“Internet axe murderers” is the accepted phrase iirc.
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2021 was the year that Matt really showed us what he is capable of. In February he ticked off one of his 2021 goals by running a 17:45 5km (IRL not treadmill), he followed this up in March with a 2nd place in the CRUX Ultra Race and then in April ran a 2h55m Marathon. In July, he qualified for Kona, with a mixed performance at Ironman Lanzarote. 3 weeks later, he was back on the bike, taking part in his first Ultra Bike race, a 1300km, 28,000m Time Trial around Switzerland. He then followed this up with his star performance of the year, 9h11m and 5th in his AG at the European Long Distance Championships in Challenge Roth. And lets not forget some Epic Zwift Racing as part of BL13 team, just missing out, by one place, on promotion to Prem Division.
Running - A*: Running is now Matt’s strongest Triathlon discipline, however, his autumn has been dogged by minor injuries. If he can look after himself and listen more to his body, there is still more to come
Cycling - A*: The standout performance was a 2h15m 100km TT. It’s difficult to see where Matt can make any further improvements on the bike. A bit less weight could help, and possibly some marginal gains on Aerodynamics.
Swimming - D: This is the big elephant in the room, its generally considered that to do a sub 9hr Ironman, a sub 1hr swim is required. Swimming 1h20 is fine for a MOP AG, but is definately not satisfactory for someone wanting to stand on the Podium. Pull your finger out and get into the bloody water
DIY - C: Pain Cave is looking very nice,
Beer - B: Very poor start to year, not consuming any beer for 3 months, but really made up for it in December
Life - B: Getting made redundant in December means that Matt now has lot of time to focus on Training in 2022, wife got a job, so won’t be peniless. Eldest son doing really well studying at Abbey Road, Middle son taking a year out from University and is a mechanic in a bike shop, plans to do bike appreniceship at UCI in 2022. Daughter in final year at school and plans to go to University in September… overall very proud dad
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I might have a go at the sprint event this year. Do you know if the the swim was 750? I did the Standard distance and it was 100m short. The run was over 1k short, REFUND!
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I’m doing the Splashworld pool one this year.
For the marina lake one, I clocked the swim at 800m.
Bike was 19.7km.
Run was 4.75km. Massively annoyed, as I’d saved my “sprint” for those last 400m.
Transition was 800m long 
Guy who won swam 9minutes.
I swam 12minutes.
He beat me by three minutes.
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Yeah I was getting ready to wind it up in the last km and realised I was being sent down the finish. Great job on your 2nd - did you get anything for it? I finished 6th in my AG which I was pleased with. There were some speedy bike legs and I don’t have the power (or the bike) for long flat courses.
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I entered the sprint on purpose, as I’d assumed all of the local guns would be at the standard qualifying race 
I got a free entry to another sprint, so £50 really, seeing as they’re pretty much the only local sprint Tri organiser 
The standard race bike course looked proper “congested”
So I’d take those fast bike splits with a pinch of the drafting salt 
Sprint ride was lonelyAF.
I saw the guy in first a few times, after I’d easily overhauled the faster swimmers.
I seeded myself about 50-100th, so I could just follow feet all the way round.
There was no need for that, as you can stand up (albeit in a load of goose shit) and walk faster than most people can swim 
The past 2 years have seen me cycle the most ever … a bit less in 2021 than 2020 but still 110miles / week average.
My main achievement has been to (finally) break 100km of vertical ascent in a calendar year. Given that there was no big trip (would normally clock up 15km+ ascent in a week long trip), I am both surprised and delighted … they say small thing please small minds 
I was working on a stop start project over the summer which gave me plenty of time to clock up some great rides and was lucky enough to have some tremendous weather along the way.
All in all a thoroughly enjoyable year … A+++ all the way.
