Meridian Windsor Half Marathon

A few months ago I was emailed by the team at Meridian to let me know that they were going to be the title sponsor for this year's Windsor half marathon. In the email they asked me if I would like to run as part of their team, which I agreed to and set this as my final "A" race of the season. Aside from racing in my local duathlon series, which I treat as training, I hadn't raced in an "A" race since Cleaveland Steeleman 70.3 triathlon, at the end of July. This race was perfect to keep me focused until then as I typically end my season in September and treat myself to a few weeks R&R. I like I had been able to training consistently for the last few months and was feeling really fit. So I was hoping to set a new PB for the 21 km.  

During the last 6 weeks my training had been going really well, I was feeling the fittest I had been in a while and felt really strong. In the final week leading up to the half marathon, training was going really well and I was full of confidence as I won the last duathlon of the season mid-week, by almost a minute! It was time for me to taper down ahead on Sunday's race, with a recovery spin on the Thursday, day off on Friday followed by a 30 minute Fartlek on the Saturday. 

Early Saturday morning Sally and I got up got in the car and headed to Princes Risborough (Bucks.) as we had planned to catch up with family during the day before heading to the hotel ahead of the race on Sunday. We made really good time and arrived just after 1 pm, perfect timing for lunch. It was lovely to catch up with all the family as I hadn't seen them for a while. We left my Aunties just after 6 pm and made our way to the hotel, where other team members were staying. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a table in the restaurant until much later than the Meridian guys, so Sally and I just ate together. 

Race day - I woke up feeling good and started to enjoy my pre-race breakfast, whilst refreshing myself of the race route. The route is a two loop route, with the first loop slightly shorter than the second ~ 4 miles and ~ 7.5 miles, respectively. Once I finished breakfast we headed down to the restaurant to get my compulsory pre-race coffee and so Sally could have her breakfast. We were staying just outside Windsor, but were told to still allow plenty of time to get to the race. I'm glad we did as even 90 minutes before the race the queue for the car park was rather large!! We parked up and headed to the Meridian tent just before 9 am (race start was 10 am), perfect timing for the team photos. 

With about 30-minutes to go I had my double espresso caffeine gel, just to give me that extra boost before starting my warm-up. With about 10 minutes to go the race organizers called us to the start line. I positioned myself as close to the front as possible just behind the elite runners!! With a few minutes to go the race organizers announced that there was going to be a 5-10 minute delay, I didn't let this effect me and just tried to keep warm. The race organizers held us at the start line before giving us a count down. The klaxon sounded and we were off! The first mile was up a gradual rise heading away from Windsor Castle. As I approached the top of the climb I could hear my name being shouted, it was only a mate from home in Somerset, who I used to play cricket with, crazy!! At the top of the climb the route levelled off as we started the first of the two loops. Once it levelled off I was able to settle into a comfortable pace, the pace which I was hoping to maintain throughout. 

The first few miles were relatively non-eventful, I was just keen to make sure that I took fluids on from every water station as it was warm and quite sunny, so didn't want to end up too dehydrated. As I approached the 4-mile marker the road started to climb up, this was quite tough, but there were plenty of spectators out at this section as close to where on the second lap I would turn for the finish! The crowd gave me a good boost and I was even able to spot Sally who gave me some words on encouragement. The route leveled off again and I was now approaching the sweep wagon from some of the slower runners, who still had a long way to go. As I passed the back markers I tried my best to offer them with some encouragement. 

My route now forked left as I started the second longer loop. This took me along one of the main roads toward the race course, where the Royals come in when its Windsor races, then along part of the Windsor triathlon route (typically shown on TV). This helped take my mind off the effort!! Although I made sure I kept a certain level of concentration, so as not to subconsciously slow down. This part of the course seemed to have the majority of hills which really made things that much tougher!! At around 10 miles in I started to catch a small group of runners and for the next few miles we started to alternate position. I tended to drop back slightly on the uphill's but then caught up and at some points took the lead on the flats and downhills. As I passed mile 12 I knew that all that was left was the uphill climb, before the final stretch to the start finish line. With that I decided to kick on and push for the final mile and a bit of the race. There were still plenty on spectators lining this part of the course, which really helped. I then turned left and headed along the "Long Walk" to the finish. Fortunately this was mostly slightly downhill so I kept pushing as hard as possible. With about 500 m to go someone passed me and said to me keep pushing as you're on for a 1:26 something, this helped massively as I knew that this would better my PB by about a minute, so I grit my teeth and pushed on. As I got closer I could see the time over the finish line and knew I had achieved my goal of setting a new PB!! 

I crossed the line in a time of 1:26:46, a new PB!! So was buzzing for that!! I came in the top 60 out of a field of ~4400 runners, so again buzzing with that!!  

