The year ends, mixed feelings

Well its the end of another year, I have mixed feelings about it. The good feelings are that despite a disastrous start with a patella tendon injury forcing me to pull out of my first 3 races it was in fact a fantastic years racing for me. I had p.b's at Henlow, The Vitruvian, Antwerp 70.3, The Dambuster, I won the RAF Standard distance championships and won the RAF Sprint Championships at Cranwell. Can't grumble at that, I had some other great races with top 5 overall at the Yorkshireman Triathlon, the first ever triathlon to be held in the Humber River, and also top 5 at the Driffield Triathlon, the first race back from injury. The only other race was the European Championships for GB finishing 7th, I was happy with that result but my run cost me a championship medal. On reflection I would put that down to too soon after a serious injury, although I was capable of the distance of the run I just wasn't fit enough to cover the distance quickly. So all in a good years racing.

The bad feelings are with the rest of life. After being posted to RAF Waddington things have gone from bad to worse. The house sale fell through, my car I was selling fell through the same weekend of the house sale falling through, and then just another load of trivial things none of which on their own would be an issue but all of them added up are really getting me down. I still don't know what racing to do in 2011 as unless something comes up soon I just don't think I can afford to race. I will have to spend my Christmas money on the Dambuster Triathlon and Clumber Duathlon, I've entered the Vitruvian thanks to the sale of an old frame from the shed. I think the end of 2010 will be a good thing to be honest and I hope 2011 is better.

So to change the subject I did have a nice Christmas in the Isle of Man, not much training, 2 runs and to mountain bike rides in 8 days. I got some very nice Oakley Radars after loosing mine in 2009, I have got the BMX Chrome edition, very shiny and in your face. I got a Specialized Stumpjumper full suspension bike too from my sister, her old bike but it was a men's medium so fits a treat. I had some good fun on that on boxing day, 3 hour ride in the snow all off road. Pictures of both the glasses and the bike in the next day or 2.

All that remains is to wish all the readers of this blog all the very best for 2011, I hope its a great year for you all and a better one for me.

Being priced out of the sport?

Well I've entered the Vitruvian Triathlon this week. I have a couple of issues with this, the first is timing. We all know that this event will fill completely, we all know it will fill quickly, what bothers me is them opening it the week before Christmas. Why? If its going to fill and fill quickly why not wait until the new year. Not many people have a spare £110 lying around the week before Christmas, but some might have Christmas money they can use to pay the entry. As I said I'm entered but only because I have just sold my old training bike frame could I afford it. This brings me on to the second concern, the price. £110 is a lot of cash for a race. I was reading a thread on Tri Talk forums this week about entry fees for events. I have never wanted to do the Windsor Triathlon, it doesn't really appeal to me, but even if I did I would not pay £87 for an olympic distance race. The cost of entry to any triathlon is getting silly in my opinion and soon I fear that the only people racing will be those that can afford it. The average working man/woman is being priced out of the sport. The thing is that this is only going to continue because the quicker the events fill the more the organisers are going to put the price up and it would seem that it is just becoming about the profit rather than the race. I bet that if you put an Ironman entry fee up to £1500 they would still fill in less than a week? I have some provisional ideas of what I would like to race next year but being able to afford to enter the events and having the money to enter them before they fill up is debatable. I can see me retiring from triathlon due to the cost of the sport long before retiring due to age/injury etc.

A weekend doing nothing

When I got home Friday night I had managed to clock 191 miles on the bike for the week which was the turbo session from Sunday and the rest was commuting to work. Was planning a long-ish run for the weekend but decided in the end to just do nothing. I cleaned out the shed in order to make space for the mountain bike which will be coming back with me after the christmas holidays in the Isle of Man. I then cleaned and de-greased Anthea's old winter bike and my old winter frame in preparation to sell as they are no longer required and are just taking up space. So that was my weekend of nothing, no training!! Not done that for a while.

And another record

How cold? Yes I've broken another p.b for the coldest ride i've done after cycling to work today in -15.6 degrees. I thought it was colder than yesterday but had to wait until the news and weather tonight for confirmation. Bring on some warmer weather!

