World Cup Final

Wahooooo I've got a VIP ticket to the football world cup final, Italy v France, sorry have to be quick as I've got a flight to catch.

Pictures from 70.3

What next?

Hmmm what next?

Since my 70.3 I've done a couple of short distance runs and a long cycle ride. On Friday I did a 21:15 for 3 miles, with my last mile run at 6 min 41 seconds?!! Not sure where that speed came from.

I have a "London three bridges" relay race on Thursday and then the London Chase Corporate challenge the week after.

Not sure what my next challenge will be ..... maybe a full ironman?!

Wonderful !!!!

Wow what a fantastic experience!!!!

I set two alarms for Sunday morning, one at 3.20am and another for 3.30am. I need not have bothered as I was already awake. Trying not to wake the wife and kids, I snuck out of bed into the lobby area of my hotel room. I put my clothes on and pick up my "white" bag and cycle pump.

I crept down stairs and into the lounge area of the hotel, it was a small hotel and the staff had laid out weetabix and milk and two glasses of OJ. At 04:15 my taxi arrived and 40 minutes later dropped me off at the venue.

"OK! I need to check my bike and pump up my tyres".
"Wow, everybody has the same thoughts".
"BANG !!!!"
"Oh cripes what was that" ..... somebody had over-pumped their tyres, poor chap. Fortunately a mechanic was on stand-by.

I finished with my bike and started to put on my wetsuit ..... Ooops I need the toilet. Hmmm .... a long queue.

We were all called to start the swim. The klaxon sounded and we were off. I was at the back of the pack and started to swim, but I was disoriented and could not stop swallowing water. After a minute I finally calmed down and got into a rhythm, a mixture of breaststroke and front crawl. The swim was tough, but I was so pleased to have finished and stumbled out 42 minutes later.

I ran through transition and out onto my bike. I hit the first hill after a matter of minutes. The cycle course was very tough, several 14% hills. During the descents I would zoom pass several people, I guess I was good at going downhill. This one chap shouted across ..... "this is the third time you have passed me on the descents" as we just hit the start of a long climb he added "I guess I'll see you later"???

With 10 miles to go I started to get cramp, I managed to push through and pulled into transition with a cycle time of 3 hours 45 minutes.

The run was difficult with a nasty hill climb. We did three loops of a circuit and the supporters and fellow runners were very friendly. I hit the 12 mile marker I started to smile, when I hit 13 miles, I was laughing, and when I came onto the red carpet and the finish-line, I was laughing and crying.

I don't quite know what was happening, but crossing the finish line was a tremendously wonderful feeling. I have not stopped smiling since.

1 day to go

This will be my last post until after the event. I am so very, very, very, scared. In my job I've presented to a room full of hundreds of people, I've managed projects that have tottered on the edge, I've been in the middle of critical IT crashes, but never have I felt so nervous about something than I do now. This is stupid especially as its something I signed up for?!!?!?

The swim scares me the most...... I just hope I can do this in under the cut of time. I know the bike and the run will be tough but I can handle those.

Oh flippin heck.

In 45 hours time I will be wading into a lake at 06:05am on Sunday, taking a deep breath and .......

2 days to go

I've struggled to find a taxi who was prepared to take me from the hotel to the venue at 04:30am on Sunday morning, phew finally found someone who would do it!!!! This way the wife and family can have the car and won't have to get up and drive me to the venue. Hmmm not sure why she's coming?

3 days to go

I'm final planning and checking mode........ kit is all OK, bike needs a final check which I will do tomorrow, hotel is OK.

The venue for the UK half ironman does not have very good cell phone reception and so I've bought a couple of two-way radios to keep in contact with family over the weekend.

I've just checked the weather forecats for Sunday and it looks like it will be Sunny intervals and 24c (75f).

4 days to go

My race number was assigned today, I like this number, it feels lucky.

I did my last brick workout yesterday evening and I'm now onto drinking loads of water and bumping up my carbs intake. Its a vain attempt to try and boost my glycogen levels, which should hopefully increase my endurance for the race.

5 days to go

I know I need to cut down on my training, however I had to have one last brick work out this evening, it was great.

6 days to go

I never thought I would be this scared about a race, just typing this gives me a knot in my stomach..... yikes..... Just to add to the pressure, today I drove past a local triathlon event, the competitors were out on their cycle leg, crikey they looked great....... oh why, oh why did I sign up for this flippin half iron man, I can hardly swim !!!!!

Sam (in picture) gave me some good advice....."just try your best daddy"......

What can I say to that......

8 days to go

11 days to go

I've lost weight and I'm down to my fighting weight of 70.6kg with 12.7% body fat, my fitness levels feel OKish, my only weak point is still my swimming. Oh crumbs swimming......quick don't think about it.

Tum te humm tum te hum nah nah nah,

yep forgotten about it........

Forgotten what .....

oh yeah swimming

doh !

12 days to go

Work, work, work

14 days to go

I'm working tomorrow morning (Sunday), have to be up for a 5am conference call. :-( Hopefully the call will only last for an hour, please, please all work properly tomorrow, then I can get out early for a long cycle ride.

17 days to go

YIKES !!! I think I'm in the second swim wave straight after the pros. I'll have the M18-24, M25-29, M30-34, M40-44, M45-49, M50-54, M55-59, M60-64, M65-69, M70-75+ followed by the female age groups all passing me........!!!!! oh crikey....... I'm really, really scared now.

Only 17 days.....!!!! OMG !!!!! PANIC !!!!!

18 days to go

Left work on time this evening so I could get my run in this evening before kick-off. England are playing Hungary in a football friendly, this evening. Struggled this evening with my run as my knee is still huring from my crash a couple of weeks ago.

21 days to go

What happened to this week, where did it go....passed in a fast blur. My wife was in Poland and so one parent family again.....screwed training schedule, but hey did get a couple of good runs in and a swim.

Great news though my local gym are getting two double endless pools, wahoooooo!

25 days to go

This was the colour palette of the sky this evening. I was out on a six mile cross country run. It was very wet and windy. I really had to push myself to get out the door into the wind and rain. No sooner as I had taken 10 steps and I was soaked to the core. The colour palette, variations on grey, I call it "runners soggy feet grey".

OK !!! come on, who's pinched the flippin sunshine. If you find it would you kindly, please return it to Oxfordshire asap. My feet seem to be permanently wrinkled from all the rain.

Yikes only 25 days to go to my half ironman, that's like only .....t.w.e.n.t.y.. f.i.v.e....days....... no but really that's nothing, yikes, yikes, yikes.

OK I won't think about it., I'll worry about something else. Hmmm, I know I'm off to google where the sunshine has gone.

squelch, squelch, squelch.

28 days to go

one two......JUMPIN JACK FLASH ITS A GAS, GAS, GAS ...... yeah. I'm half way through my run this evening with Rolling Stones on my ipod, when the music stops.

Silence....except for the howling wind and rain which has completely passed me by. I suddenly feel all alone on this country road, with field and trees for miles. I was so engrossed in my run and singing along to the stones .....I hadn't really noticed the weather or that it was getting dark. Quick, quick get the stones back on again this is way too scary.

30 days to go

I had a good 6 mile run in the rain, I like running in the rain, it feels great.

This evening I caught up with watching my DVD recording from the swim session yesterday. Wow, I was doing loads of things wrong, my swim technique was terrible. Anyhow, I hope to test out some of what I learnt tomorrow.