EUROPEAN TRIATHLON CHAMPIONSHIPS – EILAT, ISRAEL

EUROPEAN TRIATHLON CHAMPIONSHIPS – EILAT, ISRAEL

Very, very hot.  Very, very windy!

Swim was in the Red Sea and on the borderline of wetsuits/no wetsuits,so a choice.  Most of us went for the wetsuit option, not only for the extra buoyancy but more for protection against the jellyfish bites and the sea lice.  A number of people were quite badly bitten by both these critures!

My main adversary was an American/Israeli lady, Susie Dvoskin.  I had my support team out with their stopwatches and they told me that she was two minutes ahead me on the swim.  There was a very long transition, 530 metres, between the beach and the transition area.  We had to keep our wetsuits on till we were in the transition area. Not a bad transition.  Out on the bike and the majority of the course  was steep-ish uphill on the way out and into a very strong headwind.  Having done the course on the Thursday, I realised it would be OK to put 100% effort in on the way up and out because of the down hill on the way back.  I managed to catch and overtake Susie well before half way. At the turnaround point was a makeshift wooden bridge, to get onto the other side of the motorway. A number of people were fussing, as they do, about the incline and the tight U-turn. I managed to negotiate it with no problem. One of the officials shouted ‘Good bike technique GB!’ Brilliant ride on the way back – I was on a 52/12, legs going like bees wings and really enjoying it.  I guess it’s a bit like cycling in heaven, high speed with minimal effort!

Back into transition.  All went smoothly again. The run was not good.  I can’t run in the heat.  However, I stuck to it and because it was two loops of out and back I could see that providing I kept ‘cool’ and didn’t slow down I would be in first place by the end.  That was the way it panned out and so by hanging on in there and keeping going I finished and collected my gold medal in the evening presentations.

I stayed at The King Solomon Hotel.  The food was first class. I really could have done with another week there to get round to tasting all the dishes on offer. No wine till my final night!  Scary landing at Heathrow - plane nearly landed and then quite suddenly the engines roared and we went strtaight up again!  Eventually the pilot said the landing had to be aborted because he did not havegoround clearance!  I'm only a car and tractor driver but I did think it would have been a good idea to get clearance before nearly touching the ground! We then circled London for another 25 minutes till a successful landing.

One day sunbathing under palm trees and now today back to our British climate, not good!

Look forward to reports on the London Marathon from other NDTC folks.

Krazy Kristmas Kaper

Ever seen a fully grown man running around apark in a childs Batman outfit? Ever seen Mary and the Baby Jesus out for a run? Ever seen a Christmas Present containing two lovely ladies (easy lads!!!)? Hawaiian shirts, men in suits, christmas pixies and sandwich boards all out running together? No!!!! Then it's about time you raced the North Devon Tri Kristmas Kaper.

The recent awful weather in North Devon seemed to scare off many of the regulars to the Kaper this year, but still a hardy field of 43 turned up to brave the elements. Many of those were once again forsaking any hope of a decent time by donning fancy dress and all sorts of seasonal goodies for the 5k run.
The overall race winners were also the two youngest competitors out there. Sam Wordley (pictured below) from Barnstaple Swim Club took the overall title just 19 seconds ahead of Scoob Lark (WSLSC). 3rd home was Mark Alderman (NDTC) who was officially DQ'd for his dress code, but anybody willing to run around Rock Park in the middle of December wearing just a pair of Speedo's always deserves a mention.
1st lady and 4th overall was Belinda Alecock from LSC ahead of Eleanor Parker (WSLSC) and Nikki Barrass (NDTC).

The main talk leading into this race is always of who is going to wear what with the Fancy Dress prizes now holding more kudos than anything else. We were not to be disappointed with many people pulling out all the stops to give us all a laugh and no doubt make those dog walkers on Rock Park wonder what on earth was going on.
Amongst many amazing and inventive creations there were two that stood out above the rest. NDTC Chairman James Marshall once again set the standard with his AMAZING Mary & Jesus (and a pair of Newtons) creation, just look at that contraption - yes he did really push it for 5km. At the same time as James was going proper 'olde school' out on the run course Emily Hutchens and Eva Murphy from Saunton & Woolacombe SLSC's were battling their way around the narrow and sodden run course dressed as a huge Christmas Present, one costume for two people. It must have been interesting sight watching them trying to dodge the deep puddles that covered parts of the course.

North Devon Tri would like to thank everybody that raced and marshalled. you all helped make this one of the most fun events of the year. Thanks!

Links to the full results and pictures from the race can be found at www.northdevontri.co.uk/poolaqua.html we look forward to seeing you all again in 2010.

Merry Christmas :-)

Tales of a World Champ & an End to End Journey

North Devon Tri Clubs Peggy Crome returned from Australia's Gold Coast a Double 2009 World Age Group Champion. After a feature in the local newspapers before she flew out to Oz Peggy was never headed on the way to her World Aquathlon and World Sprint Triathlon double.

