The adventures continued on the journey down as well; after an easy couple of hours heading down the motorway with the most challenging part being trying not to throw up thanks to travel sickness from the flight, we arrived in Cuevas del Almanzora, the location of Kinetic PB and came a little unstuck. With a dodgy map and directions, it was up to Nat to use her pidgeon Spanish (and rather amusing rowing impressions!) to find the way. Finally, the huge painting of the Indalo on the dam came into sight and we had found it.

The Lodge is the main building of the Kinetic PB resort, built next to a purpose-built rowing lake, which for some unbelievable reason was only built 1k long. Utterly useless for rowing, perfect for open water swimming! The lodge itself consists of a number of dorms which is great for sharing with mates and builds up a great spirit. There is a big bike room, big kitchen, nice balcony overlooking the lake and a massive living area with the obligatory flat screen for watching films when recovering.

After a day of getting over the travelling, the next day was a ride down to Aguilas for some swim practice in the sea. By this point, a lot of the camp had already been out for a week so were feeling the effects, and I got a little overexcited pushing the pace, but riding in shorts and t-shirt, in brilliant sunshine on great roads was too good to miss. After a little cafe stop (where everything is ridiculously cheap!) it was time to test out my new Helix in the sea.

Although it took an age to get on, once it was on it felt amazing compared to my old suit. We swam across the bay, and despite the lack of swimming over the festive period thanks to all the closed pools, I felt pretty good. After getting out and stripping the wetsuit off, I was told that we would be doing some relay races… and there was no way in hell I was getting on a wet wetsuit, so it was skins in the water! Hopefully I didn’t scare too many locals….

On the ride back, we found out about the winds along the coast…made for pretty tough riding! However, I got a run in once home, and add that to 85k on the bike and a sea swim, and Day 1 of training was off to a good start. I kept up the mileage on the bike as the week progressed, though avoiding any mega rides whilst I was still getting fit again. The riding is absolutely incredible, it rarely rains, the roads are good quality and there is a lot of respect from drivers! The locals also are intrigued by cyclists, including one cafe stop where I was mobbed by about 10 locals checking my bike out and asking me countless questions, which put my Spanish to the limit. The views are also just stunning, whether you are riding down the coast with the amazingly clear sea, or in the mountains with perfect, quiet roads and incredible scenery.

As the camp progressed, I began to bring up the intensity and duration of my rides. After a week I ventured out with Joe and Paul on a ’5 hour’ ride with them to Uleila and around the mountains there. It was tough going and hilly from the off, and after 50k I was dropped for good and had 100k riding solo round the mountains, which was incredible. A ‘rest day’ the day after was supposed to involve a couple of hours easy, but having been joined by Lee, Nat’s boyfriend, on the camp, and me with my riding mojo back, we did get a little excited in parts, especially when we were joined by a couple of local Spanish guys which tempted us to turn the screw and put the hammer down. I was feeling pretty good, and climbing well and we promptly dropped the Spanish pair. However, in our excitement, we also dropped everyone else in the pack, and were faced with some stern words from Nat!

The following day Joe and I headed out with some of the guys from the BTF development squad, who were also staying at Kinetic, for a TT effort. After an easy ride out, the aim was to ride for 25 minutes out, 15 minutes back and then easy back to the start. As soon as we set off it was tough going, straight up a hill and into a massive headwind. Joe, who had kindly given me a 30s headstart soon caught me as I struggled up the hill and it was a long slog of 25 minutes. However as soon as I turned around, I was flying! So quick in fact that I hit the start point again during my effort, despite going for slightly longer to turn around at a roundabout. Average speed out – 25kph, average speed back – 50kph, including some nice sections ticking along nicely at 65k!

The final big day of riding (which was the next day…) was the Uleila ride again, and despite being completely trashed from the start and having many thoughts about turning around, I manned up (our motto of the camp!) and rode all 155k and didn’t feel too bad, I could certainly hold on with everyone on the climbs if I had to. At least I managed to have an easier hour on my final full day there.

Around all this cycling we had to fit some swimming and running in! Initially the plan was to swim mornings, but as the camp progressed and we wanted more sleep, it got pushed back to the afternoons. With a lake to swim in (though admittedly a little chilly at this time of year!), a pool in the town with exclusive use during the day and the sea down the road, you are spoilt for choice. The aim of the camp was to pick my swimming back up to a decent level, and I certainly think I have achieved it. Lots of technique work, and a concerted effort to sort my bilateral breathing and tumble turning out have paid of masively, and I am almost back to swimming near my best. Once I get around to joining a swim club, I have high hopes of smashing some PBs this season.

With all the cycling and swimming, running can take a hit, but it is really not difficult to motivate yourself out there. There is a track around the lake, which is perfect for interval sets, or you can run futher down the river bed to a couple of smaller running tracks to train on, whilst the river bed gives you a nice place to run down for an easy run or some strides. However it is the surrounding area where the real running is at, and it is an awesome place to get strong, because it is really not flat! Just behind the dam by the lake is the beautiful national park, and a favourite run of ours was a 4k climb up the national park and loop back round through a small village and orange groves for a perfect 10k loop. You can also run up to the mast by the top of the dam, a brutal 10k climb, but with stunning views once you get up there (though I must admit I am told this, my legs were too trashed from all the riding to be running that hilly for that long). The other amazing run to do is the Caveman run, which takes you past the amazing ancient caves, through a river bed and over the hills to yet more amazing views. It is a proper off-road run, climbing up rocks as big as you, running down hills so steep you can’t stop and taking your pick of the paths through the overgrowth. Stunning.

The final highlight of the camp was Rob’s birthday, midway through my time there. The day started with a 4k sea swim out to an island and back, though mine got slightly cut short because as I was nearing the island I met Rob and Vicky coming the other way, trying to avoid a school of jellyfish… I went back with Vicky as she was suffering from mild hypothermia, to be caught up by Rob again minutes later as he was forced to turn around again due to all the jellies! The afternoon was a series of mini-triathlons, involving a kayak, hill-climb or lap around the lake on the bike and a hill-run or out and back down the lake. Oh, and it was old-school kit, so speedos only! Apologies to the locals that went past me on the bike, they looked slightly shocked! Despite my best efforts to ruin the race for my team with my utterly shocking kayak skills (seriously, I was paddling one way, and going the other, rumour is that Oli has a video of this… I’ll stick to the day sport!), I pulled it out of the bag in the reverse triathlon to secure the win. I almost managed to get away without getting chucked in the lake after everyone threw Rob in, but to no avail, at least it was just about warmer than I was expecting!

