Again, it's just too hectic for me to update more frequently, plus another training diary isn't really needed I guess. Luckily I have my weekly plans from Alice stored online, so if things do go the shape of a pear I can go there to see what I was doing. the shape of a pear is not something that's been considered recently though, we've come through a month of steady strength & fitness building in better shape than before, (both physically and mentally).

Life & work remain uber busy, but it's going to get me to my Birthday party at Challenge Wanaka next year, so a means to an end.

How things have gone/are going below

Swim
Madam H has taken my almost total non-swimming (between August & Jan 1st) by the horns & we've done around 34k this month. Every session seems better & this week (during main sets of 10 x 200m & 4 x 500m) I've been holding a pace faster than any of my wetsuited race swims since 2008. That's got me thinking that if I'm doing that in Feb then 08's times of 1:03:?? for 3.8k & 23:20 for 1500m may be in jeopardy? Not that I'm planning to do an Olympic, mind.

Bike
I think it's going well. Certainly feeling pretty strong on the single speed commutes & in turbo sessions. This may be a falsehood as I've not had a chance to do any group riding yet though. Feeling pretty positive considering the time of year, how the weather has been & certainly stronger than before in the winter.

Run
Almost back to acceptable running form. The calf injury I was struggling with has now totally cleared, 3 runs this week have confirmed that. I've also dropped into a very natural pace now both my legs are working! This weeks runs have been 8 miles @ 7:22 min/mile, 4 miles off the bike @ 7:21 & 10 miles today @ 7:21 too. All of the runs have been very controlled, just need to keep on at that level for a short while. Coach is pleased with me, so I'm a happy boy.

General Health
After 7 weeks of consistent training the benefits are showing. Weighed in at 78.5kg last Monday, (race weight will be around 74-75). I just need to keep on at the core strength sessions to firm up & lose the extra around the middle!
Also I seem to be recovering very well from sessions with the improving fitness. Resting Heart rate is taken every morning & this week has been - 41-39-41-36-41-38-39. Obviously when I recorded 36 I double checked the reading, confirmed it was accurate then jumped around the bedroom. Then it was up around 100

So that's me, working hard, training smart & enjoying the long game.

Replies
Thank you all for your previous replies. I promise should I break down physically or mentally, then you'll have something more entertaining to read. For now tho', allow me the dullness 8)]]>
One thing I have got to do moving forwards is get more sleep. Weekdays are very hectic & my brain is constantly running at 100%, which in turn means I need a little more down time in the evenings before I can even consider sleeping. Maybe a reduction in my daytime caffeine intake might just help with this?
No running for me this week, other than an easy 20min jog off the bike today, the calf seems fine now so we'll be back to normal next week.
Everything else on the training front has been pretty smooth. the only thing of interest (other than swam this, biked that) is that I didn't have time to swim on Monday & Tuesday night (4 sessions for me this week), so I did both sessions together. It's been a while since I banged out 4.8k in the pool, ouchy!!
Oh, and I've broken my bike computer, so my Road to Regensburg counter has come down for a while. Road rides can easily me mapped & logged in know, but turbo time is more difficult, unless you;re in one gear all the time. Never mind, it's payday soon & I'm sure a Wiggle order is on the cards.
Off now to spend my 2010 4th quarter bonus on race entries & some sh!t I don't need, happy days.

As the blog is quite short this week, here's my favourite thing from the internet recently, total genius.


Replies
Sav - More beer, less riding is what I aim to achieve
Sue - yep, no wind this weekend, just artic
JamesBoH - You should try it, it only hurts a bit
Poet - Thanks mate, I'll have a re-format one day
The Iain - DRINK! Think we've convinced Laura on The CowMan too
Carlito - Yep every trick in the book on the calf, daft of me to run on it really
Iainm - They way I ride you would think they were all recoveries ]]> Probably the most important thing we have spoken about in the past is that I do this for fun, it isn't my job & sometimes that's all too easy to forget. I am not Chris McCormack, Alistair Brownlee or even the next Simon Lessing! I'm a (now) 42yr old bloke who likes to keep fit, enjoys racing & the social aspect of triathlon & needs to spend more time remembering that.
Maybe it's a fair point that could be levelled at many people? But that's up to them. But trust me, when a former Pro Athlete points this out to you, (as Alice did last year), you sit up & take notice. All that said I am not going to deliberately go slower this year. I will train hard & race hard but I intend to enjoy it even more than before. If I go faster than before, then so be it, but it will not be to the detriment to other areas of my life.
On the last point I would also like to thank Lizzy & her wonderful blog. We are good friends & I admire Lizzy greatly. A recent post of hers drew a lot of similarities to my life & it got me thinking.