Once home she put fingers to keyboard and wrote out some race reports which I've cheekily copied and pasted below.

At the same time Peggy was enjoying the Southern Hemisphere Andy and Maria Hindle were completing their John O'Groats to Lands End bike ride. You can read about how their attempt went at their blog.

Back to the World Champs write ups then. In Peggy's words:

World Championship Aquathlon: 2.5k run 1000k swim 2.5k run.

I entered this to get a feel for the water and to prepare for the triathlon which was 4 days later. With a mass start it is difficult to know how many are in the same age group, although I did notice some skinny, lean, mean running machines from the USA at the start. I managed to get ahead of the couple of USA ladies that I had spotted and to my surprise they did not come back at me. After completing the 2.5k run it was straight into the water where it is often difficult to see because of goggles fogging up after the run. After sighting the first buoy I put my goggles on at the last minute and tried to stay relaxed and concentrated on good technique. Toasty’s advise was running through my head, ‘. . . don’t move your left arm until your head is looking down and you are breathing out . . .’ I wondered whether swim coaches realised what an effect they have on us and their words of wisdom running through our heads even though we might be on the other side of the world! The swim was difficult to negotiate because it was almost a boomerang shape and there were buoys floating around which had nothing to do with the aquathlon course. There were also a number of motorboats that created waves and only served to confuse sighting. At one point I heard a lot of shouting from someone who had become ‘lost’ and disorientated. This was probably the lady in my age group who had a DNF. After the 1000m swim it was into transition and straight into the second run. I maintained a good effort knowing that no one in my age group had overtaken me, (age groups were written on the back of our legs) I had timed myself and made my total time, with transitions, about 56 mins.

Later in the afternoon were the presentations. These were done in reverse order and when the bronze and silver were announced no times were given for them but then he said “And in a time of 56 mins ….I knew I had won it before he announced my name – I couldn’t believe it! I was so pleased and proudly collected my gold medal. Jasmine Flatters took a few photos but she is still out there and I have not yet received them. So a good race and with a gold medal under my belt I was well prepared for the triathlon.

World Championship Sprint Triathlon: 750m swim 20k bike 5k run.

I had to enter this instead of the standard distance because this was the distance I won gold in last year and I was given a free entry to defend last year’s title. Also, £148.00 is not to be sneezed at!

As with the aquathlon, I was not sure how many were in my group because names were listed by country and then in alphabetical order in the programme. This was of no importance because I knew I just had to get in there and push it all the way. About three quarters of the way round the swim, the youngest male group started to catch us and it suddenly became very crowded but they were, on the whole, very gentlemanly and did not try to drown us. The swim was long but much easier to negotiate than the aquathlon because it was an open box shape. It was generally agreed that the swim was long but I was out of the water ahead of a lot of the red caps i.e. the over 50 ladies. As I ran up the beach, I heard the commentator say ‘ . . . and next it’s Peggy Crome from Great Britain, the first 65+ lady . . . ‘ I didn’t hear any more I was then on a real mission to stay in front of anyone in my age group. There was a long transition as there has to be to with the volume of competitors in these big events. The transitions area was very well organised and I ran it a couple of times before the start to make sure I knew the route. A reasonably quick transition time, then off on the bike.

Bike route was pretty boring; two laps of a flat straight motorway (closed!). There was blatant drafting with large groups of about 20 chaps (90% of them being Australians). I think that a lot of them were ‘two-footed’ and even more given penalties. Nothing interesting happened on the bike leg, I managed to negotiate the360degree turns neatly without tipping up. There were a number of accidents at the turns but it was just a matter of taking a wide sweep, concentrating and looking where I was going. I made sure that none of the people who overtook me had 65+ on their calves! I was also surprised to be overtaking quite a few myself. So I kept my head down and did my best to concentrate.

Into transition and I heard one of my friends names being called by the commentator and my concentration was interrupted and I ran right past my number alley. Bugger! After all the practising to get it right, what would Tim say? Quickly back tracked and found my bike. Didn’t stop to put on clowns kit but did a smooth and speedy change. As I ran up the hill to start the run, I realised I had not put my number belt on. I took a chance and did not go back for it. No one stopped me and I guess I was all right because the timing chip kept me on the map. By this time the heat was a problem, even though it was early in the morning. I kept the run easy and relaxed and knowing that I only had to keep going at that speed as long as no one from my age group overtook. If they did my plan was to stay with them to the last 50m and then do a sprint finish which I have practising through the winter. Luckily no one bothered me and I finished in 1:34:36 which was not a bad time with the long swim and long transitions. The commentator did not say that I had won so I wasn’t sure. It wasn’t until Jasmine Flatters, Team Manager, told me that I had won. I really couldn’t believe it. Two gold medals! She also told me that I was the only one to get a gold in the sprint distance. Eventually when the results were up I realised there was only one other in my group, Pauline Wiltshire, who I knew about because she had won ‘Triathlete of the Year’ in Western Australia for her personal achievements and for her input to triathlon. Since returning, I have done a bit of number crunching and out of all the ladies I finished ahead of 27 of them – so I was well pleased with the results.

