Saturday, 17 December 2016

2016 the year I became a WORLD CHAMPION!





OK....feeling happy, smug, relieved...tired !

50 years old, bring it on!
This was my first year in my 50s and I wanted it to be memorable and successful. The ultimate plan was to race at Powerman Zofingen, so to come away with a GOLD MEDAL ! and the title of WORLD CHAMPION ! was just the icing on my 50th birthday cake.

January: On the 17th I celebrated my 50th birthday with lots of friends and family.


In work mode, Fitness Pilates anyone?


This month I also became a Fitness Pilates instructor and immediately started teaching it several times per week. I feel the extra core and flexibility work from these classes assisted my training and recovery.








February: Whilst out on one of my solo long winter bike rides I got a puncture, I was proud to change my first roadside inner tube all by myself, in the freezing cold !  Later that month I raced the Peopleton short distance duathlon as part of my early season training where I was first female, 2nd athlete overall, to finish.
Cut glass from Tempo winter series





February was also the last race in the Tempo events winter series, I had completed the series and picked up 2nd female overall for the series. A good start to the year. (see previous post) 




March: Ramped the training up a bit!

April:  My next race was a little more important, the British Championships for standard distance duathlon held at Windsor. I picked up a silver medal, Coming in second to the amazing Gill Fullen., so I was thrilled with this result. (see previous post)
Silver at British Champs
Podium hoggers at Copenhagen

May:  The ETU Long distance duathlon championships in Copenhagen.  This was my first big target this year as I wanted to race well and finish in a good place to qualify for Zofingen later in the year. I was absolutely delighted to pick up a Bronze medal, which was perfect to gain me a place at Zoffingen. It was fantastic to share the podium with fellow Brits Gill Fullen and Kate Morris..GBR podium take over ! (I've only just realised that I didn't blog about this race ! sorry)
Bronze
June:  Training changed for a few weeks following Copenhagen as my next challenge was the ITU Standard distance duathlon championships held at Aviles in Spain. (I had pre qualified for this World Champioinship event as reigning British Champion at this distance the previous year) So as the race distance was a fair bit shorter to Copenhagen I needed to sharpen things up a little. I did two 10 mile TTs this month and clocked 25:50 and 25:54. These were my first ever 10 mile TTs...I really enjoyed it and fancy doing more. I raced really hard at Aviles and could not have gone even one second faster at any point, I came home in 4th place. Close but no cigar ! Not bad for a world championship though. (see previous post)
Trying my best at Aviles

This month I also raced my first 'Fell race' Darrens Dash. Througout all of my training I was keeping a lot of hilly stuff going on both with the running and the cycling as I knew that my main goal this year was Zofingen. At Darrens dash I was 4th female overall and first in age. Happy with that!
I also raced Shifnal half marathon. A challenging multi terrain undulating half marathon. I was thrilled to finish second female overall. I really enjoyed both of these run races.

July: Time to get more miles and more hills back into the bike training. So I did two long hilly sportives, Velo Sportive tour of the Cotswolds and The Malvern Mad Hatter.  I also raced the Wyre Forest half marathon organised by Amazing feet running club. This is  a tough trail half, I really enjoyed this race and it was great prep for Zoff. I was 4th female to finish, 1st in age. (see previous post)
This month I was also part of a relay at Upton Triathlon. I did the 40km bike leg for Team Porridge. I was really pleased with my performance and didn't let the team down.

August: More long hilly rides and runs. I completed another long hilly sportive, the Cotswold Sportive.

RESULT!
GOLD!
September: The main event. Top result !! World long distance duthlon agegroup championships, Zoffingen, Switzerland GOLD ! ....always believing ;) (see previous post)








'You're about to be chicked' at Oulton Park
October: Just for fun! Oulton park standard distance duathlon, and agegroup qualifying race. I thought I would pop along and have a little race whilst I had so much training in my legs! Happy with 2nd in age, faster than when I race this course 2 years ago.


This month I also took on the inaugural Storm the Fort long distance duathlon. I was delighted to finish first female at this brutal, but brilliant event ! (see previous post)
Delighted to win as I cross the finish line at Storm the Fort!

