Getting All Motivated

Now 2016 has arrived one could start panicking about the season ahead, after all it isn’t that far away and it is easy to think that you still have a mountain to climb. I am sure we are all the same and I have similar doubts about how training has gone so far during the winter.

I started training properly for the 2016 season in November, but even this was pretty easy sessions just getting back into the regular ritual of training, it is only now after all the Christmas festivities are over we are getting down to the nitty gritty of harder training. It really is time to blow the cobwebs away and start doing the occasional above race effort intervals.

With my planned season ahead, doing all of the Castle Triathlon Series Gauntlet races and The Bastion it would be so easy to overdo things and in this vein I have decided to use a coach again. The guy I am using, Darren Jenkins, did exactly what I am doing this year and I thought what better person to understand the challenge of trying to do either a half ironman or a full ironman every 2 weeks in the middle of the year.

This has meant a pretty big change for me, in the past I have been a bit more of a volume athlete, though I have always done above race effort intervals even in the winter. Now the volume has been cut down a bit and some of the intervals are pretty hard, especially the running and swimming, I am having to come to terms with that reduced volume, it isn’t easy at times. Make no doubt the training is still hard and challenging, I just need to rethink of how much volume is really needed, especially when your first real target event is in July.

With regards to training, I am pretty sure everyone suffers from the motivation to train at times, we aren’t machines and at times getting yourself out of bed to do those early morning swims, or dragging yourself of the sofa to get out and do the second session of the day can be a real challenge. In times like this I think back to the Howard Castle Triathlon last year and the video that went viral of Bailey Matthews, who has cerebral palsy, completing his first triathlon. Here is a little lad who has a very hard challenging life, yet he doesn’t show it and gives everything 100%, what an inspiration. If you ever lack motivation, take a look at the video, it really does give you a different perspective about the difficulties of training. Over Christmas it was so heart-warming to see Bailey win the Helen Rollason Award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, very well deserved and he showed true personality and spirit that a lot of professional sports people seem to lack. I hope to be able to meet him during one of the Castle Triathlon Series races, it would be a real honour.

Talking of honours, I am really honoured to be asked to be an ambassador for the NSPCC for 2016, this will see me race all the Castle Triathlon Series races in NSPCC kit and try and raise as much money as I can for this wonderful cause. Again if we think we have it hard at times, think of those kids that always have it hard and know nothing other than suffering, they deserve all of our support, and I hope you will consider helping me raise as much as possible for them.

My first race of 2016 is likely to the be the East Grinstead Triathlon as a warm up for the first of my real challenges with the Lough Cutra Gauntlet at the end of May, and beautiful location for a stunning race in the West of Ireland. I’ve been assured that the water will be warm so why not think about doing this race, they offer a range of distances for every ability and the Castle Triathlon Series do put on a magical weekend of racing, plus you get cracking Guinness in Ireland, what’s not to like.

Keep training and keep motivated.

Running the Gauntlet

Sometimes I feel really blessed, I am lucky to have a superb supportive family who have nothing but encouragement for the silly activities I partake in. I am part of a wonderful triathlon team that is like a big family, the support for each of us when racing and training is just something else. Even though I have only been doing triathlon a short amount of time, I have built up a real fantastic group of friends, both competitors and organisers.

I think I have said before, one of my most favourite events is the Castle Triathlon Bastion, and with it the Castle Triathlon Series. I was slightly shocked recently when I was asked to become an ambassador for the Castle Triathlon Series next year, but I jumped at the chance. That really blessed feeling just continues. I am immensely proud to represent a great organisation that aims to break down the barriers to those thinking about entering a triathlon for the first time, and providing a great event experience for all those taking part, whether the first timer or an experienced triathlete. Each event is unique in it's setting and atmosphere, though they all are very rewarding events.

All of the Castle Triathlon Series races take part in stunning settings, these being Lough Cutra Castle in Ireland, Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire, Castle Howard in Yorkshire, Chateau de Chantilly in France, and Hever Castle in Kent.