Super happy with a new PB and a Meridian bar as I crossed the finish! 

As always a massive thanks to my sponsors Meridian Foods, who invited me to race for them. Coconoil and to my coach Ian Mayhew (Gears & Tears). 

Steelman 70.3 Triathlon

The majority of my triathlon racing has been over the over the sprint distance, however over the last few years I have performed well over the longer distances too. Therefore as a repeat of last season I opted to race the shorter distances races for the first half of the season, with the plan to race a 70.3 middle distance triathlon in the second half of the season. This season I decided to race in The Steelman organised by Cleaveland Triathlon club. This race has received good reviews by club mates; for being well organised, have strong competition and also unbelievably good value for money (less than £60 for a half distance!), so I decided to enter and see if it lives up to these reviews. 

I was going into this race full of confidence as a few weeks prior I raced really well at the Humber Half Marathon and the Lincolnshire standard distance triathlon, so knew I was in good shape. The race was based at Ellerton Water Park, near Richmond in North Yorkshire. Although it wasn't that far away and it had a nice civilized start time (10 am) Sally and I decided to book into a B&B the night before so it wasn't a mad rush the morning of the race. Driving over the night before i got a phone call from a good club mate of mine Tom Mac, who was able to give me some advice on the race, so confidence was still high as I knew the course would suit me. The only thing that was unusual about this race was there wasn't any aid stations on the bike, but that wasn't going to me an issue as Sally was going to pass me a bottle or two on the second lap of the bike. 

I woke just before 7 am to have my pre-race breakfast and start my final preparations. After watching Sally enjoy a nice home cooked breakfast (which was torture!) we drove over to Richmond to register before setting up transition and getting ready to race! After registration and sorting my bike out, equipping it with all the bottles and gels, I walked into transition and racked my bike. I then spoke with one of the race officials, who informed me that I could put a spare bottle in a box for the bike, which was great news as would save Sally a job. The race brief commenced, so whilst listening to this I started to put my new wetsuit on. With about 10 minutes to go before the race start we were able to make our way to the lake, get into the water, get acclimatised and warm-up. The lake was perfect temperature for racing, which was helped by a few weeks of really nice weather. We then got a 1 minute warning, so I ensured that I had got a good starting position, pretty much on the front line of athletes. The horn went and we were off!! The swim route was two laps, shaped like a triangle. It was a good 400m to the first main buoy, although there was a mini buoy that we had to pass on the way out (after ~150m), which made for a bit of argey bargy, but it wasn't anything too major!! After turning round the first main buoy, it was diagonally across to the second buoy before heading back to the start/finish buoy. By now I was comfortably into a good tempo and holding a my own within a small group of swimmers. The second lap was pretty much the same as the first, but this time we turn the opposite way round the start/finish buoy before exiting the water, in the first 20. After exiting the water I quickly ran into T1, unzipping my wetsuit, whilst running to my bike. I then put my helmet on, grabbed my bike and was quickly out on the bike course. 

Exiting the swim 

The bike course can best be described as rolling and consisted of 2 x 45 km laps. This type of course suits me well, so I knew I would race well. Once exiting transition, slipping my feet into my tri-shoes I assumed the aero position, which is where I would remain for the majority of the race. I had my Garmin on my bike to remind me to eat/drink at regular intervals as keeping fueled for this distance its really important and as it was a really hot day fluids was going to be key. Within the first 30 minutes of the first lap I felt really strong and was comfortably moving up the field. I then approached the only part of the course that was pretty tricky, it was a good 3 miles of newly tarmacked road. Sounds simple, but it was the easy tarmac job, where they just add gravel to the top of the bitumen, so there's plenty of loose stones on the top, making it bumpy and I also felt my back wheel slide out on a few occasions! Once off this section I got back into a more comfortable rhythm and kept pushing on. As I approached Ellerton water park for the first time I noticed that I had pretty much finished both my bottles, but I wasn't too worried as I remember that the race official told me there would be an aid station for me to get more fluid. As I got even closer I started to see and hear the cheers from the spectators lining the entrance to the venue. I then rode past Sally who gave me an encouraging cheer and thumbs up, so I knew I was doing really well. The second lap was pretty much the same as the first, although this time I kept thinking it wont belong before I can get another bottle as I was close to running out of fluids. As I passed the rough road section for the second time I couldn't help but think there wasn't going to be this aid station as first told, which was bad news as I was getting dehydrated! That didn't stop me pushing on for the final 20 km, as I know I run well off the bike. I approached the water park for the final time I took my feet out of my tri-shoes and rested them on top before dismounting and running into T2. 

In a whole world of pain on the run! 