What a year of achievement! My best yet. A great medal haul...all my hard work, dedication and commitment has paid off.

£300 of 2xu goodies
Could live in this stuff!
November: A great bonus happened this month. I was the lucky winner of £300 worth of 2XU compression clothing and a fabulous triathlon bag. This was courtesy of My Challenge HQ, take a look at their recently revamped website and follow them on facebook. A great place to find new challenges and share some general race chat. I was obviously over the moon to receive this, I've made great use of all of it already. Thanks again Charlie and co at My Challenge.



December: I was extremely flattered to pick up the new award of 'Club Ambassador' at Malvern Triathlon Club annual awards dinner in December. Thank you all so much for this special title.
And special thanks once again to Ron and Neill for their generous and valuable help and (in Ron's case) patience!
Club Ambassador. With Roger and Sarah, Vice Chair and Chair. 


I'm feeling successful ! but not finished....I feel there is more to come and I am not about to hang up my trainers or sell any of my bikes just yet...
...however.....I feel that I now need to get up close and personal once again with my wet suit. Bring on 2017 ...the year I intend to sort this swim lark out and revert to Triathlon training and racing....watch this space.

Signing off for 2016,

Vikki Sivertsen World Champion.

Friday, 14 October 2016

STORM THE FORT.


STORM THE FORT LONG DISTANCE DUATHLON
20km Multi terrain run, 100km road bike, 11km road run.

Saturday 9th October 2016, the inaugural ‘Storm the Fort’ long distance duathlon based at Clun in Shropshire. Tagged ‘The UKs toughest Duathlon’

Two things drew me into entering this race,
1) tough long distance duathlon,
2) based in my home county of Shropshire.

At £75.00 entry fee I also thought that this race was pretty good value for money as long course races don’t come cheap.
Organised by 3 local multisport athletes who also organise the now well known ‘Storm the Castle’ in Ludlow, Shropshire. These fellas love what they do, they are very passionate about the sport and their events.


You could register the day before the race so this seemed like a great opportunity to get over to the beautiful Shropshire countryside and spend the afternoon driving and walking the routes. Such a friendly little place, we met some lovely people in and around Clun.
Spotted in Clun the day before the race..I took a good shovelful out.
I would recommend the The old Wheelwrights bed and breakfast where Annie made us very welcome and gave us a hearty pack up as we had to get up on race day too early for breakfast. Also if you are in the area and need a good evening meal you will definitely not go away hungry from the Crown at Clunton, a community pub.  I did some serious carb loading here the night before the race!

Race morning. Bike racking in the dark, eugh. However the sun was shining on me as a guy from True start performance coffee was handing out free coffee in transition…This was now already the best duathlon I had ever done!

Run 1, 20km
Running with Alan, from Manchester.
After a short loop around the village we headed off past transition and up a road that lead to the woods. The course was challenging, we seemed to be running up up up for ever! Eventually you reach the top of the Bury Ditches Hill fort, where you collect a wrist band to prove you’ve been all the way up, then run down through a grassy area back into the woods, (collecting another wrist band at the out and back point, then eventually back to transition. It was a really tough run, I had couple of little walk breaks knowing I had still got a long day ahead of me. I ran some of the way with a really friendly chap, Alan, from Manchester. 
The ford, on both run routes.

The course takes you past the water/feed station several times, the marshals on route were very friendly and supportive. I had planned on 2 hours for this challenging course so was pleased to come in under my prediction, 1:53:09 which also includes T1.





