaired runner from France who claimed gold and who is now leading the Achilles tri programme in New York.  

After the long schlep back to transition to pick up our stuff to head home for a much needed shower, Alexis and I headed down to Blondies for a couple of beers and a celebratory veggie burger with some of our friends from the Achilles tri team and Challenged Athletes Foundation.  As usual, the tri was an amazing experience, and I can't wait to do it all over again!

For the first time in my life..made it on to a podium!

Dorchester Marathon

Dorchester - wank wank wank!  Dorchester - wank wank wank!  Dorchester - wank wank wank!  Dorchester - wank wank wank!

This was just one of the charming (though repetitive) chants that I used to sing on the terraces as a Weymouth Football Club supporter whenever I could make the derby games against our fiercest rivals, Dorchester Town Football Club, usually on a Boxing Day and New Years day - an important part of my festive season - when in my late teens and twenties.  Dorchester, the county of town of Dorset; about 6 miles north of my hometown of Weymouth over the Ridgeway - quite a bit smaller than Weymouth, but nonetheless the home of my team's Footballing Nemesis.

Setting off with Moo.

Yet I have other ties to Dorchester that endear me to this sleepy town.  I'm a fan of Thomas Hardy and novels like The Mayor Of Casterbridge that depict rural life there in the late 1800's.  My Gran lived there in the last twenty or so years of her life, in Alfred road, behind the train station.  My Mum and Dad both worked and met in County Hall in the middle of town, and got married in Dorchester's methodist church.  Growing up in the area, I used to love cycling around the beautiful green rolling countryside that surrounds the town.

And it was to a field just outside of Dorchester that I headed to early on May 29th 2017 to run my 6th, and Dorchester town's inaugural, marathon.

I was definitely excited about this one.  I would be running with my younger sister Lucy, sharing a very special experience, and all the family would be around to support and spectate.  It would be my first marathon in just over 5 years, and I wanted to take advantage of the fact that I'd been having no hip pain to again test myself and see how far I could push my body over the course.  My training had gone well.  I had undertrained to avoid pushing anything and knew I would't have a 'fast' time (by my standards anyway) but was confident that I'd be able to finish OK. I'd trained up to 18 miles and anything after that is a matter of gutting it out.

The other reason for looking forward to it was because it was such a low key race.  After having done major ones I wanted to experience a smaller and friendlier running environment.  New York, Chicago and London all have around 40,000 runners; Boston about 20,000; there were a grand total of 975 signed up for Dorch.  The race organizers, White Star Running, are regional, more into trail runs, and have a very informal grass roots set up feel about them.    Some things to love about this one:  the GBP40 entrance fee; the fact that there were photographers but no charge for the photos, no expos where one must do battle with crowds; and at the start, you could pitch up 15 mins before the start and still make it easily to the start line.

Lucy and I were dropped off by Lucy's husband Mark at the event site of Cokers Farm after only a very mild panic caused by the fact that we were had some difficulty getting through due to all the road closures in the area (we had to deftly remove a No Entry road sign in the middle of the road and drive through, hoping no-one would see).  We were met by brother Tim on his bike, and also saw our good family friend Debbie for a chat and couple of pre-race pics.

Up the last hill!

Just before 8.30 am we were corralled into the farm yard and before too long the town crier of Dorchester had us on our way!  Out through the farm along a lane we went, and then turned right and went up through the High West street into town, past Granny's old house, and then out into the beautiful countryside.  Tim was able to come along on his bike, and it was great having him on hand to supply us with water bottles and energy bars as needed. Tim is also quite familiar with the area and was able to point out of landmarks of interest, i.e. where Julian Fellowes of Downton Abbey fame lives (a lovely old manor house) and some of the buildings that feature in Hardy novels.

Mile 6 - all was great.  It was a pleasantly warm morning - quite overcast, but not too hot, and our other brother Nick then joined on his bike; 4 siblings making their way through the lovely twisting village lanes of Dorset.  At mile 9, we saw Mum, friend Mick, and our good friends Auntie Doreen and Uncle Keith, my godparents.  It's such a boost to see friendly faces on the course.

The Love Station at Mile 20

Next up, as we approached the little village of Tincleton (one of my fave named villages in Dorset), Nick reminded me that one of our old teachers lived there, and 2 minutes later, as we turned the corner, there he was, at the end of his garden, taking photos of runners.  We took a little break to go up the embankment and have a little chat.

Probably around the half way mark I started to struggle a little bit.  The clouds had dissipated; the sun had come out and things were starting to warm up.  Lucy had painful knees going downhill so we started to walk down some of the steeper stretches of the course.  We saw more family though - brother and sisters Jenny and Martin in the beautiful village of Tolpuddle, and sister Fiona on her bike around mile 17.    This was a day that reminded me how lucky I am to be part of such a large and supporting family.

