My race preparation for this triathlon included spending the weekend before it in bed with some sort of chest infection (it’s still causing the odd cough three weeks later) and about two weeks with minimal exercise. On the plus side the lack of exercise meant my calves weren’t sore.

The event was organised by the Triangle Triathlon Club and based out of the Roe Valley leisure centre. Here’s the report:

Organisation / Route

I arrived at the centre about 15mins before the advertised registration time and the organisers were busy setting up the transition area / finish line. I went in to register, there were no signs but a few Triathletes who were helpful as always and pointed me in the right direction.

After I registered I headed outside, got my bike and went round to the transition area. It was well laid out considering the space available and partly on grass which is always nice when you’re going to be running in bare feet. Once set up I went inside and found a locker (the advantage of being based in a leisure centre). The organisation was a bit ropey here as lots of people were running round wondering if they and missed the briefing but it turns out they were doing it just before each wave at the poolside. As for the waves this is where the organisation shined, it went like clockwork and we started on time.

The bike ride was well signposted and marshalled/policed, it was a lot more hilly than I thought it would be and on the day very VERY windy. It was out and in so at least every hill we went up we knew we got to come down it. The return into T2 was well marshalled also, but there was quite a distance to do on very cold bare feet before I got on to the grass (the Portlouise Tri had carpet all the way).

The run was nice and flat with a slight incline out but again this meant we got to come down it on the way back. It was marshalled at every turn except one and I know I wasn’t the only one to miss this and be corrected by passers by / car drivers.

Competitors

A good mix of experience and novice people at this one. Once more there were plenty of the fitter competitors offering encouragement to this fat boy.

Supporters

There was lots of people round the pool and a good handful made it out to the entrance/exit of the transition area. Karys Wilson was there to see a few people she knew and was in great voice, hearing her in the pool, and transition was a much needed boost.

Freebies

We were promised a T-Shirt but got a CD of some local country singer instead I like free T-Shirts but I guess they didn’t get it organised in time.

My Race

Like I said I wasn’t feeling great and had through of pulling out but then realised I was actually a man so got on with it. Here’s the breakdown:

Swim - 14:47 (90th)
I didn’t feel great in the swim but was in a lane full of people faster than me so I just tried to not be over taken much.

T1 - 1:24
Once again I took too long to get my shirt on over my wet back.

Cycle - 44:11 (113th)
I crossed the mount line gingerly got on the bike and the chain came off, rather embarrassing. I didn’t feel strong on the bike either and the wind made for a tough ride. Only got over taken a few times and actually over took a few people myself.

T2 - 1:34
My dismount was much better than my mount but my feet were cold and it was very sore on the concrete (I know I’m a wouse). Got my shoes on quickly and I was away.

Me leaving T2

Run - 24:52 (122)
The first half of the run I was happy enough but not overly pushing myself, when I got to the half way stage I realised that I actually felt really good and had loads of energy left. So I picked up the pace a little and actually kept under 8min/mi for the last 2.5Km (that’s good for me).

Overall - 1:26:45 (114)
With 158 competitors I was once again in my 2/3 – 3/4 the way down the table position but I knocked 3mins off my time in the last triathlon, however I’m far from happy with it. I had been putting in good swim times and cycle times before this and would liked to have been much faster in both. After I finished I spent about 10minutes coughing but felt okay apart from that.

The next day my calves were still fine and in fact the sorest part of me was my back from the go-karting I did after the Triathlon.

The past two weeks….

Through Karys I’ve made two more Twitter friends who were doing the Triathlon @lisam75 (windymillar.posterous.com) & @austinslide (couchpotatotoironman.blogspot.com/) they are both newcomers to the sport so it’s interesting watching their training. They’ve put me to shame over the past few weeks, keep it up you two. It turns out as I was leaving I stopped to offer @lisam75 help to get her bike into the car, it’s nice to make a good first impression but the crowd at Triathlon’s are always offering each other help and encouragement, it’s a very friendly sport.

It’s been two weeks since this triathlon and my cough has cleared up but I’ve not been doing much training, I haven’t swam yet, and yesterday was my first cycle. I have ran a few times and it’s been good. I’ve done a 3.4mi @ 8.13min/mi and a 1.5mi @ 7.08min/mi.

I’m planning to hit it hard the next few weeks. I’ve the 100Km Coastal Challenge on the 20th June so I need to get a few miles in before that and I want to work on the running see if I can get the 7min/mi to last for the full 5Km or get up to 10Km without the calves going.

It all started a few months back when Tanya asked me to raise some money for a 5Km fun run on Easter Monday (today). I’m training towards this distance for the sprint triathlons anyway but my calves have hampered my running. Then last Sunday Tanya’s husband, David told me it wasn’t a fun run it was the Whitehead 5mile road race but I thought I’d give it a go anyway.

Today as I was signing up I noticed a distinct lack of other fat bloke, at least at Sprint Triathlon you get a few. I lined up with the other competitors, including David Marshall and Dave Ramsey and when the whistle blew we all headed off, Dave up with the front runners and Dave and I slotting into the slightly slower runners. I settled into a nice pace and was feeling really good, despite the very hilly course my first lap (1.6Mi) was just over 13mins averaging about 8min/mile but just as I passed through the start/finish line my calf went. I limped round the course in a less respectable time just over 15mins (average of 9:40min/mile) and called it a day. David Marshall who hadn’t done any training did the same a few minutes later but the Dave ran an excellent race to finish the 5miles in about 34m30sec.