What it means is I have 2016 pretty well planned out, as I will be racing all of the Gauntlet races in the series, and also for the 3rd time, the jewel in the crown of the series, The Bastion at Hever Castle. The aim of 2016 was to step down a distance for a year, and to have some fun. I think next year will certainly be major fun, and I really am itching for 2016 to roll around fast.

29th May at Lough Cutra
26th June at Cholmondeley Castle
10th July The Bastion at Hever Castle
24th July at Castle Howard
28th August at Chateau de Chantilly
25th September at Hever Castle

I guess the real focus will be on the Bastion, though the thought of doing 2 x half iron distance, sandwiched either side of the Bastion in a 5 week period does slightly concern me, though no doubt I can speak with Darren Jenkins on how to manage it as he did the same this year. If you want to see how I get on, why not take part yourself. I can assure you it is great fun.

For those who have done a Gauntlet at any of the locations, consider stepping up to the Bastion, it is a great event and one that provides a welcoming and family feel that you will be used to, yet provides you with the big event feel of other mainstream long distance events. It is certainly an event to remember and I promise you won't come away from it disappointed. For anyone that hasn't done a Castle Triathlon Series event I urge you to give one a go, they offer a huge selection of distances to try, and they even offer a children's triathlon at all the locations so fun to be had for the whole family.

For more information on the Castle Triathlon Series, please visit the website and there is a wealth of information on there. If you do have any questions, then I will be pleased to try and assist, or you can contact the Castle Triathlon Series via their website.

It's All a Bit of a Steathy Secret - A Review

The other month I was lucky enough to win a load of Secret Training goodies, I promised I would do some testing and write a quick review for them.

Having been an endurance athlete for a few years now I have tried nearly all of the nutrition products on the market, and although some have proved decent, a lot are either sickly tasting or don't really provide the required energy boosts.

I will start by saying I am not a huge fan of gels, their consistency in general is not pleasant and although I have used gels in races, I avoid them like the plague when it comes to training.

My winning pack from Secret Training consisted of various flavours of Super Hydration Drink Mix, which is basically their energy drink with electrolytes to keep you fuelled and optimally hydrated. There was also some gels, and like I have said above although I don't normally use them in training I did try a few for the review. The last things in the package was the Whey Protein Drink Mix, which is used as a recovery product.

The Super Hydration Drink Mix came in pre measured sachets, that are designed for 500ml bottles. This was good for the bottle between my tribars, but I generally use a 750ml bottle on the frame so I would be interested to taste the difference between the two solution strengths. When mixed with the 500ml of water the taste is very pleasant, it isn't sweet or sickly at all and it did provide a nice source of energy. Even when mixed with 750ml of water the taste was still pleasant, though as you would expect with a weaker solution each mouthful was as energy laden. You can actually buy in bulk as well so make the correct solution strength for any bottle size. Each 500ml provides 10gms of carbohydrate.

I also tested the drink in a race scenario, I like to carry as much as my own fuel as possible in drink form. This is to avoid taking on drinks from aid stations that may vary in their strength and as such energy intake. To do this I make up a strong solution in a 500ml bottle and take on water at aid stations to wash this down with. For Challenge Weymouth I used 4 Super Hydration Drink sachets in the one bottle, making it 4 times stronger than it should be used. Now you might expect the taste to be overpowering and real sweet and sickly, but it wasn't. It was a stronger taste but it still felt very palatable, I was actually sorry when it ran out as even this strong it tasted nicer than the official race supplied energy drink.

I would say if you like your drink with a mild refreshing taste you can't go much wrong with this, my favourite flavour is the Mango and Passionfruit, but they all were very tasty and refreshing. As for the fuelling I never felt underfuelled in any of my training or racing using the Super Hydration Mix, and even though I sweated a fair amount at Challenge Weymouth I suffered no signs of cramping or electrolyte balance issues. I also suffered no GI issues throughout the day which is always pleasing when doing a long distance triathlon.