Anyway, back to the week's training....
Swim
Just another 2 sessions this week, around 4.3k in total, Madam H is easing me into this nicely. The swimming is already feeling better (but not yet going faster). Tuesday night's session was quite literally eye opener though, I got in the pool, set off for the 1st length & realised that I had no goggles on. In fact I had left them at home so just did the whole set without :evil:

Bike
Very little in the way of single speed commuting this week, but I made up for it on the turbo. Mostly as I've been protecting the stiff calf that I picked up running last Sunday.
Also got a rather windy ride in this morning, but having slept in too late there was only time for a short ride. Knowing this when I set out meant I made every pedal stroke count today. Strong old headwind for the 1st half of the ride too. There's a lot to be said for a flat windy ride, there's just no let up, so it fitted in perfectly today. Even when coming back with the wind over my shoulder I didn't let up, unlike a hill-fest you just don't run out of gears when it's a bit 'easier' click down the cassette & keep the pressure on.
I was on the verge of easing up about 6 miles from home but I spotted a cyclist in the distance (maybe 1/2 a mile in front) so I tested my legs & chased him down, finally getting to him with 1 mile left. My legs felt so much better today than ever before in January. I think the single speed commuting I have been doing has had an effect already maybe?

Run
A grand total of 2 1/2 miles for the week
The stiff calf was easing throughout the week & 1st scheduled run was on Wednesday. A steady 45 minutes was on the cards, so perfect chance to run home from the office. I managed a couple of miles before the calf began to stiffen again, another 1/2 mile & I was reduced to a limp/walk. Fortunately my boss was still in the office & he came to get me & take me back for my car, phew.
I've not been able to run since then, my leg now feels just how it did before I set out on Wednesday, so maybe a couple of more days & I'll be back on it.

so, not exactly a stellar week, but not to worry. Work is still keeping my very busy during office hours, that stops me from dwelling on it and I also got quite drunk on Friday (as it was my Birthday), it's all good fun really!

Replies
BEEF - I was concentrating on technique, honest guv.
Poet - Done Better?
Sue - I was very brave today!
Sav - I think I found the Queen K on the A600 today
Tiv - how polite are the drivers around here? Bloody magic!]]>
Issac Joule Aerotic, SRAM Red Gruppo, PX Pro-carbon 50/101 wheelset, Oval Jetstream TT forks, 3T Mistral bars, 3T aero brake levers, FSA SLK Pro-Carbon crankset, FSA stem, headset & brakes, Look Keo Max 2 pedals, San Marco Zoncolan saddle




The Roadie,

Felt F4, USE Carbon bars, Ultegra Gruppo

]]>

quick summary of the week...

Swimming
Firstly, if anybody is visiting the Hitchin swimming centre in the near future, could you look for my arms please? They fell off on Friday night & are probably still there!
Two swim sessions this week, which is the same amount of swims since Regensburg. The 1st of which was a real struggle, only a 2k session but I really was wallowing about. After a couple of days to recover another 2k session, but this one had 1000m with paddles in the middle of it, ouchy. Got though the 2nd session in better shape but had to lower my head to my hands to wash my hair, rather than raising my arms afterwards

Bike
Ok, I completely bottled going out yesterday. The wind was really blowing & I wasn't confident riding on new roads to me in such conditions so opted for a turbo instead. Other than that another turbo session during the week & 5 (30 miles worth) of single speed commuting has given me just over 4hrs in the saddle. I'm certainly working harder on the commutes than before Xmas & the wind has been tugging away at the 42mm front wheel on occasion. that in itself has served to remind me of that windy at Sherborne in 08 & why I love this sport so much 8)

Run
Just 2 runs scheduled for the week, an easy (or should have been) run home from the office (6miles) on Wednesday evening & an hour today (Sunday). Both of these runs have felt a lot harder than they should have, the 5 miler I ran with Tivmeister the previous week did too. I had put the difficulty down to conditions, damp air does not a happy asthmatic make, but there is a deeper underlying issue.
After my run on Wednesday I had a scheduled appointment at the doctors, you know, the usual new patient check up and as an asthmatic a review too. During the review my peak flow was taking & the best I could muster was 450, normally I would blow the thing off the scale (850+) and 750 really would be a minimum expectation. So maybe it wasn't the conditions after all? It was also explained to me that my fitness levels would probably mask poorly managed asthma, so I now have new drugs which will kick in soon & hopefully I'll be running on more that 50% of my usual capacity.
In layman's terms it means that rather than cruising through a an hours run, or the trip from work at 6:45-7min/mile pace if I run at anything less than 8min mile I'm running out of oxygen
I kind of like breathing, it's underrated!