The medal ceremony was in the evening at the Great Australian Barbecue – a brilliant evening but the live music was a bit too loud and I found it difficult to hear. Is that a sign of old age?

Now, if anyone had read all this epistle you deserve a gold medal!!

Racing not blogging!

Well it looks like we've all been a bit slack in keeping the blog up to date so here's a few thoughts from the beginner end of the spectrum on Year 2 of tri for me and the exploits of the Green Army -ND tri not Plymouth Argyle!

Where to start..........so much has happened...... so a selection: The Green Army have been blasting their way through Hayle, Swanage, Bedford and Plymouth Olympic races; the Bude Sprint and of course the Gold Coast Aquathon. Muzzer continued his marathon challenge at the Swiss Alps and club members dropped into the Barnstaple Race for Life, St Ives, Helston, Burnham on Sea Tri's, as well as the Two Moors Sportif and Dartmoor Classic on the bike. Special mention must go to those who toughed their way through the Half Ironman at Wimbleball (espcially Damo in raising lots of money for charity) and to Bidemark for completing the Ironman UK in Bolton. At all these events club members have taken honours (too many to mention) or achieved personal goals but a read of the results section on the website shows how competitive many people are and how successful at getting through races if that is their own goal.

We've also had a couple cracking training session in Bude at the sea pool and in the surf which went from flat calm at the first one to some quite challenging swell at the second, we also did either a run or cycle afterwards these were great fun, very sociable and great to be out enjoying our environment.

I should really mention the women's section of the club where Maria, SallyP, Peggy, Suz, Helen, Rosie and Fi have all taken honours in multiple races and given the blokes a run for their money in terms of club honours and profile. However, as ever a key point about the club remains that for those of us who don't trouble the scorer the support is just as fulsome and the Green Army supporters are there rain or shine (seemingly mostly rain!) cheering us all on and taking photos to record all our efforts.

There is still alot of racing to come through August and into September/October with another club outing at Dorney to look forward to.

As for me I completed Bude and was quicker by 6minutes so very happy with that, took part in the Woolacombe long swim, that really was an experience in some challenging conditions surf wise and weather wise and having had some holiday just completed the Hayle sprint. This was my race where I felt "best" last year so really looked forward to it again this year. I think the holiday and lack of racing told and I was slightly slower this year but with quicker bike and run so I reckon if I get myself organised I can continue to improve inch by inch. This certainly taught the value of racing regularly and about being "race fit" and race ready - didn't quite feel like my head was around it this time whereas last year I really focused on this race. So as ever its a real learning curve.

So its back to work for me now which oddly may mean a clearer focus on training......I'm hoping to get to the Great North Swim but this may depend on the latest family addition - a Labrador puppy named Beth - its a bit if a trek to Winderemere, it may have to be next year! But I'm really looking forward to the Dorney relay and the chance for a team green outing - lets hope the weather is similar to last year - that has probably jinxed it!

Hopefully no frogs in the tent at Dorney :)

A Big Weekend

There was a full complement of racing on this weekend so I thought I'd post some race reports rather than concoct something totally new and original (I'm lazy like that).
Before I start all that however there's just enough time for me to remind you about the GOLDCOAST BEACH AQUATHLON next weekend. Click on the link to find out more. A race with a Festival thrown in as part of the shwag bag, what more could you ask?
Back to the race reports then and the big one of course was IMUK 70.3 where in his first full year of triathlon Damian Railston was taking on the distance in memory of his son Nathaniel (Please click here to find out more about his story). Racing alongside Damian were Alan Ward, Tony Read and many other friends of the club. Also out there making a HUGE amount of noise were the NDTC support crew, so apologies to any athletes returning from the race with damaged ear drums :-).

DAMIAN'S WIMBLEBALL REPORT
First of all... Thank you to everyone who supported and sponsored me! You got me through the run... without that motivation lap one might have been the only one I did!!

So the day... Misty on the lake so the start was delayed about an hour and a half?? I wandered out to the lake when called, following Toasty to the left hand side of the field. He was in the water and away like a fish and I got battered!! The swim was the proper distance and I was out the water in about 31 mins on my watch. The run to transition was a 'mare! Out on bike feeling good. Stuck to my feed strategy all the way round and it worked. Got overtaken by gizillions of people - stuck to my strategy and beat my beat time by 10 mins. Think I took the wrong bike - but hey ho - no flats or mechanicals. All good. Happily wound my way back to transition and changed for the run.
So with injury and wot not I've not done enough training for the run... and it showed. The first lap hurt badly... The second was better... and I felt ok on the third. A nightmare split but I did it.

I was running down 7 hours and it flicked by on my watch. I was a bit gutted but kept pushing for the end. Turned the corner to the finish line and saw I was going to be under my target of 7 hours. I remembered that I started my watch a few mins before the start and locked the keys... lapping it when the gun went off.
Doh 6:58:24 I'm a (sort of) Ironman!! Again... thanks to all who shouted for me today... It made such a difference.
Green Army!!