The gels were 3 different types, I had some advanced isotonic gels, some real fruit gels and a caffeine and betaine gel. The consistency of the gels was OK, it seemed to be a good consistency to eat on go, not too runny (that gets everywhere), or too solid (difficult to actually get down your throat). The banana flavour was really nice, and although not being a fan of gels it was one of the better tasting ones I have come across. The other one I tried was an isotonic one, these are ideal as you don't need to take on water as well as the gel. Again the consistency was nice and it went down very easily and the citrus flavour again was a very pleasant taste. Packaging isn't too big and fits easily in jersey pockets, and even the small pockets that some trisuits come with. Each 60ml gel provides 22gms of carbohydrate.

The last thing to try was the Whey Protein Mix, I was a bit sceptical about the Cherry flavour I had received, I am more of a chocolate person, but I thought I would see what it was like. I mixed it up as per the instructions and the first thing I noticed is that it was very runny. I am more used to a thicker solution, but that is personal preference I guess. The taste was actually very nice, still not as nice as chocolate but very palatable. Being a more runny solution it drank very easily and it did seem to help after a 6 hour ride with recovery.

Would I recommend Secret Training nutrition products, then that is a big YES, they really did surprise me and it certainly will be used by me again, especially the Super Hydration Mix, it simply is one of the better tasting energy drinks I have tried.

One thing I would like Secret Training to develop though is some little energy shots, similar to what Powerbar and Clif do. For me these are easier to stomach and eat when training and racing, they are far easier on the stomach compared with a gel. Something to think about guys ;)

Challenge Weymouth 2015

So so close to a ETU Long Distance Championship medal, but ultimately just not quick enough on the day.

The week leading up had gone well, I felt I was well recovered and the little sessions I had done had gone well. I still had a few niggles that were present, but there was nothing I could do about them, what will be, will be.

The weekend was pretty relaxing apart from seemingly losing the car keys sometime between the morning bike ride and racking my bike. After checking all my bags in the hotel, there was only one place I could think of them being, 2km's down the road in transition, bugger it meant another 4km of walking when I could have been resting, and the worry that they might not actually be there after all. Luckily they were in one of my shoes so panic over and I had a nice enjoyable walk back with Tom Vickery.

Sunday dawned pretty nice, there seemed to be just a very small breeze, though the wind was due to pick up during the day. I felt pretty relaxed, though it was nice to have some excitement over the race. I will admit there was a certainly a bit of pride pulling on a GBR trisuit for the first time and representing my country for the very first time, even if was only as an Age Group athlete. The sea thankfully was alot calmer than last year and it looked like it was going to be an ace swim.

Swim:

Once the pros were off it was the ETU AGers 5 mins later, I got near the front and started swimming quite strong, it was noticeably that the outward leg felt slow however, but I settled down in a pack of swimmers and felt pretty much in control of my breathing and effort. As we turned at the first buoy and across the bay the pace seemed to pick up and this leg and the final swim back to shore seemed pretty fast, out after the first lap and a run along the shore it didn't seem as though I was doing too bad. The second lap seemed harder than the first and it was noticeably more choppy and more difficult to see the buoys. Even swimming across the waves seemed harder but at least the final swim back to shore was still fast. Out of the water in 1:13, not quite the 1:10 I was hoping for but a similar swim time to South Africa so all in all pretty solid and I didn't feel as though I had taken much out of myself.

Bike:

Out on the bike I took the first part pretty easy and tried to get some nutrition down me. I had decided to take the hill out of Weymouth at a nice steady effort and wait until we got to the top to start pushing the effort. The wind on top of the ridge was starting to make itself known and I soon realised it probably wasn't going to be a fast day, but things felt good and I pushed on at a pretty solid effort and started passing faster swimmers. Nearing the far end of the course the wind was really picking up and although the return leg was with a tailwind, with a lot of it being sheltered it never seemed that much help. At the end of the first lap I had caught the leader in my AG, and looking at the intensity I had done the first lap at (0.78 for anyone interested) and the time (about 2:25) I decided that it probably wasn't worth trying to hold that for the second lap. I knew that going that hard would massively impact my run so the second lap I decided to ease off slightly and and just try and make sure I still put in a decent effort, but try and ease off whenever the wind/terrain allowed.