Coldest since records began

Cycled to work this morning, it was cold!!! The news tonight says that Scampton recorded the coldest temperature for the area since records began. -14 degrees, no wonder I was cold riding in.

3/4 Mile sheet of Ice

That's what I have to get across in the morning to get to the main roads on my bike. So today I didn't go out on the bike I set the turbo up instead. 3 hours later I'd covered 66.5 miles. Not the most exciting way to cover the distance but its another good session in the bag. Its about time the weather sorted itself out.

Don't like this weather.

When I woke on Saturday and opened the curtains to a crisp white blanket of snow my face dropped. I really don't like the snow and ice, it puts a stop on the cycling. Hopefully at Christmas I can pick up my mountain bike whilst in the Isle of Man, its my sisters old bike, a specialized stump jumper full suspension (its a men's medium) so should be ideal and I can't wait. Then the snow won't bother me as I feel more confident on fat tyres in this weather. So the weather ruined my plans for training this weekend so I adapted and overcame. Saturday I did a 15.5 mile run mainly on trails, nice and steady at 7 min miles. This morning I took the turbo trainer to the gym and did a 40 mile turbo at 25mph average followed by a 5km run on the treadmill in 18:28. Should of done the first 1km of the run at 16.1 instead of 15.1 and I would have been sub 18 as the last km was 18.5. A good weekends training, don't know how much more time I will be on the turbo this week looking at the forecast, its not good.

Henlow 10 - New P.B

Last Wednesday was the Henlow 10 incorporating the RAF 10 Mile Championships. My 10 mile P.B was on this course anyway so a fair comparison. Some say its not a fast course and that a good course would be at least a minute quicker. The conditions seemed good and although it was cold stood at the start I soon warmed up. I went through the first mile in 5:55 although it does have a quite large up hill section so not to bad really. I felt strong and pushed on throughout and my worst mile was 6:00 through 7 - 8 which also has a long up hill drag. I finished in 57:14 giving an average of 5:43 per mile so some of the miles must have been near to 5:30. A new p.b taking 43 seconds of my previous time. Now I can't say that I could of gone quicker (or I would have) but I am confident to say I could have held the pace up to half marathon which would have given me a sub 1:15 half which is championship qualifying time for the London Marathon. Happy with that but I do feel there is more to come yet. A week Wednesday and I start the Lincolnshire cross country league, should be fun. Not much else happening at this time of year.

House sale fell through

My house buyer has pulled out 3 weeks into the sale............................ar$eholes!!!

Preparing for winter

Ok so its been a month since my last post, what's happening? The week after the Vitruvian triathlon I went to the Isle of Man for the End to End Enduro mountain bike race. I borrowed a bike again this year, a carbon Specialized Epic. I got my first ride on it the day before the race, not ideal but luckily it was a perfect fit and I only had to adjust the seat height. It was a great bike to ride and if I had the money I would be easily tempted with one. Anyway the next day was race day, quite a sight seeing 1368 mountain bikers on the start line!!! As the race started I made my way through the field, being an ex road racer really helps. By the time we were about 6 miles in I was in the leading group containing no more than 25 riders. I climbed well on the first monster climb of the day and moved into the top 20. Over the top of the first hill and you get chance to pick up speed on the first decent despite it being very rocky and loose stones. I was progressing nicely until I got to one of the new sections of the course at Ballacraine farm where I had a crash on wet tree roots. No issues really just a bit of a commando roll across the floor and after picking up the bike I was on my way again. Things were going great until the climb up the pipeline where out of the blue my legs just went bang. I hadn't really felt fatigue coming on and was surprised how quick I blew. With about 10 miles still to go this wasn't good! I pushed on as best I could but was loosing lots of places now. I slipped down the field and ended up crossing the line in 59th. Happy enough with that, not sure if it will feature in next years race plans though?

After the race I had a sore throat and the next day I had a full blown cold. This dragged on for about 10 days so training really went down hill during this time. I am now training quite hard for the Henlow 10 mile road race. I did a 9.6 mile run on Wednesday in 1 hour 5 seconds, then a 12.5 mile run today in 1 hour 19 mins 57 seconds. Things are on target for a sub hour run if the weather is right on race day but how much under the hour I don't know?

