Last of the Summer Tri – How not to prepare for a race

2017 had been a year off cycling and sport in general following a herniated disc which required surgery. So I entered 2018 unsure if I would even get back to cycling and did not enter any events, instead concentrating on the longer runs which I was finding very therapeutic.

Fast forward to the summer of 2018 and I’m now back to cycling to work, and missing the buzz of Tri so I did a bit of research as to what was available and saw the season finale, Last of the Summer Tri in Holmfirth. I remember Chairman P once telling me “It’s very hilly, it would suit you,” so I sat on the comfy sofa and entered the race from my phone

Is it really […]

Hamburg Ironman Review.

We’re driving along the Autobahn en route to Hamburg when the email pings. Bugger. Blue Green algae…the swim is cancelled. Not really what you want when the last 7 months have been dedicated to swimming as much as it has to biking and running. And really not what you want when you’re not that much of a duathlete – and your swim has improved marginally more than your run over the aforementioned months. Hey ho. You can only race the race that is there. I’d felt for the Ironmen doing Bolton a month earlier when the bike was shortened and thought confidently (stupidly) that nothing would go wrong for Hamburg. What do I know? Anything can happen. It’s probably a triathlete life lesson.

So why Hamburg? Well first, I suppose, Why Ironman? I don’t know who to blame this time around. […]

After 10 months and 5,000 training miles the day arrived. My first full Ironman event in Copenhagen Denmark.

The day started at 4am with a liquid breakfast and the start of making sure my blood sugars were where I wanted them before the swim start.

5 stops and a quiet journey with hundreds of fellow prospective Ironman on the Metro we arrived at T1 at Amagar Strandpark.

Sorted the bike, checked my bike bag again, wet suit on and I was ready to go. Checked my blood sugars and I was too low to swim so some fruit malt and 2 High 5 gels and hoped that would sort it.

40 minutes to swim time and my blood sugars were higher than I’d originally planned but ok for me to swim. Decided to do my normal warm […]

Chester is a fantastic Tri location combining city centre for spectators/ weekend visitors with easy access into countryside for the bike leg. You can tell this event is run by Tri Club rather than a commercial organisation, representing good value at £70 Std, £120 Middle for well thought out goodies – quality t-shirt, gym towel, race belt, gels, free photos, water bottle and hoodie for those doing the half.

River Dee makes for a tough swim being further upstream than down, with some rumours (post event) of a sewage spill in the days before. Never-the-less navigation was straight forward with massive buoys. When watching you can pick out individual swimmers from the bank and run alongside to track progress if keen. Running up hill into T1 while trying to undo wetsuit catches out the un-prepared.

Middle distance option is a fairly recent, but welcome addition, already popular as a challenge in itself […]

Brigg Bomber Quadrathlon – 27th May 2018

After getting on for thirty years of doing triathlon I fancied a change! I’d thought about Quadrathlon for a long time but never got round to it. As I sat shivering with hypothermia in the medical room at the Clitheroe Tri last year I got chatting to a lady that had suffered the same fate…we were both underdressed to cope with the 7C air temperature! She was the current World Quadrathlon Champion in her age-group and inspired me to take another look at this even more wacky sport.

For those that have never heard of this sport and don’t know what it is there is a clue in the name. Just think triathlon plus kayak, simple as that, well almost. They have various distances mostly based on ITU triathlon distances plus a kayak leg. For example the OD triathlon […]

St Neot’s Triathlon – Olympic Distance. 13th May 2018

I swore that I’d never do another ‘qualifier’ race again. I have horrendous memories of Liverypool 2013 which I think was the British Championships. My age group wave was the last of the waves to set off and whilst I always used to joke about not wanting to come in last, this time, that was a very real threat. Hottest day of the year, all the fastest age groupers in the UK…..and me. Fond memories include Jellyfish, having to be escorted around the swim by a lovely Scouser in a Kayak, horrid tight turns on the bike, running through treacle and to top it off being overtaken by some of the Para Triathletes. It was also my birthday. Slowest race ever. Yes, fair to say, I thought I’d had my fill of racing with the ‘best’.

Fast […]

Santa Cruz-Tenerife- Standard Distance

Date 04\03\2018

Not the best starts just getting to this race, due to the beast from the east, causing mayhem. The plan was go to my mates house (Michael Birtwhistle) over in Bolton on Thursday evening, then off to Manchester airport early on Friday for the flight. 1st problem trying to get the bike box from Matthew Boon house (Very kindly donated by the club) on the Wednesday night, this was impassable, then I managed to collect it on Thursday evening, and that was a challenge through the snow. I Came back home loaded up bike, bags & everything else, all checked at least 10 times, then off over to Bolton, or so i thought, got to junction 22 which had been closed due to the weather and all surrounding roads which lead over to the dark side of the Pennines, so back home with a view to […]

VERY brief race report to get the 2018 ball rolling. Yesterday I did the Kinloch ‘Erin Baker’ OD triathlon. Kinloch is on Lake Taupo and, given the early start, we were fortunate to be able to camp on site in our new VW campervan in the marina. The two lap swim in the beautiful clear waters of the lake was a real pleasure, even for me! The bike leg was also two laps and was almost as soggy as the swim. It was a very hilly course so, I was happy! The final run leg consisted of four laps around the town (?) and due to the heavy rain was a little boggy in parts so my best trainers took a bit if a battering. There were lots of other races later in the day the main one being the National Sprint Champs so competition was diluted somewhat. So far […]

19th Feb

Another brief race report from down here in New Zealand. Last weekend saw the third race at in a four race series at Maraetai Beach run by Panasonic. I did the Olympic Distance race which consisted of a three lap sea swim, two lap bike and a three lap run. Most of the race followed the coast with the bike section heading south on the coast road before turning in land whereas the run section headed north where the iconic backdrop of Auckland Tower could be seen in the distance. The sea was warm but wet-suits were allowed. Drafting was permitted on the bike and after chasing hard on the first lap to get on the back of a pack I ended up towing them round for most of the second lap! The mercury was rising rapidly by the time we hit the run and I was hanging […]