Apologies for the length but there was too much to write about! A big thanks to Oli for letting us stay, it is a fantastic facility and its popularity will only snowball. I left the UK as an overweight, pale office worker and returned as a skinny(ish!), tanned athelte, finally feeling fit again and with my motivation back.

2012 should be a good year.

Tim

The biggest boost to my training has been finally getting around to replacing my battered commuter bike, which was beyond saving, so that I can cycle into work. This gives me a good hour/hour and a half of riding each day, with a mixture of battling into the winds, easy spinning and a few lumps to get over. Now having a single speed bike, I can’t hide behind an easy gear when the going gets tough, you have to deal with it! Hopefully this will get some strength back in the legs. The prevailing wind also works out quite well for me, as I tend to ride to work into it, and can have a hand getting home if I’m knackered. My feel for the bike is almost back at least.

New Bike! Although I've removed the peddles and add-ons...

The other two sports are coming along at a mixed rate. Running is getting back to it, though my technique has gone out the window and I seem determined to hit the ground with my heel with as much force as possible, and I am really having to concentrate on it to stop. I am definitely looking forward to some drills in January! Swimming is ticking along, and the swims I do are starting to feel better. The main problem is now that I am cycling in, I can’t take my swim kit in as well so I swim when I don’t cycle in. Thankfully I have 2 pools close to me, so can go to those in the evenings, and it may even be time to bite the bullet and drag my lazy self out of bed in the morning to get a swim in before work. At least I am slowly getting back into the athlete bed times.

The diet is at least going well. I have completely cut the rubbish out finally, and my treats usually revolve around cereal bars before/after training. Couple this with training again, and in the 3 weeks between ‘weigh-ins’ I have lost 5 kilos! A few kilos more and I will be back into a happy range.

The culmination of all of this was last weekend in Manchester. The Saturday saw me race cross-country in the afternoon, and despite a dismal performance, I had great fun! I was massively off the pace, and well below my usual performance, but really enjoyed it and it was nice racing again. In the evening, I headed down to the velodrome for a Man Tri session, and was completely dead! But a good, solid double session day was perfrect for catapulting me back into training. To top it all off, I cycled home from the station when I got back to London in torrential rain with a big smile on my face.

The last step to getting fully fit will be my winter camp in the new year. I am tagging along with a few of the elite athletes from the club to Kinetic PB in Spain for 11 days of getting hammered! It looks like it is going to turn into a very professional camp, with one of the guys going threatening to bring his video-camera and accupuncture needles, both of which I will hopefully get some use out of! I certainly know my technique needs a lot of work on, in all sports. It should be good fun though, and will be exactly what I need to set up a decent 2012 season.

So two months down the line, where do I stand. I have from extremely fit and in shape for Liverpool and Roth, to the best shape of my life but a little fatigued at IMUK, to knackered a little heavier but in the kind of shape where I can rock up and finish an Ironman to overweight, out of shape, extremely unfit but not fatigued. My motivation to train is also slowly starting to return, and I (almost) look forward to doing turbo sessions!

I am now fully into the working lifestyle, and although pulling stupid hours in the last few weeks, am settled in and can now concentrate on making time for sport again and getting back into the routine of training, which is by far the hardest thing to do after such a long off-season. Not that I’ve been completely sat of my butt for the last 2 months, I have done some exercise so it’s not completely alien to me, but a routine was. Though after 5 years of barely having any proper time off, it’s been great having a social life for once!

So the focus leading up to Christmas is in two parts:

1. Routine exercise
2. Diet

Routine Exercise

I am in the process of replacing my old faithful commuter, which has just about seen one too many potholes on the streets of Manchester, as is pretty much knackered beyond saving. So it’s time for a new bike (with many more planned!). Once I have a rideable bike again, I can start cycling into work which, depending on whichever office I’m in that day, should be a good hour and a half a day, which as I get back into the swing of things should be perfect and I can chuck a longer bike in at the weekend once I work out how to get out of London on my bike!

Running is fine as I can run anywhere, and all the offices I work at have showers which means I can run before or after work, at lunch or even to and from work if I want a long mileage day!

Swimming is going to be the interesting one. Thankfully London appears to actually be on top of this and I can get a ‘Swim London’ pass for £30 a month which gives me access to every pool in a public leisure centre in London, and they all seem fairly good with fitness swimming. Whilst this makes it easy to swim (and I will make the most of this), I do need to find a club of some sort to swim with, especially after the benefits I know it will give me. So any suggestions for a decent swim/tri club in London with a decent masters program will be much appreciated! I just wish they would open up the Olympic park for use, there is a world-class pool velodrome and track a mile from my house which I can’t use!

Diet

So after two months of beer and a London lifestyle has meant my weight has ballooned. Returning up to Manchester for the end of season party, I must have looked completely different, especially after all the ‘London appears to be treating you well!’ comments So it is time to reign it in, and I am going to start this completely revolutionary diet called the ‘Eat Healthily and Exercise’ diet. If it goes well, I may even right a book….

Anyway, I now clock the scales at around the 83 kg mark, which given I raced Liverpool at around 69 means FATTY! Though to be honest, even I am struggling to see where 14 kilos has gone, but I am certainly no longer the skinny little runt I was a few months ago. The diet is simple: cut the crap, get the nutrients in, eat lots of decent meat and keep hydrated. Couple this with some regular training and it should fall off.

I am looking forward to the process of regaining my fitness again and getting back into the shape. I have two camps planned next year, a week and a half at Kinetic PB, what looks like an awesome new facility in the south of Spain, at the start of January to put the icing on the cake and kick myself back into proper shape, and then the ‘beast’ Man Tri training camp in Malaga over Easter to set my season up nicely, I just need to enter some races next!

Stepping outside to the car, and I felt how cold it was. I was in race kit, compression tights, shorts, t-shirt and hoody, and all I could think was ‘I’m freezing my tits off’! Quickly in the car to get warm, I then headed down to Henley to get ready. Sleeping in your own bed the night before a race, in an environment you are used to was a novelty! I arrived at the race sight at about 5 am, just in time for T1 to open up and was one of the first ones in. It took a while to get my bike ready and get all my stuff taped to my bike, as I didn’t have it with me the day before. I stuck to my IMUK fuelling strategy – 3 bars, 10 gels and a bottle of fairly concentrated GO on the bike, with water and any more electrolyte drink I needed to be picked up at the aid stations. Soon transition started filling up, and it became more like a social reunion again, as I spotted a lot of friends and wandered over to say hello. The big Man Tri contingent were ready, and I soon bumped into Weeksy, who was setting up just down from me. With the wetsuit problems of the day before, I got the bottom half of my suit on early and then stood with Chris and Cheryl until we were ready to get in the water.