COACH TOASTY'S (ALAN WARD) REPORT
Well as Damo said a very delayed start which led to a second breakfast of a slowly munched Powerbar and some Gatorade provided by organisers.
Got in swim and started far left front row, staightest line is quickest and figured I would only get kicked on one side. I swam straight for the first buoy and everybody else went off to right to have a fight, lovely jubbly. Got to first buoy feeling a little groggy in tummy and then around and into sun. Some feet came past as we reached halfway to final turn so jumped on and stayed there til last 100m, palms against feet most of way, bit more comfortable and eased stomach. Probably should have gone round but figured there was plenty of time to make up a minute or two.
Run up to T1 buggar! Steady T1.

Very relaxed on first lap able to talk comfortably going over the big climbs, maybe too relaxed. Support from Team towards end of lap was excellent much appreciated! Passed here feeling good. Finished lap 1 in 1.35 so time to up pace a little for second lap, decided to race a little here and pick some riders to stick with. No talking up big climbs this time. But still felt good coming past support crew to finish Bike. 3.05 Bike measured it at 57.75 miles.
Took my time to dry my feet off in T2.

Out onto run and feeling very good for first 20mins then on long out and back at North end of Lake started to feel rotten and took me 15mins to sort it out, walked for a footstep on steep hill at start of Lap 2 felt horrible, no more of that! Hard to pace not knowing course exactly, is difficult to work out the whole thing before the day! Jan and Dick were awesome down by Dam made me smile every lap.
Lap 1 in 33min even with rubbish bit shows how good I DID feel. Lap 2 went quite well in 39min, ankle starting to feel sorer and sorer. Start of Lap 3 felt ok still, gravel section was felt like even deeper sand on this lap but go through it with some very short strides. Out and back at North end of Lake got me again though, longest section without aid station and the heat started to get to me and before I know it I am walking up last hill like a drunkard, eyeballs rolling in my head stuff. Mince / Jog up to line though for 5.44:52 Lap 3 46min ish 2.02 for run happy with that considering problems I have had this winter.
Put simply I need to be a stronger runner. But overall very happy to finish and pretty much pull off the plan, especially on the Bike.
Well done to Damo a well executed race I think! Tony Read as well who was very nervous beforehand especially with delay. Ross McDonald had a cracker as well finishing 10th overall, in first Pro and Half Ironman Race, I think it was with 4.45ish. Only beaten by one Age Grouper..... Kit Stokes.
Supporters Legendary couldn't have done as well without you,
ThankYou.

Away from Wimbleball there were Triathlons at St Ives and Burnham-on-Sea this weekend. A Burnham report will appear on my blog soon so I won't use up club space with it. Sue White's report from the St Ives Sprint Triathlon is below.

St Ives Sprint Tri.
Carbis bay looked like the carribean at 7 am, sun shining, warm, golden sand and turquoise sea, and barely a ripple on the water.
It was very chilled out race, only 45 in sprint and 45 in standard. I was on my own which was a bit strange, but soon saw a familiar face in Helen Dyke, who introduced me to her new fella, Tim McDowell, they went on to win 1st male and 1st female in the standard distance race. Helen looked really happy with him, and he is a good-looking fit young man who is into sport as much as her, good luck to them!
Anyway 8am we set off, an hour after the standard race started. The water felt very cold but soon felt warm with the effort and was pulling strongly and siting well, came out fairly high up, with two other gels. had a bit of trouble undoing my neck as hands a little numb, but reasonalble t1.
Then straight out and up the very steep hill.. thank god for granny rings, didn't find it too bad. 22.5 km bike with hills and poor surface meant a slow bike split and as i didn't have jan there to race against (or Fi!) I pootled along, much too comfortably. But my legs were still sore after thurs TT and friday 6km run at woolie. stayed relaxed as came into t2,
Walked up the footpath steps at start of run and then gradually wound it up. picked off 3-4 runners on way round and then back to the beach where we had to run the length of it 1 and half times on soft sand. Pleased to see Steve who had foregone climbing to come and support me and he ran alongside me ( very comfortably) as i picked off two more women in the last 200 metres.
So slow time, but so was everyones, sw 16.29, bike 1.06, run 29.51, plus trans =1.54.59.
4th woman, 1st vet woman but very small race!!

Congrats to everyone.

Click here to see NDTC's vast gallery of race day photo's. Who know's you might be one one or two of them.

A contrasting two weeks........