Top 5 climbs:
- Marchlyn Mawr
- Great Dun Fell
- Hartside
- Stwlan Dam
- Holme Moss (both sides … long term wishlist)
25 Strava 100/200 climbs
Hardest without a foot down - Church Hill (Glyn Ceiriog) but a few others ran it close
In 2022, I have signed up for a ‘Classic Cols of the Alps’ trip - covid permitting, will finally get to pedal up all the cols I spent years doing on the turbo, can’t wait.
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Nice selection…
I’ve seen Stwlan Dam getting more popular 
Used to be a little secret.
Holme Moss is quite good.
Although I preferred Snake Pass at the crack of dawn (no cars) was gorgeous.
“Skye Road” past Dovestones Reservoir is also great when it’s traffic free, descent down to Holmfirth is rapid!
Marchlyn Mawr is less known about than Stwlan IMO (though well known by walkers … it’s a much better way of going up Elidir Fawr than the long trudge from Nant Peris).
Not sure I’ve ever cycled the Isle of Skye road, though I know it well … If I’d had a bit more time I could have ridden it on the same ride as Holme Moss.
I also enjoyed the Snake, maybe 10 years since I did it so not eligible for this year’s list. The problem in general with the Peak is the volume of traffic, hence I tend to avoid it.
Yes, the traffic has been awful since lockdown.
The road from Grindleford to the Longshaw Estate and back down to Hathersage has been especially poor, as has Castleton/Edale.
Just got to set off at 6am
I’ll check out that climb you mentioned, cheers
ETA: PHWOAR 
The Google Street View is epic from the lay-by.
Snow on the tops and a great view back down, too
Who are you going with, which cols?
The original plan was to do Raid Alpine (N-S) but there were three weekend that I was already booked for this coming summer and these clashed with the 3 available trips!
However, this is actually a better trip for me as it includes a few climbs I’d really like to do (AdH, Lacets, Croix de Fer, Roseland, Madelaine) instead of a couple of biggies that I’m less bothered about 
Pristine tarmac, great views both up and down … plus a Bond villain tunnel
Best ride I did last year and it had some very tough competition.
I should point out that we went over the Crimea Pass (A470) on the day but when I do this again, it will be as per the Strava route above, going over Cwm Penmachno which adds a few miles and is a considerably harder and much nicer climb
Edit: Should add that it’s the highest road in Wales
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Nice, Lacets is a lovely little climb. I’ve done the steep side of Glandon and then Madelaine back to back, that didn’t tickle. Did a double day on L’izoard.
Going up the La Sarenne to come out at the top of AdH was a good day but it’s like a goat track.
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La Sarenne is an optional extra after AdH. I had a great time skiing it, one of the most memorable runs I ever did so looking forward to cycling it … we have plenty of goat tracks in NE Wales so I’m used to them! 
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Paul L’s 2021 Report
Detention/Solitary Confinement – AKA Working From Home
I spent all of 2021 working in the same small loft space that I spent the last 9 months of 2020 in.
I now expect my detention period will be extended to March 2022, at the very earliest.
Which will mark two whole years of working next to where I sleep and it is soul destroying.
Overall
Work has been crazy busy at times leading to a ‘Build and Bust’ cycle I just couldn’t escape.
I’d start pulling some decent training together and then have a gap and then have to restart.
(As I am trying to resist the temptation to push it and get injured now that I am older and heavier.)
So, rather than push on from 2020, I’m pretty much back at back at square one at the end of 2021.
Swim
Whilst Covid shut the pool back in Jan., it took me a while to get back swimming when it reopened.
As it turns out, June was actually my best swimming month in 9 years! 
(Which says more about my lack of swimming, rather than an impressive June.)
Unfortunately, the summer break nipped my progress in the bud and work delayed my return.
A half decent effort before Christmas bodes well for me finally racking up more lengths in 2022.
My 2021 swim total of 44km, was a bit more than 2020 and my highest score since 2012.
(Also, more than 2018 & 2019 combined and more than the 4 years from 2014 to 2017 combined.)
Note – Please excuse all the ‘quick & dirty’ photos from computer screen graphs.
Turbo
I’ve come to the conclusion that I really need to get up and turbo in the morning before work.
