Stuart Anderson - Triathlete

Kona Bound - 2 Freespeeders already qualified!

2012-01-05T13:11:00.006Z

With my Kona qualification already confirmed in IM Cozumel, I returned back to the UK to see that Jenny had entered Phuket 70.3 very last minute....

She had already flown out and was preparing to race. Despite her respite after Vegas 70.3, where she achieved 4th pace in her age. Jen was still in reasonable shape and recorded a PB 10k time and won the ‘Shock absorber’ 10km race in Richmond Park.

Phuket 70.3 is a tough one…. With big hills, humidity and heat and it was set to be a real challenge. Like the rest of Team Freespeed though, we seem to relish the tougher events and this was a perfect race for Jen. Despite struggling with an upset stomach, Jenny won her age group very convincingly by 9 minutes – whoop whoop!!

What a result…. Phuket is one of the few races that has qualifying slots for the Las Vegas 70.3 Word Championships and Kona – The World Ironman Championships and Jenny had qualified for both with her placing. Bravo Jenny

2 Team Freespeeders in…. 2 to go…

Ironman Cozumel 2011

2011-12-30T13:16:00.025Z

My finale for the year was Ironman Cozumel. It was over a year since Kona 2010 and no matter how well your training has gone there is always apprehension, after all an Ironman is a long way. I think this anxiety is a good thing, it shows how important the race is to you. I try to focus this energy on planning my race and performance, setting way markers and goals for each leg of the race.

In the weeks leading up to my departure the weather had been kind and I had been able to do all of my long rides outside. This had been an unexpected benefit because at this time of the year the weather is very unsettled and often cold and wet. My run also felt strong, I’d benefited from a block of very fast stuff so my long Tempo runs felt very easy, even up to 30km.

Treading water on the start into the incoming current was tough. I was 1 row off the front and was prepared for an aggressive start. I wasn’t disappointed, within 5 strokes I’d been kicked in the face twice. The second kick I took in the left eye and it dislodged my goggles. Thankfully one eye was still ok and It was about 2.5km before I had enough space to flip over onto my back, empty the water and reposition my goggles. The swim starts off into the current, but its not long until you’re turning back with the current and this is real help despite it being a non wetsuit swim. I was pleased with a 58 minute swim, despite going a little off course due to the wash and waves created by spectator boats obscuring the buoys.

Quickly through transition where I met Conan Gibney also changing, I striped off my Skinfit plasma swim suit and headed for the bike. Its pot luck where your bikes are racked, and neither Conan nor I had particularly good positions. We had a little further to run than some of the other competitors

Putting this aside, next up was the bike leg. The course was flat, but the difficulty lay in the middle third of the course. It ran parallel to the sea and when the wind picked up we took a battering from the prevailing wind. It was fine for the first 60km lap;however, it picked up on the second and third lap. This is when your body naturally starts to fatigue and I found it harder to hold my speed and watts. I felt for the slower swimmers because they had it progressively harder than those who had exited earlier like the Pro’s who had started 30 minutes before us. 182km later,on my Garmin, I was preparing to hit T2 and felt ok apart from little gastro discomfort. I’d had this before in Kona and knew that it hadn’t slowed me down so I pushed on. I’d gone through 180km in 4h.50 mins, so I was where I had expected to be. Without the coastal winds a sub 4.45 could have been possible.

Heading out on the run, I noticed the puddles around me because it had just rained in town. It was already reasonably warm.... my Garmin was showing 34 degrees when I was on the bike and it felt hotter now. This rain meant the humidity increased and it felt super hot. The pro’s that had hit the run course 30 mins before us suffered more here than the age groupers. I started off my run strong, but after about 14km I was slowing. There weren’t any sponges on the course and I was overheating. Rather than using cups and sponges they had these little plastic bags full of water. I found this very difficult to use effectively, for either cooling or drinking. My pace was slowing, but I didn’t have any idea by how much… My Garmin 310xt had run out battery and it seemed that what with the water problem, stomach issues and watch failure every thing was against me.

In order to help the gastro and water issues, I reluctantly decided to walk for a bit… I hate walking especially because I had come off the bike as 5th Age grouper. This had given me a great opportunity to run down some of the other competitors. It was soo hot, that I thought by giving my body a chance to cool down and allowing my stomach to settle it may give me the respite I needed.

The next 28km was tough for me. I ran and walked when my stomach became too painful. In all, I suspect I walked about a kilometre over the course of the race. It was only after the monsoon storm that I cooled down enough to be able to run properly again. The storm was amazing, it rained torrentially for about 15 -20 minutes. Within this time the whole coastal road flooded, and the side roads became rivers. The spectators disappeared and in some places we were running in calf deep water. Talk about epic…. I was only glad to be heading to the finish. I had no idea of my splits, my position or whether I had done enough to qualify for Kona. I was soaked and felt a bit flat and disenchanted. Two of the three legs had gone well. The last, my strongest had felt rubbish… compared to how I had expected to run.

It was only when I phoned my wife Mette back in London, that she was able to tell me my splits and where I had come. I was 7th amateur overall and 6th in my Age group

Overall 26th Swim 58.39 T1 2.55 Bike 4.54:54T2 2.03 Run 3.15:38 Overall 9.14:09

I was delighted; collecting a Kona slot was the main objective, a Sub 9 hour Ironman and a sub 3 hour Ironman marathon will have to wait. Conan came in few minutes behind me and seeing him really cheered me up. We had both qualified for Kona and this rounded off a super week that we had spent together

2011 Race Season Summary

2011-12-30T10:38:00.032Z

It’s been a pretty epic season, full of emotion, happiness and disappointments. Like any season one needs to take the rough with the smooth and 2011 will be one that I recall with fond memories.

With Team Freespeed firmly in place, Jenny Gowans, Declan Doyle,Tim Bishop and I embarked on year that would test us physically, emotionally and mentally. The teams focus would be Sub 9 hours within an Ironman distance race for the boys and a 70.3 World Championship podium for Jen. Alongside this Dec was keen to gain Kona qualification at St George Utah .We had set the bar high and our training focus was further speed development.

My focus was to race short distance and mid distance with the view to build speed for Challenge Roth which would be my ‘A race’ of the year. This race was going to be ‘boom’ or ‘bust.’ To add an extra incentive, Challenge even refunds each athlete €250 if they go Sub 9….. How cool is that?

Dec was first up in Ironman St George in Utah, and on a very tough course cruised home in 26th place. This was the first of many successes for the newly formed Freespeed team. Declan had done enough to secure his Kona slot and the season had hardly started.

My first race was the Volcano in Lanzarote, this was almost a home fixture considering that when I'm outside of London, most of my training is done in Lanzarote. For me Lanzarote is like a home from home… It can be beautiful, brutal but it’s always challenging. If it’s not the heat, the terrain or the wind, its relentlessness will toughen you up. I had a promising result, but landed just out side the top 10. Although I was swimming ok and my mountain biking over the winter had kept my bike strong. My running needed more work. I had been training to run 4.17min kms for the last 3 years whilst concentrating on Ironman racing, so I had no idea what I could hold in an Olympic distance race. I left T2 holding 3.15 min kms so it was only a matter time before I blew…. Mentally there and then I made a note to myself that I needed pacier running sets in my 2011 schedule.

Overall 14th, Swim 21.47 T1 2.46 Bike 1:04.37 T2 2.02 Run 39.20 Total 2:10:31

Next up was Ironamn UK.70.3 and the whole team was racing. We had all recce’d the course a couple of weeks prior to the race so knew exactly what to expect… It was a very tough course with 1900m of climbing, quite technical in places which suited me perfectly. Even the run was hilly.... it was more of a cross country run than your normal out and back Triathlon run. We arrived on the Friday before the race and pitched our tents in the rain. This was not a good sign, nor was the fact it rained all day Saturday... Come Sunday the rain had cleared, but left the lake a little cold....Brrrrr! I left my entry until the last minute determined to preserve as much heat as possible. This was a good plan because I had a reasonable swim and exited well up the field. This meant the race was on.... and I set about working my way through the field. I love the hills and ripped through the course, coming off the bike level with a Suisse guy who is now a good friend called Reto Brendli. I left T2 just ahead of Reto and managed to hold this gap for the run, we finished just a minute apart.

My victory added to Freespeed’s performances. Together we dominated the stage. Dec was just behind Reto, Tim was third in his age group and Jenny won the ladies amateur. She out ran last years winner Tracey Cook by 6 minutes and gained a 2 min cushion.

Overall 9th, Swim 30.09 T1 4.02 Bike 2.44.27 T2 1.19 Run 1.26.01 Total 4:45.56
1st Amateur

We had all booked our slot to the World 70.3 Championships in Las Vegas – Yippee!

As we headed towards July the team were on a high and I was feeling good about my entry into Challenge Roth. Then out of the blue, I pick up a virus… 4 weeks in, and after 2 courses of antibiotics there wasn’t any change or improvement in my health. Always optimistic.... I remained confident that if the illness subsided, I would be fit enough to race so I travelled to Roth in anycase. Sadly my night fevers persisted and this took the choice from out of my hands and I had to pull out. I was absolutely gutted; I had been planning this race for 11 months and had endless daydreams and conversations about it. Both Declan and Tim were in good shape, so even without me Freespeed were set to fly…

That day was a tough day for the whole team. Me, because I was frustrated, ill and annoyed that I wasn't well enough to race. Tim because he pulled out on the run, and Declan because despite towing a trailer load of wheel sucking drafters around, missed his Sub 9 by a couple of minutes. hat adowner for all of us....Thank goodness for Erdinger!!!

I've learned to move on quickly after a bad experience. My focus shifted towards Las Vegas 70.3 World Campionships and I also entered Ironman Cozumel in November. Tim entered Challenge Copenhagen and Declan enjoyed his summer vacation training all over the globe.

For Jenny and I our training now centred around 70.3 racing and we focused on building race speed on the swim, bike and run. We already had London Triathlon in the diary and we were set to race on both days to make it more of a challenge.

The team would race in a celebrity relay on Saturday, then again on Sunday. Jenny would race the Olympic distance plus (Double bike and run) and Tim and I would race the Olympic. London Triathlon is a triathlon on a mammoth scale and we loved being a part of it. The organisation and efficiency of the staff at Virgin Active are second to none. Come race day... Jenny crushed the field in the Olympic plus; I hung in there having led off the bike in the sub 2.30 Olympic distance race and ended up in third. This was the first fast run that I’d done in weeks and the next day it really hurt.

Overall 3rd, Swim 25:08 T1 03:10 Bike 56:58 T2 02:17 Run 38:38 Total 02:06:10

Tim had been training hard for Copenhagen. He’s very strong minded and has a talent for being able to really increase his focus when it’s needed. I’ve always admired this about him and knowing this made me really excited to see how he would race. Heading to Copenhagen he said he was ready to let rip...and he didn’t disappoint!! The dream of Sub 9 obliterated…. He smashed it going 8.56 for 19th overall... Bravo Tim – what a result!

With Las Vegas in mind, next up for Jen and I was 'The Pennymatters Classic Triathlon' at Dorney lake. We had been doing lots of faster paced stuff in training and this race fitted in well with our training schedule. F3 organise and a great local series of races which are perfect to test your race technique and speed. Despite a solid week of work and training behind us and without a taper, we both raced very well. Jenny was the first female and I was second male. Things were looking good for both us in Las Vegas....
Stuart
Overall 2nd Swim 22:50 T11:05 Bike 1:00:17 T2 0.41 Run 34:45 Overall 1:59:39
Jenny
Overall 1st Swim 22:57 T11:17 Bike 1:06:22 T2 1.00 Run 37:41 Overall 2:09:20

On the spur of the moment we decided to enter a team for the National Team Relays, but neither Tim nor Dec could make it… Fortunately Richard Hobson(our coach) and Sarah Gailey from Fulon Tri came to the rescue, but this did complicate things. We were no longer eligible for the Club category. Instead we changed our entry to the Open category because both Richard and Sarah were not Freespeed members. We had a really fun day hanging out with Tim from Compressport and were lucky with the weather.

There were some speedy teams and we were in head to head with Loughborough University for third going out on the final leg. As last man out, I set off ahead of Tom Bishop from Loughborough. I had about 15 years on him and it wasn’t long before age gave way to youth. We were both running 3.05min kms which I knew I couldn’t sustain. I held on the best I could, but we narrowly missed out on third position by 30 seconds(In a time of 3.19:15)… we all pledged that we wouldn’t let this happen next year and we were up for a rematch

Just two weeks had passed and Jenny and I were on our way to Henderson, Las Vegas to race in the World 70.3 Ironman Championships. Henderson was a fabulous place for a race. It was my first time in Las Vegas and its simply an awesome place to visit. There are so many exciting tourist attractions including the Las Vegas Strip, The Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. To top all this off the race course is a really tough and honest. It was not just a tough bike or run but it was also a non wetsuit lake swim. This meant it was really fair and favoured the all-round athlete, rather than the bike or run specialists.