As we were given the ’5 minutes til we had to be in the water’ warning I was putting the rest of my wetsuit on, looked down at my ankle and then thought ‘where’s my timing chip’. Cue 5 minutes of running around like a headless chicken, speaking to marshalls and rummiging through bags, only for it to fall out of my wasitband… phew! Nothing like a bit of excitement! We headed down into the pen as we were given the news that the race would be delayed by 5 minutes due to the fog – visibility was practically nil.  I spotted a few others in the pen, including the Man Tri lot, Ben, Russ and Steven Bayliss and passed on the good lucks. The general consensus was that it was too cold, dark and early to be doing this! Although most of the negativity was probably coming from me, mentally I was not in it. Thankfully it was actually warmer in the river than it was out! I swam over to the start and put some water in the suit and tried to get warm and loose. I was still near the back when I heard a whistle, and looked around wandering if that was the start sound. A klaxon a few moments later confirmed this, and caught off gaurd, I started my watch and we were off.

The Swim

Being stuck at the back meant I spent the first few minutes weaving in and out of people and trying to get the arms going. After about 10 minutes I was at the front of the back pack, with no sign of the front pack, but just kept an eye on the bank whilst trying to take a racing line. After about 20 minutes, I started to feel actually OK, and was swimming well and soon went past Temple Island, and ticked the buoys off. After one bouy people started stopping and I looked up and saw a kayack point people back, apparently we had hit the turn around! At 36 minutes it was about time too! I had about another 5 minutes of OK swimming on the return route, swimming in the middle of the river with my own kayack escort keeping me on course. A later wave swimmer drifting across towards us prompted him to go back to crowd control, and from then on it went downhill. At this point I was in no-man’s-land, pretty much on my own and with the fog could not see the course at all. I was blinidng swimming down the river, with no idea where I was going. I had to stop a few times to stretch my back out and get my bearings, and the time seemed to tick down seriously slowly, which wasn’t fun. The current I was counting on was either non-existent, or my stroke was falling apart, probably a combination. Eventually I saw the exit and finally hit the ramp and got out. 1:11 on the clock was not a good start to the day, putting in close to my worst swim for nearly a year, though I had probably swam closer to 4.5k. Still my lack of recent pool time was really showing.

T1

I actually walked to the tent, as at this point running to shave a minute off didn’t really seem worth it. I found my bag, stripped my wetuit off and stood there shivering staring into my bag in a trance-like state. Kit selection had been bad enough the day before, let alone when I was cold and tired and annoyed with my swim, and it seemed like everyone was a bit disoritentated. It was cold but given the day before, when the sun came out it would get seriously warm, and didn’t look like it would rain. Eventually I kicked myself into gear, got my arm warmers and gillet on,  ran to the bike, put my helmet on and set off.

The Bike

I knew within 15 minutes of setting off on the bike that I was in for a long day. The first drag up the dual carriageway failed to warm me up, and my toes were as numb as they had been in the start pen. I was seriously worried about losing them to frostbite! My hamstrings were also extremely tight and any hope of sitting on the aerobars had flown out the window. Coming round the roundabout towards the first swim I saw Chris coming back the other way with a group of strong cyclists and female pros and got a big thumbs up from him. Thankfully he was having a better day than I was! When I hit the turnaround, I did a quick bit of maths and realised I was probably only about 20 minutes behind him, and I was playing leap frog with a female pro, so maybe there was some hope after all. Going up the first big climb, I even felt in control, though it was clear that my legs weren’t firing on all cylinders. Each turnaround, big turn and roundabout was packed with spectators and at the end of the lap it was absolutely packed. Kids and parents were camped outside their houses cheering on the spectators for the day. For a first time event, it was awesome.

At the start of the second lap up the dual carriageway, my legs were still cold and hand’t warmed up. At least at this point I had enough blood flowing to loosen up my hamstrings and be able to get aero for a bit. This didn’t last long as the fatigue in my posture built up and my neck, shoulders and arms soon got too tired. Going up the big climb again and I was struggling. It felt as if I hadn’t shifted up a gear and was griding away – tough going. I was also fairly isolated by this point and it was a lonely few miles. At the final turnaround of the lap the lead men were catching up, and I was lapped by Aaron Fowler. On the descent I thought I was going fairly well until Steven Bayliss came flying by at breakneck speed. As he sped off into the distance I hit a gravelly patch and nearly lost my front wheel on a stone, which certainly got the adrenaline going!

The final lap was pretty much more of the same. I was extremely glad of my kit selection and at parts could have done with a jersey as I got spat further and further back in the field. On the final climb of the bike, I actually felt better than I had the lap before, and then after the descent I FINALLY felt OK and the legs had started to work, despite the downpour that had started. 170k to warm up on the bike and get the legs working properly. Nightmare. Coming into T2 was a few, my neck and shoulders hurt and my bum was sore! First thing on the list this winter is get a bike fit and get everything sorted out once and for all. However, my legs felt OK.

T2

I was extremely glad of my spare socks in my T2 bag, the ones I were wearing were soaking through and would have been blister central! I got my wet kit off, and put the shoes on. It took me so long to get ready that my GPS had locked on before I had left the tent! The flip side of this is that it had stopped raining and was turning into a quite nice afternoon. Once I was ready, it was time to set off and I wanted to see what I could run. I may have had a rubbish swim and bike, but I wanted to do something on the run.

The Run

With my new found energy in the legs, I set off on the run and my pace was high. After my breakdown at Roth, I made a conscious effort to slow down and decided to stick to 5 min/km pace until half way if I could and then see what happened. I went through the 5k mark in under 25 mins and was on track. Unfortunately the fatigue built up from Roth and IMUK had other ideas, and soon the pace was slipping and within 8k or so I was walking aid stations. Not having my fuel belt bottles I had to resort to aid stations for fluid, not that it would have made too much difference. From then on in, it was shuffle between aid stations, walk through and get nutrition on board and then start running again.