I have also been getting ready for winter, been spending lots of money!!! I've bought a new bike as I felt it would be best with all the commuting I am doing, I have also bought some winter boots to try and combat the winter weather, last but not least I have also got some cross country running shoes. I plan to do the lincolnshire league this year but was advised that spikes are not ideal for all the courses. I noticed that a lot of off road shoes have a tread more suited to the likes of woodland trails but think they would clog up with mud to easily so I went for the adidas ones with more of a rugged tread pattern. That's all for now I think, only other news is my house is sold subject to contract, this is a worrying time as many sales fall through at this stage so fingers crossed it all works out. If all goes through then I will be on the move again, and it will be this side of Christmas due to various circumstances. Time will tell and i'll update more as I know myself.

Vitruvian Triathlon - Targets Smashed

I travelled down to Rutland water on the Friday afternoon as I was camping out this weekend with Anthea, Beth and the dog. We had booked for both Friday and Saturday so that I could have a more relaxed race weekend instead of the usual turn up after a mad dash to get there, do the race, pack up and drive home. It was very hot on the Friday and I was dripping with sweat by the time I had put the tent up with Anthea, Beth went off for a paddle in the lake and the dog was panting away until we got him a drink. After setting up the tent I drank 2 x 750ml bottles of high 5 to help re-hydrate, and then we took a slow walk down to the registration area although we were about an hour early. Despite being that early there was a lot of activity going on and a couple of trade stands to have a look at, I managed to escape without spending any money on shiny new toys. I met Marc Preece and Al Hadnett also waiting to register and after a quick catch up chat we managed to get registered. I also met Reg Swallow on my way out of the tent, then headed off to get a nice cup of tea and relax for a bit. After a brew, i popped back down to rack the bike so that I had finished for the night. As is usual with these events you end up running into other friends and what should be a ten minute job took 45 minutes as I popped over to see Sags, Julie and the girls on the way back to my tent.

The Swim,

After a cold night I woke and had 2 cups of tea, 2 toasted tea cakes and 1 tin of rice pudding for breakfast. I drank 1 x 500ml of high 5 4:1 slowly whilst in transition getting ready. The swim was very foggy and you couldn't see the first turn buoy. The first two waves went off and I entered the water ready to start but they announced a delay of 6 minutes. Finally we got away and the first lap despite the fog was uneventful, I didn't feel 100% and felt a little sick. I exited the water at the end of the first lap, ran round the barriers and dived in for the second lap. The next wave had just started and at the first turn I caught the back of that wave, I managed to work my way through and had no problems, I was even feeling better. I exited the water and crossed the timing mat in 32:47, a bit disappointing given my sub 30 swim at Antwerp. I have never had a fast swim at Rutland water, I don't know why?

The Bike,

I decided due to the cold I would put my socks for the run on before starting the bike in some hope it would help keep me slightly warmer on the bike. This would save some time in T2 though and to be honest I was happy with my first transition of 1:35. I ran out and jumped on the bike, quickly got my feet in the shoes and decided to just spin the legs up the short climb to the main road to get the blood flowing. Once on the main road I settled into a good but steady pace with the plan for an even split over the two laps. It was so cold on the bike and the fog was causing visual problems with water gathering on the lenses of my shades. The roads were very busy which surprised me at that time of day. I completed the first lap having passed loads of people yet not being overtaken myself. I decided to push harder on the second lap as I still felt strong and passed lots more people but got overtaken by 1 person. I tried to match him after I had dropped back about 15 meters but couldn't. I didn't let it worry me too much and thought I could maybe catch him on the run. As I entered T2 I knew I would have to stop for a wee but decided I would start running and stop on the course somewhere. I had completed the bike in 2:16:38 and for those who had voted on Sags's poll I had beaten his bike split by 2:30.