I guess if you take part in Triathlon in the UK you have to learn to deal with a variety of weather conditions and this was clearly exemplified by the last two weeks of racing. Tiverton, sunshine cracking the pavements.........Wellington downpours and blowing a gale, so undoubtedly this just adds to the challenge! So start at the beginning.....Tiverton was for many the first race of the season ( not discounting the toughest event, the In-club version) and this saw a cracking turn of 30+ NDTri members and lots of family and friends to support. The event had a sizable novice entry so over the six hours of racing many a NDTri suit (and others) could be seen swimming, cycling or running. We also got to to admire the newest female junior NDtri member, Roxy :), sensibly she seemed to sleep through most of. Results showed congratulations needed to go to Helen, Rose and Fi for dominating the FV40 category , Maria 2nd in FS , Simon E for 1st in MV50 and Dick 4th , Peggy 1st in FV60 and of course to all the chaps who came 7/8/9/10 in the MS led by Toasty.

As for me, a mixed day, chip came off in the pool so a la childhood swimming lessons had to duck dive to retrieve and put back on again in transition, bike enjoyable, run less so but happy to get through no.1 in one piece in not too bad a time and have fun whilst doing it.

And so onto Taunton. I tried to have a sensible training/taper week as per Toasty's top tips not having tried the challenge of two races a week apart before and felt ok. Start time for me was 11.10 so quite a leisurely start to the day and enough to get the porridge down. Arrived in decent time, with darkening sky's and got kit ready and talked to Liz convincing her it was a great idea to do Tri. Ventured into pool and the chip stayed on hooray........swim fine, a bit of a mare getting swim hat off, and outside..............into a huge downpour. Bike and kit was very soggy but got going and sadly quite enjoyed it....looking forward to doing the cycle in dry! I guess I enjoyed it more as it was more similar to cycling at home and had quite a good tussle with another lady from my wave, I dropped her just before the turn round........I even over-took other people, shock horror! Back ok and safely, couldn't see for rain, clinging on in the wind but got feet out of shoes ok as per plan but did miss racking first time so that took a few seconds longer than I'd hoped. Key problem with the run..............numb feet, took the first lap before I could feel them again and was glad to have that bit over. I didn't find t too cold in the rain but I could see why people chose to put rain kit on for bike & run, however photos would seem to confirm some people may have had dry weather.......how unfair.

Onto results then......Helen won FV40, Suz W FV50, Jan third FV50, Coach Toasty 4th MS and & 7th overall, Tim 7th MS and 12th overall, Milzey 13th MS and 22nd overall and lots of other good placings. Results over the last wto weeks would seem to suggest NDtri ladies section rocks!!!

Special mentions should go to various people, Liz for completing her first ever tri and sticking with it on a day that it would have been easy to pull out, Sally for NOT getting a puncture, Claire competing her 2nd Tri, Gary S going really well again in his 2nd tri and Maria and Andy for not competing but cycling from South Molton to Wellington in hideous weather to support. I hope you enjoyed that hot chocolate, much deserved before the trek back!

As ever thanks to the supporters who braved the weather and the usual top photography from the Milzey's, evidence on Flickr I would imagine. Both were really enjoyable races, very different experiences but I'll have both on my list to do again next year. Time to get the wetsuit on now for some sea swimming, bude up next for me on June 20th, I'm looking forward to that but slightly less rain and wind would be helpful!

Let the Games Begin!

Today I once again found myself not short of a few words on the forum... oops!

Hopefully some useful stuff in there!

A sort of end has come to the winter swim sessions as priorities change. These sessions have built on last year with additional lanes new members and new coaches. Running sessions with Tim have really helped to build on the swim sessions and expand the club in a new direction, this week with an additional Transition Tips Twist! (Try saying that 5 times fast)

So I think it is safe to say winter is definetly dead Race Season is here! Yes at last swords can be drawn and blood can be spilt in the name of Victory! Ok so maybe not the swords but knife like racing machines and not so much of the blood but litres of Sweat!

But when it comes to the Victory part...

NorthDevonTri has grown beyond recognition in the past 18months or so and although for many the personal satisfaction and enjoyment of getting of that sofa is a VERY enjoyable experience. They and the competitive folk have the chance to take home the trophies this year. A few members out there are concerned and worried as they dip there toes into their first or even second season. I'm not concerned for any members (with the possible exception of Iain and Dick), training has been done and a team spirit has emerged as well with socials and group training popping up everywhere. Many of these last minute nerves are unneccessary. I think there will be some impressive performances from all members this year, nerves are part of this grasp the adrenaline and run with it. This is what we have trained, planned and spent to enjoy. Time to go have some fun!

Sunday 19th April dawned bright and sunny (and following a brief diversion in Ilfracombe town centre!) the chosen gathered at the swimming pool for a test of fitness, strength and in some cases ego but for all a sense of fun. The Ndevon Tri In-club tri boasts a really tough cycle followed by a hellish run.........I'm not speaking from expereince but from the comments of those who have taken part previously and those about to do so. As ever there was a really good mixture of the expereinced and the not quite so but all looked forward to getting out there, and probably, looked forward more to the food and social afterwards. As for me, following my dodgy hip I've been trying to keep things sensible and given the difficulty of the course decided that given I have an aquathlon coming up plus two tri's in May then discretion was the better part of valour and offered to take part in a tri-rely with me doing the swim, Stu on the bike and top runner Helen finishing off our crack team.