The second lap was slower and felt a lot tougher even with the reduced effort, the wind really had picked up and some of the sections were a real slow slog. I was now catching some of the younger age groups and it was becoming increasingly difficult to make clean passes within the time limit so I just concentrated on keeping a legal distance and overtaking when I felt I could pass cleanly enough. I felt pretty strong throughout out the ride and it was nice to have a great ride, though slower than I really wanted but that was due to the weather and even the pro's were slower than last year. I was pleased with a solid and sensible effort. I came in 1st in my AG, but I knew there were faster runners not that far behind so it meant a bit of a do or die type effort for the run. A decent 5:03 bike split.

Up the hill out of Weymouth

Run:

After speaking with Darren Jenkins at the Bastion and how he approaches the run I decided to try it, I had nothing to lose in reality and I knew I probably needed a 3:30 marathon to get a medal. I started off feeling great and running at 4:50/km seemed easy, but I wasn't brave enough to actually run any faster than that, I knew I would slow but I was thinking that with slowing down to around 5:15 towards the end, it would equal out. The wind on the promenade was brutal and it just seemed to get stronger and stronger whilst you get weaker and weaker. The first lap went well and I was maintaining the pace I started off at, though various niggles that have plagued me all year were starting to annoy me, not really slow me down but causing me to be more circumspect to the pace I was trying to achieve. I did start slowing down but I was still maintaining 5 min km's so pretty happy and the niggles didn't get any worse so I felt pretty much in control still.

The wind did start slowing down progress but gauging my pace of the faster runners I know seemed to show I was still comparing well, so I just kept going as fast as I could. I was passed before the half way mark by the winner of my AG, and at the time there was no way I was going to be able to keep pace, I just kept telling myself to keep going at the effort you can achieve. I started to walk the aid stations just over half way, just to make sure I got enough fluid in, and to get some aches and pains a brief respite.

The lack of decent long distance runs started showing around the 30km mark where I went through a little bit of a bad patch, I was passed by another in my AG so although I wasn't 100% sure I thought I was in 3rd place, and I knew 4th place was only about 500m behind me, but we seemed to be running at a similar pace. The bad patch melted that gap however and at about the 36km mark he passed me. I tried to keep up but the I was suffering and he slowly pulled a gap. I got to the far turn for the last time and with a bit of a tailwind I just tried to bury myself. I did manage to speed up but it was tough work, and I never managed to close the gap, even a shout out from Darren Jenkins on course couldn't help much. I finished just 1:12 away from the bronze medal after a pretty solid effort and I got a 3:40 marathon so certainly the fastest full marathon I have run.

Post Race Thoughts:

A total time of 10:05 wasn't quite the sub 9:30 I thought might be possible, but a lot of that was the weather, on a calmer day I would have been close, but I also realised that I didn't quite have the same bike and run fitness I had last year and it made itself known towards the end of the race. Still you have got to have targets to aim for and there is no point making a target a soft target, and that's what I thought would be needed to get a medal. Happy with the race though, it was a race where I went for it and I truely felt I was competing rather than just completing and it was a race I have learned a lot from. 26th Overall and 4th in the 45-49 AG is a result I am very happy with.

Massive congratulations to Joe Duckworth, Paulo Margarido, and Ken Holder on their medals, and thanks for making it a great race. Thanks again to my Mum and Dad for great support on course and to my most wonderful wife and little lad for your unending support. Thank you Ruth Eyles for your coaching skills and guidance over the last 6 years.

One great thing about the weekend was finally meeting some Twitter and Facebook friends for the first time, and catching up with others, thanks for a great weekend Matt Molloy, Karl Alexander, Alan Murchison, Tom Vickery, Lee Cook, Alice Hector, Matt Dowle and all the other great athletes I met over the weekend. Also thanks must go to Tim Whitmarsh from British Triathlon for your support throughout the build up and the weekend. Also thanks to Sundried for their support this year.

Now it is time for a bit of downtime and get to know my family a little bit better and do jobs around the house that I have been putting off for months now. Next year will be all about the shorter distance of middle distance, and just the one long distance, but that exciting news I will leave for another blog.

