Don't get a bee in your bonnett

I knew these cycling helmets were a bad idea and on Sunday I found out why. Half way through a fantastic early Saturday morning ride ( chilly but sunny) I heard a strange buzzing noise. It got louder and louder so I had to stop. It was then I realised I had a bee stuck inside my helmet!
I took the helmet off and the bee flew off into the mist unharmed.

I think he was trying to smuggle himself to Monaco!

Water water everywhere

Finally got out for an open water swim on Sunday in the car at 5.15am to be at the lake for 6.00am as I was expecting a queue. I was the only person there! So what is worse a totally deserted lake or a mass start?

We will will find out on Sunday.

Narcissism rules OK!

After so many weeks writing about the team my company intranet decided it was time to write about me!

Chris Bennett: 'call me Ironman'
If you see a cyclist speeding past you on the way to work, a runner sprinting up the mad mile to Banstead or a a wet-suited figure in the Guildford Lido on Tuesday night it is probably Optician’s editor Chris Bennett.For the last eight months Chris has been training to take part in the Monaco Ironman 70.3 triathlon and this has meant up to 17 hours of training a week to be ready for the event.On 2 September Chris will swim 2km in the sea, cycle 90km through the French mountains and then run a half marathon. But this is no fun run and cut-off times mean anyone not completing the course fast enough will be removed from the race.Some might ask what possessed Chris to agree to partake in such a punishing event. Surprisingly, he maintains it's all a matter of professionalism. "Last year optical companies Oakley and Transitions decided they would put together a team of opticians to take part in the event and as Optician is the leading journal in the sector they invited us to cover it," he explains. "The coverage impressed the organisers so much they invited me to become their media partner and cover all the athletes’ progress. After a short time they asked me if I would like to take part in the event and it seemed like a good way of getting into the story."When the coaches explained to Chris that Ironman was a life-changing experience, he didn’t quite understand what they meant. "To be able to compete properly you have to change your diet, your sleeping habits and your lifestyle," says Chris. "Exercise becomes an everyday part of your life and the once-impossible becomes your normality."As a father of three, Chris says time is the tightest commodity. "Trying to fit in all the training takes thought and planning. I have three kids, all with friends and clubs to be taxied to, there are things to do around the house, holidays, plus all of my work commitments to juggle," he says. To illustrate this, he describes an average training week.

Monday: visiting clients during the day. Evening: Lower body and abdominal workout at home.
Tuesday: cycle 12 miles to work and 12 miles back home. Evening: 2.5km swim in Guildford Lido.
Wednesday: cycle to work and run home. Evening: yoga and stretching.
Thursday: 3.6km wetsuit swim in Guildford Lido with training drills in the evening.
Friday: run into work and cycle home. Evening: flexibility training.
Saturday: bike 32km then straight into a 5km run – repeat three times consecutively.
Sunday: one-hour recovery run.
And this is for just half the full Ironman distance - the 70.3 is the distance of the race in miles.Despite the gruelling training schedule, Chris insists the Ironman philosophy improves your whole life. "Ironman is as much about the mental as the physical," he says. "You have to plan your life, family and work to live in harmony. This makes you take a more measured approach to everything."As well as the commercial benefits for Optician, the project has helped the magazine engage its community of readers and develop web 2.0 streams. "Optician invited readers to become part of the Ironman team through the magazine and lots of readers expressed interest. The eventual team member's progress has been followed in the mag and she has become a minor celebrity within optics."At the heart of the coverage is Chris’s team blog, which has been phenomenally successful and, he says, could easily work across markets as a blueprint for other sponsored, third-party blogs for similar events.In fact he believes triathlons could be an ideal event for other RBI magazines to explore as commercial sponsored events. "You would be amazed by the type of people taking part in Ironman events - they are successful business people not sports jocks," he says. "The Monaco 70.3 is sponsored by an investment bank and the participants are intelligent, successful people who use their training to maintain their physical and mental edge. It also has the attraction of including loads of gadgets and travelling to exotic locations. The ethos is all about excellence and achievement in an atmosphere of exclusivity."For Chris, the personal rewards far outweigh the commercial possibilities. "When I first agreed to do the Ironman my concerns were whether I could finish, now I am beginning to think about how good a time I can get. The changes I feel physically and mentally are staggering and I feel empowered by the whole process. My body has changed shape and I have endurance to do things I would never have considered before."But, of course, not everybody shares his enthusiasm. "My partner thinks I’m having a mid-life crisis and have become obsessed with exercise. She nearly fell off her chair when I said no to a beer last week," he says. "All I Know is I feel great, if a little smug, when I hear the ‘young free and singles’ moaning in the lift about how tired they are - it makes me laugh."

