Anglesey Sandman Triathlon 2015

Yep, we were the geeky ones who racked
first. Far too excited.

Sandman, the only slate coaster missing from my coffee table. There was a reason it was the last one of the Welsh Always Aim High triathlon series I'd signed up for, two in fact, it was a sea swim and a flat bike course. Those two reasons however, were the magic words needed to get Lizzie to come with me. It wasn't until she was all paid up and entered that I had to confess there would also be a 10km trail run on mostly sand (her fault really, she hadn't even questioned the name).

Canterbury Sprint Triathlon 2015

Having attended a wedding yesterday of friends who have just completed Ironman Austria, it seemed fitting to blast out the post-wedding fuzz with a very conveniently located local triathlon, the Velocity Events Canterbury Sprint Tri.

We sat smugly drinking coffee with plenty of time to spare even with the horrendous unisex toilet queue of doom. The race had changed venues at fairly shirt notice  and it looked like access to loos might have been overlooked. However, what the event lacked in facilities it made up for in organisation; registration was super swift and simple, there was a well-stocked kit stand which is always a bonus at a small event and a good but not overwhelming selection of cakes (very rarely am I overwhelmed by cake but we were a little more fragile than usual).

Caravan Calamity

It's always a gamble, entering a big endurance event. Months of work and build up, all for one day. It is all consuming, every weekend gets taken up with a training epic or practise race. Holidays get planned around good training locations. Toenails gradually disappear. Life becomes divided in "before and after", where "after" is really the only suitable time for hardcore socials as it won't interfere with training. Money gets spent fine-tuning your bike (okay, getting bar tape that matches your frame and helmet..) whilst your car gets abandoned and no matter which bag you go to, there will be some sort of energy bar in it, just in case.

Slateman Tri 2014

After my adventure with Ruth to the Snowman Tri last year, the Slateman was immediately added to our hit list as another brilliant event on the Always Aim High calendar. We made the obligatory overnight stop at Telford and smashed up the parkrun on the Saturday morning before ambling over to Snowdonia. The drive in to Llanberis doubled up as a recce of the end of the bike course and it looked just fine to us: easy!

At registration we realised we were in different swim starts, and couldn't figure out why or how they had organised the waves. Ruth was in the final wave which started 20 minutes after mine. This meant my whole race strategy had to change from "just enjoy the race, take it easy, you're here to have fun" to "you must absolutely rag the bike as hard as you can and pray you don't get caught on the run". We also spotted Jane Hansom at registration who is one of our favourite triathlete ladies but we were too rushed (and scared) to go and talk to her because we were keen to find the hog roast which had been promised in the race information. Sadly, it was all closed up by the time we got there but we promised ourselves a post-race hog roast instead.

A Year Off, A Year On

I was going to say that "I'm not making any resolutions this year", but Google states that the definition of resolution is "a firm decision to do or not do something". Therefore anyone who insists they are "not making any resolutions" is either a liar, or silly, or too scared to share! I was very nearly silly. Surely everybody has made some sort of decision about something they do or do not want to do this year?!

Snowman Tri 2013

Snowman doesn't look mean there, but he is!

Not that I'm trying to lay blame or anything, but I'm not sure who convinced whom to enter the Snowman Tri. Between Ruth and I, we are probably equally responsible for egging each other on and committing ourselves to a "challenging triathlon" in Snowdonia. In my option, "challenging triathlon" isn't really an adequate description. At the very least they should rename it 'Abominable Snowman Tri', or "Snowman Tri of Doom" or something a bit scarier.

Wingin' It

The theme of all race-related activities this year has been "winging it". It's actually pleasantly surprising what the body can do on an average fitness base and a mind that believes it is capable. It's very refreshing to switch the focus to doing stuff because you want to do it rather than feeling that you must do it. My training calendar is by no means empty, it just all goes in there retrospectively  in a very unstructured manner.

I admit though, there has been a niggling feeling that I'm not quite reaching my potential with this blasé attitude. This feeling was fully realised at the National Triathlon Club Relays, an event I'd done twice in the past. The relays are a fun, team event that some teams take very seriously and others absolutely do not. Our team was called "Team Wing-It" and epitomised the very nature of the name in every way. We weren't stressed by finish times or pre-race nutrition or any of the usual nonsense; frankly we were more concerned about posing in our team capes and looking like superheroes.