Last Hurrah for 2015

With just over a week to go to Challenge Weymouth and the ETU Long Distance Championship and I am into my final taper of the year. After the euphoria of 2014, this year has seemed a bit of a struggle at times. Training has gone very well some weeks and then just hit and miss the following week either through fatigue or life just getting in the way.

The build between the Bastion and now has been OK though and I feel faster in my swimming and the running finally seems to have come together, though I haven't done any durations similar to what I did last year, well apart from 2 IM marathons. Biking as always is strong, though you don't really lose this overnight and I have done plenty of bike work to keep this in good nick.

I keep asking myself, what goals do I want to attach to Challenge Weymouth, I could take the "just enjoy it" route but to be honest I don't think I can whilst racing in GBR kit. The only other option is to attack it and try and do my best and this is what I intend to do, I have had too many races this year where I have thought I was just taking part rather than competing.

I have also decided to stop being coached for next year, I have been coached by Ruth Eyles for 6 years now and together we have achieved a lot, it would be great to bow out with a great result. Now what result would be great, well given how I performed at Challenge Weymouth last year the logical answer is to finish on the podium and get a European medal. Is it possible, then the answer is yes, but as I well and truly know, a long distance tri is a bit of a beast and anything can happen to scupper any ideals you might have thought about.

The course for Challenge Weymouth is again an ace course, especially for me. The swim course hopefully will be better than last year, but even if it isn't I am a lot more confident in open water this year and don't expect any issues like I did last year. The bike course is potentially faster now we don't have the slow out and back to Affpuddle, though if we have a stiff wind from the West the return to Weymouth each lap will be a slow slog. The run course is as flat as a pancake so the ideal run course for me, I should be able to plod myself to a half decent time even if it does all fall apart.

It's going to be an enjoyable weekend no matter what, there are quite a few friends taking part so at least I hope the atmosphere should be a nice relaxing and jovial one. Let's finish 2015 with a bang :).

The Bastion - Take Two

Doing the Castle Triathlon Bastion once is certainly a challenge worth being happy about, but why settle at doing it just once. I had aimed to target this as an "A" race, but after the struggles of Ironman South Africa and how long it took to recover both physically and mentally it turned into bit of a fun event for me. I just knew my bike and run fitness weren't where they should be, and although with years of cycling behind me the bike leg wasn't ever really going to be an issue, the run was going to be a get through it in one piece type run.

As before the Castle Triathlon put on a great event, and as last year the briefing was very comprehensive and the walk round of the site was very informative especially for the novices of the event. Considering it is such a challenging event I always find it heartening to see how many people are doing the Bastion as their first iron distance race, I know exactly how they feel.

As we did last year, the family and I camped on site and had a really relaxed Saturday, bike racking was swift and painless. I met up with a friend of Joe Skipper, Lee Cook, who was doing the Bastion as his first iron distance race, like me he was a winner of a competition (always nice to win a prize that means you are going to hurt yourself).

After a glorious Saturday, Sunday dawned cloudy and wet though it wasn't too cold to be honest. After sorting the bike out and trying with no joy to get my Garmin to talk to my powermeter, I got all wetsuited up and made my way to the lake for the pre race brief. Luckily with 4 previous swims of the course I was pretty confident of a good swim.

Having a pre race chat with Karl and Lee
Courtesy of Colin Baldwin Photography

And we are off

Courtesy of Richard Campbell - BeyondGoingLong

The swim went pretty good, sighting was great and for once I seemed to swim pretty straight down the lake. I had aimed to try and keep on the toes of Karl Alexander and Darren Jenkins for as long as possible, but that wasn't for very long in the end. For a lot of the first leg down the lake I was swimming on my own and whilst the clear water was nice, having toes to follow would have probably helped with the swim speed. As we entered the river section the first time I suddenly found feet and this section went very smoothly and before long I was on the second lap. The second lap again went well with swimming alongside  faster swimmers. I did try and work out where I was but as ever there always seems to be more ahead of you than you realise. I got out of the water in 1:09, and although faster than last year I was still a bit disappointed, open water swims had suggested nearer the hour, but hey ho it is what it is.

