A PERSONAL STORY THIS IS THE IRONMAN

Ironed out to Ironman

If people had never read my AS blog I probably would not have written another one but with 5000 hits,  my rheumatologist having the link on his website and a few people asking for me to send it to them for inspiration for loved ones who have been diagnosed with related conditions and AS here I go again! 
living with AS  http://nass.co.uk/living-with-as

My first blog for those who have not read it is below


http://7blake.blogspot.com/2013/12/ankylosing-spondylitis-my-story.html

After finishing the Vitruvian (half ironman) in August 2013 I knew there was still fuel in the tank and the desire was still burning to become an Ironman. My spine was fine due to being suppressed by the clinical trial drug but my wrists have been my main concern.  I have been on steroids off and on and methotreyate but they still cause me considerable pain especially after long bike rides due to my gripping the handle bars.  I decided that there must be a way to counteract some of this pain and fitted aero bars which has helped considerably.  These are used by triathletes and help take the stress off my wrists.  

I entered Ironman Zurich in December 2013.  The training I estimated after taking into consideration looking after 3 kids, working nights, coaching my twin boys under 8s football team (which I absolutely love) 10-15 hours a week should just get me to the finish line. It was hard and very tiring but I loved it.  I train most days anyway and my weekly 10km run increased to 16km and bike rides ranged from 30-50km (even treated myself to bike shoes!).  I had, believe it or not, completed an half ironman in running trainers!  Lots of online research and motivation from YouTube   http://youtu.be/dF7k1Dw2A7w     I must have watched 100 times.  I was going to join a triathlon club but football training and matches to organise for the U8s team at weekends this was very difficult.  I had come this far training alone could I go the whole way on my own?

My wife and I travelled to Zurich 3 days before I was due to compete in the Ironman and the hotel which we were staying in was full of people racing on the Sunday.  I became friends with Greg & Simon both had done the long distance but not the Ironman brand.  Great fellas and we spent the three days back and forth to the event village.  I could tell that they were as nervous as me and this Ironman business meant a great deal to them and everyone taking part.  Years of preparation, training to build up an endurance level to complete the 140.6 miles in total.

Race Day

It was an early 4am start for breakfast.  You could see fear and excitement of the unknown in everyone’s eyes as they queued for breakfast.  2,600 people had entered and for the first time it was a 3 wave swim start with the elite starting first.  I had already planned to be at the back of the 2^nd wave.  Why? Here is why:

http://7blake.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/open-water-swim-heeeeeeeeeeelp.html

That experience had prepared me for what was to come.  There wasn’t any room to swing a cat out there on the lake and it was very choppy.  I found a good rhythm but space in the water was minimal.  I was feeling very relaxed.  The swim took me 1hour 31 mins, which was 6 minutes better than my last 2 times of 3.8km.  The cut off time for the swim section was 2hours 20 mins.  I knew I was always going to make that cut off.

Bike

This is my Achilles heal.  I can’t seem to generate power and my average is around 14mph.  A quick calculation meant that the 10 hour swim/bike cut-off was going to be tight.  I passed a woman on a slight incline and I felt for her as her bike [        ].  It looked like all the years of training was over for the lady.  That’s the small margin we work towards a mechanical breakdown and there goes your race.

Just after I passed her I felt my front type pop.  With my slow bike time this looked it could be curtains for me too.  A marshal called the “bike doctor” but I had already started replacing the tube.  It was the first time ever in 2 years of riding my Scott speedster that this had ever happened.  30 minutes later I was up and running and back on the bike.  The 10 hour cut-off time was going to be really tight.  The Beast (a hill with a 4km climb) was everything they said it was going to be and Heartbreak (1km climb) wasn’t much better!  I was approached by a marshal informing me that they didn’t think I would make the cut-off time and to stop and accept a lift back.  I told him that I hadn’t travelled all this way to sit in the back of the van [OR WORDS TO THAT AFFECT!!!].  I think he got the message !  I am glad that I did as I completed the bike section with 15 mins to spare.

Marathon

I had 6 hours in which to complete the marathon something that I had never done.  The longest distant I had ran in training was 18 miles and have taken part in three half marathons but I felt strong as an ox.  This meant a lot to me to finish an ironman. With my condition it is not an everyday occurrence plus I had bought my three children Ironman t-shirts and there was no way I would let them wear them if I hadn’t finished the race so off I ran.  I actually overtook people which is a first.  Fuelled by the desire, passion, emotion I felt sick. This was due to the vast amount of sickly sugary energy drinks which I had  taken in  to replenish fuel.

