|
![[Under Construction]](images/undercon.gif)
| |
HS06 - Training Diary
This page is where you can get a better idea of competitors' preparations
and general fitness backgrounds. Entries to this page will be provided by
competitors themselves, so you may want to take some comments with a pinch of
salt. For example, it is unlikely that Burd recently ran a sub 11 seconds
100m.
These entries are in no particular order.
Jim Bouquet - 'Cycled
105 miles of the South Downs Way with no pre-training. Now have no feeling
in arse or legs. Have done no exercise in week afterwards. Going to
harass organiser to increase the distance on Bike Race event - feel a quick 50
mile jaunt should suit me. I have been watching most games of the world
cup so my football training is going well. A diet of beer and frankfurters
during the games is also helping. Have the swimming event sewn up as have
been on the water loads recently......albeit in a 15ft speed boat.
Peter Knott - 'Had
always planned to step up the training one month prior to HS06. As of yet,
this has not happened. Playing 2 games of touch rugby a week for the last
8 weeks will have hopefully given me a base, but nothing to match the fitness
required for such and event as HS06. Training must now be event specific,
concentrating on strengths rather than weaknesses. Knott performed well in
the power events last year, so training will be tailored to ensure he matches or
betters it this year.
Charles Nicholson - 'My
training has involved my stag do, law assignments and very little else.
Coupled with a few Sunday lunches and BBQs, occasionally doing a bit of yoga or
a 20 min jog with Nic. Hardcore'.
Paul Davies - Recently
completed the ascent of Mt Blanc. This was a result of more training than
he's ever done before....but still not sure if he's actually fit. Various
10k runs were entered - and the mighty Steyning Duathlon was completed with
Faires Jnr - the only two competitors not in all in one lycra outfits. If
he can stay off the Yorkies from now until the big competition then hopefully he
can maintain some form going into the first events. Here's a couple of
photos from the top:
Damon Turner - 'As many
will know I am a bit of a gym fanatic (anyone for dips?) but following last
years' event I realised that I needed to improve my aerobic fitness and stamina.
The last few months have been spent combining gym work, circuit training,
running, mountain biking and the odd few lengths in a pool. Sounds a lot
but lets not forget the copious amounts of alcohol and food consumed during this
period as well! Within the last week I have attempted to cycle the
South Downs Way (105 miles) in a day with fellow competitors Christian, Jim,
James and Charlie and successfully cycled the London to Brighton bike ride.
Just hope I haven't burnt myself out and peaked to soon......
Jonathan Burdett - 'My
training has mainly consisted of reducing my intake of KitKat Chunkys, which is
beginning to pay dividends'.
Will Klinkenberg - 'Have
been on a couple of runs, otherwise watching the world cup'.
Dan Houldsworth -
'Training so far has consisted of throwing myself way out of my depth be
entering 2 triathlons. At the Blenheim super-sprint Alistair Campbell beat
me by 10mins. And at a club event last week I came last! Not sure
what this says about my expected form for the Superstars, but at least when
you're at the bottom the only way is up...!?'
Robert Norris -
'Training has not really got off the ground yet (23/06/06), apart from a couple
of runs around the Preston Drove Velodrome. I think (touch wood) that I
have thrown off the hamstring and quad problems that blighted last football
season although I do have a persistent niggle with my left toe! brought about by
a combination of being hit on it by a cricket ball, tripping over the front of
my flip flops and bashing it on the side of the bath when getting into the
shower....'
Christian Faires -
A few mountain
bike expeditions and the odd training run followed HS05. A
surprise top thirty finish out of 2,000 runners in the 8 mile
Grim Challenge in December 05 paved the way for a complete
decline in anything active. I felt like I personally gave birth
to our first child, Poppy, in February, and it was April by the
time I started getting myself in shape again.
On the plus side
I’ve actually bothered to work on a bit of speed this year, and
my aerobic fitness is good. A few Kayak outings on a recent
holiday should help me actually paddle in a straight line this
time around, but it’s still not something that comes naturally.
On the down
side, I’ve done zero upper body strength work – other than a
drunken arm wrestle in Budapest (Eastern European
Championships), which should leave me exposed in the dips and
shot put. As for swimming, it’s a foregone conclusion that my
goggles will come off as I belly flop into the pool and that
I’ll take a huge gulp of water during my first breath. Oh, and
a suspect broken toe with ten days to go (photo provided) is not
what I had in mind.
As far as spying
is concerned – Damo has suddenly developed the ability to sprint
and is now extremely fit aerobically. Gordon is a different
man, and providing a hamstring strain sustained on holiday
doesn’t hamper his performance, I’ve no doubt he’s a top table
contender this year. Sadly, Alex has a fairly sinister knee
injury which may cause big problems. Jim says he’s done
‘nothing’ but his active MI5 career will mean he’s in good
shape. Pete’s triceps are suddenly huge; the boy will probably
create a Moses effect in the pool. As for Paul, who’s fresh off
the mountain ranges, he’s showing signs of a high red blood cell
count. Martyn’s been ‘down to the club (athletics) most weeks’,
so God help us all. Finally, an injured Rob in 2005 still
produced the goods – this year he’s free of any ailments.