After a bit of a long run to transition it was out on the bike, I did hear a shout of "Go Catch Darren" and I did set off with the intention of doing a hard bike. Now things would have been easier to judge if my Garmin had displayed power but again I am pretty of good of going by feel so I just settled down and rode to HR instead. I tried to keep the effort down at first and just get into a good rhythm, or as best you can when you are either going up or down. My legs didn't feel that great, well not as good as I was hoping, but I was still getting a decent average speed so I didn't worry too much. I started feeling better after a few miles and with little wind the first time up to the top of the Ashdown Forest went very smoothly. As I descended towards Maresfield I saw Karl was leading and on the return I worked out I was about 12-13 mins down. I hadn't seen Darren, so I presumed he was on the Maresfield loop. Now before the event I did have a little joke with Karl and Darren about smashing the bike leg, I was hoping I could keep up with them.

I did the first lap faster than I did last year and I still felt OK, not as great as I wanted to in all honesty but still going at a decent effort. The next time up to the forest top the wind was picking up and there were a few showers, not too bad but enough to blunt the speed a little. I also noticed Karl had pulled out a bit of time on me and also I saw Darren for the first time, he had obviously pulled out some time as well. I really wasn't sure where I was position wise and just carried on riding as hard as I dared. Coming to the end of lap 2 I heard the commentator say I was in 4th place, so that was Karl and Darren ahead, but who else. I had completely forgotten about Matthew Dowle, and although he seemed to be falling back from Darren he was having a very good bike leg.

Typical Kent Scenery
Courtesy of Colin Baldwin Photography

On the 3rd lap the wind at the top of the forest was quite strong now with a fair bit of rain, now rain and a visor is not the best option and once covered in rain it did make the descents that little bit more difficult and I had no option but to ease off and take them at a steady speed, there is no point coming off to save a few seconds. I did catch Matthew with about 5 miles to go, and knowing he is a far better runner than me I just tried to put as much time between us before T2.

Coming into T2 I saw that I was slower than last year, but considering the harder conditions I was pretty happy. Once the bike was handed over to a helper I made my way into the tent to get ready for the run. As I had decided to take the run as it comes I enjoyed a bit of a drink and some food before going out onto the run. Matthew had pretty much clawed back the time I had made on the bike and he was past me before 1km into the run.

First km of the run, struggling a little

Courtesy of Colin Baldwin Photography

The first few kms felt horrible as per normal, but I soon settled into a good pace, I was very mindful not to attack the run as I had in South Africa, and just took things steady. The first lap went to plan and I was thinking if I can maintain this pace it will be cool. As fatigue set in however and the legs started getting sore I eased off a little more and walked some of the hills, even so I came though half way just over 2 hours so not too bad. On the third lap things were really starting to get tough, I walked more of the hills and it wasn't long before I started slipping down the leadboard. I got passed twice in quick succession by Andy Cox (finished 5th) and Lee Cook (6th). Onto the 4th lap and although I felt like walking the whole lot I still just walked the hills and made sure I kept up a fairly decent pace at other times. I would rather have run the complete distance, but with the ETU Long Distance Champs in 8 weeks and without the best run fitness I did what I thought was the wisest option.

I crossed the line in 11:24, so 20 mins slower than last year, and in 7th overall, I was also 2nd in the 40-49AG so not a bad day at all and one where I got another iron distance event under my belt without causing too much damage to my body. Pleased to see Lee Cook got 6th place in his first long distance race and seem to be relishing his next one.

Photo Courtesy of Colin Baldwin Photography

Massive congratulations to Darren Jenkins on winning the event, and to Beth Fowler for winning the ladies. Also congratulations to Karl, and Matthew for making up the podium. Thanks to Darren, Karl, Matthew, Lee and everyone else for being a good laugh throughout the weekend. Again a massive thanks to my wonderful family for the support both in training and the race, I had additional support this year from my Mum, Dad and Auntie, it all helps on such a tough day.

Another fabulous event from the Castle Triathlon team, they really have worked hard with the course and it was in fantastic condition. A big thanks you to Brian and the team as well as all the helpers, marshalls, supporters and anyone else connected with the event.  I really do recommend these events for anyone, be they novices or experienced triathletes. If you don't want to do a full iron distance race then they put on a series of events at all distances across the UK, check out their website www.castletriathlonseries.co.uk for all the information.