On race morning we were set off in waves and the previous day’s rain had made the water very cool. I suffer particularly in the cold and so does Jenny. We were held there for 15 mins treading water. I was freezing by the time the gun sounded and consequently didn’t really swim to my potential. This was the start of a catalogue of errors for me and despite picking myself up after each blow I never really delivered the race I should have. Jen on the other hand was on fire coming in bang on 5 hours and securing 4th in her age only just off third. Whoop.. whoop!

Stuart
Age Group 19th Swim 32.12 T12.57 Bike 2.32:15 T2 1.32 Run 1.27:54 Overall 4.36:30
Jenny
Age Group 4th Swim 32.18 T1 3.36 Bike 2.45.31 T2 1.37 Run 1.37.24 Overall 5.00:26

We both agreed that we loved the race and the course and its one we’d like to do again. I loved it there and I think that having raced it once I’d fair better next time around.

This was practically the end of the season for the Team; Dec sadly had picked up an Achilles injury and had to pull out of Kona. Tim had raced Ironman Wales with a view to an early slot and had missed out by seconds so was now in off-season mode. I was the only one still training. Jenny and I kept up our swim sessions but she had also eased back her training due to work pressures. In the back her mind she was toying with entering 70.3 Phuket. This had slots for both 70.3 World Champs and Kona. I on the other hand had Ironman Cozumel left to race with a view to qualifying for Kona. Training had gone well and I had only a few weeknds left before IM Cozumel. On one such weekend. I combined my training with 7 hour session (bike/swim) on a Saturday and a race on the Sunday.

It was a great plan, The Jekyll and Hyde Duathlon was a super race (Run 4.2km/Bike 20km/ Run 7.5km) and there were some really fast runners and duathletes. Although I had biked the fastest split I gave away a bit of time to these short distance specialists each run, and came in 4th overall which I was really pleased with.

Overall 4th Run 14.10 T10.28 Bike 31.05 T2 0.27 Run 27.47 Overall 1.13:56

Next up was Ironman Cozumel.....

2011-08-12T18:50:00.009+01:00

We are Team Freespeed, the race team of London bike fit studio Freespeed (www.freespeed.co.uk), was formed in the run up to Kona 2010. The team has big plans for the 2011 season and beyond and is delighted to announce partnerships that will help to support the continued success of the team.

Virgin Active will be the team headline sponsor. Virgin Active is committed to triathlon – it is the title sponsor of the London Triathlon, the largest triathlon in the world - and is the perfect partner for the team.

Team Freespeed Virgin Active are part of Virgin Active’s efforts to promote triathlon to their gym communities – digital campaigns, blogs, workshops and race appearances are all on the schedule to support this mission. The team will use Virgin Active gyms as training bases and will rely on the great pool at the Fulham club for their swim training.

In addition to the headline sponsor, Virgin Active, we are really pleased to be supported by:

Skinfit - Race kit/technical clothing
Sailfish - G Range wetsuit/swim accessories
Compressport - Compression wear
Clif Bar - Nutrition products
For Goodness Shakes - Recovery nutrition
Blue Competition Cycles - Team race bikes
Prologue Bikes - Servicing of team race bikes

Team Freespeed Virgin Active consists of four triathletes pushing the boundaries of amateur racing while holding down full-time jobs. The team has some great results including:

Tim Bishop: First British age grouper at Lanzarote and Western Australia 2010
Declan Doyle: Four-time Kona finisher and first Irish age grouper at Kona 2010
Jenny Gowans: Winner of Norseman Extreme Triathlon 2008 and age group winner at Ironman races in 2007-2010.

and me

Stuart Anderson: First British age grouper at Kona in 2008 and 2010

We each raced twice over the Virgin Active London Triathlon weekend, once in the VIP relay with teams featuring Richard Branson, Nell McAndrew and Stacey Solomon, and later in the individual races.

The season has started well for the team with overall age group wins at Ironman UK 70.3, mixed team winners at HellRider Duathlon and Las Vegas and Kona qualification. Races on the 2011 team schedule include Challenge Copenhagen, 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas, Ironman World Championships in Kona, Ironman Cozumel and Ironman Wales.

Virgin Active London Triathlon also went well for the Team, Jenny won the Sprint on Saturday and The Olympic Plus on Sunday. I came third in the Sub 2.30 elite Olympic distance age group race, with Tim just behind me in 4th.

Next up Tim in Challenge Copenhagen... Go Tim!!

Freespeed Dominate - UK 70.3 Wimbleball June 2011

2011-08-12T17:47:00.011+01:00

For the first time this season all four of the Freespeed team athletes were down to race at the same event, Ironman UK 70.3. Having been to Devon to practice the course a month ago the decision was taken to combine the race with a camping trip in the beautiful Wimbleball countryside. This looked to be a flawed decision on arrival as 24 hours of torrential rain had left the fields and surrounding roads in a state that had everyone questioning their choice of carbon race wheels.

As luck would have it the rain and wind subsided during Saturday night and clear and chilly conditions greeted the 1600 athletes as they made their way into the freezing lake.

Stuart Anderson Sailfish G Range

This was a good test for the new team Sailfish G Range wetsuits and good swims by the three boys saw them come out of the water ahead of the team fish, Jenny – she’ll get her own back at a future race for sure. In the meantime, all four were on the bike and pushing hard. Stu quickly made it to the front of the age group field and comfortably stayed there until T2, coming off the bike side by side with one other athlete. Dec had worked his way through the field into a good position to attack the run and Tim was well placed in the 40-44 age group. Jen meanwhile was inside the top ten overall, loving her brand new Blue Triad SL and holding a position 3 minutes down on the first female age grouper, Tracy Cook.

Stuart Anderson

Jenny Gowans Blue Triad SL

Once on the run, Stu stormed to victory in the amateur race and 8th overall holding a gap of never more than 30 seconds to the chasing athlete in second place. Dec ran through to 4th place amateur and Tim kept it strong to take the third spot on his age group podium. Jen was struggling to make an impact on Tracy Cook who still held a two minute gap with three miles to go but a late surge brought her to the line in first place and a double amateur race win for Team Freespeed. A dream result and hundred per cent success rate for the team at the awards ceremony.

Jenny Gowans

Tim Bishop

Declan Doyle

Next up was the World Championship roll down and needless to say all four picked up their slots to Las Vegas in September and can’t wait to get out there and race the best in the world.

Team Freespeed Compressport

All of the above wouldn’t have been possible without our sponsors and it was a lot of fun to spend time with Tim from Compressport over the weekend – he was also celebrating some great results in the pro ranks. All four of the team are genuinely surprised at how good their legs are feeling in the days after the race.

New race kit from Skinfit has now arrived and custom design training kit is in production – exciting times with a major sponsorship announcement to be made in the next week or so.

“ARE YOU THE FUTURE OF BRITISH SPORT? Check out www.BringOnTomorrowFoundation.com”

2011-05-19T16:50:00.008+01:00

For Goodness Shakes have just launched a sporting legacy initiative called the Bring on Tomorrow Foundation in partnership with SportsAid. The Foundation is supporting tomorrows athletes, today by providing funding and an athlete development programme to 7 talented young athletes who have been selected through SportsAid.

They currently have 3 ‘Elite Mentors’ on board with the Foundation who run training days for the young athletes and will provide advice and guidance throughout the year. These mentors are Liam Tancock, 50m Backstroke world record holder and world champion, Sarah Stevenson who very recently won Gold at the Taekwondo World Championships and Andy Turner, European and Commonwealth 110m Hurdles Champion. These 3 have been chosen as they are competing at the very highest level in their respective sports and are keen to impart their knowledge and experience to the younger athletes.

But they still have one place left in the foundation which will be won through ‘The Final Place’ competition. Any athlete aged 16-23 may enter the competition by visiting the website and submitting an entry explaining why they should win. They must then recruit as many votes as possible to make it through to the last 10. From the 10 highest voted entries, a judging panel, including the 3 mentors will choose the lucky athlete to fill the final place. The prize includes £1000 funding, training and development days with the Elite mentors, a year’s supply of For Goodness Shakes, Foundation training kit and athlete profile page on the Foundation website. Click on the link to enter the competition.

Visit www.BringOnTomorrowFoundation.com to find out more about the athletes involved and the competition.

Freespeed rides again.....

2011-03-15T12:54:00.004Z

Team Freespeed will once again be in action this coming season with a focus on middle and long distance triathlon. The four team members are all based in west London and are some of the best amateur athletes currently racing:

Stuart Anderson fastest British age group athlete
at the Ironman World Championships, Kona 2010, 2008

Declan Doyle fastest Irish age group athlete
at the Ironman World Championships, Kona 2010

Tim Bishop fastest British age group athlete
at Ironman Lanzarote and Ironman Western Australia 2010

Jenny Gowans Norseman Extreme Triathlon winner 2008,
Age group winner at Ironman Austria, New Zealand and Regensburg

We are in the process of finalising some exciting sponsor support for the team, announcements to be made soon, in the meantime here is a sneak peek at the kit the team will be wearing in training.

Waialua Bakery - Haleiwa, Oahu

2011-01-05T11:35:00.006Z

Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself” is just one of the inspirational quotes pinned to the walls of this cozy Haleiwa bakery, which is just off the strip in Kamehameha Highway, North Shore, Oahu - Hawaii.

There are only a few seats inside, but don’t let that keep you from stopping in to soak up some words of wisdom. On a rainy day in London it's easy to cast my mind back to my time in Haleiwa and remember the lunch I had here and my first Acai smoothie...

Good Times

Freespeed... Anyone need some?

2011-01-04T11:38:00.005Z

With a new year brings new goals and challenges…..

I wanted to introduce a new Bike Fit studio in West London offering the industry leading bike fit technology, the RETUL fit system. The studio is run by a good friend of mine who is passionate about cycling whether it be road racing, Time Trials, Sportives, Triathlons or mountain biking. Richard is an accomplished rider himself and has raced all the major European cyclo sportives and multiple Ironman events including the coveted Ironman Hawaii. His passion for cycling and experience shows in his FIT's and the time he spends getting you in the most efficient position for your chosen discipline, something which is worth more than any piece of kit you buy for your bike.

A good bike FIT is key to more power, more comfort and injury free cycling. With the RETUL system it is an exact science and you will always have your exact measurements to set up which ever bike you ride.

So what does this mean……?

It means that not only will you be set up in a position where you can maximise your power output over your chosen distance, but you’ll also find you’ll optimise your run potential off the bike. All three of Team Freespeed ran our fastest Ironman marathon splits in Kona this year after being fitted by Richard. Both Declan and I also notched up Sub 5 hour bike splits... I had thought I had my position nailed until, I’d seen Richard. So if you want to run the same set up system of all the top Pros and rule out any race concerns about your optimum position, check out Freespeed.

For all the technical details, specifics and post FIT service its best to contact Richard. He is currently offering a £50 discount for January and if you let him know I passed this on to you he will make every effort to be flexible with FIT times to fit in around your availability.

Start 2011 in the best possible position, its FREESPEED!!

What is Biestmilch.....??? Natural immunity...

2010-12-31T12:33:00.011Z

One of my biggest changes in the run up to Kona this year was the introduction of Biestmilch into my daily routine. I was conscious that in the run up to early October many of my friends were coming down with coughs, colds and flu.... This was no good!! And to be honest I was fearful of coming down with something myself and worried how this could affect my training and ultimately my race.

I've always adopted a prophecy that I will try my best to minimise risk and influence the odds ( where I can) in my favour. A friend, Mark Hughes, had been using Biestmilch, and had suggested I give it a go. From that point onwards it became part of my daily routine... I've not been sick since!!

What is Biestmilch?

Biestmilch is not an invention. It is the name for the colostrum or the foremilk, this quintessentially natural substance, which is produced by the breasts of all female mammals for their offspring after the birth. Our Biestmilch originates from cows.
Biestmilch is a food product. Those who have personally experienced its almost magical effects will be tempted to call it a natural remedy.

Biestmilch is a life principle. The offspring of many animals is highly endangered without Biestmilch. Some animals die, others remain sickly. Every animal needs at least one hearty mouthful for a healthy start in life. Our Biestmilch is only harvested after the little calf has had its share .The difference in species hardly matters where the consumption of Biestmilch is concerned. If e.g. a mare does not produce any Biestmilch, a mother cow can help out without any problems.