The run course consisted of two laps of just over 10 km on a mixture of surfaces ranging from compacted gravel (farm track stylee) to through fields, footpaths and Tarmac. The route had a similar elevation profile to the bike, mainly flat with a few small rises, normally nothing to phase me. However this time it quickly became apparent that this wasn't going to be the case! The first few km were seriously tough as my legs were pretty tired and the sheer lack of fluids was hurting me. As I continued along the track I started to run past fellow athletes who were walking back to transition, having given up (perhaps due to the lack of fluid like myself). This made things even more mentally challenging for me as the demons came out telling me that I could do the same and quit the race! I was really struggling to find a comfortable rhythm but just kept telling myself to keep going. I then exited the park and got onto the road section, which took me to the 5 km aid station, which couldn't come soon enough! I got there, grabbed a few cups of water and a gel, quickly finished the lot, which I defiantly needed. The next section was through a few fields, before a really short climb back onto the road section before looping around the lake. I was still seriously struggling to run as fast as I knew I could and those demons were still on my shoulder! As I started to round the lake I could see the finish line, which gave me a little boost as I knew there was another chance to get some more fluids. This was helped by all the supporters cheering me on! Again I quickly downed some more water and headed out along the track for the final time. By now there were more athletes on the course and I was able to find someone who was running a similar pace to me so I just let them do a bit of pace making for me, this really helped me.  As I approached the 5 km aid station for the final time I grabbed more fluids! After exiting the fields for the last time and starting the loop around the lake, I was slowly beginning to feel as if I was running similarly to what I could do. I quickly noticed that I was getting close to the finish, so tried to up the pace, it wasn't by much but that didn't matter to me anymore! I just grit my teeth and pushed on for the final 500 m, before crossing the line and just collapsing into the recovery position! 

A make shift ice bath, hoping that it would help (face says otherwise!) 

It took me about 15 minutes before I was able to start moving and get my race splits from the timing company. I finished with an overall time of just over 5h:03min. This was by far the hardest race I have ever done and I certainly payed the price of dehydration. Looking back now I am still disappointed as I could have knocked 10 minutes off my time if I was better hydrated. Having said that my swim and bike splits were PB's and I also PB'd over that distance, by just over 4 minutes, so there are plenty of positives to take out of this and I defiantly wont allow myself to get dehydrated like that again! 

Thanks to my sponsors Meridian Foods and Coconoil.

Thanks to my coach Ian Mayhew (Gears & Tears)

Lincolnshire Edge Triathlon

The plan for this season was to peak twice; once in April for the ETU Duathlon Championships (back in April, see earlier blog) and the second, for The Steelman (23rd July) and mid-distance triathlon in North Yorkshire. With that in mind I was looking for an Olympic distance triathlon 2-weeks before Steelman, to serve as a final tester, specifically as I wanted to see how my nutrition strategy would fair. After a bit of searching I came across the Lincolnshire Edge Triathlon, based at Cadney Reservoir. This was just outside Brigg on the Southbank, which was only 40 minutes away, so nice and local. 

In the few days leading up to the race the final pre-race information got released, including the start times, 8 am!! With it being so local I was kind of hoping for a slight lie-in, however that wasn't really the case. My alarm went off at 5 am, so bleary eyed I got up and headed downstairs for breakfast! To help get me in the mood for racing I turned on the telly and caught up with the previous days highlights of Le Tour. At around 6 am I woke Sally and just after 6:30 am we we started making our way to the race. I like to get to races early so I'm not rushing to get ready. Once we arrived I got a feeling for the race, it appeared to be a nice local, relatively small event, which makes a really nice change from the higher profile, qualifier races. After registering and racking my bike I still had plenty of time to chat and it was nice to see a few club mates and some friends who have recently got the triathlon bug, who were racing in the sprint race. After setting out all my kit, I started to put my new wetsuit on, whilst listening to the pre-race brief.

Loving the new wetsuit 

With about 5 minutes to go before the race start we were able to get into the water, get acclimatised and warm-up. We then got a 1 minute warning, so I ensured that I had got a good starting position, so was ready to rock. The horn went and we were off!! It was a good 300m to the first buoy, I had progressed nicely by then, so it wasn't the usual bun fight, where everyone was trying to turn together. To the second buoy I was still feeling good and was now into a nice comfortable rhythm. After the second buoy, which was the stretch back to transition (although we still had another lap) the swim got a bit more difficult as it was pretty windy and this made the water pretty choppy. I tried to focus on my technique and not let it distract me too much. The second lap was pretty much the same as the first, I felt good and ended up coming out the water in the first 15. After exiting the water I quickly ran into T1, grabbed my bike and was quickly out on the bike course. 