The Fabulous Forestman Middle

I’ve said all year that I wasn’t going to race. Although I’ve been back running and cycling since the end of March, everything has been at a fun, easy and sociable pace and if I’m honest, I didn’t want to disappoint myself by being much slower in a race compared to this time last year.

A bit of triathlon passion was reignited last weekend as I went to support friends at the UK Ironman 70.3. One friend had hardly trained at all due to an injury and made it way beyond her initial goal of "the first buoy" and all the way to the end of the bike. The other, my previous training buddy turned triathlon superhero, Ruth, absolutely stormed it round the course. I was having a marvelous time supporting but I couldn't help feeling a little bit jealous.

Fortunately, due to an evening involving wine a few months ago, I had entered the Forestman Middle distance. This was a new addition to the well-established Forestman family run by the brilliant Race New Forest team and involved one lap of Ellingham Lake (1.2km), a 60 mile loop in the New Forest and a hilly, off-road half marathon. For the vast majority of those few months, I was pretty certain that I wouldn't actually do the race but seeing a whole host of people running ecstatically through the finish line at Wimbleball gave me the boost I needed. I was rather looking forward to getting my teeth into a triathlon.

Having not been swimming since December 8th (I don't know why I remember the date, but I do), the plan was merely to finish the swim gently, push hard on the bike and do my best to enjoy the run. Some doubters - who will not be named - said I wouldn't be able to stick to this plan and that I would see red and get carried away. I'm glad to say, they were wrong.

As it turns out, when you don't have high expectations of yourself or put a lot of pressure on yourself, these triathlon thingies can be thoroughly enjoyable and dare I say, fun, experiences. The water at Ellingham was perfect, a little bit of argy bargy at the start (which I mostly created myself) but after five minutes or so I had my own water and settled into a good, steady rhythm. Halfway around the loop I couldn't help wondering why on earth I'd stopped doing this in the first place, it was lovely!

I trotted over to the transition tent and had a fairly leisurely time getting my socks and gloves on, none of this stressful rushing business. Once I was away on the bike though, I found my race face. Despite not doing any even remotely fast cycling in the last few months, I found some pace and started chasing down anybody I could see ahead of me. I savagely attacked my banana, tearing it from the side with my teeth to avoid having to slow down. I was actually a little too out of breath to eat properly; wild open-mouthed chewing ensued as I focused carefully on not inhaling it. Luckily nobody witnessed this fairly disgusting display.

The tailwind at the back end of the loop was a joy, everybody was flying along having a jolly marvelous time. I battered myself up Ornamental Drive, especially as I saw my main rival my lovely fellow clubmate, Nicky Yevko up ahead. I failed to look casual as I breathlessly passed her.

Loving the support and picture taking
from Davie! 

I had gone out quite hard on the bike but I managed to keep the pace going through the undulating route. Various friends and clubmates were out on the course shouting support generally being brilliant. Hearing someone go a little bit mad and screaming your name does wonders on a long race! Every time I saw a girl on a bike ahead of me I just couldn't help myself, I didn't care if they were in my race or not, I was going to catch them. I had some good banter with a few blokes as well, as we played cat and mouse up and down the hills.

The final stretch, right into a strong headwind, was a killer on the legs. I could have been sensible and cranked down the power a little bit, but I was having far too much fun having some back and forth with a chap from Andover Triathlon Club called Nick. In fact, if it wasn't for Nick, I think I wouldn't have enjoyed that last little bit at all.

Looking like I'm having a much better
time than Ruth!!

T2 was quick and running actually felt quite nice and easy compared to pushing so hard on the bike. That's not to say I was running fast, but it felt light. A mile up the road and I hit the Salisbury Tri Club aid station, where I stopped briefly for a little chat with the crew. The little chats were plentiful on the run, I was taking it really rather easily and as a result, I was having a great time. I stopped to assess the snacks at all the aid stations (Southampton Tri Club were the clear winners with a choice of biscuits and the biggest sack of jelly babies I have ever witnessed) and got to know a couple of other triathletes on the course. The whole atmosphere was so friendly, everybody was cheering on everybody else and it was all very sporting.