The swim was organised into two waves and numbers meant that people could have some resonable space in the lanes, me and Havoc ploughed our furrows and I was much relieved to see the board indicating two to go. I felt able to push the swim along given I didn't have to worry about cycling and running so handed over to Stu in what I hoped as a decent time. Off he trotted to get on his bike........I trotted in for a nice shower and prepared to do the bike timings.

I haven't watched close up many triathlons as normally taking part but I certainly learnt alot from watching those trying to get on their bikes...........the key seems to be able to clip into your peddles easily and probably more importantly be in the right gear..........there were a few wobbles as people didn't quite manage one or both but as ever plenty of support from family and friends.

Some rather anguished looks on the way back in confirmed the bike had been tough and then off they went for the run........Helen was worrying about when Stu would get back and kept disappearing to the loo and trying to get her sat nav to work.........technology great... when it works!

Anyhow all went out and all came back safely. Rod was first back from the run but it was discovered Tim's cunning signage hadn't quite worked as he'd come back the wrong way but fair dues to the guy off he went again and finished it all off........top effort. Runners kept coming back in and I was impessed by Dave L ploughing up the hill with Pam shouting "sprint".......that's what we like total committment from all the team :)

Helen came bouncing back in - she reckoned she'd got lost a bit and Coach T hadn't told her the right way..........intentionally I wonder?? Watching Helen and Rosie run is amazing I just don't know how they do it but they don't half shift in the bouncy front foot styleeeee.

Top honours this year went to Tim so congratulations to him and all round to those who took part, it was real achivement to get through it....... it clearly wasn't easy.

Sarah, as ever, has provided some top photography on the flickr site so have a look there at some anguished and some smiley faces.

As for me..........happy with the swim, it did feel a bit weird not to rush out and get on a bike........will I do it next year?.........I'm tempted but not going to put it in writing here........Iain will hold me to it. Never say never...................

The sun continued to shine and everybody went off for a post event social..........I had to get back home for other things but feeling guilty did squeeze in a run in the afternoon.

I enjoyed helping out with the timings and things....we had a real laugh and thanks to all the families and friends for their support throughout......... a great day out. I'm really looking forward now to my next events......... :)

March Update.

The NDTC Goldcoast Beach Aquathlon is coming. 20th June 2009. Just £15 for the 1000m/7.5k swim/run event, the price includes entry into the GoldCoast Festival. Value for money beyond compare.

Although the Tri season hasn't kicked off just yet March saw the clubs first multisport victory as Helen took 1st place at the Exmouth Aquathlon. With Rosemary and Fiona finishing 3rd and 5th in the same race it's looking like a very promising 2009 for the girls. After a few quiet years the ladies side of the club booming at present the clubs male top performers are no longer going to have to work very hard to keep the headlines and top billing when the race reports are coming out this year.


Chris is always good for a challenge though and his fine 2nd place overall at the Devon Duathlon showed that the oldies (he won 1st Vet too) aren't willing to give up and let the girls get all of the headlines.

April gives club members the first chance for Triathlon glory and ego massage with the annual NDTC In-Club Tri. The very casual and unofficial event which gives members that all important chance to practise their transitions, try out that new bike position and of course compare yourself against their clubmates. That alongside more swim/run events will hopefully have more 'Team Green' members collecting silverware.

Training

Coach Toasty's sunday swim sessions are still going from strength to strength at Barnstaple Baths 9:00-10:00am (£3 members, £4 non members), followed by Tim's track sessions at Braunton Track from 10:30am.

People attending Track Sessions from now MUST buy a 12 month track permit . Unfortunately this is something that is out of our control and is a rule set by the North Devon Track Committee. If you're looking for some speed though they're well worth the money.

The NDTC Goldcoast Beach Aquathlon is coming. 20th June 2009. Just £15 for the 1000m/7.5k swim/run event, the price includes entry into the GoldCoast Festival. Value for money beyond compare.

So there I was after my last post all giddy and excited having gone quite well and contemplating entering another aquathlon.... when injury struck..........really sore hip after running training,the only realistic action was to rest and stay away from running for a while. However, the good thing about multi-sport is that often you can do other things even if one activity is on hold, so handily for me my focus has changed to trying some more cycling and this coincided with some rather nice cycling spring weather. Funny how some sunshine suddenly makes things seems a whole lot better. Because NDTri is such a mixed bag of the expert Ironman types down to utter beginners you can always find someone of a level to train with so over the last couple of weeks a small group of the "no so confident" bike set have done a couple of rides together on the Tarka Trail which is traffic free, but does involve some ability to dodge round walkers, dog and other cyclists! We started off small with just under 12 miles and then this week went for around 28miles, but at a steady pace and including a nice stop for tea and a scone. So on to something a little more challenging I think next. This has been really useful in building up bike confidence and skills.