I knew I was on course for a finish and the final turn meant 3km to go.  I started to run/walk as I had been for the last 13ish miles.  I wasn’t bothered on the finished time I just wanted to finish.  The cut-off to finish was under 16 hours and I crossed the line completing the Ironman in 15 hours 55 mins and 45 seconds.  I had become an Ironman! My wife was in floods of tears only she knows my struggle with my AS, the mornings when I cannot even open the milk, my moods when I can’t train due to the fatigue associated with this condition.  She has stood by my side throughout and went back to work full time so I could go part-time as a London Cab Driver and look after the kids.  I do not know where my condition will take me but I will always be an IRONMAN!  Pictures below of the clinical trials team, Tommy my sports masseur and Ian Cowell my physio.

The boss, Professor Hassan Tahir, who has been the man responsible for my being able to physically complete my “nutty” races as he called it. 

What next?..... Marble Arch to Arch de Triumph cycle is a must, a quadrathalon (swim-kayak-bike-run), join RE Active race team if they will have me! A definite for next year condition allowing.

Of course there is always another Ironman - I would never rule it out (I DON’T THINK SO ITS TOO STRESSFUL said my wife!)


http://7blake.blogspot.co.uk/

Here my end quotes:

I do it because I can

I can because I want to

I want to because you said I couldn’t !

Previous races:

Roding Valley Half Marathon

Wiggle Kilo to go 100 mile cycle

3.8km RG Active swim

3.8k Dartford Tunnel Triathlon 

2km    3 lakes swim 

TOBI PUTS US 3-2 UP ONLY FOR BFC TO EQUALISE WITH THERE OWN PENALTY

http://youtu.be/lKdPo6KNzFc

BATTLE OF THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE !!

Another battling display from BHFC black against a tough Rudi Perez team in challenging conditions for 9 year olds .We  went 1-0 down early on but T.Blake equalized after 20 mins from a great pass from Nathan W. A  little lapse in concentration saw us go 2-1 down , but we battled hard and seem to be taking our defensive responsibility,s more seriously of late . We rotated quite a lot during the game but tried to keep the defense tight but because of the atrocious conditions  we were dropping like flies with Faith & Joe asking to come off. A penalty to us late in the 2 nd half I thought had gave us that illusive win against BFC but a late penalty for them again made the two teams hard to separate . May have to have a re think with weather at the minute as I had planned three friendly over the next 3 weeks but may have to move them indoors to a Futsal court. I try to be as fair to everyone as I can but on looking through my stats on goals player % on pitch & man of matchs over the season I had realized the only player who hadn't recieved one in a league game this season was my son !!! Tobi. May be the right time after today s Hatrick following on from a hatrick last week to give him the gong this week think he deserves it well done Tobi B  I am awaiting to see if we need to book the open top bus !!!


GOALS TOBI .B (20, 35,PEN  50)


ASSISTS NATHAN W   COBIE M


CAPT TOBI B


MAN OF MATCH TOBI B


TOBI PUTS BHFC BLACK 3-2 UP ONLY FOR BFC TO EQUALISE
http://youtu.be/lKdPo6KNzFc

A week in Futsal

Our first week playing Futsal friendly's went really well and the kids are hooked, most have now received there Futsal Club Roding kit we have a few pairs of shorts missing but they should arrive next week, we currently have 20 that have purchased the kit. We played against Horndon Yfc on Monday had to endure the  A127 but a great little work out for us we had 9 players  attend and we played up a year against there u/10s and thought we faired really well playing some nice football whoops FUTSAL !! Horndon were great hosts and a pleasure to meet and we will definitely be arranging other games with them. Saturday we visited the score centre in Leyton perfect for me as a Leyton Orient season ticket holder training was cancelled on the Saturday and we took 2 teams to play a mixture of u/8s and u/9 u/10s. Again the kids loved it and it was great to them all in there FC RODING kits . Carlos who runs CM  FUTSAL was another great host and made us really welcome and with me regularly attending Orient games and the score centre being just across the road from the ground pitches always available on a Saturday lunch time we will be making this a regular fixture. With the weather not looking to good at the minute muddy pitches games and training being cancelled im sure we will be playing a lot more Futsal over the coming months makes perfect sense. Our Friday nights are now up and running 12 attended last week and we are looking to put another team together for those who attend regular training playing in house games and friendlies .I'm in the process of arranging a game against LOASS through our kit man Richard at the football and cricket store in Woodford . So has been a really good week for us the kids loved it parents have been supportive and I've met some really nice people and progressive coaches, Carlos who is also a Leyton Orient academy coach who has played Futsal at a high level has also offered to come down to our Monday session to pass on his knowledge so the kids will learn as will me Trevor & Jake the more we learn the more we can pass on so as delboy said EVERYONES A WINNER  I would also like to thank Dave Durham who stepped in at late notice to cover Trevor who was at the Futsal conference at St Georges park always a pleasure Dave not a bad fella either !!! First home league win of the season for the mighty OS as well  so all in all a fantastic day   enjoy your Sunday .