Other stuff - Work is crazy busy. I have new responsibilities which are making sure that there's little or no spare time, it affected training once this week when I was too mentally drained to swim on Thursday, but got my arse in the water on Friday, so not too bad. I can't complain though, without the opportunity I wouldn't be thinking about Wanaka next year. The company is extracting their lb of flesh, I look forward to seeing mine

and that's that really for the week, nothing outstanding on the training front, just a solid steady start, it's great to be back on the horse properly!

Replies

Iainm - yes, deffo, the 113 should be a great get together. Wanaka is my dream race & perfect IM retirment!
Sue - I know, I know. Between you & Aliice I can't hardly slack off can I?
Sailbird - So we're going long together next year? Well done on yesterday & no wind please next year!
The Iain - True, I have never cramped in the forearms during a race, they must work? Next stop race entry, then flights
Poet - After NZ I will be too skint to go anywhere, 6 days left to take + bank hols will see me through I hope.
Sav - The Sun Runner does a very agreeable pint of Porter, you'll have to join Tiv & I there one day.]]>

Now, where did I put my bike shoes?

Replies:
The Iain - Do it, and maybe buy a new style aero bottle for the race?
Sav - Was I not there? Must have been in the local then?
Sue - Wash your mouth out young lady, I went long so I could stop going hard!
RiRi - Thank you, the run challenge was fun, thoroughly recommend it!]]>

Sod it, I've earnt the rest & have been far too busy trying to beat the VAT increase at Pizza Express, Cafe Nero & various drinking establishments!

Back on it tomorrow with what looks like a chilly single speed ride to work & have the option of riding or running home too. 1st day of my new responsibilities at work tomorrow (on top of my previous ones), but fingers crossed they will go towards covering the costs of flights to N.Z. next January.
I Will have to start making an effort on these rides to work, so they can count towards training, if the truth be known I've been somewhat pootling about so far. No swimming for another week or so until this ear infection i have picked up clears, wouldn't want to go rushing into the training now, would I?
(bit of a bonus that Coach Aliice is without a reliable internet connection for a week, so I won't get told off too much )

Replies:
Sue & Sav - It's good to be back 8)]]>
Not that I've been completely sedentary since Ironman Regensburg, but I did have a few weeks & some (quite a lot) of physio to help the glute heal. Since I've been up & running (quite literally) since the start of October I've done this http://www.tritalk.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=75078 and now feel fit, still slightly overweight, but strong & ready to embark on another tilt at Ironman, once again aided by the completely brilliant Miss Hector.

Race plan as updated on the left shows I'm going back to Regensburg, hopefully with 2 working legs & then working towards my dream trip to NZ. I had to postpone this previously as the commercial climate meant I had no chance of affording it, but this year I am determined & a new work opportunity will hopefully see it happen.

Thanks again to all the support & messages re the RGB report, it was a tough day & I did slip into a black state of mind after my return, but the arse is fixed, the mind patched up (again) and it's time to rock & roll. I have learnt a lot in the last year, I think Alice has too & we're both determined to rip some stuff up this year.

Keep well people & a very Happy New year to you all, time for another journey to begin.

Peace & love

Cenzo]]>
]]> Inaugural event, organised by the same people as Frankfurt should be good? I thought. I also did some digging about the area itself, keeping away from the official sites that are likely to flower stuff up, but ultimately decided it was the race for me. Well organised & in a nice area were my thoughts, these were to prove to be two massive understatements.

Through the months of training, following on from last year's lay off due to my achilles injury, I was looking more & more forward to my first ever trip to Deutschland. Training had been slightly interrupted by a crash earlier in the year & then picking up a glute muscle injury were a couple of down points. But despite these and a near mental meltdown through fatigue around February I was going to be better prepared than before. The glute which was injured 5 weeks out from race day was never going to be fully recovered, but Alice & I had managed the injury to the best of our ability in the time given and with almost 3,500 miles of training in the bank it was time to go discover a few things about myself.

