Who said Denmark was flat??

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

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

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….