The Run,

I set off on the run extremely focused as I had made claims to a lot of people that I was going for a sub 1:25 half marathon. I have always ran 1:26 half's in triathlons but thought I could go faster based on my training and other races this year. I stopped after the first 800 meters at the same bush I had a wee on last year. After about 40 seconds I felt much relief and set off again. The first couple of km I was moving at a good pace but had cramp in both quads and a little bit of back ache. I thought the sub 1:25 was off but I pushed on hoping to either get as far as possible before I blew or that I could run it off. The result was I ran off all the aches and pains. I knew I was running well and it felt great, I was passing loads of people but never got passed by anyone. At the end of the first lap I saw Sags setting off on his run and wanted to catch him. This spurred me on and I kept pushing, just after we crossed the dam I could see Sags and as I caught him I asked him to run with me but he declined. As it turns out I was running an average of 6:15 per mile and after crossing the line found out I had ran a 1:22:16. I was chuffed to bits with my result, I had said I was targeting a sub 4:20 and finished with a 4:14:03 smashing my previous time of 4:22.

It was nice to be able to relax after the race without packing up and rushing home. I went to the Inter-Service presentation where we were told we had come second to the Army, watched Sags get his vets prize, then went to the main presentation to see Sags the trophy hunter collect another vets prize. What a great day for him, so pleased he pulled everything together at the right time.

So what's next? The same as last year, I have a week to recover before racing in the Manx End to End mountain bike enduro. I think I will then look for a sprint to finish off the tri season and possibly do the Dalby forest off road duathlon if I have time.

brass monkeys

Bit chilly this morning on the ride to work, had to break out some of the autumn gear, so on my ride to work this morning i had on the following,

1. Socks
2. Specialized shoes
3. sidi over socks
4. Dhb Knee warmers
5. Tri shorts
6. Base layer t shirt
7. Dhb Arm warmers
8. Short sleeve cycle top
9. Gore wind stopper gilet
10. Full finger running gloves (not good enough for the job today)

Was cold for the first 2 miles but warmed up except my fingers, I need some mid season (not winter/not summer) gloves if anyone can recommend some.

So I see Sags has a poll on his blog at the moment, I did laugh when I read it and it's very good fun. It will be interesting to see how the vote finishes and how accurate it is. I think Sags will be quicker on the bike to be honest as I haven't trained since Antwerp 70.3, just been commuting and I also had a big 11 day lay off this month while on holiday. Historically both of our bike times have always been very close so which ever way things swing on Saturday I think it will be close. Sags is swimming well too at the moment it would be great to see him put in a good swim split on the day.

My concern for Saturday will be the temperature when we start the bike leg, given this mornings experience it will be hard to know what to do for best. Do you waste time putting on a bit more clothing? or do you stick with the tri suit only and hope it warms up quickly? so many decisions to make.

So I will be camping at Rutland for the first time and plan to be there about 2pm on Friday so I can set up camp and have plenty of time to chill out instead of the usual rush around on race day.

So to sum up my final blog entry before the race I am going to say that wheel choice is still unknown, clothing choice is still unknown, weather forecast looks ok and if all goes to plan and I get everything right on the day I am going to target a sub 4:20. There you go I've laid it on the line now for all to see, best I pull my finger out now and try and live up to that bold claim.

usual question - disc or 50 rear

So its only just over a week to the Vitruvian triathlon so I need to start thinking about wheel choice. The question i am asking myself is does the extra weight of the disc balance out over the advantage it will give, specifically thinking about pulling it up the ripple on the second lap? I am not sure so will have to have a think. I am swaying towards the cosmic carbons front and rear but as a strong cyclist could I drag the disc up the ripple on the second lap, and if so will I lose any time compaired with that gained on the rest of the course. I'm not really fired up for the vit at the moment as unlike Sags my swimming has taken a real hit. I had 12 days out of the pool whilst on leave and since then it would appear that my swim fitness has packed its bags and left for the year. Also during that 12 day period I only ran 3 times, and cycled twice. It was nice to have a break and spend some time with Anthea and Beth, we went to Germany and Belgium camping, followed by a few days in the Isle of Man at my mum and dads. Whilst over there I did get roped into a mountain bike race using my sisters spare bike. Now that was a hard day at the office. It was 85% single track with loads of tree roots and extremely technical, something i struggled with to be honest and the cadence/gearing needed for this course was crazy. To give you an idea of the difficulty of the course it was 3 laps of a 6 mile circuit and it took me 2 hours 40 minutes to finish!!! On the last climb my legs went with just 1/2 a mile to go and I lost a place dropping down to 10th. As a result of such failure I gave the bike to my dad to take home for me and I ran home to punish myself for not being good enough. I hope i perform better in the Isle of Man End to End enduro race the week after the Vit but the course is less technical with more open fire tracks etc with a chance to get the power down.