One massive plus is the new bike, one day I will grow a pair of legs that will do her justice, for now though I'm going faster than before on a gorgeous looking machine. (So gorgeous that whilst chained up outside the race briefing she was turning heads & gathering admirers)
The other massive plus is Miss Hector herself. The last 14 months have been very trying for me on many levels. Meeting, getting to know, working with & forming a relationship with Alice have been a personal high points for me.


The Journey & pre-race

3,500 miles of training, just the small matter of 700 miles in the car & 22 on a ferry to finish it all off then, simple.
Driving down to Regensburg was remarkably smooth. Ferry booked for 4am meant an ungodly start time, but also meant I hit Calais at 6:20 local time & was ready to plough on through France, Belgium & onto Germany with a halfway stop in Luxembourg, Cool road trip, At motorway cruising speeds the car returned around 80mpg too, happy days!
A lot of the journey was quite dull to be honest. Northern France & Belgium from the motorways are not exactly the most picturesque of places. Once into Luxembourg the scenery improved somewhat & the border crossing into Germany improved further. Southern Germany is stunning & from what I have seen Bavaria is the icing on the cake. For the last 50 miles or so of the journey I must have spent more time looking around rather than forwards! The was also a storm of biblical proportions, that'll bring the lake temp down & make it a wetsuit swim I thought, (always focused you see).

Pre-race

Thursday was spent recovering from the long journey, chilling out & getting to know my surroundings, After breakfast I treated myself to a snooze then an easy jog around Regensburg, up to the expo & check out the race office etc. Other than that just more relaxing!
It was really nice to have time to explore the place, it's a lovely town & the people are very friendly indeed. I think that the locals were as excited about the event as the athletes, there was advertising all over the place and the people were obviously very happy to have the chance to show off their town.

Friday was a busier day with registration, race briefing & pasta party on the cards. I also managed to find a pool to go for an nice easy swim in the afternoon.
As expected the registration went like clockwork, this was just an opener to the extreme efficiency of the organisation, more was to follow. Race briefing later in the afternoon was the usual, full of healthy looking and/or nervous looking racers to be. Like in 2008 for IMUK I wasn't feeling the nerves, just very calm. Normally I suffer badly from race nerves, but Ironman is different and it affect me differently. The Pasta party in the evening was good fun, food was good & with one of the sponsors being a brewery there was free beer too! Managed to speak to Faris Al-Sultan, as a local he was looking forward to the race & had words of encouragement too for me too, nice bloke.

Saturday was of course racking day, but with my time to rack being post 14:30 I had some time to kill. After a lie-in & breakfast I strolled into town to spend too much money at the expo and then a bit more. I'd arranged to take another chap from the hotel (Jorgi) to racking which was at T1 around 12 miles from Regensburg at the Guggenberger See. On the way we chatted & I was asking about his races they turned out to be quite good, 10:40 Sherborne, 10 flat at Roth, & a 2:50 at the Barcelona (his home town) marathon.

He became my new best mate on Sunday when he told me that the 11hrs he did were as tough as anything he'd raced before.

After racking we drove the 1st few k & the main climb of the bike course. The climb itself was 16k in length & nothing overly steep, just maybe a long version of Box-Hill. I was getting calmer, not even the sign for the town of Brennberg (the high point of the course) saying 16k, at the bottom of the hill worried me too much.

Saturday night was another relaxing affair, just nipping out for a bite to eat, checking kit & also trying to get as much sleep as possible. Alarm set for 3:45 in order to get down for breakfast which the Hotel staff laid on at 4am. Sleep never is easy the night before a big race, but I think I finally dozed off around 11pm.


Race day

Up at 3:45 to make up drinks & then down to breakfast. myself, Jorgi & 2 others made it down & were all pretty relaxed Leaving the hotel at 4.30 to get to the shuttle service laid on for athletes to the lake. Everything again was silky smooth & the mood on the bus was good with some banter flowing to calm any nerves. I could hear Americans, Canadians, Spaniards, Germans, Italians & Japanese voices during the journey but didn't utter too many words myself.

There were 55 countries represented at the race, great to be part of an international event such as this.