I was soon caught by the Yevko, the running machine that she is. She actually lost herself a good half a minute or so by slowing down and having a quick chat before shooting off into the distance. I managed to keep jogging up the last big hill before getting back to the STC stand, with only one mile to go I picked up the pace and gleefully made my way back to Sandy Balls and a big welcome at the finish line.

I felt totally elated. I'd pulled a triathlon out of the bag and I'd really, truly enjoyed the whole experience.

National Club Relay Championships 2012

Two years ago, Salisbury Tri Club made their first venture into the havoc-filled world of the National Relays with two intrepid and courageous teams. Only three of those triathlete warriors were brave enough to return to Holme Pierrepont, face the carnage and represent once again along with five newbies. We were wiser this time around, we knew sheer guts, determination and epic fitness just wouldn't be enough; what we needed was vast quantities of wine, comfortable chairs, a fine selection of cake and enough meat to feed a small army.

Wobbling Through Wimbleball

I wasn't sure I'd make it to the start line of Wimbleball. A recent series of setbacks and unfortunate events has had me feeling a bit deflated and lacking the usual Egg enthusiasm. My 'warm-up' race at Swanage three weeks before was - without going into too much detail - something of a gastric catastrophe and my confidence started to wane considerably.

The extended taper was a bit of an enforced one, which may or may not have been a good thing; pretty much all planned activity was replaced with sleeping and/or eating cake. Perhaps slightly less cake and slightly more of any other foods would have been better pre-race nutrition, but I think my body is fairly well accustomed to converting cake into energy.

One Month 'til Wimbleball

I woke up in a panic this morning having just accidentally snoozed for half an hour. It didn’t really matter as I had promised myself that today would be a restful one; I wasn’t getting up at 5 to fit in a long ride before work or drive somewhere half an hour away to swim in a (still really cold, it’s May!!) lake. I wasn’t ensuring I was at the gym bang on 6 to fit in a quick swim and decent strength session before dashing off to be in work for 8. I didn’t have a complex bag packing system to organise; involving three different sets of kit and ensuring that my trainers and a carb gel are right at the top ready for a super fast brick transition (non triathlete translation: jumping off the bike and – as quickly as possible – going out for a run). In fact, all I needed to do was get up, eat breakfast and get to work. Easy!

Multisport Mutation

Triathletes and other multisport or endurance athletes tend to be - on the whole - a fairly hardy bunch. Training needs to get done whatever the weather and it's often more a case of how to fit life in around the training regime rather than the more common problem of "how to fit exercise into the daily routine". The training schedule becomes the daily routine and it's only when you finally take a rest day that you realise you have all this extra time to do the normal things people do such as sit down and eat lunch, or watch a couple of hours of TV in the evening.

Andover Triathlon 2011

I thought today was going to be one of those days. Firstly, a last-minute bike check showed up that Bianca had a flat back wheel. I was less than impressed, especially as earlier in the week I thought there was a slow puncture somewhere and so had changed the tube. What was actually wrong was a big old stone was wedged into the rubber that I had completely failed to spot! Fortunately, I had one spare tube left and a spare tyre knocking around so I got her fixed up and race ready.


Once I had made my post-race peanut butter and jam rolls, donned the tri suit, packed my bag and consumed vast quantities of coffee,  I was feeling a lot more relaxed. That feeling lasted all the way through arrival, registration and transition set-up. Even as the rain started coming down I was feeling pretty good about the race, I knew what to expect from the course and it was all good.

Second Tri at Andover

A whole year ago I did my first ever triathlon and I was spending the whole day before completely freaking out. This year I am really happy to be repeating the event courtesy of Andover Tri and seeing if I can knock some time off.


I've been very sensible with training this week and have had the prescribed rest and all that stuff, now I just need to manage not to get into that 'carbo-loading' zone where I somehow make myself believe that two tubs of ice cream and a triple pack of jaffa cakes will benefit my race.