WHAT A JOURNEY …….OAKLEY TRANSITIONS AND LYCRA

Conquering some fears:

Swimming in open water wearing a wetsuit in the freezing cold, or in the choppy sea and dirty lakes.
Learning to spot so that it’s possible to go in the correct direct whilst literally tasting both the salt water of the sea and the muddy water whist swimming in the UK lakes!

So many lessons for cycling:

From: what to wear (shorts too padded, not padded enough), Nutrition before, during and after training, what to drink (can be as simple as 100%pure apple juice with water and a pinch of salt).
To: how to assemble, set up and maintain bikes (and break them………managed to snap a rear derailleur) but also hours and hours of sitting on a bicycle up crazy hills with gradients of up to 25% and down steep hills judging when to break.

The running I thought would be ok but trying to run after cycling for 3-4 hours is like having legs that feel as though they belong to someone else, and that they are also in control of these legs.

The UK weather always presents a challenge for the intense training: -frost, rain and also the blazing heat of Monaco, not forgetting the high winds of Futurventura. These are all factors that have to be overcome to dig up that motivation. Oakley Transitions Half Jackets satisfies nearly all of such weather conditions. The rain it seems is still difficult one.

Already I have reached limits of training that I didn’t know I was capable of and I cannot believe. I also feel as though I have someone else’s body (and I think my Husband thinks that too) with muscles that I never knew I had but also sooo many clothes that don’t fit!

And finally one fear and probably the most intimidating of all is ‘the triathlon race suit’…….bright blue ‘spandex’ looking babygrow! An old Gentleman was awaiting his eye examination today as the lycra race gear arrived at work, all I can say is …he was smiling!

The final furlong

Sorry for this being such a low key posting but I have been having major computer problems.

We are all on the final leg of our journey now so I hope everyone is ready. Why not share you final thoughts with the rest of the team?

Chris

Impressed and jealous

DearPablo and Fiona,



You guys are looking fit! I was feeling pretty good with my own training but how am I going to keep up with you two. I am really impressed you should be proud of your acheivements.



Also Pablo I am really jealous of your scenery and your weather. Autumn has arrived early in England, the wind is blowing and the rain is falling I have been riding with my raincoat on this weekend.

THE HARD AND BEAUTIFUL TRIATHLON

A hard day of race, and a incredible place for training.

Different days with the same addiction for them.

GO TO MONACO!!

Pablo.

2 ½ weeks to go and I literally cannot afford to loose any more weight!

Marios training program continues to demand, and the demand I make on my OAKLEY TRANSITIONS are second to none, with the 15hrs training last week these were a unbeatable.......the training went something like this……..

1hr 15 minute swim,
3.5 hr cycle,
1hr 40min run
Another 1hr 15min swim

Plus……..

2 BRICK sessions (brick being either a swim followed by a cycle or cycle directly followed by a run )

1hr swim followed by 1hr 40min cycle

And………
25km cycle followed by 30min run (Repeat this 3 times!!)

About 3 or 4 weeks ago my suits for work were hanging off me (my step son Jake used the words of Vicky Pollard ‘it is well shameful, dressed like that’)
So a few weeks ago I went shopping with my Aunt Pat and brought some new suits but can you believe it, even these are becoming too big!

I thought this weeks schedule may be a little easier …………….only 13-14hrs not 15!

(but the crazy thing is i love .......i'm addicted!)