Due to the lack of traffic & efficiency of the bus transfer we hit T1 around 5am, fully 2hrs before the start, I wasn't going to hang around for that length of time so I went for a stroll. On the walk down to the swim start the theme from 'Chariots of Fire' started playing. For the first time of the day tears welled in my eyes, I closed them, sat down by the lake & just listened, 5 mins later I was ready. Training may bring confidence but I think for something as major as this you need 'that' moment, this was mine.

After my stroll & coffee I headed back to T1 around 6am, it was getting busy so I readied the bike & laid kit out, nipped to the loo & before I know it it was 6:35am & time to go for an easy warm up swim. The lake was cleared at 6:45 which meant for a nervous 15mins on the beach, going through my thoughts waiting to start. Tension really was in the air, the mist had cleared from the lake, sun up & the announcers were winding the supporters & athletes up with some typically cheesy euro-pop, but in this situation it seemed right.

During the pre-race I had met up with Chris & Nik, a couple of guys who were at Les Stables at the same time as me in 2009. Both making their IM debut, both looking a little nervous but also well prepared, we had a chat & I gave them some pearls of wisdom, they were going to crack this ok.

Zwei Minuten

I had a quick chat with my Dad

Eine minute

Goggles on, deep breathes, wait for the klaxon. Silence.


Swim 1:12:18

The cold hard facts show that this is a personal worst for 3.8k, but that's not the full story. I was expecting somewhere around this time having swum a rather leisurely 36mins at The Cowman )1900m) a few weeks back, these two swims though were a thousand miles apart.

2,000 athletes on an 100m wide beach with the same thing in mind can only lead to one thing, congestion. This is the norm for this kind of event & is all part of it, I actually quite enjoyed the experience.
The 1st turn buoy on the swim course I'm guessing was around 400m out, getting there too over 10mins! The reason I know it took that long is because I was smacked in the head & had to put my goggles back on at the turn, also taking a breast-stroke kick to the shoulder at the time. So, 400m of biff & past the 1st buoy this is going to settle down, right? Wrong! The swim remained very congested for me (being a middle of pack swimmer) for around the 1st 1,000m metres & it must have been around 1,500 before I found any clear water at all.
Once in clear(er) water though I settled down & swam, swam well for me it was smooth & I was making my way back though the pack, I'd love to know what the halfway split was as I felt great in the second part of the swim & I would guess swimming more like 33min/1900m. I was even swimming well enough to have somebody draft me, I do hope they didn't drink too much lake when I emptied my bladder with around 300m to go!

T1 6:20

This wasn't as leisurely faff or gaff filled as the time may suggest, honest.
On exiting the water there was a short run up to T1 then a much longer one through it. As there was no chance of rain I'd opted for having my bike bag at the rack rather than hung up to avoid the log jam there. With the run being so long though the wetsuit was a little tricky to get off my legs as it was nearly dry, but no point in rushing to save 10 seconds in such a long race.
I also saw Nik & Chris again in T1, Chris Leaving as I was pulling my shoes on & Nik coming in from the swim. Time for a few shouted words of encouragement & we were off for 180k on the bike, nice.

Bike 5:53:43

2 x 80k loops that lea back to T1 & then 20k into T2 in the centre of Regensburg.

I felt good on the bike, real good. The opening 10 miles or so were pretty quick & there were quite a few people around, there were also a lot of referees to ensure no drafting or littering & dishing out penalties to the offenders, this was really good to see.

It's difficult to explain exactly how good I was feeling on the bike, I was constantly telling myself not to go too hard but still the pace stayed up & I was real comfortable working at that level. After the initial fast opening the main elevation of the course began. Turning off the main road (every single kilometre of the route was closed to traffic by the way), and onto a minor road which lead us close to Walhalla, up through the forest & ultimately to Brennberg.

16k of ascent, there are a couple of dips & faux plats on the way, nothing too steep & just just a couple of minor kicks which had me chose the 25 & spin up. People had been out writing support on the roads in TDF style & there was really good support on the climb, around halfway up a drum troupe were keeping a perfect rhythm for my preferred climbing style too.
Around 3k from the top there's a small village called Bruckbach. Ok it wasn't a mountain & I didn't see any cowboys, but still had a chuckle to myself, funny what your mind does to you in these situations!?
With the climb over it was time to hit the descent & it was a great descent to hit. Topping out at just over 53mph on the 1st lap is only part of the story. The view of the Danube as we crossed it was spectacular, the winding road through the forest on the way down is a dream road (all the road surfaces were fantastic), the look of shock as this lycra clad lunatic gave a police motorcyclist the Viking salute at 50mph whilst I over took him, priceless.

