Well as 2008 draws to an end it seems appropriate to reflect on the highs and lows of the year. The year started with a
flier having ran a P.B at the Fleet Half Marathon of 1hr 16min 44secs. I thought this was the start of great things to come and was looking forward to the London Marathon. Unfortunately the end of March was to bring the of a rather serious bout of illness. By the time I got to London for the marathon (despite the doctors advice not to run) I had already been seriously ill with internal bleeding and severe
diarrhea. I decided I would run anyway and just planned for toilet stops. The race did not go to plan and went from bad to worse and I ended up walking most of the last 6 miles. I was very ill afterwards and just a few days later was in hospital for some rather unpleasant internal examinations. By the end of April I had been diagnosed with Colitis and was on a huge amount of medication (22 tablets per day). I was fortunate in some respects that they managed to correctly diagnose the illness and also that I seemed to respond quite quickly to the medication. I would say this was the lowest time of the year but in a
weird way the highest as this problem had been rearing its ugly head for many years and now seemed to be under control. By the second week in May I was firing on most of the cylinders and raced my first triathlon of the year at
Driffield. It was a sprint and I seemed to fly. I finished in 4
th but the top 4 were only separated by 13 seconds so all in a very close race. Next stop was the
Dambuster and again I was in quite good form but struggled with the cold on the bike. The day after I did a sprint in Yorkshire and finished 2
nd to a GB Elite under 23 team bloke. Things seemed to be getting better every time I raced. Next on the calendar was the Cleveland
Steelman middle distance race. I had a great race here in
horrendous conditions finishing 7
th and a new P.B over the distance. This was followed a couple of days later by the
Cranwell sprint champs. It was a good and a bad day. I had a good result finishing 3rd but a bad result as I threw the chance of 2
nd away by forgetting where I was racked in transition and wasted about 2
mins looking for my stuff. The next event was the Inter-Service race at
Tallington. Again I had a good race although I didn't enjoy it due to the road works having to stop at the traffic lights whilst watching the cheating Army team go straight through the red lights. I had an
ok result though so can't complain too much. I followed this with another middle distance event, the
Wensleydale Big Cheese. This was the hardest race of the year and I challenge anyone to take on this monster next year if they think they are up to a challenge. Yet again it was a top 10 finish for me. The final triathlon for me this year was the World Championships in
Almere, Holland. This was over the 03 distance. The week before I had had some stomach problems which worried me, however things settled down with some medication but then I caught a bad cold. By race day and after boxes of
paracetamol I was in good shape for the race. I had a great race and despite the extremely over long swim managed to P.B at this distance as well. I finished 10
th in my age group but was more pleased with the 37
th place overall. I have done a couple of running events since but have not really managed to get any decent training done since. I seem to have been so busy that training is very much here and there. I have had a couple of
ok weeks the last 2 or so weeks and am starting to feel good again. Apart from the racing this year has also produced some great results in other areas. I have managed to pick up a great sponsor in the bike department with a fantastic bike from Paul at
www.hilderthorpecycles.co.uk and some fantastic back up support and discounts with him also. I have also been fortunate enough to have been selected to be one of the recipients of the For Goodness Shakes sponsorship deal which was negotiated through the RAF Triathlon Team. So to sum up the year, I would say a very good one in most respects and not so good in others. I am on medication for the rest of my life as the Colitis will never go away, but it seems to now be under control (touch wood) and I am looking forward to next year. I hope everyone who has followed my blog this year has a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Daz
Well as 2008 draws to an end it seems appropriate to reflect on the highs and lows of the year. The year started with a flier having ran a P.B at the Fleet Half Marathon of 1hr 16min 44secs. I thought this was the start of great things to come and was looking forward to the London Marathon. Unfortunately the end of March was to bring the of a rather serious bout of illness. By the time I got to London for the marathon (despite the doctors advice not to run) I had already been seriously ill with internal bleeding and severe diarrhea. I decided I would run anyway and just planned for toilet stops. The race did not go to plan and went from bad to worse and I ended up walking most of the last 6 miles. I was very ill afterwards and just a few days later was in hospital for some rather unpleasant internal examinations. By the end of April I had been diagnosed with Colitis and was on a huge amount of medication (22 tablets per day). I was fortunate in some respects that they managed to correctly diagnose the illness and also that I seemed to respond quite quickly to the medication. I would say this was the lowest time of the year but in a weird way the highest as this problem had been rearing its ugly head for many years and now seemed to be under control. By the second week in May I was firing on most of the cylinders and raced my first triathlon of the year at Driffield. It was a sprint and I seemed to fly. I finished in 4th but the top 4 were only separated by 13 seconds so all in a very close race. Next stop was the Dambuster and again I was in quite good form but struggled with the cold on the bike. The day after I did a sprint in Yorkshire and finished 2nd to a GB Elite under 23 team bloke. Things seemed to be getting better every time I raced. Next on the calendar was the Cleveland Steelman middle distance race. I had a great race here in horrendous conditions finishing 7th and a new P.B over the distance. This was followed a couple of days later by the Cranwell sprint champs. It was a good and a bad day. I had a good result finishing 3rd but a bad result as I threw the chance of 2nd away by forgetting where I was racked in transition and wasted about 2 mins looking for my stuff. The next event was the Inter-Service race at Tallington. Again I had a good race although I didn't enjoy it due to the road works having to stop at the traffic lights whilst watching the cheating Army team go straight through the red lights. I had an ok result though so can't complain too much. I followed this with another middle distance event, the Wensleydale Big Cheese. This was the hardest race of the year and I challenge anyone to take on this monster next year if they think they are up to a challenge. Yet again it was a top 10 finish for me. The final triathlon for me this year was the World Championships in Almere, Holland. This was over the 03 distance. The week before I had had some stomach problems which worried me, however things settled down with some medication but then I caught a bad cold. By race day and after boxes of paracetamol I was in good shape for the race. I had a great race and despite the extremely over long swim managed to P.B at this distance as well. I finished 10th in my age group but was more pleased with the 37th place overall. I have done a couple of running events since but have not really managed to get any decent training done since. I seem to have been so busy that training is very much here and there. I have had a couple of ok weeks the last 2 or so weeks and am starting to feel good again. Apart from the racing this year has also produced some great results in other areas. I have managed to pick up a great sponsor in the bike department with a fantastic bike from Paul at www.hilderthorpecycles.co.uk and some fantastic back up support and discounts with him also. I have also been fortunate enough to have been selected to be one of the recipients of the For Goodness Shakes sponsorship deal which was negotiated through the RAF Triathlon Team. So to sum up the year, I would say a very good one in most respects and not so good in others. I am on medication for the rest of my life as the Colitis will never go away, but it seems to now be under control (touch wood) and I am looking forward to next year. I hope everyone who has followed my blog this year has a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.