I qualified for Clearwater!!!!!! but i'm not going :-(

Sunday saw me take part in the Antwerp 70.3 triathlon and world championship qualifier. When I entered the event back in December I stated my intention was to qualify for Clearwater. Mission accomplished!!! So why am I not going? Well I went to the slot allocation ceremony as i've never been close at the full Ironman distance but seen as I was 8th in my age group in Antwerp and there was 4 slots available I thought I had a very good chance. I was offered the 3rd of the 4 slots and felt quite emotional as I didn't take it. At the end of the day it all boils down to cost. The truth is racing in Spain last month and then in Belgium at the weekend on top of all the other costs for this years season means I simply can't afford it. When I entered we planned to go on holiday as a family if I qualified but that was last year. Everything changed this year when Anthea got in the police and I got a posting. Beth went off to boarding school and we moved in to married quarters and put our house on the market which left us paying a mortgage on an empty house and rent on another along with Beths school fees!!! It is such a shame but that's life. If I took the slot it was 270 euros on the night to pay the entry and even if I went on my own I reckon I would of been at least another grand for travel and accommodation in the states plus any spends on food etc. So enough of my moaning and sulking how was the race?

The swim was in a lake and I have to admit its the most beat up i've been in a swim since Ironman South Africa. I didn't ever find any room in the water despite it being started in waves as we were only 3 minutes apart so we were catching slower swimmers from earlier waves before half way. I exited the water on 28 mins but crossed the timing mat on 29:16. A good swim and I was pleased with that. The run to transition and out the other side was long but there were no dramas and I got on the bike and started to get into a good rhythm on the bike. After about 3km you go under the river through a huge tunnel (as big as the tyne tunnel for those who have driven through that) a really fast decent and a nice climb back out. The disc wheel sounded awesome in the tunnel :-) The bike course is fairly straight forward for the first 30 km with a few tram lines to cross. The back of the course you do 2 laps of and its quite technical with some very tight corners. I was feeling good on the bike and fueling well, making up lots of places but getting very angry by the amount of blatant drafting going on. You would get overtaken so sit up for a couple of seconds to let the gap get draft legal and then a train of riders would come past leaving you with a line of 8-10 riders to go back past. Occasionally you would see groups of 30 + riders and wonder where the race officials are and if they are paying any attention. As you come back into town you spend the last 5k or so on cobbles which really take it out of you after the previous 85k. I clocked a 2:19:56 on the bike. Into transition the legs felt ok and after putting on the socks and trainers I left transition. This is the only point in which my race didn't go to plan, about 500 meters into the run 1 of my 2 gels I was planning to fuel with fell out of my belt. I wasn't stopping for it which left me with 1 gel as the fuel stations were giving out power bar gels which I hate. So 1 gel and 21k of running left me with no choice. I was to take the gel on the 10k mark and that's what I did, the only other thing I took on was a couple of mouth fulls of water. The pace I was running was good until 17k when I slowed a little. As I hit 20k I did a time check and realised if I gunned it I could go sub 4:20 which was my objective, I turned up the cobbled street towards the square and onto the finish line carpet crossing the line in 4:19:23 with a half marathon time of 1:26:26. All in a great day, chuffed to bits with the time, the position of 64th overall (including the elites) and the fact I qualified for Clearwater!!!!!!!!! Happy days.

Cranwell Sprint and RAF Road Relays

On Wednesday the 7th July I went to RAF Cranwell for the RAF Sprint Triathlon Championships. I was a little unsure how I would go due to having recently (10 days before) raced the European Long Distance Championships. Some people don't believe that you can be competitive over all the distances in triathlon. I have a different belief, having won the RAF championships at standard distance the week before the long course and then racing well in Europe followed by winning the sprint championships at Cranwell. My race went well with a P.B in the swim, I left transition on the bike and it was a very windy day which made the bike course hard but I had a strong bike leg and made good time. A swift transition saw me out on the run and in fine form. I felt fast and was catching lots of people from earlier waves and crossed the line in 1:03:58 to take the win by 32 seconds.