The Whitehead Easter Monday Road Race

I’ve a lot of work to do if I’m to have a chance of beating him at either of the two triathlons we’ll be competing against each other in. My first is this Saturday, so hopefully the ice / warm bath /ice I’ve had this afternoon will help it heal quickly.

As for today’s event I’m disappointed because I was feeling very strong round the first lap and didn’t really tire the pain in the calf just got to uncomfortable.

I got a quick catch up with Dave Allen last night as he, Stacey and the family are over for a wee trip. Was good to see them and I hope we’ll see a little more of them over the holidays.

It’s that time of year when we reflect so here’s my reflections and targets for the next year. No resolutions just targets.

Tri an Mhi 09 - Three Amigos at the finish line

The past year has been an interesting one: I’ve lost (and kept off) 2.5stone, completed two triathlon sprints, passed the first half (PGCFHE) of my teaching qualification and seen the engagements of a few wonderful friends.

The plans for next year are:

1. Finish my PGDFHE
2. Find a teaching job
3. Read my Bible more
4. Lose at least another 2.5stone
5. Complete in an Olympic triathlon
6. Improve my time for the Quarryman Sprint Triathlon
7. Spend less money
8. Redesign the @TheCastle website

n.b. they are not necessarily in order of importance. As you can see Facebook and Twitter will once again be full of updates about running, cycling and swimming but hey it’s better than the stupid random updates seen on most pages.

I’ve been keeping up some training since the summer and have thankfully got out for a cycle most weekends, and until recently at least one run a week sometimes more. Unfortunately training over Christmas will be limited to swimming and biking as I’ve to take a break from running while I’m attending physio to sort out my calves. I’ll not be on the bike for the next few days either because my calves are very tender after taking a real bashing from the physio yesterday, there’s a few bruises and lot of pain. I’m such a wouse! LOL

Well I met a girl and we have been dating for about a month now….

Now that I’ve got you attention, unfortunately for that mythical girl, I made that bit up to grab your attention. I’ve been working hard lately and it’s kept me rather busy.

In the normal job I’ve moved the three content managed web sites over from our Windows, Apache, MySQL & PHP server to an externally hosted dedicated Linux, Apache, MySQL & PHP. This was hard enough with it being the first time I’ve done it and the databases deciding to change a load of symbols to goblegook but as of yesterday they were all moved and happily living in their new faster, safer environment and all that just in time before today ETI inspection. I’m still waiting to heard how that one went but for my part they were impresed at the speed of the VLE and the chat I had with the assessor was very pleasant.

This was my second ETI inspection in a fortnight as just 13 days ago I was teaching in UUJ on a new course that was having it’s ETI inspection that week. Thankfully it went well and the team got a very favourable report, here’s hoping today’s went as well.

Out side of work, when not preparing for the classes I was teaching in J’town or researching tips for the website moves, I’ve not done very much by my usual busy standards as I’ve been tired. I tend to spend a lot of time thinking and analysing before and after any events and this leads to poor sleep and periods of tiredness. Lately I’ve had the new praise rotas on my mind, which have been implemented and while not pleasing everyone I think are the best match of talent and attitude we’ve had. I”m just praying that people have room and time to grow in their abilities and more so spiritually. I’ve kinda had the worry of the carol service but Elia will be mostly heading this up as he is the musical one. I’m also doing my Post Grad Diploma in Further and Higher Education bu st to be honest it’s has been taking a back seat which has been playing heavily on my mind. All these combined with work and the teaching at UUJ have kept my mind very active. Thankfully I’ve had a few opportunities to get out on my bike or running and help blow away any worry and stress. If I could eat more healthily I’d be really very fit but as it is I’m just sustaining my summer’s weight lose with the balance of hard work and unhealthy eating.

I’m doing sound this weekend at a Christian Conference, which as a conference I’ll enjoy but I’m never that happy on sound as I’m very sure it’s not one of my gifts just something I can get by on. The weekend studies are on the book of Job, a book I quite like. I’m hoping my legs will have recovered from Tuesday night’s run/football so I can go for a run round the lake on Saturday morning with the super fit Dave.

Anyway that’s an update on my little life, hope you’re getting in the mood for Christmas as I currently am.

Run Round Middle Dam

After setting and completing a few fitness goals (100k cycle & two triathlons) over the summer and losing about 33pounds along the way, I’ve been taking it easy over the months of September. Very easy in fact, since the last Triathlon and up to today I’ve only done 1 swim,  no runs and a few cycles (one being off road on a new mountain bike ). I’ve also been eating fairly unhealthy and unsurprisingly I’ve put on a couple of pounds.

So today marks phase two of my fight to fitness. I started the day with a 25.5mi hilly cycle with Mark before church and then forced myself out to the dams for a run round the 2.5mi loop.

I’m planning to do more triathlons next summer but until then I want to set a few goals to keep me focused. I’m still working on them but so far I have a few short term:

14 Pounds in sugar

• Swim at least once a week
• Cycle at least 20miles/week (Turbo Trainer if needed)
• Run at least once/week
• Lose 14pounds in 2months (cutting out rubbish again)
• Take part in the Race over the Glens on News Years Day

Let’s hope stage two goes with as few injuries as stage one.

For next year I’ve set my sight on doing at least:

• Tri an Mhi Sprint in September (The last one I did this year)
• The Mourne Triathlon Castlewellan in early August
• And another Sprint Triathlon early in the summer.

I’m also going to looking into doing the Causeway Marathon even if I only do the 10K.