The term Biestmilch derives from Old High German. In Indo-Germanic the origin of this term appears for the first time. The Indo-German »buskhos« is the root of words like Busen (bosom) and Bauch (belly) as well as Biestmilch or »der« Biest respectively. In Alemanic German North German, Dutch as well as in Switzerland »Biestmilch«, »der Biast« or »Beest« has remained a part of everyday language. The corresponding English word is until today beestings.

In technical literature Biestmilch from the cow is also called bovine Colostrum.
Cows observe us, we observe cows

Biestmilch nowadays experiences very extreme forms of reception. Some people demonise it others praise it. Biestmilch is considered as a life principle on the one hand and as a tabu on the other. For our ancestors Biestmilch was already both lucky stuff or devilish. Today we mainly have little relation to Biestmilch or lost it completely. Many of us have a rather sceptical approach to it.

But in short in worked for me, and alongside Macca, Terrenzo, Ronnie, Yvonne, Nicole to name but a few I feel in a very exclusive club of Athletes

Ironman World Championships 2010 - Kona Hawaii

2010-12-31T10:25:00.016Z

The lead up to my race hadn't been perfect; I'd qualified in Wisconsin the previous year. Since then I'd had to pull out of both IM Lanzarote and IM Nice due to injury. I had torn ligaments in my left ankle which had affected my running for the rest of the year. My early plans of a sub 3 marathon were slipping away...

Kona would be my first Ironman of the year, with this came the uncertainty of how I would race. I arrived earlier this year than I had in the past, this was to be a very special couple of weeks for me and few weeks that would shape my future. Mette and I were married in St Peters Church, Kailua Kona - Hawaii on the 3rd October. It was a very special day for both us and made even more special by all our friends and family who were there

My race didn’t have a perfect start I had positioned myself two rows back in the middle. As the cannon sounded the paddle boarders were too close to me and blocked my swim. I had to go sideways before I could go forward and this wasn't easy with around 1500 other athletes behind me. From that point onwards I tried to relax in the 'melee or thrashing arms and feet' that was the swim. Exiting the swim, I felt good, relaxed. I hadn't been any where close to the red line; I was conscious that this was where I could make up some time.

I ride to watts and quickly settled into a rhythm passing the faster swimmers. I’ve recently been Retul’d by Freespeed and my position felt strong even in the Trade winds at Hawi. This gave me confidence and a sub 5 bike was the result!! my first ever in Kona…..... I put this down to having a plan and sticking to it. I use a concentrated Infinit Speedfil on the down tube and have a profile torpedo with water on the bars. This is all I carry, no bars, saltsticks or any other nutrition.

The run was hot, and although I was just off my target pace I felt like was just hanging in there...At the turn point I saw Declan Doyle was about 200m behind me and Tim Bishop was a little further back. Both looked strong. I train with both Dec and Tim and know how capable and talented they are, I wasn't sure if I could hold my pace. I saw a sign at the side of the road that said ’ Pain reassures you that you’re alive’ I was alive alright… and hurting!! From the start my run felt hard, I didn't remember 2008 being like this. But this year I was shooting for better than 21st in my age group and it came at a cost. Richard Hobson, my coach, was just ahead and it spurned me on to see familiar faces. I could see that he was hurting too, thank goodness for that as Tim and Dec still looked fresh. Heading out onto the Queen K into the lava fields, I felt alone and strangely took strength from this, my race was in my hands and it was mine to let slip away. I took solace that I was still passing more athletes.

I was so glad to see the finish, there’s nothing quite like the finish on Alii Drive and I will cherish that forever. My friend’s from Disney Tri were there cheering me on and for the first I shared the finishing flume with no one.... It was mine and mine alone.

My fastest race to date in Kona, 89th overall including all the Pro's. 36th Amateur and 10th in age group. 1st British Age grouper again

Swim 1:06.21
T1 3.03
Bike 4:55.30
T2 3.10
Run 3:09.15

Ironman World Championships

2010-11-29T14:04:00.008Z

Here's just a few photo's.....My blog will be up this week

Raise a glass to the supporters

2010-06-20T13:50:00.011+01:00

I pulled out of Ironman Lanzarote with a heavy heart, knowing I was in peak shape, but for my damaged ankle ligaments. Watching the race was difficult as I had mentally planned my race in each day dream for months. I knew as the clock ticked where I'd planned to be, where the pain would come and also where I'd need to dig in and hold on.

The morning of the race, I'd hired a scooter and my plan was to follow the race and support all my friends, especially in areas or parts of the course where the support was very sparse.

This seemed like a simple plan, how hard could it be to support Richard, Tim and some of the other guys. They had arrived in Lanzarote with a view to qualifying for Kona. This race was their only chance and their hopes and dreams to race the World Championships in October depended on it. It was going to be a fantastic day!!

Dawn broke and the long day ahead beckoned. It was important for me to give Richard and Tim their positions in their age group on the run. This I found was much harder than I expected because not only did I find myself looking at athletes as they passed trying to guess their age, but it meant that I had to get a close look at each competitors number when they ran past, both of which I found really tricky as the front runners were running some fast marathons. Next time I'm racing, I'll be much more appreciative when someone shouts at my position in a race , as I really didn't understand how difficult it was.....get the info/intelligence wrong and you risk the competitor holding back in the belief that they're safe within the qualifying zone. Get this wrong and you become the reason they missed their slot and that is just bad karma!!!

Watching Richard Hobson and Tim Bishop, both excellent athletes but they both have different strengths and race very differently. Richard was out front from the swim and Tim was muscling his way through the pack taking scalps as he went. So the danger was there were faster runners behind Richard that were catching him and how many more athletes Tim would need to overtake before he made it to safety within the qualifying zone. All of this was very stress full.....

Thankfully both athletes excelled themselves on the day, Richard lost a few places but still remained well on track and Tim motored through bulldozing those fellow agegroupers ahead.

What I'll take away from this is how tough it is for the loved ones and partners who have supported their husband, wife, Mum or Dad and the level of stress they go through worrying about thier partner whilst they're watching them carve out their dreams.

So the next time we race, lets make it requirement that the first beer post race, we toast the supporters, who if they could..... would be with you your whole journey.

Qualifying for Kona...

2010-06-19T12:43:00.007+01:00

Qualifying slots for Kona don't come easy.... and every athlete that makes the decision not only to complete an Ironman, which in itself is an amazing achievement !!However for those who strive to be the best in their age group it involves a very firm commitment, self belief, mental strength and a little talent.

If you are a triathlete, there is no bigger day in this sport than the Ford Ironman World Championship. It is the race that defined our sport as it came of age, and continues to be the defining race in our sport for any avid triathlete.

To get to the starting line in Kona, you must either be very lucky and get yourself a spot through the lottery, or very talented, and win yourself a qualifying spot at one of the qualifying events held around the world.

Tens-of-thousands of triathletes try to get one of those coveted Ironman spots every year. Only 1,800 succeeded.

That means 1,800 "lucky" people get to test themselves on one of the biggest challenges the sports world has to offer ... 2.4-miles of swimming, 112-miles of biking, and a 26.2-mile marathon run through tough ocean waves, and challenging lava-covered terrain.

While there are thousands of triathlons around the world, it is this one that truly defines the sport. It all began at an Awards Ceremony for a relay running race in Honolulu in 1977. A group of local athletes discussed the idea of an endurance triathlon and combining three major events that already existed on the island. John Collins suggested combining them and making it a single-day event. Later that evening, Collins took the stage announcing the event and that "whoever finishes first, we will call him the IRONMAN." It has since become triathlon's Super Bowl, Wimbledon, World Series, World Cup, and Tour de France all rolled into one. What makes this event so unique is that "ordinary" people get to compete alongside the best in the world.

Ironman Lanzarote 2010 - A DNS....

2010-06-01T18:19:00.021+01:00

With over 20 days on warm weather training camps in Club La Santa –Lanzarote this year. My coach Richard Hobson and I were feeling confident about shape and form to race Ironman Lanzarote. It’s a strange feeling.... but as an athlete, you feel channelled, directed and focused especially when things have been going well. I was really excited at the prospect of laying the smack down…

My training camps in Lanzarote, were all about acclimatising and adjusting to the heat and ferocious wind that Lanza is famous for. Richard Hobson had organised two 10 day camps one in February and the other in April. This was the perfect opportunity to train with a great group of athletes.

I returned leaner and stronger, having dropped down to my race weight. All in all the tide was turning and my body was transitioning to a weight and body fat content that I’d only be able to hold for a couple of weeks. Carrying less weight really impacts on my run. A few less kilos’ on the marathon and it makes for an easier day.
In the build up to a race Richard reduces my training mileage, which allows my body to recover, but introduces a few tempo sessions to make sure my training doesn’t go stale. This called a taper.

I’ve heard Richard say many times that

‘The hardest thing about racing is making it to the start line’.

And he’s right; there are so many things that can go wrong – Illness, injury etc
I’ve always been very fortunate on this front as even when I’ve picked up injuries and had to take time out, I’ve recovered well. In the run up to this race, I seemed to be on fire, I clocked sub 33 mins for two laps of Richmond Park (an undulating 24km) so I knew I was ready.

It was 5 days out from the race and I was on a 20km training run into work, it felt good as the sun was out. Mentally I was in a good place as I was already rehearsing my race in my head when suddenly I turned my ankle over on an uneven paving slab. There was an audible crack and I was reduced to a hobble….

That was it…. Game over!! It was X rayed and fortunately it was just the ligaments. I’ve had this sort of injury before so I knew the routine and the method to improve recovery. I saw the Physio and started my treatment.

I travelled out to Lanzarote, not as an athlete ready to race, but to support my coach Richard who would be racing an Ironman for the first time in 17 years. It was a difficult decision to make to tavel and when I arrived, I was asked by so many friends ‘What was wrong?’ and ‘Why can’t you race?’ My friend Vince said I should tell them
'I slipped on a lime in salsa competition….'

Despite this it was great to get out on the course to cheer on my friends, Tim Bishop,Lee Holdaway,Kit Stokes, James Pete, Steven Lord, Pete Slater, Tom Newman and of course Richard. It was a super day and in his first Ironman race for 17 years..... Richard smashed it!!! coming 41st overall, 2nd in his age category and qualifying for the Ironman World championships in Kona - Hawaii. My good friend Tim Bishop also put in an awesome performance notching up Pb’s in both the swim and the run on his way to being the fastest British Amateur in 37th, also qualifying for the World Champs. Congratulations Tim - I know how much you wanted this.....

So with three of us already qualified … there’s just Declan Doyle, Lee Holdaway and James Pete to go…

Come on fellas...

Congratulations must also go out to Pete Slater & Steven Lord both qualifying again to race in Kona. Both raced with their heart and soul and deserved the result.

Speedfil - is it another Aero Advantage??

2010-03-18T13:40:00.008Z

I'm just back from having spent 10 days training in Lanzarote, it was an awesome eye opener to how windy the island can be. When I arrived with Richard Hobson and some of the Athletes registered on his Long distance Triathlon camp we encountered the tail end of the hurricane that had been causing damage & devastation across France.

I was concerned by the fact that I'd decided to bring my time trial bike with deep wheels. This meant I was faced with the prospect of being blown off the road and maybe there days where I was unable to ride at all. I had also agreed to trial a new water bottle - Speedfil
This is both aerodynamic and has a 1200ml capacity. It has a simple bite valve and easy to refill. It took me less than five mins to install.....
The Speedfil is a revolutionary product designed to minimize air disturbance while creating fluid-carrying capacity. The down tube-mounted cage creates smooth airflow around the frame while the rider is in motion. Fluid passes through flexible tubing, allowing for easy output through the bite valve. Hydration is immediate as the bite valve keeps fluid at the ready for whenever its needed. It fitted well on my Specialized Transition and having the straw in front of me encouraged me to drink regularly.
On a 60km/10km/40km/5km/20km/5km Brick session I only lost 200grams of weight, compared to some of the other guys losing over a kilo. This demonstrates that I remained well hydrated throughout my session.

In the wind, it seemed to pick up the wind like a sail, blowing me a long - Yipee!!! the only problem I had was when I was caught by gusts, but so long as my weight was over the front wheel on my aero bars it wasn't a problem. Clearly this is the next step in 'aeroness', much better than having the normal parachute that most athletes have attached to their seat in the form of cages, spare tubes and tools.....

For longer distance races 70.3 or Ironman its got to be a winner!

Its time to run........

2010-02-09T18:56:00.004Z

“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up,” Bannister said. “It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a lion or a gazelle – when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”

Roger Bannister

Ride with caution....