At around 25k the mind went and I hit a serious low patch and spent a good 10 minutes walking. Times were out of the window, now it was just a case of surviving and putting one step infront of the other. I saw Chris who had gone on to a storming finish of 10:09 to win his age group. It’s about time one of us had a good race! Also out sufferening on the course were Ben and also Anna, who joined me on a walk at 35k for a few minutes before I made the final push home. The last 5k were tough, and I was hurting but I kept running. Mentally I need to refresh and toughen up, I’m convinced that running the whole marathon is 75% mental, even if it is just quick shuffling. Coming down the finish chute was more relief than anything else. My ambitious hattrick was complete and I had managed it, even if it wasn’t pretty! Over 13 hours is a long day, and hurts so much more than going under 11! The guys out there who are doing 16 hours – that takes guts and determination.

The Aftermath

Doing a hatrick was ambitious in the short time, and with a hectic schedule in between, my recovery wasn’t ideal. I think if I had been training full-time and had no distractions I could have had a decent race, but it is certainly an experience to learn from. I have learnt a lot this year, and have a good idea of how to progress my training forward next season, especially as I move from full-time athlete to full-time worker. The 2 hour coffee rides are going to be out the window! However, the reflection on the season and the planning for the next can wait, I am going to have a proper off season. 3 weeks or so completely off, with no triathlon to worry about. After a long season, I need the break to recharge the batteries and recharge the mental batteries.

It’s been a good 2011.

The swim could be difficult, especially if the wind creates a bit of a current like there was during my practice swim. If I spend enough time getting my wetsuit on, then I should be ok. I’m going to be aggressive with my placing and accept the beating which will hopefully give a good tow. Ideally I want to come in close to the hour, and I should really. Break the hour again and I’ll be ecstatic!

I’m hoping the bike will go much like the first half of IMUK, and although it will take me a while to get going, hopefully I’ll feel good once I do and put in a decent performance. Somewhere under 6 would be nice, above IMUK time and I’ll be a bit disappointed.

The run is anyone’s guess, and although I am running well at the moment, if my legs are dead, I’m not going to be going anywhere quickly! I would be happy with breaking 4 though by this stage, I’ll be prepared for anything! The only slight issue I might have is my calf, which is still playing up. Hopefully it will work itself lose on the bike, but if it causes any issues on the run, it will be a long day!

So overall, if I came in under 11 I would be over the moon. Realistically I think I will probably be over, though hopefully not too much. If I go over 12 I’ll be disappointed and something probably would have gone wrong!

For those watching tomorrow, I am number 93. I’ll be in my usual Man Tri kit but sporting a rather fetching pink armband so I’ll be easy to spot! Any cheers will be greatly appreciated! If you want to track me, you can go to the Challenge Henley Website and click on the live results tab. I’m number 93.

Bed time now, at this rate I’ll get over 6 hours sleep! Bliss!

Work has been a bit of a shock to the system, although not a complete shock thankfully, with memories of my placement year still reasonably fresh. But having lived the life of a student and then full athlete having to work full time (imagine that!) was certainly a significant change! I soon settled in, and while I never fully got used to spending 2 and a half hours a day cramped on a train, which is now down to an hour after my most recent move, I began to feel my active self rear its head. I don’t like sitting still, I am a total fidget, and sitting behind a desk all day really does not sit well with me, so I started running at lunch. After a few seriously horrible sessions, thanks to doing nothing for a few weeks after cramming together 2 IMs, I decided I needed a carrot to motivate me. With the Maidenhead Half Marathon filling up the local paper for the last few weeks, and it being on my doorstep, I decided to enter, and had 2 weeks to recover some sort of shape.

This was Friday morning, and about an hour later I got a text of Chris Weeks asking if I was doing Challenge Henley. It had been in the back of my mind ever since IMUK, ever since Chris said he was doing it as we both had unfinished business after that race. Although I had a solid day, I didn’t have that top end speed, and know I can run quicker than that. And frankly, finishing my season in July is tough, as I did it after Switzerland and it was another 10 months until I raced again. So anyway, I text back saying ‘Nah probably not, gonna see how I feel after the weekend, but not looking likely’. I then see a tweet saying entries are about to close (even though that later got extended) and next thing I know, I’m stood in a sandwich shop in central London entering the race on my phone! So Chris, I blame you for the pain I will be in at the weekend, and also for making me double up at IMUK… ha!

So Challenge Henley will be my 3rd Iron-distance race in 10 weeks – and I am scared! Even at IMUK, I could feel the fatigue wasn’t too bad, and with a 3 week gap, I wasn’t going to lose much fitness. With a 7 week gap, especially after such after 2 IMs, I have finally had a chance to let the fatigue and exhaustion, and I am tired. And not the ‘I need a lie-in’ tired. I feel physically spent, and am carrying around constantly knackered legs. The main reason for this is my recovery post-IMUK – or lack of. If I had planned Henley a bit further out I could have planned a bit better, but I have let things slip. Mentally I am out of the game in terms of discipline and have lost focus on my training, which has been impacted by work, commuting, moving house and burst water pipes. My diet has also fallen completely by the way side. Having Ben & Jerrys on special offer the week after IMUK really did me no good, and adjusting to the long hours with free access to unlimited bad foods, and a week on hotel buffets has seen my gut ever-expanding, and I am certainly carrying around more than a few extra kilos than I would like. I am certainly looking forward to having some proper time off, recovery properly and enjoying a bit of a social life and a chance to recharge the batteries, especially the mental ones.

Having said all of that, I am fired up for Henley, even though it has yet to sink in that I will be toeing the start line once more in a few days time. I am not expecting to break any records, or post a decent time, but I am looking for a good end-of-season blow out, and I want to leave absolutely everything on the line.

There have been flashes of good form in training though. My cycling doesn’t seem to have slowed down, and I certainly feel the best I have in the pool for a long time, well before Roth. I am just hopeful that the body will come through, and the endurance is still there.

Despite a niggling calf issue, I know my running form is good, as evidenced by Maidenhead Half Marathon. I entered the race with low expectations, and not having run with my Garmin since IMUK, had no idea of the speeds I was running. The race plan was set off hard and then settle into an easy rhythm, and try to come home under 1:40 and as close to 1:30 as possible. I slightly exceeded that, by hammering it and crossing the line with a massive PB of 1:25, placing myself 45th out of some 2000 runners. I put myself close to the front, and set off hard. Despite a slight organisational error, where you run a short loop back to the start and half the runners were still waiting to start by the time we came back round, forcing us off course for a bit, we reeled off the first km in about 3:35, and then the next kilometre passed by in 3:50. At this point I was still in contact with the front group, but knew if I kept this up I wouldn’t last 10k so slowed down. However, I only settled down to around 4:10 pace, which felt REALLY comfortable, and just held this until I ramped it up again with 5k, with a final k flat out. Doing 2 IMs close together, gives you one hell of a base! I just hope it is there come Sunday! This has at least given me a target of breaking 1:20 next season for a half, which I should be able to do, fresh, trained and at race weight!

