Events Blog

May 14th 2017 1900 m swim, 50 mile bike, 12 mile run A return to a race from last year - possibly the only time this occurs in this key race season. This year the Monster Mojo (almost a half iron) represents my "C" race. Preparation week seemed smooth if a little heavy, and the day before the race I checked out the course with a slower and hence longer than anticipated ride. Generally I felt fairly familiar with the course, and not too nervous. My hotel was literally 20 m from transition, which for me was a first! I woke up and realised the rain was coming down heavily, so nipped out with my bag and bike to set up, before coming back to my room (the proximity being a pleasant novelty, racking in the rain much less so). An hour later I was in my wetsuit and ready to go, leaving my room at the last minute to be briefed. Stepping into the water was surprisingly cold - last year the weekend had been a hot one at 28 degrees and the water felt correspondingly warmer (18 ...

July 3rd 2016 1900 m swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run Having been reasonably impressed with the organisation and friendliness of Outlaw Triathlon in 2015, this year I decided I would take a punt on the inaugural Outlaw Half Holkham Hall as my "B" race. I was a little nervous about this as the last inaugural event I entered (Ironman Staffordshire 70.3) had been a logistical and organisational nightmare, but I thought that in any case, this race would give me the opportunity for a nice weekend away, and some scenic surroundings. Indeed I spent a lovely Saturday walking the marshes, discovering beaches and eating at a fantastic pub. I also attended a race briefing, registered and racked. The briefing as usual stretched beyond an hour. I've no idea why these need to be so long as 90% of what is said is in the race pack. The other 10% of fairly key information could be condensed and more succinctly delivered. Saying that, the presenters were charismatic and entertainin...

May 29th 2016 1900 m swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run This was it. The one I'd been waiting for - my big race of the year! Did I feel prepared? Yes, I suppose so. Tapering week for me is always an unpleasant experience of feeling fidgety and imagining niggles, so I was glad it was race day! It made a nice change to be in a familiar setting (as I had raced the iron-distance Outlaw Triathlon) last year, albeit they had made a few changes. Due to blue green algae at the normal entry point to the lake, the swim start was now under the commentating tower - and I knew my transition point would be along this wall too. Getting to the race was a bit of a nightmare. Having got me their perfectly the day before, my Satnav had kindly decided that today was the day to direct me to the wrong side of the lake. Rookie error, but this meant I joined the car park queue 10 minutes later than planned. The queue was also quite a bit longer than anticipated based on last year, so I ended up ge...

May 8th 2016 1900 m swim, 50 mile bike, 12 mile run Technically my "B" race for 2016, my aim for the Monster Mojo triathlon was to trial my race strategy, kit etc ready for my "A" race, which was to be the Outlaw Half, four weeks from now. My initial worry for this race was that the water would be too cold. It had been a rather chilly April, and my local lake had only gotten up to a rather chilly 14 degrees by the start of May. Without socks or gloves (banned in races) I was struggling to put in more than a single 500 m lap! I was therefore relieved to see temperatures of 18-19 degrees being posted on Monster's facebook page in the week leading up to the race. A perfect temperature in my opinion, and the weather was only meant to get warmer (very warm in fact! more about this later). I had a great and very relaxed day in Peterborough before the race. I chose to register on the Saturday (although you didn't have to) then chilled out in Nene park. La...

June 14th 2015 1900 m open water swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run As the newest kid on the block of the Ironman branded races, I couldn't resist entering this one. Nor could a lot of others apparently - entries sold out in under 11 minutes! Normally I avoid the Ironman races as they are too expensive and indeed this cost a similar amount to the Outlaw full, but because it was just 20 minutes from home and I could do without hotels etc then I could just about justify it. This was my first ever split transition race, and what a faff that is... It took my friend and I six hours on the Saturday to set up, and all in the pouring rain - an organisational nightmare. However, when we arrived at Chasewater on the Saturday the sun was shining and we felt much more positive about the race (whilst hoping that everything we needed was in our T2 bags). The aim of this race for me was to test out kit and nutrition ready for Outlaw, as well as to enjoy the familiar scenery. Last to the p...

September 6th 2014 1900 m open-water swim, 90 km bike, 21 km run My first half-iron event! I entered Sundowner Middle Distance triathlon very late in the season - mainly because the half iron I was supposed to do in August got written-off by my cycling accident and this was one of the few left with available entries. However, it looked like a good course for a beginner and I was excited about it whilst packing the day before. I was much less excited when I awoke to drizzly conditions, which looked like they'd set in for the day. Driving over I encountered the sprint triathletes who were, at the time, getting soaked in a torrential downpour whilst cycling into T2. "Poor them" I thought, feeling more than dubious about later... The rain calmed a little though, enabling me to set up transition in mere spitting rain. This took me a lot longer than usual. I decided that given the threatening weather I'd put my run kit in a plastic box. Based on my predictions it...