2010-01-12T13:33:00.005Z

With the onset of a New Year, many people would have set resolutions and are ready to hit the gym, Tarmac or their local park of training ground. This is great and I but please air on the side of caution...

I've been practically chomping on the bit dieing to get out and ride a new Time Trial bike that I took delivery of before Christmas, but alas the weather has been such that the risk of loosing the front wheel on a icy patch has far outweighed the benefit.

I was out riding with some friends the other day when we crested a hill and as we did so, a friend lost the front wheel on a patch of ice momentarily before we all went down. This resulted her breaking her wrist and a number of fingers!!

So if you really need to ride, my advice is to take the Mountain bike out or leave your weekend ride until later in the day when the frost has melted.... Its just not worth spending 6 weeks out with a fractured or broken limb....

Punctures....and cheap gas!!!

2009-12-04T17:53:00.012Z

With the onset of the Winter, comes the inevitable.....

Wet roads increase the likelihood of picking up punctures as grit and road debris sticks to the tyre and slowly cuts into the tyre each rotation. Especially if you're still running those lightweight summer tyres. Ideally these should be replaced with a tyre with some level of puncture protection. I use folding Continental Gatorskins and use a slightly wider 25mm to give me more stability in the wet when conrnering. If I was racing I'd be using Michelin Pro Race 3 Grip, 23mm These a are super sticky and allow me a greater level of confidence when cornering hard.

In any case my main discovery this week was that so many people didn't know about Tyre Inflators www.tyreinflators.co.uk. These guys are simply fantastic and allow clyclists to use Co2 gas canisters much more liberally beacuse they sell them so cheap. At around 50p a cartridge you may never need to use your pump again. It also means that you can be on the road again in mins....

Keep trucking!!

Correct Pre, During and Post Workout Nutrition

2009-11-27T13:33:00.006Z

So I met this guy, Jarrad Wyett, the other day. We had a really interesting discussion about nutrition. I mentioned that I have been using Infinit products, Pre post and during races. I also explained that I favour their no solids approach both for ease of function, carrying them around and getting an instant hit when I need it, especially when I have low blood sugar; however what we agreed and discussed at length was that nutrition is very personal. Anyway Jarrad said that he would send me something...... and here it
Pre Workout Nutrition:
Correct nutrition is a fundamental part of any exercise enthusiast. Without proper nutrition throughout the entire day you won’t make any serious gains. While acknowledging nutrition is a fundamental part of any training program, pre, during and post nutrition is paramount. The following information on pre, during and post nutrition is not rocket science but rather tried and tested knowledge to maximise your results.
Pre-Workout Nutrition

Two Objectives prior to a workout:
1.) Having a meal 1½ hours before training (This time can vary depending on your metabolism, amount of food consumed, how you feel when you train, etc.).

2.) Taking a proper supplement 30mins before (Protein, carbohydrates and branch chain amino acids are a great idea).

Pre-Workout Meal (Should Contain):

Carbohydrates are the main source energy in a workout. Consume moderate to low glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates as they will fuel your body with energy throughout the entire workout. If you only eat high GI carbohydrates before a workout, you will have a lot of energy at the start and little energy at the end.
Some great sources include brown rice, brown bread, lentils, sweet potatoes, whole-wheat pasta and traditional oatmeal.
Many fruits have a moderate GI, including dried fruit. The lowest GI fruits include cherries (25), apples (36) and pears (36).

Glycemic Index Range
Low GI = 55 or less Medium GI = 56-69 High GI = 70+

Protein: Is the essential building blocks of muscles. Without it, your muscles would not grow. Protein also ensures proper nitrogen balances in the muscle for growth and repair. Some excellent sources of protein include eggs, chicken, turkey and fish (Tuna & Salmon). Ensuring protein is part of your pre-workout meal and directly before in the form of a whey powder is ideal.

Fats: EFA (essential fatty acids) are necessary for maintaining high testosterone levels, energy levels and obtaining fat soluble vitamins. However fats slow food absorption and you don't want food nutrient uptake being slowed down before a workout. So fats pre-workout should be limited for those that are hungry all the time and those that train for 100+ minutes. Olive oil, peanut butter, nuts and egg yolks are all sources.

Pre-workout Supplements
Creatine: Enables trainees to train more intensely, for longer time periods and has been shown to assist with recovery.
Caffeine: A widely used stimulate which increases energy levels and if stacked with Ephedrine HCL is an excellent fat burner. Studies have shown that caffeine enhances performance specifically in weight training.

L-Glutamine: An important non-essential amino acid that prevents muscle catabolism. Studies have shown it increases growth hormone levels and assists in muscle recovery by maintaining cell hydration.

BCAA (Branched Chain Amino Acids): Assists with anabolism by slowing fatigue while the trainee performs and significant prevention of muscle catabolism. Strengthening of the immune system is another benefit apart from the all important prevention of muscle catabolism.

Energy/Mental Focus: B-vitamins, guarana and ginseng. A balanced B-vitamin helps convert the carbohydrates consumed into energy. It is key that B-vitamins aren’t taken singularly (B1 or B2) because vitamins don't work alone in the body. Bananas are full of B-vitamins, along with brewers yeast (natures highest source of B-vitamins). Guarana and ginseng are herbal supplements that can improve energy levels, alertness and mental focus if taken in moderation.

Meal Examples:

Pre-Workout Meal #1: Chicken and Rice
■1 Cup pasta sauce ■1 Chicken breast ■Vegetables ■1 cup brown rice

Pre-Workout Meal #2: Turkey Burger
■Whole wheat bun ■Non-fat turkey burger ■Cheese ■Salad

Pre-Workout Meal #3: Hot Oats
■1 cup traditional oats ■1 ½ cups of skim milk ■1 pear sliced
During Workout Nutrition
During your workout avoid eating to let your body concentrate on the workout and not on ingesting food. Instead consume water. Water is vital to stay hydrated during a workout and enable maximum muscle contraction. Creatine and BCAA’s can be added to your workout water to assist performance and nutrient uptake by your muscles.

Protein Shakes: A protein shake is not a good idea as blood will be directed to the stomach for digestion. This will result in less blood being available for the working muscles where it is needed the most.

Sports Drinks: Only needed if doing vigorous exercise over 1 ½ hours, to replace lost carbohydrates and salts.
Post-Workout Nutrition

Two objectives to post workout nutrition:

1.) Fuelling your body immediately after a workout and fuelling your body 1½ hours after. The goal is to use proper nutrients to assist with recovery; replenish glycogen, amino acids and hydration levels.

2.) Creating an anabolic environment to maximise results from the training stimulus.

Immediately After a Workout:

Following a workout a liquid meal in the form of a recovery shake is one of the most effective methods to optimise nutrient uptake, due to rapid absorption rates. The primary aims being to:
1.) Replace 2.) Stop 3.) Elevate

1.) Replace Glycogen Stores
 By replenishing glycogen you will be creating an insulin spike. Insulin is highly anabolic, fuelling muscle growth and slowing anabolism of muscle tissue.
 Refined types of carbohydrates work best, including dextrose (aka glucose) and maltodextrin. This is because they are both digested rapidly and replenish glycogen stores quickly. A mix of both dextrose and maltodextrin is more potent compared to using just one type, as they activate different transport mechanisms within the digestive tract.
 .8 - 1 grams of carbohydrates per kg of body mass.

** Insulin: If you keep creating insulin spikes, then your insulin sensitivity will decrease. This means your muscles have had too much glycogen shoved into them too often so the muscles will start rejecting the glycogen. Keeping insulin spikes to 2-3 per day will ensure insulin response is not desensitized and maximise the sensitivity of the muscles cells to uptake nutrients post-workout. If high GI foods are consumed regularly less insulin will be produced every time, eventually shutting down insulin production altogether (Diabetes!). The less insulin you produce the less protein synthesis will occur. Therefore by consuming moderate to low GI carbohydrates at the majority of meals, when you do consume high GI carbohydrates your insulin response will be far more significant, as will those muscle gains.**
2.) Stop Muscle Breakdown
 Consumption of protein is essential to stop protein breakdown, repair muscles and build new muscle.
 The 2:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio, boosts insulin levels twice as much compared to carbohydrates alone. Insulin is vital as it opens up blood vessels in your muscles, meaning more nutrients such as amino acids and carbohydrates where their needed.
 .4 grams of protein per kg of body mass.

Bulking Stage Ratio - 2:1 Carbohydrate : Protein mix
Cutting Stage Ratio - 1:1 Carbohydrate : Protein mix

3.) Elevate Protein Synthesis
 Training stress causes small tears in muscle fibres and connective tissue. This training stress and the proper intake of foods such as a quality protein powder, will provide a boost in protein synthesis (boost in muscle growth). Studies have shown that BCAA supplementation in combination with an insulin spike can dramatically increase protein synthesis within the body.

** Recovery: As a result of the tearing and breakdown of the muscle tissue, the body needs help to repair this damage. So fluids begin to build up to transport immune cells to the torn muscle debris. While these go to work, free radicals build up. Free radicals are chemically very unstable meaning they bond to anything. They can breakdown muscle tissue and further damage it causing a longer recovery. That is why anti-oxidants are a good thing to keep in mind.
Anti-oxidants bond to these free radicals so they won't bond to your muscle tissue and break it down. Green tea and vitamin C supplements are good anti-oxidants to assist with the recovery process.**

Post Workout Shake:
 Whey Protein Isolate (.4 grams per kg of body mass)
 High GI Carbohydrates: Dextrose & Maltodextrin (.8 grams per kg of body mass)
 BCAA (3-5 grams)
 Creatine (3-5 grams)
 Anti-Oxidants (Vitamin C & E)
 L-Glutamine (3-5 grams)
 Sodium (A pinch will help with electrolyte levels and help make an isotonic solution to improve hydration)
 H20 500ml to 1 litre (H2O for rehydration of cells. Avoid milk as it can slow the uptake of nutrients)

** Instead of pouring the whole thing down your throat after your workout, have half immediately after. After 15mins, the second half should be consumed slowly over the next 1/2 hour to give a sustained influx of protein. The initial hour flowing a workout is key to maximising results by consuming proper nutrients.**

1-2 Hours After Workout:

Consume an actual meal consisting of low to moderate GI foods. Do not create an insulin spike here, as it is better off creating an insulin spike (remember 2-3 max per day) in the morning and directly after training. An ideal meal following a workout should be similar to that of other meals throughout the day. Consume a variety of natural unprocessed foods with a balance of carbohydrate, protein and fat.

Examples of foods to consume include:
 H20 (creatine, caffeine dehydrate body)
 Pasta & Whole wheat breads
 Sweet potatoes & Vegetables
 Brown rice
 Chicken, Fish or lean red meat
 Eggs
 Nuts (almonds)
Final Word:
Eat quality food, food that has little or no processing what so ever. While it may seem hard at the start it will soon become part of your lifestyle and the results will come. Training is the fun part of it all, with the nutrition aspect being the hardest part of any serious training program. All the training in the world will not enable you to achieve your goals unless you have nutrition in place throughout the day. And to disregard proper pre, during and post nutrition will limit your success altogether.

Jarrad Wyett
November 2009

Aqua Sphere AlfaFins - Say goodbye to cramps...

2009-11-07T18:07:00.006Z

For years I've struggled with cramp whilst using fins... normally within 200 meters into the set I would start to feel the uncomfortable pains of cramp in the arches of my feet.

So much so that every time I had a set that involved the use of fins I anticipated cramps and felt dejected at the prospect. I tried all number of different fins, Speedo, Zoggs and Aqua Sphere, but each time I suffered the same result.

It was only recently whilst attending a Swim For Tri course that I noticed Dan Bullock, their head coach and founder of Swim For Tri, using these crazy looking blue fins which resembled the flippers of a Seal. Despite looking quite funny, they are 70% lighter than normal fins. The EVA foam design not only maximizes comfort but also makes the fins float - no more diving down to retrieve lost fins! The dedicated right and left fins have full arch support which I think is why I've been able to complete long sets cramp free

This has really changed my enjoyment of swimming with fins as I used to loath it!!
Hooray for Aqua Sphere AlfaFins!!!

Great South Run 2009 - Racing out of shape!

2009-11-06T17:31:00.013Z

So I was roped into running in this 10 mile smash fest, after doing nothing but eating burgers, drinking wine and destroying family size bars of Cadburys Whole nut...
Following Wisconsin I'd decided to take time out to catch up with friends, so Richard (my Coach) had reduced my training and we decided within the downtime to focus on my swimming(more about that later)

Anyway with just three runs in 6 weeks it was never going to be pretty...I'd agreed to race as part of the Daily Telegraph race team, in conjunction with a piece of editorial we were running.
I toed the line with the 21'000 athletes, only I was on the front just behind Mo Farah(GB 2012 Olympic Gold hopeful). What was I thinking.... in for a penny, in for a pound!!It was gonna be fun....