My hip has stood up well to some surfing, swimming and cycling after after 10days rest I tried a short 5k run, felt ok, plenty of before and after stretching so I'm hopeful I can be back on it again, planning a 10k run today........... :)

On the club front things are picking up a pace with peole getting covered in mud at the Grizzly and Soggybottom, running distances at the Rome and Bath Half marathons, cycling "Round the houses" and more aquathlon with a good showing at Exmouth - Helen carrying on where she left off last year by winning :)

So we launch now into the busy season and I'm hoping to improve the quality and quantity of training, hip permitting, the lighter mornings and evenings are really taking hold now so lovely to get out and about bring it on....................................... :)

Butlins Fall Out

After many weeks of quality training it's all gone to pieces after a 4 day trip to Butlins.

Just been for a four mile run and my legs are dead. Four days of Billy Bear, The Skyline Gang and Pingu have left me as inactive as 99 percent of the other visitors to Butlins, Minehead. And we were contemplating buying a sited caravan. Could be useful for running traing camps over Exmoor possibly though.

Anyway i'm sure i'll be back to IM training bodyshape within a few days.

Hello again...... I think I've recovered now! Actually been a bit busy, annoying how work interferes with one's training and triathlon commitments. Anyhow on to the race experience. Arrived in good time, got registered, T shirt quite good and friendly atmosphere. Had a quick chat with fellow NDTri bods and the launched into the swim. This went quite well, four in a lane and as I was lapping then they mostly let me past. Very happy with the swim as first out of the pool in a spectacuarly unelegant fashion (its not my fault my legs are short!) and off to shove on my trainers. A litle bit of a faff on this as decided to wear socks but got going ok and happy to be first out of my wave. I actually managed to mulitask and run and smile and look up all at the same time - there is photographic evidence - and set off. The weather was good so comfortable in just my trisuit on the run. Iain had said don't go out to fast as its pretty hilly so I used my watch to try and keep a steady heart rate and feel comfortable. I was pleased as as I got into it I felt quite strong - so the base training over the winter seemed to have helped and took it steady away. I knew I wasn't going to be that fast on the run but was happy to be going at a steady rate, feeling good and actually confident in my fitness for running. Got round in 1hr 11 so given my hubby said if I didn't get back in less than 1hr 17 he wasn't going to let me into the house then I knew I'd be ok when I got home :)

A good race I thought..well organised and with good signage and marshalls who encouraged throughout. I got back in time to see Iain leaving the pool, for some reason he decided to kick the wall when he set off running.......each to their own, but it looked painful and I think proved to be so. Also top marks to Shell for a sucessful "goggle-catch" it looked well practiced to me. I went off for a nice shower (another good thing about this - good facilities) and was out in time to see Havoc and Damo and Iain all back in. That left Helen to go in the shorter race. So set off for home thinking we'd all enjoyed the event, good to see some success with Iain and Helen taking 2nd place honours.

Overall a nice way to start my racing season, I even found myself enjoying it.............! So starting to think I might enter another now........

Onwards and upwards.......a good boost for the confidence to get through ok and enjoy the event so I'm looking forward to more now, it gives a real impetus to your training. Looking for some lighter evenings now so can get out about after work!

And finally a mention for Basher and Fat Santa who were racing elsewhere but did great, well done chaps!

Laters..........

And so it begins...........

This time last year I'd been doing some swimming, running and cycling just for my own interest and having a vague idea about tieing it all together. One year on and I've joined a great club, got through a few triathlons, and am looking forward to a full season of differnet events. Its now the run up to my first event of the year, the Taunton Deane Aquathon at Wellington. I think I may have been feeling a bit odd as I entered the longer version, which is 1000m swim followed by a 10kish run. I'm looking forward to the swim.......and to getting through the run.

Over the winter I've been trying to improve my running by attending a club/group session on a Sunday morning after swimming. I think this has helped ( thanks to Coach Tim and the encouragement of others) as having distinct goals, running with others and a structured programme has given me a clearer focus on what I need to do and how to do it. My times have improved a bit so I guess Sunday is a good place to see if I can pull it togther on race day!

Update when I've recovered then.............. :)

The Road to 70.3 Ironman UK – Wimbleball

Why does anyone want to get involved in Triathlon?

Probably like most people I was unfit. Thinking back to the glory days of my youth I remember looking at individuals who had ‘let themselves go’ with their large guts and thinking ‘I will never be like them.’ Sadly, there I was around April 2008, not too fat but definitely unfit. I bought a cheap racing bike and entered the novice event in the Exe Valley Triathlon.

Triathlon sounded more complicated than I though so I joined a Triathlon Club, North Devon Tri. Living in Tiverton is a bit restrictive in respect of training with other members, however, everyone is so friendly and supportive. Answering daft questions and helping with kit set up – everything really.

With 3 weeks of training before Exe Valley (which was ok as it was only short!!), I left my soul on the road and managed to come 2^nd - Which was probably due to the entrants rather than my ability. This was confirmed when I entered Bude, Bodmin and Hayle sprints and came consistently in the bottom 2/3. These people are fit! Next season I thought with some off season of training behind me I will better myself. I had thoughts of trying an Olympic distance event – a pipe dream?