By mile 18, I was walking more than running, but it felt OK.  I knew I'd make it before the 8 hour cut off unless anything went disastrously wrong; other than general fatigue, no muscles had been pulled and nothing was in agonizing pain that meant I wouldn't be able to finish.  At mile 20 there was a much needed 'Love Station' that the organizers had laid on, complete with hugs with wet sponges and cups of flat beer.  For the first time, I drank alcohol during a marathon, and it was delicious!

As always happens when I get tired, for the last 6 miles I retreated into my head to get through it.  This may be hard to understand for people who get their energy from being around other people, but for me, I needed to be left alone, with my thoughts, and not be surrounded by chatter.  This is something that's been reenforced by each marathon experience - all my energies are needed to focus on moving forward and concentrate on how my body is doing and mentally staying on point; I find talking an unwelcome distraction that depletes my performance.  I try not to come across too cranky, but that's the way it is.

The rain started to come down in the last 6 miles which felt deliciously cooling, and was definitely most welcome.

Just about at the finish line!

After a particularly nasty hill at about mile 24, Tim went on ahead, leaving Moo and I to run/walk right to the end.  The course took us down some hills to finish at the farm, and as soon as we hit the 26 mile mark, we ran round the corner for the last .2, down to the lane, to where all the family were waiting for us (another great thing about smaller marathons - for the larger ones, it's either very hard/impossible to get close to the line).  As usual, I found crossing a marathon line, in a time of 6 hours and 28 minutes, a very emotional experience; it's a mixture of elation at having conquered such a tough challenge, relief that the ordeal is over; it symbolizes triumph in the face of adversity.  This time round it was lovely to share that moment with Lucy, as we gave each other a big post race hug.

The Simmons Family!

We were soon joined by the rest of the family where photographers took a cool photo of us (below), then retreated into a large tent where for a well deserved a beer and catch up, before heading back home to Weymouth for a much needed shower and nap.

Dorchester was so much fun.  It sounds a cliche, but even though I'm not the fastest, running a marathon makes me feel like I'm living life to the max on that day, and really achieving something significant.  I hope now that this marathon won't be my last.  As long as I'm able to run without pain and my body is willing, I want to keep running and achieving and staying in as good a shape as possible.

Presta Tu Pierna 11k Run, Bogota, Colombia

Around mid March while at work one day, I had a call from the Achilles office with a completely unexpected and exciting opportunity: how would I fancy going to Colombia with a group of Achilles athletes to run in a race in Bogota in aid of land mine victims?  The prospect of combining two of my passions - travelling and running - was irresistible, so after deliberating for all of about 3 seconds, I said yes, and a mere two weeks later was packing my bags and getting ready for my first trip to Colombia.

The trip was from Thursday to Tuesday, leaving 4 full days in the country.  On my first full day in Bogota, I went into the city centre, checked out the gold museum, then took a cable car up a very steep cliff for an impressive view of the city.  It was a good thing just to walk around to get used to the altitude; Bogota is 8,675 feet above sea level, meaning that just going up a flight of steps on the first day left me feeling a bit dizzy and puffed.  I quickly fell in love with the city - what's not to love about a place with a mixture of beautiful women and lovely old colonial buildings?

On Saturday, there was a workout session with the group that had travelled down from the States, along with some of our Achilles Colombia hosts.   Our group was around 15 amputee or paralyzed hand-crankers; all vets from Iraq, Afghanistan or Vietnam.  While they did a few loops of the park, I ran with Gerle and Robbie from the NY Achilles office for around an hour.  It felt good to stretch out after not running for a couple of days.  Not so good was the sunburn I realized I had after!  Saturday evening was a meal with around 100 people associated with the run (terrible food, great company), where we also go to meet the members of the US Embassy and head of the Anti Narcotics agency based in the city who were helping fund the race.

Sunday was race day!  The start line was close to our hotel; so we headed over early to soak up the pre-race atmosphere with the 4,000 or so other runners.  The event was based in a kind of plaza, with a stage with people leading a fitness class to music, and lots of booths around for other organizations associated with the run.  The run itself was a lot of fun.  Everyone had shorts with one leg cut off at the knee to symbolize solidarity with amputee runners.  There were plenty of prosthetics on display on the course.

According to the Mine Action organization,  the Colombia government estimates that over 10, 560 Colombians have been killed or wounded by landmines since 1990, including approx 1,071 children. I got to see some of these people as I waited for the race; one memory that will always stay with me was an exhibition sitting volleyball game, a beautiful Colombian teenage girl with missing limb and a sweet smile on her face.

The rest of the trip was taken up with lots of cool sight seeing - a trip to an underground cathedral in the salt mines with Robbie and Gerle; the Botero museum, a money museum, shopping for souvenirs, and on the last night a meal near the hotel provided by Achilles before we all went our separate ways early the next morning.

This trip was an amazing experience:  an opportunity to visit a new country, a chance to meet a lot of cool people, including all the veterans from the US Achilles team, and an experience of being part of a race that raised awareness for land mine victims.   It was good to see what Achilles is doing outside of New York;  helping to get people with disabilities active, while showing the rest of society that having a leg missing, or no use of your legs does not need to be a barrier to participating in sport.