A week later I raced for RAF Waddington at the RAF Road Relay Championships at RAF Wittering. I was running the first leg for our team of 4. I ran a 16:40 officially and was pleased to be part of the winning team overall.

European Championships Race Review

Saturday was race day, we left the hotel at about 06:45 by coach to travel about 18km to the start/T1 and the sun was starting to shine. The lake was stunning, clear fresh water and the view across the course was great, you could see the whole course, 1 lap of 4km. The first turn was exactly 1 mile out so plenty of time for the field to spread out although with the different wave starts it wasn´t busy anyway. I didn´t draft on the swim as people didn´t seem to be able to swim in a straight line so I spotted the bouys and chose my own line. At the first turn I felt I had paced myself well so picked up the speed a bit. After the next turn which was another 500m I was spotting the next bouy and could see a group of swimmers ahead, a couple were in orange hats which was my wave and a lot of yellow hats from the wave that had left 5 mins before us. I thought I would try and bridge the gap and this helped me to push on during the swim. I did bridge the gap and went past most of them. I exited the water in 1 hour 5, a good swim by any standard I feel but as someone who classes themself as a weak swimmer I was very pleased. The bike course was a rolling course and due to split transitions it was 1 and 3/4 laps. I would liken the course to the dambuster course to be honest, and despite the heat building I seemed to be fueling ok and taking on plenty of fluid. The last 20k of the bike was a bit dull as it was very long straight roads and I didn´t see anyone in front of me for most of the last 20k and started to think I had missed a turn on the course. Eventually I reached the town and back into the crowds to end the bike on 3 hours 23. Now here´s the thing, at this point I didn´t know it but I was at this stage in a silver medal position. I left T2 but unlike most races I didn´t feel like I was going to run fast and straight away felt I was running a steady enough pace to get round but could tell I wasn´t going to be racing. I don´t know why this was, it could have been the heat I guess or maybe i´d over done the bike. I still can´t put my finger on it but I ran the whole 30k and seemed to be hanging on to a steady sort of pace. The run course went through some country wetland sights which were very humid then back onto the streets but the only cool part of the course was the run through the arena on each lap. I ran a 2 hour 28 which is 18 mins slower than the last 2 times i´d raced this distance. The winner of my age group was only 20 mins and 1 second ahead. Had I ran my usual 2 hour 10 then I would have got a silver or bronze depending on the transition times being added. So how can I view the race, it could be seen as negative for blowing the chance of a european podium medal but i´m taking the positive outlook which is that I swam and biked to medal standard, and also that it was a great days brick training before Antwerp 70.3 in 4 weeks time. After crossing the line my body decided to shut down in a big way and I lay on the cold concrete floor for about 30 mins just shivering and unable to take on any fluids. I sat up after a while and then threw up just a water/gel combination. It was about another 30 mins then I cycled back the 5 min ride to the hotel, showered and went to bed for an hour, then tried to drink some coke, this proptly returned back up the body and was sick again. At about half nine that night I finally got a Forgoodness Shake down and kept it down but went back to bed. The day after I felt fine and after breakfast went for a gentle spin on the bike for about 40 mins. Today I did about a 24 mile bike with a very gentle 10 min run at the end before packing the bike ready for the long journey home. My next outing will be the Cranwell Sprint in about 9 days time. I hope to get some pics sorted of the race etc when I return home.

Arrived and the bike is ok :-)

Always a worry when the bike is on the plane that it will get here in one piece. Well both the bike and I are ok, the bike is now built. I opted not to bring the disc as it looks like a hilly/rolling bike course so played it safe with the cosmic carbons. The flight was delayed, they got us all on the plane, pushed back then we sat on the pan for 2 and a half hours :-( I'm tired now as I got up at 2am this morning to drive to the airport so will sleep well tonight. Race brief this evening and parade of the nations. Will register tomorrow and test the bike out. Thats all for now.