The cannon went and we were off... Within the first 500m I noticed Iwan Thomas running beside me, Iwan is arguably the best GB 400m runner ever and he was running for Macmillan Cancer, he's one fast dude.. We were into the wind so I sheltered at the back of the pack out of the wind. The pace was fast and we went through 2 miles in 10 min 44 secs. This was my finest point I think.... as my limited conditioning and the rapid pace was starting to take effect. I was struggling into the wind and I started to slow.... I was in the hurt zone... Ouch!
At about 4 miles a strong group caught and passed me, I knew this was the Sub 60 min guys, probably running at 57 min pace. They had just been more restrained and controlled off the start. I tried to stay with them but soon fell off the back. Oh dear I thought, this is what happens when you don't train...

I was in no mans land, people in front that couldn't catch and people behind that I was trying to outrun. It was so tough, but I pushed on telling myself not be such a 'whinger' and to push on despite the fact I was hyperventilating.

I went through 8 miles in 47.48 mins and felt good realising I only had to nail two more 6 min miles. I would be home with time to spare and would be on target for a sub 60 minuter. Ordinarily this wouldn't be a problem, but as we turned to complete the last two miles along the promenade, we turned into a full on headwind. This was really hard work and I tried to make myself really small.... I pushed on catching the guy in front, signalling for him to drop in behind me, so he could shelter and suggested we take turns on the front. He nodded but when it cam e to his turn, the wheels had come off and he'd fallen behind... doh!

I looked at my watch....there was no way I was going to make 60 mins. The headwind meant that I was running over 30 secs slower per mile. With the finish ahead I pushed on and tried to enjoy the last 400m and all the crowd support.
I came in 61.18 mins over 6 mins slower than my PB, but hey never mind... It was fun to be out of my comfort zone. Overall I was 77th and 7th in my age group category. Mo won and did in just over 43 minutes...Wow!!
Its a great race to do and I recommend it as a winter sharpener.. The weather was super and organisation superb.

Thank You Disney Tri.....

2009-10-20T13:20:00.010+01:00

As an athlete its easy to take credit for a good performance. The podium or medals are a result of dedication, determination and talent right? Well yes and no....

As an amateur Ironman athlete I work up to 60 hours a week and train up to 25 hours. This means juggling my busy work life with my training and fitting things around my job. My philosophy is where you have a passion for something you will always find the time. I swim before work and use my commute (20Km) to run or bike to and from work. On the weekends I schedule my longer sessions. This means I need to be super organised,I pack bags with kit the night before, ensure I have enough clean shirts for work, enough clean training kit etc, etc.... My life becomes very much swim, bike,run, eat and sleep...

Professional atheletes have a network of people to help with this and of course they don't have to work on top of their training. My network consists of my girlfriend, family and friends. Without my girlfriend all these thing would be so much harder. Our partners make a huge sacrifice for us, after all this 'Ironman lark' may not necessarily be their passion too...

I was recently in Wisconsin to race and I was very touched by the Disney Tri club and how warm and friendly they all were. Not only was I welcomed into their club as an honorary member (being the only Brit in the race and not knowing anyone else within the race) but as I got to know them all and their families who were there to support them. I was so impressed with how much they had embraced their sons or club members achievements. They were there cheering their loved ones on until midnight. Baring in mind the race starts at 7am, this is no mean feat....

So I'd just like to thank The Coleman's, for all their great shouts and all the Disney Tri team for adopting me for my time at Ironman Wisconsin. Truly without the support from our girlfriends, family, friends and training buddies our races would be significantly harder....

The Wisco Disco - Ironman Wisconsin 2009

2009-09-30T13:28:00.033+01:00

Short Report
2nd 35 -39 Age group, 5th Amateur, 18th Overall out of 2400 in a time of 9.33:18
Qualified for The World Championships in Kona- Hawaii 2010

Detailed report
My early decision to take a year out from Kona in 2009 wasn't taken lightly. When I qualified again this year in Lanzarote, turning down that golden ticket and all that it meant to me was the hardest race decision I've ever made. My friends all thought I was clinically insane... Tim and Dec my training buddies, who had targeted later races, thought I was nuts!! I had a plan that 2010 would be my special year and I was confident that with the right coaching and support from Richard Hobson, Mette (my girlfriend) and I could make it happen...

I arrived in Wisconsin and hooked up with Tri legend - Ken Glah. Ken had organised my accommodation and transfer. Ken now runs a Ironman specific travel company called Endurance Sports Travel The following day we rode the course. It was every bit as hilly as I was led to believe, not on a Lanzarote scale, but tough enough to play to my strengths. Thank goodness I had selected the right gearing, I was running a 56/39 with an 11/26 on the back. There were lots of fast corners with intermittent steep sections. With the 56 I could make time up on the downhills, where other bikers would be using their brakes or free wheeling.

Come race day I was ready, I woke at 0430hrs for a 0700hrs start. Experience has taught me I need to eat at least two hours before a race in order for nature to take its course! The Ironman had truly rolled into town and nothing would stand in its way. I later found out that the previous day a fisherman had drowned in Lake Monona and they had been dredging all night looking for the body. Thankfully they had found the poor soul, but this wasn't good Karma. I put my thoughts about this aside...but the water was so cloudy and murky that I found it difficult to think of any thing else, whilst tredding water on the start. BOOM..... the cannon sounded and I was off. I had positioned myself on the pace line, a little optimistically in fairness, but I was used to a bit rough and tumble. I normally just put this down to racing. I don't believe its due to anyone being purposefully malicious. At about 800m into the swim I realised I'd gone marginally off course, the sun was in my eyes and I'd gone maybe 70m off course. I had basically been ploughing through other athletes but heading in the wrong direction!! I quickly corrected this and continued to work hard to regain the distance I'd lost. I began to leave the pack and edge up to the athletes ahead. Either they were dying or I was so far off course that the normal guys I'd be up with were long gone!! No one passed me on the second 1900m loop...My Sailfish wetsuit felt great, super comfortable. I exited the water about 3 Min's down of where I expected. In distance terms this is about 100-200 metres and this accounted for my poor sighting....Grrr! I later found out I was 293 overall at this point with a time of 1.04:39.

Transition One - This is totally crazy, it must be the longest transition ever. After your encounter with wetsuit strippers, who make you lay on your back before they peel your suit off. Then you run from ground level up the helix of a multistory car park to the 4th floor, pick up your bag and change before running out to the car park to pick up your bike to descend down another helix....
All this took me 5.07. The fastest pro guys were 3.58. It has to be seen to be believed......
The bike was a 23km out and back from Madison with 67km loop in the middle which was repeated twice. I liked this idea taking the race out on to quiet country roads so the main roads, in and out, of Madison weren't effected. For the first 90 Min's of the bike I pushed really hard trying to make up for my lost time in the swim. From time to time I'd pick up someone who'd try to hold my wheel, but confidently I'd push on. After two hours I caught a group who were riding legally, but clearly rotating through and working together. I knew there were three hills coming up and I left my attack until then, leaving them in my wake. I needed to push and hold over 400 watts to break the group and this would come back to haunt me later. A stronger Czech guy stayed with me but was later red carded for drafting. For the remainder of the race, I had caught two guys, one from Boulder called Shane and German guy called Stefan. Both were strong and we were riding the same pace. We had to keep out of each others draft zone as we were constantly shadowed by the race marshals. At around 3 hours I started to lose sight of them and they pulled away. My mega power intervals had pushed me over my red line and up came my breakfast.... I eased off and left it 15 Min's before I tried to take on some water. Thankfully the answer was yes, this gave me the chance to take on more Infinit energy and within minutes, I was back. I used only 2 bottles of concentrated Infinit on the bike and diluted this with water from my aero bottle. I reeled in other bikers passing the female Pro's who had started 10 min prior. I knew then that I was ii the sharp end of the race and I was charged...I'd biked 5.05:01 averaging 35.5kmh....

The second transition from bike to run was shorter and I tore through it, equaling or beating most of the Pro's in 2.06 Min's

I stormed out of the Monona Exhibition Hall transition area hitting the tarmac hard. I knew I had a 3 hour marathon somewhere, the question was would I find it here in Wisconsin...The first part of the run took us into downtown Madison and I was able to settle into a relaxed pace. I felt good, hydrated with no stomach issues. I was taking a gel every 15 Min's, chasing it with water. After the first 10km this changed.... the course became difficult to maintain a rhythm, It was up down, left, right, onto a sidewalk and then back onto the road and my pace began to wain.. Note to self, always recce the run course too, this was simply bad admin on my part. I should have biked it before the race. It really is a crazy course... at one point we ran into the 100'000 seater 'Wisconsin Badgers' American football stadium, round the touch line and back out!!!

At the half way point Mike Reilly shouted over the speaker that I was the 5th amateur, third in my Age Group and that number one was just in front..... this was like a red rag to a bull, I pushed on. Suddenly I saw a guy walking in front. He was the lead guy in my age... great I thought, 1 more to go. I could see him in front, Brian was his name. I was catching him each mile, but the second lap had become really congested. At the aid stations It had become increasingly harder to be re supplied with sponges and water. Each aid station was laid out in a different format and I found myself having to stop and often walk back to the water supplier, who had missed my shouts for water as I ran passed. This had began to annoy me as I kwew I would have to burn the precious seconds that I had worked so hard for... Eventually I caught Brian and passed him decisively. I could hear his feet disappear, and knew he hadn't come with me. I was now leading my Age group and was third amateur overall. The race was mine too lose.... and this became a real possibility. I had used GU gels for this race,which were not my usual choice and they were giving me gas!!!Not good.... at this point I was concerned about having a You tube incident, so had to duck into a portaloo. Can you believe that the first two were both occupied. Typical ehh...I really didn't expect this, I even mindlessly started to queue. I frantically ran through the next aid station looking for the loo, and thank goodness found one.... I was almost disappointed having burnt all this time to find out it was just wind. Brian had re passed me and was now 200m up the road. I had just the up hill stretch home to catch him..... I had run out of road, despite upping my pace I wasn't able to bridge the gap. I was now surrounded by so many athletes on their first lap he was difficult to pick out ahead. I took solace that I was now finishing my marathon and that my race was almost over. I decided to enjoy it, ignoring the the younger age grouper who ran by me, Thorsten was his name. I celebrated with the crowd, high five-ing everyone and doing a 'Tim Don' aeroplane down the finishing flume... It felt just awesome!!!

3.16:28 not my fastest Ironman marathon, but it had put me 18th overall, 5th amateur and 2nd in my Age Group. I missed 1st by just 41 seconds.....

Job done - Kona 2010 here I come - Hooray!!!!

The Ultimate Challenge.....Everest

2009-09-03T18:00:00.006+01:00

For Richard Staite adversity was always interesting.... Having gained an Cambridge Blue at rowing and multiple Ironman finishes it was only a matter of time before Everest beckoned.

Climbing Everest takes a surprisingly long time. We were camped on the mountain for about two months even before making the final attempt on the summit. This time was spent acclimatizing, setting up camps and thinking about what lay ahead of us. We were actually ready for the final ascent after six weeks but due to high winds we were stuck at 6400m for yet another two weeks. At this height the body breaks itself down and you lose weight rapidly. Mentally you start to think you may never make it. When the wind dropped we finally set off and would take another three days to reach our top camp at 8400m, high on the north face. By this point I was already in a daze and feeling weak. It was cold and very windy, not only was there the lack of oxygen, but I hadn’t slept for two nights and had barely eaten anything for several days due to the nausea brought on by altitude sickness. All I could stomach was a few Pringles. This was not a good starting point even to get out of bed let alone try to climb to the summit. We set off for the final assault at 11pm and climbed through the night. The main challenge is not technical but is being able to deal with the altitude, the cold and the tiredness. Technically it’s not too hard except for the infamous second step at 8550m where Mallory and Irvine disappeared in 1924 and which has been the scene of many fatalities. After this point it seemed to get exponentially harder as one approaches the top. Up until then I had been able to progress slowly, one step at a time but then suddenly with about 200m to go I came to a grinding halt, my body felt totally weak. I felt like I was suffocating and gasping for air.