The bike course is probably best described as a lollipop, an out and back section taking you out to the loop, of which we did twice. It was mainly flat, with a few gradual climbs but nothing of real note, so I was able to remain on the tri-bars in the aero position. The bike course had both standard and sprint competitors on so the first 15 km was pretty busy, fortunately the race organizers had different colour race numbers, so that helped me gauge who was direct competition. I felt really strong and continued to make headway into some of the quicker swimmers that beat me out of the water. The second loop was a much more quite affair, only passing a couple of competitors, so I know I must be going well. I approached T2, just after the hour, removed my feet from my tri-shoes all set to dismount before the dismount line. After a swift dismount I was quickly into transition, having a quick count of the bikes already in, which gave me a good idea of my place in the race, turns out I was in 5th, result! 

Now out of T2 and on to the run. The run was just a bit of all sorts really. It was part out and back around the reservoir, before and out and back with a second loop for the run to make up the full 10 km. The first part around the reservoir was on grass, so inevitably it wasn't the fastest, but I felt good running off the bike. As I started the run I knew that I should be able to work out my position by counting other athletes that pass me. Just before the turn point, along the reservoir I could see the race leader and then counted the other competitors. By the turn around point I knew that I was in 4th place and on my way back was able to gauge how close 5th and 6th place were to me. I had a reasonable cushion but knew once on to the tarmac section everyone would be able to run that bit quicker! Once off the grass and on to the road I kicked on, hoping to move up the placings. Although the route wasn't the most enjoyable with the multiple turn around points it did give me more opportunity to see if I was moving up the field and if I was getting caught. After the final turn around with about 2 km to go I knew that I wouldn't be be able to move into 4th, but I knew that the guy in 5th was closing on me. After the final bend I could see the finish and hoped that I could hold out for 4th, but with about 800 m to the finish he passed me. I didn't have much left to try and match him so droped down into 5th. I kept close to him but just couldn't pass him and I crossed the finish line in 5th some 2 seconds behind him, totally spent!  

Clearly number 13, wasn't that unlucky for me!! 

I finished 5th overall with a time of 2:21:18, which resulted in me coming 1st in my Age-Group, which I over the moon about and a massive confidence booster moving forward. Thanks to FastFWD Sports for organizing such a great, friendly event and I'll certainly be back. 

However, the most important thanks has to go to my darling girlfriend, Sally closely followed by my sponsors Meridian Foods and Coconoil. The final thanks has to go to my coach Ian Mayhew (Gears & Tears). 

Humber Bridge half marathon

Following a week long holiday to Malta where Sally and I traveled out to celebrate one of my closest friends wedding. The Humber Bridge half marathon was my first race back after Driffield sprint triathlon earlier in May. This trip to Malta was brilliant as it was great to celebrate Nathen's big day with him and all his family and friends, but it also allowed me to have a short break from training, which was nice especially as I had a tough few months in the build up to the European Championships back in April. 

After a strong result in last years Humber Bridge half marathon (1:27), which was later followed up by a solid race at Castle Howard 70.3 triathlon I was keen to race the Humber Half again. This had the added bonus of falling nicely into my training schedule; 2-weeks before an Olympic distance triathlon, which was serving as a warm up race for my final "A" race of the season a further 2-weeks later the Cleaveland Steelman triathlon (70.3). 

In the final week leading up to the half marathon training was going really well and I was full of confidence as I placed highly and was close to a PB in one of my local TT's on the Tuesday evening. This was followed by a structured interval run on Wednesday before tapering down until Sundays race. In the last few days leading up to the race I checked out the route map so I could familiarize myself with the aid stations, prepped my City of Hull A.C. race kit so on race day I was ready to rock! 

So it was the morning of the race, I woke up feeling good and started to enjoy a nice cup of coffee and ate my pre-race breakfast and then headed to the race venue. Parking was crazy this year with cars being abandoned all over the approach road as near by car parks were full, so I saw a spot and joined in on the action! With about 30-minutes to go I started my warm-up, keeping my eyes pealed for one of my mates Rob. The night before we'd been texting each other and agreed to pace the first few miles together. I couldn't find him among 2000+ field of runners, so just continued doing my thing. As the race organizers called us to the start line we met up and positioned ourselves close to the front, so we didn't get held up by the fun runners!   

The race organizers held us at the start line before giving us a count down. The klaxon sounded (courtesy of Tommy Coyle & Miss Hull, what a claim to fame) and we where off! Rob and I pace the first few miles perfectly through Hessle and as we turned to approach the bridge Rob told me he was feeling super strong so bridged across to the next group of runners. I continued at my pace and pretty much ran solo across the bridge and along the slip road and into Barton, where the first water station was. There were plenty of water stations en route, which was good as it was quite a warm day and I defiantly needed them. Once I dropped into Barton I was then able to pick up the pace and started to make inroads on those athletes who were ahead of me.