Quality Momentos

Trying to Have Fun

Bit of an update over the last couple of months. The first few weeks after IM South Africa were quite a struggle if I am honest, I had very painful legs for well over a week, and even when I started running again 3 weeks later they hurt a fair amount. This proved very mentally challenging, the disappointment of a sub standard performance had just about subsided, only to be replaced with the struggle of not being able to get back to proper run training. The swimming was OK, and the bike although seemingly harder than usual was thereabouts, but the running even after 3 weeks of very little was starting to weigh on my mind a touch too much.

I had run over things many times since South Africa, was the run training up to spec, did I need to do something different in how I carried out the run training, as well as a myriad of other issues. One thing that stood out was that I was finding myself on the verge of lacking any enjoyment, I do triathlon as a hobby and I should always remember that. I decided to step away from pure cycling due to the lack of enjoyment in it all, I didn't want this to happen with triathlon as well, I think the disappointment in my performance at South Africa went deeper than I fully appreciated and I needed to remind myself almost daily that I should be doing this for enjoyment first and foremost and any results are a bonus.

I did a couple of TT's post South Africa, not that successful in the end, my slowest club 10 for about 5 years and a DNF at an Open 25, I did these far too soon after South Africa in hindsight and didn't really enjoy them (that old enjoyment factor again). One event I was looking forward to was the East Grinstead Triathlon, only a sprint event which I didn't even really train for, but it is a team get together so it always is a great atmosphere with the rest of the team there.

I was going in the Elite wave, which for us was a mass start. I was a bit worried about being left miles back after the swim, but surprisingly although Charlie Pennington took 90 secs out of me, I wasn't the last one out of the pool. The swim training has certainly helped over the last year. Onto the bike and I just settled into a pace that felt difficult but sustainable, given the woeful power I put out in the last 2 TT's, the power today was surprisingly half decent, not great but a lot better than I expected. Being one of the later starters the traffic had built up a bit and I did get a few holdups, not major ones, but enough to break the rhythm up. I still had a decent ride, but slower than the previous year. Out onto the run, and the lack of recent run training and speed work, really showed it's face. There was no real motivation for me to really hurt myself, and I was happy running at a fairly decent pace, but well below what I should be able to run for 5km. I came home in 1:11:41, 8th Overall and 4th in the V40 AG. Charlie won his 4th on trot with another great time of 1:04, 4 mins quicker than 2nd place. Slower than last year, but with a quicker swim, but most of all a very enjoyable race where I was there to have a laugh with the team, mission acclomplished.

The next triathlon was to be the Castle Triathlon Lough Cutra Gauntlet middle distance race over in Ireland. After a few disappointing weeks, Ruth and I decided to try and get some confidence back into how I was racing. I was planning on training pretty hard through the Lough Cutra event, but Ruth thought cutting back and not going into it too tired was probably more important for my peace of mind. Run training was starting to feel good again though and although still not doing that much, each session felt better and I was recovering better, so hopefully with less fatigue and a bit of freshness, the race would go pretty well.

I did sneak a 50m TT in the week beforehand however, as I wanted to see what sort of effort I could realistically race a middle distance race at, I had only done one before. I promised to do it at projected HIM pace and just see what I felt like and the sort of pace I could expect. Not too shabby, I kept the power around the HIM effort and recorded a time just a smidge over 2 hours, 2:00:12 to be exact. The last few miles trying to get under 2 hours was fun.

San Fairy Ann CC 50m TT

Onto Lough Cutra, this is one of the Castle Triathlon Series events, and I had always wanted to do another event after the experience of the Bastion last year. After a tiring couple of days travelling I lined up on race morning, really looking forward to the race and above all, I was out to have fun, pure and simple. For the second time in 2 races the result really didn't matter, though as always you want to do well. I was so relaxed on the day I even forgot my Garmin watch and it didn't even really bother me that much, the run would have to be done on RPE when I got to it.