In preparation I always told myself I would never give up but having just stepped over a dead body I also knew I should also try to make some sensible decisions. High on Everest, no one can help you and if you sit down from exhaustion, you get cold and there’s a good chance you may never get up again. I decided to plough ahead and summitted at about 7am in the morning. I felt relieved more than elated. It was an unnerving place to be standing. I barely had the energy to move and to make matters worse my vision was going blurred. After a few quick photos I started the descent. Initially again I felt very weak but with each step lower the air pressure gradually increased and I started to feel a little better. I started to speed up and then risked descending the second step without really attaching myself firmly to any ropes. This was a big mistake, my crampon got caught in an old rope and I was left dangling over the north face. My hands were gradually slipping off the smooth rocks and my breathing went totally out of control. Somehow I sorted myself out and continued on down , determined to descend the 2500m back to base camp the same day. Halfway down I started to hallucinate. Rocks started to look like people. It was pretty weird but not a total surprise given I hadn’t eaten or slept for a couple of days and was very dehydrated. It started snowing and then I was in a white out and couldn’t see anything and really felt like lying down. I stumbled on and finally got back to an empty base camp (everyone else was still up the mountain) at around 4pm on the same day. I was in pieces. I struggled to eat and drink and could barely sleep as my heart rate was much too high. My lungs felt like they were about to give up. I had an awful nights sleep. It was only when I got back to Kathmandu a few days later then I felt normal and then elated to have made it.

Beet the competition!

2009-08-27T17:58:00.012+01:00

Beetroot juice boosts endurance!
Infinit does not believe in magic ingredients or outrageous claims; athletes succeed when they train hard and smart. But recently they noticed a University of Exeter study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology that revealed drinking beetroot juice improves athletic stamina and is capable of reducing fatigue. After six days of consuming 500ml of this potent elixir, people could exercise for up to 16 per cent longer. So they got on the phone to Andy Jones at Exeter Uni to learn more. Andy reports that they discovered a significant movement in numbers after around 5 days of beetroot juice consumption. Why? Beetroot juice, better known for turning your pee red or helping fight cancer, is high in nitrates. Andy believes that the high nitrate levels are responsible for stamina improvement, since those h! igher levels have previously been linked with reducing blood pressure.

What does this mean to you? Their initial conclusions suggest that:

* Nitrate-rich food will help you perform faster, longer and stronger
* Root and/or green vegetables provide a natural source of nitrate
* Athletes should "load" for 6 days before a big race or training camp
* After a few days the effects wear offbut your training or performance results while you were "under the influence" obviously remain

The downside? Nitrates have been linked to cancer, both when added to meat and in vegetables grown with nitrate fertilizer. This may seem surprising, considering beetroot's traditional position as a healthful food for cancer patients. The natural coloring chemical anthocyanin is often given credit for the anti-carcinogenic properties. So don't go wild and drink massive doses of nitrates every day at least not until more is known.
They would recommend a healthy diet full of fruit and vegetables with a few loading periods for key times in your season. No evidence thus far has led to the conclusion that consuming beetroot while exercising will make you faster; the difference comes during and immediately after the "loading" period. Stay tuned, though I don't doubt that scientists are looking further at this wonder plant, and we may know more soon!

Sram Red Cassette 11-26, The Perfect ratio...

2009-08-25T13:06:00.011+01:00

I love the Sram red cassette. The 11-26 cassette is a perfect training cassette – and I think its the perfect ratio for racing hilly courses as it offers a full range of gear ratios. Normally there is a trade off, i.e if you want a 25 you end up losing the 11... But with the 11 -26 you have the ability to take on the hills on the 26 and monster the descents on the 11.... Yippee!!

The cassette is crazy-light and the fact that it is machined from a solid piece of steel is pretty cool. It's also so easy to clean by just spraying a little GT 85 between the cogs and then allow it to drip off.

The chain/cassette combo is slightly noisier than Dura Ace, but not to the point of being distracting or disturbing. The power dome has a cavernous clunk when you change up but this doesn't effect its performance...It works seamlessly with my other Dura Ace components

Its brilliant... but it comes at a price, at around £150 -£175 its not cheap!!

Who said Denmark was flat??

2009-08-13T18:22:00.011+01:00

I had prepared myself for a flat fast race and I was even contemplating using a friends disc.... I had been told that Denmark was flat, privately in my head I was thinking I wonder how close to 4 hours I can get?? previously in The World 70.3 Championships in Clearwater, I had clocked 4.12 for the same distance.

It was the Danish National Championships, a Half Ironman, consisting of 1.9km swim in the sea, 93km bike and a 21km run on mostly trail through the woods and coastal path. This consisted of a 1 lap in the sea, 4 laps of a bike loop and 4 laps on the run. This sort of course is very spectator friendly and to be honest its nice to hear the roar and support of the crowd. In the days prior to the race I recce'd the course completing a lap of each.... it was then I realised this wasn't a personal best(PB)course. DENMARK and especially Juelsminde IS NOT FLAT..... The bike course headed out into the prevailing West wind and the parts of the course that were with the wind were up hill!! and at one point a 17% climb...
The run was mostly off road and through woods and trails, momentarily heading through the town, but all in all not a fast straight course.

It started off well for me, after the initial ruckus in the swim I managed to get away from the pack and swim clear. It was then that nature ganged up to conspire against me... I swam through hundreds of jellyfish that had come in on the previous days swell. This was fine until I swam through a school of little pink ones.... Ouch!!! I was stung on both hands and between my fingers...It felt like a bee sting, but I knew it would subside, and maybe the pain gave me little more adrenalin that made me work that little harder...

As soon as I hit the bike, I knew this was where I could make my mark. My biking had been going well. I'm light and hills give me an advantage of the larger athletes. I worked my way through the athletes who had swam faster than me. It was great, each loop I couldn't wait to attack the steep climb again and I took strength from the fact no one passed me or could hold my wheel. I averaged 37km, working to the watts I'd been hitting in training. All was going to plan until I was stung again for the second time that day... a bee flew in to my mouth and stung me on the tongue!!! This was not good, it really hurt....and to be honest, I wasn't very happy!!

When I hit T2 and changed into my trainers, I tried to put this to back of my mind and powered out of the transition area to the roar of the crowd. It was awesome!!
There seemed to be no one in front of me, or if they were, I couldn't see them... I settled into my run and despite the ever changing surface and all the twists and turns I ran consistently. I put a little too much into the bike, so my run wasn't up to my normal pace. I had to hang in there....

It was a great day and a great race, I podiumed, winning the Open category and my age group category. I would have been crowned Danish National Age group champion if I wasn't English...
I was 5th overall... Hooray!! Its looking good for Ironman Wisconsin - Sept 13th

Don't let the Tri love go stale...

2009-08-13T13:13:00.008+01:00

The training plan is taped up on the fridge. It hangs there taunting you. Follow me or lose the edge, hit every session to the letter or lose everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve. I’m the plan, you need me, I am your master, you must execute these instructions or you will FAIL.
Is this you? The training plan is often the dictator we feel we must obey to the last threatening detail, or come race day we will be mentally beating ourselves up for missing that key session or not hitting the prescribed number of intervals at the right intensity. But it doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, if you continue along this path, you may find that one day, tri Love has gone stale and you’ve forgotten why you got into this awesome sport in the first place.
The very nature of those that get into Triathlon, I mean really get into triathlon, is that of your stereotypical type A personality. They are highly motivated, extremely competitive and raise the bar on the definition of organized. We are goal orientated and executing a plan follows that mindset, there is reward and satisfaction at the end of a week of hitting the numbers, but this way of training can soon result in hitting a plateau, getting stuck in a rut, boredom or even depression.
So what the solution? Mix it up. I’m sure many of you already hit the trails on foot or on your mountain bike. If you don’t, you really should, off road running builds excellent strength in both joints and muscles and off road biking teaches you awesome bike handling and smooth cadence to maintain traction.
For me, there is nothing like racing offroad to really open up the engine and find out how quick single sport specialists really go. I compete in these events all through the year, there are so many amazing races out there to try your hand at.

I recently raced the Bontrager 24/12 mtb race in the 12hr pairs category as part of the Torq racing team and I don’t think I have ever been more exhausted in my life. This format of racing involves smashing a 14km offroad circuit and then handing over to your partner who then does the same. You get around 35 mins to get an energy bar and a gel into you, warm the legs up on a turbo and then get ready togo again. This goes on for either 12 or 24 hours and I can tell you by the time you hit those night laps you are thriving on a strange combo of adrenaline and any kind of sugar you can cram into your body. The feeling of hitting that finish line after 12hours of red line racing was euphoric. I was smashed for a couple of days after but the training effect over the next couple of weeks was significant. Although physiologically it was too early for any improvement, psychologically, I found I was clicking down the gears and hitting hills feeling much stronger and the watts confirmed it.
Mixing it up can make you a stronger athlete and faster triathlete, I’m convinced of it. Let us know how you mix it up.

2009-08-05T13:32:00.006+01:00

INFINIT - Keep It Simple On The Bike

I have personally used INFINIT for 4 Ironmans and having a product that I have tried and tested allows me to take confidence into my racing.

I have detailed some of my actual experiences so you can learn from me and optimize your plan for your next big race or challenge.

I take all my calories on the bike from INFINIT, this ensures the osmolality (concentration) in my stomach is suitable for easy absorption across my small intestine, no inference with salt or calories from other sources.
I aim to consume 281 calories per hour on the bike on the bike, but I tailor my formulas to suit the different climates I race in. Kona will be very different to racing a temperate race.

Two Approaches To Consider
Superconcentrate Mix 6 scoops of your blend into each INFINIT Bottle. Take two on the bike. Each bottles supplies me with enough calories for 3 hours. During the Bike take in about 1/9 of the bottle every 20 minutes and follow with water immediately.
Notes: Using this method relies upon chasing your INFINIT with clear water after every drink, this will get it back to the intended concentration, so it can be readily absorbed and you stay adequately hydrated. Make certain you take the time to calculate how much water you will be taking in if you are sipping on an aero-bottle straw. I use this method in all my Ironman Racing to calculate your sweat rate I recommend you do a sweat test a couple times during your training season to see what your water loss is per hr for different conditions (hot and cool).
Pros/Cons: Minimal weight for the bike on hilly courses. Easy to take in 1800+ calories on bike. No stop at special needs. If chase amount of water is not calculated/practiced, dehydration can result.

Normal Concentrate - Prepare 4 bottles at normal concentrate (2-Scoops each) for start of bike. Place 3 bottles on bike and empty one into aero-bottle prior to starting race. Prepare 3 bottles at normal concentration and one at double concentration for special needs. Place bottles in ziploc bags with frozen water bottles. Notes: Using this method is simple and requires no thought while on course. I would suggest supplementing this with water as well, say between 200 -300 ml of clear water every hour.
Pros/Cons: Safe, no thinking required on course. Easy to take in 2000+ calories on bike. Requires stop at special needs (30 seconds if done right). Extra weight on hilly course.
Both of the above methods are great ways of setting yourself up for a great run! Both need to be practiced. Remember the number of calories is athlete specific; you may not need 8 servings, only race on what you have practiced in training. This advice was given to me and I recommend this to any Ironman athlete: Conserve your energy and fuel your body the best you can through the swim, the bike and the first half marathon, to allow for your best possible last 13.1 miles.
I prefer formulas with a weaker flavour this means that even when I mix my drinks super concentrated they still taste good. Drinks don't need to have a strong flavour to still have all your calories and electrolytes.

So there you have it, nutrition really is the key to racing successfully at longer distances. This weekend I'm taking on the Danes in their National Championships.... in Jeulsminde http://www.tri09.dk/ . I feel in good shape and will be a good test of my fitness prior to Ironman Wisconsin next month...

Time away is precious .....La Garenne - France

2009-07-24T15:19:00.010+01:00

Juggling a full time job and trying to train anything between 15 and 25 hours a week isn’t easy……
I’m fortunate that in the 10 years I’ve been at the Daily Telegraph I’ve accrued 30 days holiday. I’d like to say that over the last 5 years that I’ve taken some leisurely relaxing breaks, but when the truth is told most of my spare time is taken up by either training camps or travelling to races. I’ve raced in some fantastic locations around the world, and after a race there is always an opportunity to unwind and kick back a little and soak up the culture...

I’ve just come back from France. Richard Hobson, my coach has a business based just an hours drive from La Rochelle http://www.livingfrance.org/index.php They have six gites that they let from March to October, and I stayed there for a week to train with Richard and take advantage of the warm dependable climate. The surrounding area comprises of pure agricultural land, fields and fields of sunflowers, which seem to be the main crop surrounding their properties. Once you’re in this region of France, it really becomes evident how much of France is devoted to agriculture. There’s even a vineyard just across the lane, which sells a very drinkable wine at just €3 a bottle.

