Chilham Castle duathlon 10km-40km-5km. Trail run, road cycle.

On Friday night i was clearing out my van and found a fly er for this event. Took a look and decided this could be a good race to end the season, coupled with the heat wave we were expecting.

On Saturday evening i drove down to the event and asked the race director if i could race, her reply was yes we can squeeze you in.

So off towards home, dusted down the race bike, threw some trail shoes in my kit bag and loaded the van....... Then bed.

The alarm clock woke me at 5am and i was up and preparing breakfast ready to leave for 6.

I went online and had quick look to see who was racing and who i needed to stick with and there was only one name i knew - Ashley Howes, he had the 2nd fastest course record.

sunrise over T

After racking the bike as the sun was rising i began to plan my race. Knew i had to keep Ashley within my sights on the first 10km run.

Knowing Ashley can consistently run sub 35 minutes for a 10k i new i had to be careful not to overdo it before i got on the bike. As the horn sounded and we all charged off 3 of us broke away and took the lead - Ashley, another guy, then myself.

Ashley set the pace and instantly i knew he was trying to shake me. After just 2k my HR monitor begun to sound and warned me i was above my race zone, the alarm continued to sound until 4 k when i just had to remove it.

The run course was rather up and down and 2 laps, which is always mentally tough as you know whats coming. 5k in i passed the guy in front and it was clear he was a runner and just couldn't hold onto Ashley.

As i passed the 8k marker i noticed Ashley had made a break and i just couldn't find enough to reel him in, i said to myself stick to your race plan and get him on the bike.

As i approached T1 i could see Ashley just leaving, i was in and out in just 35 seconds. i knew i had what it takes on the bike to reel him.

As i turned onto the main road i could see my target no more than a few hundred yards away, i knew what i had to do - hydrate, get comfy on the bike and just ride as hard as i could maintain for the 40k..

Within 2km i had reached Ashley's back wheel. Made my break up out the saddle and rode hard until i knew he hadn't clung to my back wheel. The bike course was mainly uphill for the first 8-9 miles. I had opted for my TT bike with disc, but begun to question my choice as i noticed Ashley was gaining on me. Kept pushing hard so much so i was beginning to cramp.

I needed this hill to flatten out to give my legs and lungs time to recover and soon enough it did. This was my chance to get Aero and open the gap between us which i did and continued to do.

As i reached the turn around point i was leading the bike leg by some distance, then as i rode back toward T2 i noticed Ashley wasn't on my tail. He had been overtaken and dropped back to 5th place. This got me worried because these guy were catching me and fast, now i had no choice but to ride hard all the way back and hope i could hold my lead.

As i entered T2 i could hear the rumble of a disc behind me but ignored it and carried on into T2 and racked my bike. I was in and out in just 34 seconds with a new face right behind me.

I held my lead for approx 2 km and then knew if i pushed any harder things could all go wrong. I was fighting for 1st but was willing to take 2nd or 3rd  without jeopardising  my whole race, after all it was only a C race.

I decided to stick to my pace and finish without risking a DNF.

As i crossed the line i collapsed in a heap and a guy appeared above me saying "well done". This guy turned out to be Nick Kinsey, otherwise known as the Mallorca man.

Its fair to say Nick has raced and won some of the hardest races throughout the world, finishing Kona more than 8 times often winning his age group.

As i asked the timing guys for my printout i also got a copy of Nick's, sadly i missed 1st place by just over 1 minute.

I was happy to claim 2nd place. It is my best result to date, all things considered - late entry, lack of preparation and the high level of athletes i was racing against. I think i had a great day.

The current course record stood at  2:12:08 held by Simon Casebourne.

My finish time was 2:09:38  over 2:30 quicker.

My splits were:

10km run       0:40:14

T1                  0:00:35.40

40km bike    1:06:07

T2                  0:0034.30

5km run        0:22:07

Finish           2:09:38.25.

  

Race Results the Wind farmer sprint distance Triathlon.

On Sunday the 25th of September i decided to take part in the Wind farmer sprint distance triathlon. The basis of this race was for me to realise and understand how much a single threshold test actually takes it out of your body and learn how much recovery my body actually needs to perform 100% on race day - a few lessons have been learn't here.

My coach had given me strict power figures to stick to and i was going to do just that, as this was a C cat race for me, purely training and knowledge building. My figure was 255-265 Watts.

The day started bright and sunny and it all looked set to be a great race. As the gun went and the swim got underway i soon realised i wasn't in shape and soon got pushed to the back of the main pack.

As bodies struggled to climb over me my goggles got removed and my nose clip lost.

This made things interesting for me so i turned onto my back and recovered the best i could and continued with my swim. With all my efforts the damage was done and i knew it, i had no choice but to get to transition and hope my legs were able to get the bike moving.

My T1 went very smoothly in little over 1 minute, i now knew i had a huge game of catch up to play.

Out on the bike i got hydrated and concentrated on my target Wattage (255-265). For the first few km's my legs felt sluggish and i knew how empty my tank really was, as i passed each bike i counted until i guessed i was 12th on the road.