These final few days before Henley will be spent trying to get the body moving again and making sure all those neuro-muscular pathways are still active, as well as trying to sort out my calf issue, before coming up with some sort of race plan. At least Sunday will be ‘fun’, I appear to know about half the field racing! So make sure you give me a shout when you see me struggling!

The early start for IMUK was made a lot easier by an early night. I got a good 6 hours sleep, which I usually never do before a big race. Having said that, I was so relaxed I nearly slept through my alarm! Once I had eventually dragged myself out of bed, I had a shower to wake myself up and then wolfed down a good few bowls of coco pops before heading to the car.

Thankfully at half 3 in the morning the streets of Manchester were pretty quiet as I headed up to Bolton, mainly filled by taxis shuttling around those still on their nights out! Once at the Reebok, I parked up and waited for the Shuttle bus, on which I nearly fell asleep again! I was pretty knackered, felt crap and my legs were dead – a pretty normal IM race morning then.

Once we had arrived and gone through body marking it was time to assess the situation. The weather was pretty good considering the bleak forecast a few days earlier, and the main thing is that it was warm. Decision made – tri top with no extras. I loaded my bike up with the food and drink and pumped the tyres up. I was next to Amy from the club so had a nice chat with her. In between us was this poor girl, Hannah, who was as nervous as it was before her first Ironman, which wasn’t helped as I was reeling off how badly I had suffered on the marathon in Roth… 3 weeks before! A few words of encouragement helped, and I saw her later on with a smile on her face on the run course, so it can’t have been too bad!

I got the wetsuit on and joined the big queue for the swim. We were told that the race was starting on the dot, no matter what, so everyone was getting rushed. I made it in, said good luck to all the people I knew as we entered and then tried to get my game head on. It was proving a challenge though, with Roth still lingering in both my mind and body, but on the plus side, I wasn’t getting stressed, I was flapping and I wasn’t wasting energy.

I swam over to the start line and the arms felt OK, which was good given the dire swim I had had the day before. I found a spot with a bit of clear water a few rows back and placed myself there. I had clear water around me so didn’t have to worry about any fighting and I was confident I could out-swim those behind me, or at least kick a bit harder if they start pulling to get the off. However, just before the start everyone was pushed back as they had all drifted forwards, but the people behind me had decided they were fine where they were. Goodbye space! I was boxed in, and there was no point trying to move now, it was about time I got involved in a swim.

There was some ‘inspirational’ music played before the start (the National Anthem was it?), though given we could barely hear it from the start, it was more for the crowd’s benefit. Then the klaxon sounded and it was arms, feet and fists everywhere. I managed to stay afloat and found myself at the back of the massive swell created by the swimmers ahead, getting a fantastic tow. By the time we hit the start of the 2nd lap, the pack had strung out and there were pockets of swimmers around. A quick check of my watch, 25 mins, and I knew immediately that I was on for a good time. I felt comfortable in the water, shoulders a little tight, but I just concentrated on a good pull and keeping my elbow high and I felt good. I drifted from pack to pack, though swam most of the 2nd lap on my own, occasionally bumping into the same swimmer as he swam his swim. He was obviously a decent swimmer, he just couldn’t sight for jack! He would swim into me, look up suddenly, shocked, point himself in the right direction and then swim off. I quickly stopped following his feet, when he started swimming away from me and within a minute had put a good gap of 50m between us… though to my left, instead of ahead of me! The 2nd lap went by after 50 minutes or so, and then it was just a case of swimming to the exit.

As I approached, I could begin to hear the roar of the crowds and had a quick sight and it was packed! It was fantastic to see, and gave me a big boost as I was hauled out of the water. A glance at my watch, and seeing 58 tipped me over the edge. I pegged it full gas towards transition, tripped on something and looked like I was about to go flying. Somehow, whilst stumbling forward with the crowd going ‘ooooh’ as they waited for me to fall, I managed to keep myself upright, and some dignity intact. Smooth Tim….

I entered transition, with a nice throbbing toe from the trip, and grabbed my bag. It seemed to take me forever to get ready, but I got through (and with a helpful volunteer this time) and ran to my bike. Seeing a pretty much full transition was a nice sight and I headed out for the tough bike course.

The climb out of transition took me a while to get my legs going, and then I felt pretty empty. I tried getting aero, but had a sore back from swimming and the legs didn’t want to loosen up, so I sat up and pushed on, waiting for them to wake up. Actually, praying would be a better term – I would be in for a seriously long day otherwise. As I cycled to the start of the laps, the crowds were beginning to start already, with people outside houses cheering us on, and one guy I remember stood in his dressing gown with a cup of tea clapping away. I did have to do a quick check to make sure I was in the UK.

After about half an hour they finally came round and I settled down. In fact I felt strong, really, really strong. I was soon hammering it, and probably getting a bit carried away, but I was enjoying it. At the 60k mark, I had about 1 hour 50 on the clock, which was about Roth pace! I had definitely set off too hard, though I did feel in control the whole time. Maybe fresh I could have held close to that pace, but with Roth still in the legs, I knew it was going to bite me at some point. The only thing I could do was to continue shovelling food down me and hope it didn’t hurt too much.

By the time we hit Sheephouse Lane, I was passing quite a few of the quicker swimmers, and climbing well. I went over the climb in control, waiting for the big steep bit I remembered from a couple of years ago, when it levelled off and I could see the descent. Evidentally my cycling has improved some what over the last couple of years! I went over that, and it certainly wasn’t the windy, scary descent I remembered (not having fractured my collar bone on a similar descent 8 weeks earlier probably helped too) and I went down pretty quick, though certainly not as quick as some of the suicidal people I saw. Then it was round the (really!) sharp turn, which nearly caught me out the first time, and up climbing again. Thankfully the horrible road there had been resurfaced, which made things easier, and a crowd was starting to gather, much helped by the pub being open by the corner, full of bemused locals.