The terrain is rolling and hilly, there are no real mountains, but it’s certainly not flat!!! Smooth traffic free roads….. I just love it…

This undulating countryside was perfect for my training. We would ride for 5 hours a day and see maybe 2 cars and a couple farmers harvesting their crops. Not like the traffic congested roads I’m used to riding on around Surrey and Windsor. Before breakfast I’d hit the trails for a run around the property. There are endless trails through the woods and farmland that are easy to pick up and I’d run from a steady hour to a more intense 30km off road weaving through the woods and fields….. I love this, it’s a real opportunity for me to de-stress from my Monday to Friday, grind at work. I’m racing The Danish National Championships http://www.tri09.dk/ in August and than the big one….. My Ironman World Championships Qualifier for 2010, Ironman Wisconsin http://www.ironmanwisconsin.com/ on the 13th September and this has really given me the base I need. 7 weeks to go and counting….

Use Your Commute To Go Faster!!

2009-07-14T18:15:00.008+01:00

Vince Kamp is both a triathlete and an awesome mountain bike racer, a great friend, advisor and confidante. We've spent many hours chewing the cud about racing, improving and smashing our opposition. He has completed four Ironman races and four 70.3 races with a 3rd place finish at IMUK and 3rd place at World Champs 70.3 Clearwater Florida.I climbed up on to the over the top scaffolding podium full of nervous energy. The tall man in front of me was blahing something through the microphone, which distorted with every letter ‘S’ he pronounced. He grabbed my skinny wrist and thrust it into the air announcing me the winner of the ‘Bluebell Cup mountain bike race’.
The handful of people standing around applauded. I think my parents even cheered a bit. The announcer shoved a small trophy into my hands and yanked my hands back into the air with enough enthusiasm to nearly dislocate my shoulders.
‘So Vince, what kind of training have you done to prepare for this race?’ He asked, his voice echoing around the caravan park.
My cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Uh oh, I thought. I searched around the crowd for my parents faces, hoping they would have the answer.
‘Er....I have a paper-round.’ I said quietly.
‘Sorry, Vince, speak up a bit please.’
‘I have a paper round’, I said leaning in too far and clinking my tooth on the metal mesh of the microphone. At that moment, I saw my Dad’s face. He smiled and shook his head.
I was quickly ushered off the podium to make way for the elite prize giving.
What the announcer did not give me the opportunity to explain, is that I had two very long paper rounds and for 6 mornings a week, from age 10 till 16 I may have been the fastest paper boy in the south East. Although I didn’t know it then, I was brick training the hell out of my juvenile body with high intensity intervals. I would sprint the driveways, leap over walls and sprint back to my bike, then sprint on my bike to the next road and go again. I would then ride to school, doing the same thing, I was totally smashed every day.
The point of this anecdote is that not everyone has the opportunity to follow a nicely structured training plan with built in recovery, threshold and high intensity sessions. Work, family and social commitments are often just too unpredictable to really follow a decent plan. Before you know it, you miss key training sessions and then get stressed trying to catch up. Sooner or later you’ll put yourself into a hole you can’t climb out of.
I know this, I’ve been there. But it didn’t take me long to realize that I needed to change things back to the days of the paper-round.
I raced several half and full Ironman races at the sharp end of my age group with baby at home and a stressful job.
So how do you stay fast without the time to execute well defined training sessions?
Use the commute.
If you can bike to work, make the route at least 45mins long, get in the usual 10min easy pedalling warm up to get heart rate up and muscles firing, then build the route into interval sections. For most commute journeys, steady tempo is just not feasible, there are traffic lights, pedestrians throwing themselves in front of you and damn cars everywhere. There is just too much recovery built in, so you have to really smash it for the sections of the route that you know are going to be uninterrupted. Time yourself for these sections or try to hit a certain speed, better yet have power targets to hit. Build the motivation in the recovery set before you hit that certain road, ‘I’m gonna smash 450W for this whole street.’ Then reward yourself with really easy spinning recovery so you can hit the next interval at the correct intensity again.
I hit my morning commute without any breakfast on board and just take a bit of fruit juice mixed with water. Despite what you may think, you have plenty of glycogen from last night’s dinner to get through 45mins of high intensity intervals and your metabolism will be properly ramped up for when you do chow down at work, so you will replenish when insulin is at its peak.
There is plenty of research that shows the benefits of high intensity intervals on increasing cardiovascular fitness (read endurance fitness) and fat burning. Save your tempo rides for the country lanes at the weekend.
You can do the same with running, you can use a run, walk strategy to make sure you really hit vVO2max (velocity at VO2max) for the intervals. Take a look at Bobbie McGee’s blog for some real insight into run walk training for triathlon.
Use your commute to your advantage. The commute can be used for excellent high quality training. It just takes a bit of planning.

I agree with Vince, living 20Km from work gives me the perfect opportunity to both run in or cycle in and home, adding a little extra distance in Richmond Park on the way home to make up 2 -3 hours of ride time. Utilising this dead time is paramount to my training strategy.

Too cool for a helmet?

2009-07-13T18:40:00.009+01:00

With the coming of the summer at last.... Hooray!!! comes a new road user, the fair weather or summer commuter. I'm all for this... if it were up to me I'd adopt the same sort of system that you see in Holland or Denmark. The roads have designated cycle lanes and cyclists have the right of way, when crossing the road at junctions, very much like the rights given to pedestrians at pelican crossings here at the moment. These sort of systems are safe and allow individuals who are neither road safe or bike competent the safety of their own lane.

Unfortunately this is neither Holland or Denmark, and most motorists in UK despise cyclists more so than the old fashioned milk floats that they used to overtake. They will cut you up, attempt a left turn in front of you and force you into the curb. As an urban commuter, you must be streetwise, second guessing drivers by trying to predict what will happen in front of you. Be aware of parents on the school run, these are often the worse offenders. Often trying to ferry the kids to school with only one eye on the road and the other on the argument going on in the back seat, the chances of them noticing you are slim....

Be aware also of pedestrians stepping out in front of you whilst either on the phone, or listening to their Ipod. Pedestrians will often take one step into the road before turning to look up the road in your direction. Of course this is where you are most likely to be.....and Its fair to say that at a speed of over 30kmh both of you will take a tumble.

In the time I've been riding, I've had lots of crashes, some of them in races where I was careless taking corners too fast- my fault, and some of them where I was taken out by another rider who clipped me - not my fault. I've been hit by cars, been over the bonnet and even been over the roof. I've hit pedestrians who have stepped out in front of me. I've been unconscious, bleeding and lost whole shards of skin, ripping off my Lycra cycling gear in the process. I've been taken to hospital and stitched up but despite this I still love cycling!!!!

There are some things that you can do to avoid this... riding defensively, signalling etc, but my saving grace has always been that I wear a cycling helmet!!! So far I've been through maybe 6 helmets which have all cracked on impact, serving their purpose and protecting my head. I've seen guys hit the deck at 50kmh and be OK.... their helmet detonating on impact saving their skull, very similar to how a car's crumple zones work. They may have picked up some hardcore road rash, but they'll live to ride another day.

So if you think helmets are just not cool - Think Again!!

Motivation..... Jaco Geyer - Marathon des Sables 09

2009-07-06T13:28:00.008+01:00

It's interesting what we think about when we race and what drives us. I'm lucky as a number of my friends and peers are always on the hunt for extreme challenges. Their achievement's are both inspirational and motivating. When you re having a dark moment in a race these are just the nuggets that I draw upon to give me the ability to push on when your body wants to shut down....

Jaco Geyer is also an Ironman Triathlete, but he has just completed the Marathon Des Sables and here is a snippet from what he calls the Long Day..... Only 92KM

"When the challenge lies ahead, you need to break it down into smaller stages to get your head around the mammoth task ahead of you. The goal was to complete the 92 km in one day - we started at 09:00 and i wanted to cross the finish line that day before 24:00. The terrain varied from salt flats, rocky fields, dunes, mountains and very muddy wadis and the sun had no mercy. With danger of severe sand storms I was forced you to cover my nose and mouth with a buff to shield myself from the wind and dust to help with breathing, and excessive water loss.

The day started slow, with reminder of the ITB trouble in my leg - but there's not much you can do when you're out there in the desert. You've set yourself a goal and you want to reach it because that is why you are there. A few painkillers made the running more bearable and once you're in a rhythm, you forget the pain and push on.

The day consisted of 7 stages, each ranging between 12 and 18 km. When I reached checkpoint 4 (at the 60 km mark) I felt a bit rough. The painkillers had worn off and I could feel the ITB pains crawling back; However, I was 2/3 of the way and I still wanted to achieve my goal. I was attended to by one of the volunteer doctors and between my English and his French and a lot of gesturing, he managed to alleviate the pain by applying a bandage just above the knee to keep the ligaments in place....And then I was off again.........

The sun started to set and I reached checkpoint 5 just as the last rays of sunlight disappeared. I was at a very low place, physically and emotionally I was spent. I had another 20 km to go and it seemed like my goal of finishing before midnight was slipping away. For some strange reason, I allowed my mind to tell my body that it is OK to not make it before midnight - that it is OK to walk for a full 10 km. I did not have any energy left, but could not stand the taste of another energy bar or gel. But somehow, my mind did take over in a much greater way - it dragged me through the second to last stage with no energy left.

I reached the last checkpoint. It was 22:00 and I know I could cover the last 12km and still finish before midnight. My mind took control again, and with my spirits lifted, it felt like I sailed through that last stage. I couldn't feel the ITB pain or the hundreds of rocks I kicked in the dark. I knew the end was near and I knew I was going to reach my goal. I crossed the line that night at 23:30hrs"

Jaco's journey wasn't just about the Marathon, its was a journey of both faith and self development. The level of mental strength that an event like this requires is off the scale....

let alone the stress that you put your body through!!!

All credit to him and the hard work he's put in....needless to say I've just added this to my list of things to do before I'm forty....

Choosing a coach...

2009-07-01T18:13:00.020+01:00

Stepping up from a recreational athlete whose goal is merely to finish, to a competitive athlete who has either a time goal or qualification place at stake is a big step. It requires a conscious decision to up both your game and your training commitment. The first step should be to join a club. I'm a member of Ful-on Tri and regularly swim with the guys there. Ful-on Tri is a great Club based in West London, well organised and well run. The club Head Coach - Alan Hanley sets the weeks training schedule. Members can dip in and out of these sessions, but the general idea is that these sessions provide the base for development and improvement. This should be the first step for many athletes looking to make faster improvements. The structure of a club offers a number of benefits from having training partners to a social network. For many athletes the club structure offers them every thing that their level of commitment and time constraints allow, but for a few willing to devote further free time, hard work and perspiration there lies an alternative or complimentary path..... the personal coach

A great coach is not easy to find and requires a very unique set of talents and skills. Choosing the right coach is a difficult decision. The coach has to understand you, the way you think, what drives and motivates you and on the flip side, what turns you off and de motivates you. They need to be able to push the right buttons to help you achieve your goals, being able to communicate their ideas and strategy. Its really important that the athlete believes in their coach. There needs to be complete trust and respect. Often coaches have had a historical background in the sport and this respect stems from their historical achievements, but this is not always necessary.

I met Richard Hobson in 2005 I went on the Volcano Triathon camp in the early season with a view to kick starting my fitness. I struck a great friendship with Richard on the camp and I really bought into the Tri-living philosophy

'Everyone can always improve, no matter what age and what ability. I always believe this and as long as the athletes I coach believe this then they will improve'

It was shortly after that he began coaching me. Since then we have worked together to help achieve my goals. My advice is to take your time in selecting a coach, there are many that will farm out a generic program dependant on the distance that you're racing, but there are others who will take the time to listen, who lead by example, and are prepared to motivate and innovate....

A coach like this will inspire and empower the athlete to realize and develop their potential. This is the coach that will help you reach your goal......

Building the right training group....

2009-06-29T18:20:00.002+01:00

Triathlon isn't just a sport its a community of athletes. We train within the BTA club structure, but we all have different goals. Each athlete is training to peak for individual races and their training is tailored to suit these goals. I've chosen to specialise in Ironman or Long distance racing, whilst some of my peers and contemporaries at Ful-on Tri or Tri- Living race the faster short distance, Olympic races. This means that as much as like spending time with them on rides and runs or in pool, it unlikely that their sessions will fit in with my training program.
Over the last 9 months or so, we have formed an adhoc training group which includes Tim Bishop from Optima racing - 2 xHawaii Ironman finisher, Declan Doyle from Optima a 2 x Ironman Hawaii finisher, Dion Harrison from Thames Turbo ( 1 xHawaii Finisher) who has Just turned Pro and moved out to Boulder -Colorado and me, also a 2 times Hawaii finisher.
Now although we all may be training to peak at different times, we each have an understanding of the level we need to train at to achieve faster results in Kona in the future. Despite the camaraderie and the banter there is a respect of each others talent and for the duration of the session, ego's are parked. With the odd exception where Dec gets too excited and rides off the front 'Jens Voigt 'style, but that's just Dec!!