Bike 92 km
Top of the Kerry Climb and Bottle exchange.
The course was originally 100km but a fairly substantial stretch of roadworks meant the organisers thought is best to alter the route for race day, cutting down on the kilometres from 100 to 92 but adding a fair few meters to the elevation! On paper the elevation and profile of this bike leg does not look horrendous, challenging, leg sapping, brutal, but trust me, it is. You start with a 1 and half mile cat 4 climb out of Clun, then things settle down until you get to Kerry, where you have to endure a 2-3 mile cat 3 climb up to the car park where marshals were on hand to hand offer fresh bottles of energy drink, water and gels. The views here really are stunning. 
The descent is long and fast. I was overtaken by a young female rider at this point who disappeared into the distance. I wondered if she was super-fast or had I slowed down a lot? Luckily for me I found out later that she was part of a relay team and was not doing either of the runs! She was also very fast! After this long descent you return to Clun, (I was feeling pretty good at this point) plenty of supporters in town now, but then this is where the fun begins!
Turn right by the bridge in Clun
 Turn right in clun and the road goes straight up and then into a double leg sapping climb (one cat 3 the other cat 4 with minimum recovery in between) taking you from New Invention to Knighton, this is a really tough part of the ride. When driving the route you get to this point and you would be forgiven to think that after the double climb it will then be TT’ing all the way back to Clun and into T2, However in reality you have so little left in your legs that this is not quite the case and it becomes a mental battle to try to keep a pace on to get to the end! I was really pleased with myself as I overtook 4 men on this part of the course. I fuelled the ride on bitesize pieces of Meridian Peanut butter wholemeal wraps stored in my top tube bag! As well as energy drink. A method  I used in Zofingen.

I really wasn’t sure how much or how little clothing to wear for this race. I opted for tri shorts, short sleeved base layer under a sort sleeved cycle top and arm warmers.  I got really hot on the climbs, but then really cold on the descents and flats.

Zoffingen aside this is definitely the hardest bike course I have ever done in a duathlon…
I had anticipated 3 and a half hours for this bike leg based on seeing the profile, but I was just over that in 3:38:49 (inlcudes T2) I wasn’t disappointed!
T2 was a welcome site, just the run to go.

Run 2
In transition I had to sit to change my shoes! A super fast guy had just finished the race and told me that this second run was really tough and he found it really hard….great, cheers mate., just what I wanted to hear right now.
However he was right! It’s starts with an uphill out and back, up towards the woods again but a turnaround point to go back down the road, loop around the ‘not flat’ village, back past transition and repeat the whole thing for a second lap taking the distance between 11 and 12 Km.
Clun castle ruins, on both run routes.

 People were fading fast on this run. I saw people on the first lap that hardly seemed to have progressed by the time I saw them again on the second lap.  It was the stuff that makes grown men cry.  My feet were numb and I just wanted the race to end. I did the first lap with Sarah from Malvern, she was running the last leg for a relay team and was good company, she talked a lot which distracted me from the pain and suffering. She pulled away on the second lap. Once again there was great encouragement from the marshals on this final part of the race, and locals around the village were also very supportive. We passed the water station twice.
The tiny bowling club hut on both run routes.

During this run I had no idea of the time of day or how long I had been running as the battery had run out on my sports watch.  I do believe this course was a little further than advertised though ..somewhere between 11 and 12 km…

My time 1:03:32 again all things (for things read hills) considered I was pleased with this.



Finish
I came into the finish area, to the announcer calling my name out and announcing me as first lady. Fantastic !
Six hours 35 minuntes 30 seconds.  I was really pleased with this as I had sort of thought I would be around 7 hours. I think racing Zofingen last month helped, it gave me a lot of long course experience in pacing, and mental strength helping me get to the finish in a strong place.
Start easy, finish strong.

As always Ron was there at the finish, he had been busy all day supporting me at various points on the routes, I was so pleased to cross the finish line and see him there.

Post race there were Danish pastries, sausage rolls, water
Bottle opener disguised as a medal
Cheers
A great medal……
that also doubles up as a bottle opener
A bottle of well earned Storm the fort Beer, to check that the bottle opener works








A t shirt….even extra small for the ladies

Prize giving was inside,
 I picked up a trophy for First lady over all
Prizes from Race director Dermot
First lady trophy
First female vet trophy

And a trophy for first female veteran !











What a fantastic race and result to end my season.
This is right up there with one of the best races I have ever done.
The UKs toughest long course duathlon?……well, it’s got to be right up there and listening and reading  reports from the other athletes that raced this and other similar courses I know they would agree.

Dermot and co….It was Brilliant, Beautiful and Brutal…..not necessarily in that order !
After racing Powerman Zofingen (Switzerland) I would describe this race as Zofingens little sister. Two months before Zoffingen would be great timing for this race as a warm up event. It would be great to see this race become Powerman UK.