Once the descending fun was over it was time to start riding the bike again. Nutrition going to plan, still feeling good & holding back, catching plenty of people & getting caught too but refusing to chase, I was racing my race, not theirs. The flatter section of the course after the descent was dotted with towns & villages & without exception the locals were out in force. Riding into one of the larger villages in particular was like riding into a wall of sound, brilliant support from the Bavarians, they were all becoming my new best friends.
The time trialling was broken up by a couple of little hills around the 65-75k mark, the second of which was massed with support, drums, whistles, cow-bells greeted everybody, as did the smell of the BBQ they were having, bastards, it smelt really good!

Through the 1st 80k in around 2:35, so far so good.

The start of lap 2 immediately felt a bit tougher, it took me a few minutes to work out & then I realised that the breeze had got up a bit. Nothing too bad, but certainly not as still as the 1st lap. I carried on riding to plan & not the speedo which had dropped a little bit by this time. The climb also felt tougher, we were well shielded from any breeze for the most part but it was warming up, virtually a cloudless skies meant that the promised near 30 degree temperatures we well on their way.
Despite the rising temps I was still feeling good & riding well within myself, up past the chalk writing on the road, past the drum troupe again (still keeping time) and onwards to Brennbach, this is where the days issues started. Before they did I passed a chap who called out my name, it turned out to be Andy (ha ha ha of TriTalk), we rode & chatted about the day so far for a few minutes before I pressed on.
The final little kick up on the climb approached I there were 4 or 5 riders up in front of me, as I was determined to have a real go at the descent I clicked down a couple of gears, got out of the saddle & chased them down. During a 2nd burst to overtake my previously damaged glute gave out a few warning twinges, I carried on with the effort & got past them. Back in the saddle & on the descent on a clearer road now it was time for Cancallara mode! Aliice & I flew down that hillside hitting 57.2mph in the process. (I had hoped for 62mph/100kph, but the road needed to be straighter for that).

Back on the flat roads the glute wasn't giving me any more trouble, but I could feel it more than before, carrying on I just rode to plan & kept the nutrition plan spot on.
The support on lap 2 was if anything louder than lap 1, kids screaming at you old people clapping & every beer garden in Bavaria seemed to be full of people, this was proving to be a great day so far. Enjoying myself so much I was firing off Viking salutes left right & centre & one village had around a dozen kids lined up trying to get high 5's from riders going past at 25mph, I duly obliged.
I reckon I must have made around 10,000 new best friends in Southern Germany on the bike course.

Stage 2 of the glute problem came on the approach to BBQ hill.
On the flat approaching the little climb I heard a mechanical clank, slowing to see what it was at first & nothing there. Upon further inspection though I noticed that one of my co2 canisters had gone, it had obviously come loose & hit the chain stay on the way down, no problem I still had one left so I stood up attacked to regain the lost speed & that was that.

10 maybe 15 pedal strokes were all it took for the glute to re-tear, it felt exactly the same as when I first damaged it 5 weeks ago, this was going to be trouble. Immediately I put Aliice in her easiest gear & span slowly up the hill, realising what had just happened my world turned on it's head & behind the sunglasses the tears welled up. I wasn't going to finish.

30k to go on the bike back to Regensburg, I was capable of at least doing that, fortunately it was a very flat 30k on a nice day. I wasn't able to get down on the aerobars so just sat up with my hands on top & rode home very gently. During the final bit of the bike a million & one things went through my mind, most are unprintable, many self-pitying & won't be aired and then with around 5k to go a couple that changed my day.

At IMUK in 2008 & went through a very low point on lap 3 of the bike & was more than ready to climb off & call it a day, the Tritalk supporters that day saved me from doing that & that actually led me to the forum. Today was a different situation with a physical issue rather than a mental one, but all the same that memory helped.

The second thing was Alice Hector. Alice has manage to give me some self-belief, despite any ability I may have previously had this has been lacking, I've been to quick to throw the towel in when things have gone wrong in the past, not today. I may not be on the way to achieving the goal we had set out for, but maybe I was about to try & achieve something much harder. Now I had something to work for, a chance to prove myself, not in speed but in spirit. Nearly back at T2 it was game on, more tears but game on nontheless.