My "Blue Steel" look, going through Barton. 

The route then took me through Barton market place, where I was able to kick on a bit faster, before heading out onto the only long stretch of flat road. This stretch of road took us under the Humber bridge, so I knew (along with the mile markers) that we were fast approaching the most feared and infamous part of the race the mile long stretch up "Cardiac Hill". I made sure I knocked off the pace a little for this section, careful not to go too deep into the "red" as I was warned this could make or break your race. I got to the top of the hill, feeling as good as to be expected. I took a left turn and the started the final stretch back to the finish. There was a small bit of respite along the slip road, which was down hill, before I started crossing the bridge for the final time. The first half of the bridge was uphill but i could see a runner ahead of me and that was my aim to pass him, which I did. It was now downhill and full gas to the finish line. Pretty much the whole race there were people out supporting, but the final 1/2 mile the supporters were out in force, which gave me that added boost all the way to the finish!  

I finished in a respectable time of 1:28, slightly slower than the year prior, but I was told by Derek one of the running club coaches that it was slow day, so I wasn't too disjointedness as I couldn't have given any more. I came in the top 50 out of a field of ~2000 runners, so again buzzing with that!!  

As always a massive thanks to my sponsors Meridian Foods and Coconoil and to my coach Ian Mayhew (Gears & Tears). Picture courtesy of http://www.humber-half.org.uk/

Driffield Sprint Triathlon

After the last 6 months of focusing on getting into shape for the European Duathlon Championships (Kalkar) it was about time my focus shifted back to triathlon. So my traithlon season opener was going to be the Driffield sprint triathlon, a pool based sprint triathlon consisting of a; 400 m swim, 18 km bike and a 5 km run. This race is always on my radar as its both a great locally organised race and it fits perfectly into my build up for Nottingham sprint triathlon (normally a GB qualifier). This year however I wasn't using it to prepare me for Nottingham as its the same weekend and one of my best friends wedding in Malta (which I'm going to). 

Triathlon's are infamous for early starts, however being a pool based tri your start time is dictated by your swim time, thus the faster you are the later you start. I was starting in the the penultimate wave, which was great as it meant I had time in the morning to chill and get in the grove. Sally and I set of with  ~90 minutes before the start of my wave, so after factoring in travel time this meant I would have over an hour to register, rack my bike and set up transition before blast off! 

The swim was very well organised as always with people counting lengths for you. There were two others in my lane and wave, we were allowed in a bit early so we could have a quick warm up. Just before the start I we all were discussing our swim times, we were all of a similar speed and as i was the last in our wave I had it in my head that I would justdraft off them! :-). I had a really good swim, swimming the quickest I have and was certainly within myself, so feel super happy and confident with my swim at the moment. I was quickly out of the pool and into T1, which was drilled and I was soon out and onto the bike. 

Once onto the bike course this was time for me to put some serious power down and smash the course. As part of my triathlon training I race in a local TT league so I knew I would be in good shape for this part of the race. The first half of the bike course is a little lumpy and into a headwind, which made things tough going. Once out of the wind it was eyeballs out, keeping as aero as possible and smash the biggest gear I could, whist keeping a high cadence. I was able to up my speed even further once on the final push to home as the course took us along a main "A" road! On the approach to T2 it was time to take my feet out of my tri-shoes, before jumping off my bike at the "dismount line" before heading into T2.  

After a good T2, I was quickly into the first of three laps. The first lap seemed pretty tough and it took me while to get into my stride. This year they had slightly changed the run route, through the school and leisure centre, but it was a definite improvement. Once onto the second lap I was feeling really good and was now passing other competitors with ease, my pace was winding up nicely. Now on to the third and final lap it was time for me to start planning when I would kick for the finish, I decided it would be once taking the final turn through the school, which would leave me about 400 m to hang on. With about 150 m to go I could hear Sally cheering me on and that gave the final boost I needed to finish, at full gas! 

I finished joint 9th in a time of 59 minutes and 30 seconds and 2nd in my age-group. i'm buzzing with that as its a new PB over that course.  

As always a massive thanks to my sponsors Meridian Foods and Coconoil, as well as my coach Ian Mayhew (Gears & Tears). Now on to Malta for to celebrate Nathen and Natalie's wedding. 

Seriously focused and time to go full gas for the final lap!! Thanks for the picture Freebird events. 

2016 European Duathlon Championship

Its now been two weeks since I raced at the European Duathlon Championships in Kalkar, Germany and I guess its time for me to reflect back on the build up, the race and the overall experience. 