Wearing my Man Tri kit always helps with crowd support, and I got a few cheers, including a big roar from the COLT guys and pressed on. The next lap was pretty similar, and as it has taken me so long to get round to writing this, a bit of a blur. The 2nd climb up Sheephouse was pretty similar, and I was leapfrogging the same female pros for much of that lap. At around 90k I had to stop and answer the call of nature, by this time a little too ‘numb’ to be able to go whilst on the bike, but at least I knew I was keeping some semblance of hydration. I passed the halfway mark in about 2 hours 55, still feeling OK and being pushed on by the huge crowds. By the 100k mark, I could start to feel Roth in my legs, and then by 120k the wheels truly started coming off. I had food in me, had stuck to my nutrition plan but it felt like I was bonking big time. At around this time my lower back started to completely stiffen up and any hopes of spinning away down on the bars evaporated due to the pain it caused (from a tight ITB I’m told, most likely after a crap recovery between Roth), and all I could do was try and push on, and watch the computer click down agonisingly slowly.

I could see my average speed dropping and dropping, and after some quick calculations my bike time was dropping and dropping. This sent my mood spiralling down, and on the lonely stretch of A-road, there was nothing to do but think about it, which only made matters worse. I forced food down, and this usually helps, and all that was left was my usual stubbornness to push on. Coming to the bottom of Sheephouse Lane for the 3rd time, I was not looking forward to it with empty legs. Thankfully the crowd here had swelled to a massive size, with little room to climb. Our very little own Solarerberg! Lots of familiar faces and cheers gave me a good boost, but it was still a massive grind to get up. By the time I reached the top, I was spent and had to spin easily to the descent which I coasted down. At the corner again, the crowd was just huge. Lots of people had gathered, and whoever were the people shouting out my name, thanks! Even the locals (still in the pub!) were getting in on it, and enjoying the day.

Going Up Sheephouse Lane . Must have been lap 1 - I still had a smile on my face at this point!

The final lap was a challenge, but helped by the pockets of crowds, including all the different cars that were parked in lay-bys, pumping music out and cheering us on. Coming to the end of the lap, it was a nice descent to the bottom of Sheephouse, where finally we turned off, which was a massive relief. Just over 170k on the computer, so 10k to struggle through. With 6 hours 10 on the clock, it was going to be a slow bike! Though I still had been leapfrogging the back of the women’s pro field not too long ago, so I can’t have been doing too badly. Down the windy roads I saw a school on the left. ‘Ah if only that was our school for T2’ I thought to myself. Round the corner, up the hill and there was a big crowd. And shock horror, it was T2! I hadn’t been so happy in a long time, and got off my bike, completely beaming! Turns out, my bike computer was either playing up or slightly off as it had 172k on the clock when I arrived, and from what I’ve heard it was actually slightly long.

I ran up the hill to the school hall to grab my bag, with a quick stop off at the toilets. I say ‘ran’, what I actually mean is ‘waddled’ – my legs were so ruined I could barely walk, but I was just glad to be off my bike. Sitting down in T2 was pure heaven, but I had a quick transition, running shoes on, visor on, watch on and grabbed my Fuel Belt, and set off.

Immediately I knew my legs were going to be tired, but I was hopeful that they would do the usual thing of taking 20/30 minutes to wake up then I could settle into my stride. I was running along pretty comfortably at around 5:15/5:30 pace so couldn’t complain too much, but well off my target. After about 10 minutes or so, Chris Weeks came by. I was a bit shocked to see him behind me, when he should have been well ahead, but from the sounds of it, he had just as bad a day as me. We ran together for a while, but he was ticking along a bit too quickly for me, and now was really now the time to push the pace so I let him head off.

I didn’t see many others on the run to the start of the laps, just lots of crowds. I kept saying thank you and smiling at so many groups that I was just glad to hit the start of the laps so I could fade into the group! The drag up to the lap start saw many people give up and walk, but I pushed on. With an awesome swim, surprising bike and with Chris just ahead(!), I wasn’t taken any chances. I was passing lots of people, and saw Chris just up ahead, which spurred me on a bit. Once onto the laps I settled down a bit, and found a good rhythm, I was just slow, and that was pretty much how it was for the rest of the day! I was soon in town, running down that hill, with a good size crowd building on the side to cheer us on. Once I hit the town centre, I was just blown away! The crowds were incredible, the noise deafening and I got such a buzz! I saw Leanne and a big group of Man Tri people, which gave me a good boost, and by this time my pace had picked up significantly. I caught Chris on the way out of the centre of town, and pressed on. However, as soon as we hit that hill, I was reduced to a shuffle again, and my speed dropped once more and I started paying for increase in speed for the rest of the loop.

The 2nd lap was almost identical, with an increase in speed as soon as I hit the massive crowds in town, which then dropped as it caught up with me and I hit the hill. By this time the rents had arrived, and I asked for a quick update on where I stood in the age group – 16th. With 3 slots in the age group, I knew it was game over for the Kona slots for this year, and I started to walk some aid stations to ensure I got enough fluids and energy on board. The final lap was tough, and I was struggling by this point. The crowds yet again picked me up, but running past the finish, knowing I had to do the lap all over again was depressing. In my state, I tried to work out how long it would take me, and how far I had left (given my GPS had taken a while to lock on), but I couldn’t work it out, I was too tired. Running down that hill for the last time was a massive relief, and from that point on, I tried to wind it up a bit, it wasn’t happening, but I made sure I enjoyed myself. Taking in the huge crowds, lined 5 deep on the streets, with music blaring out and cheering, the big Man Tri cheer as I went past for the last time, and the sprint down to the finish to grab a few more places. The smile and relief on my finish picture sums it up really:

I crossed the line in 10:52:45 with a 3:32 ‘marathon’. Yes it was short, by this stage I was *really* not complaining! I still would have put a marathon PB in, and given I felt terrible, whereas in Switzerland I felt really strong, it shows how much my running has come along. If I had know how close I was to my Roth time, I might have been able to push it to try and get a new PB, but I had no idea how long was left and was just pleased to finish! A really solid result, especially with Roth so close and I had performed much better. Despite grabbing 14th in my age group, if I had done that the year before I would have qualified. Evidentially, everyone had the same idea as me with all the slots, though I doubt most of them had decided doing Roth as well was a good idea! Overall I was 146th, which I am pretty chuffed with! Beats the 876th from Roth! Certainly something to build on.