#stormthefort
#stormthecastle
#duathlon
#runbikerun
#powerman


Wednesday, 7 September 2016

Powerman Zofingen, long distantce duathlon World Championships 2016.



It's been a long time coming !
I had an idea whilst out riding my bike one day a couple of years ago. I wanted a big challenge for the year I was 50, An Ironman would've been the obvious choice but I was tired of trying of making no progress with my swimming. 'I'm a duathlete, why not aim for Powerman Zofingen.?'
Powerman Zofingen, Switzerland is an iconic race and has reputation for its level of difficulty. It is to duathlon what Kona is to Ironman. Mark Allen, 6 x Ironman winner at Kona, described it as 'The greatest race in the world' and said it was the hardest race he has ever done. The race consists of a 10km run, 150km bike, 30km run. Both runs are mostly off road through forest trails and very hilly. The bike leg is 3 laps of a very beautiful but stupidly hilly course....whats not to like?
(history of Powerman Zofingen)
You can enter the 'open' race, or you can prove good performance at long distance and represent your country in the ITU race......for me there was only one option I was interested in.

So, I needed to qualify.

I needed to move from Sprint, to standard, to long distance. The ball really started rolling with me competing in the London duathlon, Ultra distance. (See previous post) I raced well and won the ladies race which 'qualified' me for Powerman Copenhagen 2016, the European long distance duathlon championships, however,  the distances are shorter than the worlds: 10km, 60km, 10km. I raced well and picked up a bronze medal, and used this result to qualify me for the world championships in Zofingen, Switzerland.
Training planner.
So with a lot of hard work, commitment and consistent training my plan had fallen into place, now to up the training, again, even more commitment and consistent training... Hills, hills and more hills, with hilly runs after hilly bike rides. Hill reps running, hill reps cycling. Local Malvern hills, hilly trail half marathons in Shropshire and the Wyre forest, a taste of fell running,  hilly sportives around Malvern and the Cotswolds. Practicing my descending as well as my climbing. Experimenting with my nutrition plans for the race (ie eating peanut butter wraps on long bike rides) and practicing cycling 100 miles in a tri suit with very little padding, therefore also testing various chamois creams.



Emma Pooley Elite.

Race Day, Sunday 4th September. The 28th Powerman Zofingen. 

Bike racking was at 6.30am....more coffee please.
All women, including Elites, of which the top 10 were called forward to the start line and introduced, had an 8am start, with the men following an hour later.
'Come on Emma Pooley' this was her 3rd year of racing this event, could she defend her winning streak  for a third time?
I wish it was a 2 piece suite



Pre start:
Multiple loo visits, the applying of copious amounts of chamois cream every time too! A minimal warm up, which really consisted of dynamic stretches and just a short pulse raiser. And the usual nervous chit chat among the GB ladies. According to the announcer the temperature at 8am was already 18 degrees.







Run 1 (10k, elevation nearly 900ft)
An immediate up hill start from the town (the gradient was a bit like the start of the path that runs up to the Worcestershire beacon !) and into the forest onto the trails,  2.5km of uphill running. 2.5km of down hill running, and repeat ! I had been advised by everyone, everyone, to hold back on this first run. 'Use it as a warm up. There is a long day ahead'. So I held back, a lot, In hindsight, a bit too much. But, better than going out too fast. by the end of this I felt happy and excited, but already very warm !



Bike (150k, elevation getting on for 7000 ft)
I didn't rush transition, at this point in the race it seemed more sensible to me  if I stayed calm for the start of the bike. Again advice from everyone was to take at least the first lap very easy, if not the first 2 laps, as the 'race' doesn't really start until the 3rd lap of the bike, and then there is the killer run still to come. So, I took the advice and really held back. Again, in hindsight, probably a bit too much. However this course is hilly. There are 3 significant climbs.