The swim was a very chilly 13 degrees, and although the body felt fine, the hands and feet told me it was cold, and when the face went in it was well and truly confirmed. Foolishly I was one of the first in, so it meant getting a little colder waiting for all the others. Once we were off though I soon felt warm enough and although only 200 competitors I must have lined up a bit too far back as I was swimming into others straight away. This meant a slower start than normal, but not too worry I was soon into a decent rhythm. The swim was straight forward enough, swim around Apple Island and then head straight back to land, probably my straightest ever swim. I came out in 33 mins, not as fast as I would have liked, but considering the cold and the slow start I was happy enough.

Out onto the bike and what on paper seemed a pretty benign course, a couple of little hills and one fairly decent one, ended up being a pretty tough one with the headwind first 45km and the road surfaces, which in the main were just speed sapping and generally hard going. I just settled into the power I planned to ride at, and soon enough I was starting to pass the faster swimmers. The first 45km were a little tough to say the least, the wind had picked up and although the roads seemed flat, there was a lot of false flat or gentle inclines which just seemed slow. It wasn't long before I was on my own and I just kept plugging away. The biggest climb was preceded by a slow drag as well, and once into the climb proper it was OK, a bit like an alpine climb with switchbacks, but nothing too steep and fairly short. The views over the bay were amazing and the thought of a fast tailwind assisted blast back to Lough Cutra saw me with a huge smile on my face.

 

Some views on the bike course

 

Over the top of the climb and I wasn't to be disappointed, it was a great blast down from the hill, but although it was fast the road surface was still shocking in places, so caution was certainly on the mind. After what seemed like ages of not passing anyone, I was starting to catch other riders in front of me, power was still good, and I was still feeling great. The last 10kms were a bit of a drag, mainly being draggy and a bit twisty and turny, but it wasn't long before I was back into the castle grounds and into T2. A time of 2:30:36 shows what a tough course it was in the end.

The run was the area where I knew I might struggle, coming into T2 I had seen that there was about 4 or 5 bikes there and I knew I was fairly well up but also knew I would be passed by a fair few. Not really wanting to hammer myself too much on the run and then have that impact training again, I ran at a fastish training pace, legs felt good pretty much from the off, just the usual 1-2km of unresponsive post bike legs. As I was just going by RPE I was monitoring my breathing which seemed a bit rapid, I eased off until I felt I was at a good pace but not too slow. The run course was a 3 x 7km lap, with virtually all being off road, mixture of grass, hardcore trail paths and a few tarmac sections. As per usual the run route is scenic and far from flat, though it wasn't as hilly as the Hever Castle route. For the first lap one or 2 faster guys passed me, but even on the second lap I was a bit surprised I hadn't been passed by that many. It was more difficult to tell on the 3rd lap however as more and more runners were joining the course, I just stuck at the pace I thought was decent enough. I was starting to flag a little towards the end of the 3rd lap, again lack of decent run training starting to show here, but I was happy I had run a decent run. A 1:40:50 isn't the greatest time in the world, but it is my fastest half marathon and after how I felt after South Africa it is a step in the right direction.

I did run the 21km at a faster pace than I did for the first half of IM South Africa and not suffered any issues like I did there, progress was made there at least. In fact I wasn't too sore afterwards, well not until I had a post race massage - OUCH. I came in 13th Overall, and surprising to me, 2nd in the V40 AG. I really hadn't expected that and it showed that it is possible to have fun, ride a hard bike leg and still do pretty well. It was also nice to get the fastest bike leg as well overall, still life in the old dog yet. Overall time of 4:47:35 and just 5 mins slower than the AG winner.

I can highly recommend the Castle Triathlon events as great festivals of triathlon, it was great to see so many people enjoying the selection of races available and the organisation is fantastic. If you are ever on the West of Ireland during the late may Bank Holiday then try one of the races, no doubt like me you will have some great fun and a wonderful memory. Oh and the Guinness in Ireland is just so much nicer.

As for me, I feel refreshed after a good race, not too fatigued and looking forward to a few weeks of hardish training before taking on the Bastion yet again on the 12th July. Again for me it will be more about having fun rather than worrying about performance, I think I can see that performance comes easier when I am enjoying myself.