Earl specialisation again !

My dad when my  my twin boys  had reached 3  said to me " I cant wait until they start playing football" my reply was who says they're going to want to play football!?.. Research has told us that only in Gymnastics does early specialisation work. I brought up at a coaching CPD, recently when the subject came up about our  better players were also our better goalkeepers .Is it just coincidence that 5 of our players are also good at  cross country and have just been picked for the touch rugby team ? As a father of twin boys and an 11 year old girl  I want them to sample different sports I took up triathlon at 42 and sampled an Israeli martial art called Krav Maga at 45 for one & half years and has enriched  my knowledge of other training methods. Let nature take its course !
















http://stevenashyb.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/the-race-to-nowhere-in-youth-sports/


Ill do a part two on this to explain why we can use Rugby drills in football importance of understanding  core muscles and a few examples of athletes that have gone on to become world and Olympic champions in 2 different sports

Crossbar touchline communicate different sport same principle

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-2493665/Sir-Clive-Woodward-England-v-Argentina-preview.html


I contacted Dr Sherylle Calder — who has a PhD in sports science and specialises in improving hand-eye coordination and developing peripheral vision — and she showed that everyone was watching the ball instead of the space.
We created a system which we called ‘CTC’ — which stands for crossbar, touchline, communicate — and the idea was to get every player thinking about space and scanning. To scan or play with your heads up you look at the crossbar first, then either touchline and then communicate to the player next to you. It is a way to coach the players to find space.

IVE NEVER POSTED ANYTHING MUSICAL SO HERE GOES !

http://www.mixcloud.com/nathanblake7/nathan-blake-tony-lee-live-hollands-shenfield-2010/


We recorded this a live  few years ago  at Hollands in Shenfield  Myself and Tony Lee live on the decks ! one for the old soul boys

Probably my whole philosophy in one article

“[Futsal] is played in all Brazilian football academies, and is part of what distinguishes coaching in the country, where the biggest fear is over-coaching its next generation of boys and girls, not under-coaching them. Coaches are discouraged from giving players formal positions until they are 14. Talent is allowed to breathe, to find its natural path in games such as futsal. From the age of seven to 12, young players tackle futsal three days a week.”










http://www.joeybarton.com/football-futsal-future/

THE GERMAN CAT !! BEST DAY IN MY TWO YEARS OF COACHING KIDS

SOME TIMES YOU WIN SOMETIMES YOU LEARN !
AFTER A BAD DAY AT THE OFFICE ON SATURDAY WE DUG IN
& WE LEARNT FROM OUR MISTAKES, TODAY WAS A RESULT
OF TWO YEARS OF HARD WORK BY PARENTS /CHILDREN
& OPITIMISES MY BELIEF ON HOW THE GAME SHOULD BE PLAYED
#EMOTIONAL






http://youtu.be/nSxeFSb3VEM

WE ARE NOW STARTING OUR 2ND NIGHT OF FUTSAL ON A FRIDAY IN CHIGWELL ESSEX CONTACT tkgrinsted@yahoo.co.uk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubrOBZeZH7Q

BHFC SUFFER 2ND HALF "BLACK"OUT!

Definitely a game of two half's against a very drilled Danny Steed side who are always a pleasure to play (just wish I could get a result)!!!. We started brightly enough playing some nice football and our pass &  move which has become a great feature in our game largely down to playing  Futsal  for the last 3 months so lots of positives to take from the trip up the A10!. We went one up  through a nice passage of play  only for the home team to equalise and then go into the break 2-1 up. If Carlsberg did 2nd half's then  this was one to forget we seem to fall like a pack of cards and it was the same last week  but I always like to see the positives then revert back to the negatives. Ability isn't the issue so a lot easier for me to fix  we are all comfortable on the ball its all down to tracking back to defend and following the ball not the man ,HERES A SOLUTION




http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-2493665/Sir-Clive-Woodward-England-v-Argentina-preview.html










 which I've said before I've seen players in the premiership do earning 60.000 a week . So back to the drawing board in training we will get this right , also hoping to get other coaches in every so often im not proud I just want to get it right and sometimes another voice or a different approach is needed to go forward. We also have to realise that the team we played today are in the 2nd tier of ten leagues and wont play too many teams of there ilk in our league or the league above  so there was no disgrace to lose to them I just think we contributed to our own downfall. No time to lick our wounds Parkview up next and an important league game  so #letshavit!!!
away and our  first FUTSAL fixture against HORNDON YFC on Monday , then a 2nd quick FUTSAL fixture @ the score centre Leyton for a 1300 kick off on the 22nd.