Last run out before the European Champs

Well this weekend was the last race before the European Champs, the Dambuster Triathlon. I only had an hours drive now that i'm Lincoln based so that was nice. I took my cosmic carbons and the disc wheel and had a quick wander round transition to see if others were using the disc as it was quite windy. I seen a few people with the disc so decided to "man up" and go for it. The swim was uneventful and I was a little disappointed with a 24:12, the bike was going well and I passed a lot of people all the way round especially on the climbs. I felt I was going well on the bike and tried to keep the pace as high as I could. I got in to T2 and the bike time was a 1:05:56 which was quicker than I did 2 years ago by about 1:30. A good transition and I set off on the run and pushed really hard all the way round, I felt strong and although working very hard felt it was within my limits. I ran a 33:50 about 1:30 quicker than 2 years ago and crossed the line in 2:05:56. The time was good enough for 18th overall and 1st in the RAF Championships. I got home that lunch time and in the afternoon had a 2 hour sleep as I was really tired. Felt good the day after and this morning cycled 18 mile to work at a high tempo which also felt good. Next stop Spain!!! I fly out on Thursday to take on Europe, I hope I carry the current form with me. Jase Walkley had a scary moment on Saturday but luckily for him the only damage was a flat tyre. Must have got his heart rate racing though. Glad he's ok and not suffered from it.

Back on the world wide web..........at last!

Well I should have been back on the web on Thursday last week but Virgin were being a bunch of useless gits. Still i'm back now, not really missed much anyway as i've only been training since my last race. I am racing the Dambuster Triathlon at the weekend then 5 days later I fly to Spain for the European long distance championships. Got my new GB kit as you have to have kit with the rear zip on it now and I think i'm about ready to race. Only set back is i've just had results of my blood test from last week and my white blood count is very low so I have to have another blood test tomorrow then I will hopefully find out what the problem is this time, they don't yet know if its to do with my medication so I guess I will find out next week. That's about all for now I think.

Getting there slowly

Just a quick update from the work computer. No broadband until Thursday this week, its proper rubbish not having Internet at home. Moved into the AMQ the last week of May, bit of a come down from our own house but hopefully not for to long and once ours is sold we can buy again. Raced in the Yorkshireman Triathlon on the bank holiday weekend, the swim was in the river Humber, the first time a race has been held in the river. It was an assisted swim as the tide was coming in but the slower swimmers were finding it harder as the tide started to turn. The run to transition was about 500m up a hill and some steps, you had to leave trainers at the swim exit for this bit. Bike course was fast along a dual carriageway for a lot of it with about 8 miles on normal roads and rolling. The run was up onto the Humber bridge and then 2 laps across it and back. The wind really picked up during the run which made for a tough race with the curve of the bridge. Managed to get 4th overall, with a 2hr 2min time. Next event is the Dambuster in a couple of weeks then its of to Spain for the European Champs. Trying to settle into a new routine being a Monday to Friday worker but it does help having a pool on camp which is always nice. Will hopefully get back into the blog updates later this week when the home Internet is switched on.

Finally started a race this year :-)

I entered the Driffield triathlon a couple of weeks before the event as I was doing a bit of running after my knee injury and thought I could actually make it round after my 3 non starts this year. Unfortunately I got a virus of some kind and was wiped out for the 2 weeks leading up to the event. I got up on race day and still wasn't sure if I was going to go and do the event as I was feeling sick a feeling I had had for about 10 days along with flu like symptoms. I decided to go as I though if I don't start today will the season ever start for me this year? Luckily its a local event and only a 20 min drive. I started as the first swimmer in my lane and in the second to last group of the day. The swim went well considering the lack of swim time lately and I exited the water on 6:10 with an actual time over the timing mat of 6:20. How I achieved that I'm not sure! A short run to T1 and then it was off on the bike. I was using my new Raleigh Carbon TT from my sponsor for the first time in anger and I was also using my disc wheel for the first time in a race too. I didn't feel great on the climb, my chest was really burning and lots of bright green snot getting coughed up but after the climb I settled into a good rhythm and clocked a 27:31 (about a 1:15 quicker than I've ever done in the last 3 years on this course). It turns out it was the 2nd fastest bike split of the day :-) that's where the good part of the race ended. I got onto the run and immediately felt sick and dizzy. I thought about walking but kept running but it felt slow. I crossed the line with a finishing time of 55:30 although I didn't know this at the time as I packed up and went home and slept the rest of the day. I thought I had made a mistake racing whilst still not 100% well but on Monday I felt great, it was the first day I hadn't felt sick in a long time. I checked the results and my time had got me 5th overall from 217 finishers. As you can see from the picture I was making hard work of the run!!