The race was fantastic, and it is really starting to grow. The finishing village could have been a bit better, (and certainly had more than a measly portion of fish and chips!), but Bolton is really beginning to get behind the race. With the Team True Spirit guys there, there was a fair bit of interest in them, and it only added to the occasion. Fair play guys, it really was inspiring stuff. I know I keep harking on about the crowd, but seriously, it was unbelievable. I had goosebumps running through the town centre with the crowds, and could quite possibly find myself back there next year. It is certainly a course that suits me, though I think I may give racing Roth just before a miss…

Lads On Tour

Cycling however, was incredible. The stories about the roads are no understatements, they are completely baby smooth, and they are FAST! I got a good few rides in, and both me and the bike were feeling good. I had originally planned to get a few hours in earlier on in the week to stress the systems, but through rain and logistics, a longer ride would have to wait til race day. There was one ride that stood out: Rob and I decided to head out for 45 minutes or so one evening and rode out of the village. Upon reaching the junction where we usually turn right, we saw a massive black cloud in the distance, so thought it was probably a good idea to go the other way! We headed through a nice little village and down a main road before heading back. When we got back to the village, the weather took a turn for the worse, and the big black cloud had suddenly come and put itself right on top of us! We decided that heading into the thunder and lightening(!) probably wasn’t the best idea, so took refuge in a bus shelter in the village to sit the storm out. 15 minutes later, after the heavens had opened and the lightening showed no sign of letting up, we decided it was probably a good idea to call for backup and got Howard to come and pick us up!

Relaxing In Roth

Our apartments were located in a tiny little village, away from all the stress of Roth, and with the forests, perfect roads and lots of lakes nearby, it was the perfect training location, and I would have been quite happy to have spent the week there putting some hard training miles in. As it was, I spent most of the week eating food, which all proved rather nice! The regular café trips we certainly something I could get used to! Throughout the week, I did have a couple of issues that were causing me to panic a bit. First, my stomach problems that had plagued me for the previous weeks were still occurring occasionally, although they had certainly settled down. I also woke up in the middle of the night on more than one occasion unable to breathe, midway through an asthma attack. Thankfully I had my inhalers with me, which soon shut the wheezing up, but it did not bode well!

The day before we headed down to race site to rack the bikes and bags. A short ride and run in the morning helped settled the nerves and convince me that I was ready. I passed through bike check-in and racked my bike, making sure that everything was ok and headed out to find the others. When I found Howard, I head that both he and Skip had had their helmets failed, Howard’s due to a crack on the ear covers, which apparently is fine for every other triathlon federation apart from Germany’s! We had to dash to a nearby bike shop where Howard was charged an extortionate amount for a new TT helmet, while Skip settled for a road helmet they were craftily selling right next to where he had had his helmet failed. A quick trip to an internet café before some food and then it was bed.

Pre Race

I slept OK, waking a few times in the night, but awoke feeling pretty refreshed. A shower helped wake me up, and then I put my Biestmilch tattoos on (which gave me some incredible tan lines!) and wolfed down as many coco pops as I could stomach. We arrived at race site with plenty of time, and with the wave start, I had over 2 hours to get set up and ready. Once I had put all my food on the bike and said good luck to the others, I wandered around transition and said hello to the various people I knew who were racing as well, including my old PE teacher who was randomly just across from me in transition! Small world! Eventually I got my wetsuit on and it was nearly time as we were herded into the pen before we were let into the water.

New Tan Lines!

Swim

The wave start of Roth means that instead of the 1500+ people you usually have to fight with, I only had about 300 people to contend with, which turned out to be rather civilised! I found some space on the inside a couple of rows back and waited to go. Once the gun went, I stayed out of trouble and ended up having a pretty boring swim! I kept it really nice and relaxed, and felt good and entirely within my comfort zone. I had a few drafts for a bit, but on the most part I swam by myself. If anyone came along side me looking for a fight, I just put a bit of a surge on, moved ahead and then settled down again. I had no idea how quickly I was swimming and it wasn’t until I came close to the last turn that I knew I would be fairly close to the hour. By this point I was having to weave in and out of the waves of front, and in the end I hit the exit ramp with 1:03 on the clock. Slightly down on what I had hoped, but given how easy a swim I had, I can’t really complain!

T1

Once I exited the water, I ran into the changing tent and picked my bag up on the way. I had cleverly wrapped the string with black tape so it would be easy to spot. Stupidly, this meant that when I came to open it, I had taped it well and truly shut! I managed to open it enough to start getting stuff out, and midway through I got a helper who proceeded to take the bag off me, try and get it open while I was wanting to get the last of what I needed out and not give it back to me until she had emptied it completely! My pigeon German didn’t exactly help matters, so in the end, I just sat and waited for her to finish before heading out, grabbing my bike, helmet on and go.

Exiting T1

Bike

Out on the bike, it was time to get settled in and open the legs up. The first 60k were much like my swim – boring! I was nice and aero, stuck to my nutrition plan of 60g of food carbs an hour with drinks to top up and effectively sat there, spinning the legs, thinking of things to keep me occupied. Although it makes for a dull race report, it was exactly where I wanted to be and hopefully ensured that I hadn’t been pushing too hard. I hit the 60k mark in about 1hr40, the German roads were making me fly! The support out on the roads was incredible, living up to all the expectations. The Solarerberg climb is truly incredible and at one point on the course, I thought I had reached it. It was a short drag up with a few people on the side cheering along before hitting a packed aid station. ‘That was nice’ I thought and I continued on, ‘not quite the 5 deep I head heard about’. A bit of rolling terrain before a descent and then into a town. The roads are lined with pubs, which were packed with people, and then in the distance you could hear the roar of the crowds. The sides of the roads soon had barriers on and then you came round the corner to this:

The Climb

I started the climb wandering where the hell I was supposed to fit, and then the gap opened up and I was screamed up the climb. It is an incredible experience, and pushed me over the top, a little harder than I probably should have. But hey, when in Rome! By this time the lack of long rides was beginning to show and I was beginning to tire. By the time we hit 120k, my average speed had slowed significantly and I was in a bad place. My legs hurt, my back and my neck was killing. I couldn’t really get aero and no matter what I seemed to do, I couldn’t get my average speed up. I think my nutrition probably needed a bit more in it, and I was certainly not drinking enough. However, it felt like I was hammering, but nothing happened, so I resigned myself to sitting up for the climbs and trying to push the downhills, but mentally I cracked. There is no way I should be cycling this slowly, and by about 140k it soon became clear. My speedo suddenly went to 0 and I realised that I had in fact been cycling quickly when I tried, but my computer was playing up and not giving me the right speed. Soon, my 2nd wind came and in a little over an hour I ate up the final 40k, flying past everyone to come off the bike in just under 5:30. Perfect.

Hammering Along

T2

Handing my bike over, the legs felt wobbly but nothing major. The only concern was that I still had not peed since the start of the race. I grabbed a drink, got my shoes on and headed out to a cheering crowd.