The first climb comes after about 5 miles an is the 'Richenthal,' it's a category 4 climb and is 3 miles in total. The descent is fast and a little twisty at bottom with temporary traffic lights/chicane to negotiate. At about 13 miles is the most significant hill. The Bodenberg. (various spellings!) its a category 3 climb and in total goes on for 2.5  miles. It's in 2 parts, there was a race commentator with timing and PR system at the top of the first bit. There is a very welcome food/drink/aid station at the top of the second part. The views are spectacular. Lots of cows with the cowbells clanging (just like my Spin classes) and groups of encouraging spectators. It's a challenging climb with a challenging descent, a little twisty with some steep kick ups, some sections with barriers on the bends with drop offs to the sides. 
(The countryside is so well manicured a lot of it looks like Telly Tubby land.) 
Tellytubbies
There is then a few fast miles before the 3rd significant climb, 'Zoffingerstrasse', this is a category 4 climb through a forest area that zigzags up for about a mile. Again several groups of encouraging spectators.
3 laps of this!
Lap 1. I took note of the landscape and scenery and any significant landmarks that I may need later when I'm tired and need reassurance. A noticeable one for me was 'Heidi Coiffure', on the side of a barn at the start of the Richentahl! (my eldest daughter is called Heidi, but I knew it wasn't really her salon as she's not a hairdresser and shes not Swiss!)
Hi Heidi
 I probably took the whole lap at conversational pace, still not sure if this was too slow or not but again thought it better than going too fast. Back in the town and I wanted to throw my water bottle and pick up another....It didn't happen, (Matt Downes I thought of you and your IM race report) I reached the feed station just as the lead man was coming through, very fast, with a car following him and beeping its horn to clear the way, I got a bit freaked out by this and totally missed all the bottles, this bothered me as I had limited Hi 5 left in my bottle and then proceeded to swear and worry all the way to the top of the Bodenburg (about another 15 miles) where I knew there would be another chance to grab a full bottle.

Lap 2. Ok, lets get on with this. I now know the course and none of the climbs worry me, I just need to be cautious (I'm a vertigo sufferer) on parts of the descents. I picked up the pace and put in a much faster lap. So much that I confused Jon  Cowell, the GB team manager, as he was making a list of peoples lap times and positions ! He thought he'd missed several athletes when I came through! This time I nailed the bottle drop exchange !

Lap 3. Two bottle changes on this lap and all was well. As I got to the top of the Bodenburg for the third time the race commentator announced my name and told me I was in first place in my age group....I kind of knew this but it was good to have confirmation. Once again the climbs gave me no trouble, I was still seated for the whole lap, I hadn't had to get out of the saddle for the entire 150km bike leg. (again in hindsight maybe I should've stood for some climbing to rest my quads) My shoulders and neck were starting to ache a bit towards the end of this lap, I thought I was riding the descents and straights as fast as lap two, however checking the stats later this was definitely not the case !! I finished the ride happy, and glad to be getting out of the saddle and to start running.

Again I didn't rush transition, I've been getting a bit dizzy after long bike rides so thought it more sensible to focus and not rush.

Run 2, elevation around 2,500 ft 
The course is out and back and consists of two 15km laps over hilly forest trail. There is a turnaround point at the top of the hill at 7.5km , lots of spectators and another PA system here. Lots of places where you see other athletes running in the opposite direction. It's not boring! Lots of turns, lots of competitors everywhere, some walking, some running, some standing still, some cramping. At 15km you arrive back in transition, you are then cruelly guided through tape right up the the finish gantry, made to run around a cone, and head off to run the whole 15km lap a second time!