As we came to the half way point i decided to try and close the gap on the next bike. It was clear to see the faster swimmers where now getting tired on the bike and i managed to gain another 5 places which i guessed put me in 7th. I was happy to sit there and recover for the final few km's and get ready for the run.

As i flew into T2, legs spinning at over 120 rpm, i lost a shoe which cost me vital seconds at the dismount line, another lesson learn't !!!.

Now it was my turn to try and turn this race around, i set off on the run very calmly knowing i was capable of moving up through the guys ahead of me.

The plan here was a negative split over the 6km loop. After the first km i saw the next guy, i stayed within my HR zone and hunted him down.... finally 6th place. As i approached the water station the marshals informed me i was close behind the next guy. As the watch struck 2km i knew it was almost time to turn on the running legs and get this negative split...... BEEP BEEP 3 km had passed and now it was time to pickup the pace and find my 5th place.

Before long i was steadily approaching and passing the guy i had been chasing in 5th place, with less than 1.5km to go i picked the pace up as much as the HR zone would allow and went in search of 4th.... 4th place crossed the line 100 yards before me and i run in just behind him.

As the swim had been so eventful i didn't have a clue how well or badly i had done.

I had managed to get:

1st in Age group.

2nd fastest bike.

3rd fastest run.

4th overall.

What a result all things considered a great training event.

Thanks to my coach Ben Ward for teaching me such a valuable lesson.

A bit of history :)

How I became to be a triathlete.

My plan for 2012 is to train and race full time at middle distance triathlon. 

I am quite a newcomer to the tri scene and realise there are aspects I need to improve on,  mainly the swim!!!

To date I've raced 5 duathlons. The biggest which was my first race was the London Duathlon in Richmond park, this being the worlds largest duathlon. Having only owned a bike for 5 months, I set about my training and went to the event with a hope of finishing in the top 100.

When I read the official results and found I had finished 16th overall, I was seriously shocked.

This result got me thinking...... And so over the winter I spent many long hours out on the bike and running trying to improve my transition times and off the bike run times.

When the new year arrived I signed up to the Winter Duathlon series at Dorney lake. These races consisted of 5k run 20k bike 5k run.

My results were:

                         First round 8th overall.

                         Second round 7th overall. 

                         Third round    6th overall.

As the year progressed I decided that I was getting fitter and faster by breaking my training  down into 3  disciplines being - running, cycling and swimming. This gave me another plan....Triathlon....

I entered my first sprint distance Tri and after a hopeless swim managed to pull a large amount of time back on the bike and set a blisteringly fast 5k run time. This got me my first Tri finish of 25th.

Next on my list was a Mass start open water swim, here once again I didn't exit the water with any fast times but once again showed that my bike and run skills could  carry me to the finish in a respectable time. I finished this race 12th overall.

So as you can see I've now got the Bug and am enjoying this kind of racing. 

During February I was lucky enough to meet 2 X Iron man Lanzarote winner Estonian born Ain-Alar Juhanson, I worked with him at the TCR show at Sandown race course. He invited me to his home town to race  the Tri-Star Estonia111 middle distance Triathlon.

I took this offer very seriously and  begun my 6 month training plan. I will be honest - it had its up's and down's but overall I enjoyed the longer rides and runs.

On the Friday 5th August my 29th birthday there was a charity 5k race which I decided to enter as it was for many great causes. To my shock I crossed the line first, feeling 100% fresh and ready for my first long distance Tri.

As Sunday approached I began getting all my kit ready, with lots of help from a good friend Ben Ward, who has done this long distance racing for many years. He helped to calm my nerves, get me ready and reassure me I would be fine.

As I'm sure you will know by now my swim wasn't the best but I was far from last. The race for me begun when I exited the water in a little over 20 minutes. T1 went very smoothly in little over a minute and I was out on the rolling roads of Estonia, the bike course was far from flat but I enjoyed the 100k loop and entered T2 with a bike time of 2:41. As I left T2 I followed the advice my friend and coach had given me: start slow and finish strong. 

The run was a 10k which was also far from flat, but I managed a time of 40:40, very impressive after 101k of racing.

Its wasn't until the awards evening and my name being called did it actually sink in that my first race went very well, I managed 40th overall and 3rd in my Age group claiming Bronze.

testing

                                                                 TriStar Estonia 111

On the 7th of August 2011 I raced my first “long-distance” triathlon. It took place in the most wonderful northern country – Estonia. The weekend was full of different races (5 km charity run - which I won - 11.1 km and 33.3 km triathlons) and social activities (concerts, auctions etc). All in all, I had great time!

My race was 1 km swimming, 100 km cycling and 10 km running, which all took place around Otepää, so-called winter-capital of Estonia.

Racked and ready for my first race.

The uphill aid station.



First race and on the podium 3rd in Age Group.

111k of Triathlon finally finished..



Still smiling after 101k

me, Ben and Dan - team Solo