Season Summary

At present there are 5 days to go before the Sundowner Half Ironman. I entered this event for a number of reasons but primarily it should be a great build up for Kona and will still allow sufficient recovery time. There are over a dozen fellow Lincsquadders doing it and as I did it last year it should be a decent indicator of form.

Before starting this blog for real, I’ll just give a brief recap of the 2016 season so far.

January started as it normally does following the same old pattern of previous years. Qualifying for the World Champs unfortunately hasn’t turned me into one of those there disciplined types of athlete, in fact the opposite. As October seemed a millennia away  it was a case of making the most of it now before having to knuckle down to the real hard work. As I’ve mentioned in previous logs I’ve only got a certain timeframe or ‘window of enthusiasm’ for training. Once exceeded, my love for triathlon wanes somewhat.

So, the winter started slow. Rides were few and far between. I’d study the weather forecasts and any hint of rain and I’d just bin it off, probably to then regret it later when the rain didn’t materialise. On the plus side I found myself catching up on a bit of decorating.

I suppose finding Zwift was my early season saviour. I found it so convenient to jump on the turbo for an hour and ride in this virtual world against other riders from around the world. Previous to this I never enjoyed turbo sessions, I found myself sticking on films and just spinning my legs for no real benefit but to clock up a few hours. Zwift is different, it brings out your competitive side and I can honestly say I was getting more out of one hour Zwifting than I would a 2-3 hour ride in the cold (including coffee stop). Sweat would pour off me and on more than one occasion, with the workout complete, I’d immediately projectile vomit as  my stomach continued to retch, not pretty! My Zwift experience was elevated to a whole new level when I bought the Neo-Tacx smart trainer. I’d find myself out of my saddle climbing these imaginary 17% gradient  mountains as the turbo resistance increased. Smart trainers, extremely smart!

Unfortunately the TT season never really got going this year. The Lincsquad series was cancelled due to roadworks. I didn’t get to do any at Barton this year leaving just the odd one or two at Gainsborough and I punctured at one of them. Although I did manage to set a new 25 mile TT record on the Gainsborough circuit.

In April, Aiden and I attended the OTCF/Real fitness Tri-Camp in Majorca. As usual this was a great week for fast tracking your training, lots of bike miles up lots of long hills. Again seeing as my ‘A’ race was so far away there was a lot more beer consumed than you’d expect from a triathletes’ training camp. I blame my roommates Dobber and Big Swede, they would possibly blame me?



Mallorca Tri camp

Mid-year I entered two 100 mile Sportives just prior to IM Austria. Matt Porter of Sportive HQ has allowed us to use TT bikes at these events now so getting several hours in the TT position was an opportunity not to be missed. I know these aren’t to be taken too seriously but it’s always a confidence booster posting the fastest times.

The Lincolnshire Edge 'Sprint' was a fortnight after my Ironman Austria. As I'd got a free entry I couldn't resist signing up for the shorter distance to race my son Aiden. I wouldn't normally fancy my chances against him if it was a 400m pool swim but a 750m open water swim tilts the balance back in my favour. 2nd out of the water and up to first place after the bike it was a case of running for dear life to the turnaround point and then counting the minutes before we passed. Aiden's quite capable of a low 17 minute 5k, almost 3 minutes quicker than me!! Aiden was indeed the next athlete I saw but fortunately for me I'd got a big enough cushion and with it the win.

This was a proud moment having my son with me on the podium. The magazine Tri220 got in touch with FastFWD Events and they did an interview with me and as a result featured in their mag. 

This last weekend was the Sundowner Half Ironman. I did this race last year & managed 5th place overall winning my age group. This year I only managed 6th place with Kev Dawson (also going to Kona) relegating me into second place in our age-group. It wasn't all bad news as I was a couple of minutes quicker this time around (4 hr 31 min)which could have been more if not for some terrible transitions due to my cold hands not being able to open the helmet strap. The weather was lousy! It started raining before the swim and didn't relent all race! My bike and swim were quicker this time and the run almost identical to the previous year. Aiden had a close Sprint race in the morning getting second overall by just 9 seconds, not bad seeing as he was a minute and a half behind after the swim. A good night troughing hog roast and drinking beer with fellow Squadders capped off a decent weekend.