Long days stuck in front of screens in 2021 resulted in missed, cut short or poor evening sessions.
Unfortunately, knowing the reason I had no energy to cycle at the end of the day doesn’t help.
Instead, I lament the time when 100km was my single turbo session PB, not a monthly total!
I might even drag my MTB about of the shed and head up Harrow Hill at some point in 2022.
My 2021 ‘bike’ total of 1,959km, was less than 2021, so I must do better in 2022.
Run
My 2021 monthly graph is a great reflection of my overall start/stop/restart/stop/repeat year.
But I do take some comfort from the fact the last three years give me a decent base to build from.
I also know that running consistently is the best way for me to lose weight.
My 2021 run total of 428km was marginally better than 2021.
Weight Training
This was another area that suffered from the general too tired/stop/start/restart problems.
However, this is still the most I’ve used any kind of weights on even a vaguely regular basis in years.
My flabby arms have slowly progressed to pea shooters and now ‘Saturday night specials’.
(Still a long way from being ‘Big Guns’. )
I’ve now bought a heavy punch bag, with came with a skipping rope, to add some variety.
Stretching & Massage
As always, I still don’t stretch enough, or put a regular sport’s massage session in the diary.
Mind you, 2021 saw me experience my first one-hour Thai Massage, where I was pummelled.
(And no, pummelled is not a euphemism for a happy ending. 
)
DIY
2021 had three decent DIY entries:
Being a good neighbour and sorting out the fences for next door and next job but one.
(A massive job).
Refurbishing my Ebay bargain rusty weights set to ‘as new’ condition.
Removing a HUGE eucalyptus tree trunk one small chunk at a time (still work in progress).
Food & Drink
An absolutely shocking year for eating rubbish on an almost daily basis and drinking too much.
(Not so much vast quantities, but little and often.)
I really must do better in 2022.
Weight Loss
I’ve saved the worst for last, as in the end I simply gave up on weight management.
I was far too stressed from work and comfort easting & drinking like there was no tomorrow.
So, the last thing I needed was to add any further stress associated with my weight going up.
The only glimmer of good news was that I did start on the right path at the beginning of the year.
So, standing at just 5’ 7” / 1.7m tall, here are the scores on the doors.
01/01/19 – 14st 8.6lbs / 92.8kg – Personal worst
01/01/21 – 12st 13.6lbs / 82.4kg – Glad to start the year under 13 stone.
01/03/21 – 12st 8.0lbs / 79.8kg – Really thought I was on my way.
31/12/21 – 13st 7.8lbs / 86.1kg 
2022 Target – 11st 13.9lbs / 76.2kg
Next steps
I have made a decent start with my dry January targets, but need to avoid work getting in the way.
I know what to do to improve things, just need to do them!
Cheers, Paul.
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For it to be an option after AdH, it would mean a 6km climb to the top of La Sarenne from AdH and then descend it.
When we did it, we parked at the bottom of La Sarenne. (Borg something but not D’oisans) then climbed La Sarenne, descended into AdH town, then at about hairpin 6, we turned right and went down the ‘back way.’
Not sure where we popped out but it was the valley floor and we TT’d it about 13km to the foot of AdH. Then TT climbed it (94 mins for me, I was knackered after a week of 8 hr col riding as this was the Friday).
Then we climbed out of AdH to the top of La Sarenne, then descended to the van, it was a FRO day. 
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Sounds like a great day out
I don’t think I explained myself well in the previous post - the climb of La Sarenne would be from AdH at the end of the day … so I think it’s just the 6km, not all the way back down.
The Marmot Classic cols trips have a mix of climbs for people like me who want 6 full days but also for people who want to do less. So, that particular day you can just do AdH … or you can do Les Deux Alpes in the morning before AdH and/or La Sarenne afterwards.
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Ah yes, that would be a nice finish, although that bit isn’t very scenic IMO. It’s a bit of a rough and broken road (or was). There a big elevation sign at the top though. 
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