T2 6:35

A new experience for me in T2, no number racking. Also unlike other M-dot races you actually rack your own bike too. The thinking behind this is for speed & you are directed to the next available space. On collection there's a list printed out in alphabetical order showing the time to T2, the corresponding times are put on the ends of the rack, clever eh?
After racking the bike I walked through to my run bag & the change tent pretty much dragging my leg behind me, I took my time getting the run kit on & headed out for a long time in the sunshine, this was going to hurt, a lot!


Run (in the loosest sense of the word) 4:26:54

4 loops of 10.5k taking in Regensburg town centre & a local park, crossing the Danube & plenty of cobbles.

As I was leaving T2 sub 7hrs 20mins it was at first difficult to get the original sub 11hr goal out of my head, all I would have needed was a 3:40 marathon to get there, in fact without the sitting up I would have been 5 mins down the road. Training long run pace of 7:37min mile had been easy, even with pace dropping off after the bike I was in 3hr 30shape, was.

The 1st lap of the run was hell. Mid-afternoon & the sun beating down it was really hot, plus I stupidly tried to run quicker than my leg would allow me for the 1st 2k. After that I was shot, in agony & overheating, time to walk through an aid station for the 1st of many times. Once I had cooled down with the aid of some sponges I got my brain in gear & worked out a plan to get through. I was still in a bad mood though & the American lady who said 'not far to go' after 7k very nearly got a mouthful!

The plan was jog jog very lightly between aid stations, walk through them taking on whatever I needed & just count down the laps, for this very reason I like lapped races as mentally they are easier to manage.
Through the run the support was just crazy, constant cheers, shouts & clapping also the drum troupe had made their way from the bike course to central Regensburg. I had made some more new best friends, with drums!

During lap 2 I noticed that we ran past a street called Elisabethstraete, this was no more than 500m from an aid station, thoughts of our very own Lizzy entered my head, wonderful young lady that she is, Lizzy for the afternoon became the Deutsche Goddess of Iso drink & power bar gels. I now had 3 people with me, Alice, Lizzy & also Poet (thanks to his 1 legged Forestman exploits a while back) No wonder I was moving so slowly with those 3 on my shoulders!
Later on in lap 2 I saw a guy being stretchered off the course, I'm not 100% sure but it looked like the German guy from my hotel, I really hoped it wasn't but I resolved again there and then that I was going to the finishing chute or off on a stretcher. That was the only thing that was going to stop me.

The lad in question was looking forward to the race, his wife was extremely nervous though, the reason for this was that his last race resulted in a kick during the swim knocking some teeth out & him being plucked from the water unconscious. I really hope it wasn't him on that stretcher

Also I caught up with Nik & Chris again as they were on their 1st lap, great to see they had cracked the bike & were well on the way.

Lap 3 came & went along with my original planned finish time, I turned my watch off at this point as time was irrelevant. I was developing my own personal battle with a young lady from Eintracht Frankfurt Tri-club, she didn't know this but I would catch here & pass whilst running, she would go back past at the aid stations, it kept me amused for a while.
By the time I had collected the band which signalled I was on the last lap I think I might have began smiling, although lap 4 was the slowest it's the one that past the quickest & most enjoyable for me. Also my thoughts turned to Dad. I wasn't doing this for anybody else than me & am not going to pretend otherwise, but I know he was proud of me when I played cricket as a youngster. He never saw me race & wasn't an athlete himself but he was a hard worker & I think he may have liked this.

Finish time 11:45:50

The organisation continues.
On crossing the line at Ironman Regensburg you are greeted by a helper (in my case a rather lovely young lady). She put her arm around this sweaty old man & led me to get my medal, finish certificate, wet towel & then showed me where everything is. Everything included massage, showers, food, free beer & somewhere to sit down quietly and cry, again.

I would have loved to have returned to the middle of town to cheer people on, especially Nik & Chris who both finished the race & became Ironmen, but I was physically & mentally empty. I have actually had to re-read my Facebook pages & Twitter feed as although I saw them after the race I couldn't remember a thing.
I do know though that from the cheesy Euro-pop at that start right the way through to the lovely helper at the end Ironman Regensburg was the best day of my triathlon career & one of the most fulfilling of my life.


To all that have supported followed & generally wished well a massive thanks, it all really helps. If anybody is considering a Euro IM race, the consider Regensburg, the place rocks and them some!!]]>