How Clean is Your Triathlete

There are sometimes days - and bear with me here for just a moment - when I really have to have a good think about when will be the best time to wash. In regular life all you need to do is get up in the morning, have a shower and make yourself look presentable. Easy.


Even a normal person who does a bit of exercise might get their workout in first thing, get clean and head off to work or have a shower after an evening of exertion and wake up in the morning still just about fresh enough to go out in public. In triathlete world though, it is not so simple.

After Alps

The last big day in the Alps was a good one. Another Tour de France climb up wildly unpredictable Col de Saisies finished me off. My heart was so tired from a really solid week of training that it refused to play the game and I puffed and panted my way up very, very steadily. The descent was absolutely fantastic as my confidence at cornering had improved vastly throughout the week. 


I returned home a broken girl, not broken in the usual 'egg fell over and forgot to put her hands out' sort of way, but just completely and utterly exhausted. It's nice to know that I do actually have a physical limit - as I have often thought that so long as I keep eating, I'll be able to keep going.


Speaking of eating.. the food in the Alps was certainly not the healthiest and I blame myself entirely for failing to a) make healthy choices and b) put any sort of limit on portion size. The trick now is to not dwell on the bad choices but to get back on the wagon. A plethora of salads, chunky vegetable soups and protein shakes have had me back on the straight and narrow and there isn't a baguette or a chunk of cheese in sight.

Triathlon Training Camp 2011 - Part 4

It's a well known fact that you never try anything new on race day. Everything from your bike set-up to clothing to what you put in your drinks bottle must be tried and tested. Today was our training camp 'race day', but the difference was that it was a chance to try out anything we wanted to see what would work and what you would never do again.


Whilst the rest of the girls were gearing themselves up for an all out battle on the super sprint, Marie and I were trying to determine how long we would be out for on our extended course and therefore how much food we should bring.


This 'testing race' for me wasn't just about trying out kit and food choices. It was going to be the longest distance I had ever attempted in terms of triathlon and so it was also about testing whether or not I was physically able!

Triathlon Training Camp 2011 - Part 2

If from this day forward every cycle I ever did was an alpine climb I think I would be a very, very happy girl. The little bits of ascending I’ve done over the last couple of days have been absolutely superb; perfect gradients for a banging cardio workout but just gentle enough that you feel like (with enough fuel) you could keep going forever. Of course for every bit of up there also comes a down and descending is a whole lot of fun too on lovely, smooth French tarmac.

We were practising our swim to bike transitions today. There is something very unusual about finishing a swim and starting to run upright out of a lake. With ears full of water and the sudden rush of a blood in a whole new direction, you end up looking like a neoprene-clad drunk emerging from the depths. As you stumble out of the water doing the whole “ooh, ahh, foot on stones” thing, it’s very difficult to regain your composure, let alone start running to your bike. If that isn’t bad enough you then need to attempt a speedy exit from your wetsuit, which of course you bought at least at size too small to be “more streamlined”.  It was an entertaining session to say the least.

Triathlon Training Camp 2011 - Part 1

I arrived at Geneva airport and anxiously awaited the arrival of my enormous, gaffa-taped bike box (which I had been generously leant by My Dan Brunton, thank you very much!). The brilliantly efficient Swiss came through without fail and I had what was by far the quickest airport transition of my life.

I littered Jon with questions as he drove me very patiently back to the chalets: How big is the lake? When’s our first mega alpine cycle climb? How many sessions a day are we doing? Am I ridiculously unfit compared to the others? And then most importantly: How many times  a day do we get fed?

Shocker at Salisbury Tri

With around a year of racing under my elasticated belt, I was ready to take on my local triathlon: Salisbury.

I did the classic triathlete thing that we all do but pretend we don't do.. I trawled through some results for previous years and picked out people that I thought I could beat and people I knew I'd get nowhere near.

From these results and my own, optimistic ideas about my abilities I created a series of mini goals: sub 8 minute 400 for the swim, an hour for the 19 mile bike and a 32 minute run. Of course they were all best case scenario times and I knew it was unlikely I would hit any of them. Factoring in a bit of extra time for each one and the transitions, I was aiming for anything under 2 hours, but secretly I wanted to go under 1:50.