Lap 1: I started running well. Legs were working. I thought I'd got this in the bag. I'm running down a steep bit and see Emma Pooley walking up it in the opposite direction. She was proceeded by a mountain bike so I realised she was in first place and probably heading to the finish. I shouted encouragement to her as did the other GB athletes.  She didn't say anything, I think she was crying. By all accounts talking to others later this is normal, she cries. Towards the end of the first lap on the descent to transition my quads started to really burn. I needed a wee too. I couldn't face any more water or energy drink so was opting for Cocoa cola (Neill Williamson told me this would happen!) I ran through transition and up to the tease of the finish gantry, just as the elite women were preparing to step onto the podium to collect their medals, I could see Emma Pooley ready to get onto the 1st place step. I shouted congratulations to her as I ran right past and she gave me a big wave and a smile. On the way out of this area to the start of the second lap there was a toilet, I took the opportunity, and stepped in, as I sat on the throne the national anthem started playing for Emma!! This really amused me.
Image result for union flag
All please stand for the national anthem
I started the second lap, and for a few minutes felt ok. However, by the time I got to the top again I knew it was going to be a slower lap. My quads were on fire and every incline was an effort. The downhill running was very painful. However I teamed up with a guy from GB who was running/walking at a similar pace and we pretty much egged each other on. I saw lots of GB athletes in each direction and everyone was encouraging each other. We were all in the pain cave together. It started to rain, which was perfect timing, it felt wonderful! I saw people shuffling, walking, and some just standing still, staring into space! The relief coming back into transition and the finish area was indescribable. Jon Cowells wife reached over and handed me a little Union Jack flag to cross the finish line with.
I've done it!!

 Ron was there at the finish waiting, I was sooooo pleased to see him. I was exhausted and emotional. I asked him if I had gone under 9 hours, (before the race I thought I would probably take about 9 hours) He said 'No, I'm sorry its about 9 hrs 20 mins', and my facial expression dropped, 'but', he said,

                                                           'you are a World Champion'

Gold 50-54 age group
Post race.
There was pasta and cake to eat and Erdinger Alkoholfrei. The GB team all gathered together desperate to share stories and congratulate each other.
We saw Emma Pooley, I told her my national anthem/toilet story ! she seemed amused and said that she too had used that loo in between run laps haha!!



After a quick shower it was onto the post race award ceremony and celebrations. GBR picked up 3 golds, a silver and 2 bronze. Camaraderie was fantastic. I'm sure a bond was formed between all GBR athletes that day.







 According to our team manager this year saw the biggest GB team take on this iconic race, and this year each one of the team finished. Times were generally all a bit down on last year so possibly the humidity played a factor here. This race is extremely well organised. The marshals out on the course of both runs and bike really were excellent . It is a fantastic event to be a part of. The ultimate in duathlon racing.

Team GB Zofingen 2016


THANK YOU
To Ron, obviously, the other half of this success. And also to Neill Williamson.
Mission accomplished.




Thursday, 30 June 2016

#theTLCeffect

So what is the TLC effect?

This week I have  been showcasing TLC sports 'figure firming leggings' in my Fitness Pilates classes.
A full length compression tight in mat black. The most flattering tight I have ever worn.
These tights are great. The material is completely opaque....yes even when in a deep squat ! (these things need to be checked!)

They fit like a second skin and hold everything in.
The high waistband eliminates muffin top, leaving a smooth line down the sides of the body. The figure firming material lifts the bottom and firms the thighs, giving the effect of slimmer longer legs. They also hold the tummy in flatter. I am confident wearing them with just a crop top as well as with tight fitting gym vests etc over the top.
before
after
Check out the slimmer waistline
 #theTLCeffect

before
before


See the muffin top in these 'before' pictures, eliminated with the higher figure firming waistband in the 'after' pictures below.
#theTLCeffect
The plain black means I can wear them with any of my colourful fitness vests, T shirts or hoodies.
after
after
They feel so comforting when you put them on. TLC sport may have once stood for The Leotard Company but Tender Loving Care seems more applicable to these fab tights. I love the compression and supportive feeling and find them useful to wear when my legs are tired or struggling with a bit of DOMS.






before
after
Check out the the bum lift and flatter tummy !!


I spend 95% of my life dressed in sports wear. Not only do I choose to cycle and run in my spare time but I spend approximately 20 hours per week teaching group exercise. These classes range from Aquafit to PowerHoop, to Studio cycling and Body Pump. I get through a lot of exercise clothing!! Obviously I need my work wear to be practical, but it is also very important to me to wear clothing I feel is flattering as I am 'on show' to up to 200 people per week....mostly women. I often get asked where I get my gym wear from.

TLC sport have over 25 years experience of providing sports and gym wear for women..Style and quality are the two main words I use when telling class participants about their products. I've had no end of their products over the years and always get excited when their latest catalogue arrives on my door mat.

@TLCsport

Look for #theTLCeffect on twitter.