I love training with these guys, its not just a training group, but a support network and when your sessions are hard, having friends to bounce your ideas off and keep you in check is priceless..... regardless of which club they are members of!!

What makes Kona Coffee so special??

2009-06-29T13:01:00.000+01:00

A coffee is just a coffee..... right? well actually no!!

What is it about Kona coffee that makes it so special... is it just the reward of all the hours of training you've put in to arrive on the island, or is it... that it really is better than all the rest

Kona is the very special coffee grown on the dark volcanic lava rock slopes of Kona, with enviable consistent quality. Kona coffee is a deliciously rich, medium-bodied and slightly acidic coffee with a heady aroma and complex, winey, spicy taste.
Kona, on the west coast of Hawaii island has produced coffee continuously since the early 1800's. The Kona name only applies to beans grown in North and South Kona, and coffee that is grown elsewhere in Hawaii cannot be called Kona coffee.The Perfect Climate for
Coffee requires a very specific combination of sun, soil, and water. It is successfully grown in only a limited number of locations round the world. The magical diurnal cycle of bright sunny mornings, humid rainy afternoons, and mild nights create perfect growing conditions for exotic plants to flourish. The trees thrive on the volcanic rocky land, and mild frost-free temperatures.

This combination produces a smooth tasting blend without that bitter aftertaste. It really is the difference in taste between a Chateaux Margaux and Jacobs Creek!!

Last year in Kona, our training group which consisted of Tim Bishop, Declan Doyle, Dion Harrison and I and I took real pleasure in swimming out to the 'Coffee's of Hawaii' catamaran' which was moored about 1Km offshore. Dec and Dion who would normally pass on a coffee, even joined in... ( the sign above is on the Ocean floor directing Athletes out to their free coffee) Dec admitted to me yesterday he's now a bit of a fan.

My personal Favourite is the Peabody blend - The rarest of the rare, only 3-5% of the entire Kona coffee crop are Peaberry beans. Concentrated and more intense Kona taste. This really is the best. You can pick this up at Ferrari coffee who are a long established Coffee producing family

Aloha!!!

The joy of open water swimming!

2009-06-28T19:48:00.000+01:00

Not having a swim background puts me at at disadvantage at the beginning of every race. At school I was far too interested in too many other sports to worry about swimming....

I'm not a natural swimmer, but one attribute I do have is the ability and propensity to train hard and put myself on the limit. Essentially I'm resigned to the fact there is only so far that technical coaching can take me unless I was to start all over again!! I try to make up for this by making myself strong, using both paddles and a band in my sessions.

Now that the summer has arrived it brings with it the opportunity to swim open water and this much more fun!!

There are three lakes that are close enough to London and enable triathletes or just swimmers the opportunity to swim open water. They are dependent on seasonal temperatures and normally open May through to September. In the early season they're still a little cold, but normally by July you'd be comfortable swimming without a wetsuit.

My favourites are both Liquid Leisure and The Princes Club. They're are both Water ski lakes but they open up the whole lake for a limited time for athletes....Brilliant!!

So which is the best?? as they both have their own merits.

Firstly Liquid Leisure, I've been swimming here for the last three years, its located out at Dachet and its Superbly managed by Mike Trees and his team. They were the pioneers in turning open water swimming into a safe, fun and secure experience. He was also the first to offer athletes the opportunity to try before they buy his full range of 2XU wetsuits. Although this sounds such a simple thing, Mike was the first to do it. There are a number of different distance loops and the main 800m loop can be extended out to add a little more distance, but most athletes will swim repetitions of the 800m. There's a great atmosphere created by the buzz of athletes. A coffee shop and breakfast shack provide a good post training snack.... bacon sandwich or a Latte?

I've only just started swimming at Princes, but at the moment I'd say it was my favourite. Its in Bedfont, a much shorter drive from my house in Kingston. They open from 6-9am at the weekends and on Monday evenings from 5-8pm. The loop is 1500m, a 750m out and back. I've heard in the past that's it been a little weedy, but not this year as the lake was nice and clear today. The Princes Club is a very established water ski club and has all the amenities associated with this. There's a coffee shop, restaurant and even a bar. The manager, Glen walker, who runs the lake is always on hand and creates a warm friendly atmosphere taking time to chat and offer advice. Incidentally Glen runs Sippery fish swim school and is a Hawaii Ironman finisher!!

Both offer a secure monitoring system counting athletes in and out, but Princes Log all your details online when you arrive the first time, making registration quicker on your second visit.

The going rate is a £5 at each, which to be fair on a beautiful day like today, was money well spent.....

Who are Skinfit????

2009-06-26T18:38:00.000+01:00

It’s interesting as I’m often asked who makes my kit…. Who is Skinfit???

It’s by chance that I discovered Skinfit. I’m coached by Richard Hobson and he chose Skinfit for his team ‘Tri Living’ kit.
I hadn’t heard of Skinfit before either, but some friends of Richard had acquired the UK distrubution rights of the business. They had seen how popular it was in Europe, especially Austria where it originates, and Germany and had brought it to the UK.

Ant and Eve Roberts are the founders and distributors, here in the UK. Both from a triathlon background they understand the rigourous demands of today's athletes.

Eve and Anthony Roberts

(0) 1332 552255 - office

(0) 7811 384393 - Eve Roberts

(0) 7977 403089 - Anthony

skinfit@skinfit.uk.com

http://www.skinfit.uk.com/

Triathletes in general are what I would call early adopters, embracing innovation always looking for faster, more comfortable products that might give them a legal advantage over their opposition. As far as kit goes for the last four years Skinfit has given me that, so much so that when I had to revert back to Orca kit for the European and World Championships the difference in performance was evident. The Orca kit was ill fitting and after the run leg of both races, I’d developed a nasty case of nappy rash – Ouch!!!

As my confidence grew in their brand I branched out and road tested their other technical products and they lived up to my expectation. What I like about Skinfit is their design is so simple and they manufacture clothing designed specifically for active people and Pro athletes alike. It surprises me is how comfortable to wear their products are. Their Ethos is to design functional anatomical cuts which are extremely lightweight and skin-friendly. Its true their simple robust design ensures uncompromising functionality.

I can honestly say I am a big fan..... if only I could keep them a secret!!!

Sailfish Attack -Wetsuit Review 2009

2009-06-20T15:17:00.000+01:00

Sailfish wetsuits has four suits in their range progressing from an entry level suit through to the top end ‘G–Range’. I had agreed to test a suit with a view to racing in it but time was running out as I was off to Lanza in two days!! A suit arrived directly from Germany by express delivery the next day. I had gambled on the sizing and was hoping it would be right.

The first thing that I noticed when I unwrapped my delivery was that it comes in a really cool bag. It’s a little like a paper delivery/couriers bag with a shoulder strap. There’s mesh on one side for the water to drain out and enough room to put swim toys, or towels. It’s a great idea as I usually use a Sainsbury’s ‘bag for life’

Secondly the wetsuit looks cool…. and the seams are blind stitched and glued flat… There’s only so much that a wetsuit manufacturer can do with graphics, but I like what Sailfish have done and also the fact its named after the fastest fish in the ocean. Maybe this would create some good karma for my imminent race!!

The wetsuit I was testing was the ‘Sailfish Attack’ which is one of their mid range models. Upon examining it I noticed how light it was, much lighter than my previous suit, which I’ve had since 07. I followed Jan’s easy instructions on how to put it on. My current wetsuit takes me 15 mins to get a good fit, I had managed to put the Sailfish suit on in a couple of minutes.Once I had it on, I realised it was too big. I had learnt that the fit is more important than how much it costs. To sum up… a good fitting cheaper wetsuit may out perform a bad fitting expensive one. Faced with the dilemma of what to wear – I reverted back to racing in my current wetsuit.

Not to be put off, Sailfish sent me a smaller suit, this time it fitted ultra snugly. The collar sat neatly on my neck line and despite forgetting my body glide I experienced no chaff... This is especially good if you work in an office and don’t like attending meetings with what looks like ‘love bites’ on your neck. The forearm has what Sailfish call ‘Aqua reach zones’ which increase water resistance during the pull phase of the stroke. I must admit
it felt really comfortable and my range of motion across my shoulders was superb. The inner arm and shoulder area has this ultra super stretchy neoprene which is designed to aid performance by reducing any restrictions in the pull and recovery phase – It felt really good!

In the water the ‘Sailfish Attack’ felt very buoyant, correcting my body position. It has strengthened hip panels which optimise your body position to avoid hip rolling!! On my first swim I felt as if I was moving quite fast…. I was cruising along with very little effort. So I decided to test it against my current suit in a ‘head to head’.

I swam 400m warm up then did 200m all out in each suit, with 100m easy in between each 200m. I repeated the same test the next day but swapped the order I swam in each wetsuit. Now I know this is a really crude test but the results are evident, the Sailfish suit was quicker….

Test Day 1

Sailfish Attack – 2.31 secs
2007 Current wetsuit – 2.45 secs

Test Day 2

2007 Current suit – 2.40 secs
Sailfish Attack 2.32 secs

So how would this have affected my time at Ironman Lanza…. Well who knows? My swim split was 1.03 as I took off my suit before I went over the timing mat. Maybe I would have broken the hour??? Something I’m yet to do. I finished in 9.53 and although I qualified for Kona I’ve decided to make 2009 a build year, for a dream year in 2010 ;so I didn’t accept my slot. I want to attain a top 10 position in my age in Kona and I think I will need longer than 4 months to build for this

To sum up, it’s nice to finish first British Age Grouper, 20th Age Grouper overall, and it’s good to come away from a race believing that it’s still possible to go faster. Lanzarote is such a well organised race. Kenneth Gasque, the Race Director, makes all the competitors feel really welcome. I’ve already registered for 2010, but next time I’ll be in a Sailfish!!

Lanzarote Ironman 2009 - Bring on the wind!!!

2009-06-20T14:48:00.000+01:00

The motto says it all. "Normal limits do not apply." and Its billed as "The toughest Ironman in the World".

It's hard to say what makes the Ironman Lanzarote course so tough. There's heat, high winds, and a challenging bike course that winds its way up and down two mountains.A swim is a swim, and the 2-loop ocean swim is a great way to start the long day. The bike course is where things get really tough for roughly 1300 competitors. By the time all is said and done, we will have climbed more than 2,600 meters (that's 9,000 feet!). Oh, lest we forget, there is still the run. The out-and-back run course is relatively flat. What makes it so tough are the winds, and the heat ... and the fact that it's a marathon

I had a great race with everything more or less going to plan. We had typical Lanzarote weather with a head wind from Yaiza all the way to Mirador del Rio; we even had 10 mins of rain!!!
It was a tough day for age groupers and Pro’s alike with Bert Jammer narrowly missing a herd of goats, crossing the road, whilst on the decent to Famara.

The swim was frantic and the current was pushing us into the buoys. Exiting the water for the second lap was exhausting, but good for the spectators, and I managed a smile before entering the water for another pummelling.
The head wind from Yaiza was tough and strung out the field, Going up Haria I was pushing 450 watts, holding just 8kmh!!
I could have walked quicker….

I had a solid bike and I managed my ‘Ironman marathon PB’, so I was really happy. I used only Infinit on the bike and gels and water on the run… I had no stomach issues and felt strong the whole way through. Getting your nutrition right is as important as all the hours you put into your training; I took two bottles with six scoops of infinit in each and consumed 1/3 of a bottle per hour, chasing it down with water from my aero bottle. I’m sure this contributed to my 3.08 marathon as I ran pretty consistent splits off the bike. The crowds support was awesome and because it’s a loop marathon course, where you collect a different coloured band each loop, it’s easy to focus on attaining the next band to stay motivated.

Although I qualified for Kona, I’ve decided to make 2009 a build year, for a dream year in 2010.
It was a tough decision, but I didn’t accept my slot for Kona. I want to attain a top 10 position in my age there and I think I will need longer than 4 months to build for this

I have a place at IM Wisconsin (Sept 13th) which has slots for 2010 and it will be my goal to qualify there.

To sum up, Its nice to finish first British Age grouper, 20th overall, and its good to come away from a race believing that its still possible to go faster. Lanza is such a well organised race and Kenneth Gasque the Race Director makes all the competitors feel really welcome. I’ve already registered for 2010!!

SWIM 1:03:48
BIKE 5:33:17
RUN 3:08:34
OVERALL 42
DIV.POS. 8th in age group

1st Brit