In the weeks leading up to this training had been going well and I was feeling fit and strong. I placed highly in my warm up duathlon in Durham so was heading to the Europeans full of confidence. I had planned to race in one final TT on Tuesday (the day before I was due to travel down south), however unfortunately the race organisers had to reschedule, so I resulted to one last hard session on the turbo. This was a shame as I find it really hard to push myself as hard in training as I would with a number on my back. 

Wednesday - This started off as normal for me, up at 7 am, enjoying a coffee watching Sky Sports News before breakfast and getting ready for work. I worked until lunchtime, said my goodbyes and enjoyed all the words of good luck and support from my friends and colleagues. My plans were to travel down to Surrey and stay the night at Ian's (www.gearsandtears.com) house before travelling the rest of the way to Germany on Thursday. The drive down wasn't too bad considering I hit the M25 close to rush hour. After checking in to Chateau Mayhew, having a good catch up, we took a leisurely stroll to his local Italian restaurant. The food was awesome and I'm glad he advised me on ordering the calzone, I wasn't disappointed. We then wondered back continued chatting before turning in.

All packed and ready to rock. 

Thursday - I started the day off with a lie-in before heading out for a relaxed 30-min run in the Surrey countryside. Once back it was shower and breakfast time before making my way down to Folkestone. Before boarding the Channel Tunnel I took a slight de-tour to the station to pick up my mum, who was going to be my #1 fan for this race. Once greeting mum we then drove to the Channel Tunnel. Finding the tunnel and boarding the train was super easy and stress free. It was only a 35 minute crossing, so we got to France around lunchtime. We decided to crack on and start making headway into the 300 mile ish drive to Kalkar. We were going along really nicely and made good headway so we decided to stop off at the services for a spot of lunch and a coffee. Once through France we were then into Belgium, this is where we started to slow down. We were surprised to find out that the motorways take you really close to the city centres and as a result lots of traffic! This continued to be the theme of our journey through Belgium. Once through Belgium and into Holland and Germany we didn't get held up again and the rest of the journey remained stress free. We arrived at the team hotel and race venue Wunderland, Kalkar at around 9 pm. This was a good hour later than anticipated as the traffic in Belgium really slowed us down. We checked in and headed straight to the restaurant, fortunately they were still serving food. After food and a much needed drink we were both shattered. En route to bed I checked the team notice board to find out the final plans for the weekend, specifically the pre-race brief and the organised bike course recce. 

Friday - I chose not to set an alarm, as I was pretty tired after all the driving the day before. I was awake at 8 am, so gave mum a knock and as we were both awake we decided to head down to breakfast. Breakfast was nice and chilled and it was good to see so many fellow GB athletes. Over breakfast I was able to plan out the day. It went something like this; chill out after breakfast until 12 pm (midday). 
At 12 pm it was the Team GB organised bike recce. I arrived at the transition hall (meeting point for recce) and bumped straight into Matt Turnball (the guy who I met a few weeks before at the Durham duathlon) and starting chatting. We decided to ride out together, as there were so many athletes on the course the pace was pretty steady, but that didn't really bother me. As we pulled into Wunderland after the first lap we both decided that doing another lap with a few race pace efforts would be a wise move. 

After the second lap it was time for me to grab a shower and meet mum for lunch. After lunch it was time for me to give my bike a clean, polish and final tweak before heading over to transition to register and rack my bike. After this there was a little a bit more down time, so we sat in the hotel bar enjoying a coffee, chatting and making most of the hotel WiFi (unfortunately there's wasn't any in our room) as I was beginning to get Twitter withdrawal symptoms! At about 4 pm the whole team began to assemble outside one of the conference rooms ahead of the pre-race brief. The briefing lasted close to an hour before and helped to clear up a few issues people had. We then all may our way out to the front of Wunderland for the scheduled team photos. 

The GB standard distance team, can you find me? It's a bit like Where's Wally? 😜

After the team photos the whole team headed into the town of Kalkar for the parade of nations, which was held in the market square. This is where the town mayor along with the president of the ETU officially opened the European Duathlon Championships. We then headed back to the team hotel for the pasta party, time for us all to commit carbiside! This was a busy day, so no surprise I was pretty tired again so decided to get another reasonably early night before race day. 

Saturday (race day) - The night before a race I find it hard to sleep as I keep thinking about the race and likewise I also wake up much earlier that my alarm and this was no exception. I woke at around 6:30 am and chilled in my room before heading over for breakfast at 7:30 am. I was in the the first wave of Age-Group athletes to go off, starting at 10:30 am, just after all the elite Para athletes. I always start my tried and trusted pre-race nutrition strategy 3-hrs prior to my start time. After breakfast I gave my mum a knock (as 7:30 am is a bit too early for her) and then joined her for her breakfast. I found it hard to concentrate on the conversation as I was now in race mode and kept thinking about the task at hand. The big issue was the weather forecast, as it was highly changeable, so i didn't know if I would go for a base layer or not and would I wear gloves. I then decided that it would be double yes; base layer and gloves. With about 45 minutes to go before the race start I put all my race kit on and headed over to transition and start my final preparations; check tire pressure, talc my shoes and run though transition before the all important caffeine gel before commencing the warm-up. There was a bit of a chill in the air so I was glad with my choice of gloves and base layer. 