On Monday I trained quite hard, Tuesday/Wednesday I was at work and then on Thursday it was my last chance to do a ride I've always wanted to do but never got round to it and we move house next week so Thursday was the day to ride from my house to the Humber Bridge and across it. What a great ride, 78 miles in great weather and with a great sound track, I chose the Ministry of Sound Chilled 1991-2009. Just the right tempo for a relaxed ride out in the great British summer, here's hoping the weather is here for the whole summer!!

Just when you think your making progress........

I've been making steady progress and was really hopeful of a race next weekend (16th). On Tuesday I had my longest run since February when I picked up the injury and seemed to be getting over the knee problem. All set for my first race then? No :-( Tuesday night I came down with a virus of some kind and by Thursday I was wiped out and spent the day in bed. Its now getting better and is just like a bad cold but to kick me while i'm down my body hasn't been able to handle it with my compromised immune system and i've got a bit of a colitis flare up starting. I just don't know when my luck is going to change this year but i'm not a happy bunny!!!! I will have to increase my medication and start on the predfoam (no prizes for guessing where that has to go). If I catch things early enough I might still be good to race at the weekend fingers crossed.

Hopeful return to racing

I have entered the Driffield Triathlon to be held on the 16th May 2010. Hopefully this will be my return to racing. Hopefully I will start this race as I haven't managed to start any other event so far this year. This is going to be my first race since injury in early Feb and my first race since the 11th October 2009. I have been doing a bit of running and even managed a couple of bike to run bricks in the last week so given its only a sprint event I feel all being well I should "get round it". I've not really been finding any form what so ever in the pool so i'm not holding out any hope of a fast swim but the biking is going ok although i've done little on the speed front and can comfortably get round 5k with no knee pain so I will just see what the day brings. I am looking forward to it though, seems like a lifetime ago that I last raced.

On a change of subject Beth seems to be settling in to school now and dare I say actually enjoying it a little. She's home this weekend for the bank holiday so it might be hard getting her back on Monday evening but I know its for the best. I think she will really enjoy it once she settles completely.

Beth has started boarding school

Well yesterday was the day that we set off for Stamford High School for Girls. A car full of bags and coat hangers full of neatly pressed uniform. Beth has started her new school. She seemed in good form when we left so hopefully she will settle in quickly. She has only got a 2 week stretch to push before bank holiday weekend and then she will be home. Didn't think I would miss her so much already :-(

Consistent Swimming

Yes my splits were consistent in the pool today, unfortunately they were consistently slow! I did some 400m splits as my first race will be the Driffield Sprint Tri on the 16th May. I hope I actually start this race given the start I've had to this year so far. I have decided to focus on what I can do instead of what I can't do and I know I can run 5k at the moment so a sprint race makes sense. I've had a good week on the bike this week managing to clock 178 miles which is my best week on the bike since Lanzarote and that knee injury. A week on Sunday will see me watching the London Marathon on TV for the first time in three years having ran in 2007/2008/2009 so I think it will have to be done in style with good coffee and bacon butties!

I had an email today saying that the latest day to pay the entry fee for the European Championships is the 15th May which gives me a bit more time to see how the running progresses before I decide if its another non starter for me. Will this year be a complete write off? hopefully not as I have Antwerp 70.3 in July as well. I watched the Abu Dhabi Triathlon on Eurosport today, that looks fun, especially when you get to cycle round the F1 track, I think that race will have to go down on my "to do" list before I give up triathlon. Not much else happening at the moment, bye for now.