GOALS T.BLAKE H.PORTER


ASSISTS J.REGAN DOUBLE J


CAPT N.BLAKE

AN EMAIL FROM AN OPPOSITION MANAGER

BHFC U/9 BLACK 3-4#######

OPPOSITION VIEW

Always nice to link up with BHFC Blacks and coach Blake who’s dedication to the development of his players is plain to see.  A game of 3 periods it certainly was, with the first 17 minutes clearly seeing us struggle to get hold of the ball and out our own half.  BHFC played some lovely football in that first period, moving the ball around effortlessly with vision, and the ball landing at feet which was very impressive to watch indeed.  A great advert for futsal if ever there was one !.  I felt we were much improved in the second period which was evident by the fact we started to move the ball around a little better and make some inroads in the oppositions half.  Two teams who compete very well for the ball made for a great game to watch and when we got our first goal felt it gave us some confidence to go on and improve further.  With it being a development game its an ideal opportunity to try out new things and ‘encourage’ for one for the better word players to rotate around.  I emphasis the word encourage as with my bunch they don't take too well to be moved outside of what they deem to be their preferred position, and will naturally gravitate to where they feel most comfortable playing.  I felt the game was pretty even at this point with us being a little more opportune in exploiting some of the space in the middle of the park.  I have to say the finishing today was fantastic with some very nicely worked goals by both teams, especially those free kicks !.  Coach Blake obviously doing a good job with BHFC Blacks as they look a very well balanced side with very capable players all over the pitch.  Special mention goes to number 12, Faith, who oozes in abundance everything that is deemed special about a player at this age.  She plays with superb spatial awareness, and a desire and competitive edge which you can actually see on her face as she goes in for a challenge, which doesn't stop with her winning the ball as she then looks to use it in the most effective way.

 

Good luck for the rest of the season and look forward to seeing you soon

 

Rudi  -  U9 S

GOALS   N.BLAKE 2  MITCH P

ASSISTS    RICKY F 2

MOM N.BLAKE

TEAM MANAGERS J.REGAN . MITCH P

GERMAN ON FIRE !

BHFC 2-1 ########




A dull wet Sunday morning was brightened up by a superb end to end game in a super competitive Norfolk Division match.  Ricky F and Mitchell P had their second spell in phase 1 as a defensive pairing and held firm throughout.  With Mitchell getting more vocal by the game, strong as an ox and his pass completion was second to none.  The Fig, another one of our physically stronger players, was also bang on the money.  With Faith sitting in the pivotal diamond position it allows our defensive two to go forward with the ball.  The away team found the net on 10 minutes but Black scored an equaliser from a corner beautifully as usual executed by Nathan B into the right area for Tobi to pounce on the loose ball to even it up.  The away team were good in attack and caused us lots of problems but Coby M, captain for the day, was having a fantastic game in goal.  Dominating his box and four times  kept us in the game with outstanding shot-stopping saves.  Both sides were piling on the pressure end to end.  Joe R hit the bar with a wonderful left-footed strike and both the Tobi & Nathan hit the up-right.  The winning goal was straight off the futsal court.  As Faith broke up play, attacked and played wide to Nathan B who took a touch, looked up and with a pin-point cross slipped in Tobi for his second goal of the game.


A great team display some superb link-up play throughout the whole game.  Nathan W had a good 35 mins as a centre forward for the first time and came close on two occasions to scoring and I will be using him as a CF in future games.  Hayden, as usual, was lively on the right and went close late on to put the game to bed.  Faith again was class throughout and her pass completion is probably now one of the best in the team. Three 2-1 wins on the spin but more importantly another defensive rotate. 


Next up, Belmont and a few ideas I am introducing from the youth module course which involves COACH BLAKE BEING SILIENT FOR 18 MINUTES!!!  Yes you heard it right.  I will let you know all about it this week.


Well done all players and parents.  It was a great game.


Today's Player of the Match was unquestionably, for the second day on the trot our u/14 GERMAN INTERNATIONAL !!! Coby M.  Well done Coby.


COYBLACK


Captain: Coby M
Player of the Match: Coby M
Goals: Tobi B (15, 35)
Assists: Nathan B 2

A VISION ON HOW THE GAME SHOULD BE PLAYED

I ALWAYS TRY TO HAVE A VISION, & THIS IS BEAUTIFUL FROM GENESIS FUTSAL CLUB 2 TOUCHES & MOVEMENT TO DIE FOR  #TRUEBALLERS #U10 #FLAMENGO #BRAZIL


http://t.co/Tf8BU0Vgid