The Bala Middle Distance triathlon

Now I know why it is ranked in the top 10 toughest middle distance Tri's in the world - OMG!  It was the Welsh & British Middle Distance championships at the same time so some serious athletes around - a total field of about 650.  Before the swim I was nervous but excited.  I had never swam 2 km open water before and it wasn't helped as the wind picked up and waves started to appear.
I had set myself a target of 45 mins and made it in 42.  I was pleased as I had been sick at the furthest away point due to taking a wave full on in the face.  I also suffered cramp in both hamstrings and thought my race was over.  Not as bad as one guy who was 2 hours in the water and wasn't allowed to go on when he got out - well done though for perseverance.
The bike was the toughest 81 km I have ever ridden.  I lost 10 mins on the first 20 km due to hills and wind.  The hills were never ending and I thought I might end up being last cyclist back but in the last 15 km I started overtaking people.
The run can only be described as cruel / brutal.  Undulating long hills the whole way.  My coach had told me not to walk so I didn't although plenty of people did and at times I would have loved to.  It hurt but I had a great run finishing the 13 miles in 1hr 48 mins which was under the 2 hr target I had set - really pleased with that result.
Total including transitions was 6hrs 14 mins.  Lots of lessons learned on the day that I can use in Copenhagen but probably the most important one was keeping the voice in my head positive and having a purpose such as raising money for Maggie's meant I couldn't give up.  I was quite emotional when speaking to my wife on the phone afterwards as this was a big stepping stone for me in my goal to become an Ironman - lots more work to do starting again on Tuesday.

The waiting game

I arrived in Bala at 9.30 on Saturday as I couldn't get out of that hotel quick enough.  After some breakfast I went for a wee cycle and came to the conclusion that Bala is beautiful and hilly.  Checked into the Red Lion Farm B&B - highly recommended, so friendly and even gave me £10 for Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres!  Went for a swim in the lake - baltic but after the first 5 minutes yo warmed up or was I numb? 
Didn't get to see my club mates so had dinner of steak and pasta before retiring to watch the world cup - not so many red crosses down here, can't imaging why?  Too much time to think and had to work hard to rationalise with the voice in my head - "yes it was 11 months since my last triathlon, but I had done the training"! Bed by 10pm.

Going commado

I Travelled down to Chester today (Friday) so I would only have a short trip tomorrow to Bala and not be too tired. Busy day meant I didn’t manage to get on the bike but I did get to speak to my coach and run through last minute preparation. Here is what I packed:
Swim: wetsuit, trisuit (for bike & run), cap, goggles, contact lenses, heart rate monitor & watch. Bike: bike, foot pump, shoes, insoles, shoes, sun glasses, helmet, gloves, socks, tribelt (to hold the number)inner tubes, repair kit, WD40, sun cream, bum cream, 6 protein bars, 6 gels, High 5 and 4 bottles for the bike, towel Run: shoes and hat. With all that to think about I forgot my boxers so I’ll be going commando!
Arrived at The Comfort Inn; good marketing in the name, it’s a dump. You couldn’t swing a Manx cat in the room and in one of the drawers along with the managers welcome letter are two free entry tickets to a lap dancing bar in town – in all the hotels I have stayed in, this one definitely has a different marketing approach and no I didn't use the tickets!
Went out for some dinner in a friendly pub, strictly fresh orange, but needed to ask what the red cross flags were for?

Hungry boy!

Triathlon training gives you an appetite due to the calorie you burn off - 4,000 in a 4 hr cycle on a Saturday so imagine what I am going to go through on Sunday when I add on the 2km swim and a 20 km run!  So my breakfast meeting at 8am included muesli, fruit, yogurt, bacon & eggs with toast.  Lunch was fish and chips and dinner was my daughters favourite, home made pork stir fry.  In between there was the odd banana and some chocolate.  If you want to eat and not put weight on, try triathlon.
Today the bike was fitted with tri bars.  After my sports massage, to keep the legs in order, I went for short and slightly wobbly ride.  Tomorrow I will have an hour on them before I head off for Bala.  This will allow me a relaxing day examining the course and getting registered.  The family aren't accompanying me as it is our annual gala day in town but I will meet up with some of my club mates - probably the last I will see of them as they are a lot faster than me!  The excitement is building.

Calm before the storm

Easy 45 min run, ironman pace and could have gone all day.  However I know that on Sunday when I pull on my shoes I will have a challenge on my hands having swam 2km and cycled 81km. 
Tomorrow I am getting tri bars fitted to my bike so it will be interesting to see how I ride with them as it alters the position quite considerably - in theory it reduces wind resistance but I am not sure about my flexibility.  I'll soon find out.

Swimming break through!

It might just be my imagination but this mornings swim session went really well.  My stroke seemed more efficient / effective and I wasn't too tired at the end.  Granted it was a shorter swim as I am tapering this week but it did boost my confidence after last nights open water swim.  This week is all about keeping it ticking over for Sunday and I will need to discuss my strategy for the race with my coach later on in the week - probably try not to get caught in the rush in the swim, knocked down on the bike and finish the run before the organisers pack up!  To be serious there is a lot of planning to make sure in the middle of the race when you change from one discipline to another that you haven't forgotten something vital such as sun cream or bum cream or even worse, getting them mixed up!!!

Tapering - yeh right!

On Sunday night I got my new training schedule through and this week I am meant to be tapering i.e. an easy week before my half ironman on Sunday.  Day off today after the hard weekend, that's a good start - swim on Tuesday, run on Wednesday, Bike Thursday & Friday and a short swim on Saturday!   Thanks Steve, I am glad it wasn't a full on week!
However Monday is the only time I can sneak in an Open Water swim and I need the practice as it's quite different from swimming in a pool - they don't get everyone out the water if there are brown objects floating.  As I hobbled across the stones (forgot my flip flops) I could see people thinking, look at that ironman - ouch, ouch, aahh, b****r.  I managed 10 minutes before my earlier pasta tried to make an appearance so I decided time for a shower.  I had applied "glide" to my arms and legs before I went out so that I could get the wetsuit off quickly as previous attempts had looked like a wrestling match.  To the amusement of the other swimmers in the changing rooms I tried to look as though I wasn't putting in any effort to extract my arms, which I was, but when I kicked my leg to get the suit off I ended up in the air and then on my bum - ironman my a**e!  Lessons learned are don't be lured in by the temptations of my wife's pasta before going training, consider the terrain I'll be walking on before swimming and only fight with the wetsuit in private!