With about 5 minutes to go I said good bye to my mum (who wished me good luck) and headed to the start line, which was filling up with fellow athletes quickly. I was able to get a good spot quite close to the front. The MC then started the race build-up, my heart rate started to increase and it was time for me to get my game face on! The klaxon sounded and we were off! The 10 km run was 4 laps of a 2.5 km loop that weaved around the Wunderland grounds, with a stretch along the river before looping back and circling the conference centre (acting as the indoor transition area). We went off like a rocket, much quicker than I normally do for a race, but this is the Euro's so what do you expect! I was right in the mix after the first km and was buzzing, then all of a sudden my body was telling me that I'd gone out too fast! What didn't help, was that this coincided with the "out and back" section along the river, in to a tough headwind! This section started to string out the field with a front pack of 4 athletes pulling away from everyone else. I really had to dig in now and was certainly paying the price for the really fast start. The next two laps were a real battle for me, but I continued to hang in there and on the fourth and final lap, started to get back into my groove. I then entered T1, put my helmet on and and was out of transition, jumping on to my bike after the mount line. This went super slick and was on to the bike where I hoped to move up the placings. 

The bike course was also 4 laps but this time of a 10 km loop. The bike course was pure flat with a few 180 degree turns. Just like the run there was a tough section into a headwind, but aside from that the wind was kind with either a side or tail wind. The wind on the bike wasn't really an issue for me as I had been training a lot on my TT bike back home in Hull and it's always windy so I'm now used to it. I kept pushing as hard as I could keeping aero to minimize the drag effect from the wind and was slowly beginning to claw back some places. There were three different age-groups in my wave, so this made it hard to work out if I was moving up in my age-group or not. All the supporters from all countries (mainly GB) were positioned along the approach to transition before commencing the remaining laps, this just gave you an extra little boost hearing all the support. I kept on pushing as hard as I could for the remaining laps and stuck to my nutrition plan, to ensure i was fueled for the latter stages of the race. As the laps went by I gained an extra few places and could work out that if there were more laps I would gain a few more, but we were all pretty spread out now. I turned into Wunderland for the final time and started the approach to T2. I lent down un-Velcro'd my tri-shoes, slipped my feet out and rested them on the top of my shoes ready for the dismount line. I jumped off my bike just before the line and raced into transition for T2 before starting the final 5 km run. 

The final run was just two laps of the same 2.5 km loop. I exited transition and was quickly into my side, running well considering the earlier run and bike. I was feeling really good and was pushing hard to try and move up the field and/or hold off athletes behind me. The best part about the out and back section (although it was windy) was that it gave you a good chance to work out where you where, who was in front of you and who was chasing you. I kept on pushing and quickly ticked off lap one and now I only has 2.5 km left to race. As I reached the turn around I was confident that I wouldn't get caught and there was a slight chance I could gain another place, so this is where i kicked for the finish. I'm guessing the guy in front of me thought the same as I failed to catch him. I crossed the line and was over the moon as aside from going too deep into the red in the first part of the first run, everything else had gone according to plan and all my transitions were super slick! 

Something slightly different than banana's for post race re-fueling 

I finished 9th in my age-group and 3rd Brit, in a time of 2:05:35. I was over the moon with this performance especially as I over cooked it in the first part of the run and had to really dig in for the middle half of the first 10 km run. I have a feeling that this performance is good enough for me to gain automatic qualification for next years ETU duathlon championships. 

Over the moon with the race and I couldn't have given any more. 

Sunday - This was my epic travel day. I got up around 9 am gave my mum a knock before we headed down for breakfast. Fortunately I felt rather fresh as the post race celebrations weren't anywhere as big as I was expecting. This was certainly a blessing in disguise as driving 550 miles from Germany through Holland, Belgium and France before taking the Channel Tunnel back to Folkestone and then driving back up north to Hull was brutal! Mum and I had arranged that she would do the first stretch of the journey until we caught the train back to Blighty, this was a massive help as it was another four hours drive back home to Hull.

As always a massive thanks to my sponsors Meridian Foods and Coconoil, as well as my coach Ian Mayhew (Gears & Tears). Also thanks to all of my fellow GB athletes who helped cheer me on and make this an unforgettable experience. Lastly thanks has to go to my Mum, who was my number one fan in light of Sally not being able to make this race (first one she's ever missed!). 