Run

I knew I needed around a 3:20 marathon to break 10 hours, which would be a big ask, but certainly not impossible given recent performances. I decided to stick to 4:30 ks and see what happened. To begin with I was running on feel, while I waited for the GPS watch to locate the satellites and crossed the first km marker in about 4:05. Ah. I slowed it down to something more realistic and kept around target pace for the first 5k or so.

At around the 7k mark the heat began to get to me and the wheels came off. It has seriously hot, and running along the canal provided no cover at all, not ideal when most of my training has been done in the wet! I was really starting to overheat and my energy systems began to shut down. At around 9k I suddenly started to get a really tight chest to the point where it felt like I couldn’t breathe if I took and deep breathe in. Not being able to breathe heavily is not ideal for running a marathon, and predictably my pace slowed, with only being able to run by taking my HR monitor off and rolling my top all the way up, so it wasn’t squeezing my stomach, which was painful enough from bloating, and not resting on my lower ribs to restrict my breathing. I looked like a tit but at least I could still move.

Finally at 10k I finally had a toilet stop, which provided some comfort, but showed I was clearly dehydrated and it wasn’t going to get better. As long as I kept moving I was OK though and managed to keep running til 15k when I had to stop behind another runner to pick up a sponge at an aid station to cool myself down. From then on the cycle was broken and I started walking parts. I saw Howard, Rob and Skip out on the course, all of whom seemed to be running well and all I could do was count the kms down to the finish. I didn’t want to DNF – the choices of forfeits we had come up with certainly proved good motivation! Plus I had paid a load for that finishers shirt and wanted it!

Feeling The Pain

At about 30k I shuffled past Rob who was on for sub-9 but had blown and I kept up a pattern of walk aid station, dose self in as much water as possible, grab some food, shuffle to the next. With a few k to go, I was running on fumes, completely zoned out and unaware of the crowd, just counting down the ks. Finally the finish came, and I crossed and line and promptly collapsed. I finished with a 4:10, way off target but not bad considering the state I was in. Coming home in 10:51 I was more relieved than anything else to have Pbed and gone under 11, and had plenty of lessons to take forward for future races.

The Aftermath

An argument ensued with one of the helpers at the finish line who told me I would feel better if I got up, whereas I had decided I was perfectly happy having a nap right there. I wasn’t exactly coherent. In the end she got me to my feet, and satisfied I didn’t need a stretcher, got some poor girl who had to pretty much carry me towards the med tent. On the way I saw Skip and pointed myself in that direction, decided I couldn’t be bothered going to the med tent and fell into a heap next to him.

It took a good few hours for me to come round to thinking normally. I was completely empty, worse than I had ever been before and wondered if there was any chance I would even be able to start IMUK three weeks later. In my haze, I had decided I was going to drop out, but once we had finally got home, and I had had a proper meal, lots of fluids and a sleep, and was feeling sore, but at least thinking straight. The only question is, had I pushed myself too hard to put in a good performance at Bolton.

Anyway, a quick note about tomorrow. Since Roth, I had a good rest, and then too much rest thanks to graduation, road tripping around the country and general life, but this is probably a good thing. The sessions I have done range from me feeling great, feeling OK with an elevated HR or feeling completely terrible! As such, I have no idea how tomorrow will play out. I would like to think I should settle into my groove once I warm up, but with only 3 weeks since Roth it may not work out like that. I am going to see how packed the swim is at the front, I want to try and get a draft this time, but would rather not get beaten up for it, especially with such a busy swim, but hopefully will be out close to the hour. Once out on the bike, a ride time of 6 hours would be great, especially on a course like that and I’m hoping I am in good enough shape to do so. So hopefully out of T2 with 7-7:30 on the clock.

The run is anyone’s guess. The weather looks like it will be another scorcher, so electrolytes are in and I hope I’ve recovered enough to put a solid effort in and run the 3:30 I want. All in all, it adds up to an A target of sub-11, with a stretch target of PBing – breaking 10:51.If I go sub-11, that should put me in a very good position for bagging a Kona slot, then all I need to do is beg/borrow/steal the money for it by Monday

As usual, you can track at http://ironmanlive.com/ - I am number 1221.

See you on the other side

Tim

So we are on the way to Germany! The 4 of us are crammed into the car with the bikes loaded on (hopefully the picture works, I’m on my phone at the moment!) for the 1000 miles or so it will take us to get to where we are staying. I have no idea of Internet access out there, so I best get a short plan up just in case.

Tracking

For those looking to track me on race day, I am number 1272 and if you go to The Challenge Roth Website there is an athlete tracker section which should give you splits are various points in the race.

Plan and Predictions

As usual I will aim to go by feel for this most part as trying to use HR with the heat and being fresh and speed/pace on decent roads is difficult to gauge. I also don’t want to hold myself back and stick to a certain pace or speed. I have no idea how I will fare at the moment, I’m extremely nervous about the lack of long, long sessions compared to previous years – I haven’t ridden over 130k in a loong time – yet at the same time I know I have a massive base to perform off. I am nervous as to how exams, finishing uni and moving house have affected my consistent training but recent performances at Bala and Liverpool show I am in good shape. Liverpool was only a week ago! I won’t have lost much.

I aim to have a solid swim and if I can swim anywhere near how I swam at Liverpool I will be happy. Hopefully I will come in under the hour, but as Switzerland taught me last year, if I get boxed in and beaten up a target time can go out the window. However I feel I am much more confident at getting into the thick of things and my ability has taken me front hanging on to 2nd packs like last year to leading them, and with wave starts I should be ok.

Once on the bike I want to settle in to a good rhythm early and keep it controlled. I don’t want to be afraid to push though and as long as I can keep my nutrition down I should be able to hold a good pace. I want to be coming in at 5.30 or at a stretch get closer to 5.15.

The run is a bit of an unknown for me. All my half marathon performances have been good, but my IM metric day was terrible. Again I think it will boil down to nutrition. If I can sort it out on the bike and get some in on the run I know I am capable of running 3:15. Realistically I will be closer to 3:30 and to be honest any lower than this and I will be disappointed.

Overall then, the absolute must target is a PB (11:04 current) and I really can’t see my going over this even on a bad day. The aim for Roth has always been to go under 10 and this is what I am aiming for, and know I am certainly capable of. On a perfect day I reckon I could break 9:45, though I think it really would have to be the perfect day as I am just simply not a strong enough cyclist yet to do any better. I certainly won’t hold anything back however.

Hopefully I can get some Internet out there, but I will keep my twitter page updated through texts, so might not be able to reply to tweets.

I can’t wait!

Tim