So, who else is
ready to step up to the plate?
|
South Downs Way (SDW) In
A Day
A surprising number of
Superstars were willing to get themselves to Eastbourne at 5am for
the start of this crazy challenge on Sunday 11th June 2006.
The SDW runs pretty much parallel with the South Coast and covers
104 miles between Eastbourne in East Sussex and Winchester in
Hampshire. The official bridle paths along this route climb a
gruesome 13,600ft in total, which is equivalent to the height of
Mont Blanc........... now there's an idea!
In hindsight we would all have benefited from staying in a B&B in
Eastbourne the night before, rather than getting up before dawn to
load bikes onto Jim's Land Rover in Brighton. Charlie and Christian
got off to a far from smooth start in Worthing; crawling out of bed
at 0340hrs. Their bikes had been loaded and locked-up on the car
the night before to aid a 'clean getaway', but disaster struck
halfway to Brighton when Christian realised he'd posted the key for
the bike lock back through the door before leaving! At the cost of
a few points on a driving license and porridge stained upholstery,
the calamity duo managed to rendezvous with Jim, Damo, and Coxy at
0420hrs.
Chasing the rising sun the quintet made it to Paradise Drive in
Eastbourne for 0515hrs. Panic set-in when Jim announced there were
only 9 wheels to accompany the five bikes in the back of his Landy;
sense of humour failure kicked-in when the missing appendage
appeared from the front of the vehicle.
By this time fellow Superstar Ed had arrived with his mate Simon,
having both wisely checked-in to a guest house the night before.
After some last minute stretching, macho comparison of one another’s
bikes, and a check of our food and drink quotas we finally set-off
at 0545hrs. It was clear after only a couple of miles that Ed, the
detail man, hadn't quite grasped the enormity of this challenge and
he certainly hadn't talked it through thoroughly with Simon, who was
already finding the pace a little rapid. With a break-away group
forming we decided to split up, so that Simon and Ed didn’t feel
guilty for holding the others back.
The smaller group of Coxy (Bjorn Borg), Christian (The Sheik), Big
Jim, Damo (The Terrier), and Charlie (No Camelbak) Bonfield, pressed
on and reached Alfriston shortly before 0700hrs and had to ask an
early morning dog walker for directions out of the village.
Charlie, having had is mind set on a water refill at this
check-point, asked the individual where 'The Tap' was; a perfectly
obvious question for a parched cyclist to ask, but a bloody stupid
question to receive if you're out with your dog minding your own
business.
We continued to make good
progress throughout the morning; shovelling energy bars down our
throats and drinking several litres of water, but the summer heat
(31 degrees) took its toll.
Irritating stops (partly
collapsed rear wheel, puncture, calls of nature, and queuing for
water refills) soon added up and it started to look doubtful that
we’d make it to Winchester for the last direct train back along the
South Coast at 1930hrs.
Coxy bailed out at Devils
Dyke, opting for an afternoon on Brighton beach with his missus……..
watching him cycle off was torture.
Charlie held things up
further when he took a work call, but hats off to the man for
attempting to flog a multi-million pound ship to some punter whilst
he tackled a particularly difficult climb.
Spirits lifted when we
rendezvoused with Dan at Washington, where the SDW crosses the A24.
Dan was laden with ice cold chocolate bars, courtesy of his employer
Willy Wonka. Needless to say they didn’t even touch the sides.
All remaining members
were still showing promising signs of strength and pushed on South
of Storrington towards the halfway point at Amberley for 1400hrs.
During a brief lunch break it was time to make a decision on whether
to continue, knowing that if we did make it to Winchester we’d be
getting one of the last trains home via London. Once you commit to
the latter half of this challenge the bailout options are few and
far between in the remote areas of Hampshire.
Common sense prevailed
when Damo, Christian, and Charlie caught the train back home. It
was a good effort to have reached the halfway mark, but it’s fair to
say that they felt slightly cheated that they didn’t attempt the
whole distance.
Jim and Dan cracked-on
and remained together until Dan pulled the ripcord and cycled the
extra 10 miles from the SDW to Petersfield train station. While he
limped back to his house in London, Jim was fearlessly cycling the
last 25 miles of the trail, desperately low on water and seriously
short of daylight. It was a heroic effort by the big man, 16 hours
of cycling in total!
Some crazy nutbar managed
to cycle to full distance in 7 hours earlier in the month whilst
taking part in the British Heart Foundation challenge. So, eager to
have another go, there are plans to attempt it again in September.
This time they’ll do it on a Saturday when there are plenty of
evening trains out of Winchester, having stayed in Eastbourne the
night before, and they also plan to head off in smaller groups – so
as to cut back on stoppage time…………. Watch this space.
|
|