City of Durham Duathlon

When initially planning my season out during Christmas, I had eye'd up racing at Clumber Park. Clumber would fit perfectly in my race prep ahead of the European Duathlon Championships - Kalkar, Germany (16th April). Generally speaking working at a University we don't have to do weekends, however that weekend I did. Therefore I had to change my plans slightly. After a bit of searching I found the City of Durham Duathlon, organised and ran by Durham Triathlon Club. Durham is a good 2-hr drive away so Sally and I drove up the day before and stayed in a local pub/B&B. As we pulled into the car park and started unpacking I bumped into a fellow competitor who was able to pass on some words of advice as he just just got back from a course recce (more on that later). 

As is the norm for multi-sport races it was an early start, so working backwards from the race start its pretty easy to plan your breakfast and fuelling strategy out. As the race started at 9am it meant a 6am wake up for breakfast, before ensuring I'm fully hydrated and getting that all important caffeine hit just before kick off! 

I like to get to races early so I'm not rushing to get ready, therefore we left the hotel just before 8am to ensure I got to the race HQ (a local leisure centre) with about an hour to spare, allowing me plenty of time to register and set my bike up in transition etc. I was a little taken back by the chilled out, clam nature of all the competitors, which makes a really nice change from the majority of races I do which are high profile and normally a qualifier of some sorts. After registering and racking my bike I still had plenty of time to chat to a few familiar faces and share stories of winter training and to find out what races they've got lined up.  

As it approached 8:30am we all made our way into the HQ for the pre-race briefing. This was rather important as the race organisers explained the rules regarding some of the road junctions and what would happen if we were to get caught up by temporary traffic lights. Once the brief was over I had ~15 minutes to start warming up, before heading to the start to wait the klaxon. 

The klaxon sounded and we were off! The 5km run was 3-laps of the 1.66km circuit, which looped around the leisure centre playing fields. The terrain was mainly grass with a few tarmac sections and was similar to a X-C route, with a few lumps in it. The pace was fast and I was able to hang in there for the first half a lap before settling into my own rhythm. After the first lap the field had began to string out. I think I ended up in the third group, which I was really happy with as I could feel that my run training over the winter was paying off. During the second and third lap the placings didn't really change that much so I knew that before entering T1 I would be there or there abouts. After the final lap I was quickly into T1, put my helmet on, kicked my trainers off (as neatly as possible as I would need them for the second run), un-racked my bike and headed out onto the bike course.  

My group for the first run. 

Quickly out of T1.

The bike was a single 25km loop of the local area. It was a little bit tricky in parts as there were a few serious road junctions to negotiate and a couple of temporary traffic lights, all were well marshalled though. Aside from these it was a really nice rolling course with one brutal hill about 15km into the route. From the start of the bike I was able to really get the hammer down and start picking off some of the quicker runners. I kept pushing on as hard as I could but couldn't help but think about what Matt Turnball said to me the night before (the guy I met in the hotel car park), "watch out for the climb its a beast!" The further I raced the more I kept thinking, "whats he on about??" and then probably about 10km from home, it popped up and he was right it was a beast! It was easily a mile long and was certainly steep! I sat up, found a comfortable climbing position on the TT bike and span up the climb passing a few other athletes. As soon as I crested it I was then straight back in the TT position and hammered the final few km's into T2. On the approach to T2 I got my feet out of my tri-shoes, rested them on top, all ready for a quick dismount.  

After another slick transition (T2) I was able to quickly settle into my stride for the same final 5km. I kept pushing as hard as I could but this time was beginning to struggle. I think its because I had only raced on water and didn't anticipate how much that climb sent me into the red! In hindsight I would definitely taken some sports drink or a gel on the bike. However, I continued to push as hard as I could. It was halfway through the second lap when I heard Paul Brown (race winner) coming up behind me, I tried to slip stream him when he passed me, but hes an awesome athlete and he was just too quick for me! He was the only athlete to pass me so I don't actually feel that bad! I kept pushing and once getting to the top of that little climb for the final time I knew it was all down hill, so I gritted my teeth and kicked for the final km to the finish! 

The final sprint for the finish!  

I finished 16th male and 9th in my age-group in a time of 1:28:45. I was super happy with this and will now be able to take a lot of confidence into the European Duathlon Championships (16th April). After the race I got chatting to Matt again and he told me that the top 15 were really strong athletes and I had done well to place where I did, so was buzzing for that. 

As always a massive thanks to my sponsors Meridian Foods and Coconoil, as well as my coach Ian Mayhew (Gears & Tears). Also thanks to Durham Tri club for organizing such a great event and i'll certainly be back and to Jason Allison for the photos. However, the most important thanks has to go to my darling girlfriend, Sally.