Then came the news that my wife was pregnant. Wonderful news, which laughed in the face of my triathlon plan as baby was due right at the start of the season. Never mind, I’ve wanted a baby for so long – nothing mattered. Sadly, on the 18^th December, for reasons yet to be discovered, at 6 months my wife went into labour and Nathaniel was still born. Obviously, we are devastated.

What do you do after that? As a youth I got through some very angry times Kickboxing. Something, at 37, I’m a little too old for. I needed a challenge something to get out of bed for - to make something good out of something so terrible. I decided to do a triathlon and get sponsored. It would have to be a challenge. A big one. I decided after a few days thought to do Wimbleball and get sponsored for two charities. Firstly, for SANDS; a charity which provides support for parents whose babies die after birth or are still born. Secondly, for the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital, in particular the Heartsease room, in which my wife delivered Nathaniel and we were able to spend a night and a day with him, our beautiful boy. Only the families are donating to this charitable trust.

So, it’s the end of January and I find myself training harder than I ever have to hopefully finish this event.

To follow my progress visit my blog... http://damiantraining.blogspot.com/

To sponsor me go to http://www.justgiving.com/damianrailston

We have been overwhelmed by the number of people who have sponsored me so far. I have raised over £1100 for SANDS and people are still sponsoring me. The personal messages of support from friends, family and strangers has been so motivating. Hopefully I’ll make you all proud.

For Nathaniel, 18.12.08, 1lb 80z our beautiful boy.

Happy New Year

Well it's finally here. 2009.



After all the Christmas festivities, presents, alcohol, cakes and general bad living it was time for the clubs traditional run/dip/eat session at Woolacombe Beach.

Firstly there's the meet up and hangover comparison session at 10am near the main carpark. Then there's a short, steady, friendly 4mile run out to Putsborough along Marine Drive and then back along the beach before anybody brave/stupid/foolhardy enough practices transitions by getting rid of their running gear and dashing into the sea for a bit of a dip.

Once in the water there's a bit of a splash around to make sure everybody gets a thorough soaking and it's back to the clothes where once again transitions are practiced, although this time it's trying to dry and dress yourselves with rapidly freezing fingers, toes and limbs.

After the cold, cold and cold it's time for a full on fry up at the Red Barn where the staff have to kick into top gear as a mass of starving hungry and freezing cold Triathletes come stumbling through the doors.



Click on one of the picture above to find more snaps from the mornings fun.

What a great way to start a New Year.

Here's to a great and successful 2009. Happy New Year everyone.

Toastys First Rant....

Well my first blog post....

Firstly an Introduction, hmm what shall I record here... You can expect news on coached training sessions organised by myself for the club. How the club members are or are not performing and a general reflection on all things club, be it more serious or in jest.

But firstly a report on the clubs travels. Many years ago in a distant galaxy known as Iains youth. A Tri Club first appeared in North Devon. Since then it has grown and developed with a core membership who have many a tale to tell. In the last few years the club has grown from these solid foundations. Membership has boomed as has the clubs 'Green Army' Spirit.

This was most evident last weekend at the clubs annual dinner and presentations evening. A great night was had by the rather large crowd. Where several new members from this year even took over were older members have previously dominated (Thanks Basher!!) :)

2008 has been a fantastic year that all members have enjoyed, the club has definetly grown socially. Many members have been hitting PB's and many completing their first races. At the head of the field many a race has had its top ten dominated by Green with numerous wins.

I for one was very proud to see all of this and in a similar vain to Chris Hoy on receiving his Sports Personality of the Year Award and reflecting on a superb sporting 2008... I would like to say...

"Heres to an even better 2009, roll on the Green Army"

Well hello there! A new voice on the blog here following Iain's invitation to blather on about stuff occasionally related to triathlon and ND Tri in particular. I expect a few are still recovering from Saturday's Christmas do - you know who you are :) Many thanks to Sara for her stirling efforts in organising everybody and getting them to pay - it was a splendid event. Photos to follow here I expect from an expert. I'll try to add some comments from the novice tri bod point of view as we go along but if you are reading from interest and thinking about joining all I'll say thus far is do it. I've had a fab time since joining in Spring this year - lots of help and support and alot of laughs.

I'll also add bits about my training, it'll make you feel alot better knowing how bad I am at this stuff -starting as we mean to go on, nothing today -my excuse being my work Christmas do where I had exactly the same to eat as Saturday night - some sense of deja vu there -no red wine though - had to drive home.

So chin chin for now........laters

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit's Christmaaas

Saturday was the day that all the talk has been about lately, the North Devon Tri Christmas Party and Presentation.

To warm up for it there was a small Duathlon training session on Braunton Burrows which was attended by a hardcore of seven club members (Phill, Jan, Sally, Dave, Iain, Dick & Steve). This consisted of a 5mile trail & beach run, a 10.5mile bike ride and another 3mile trail run to finish with. Recent downpours had turned some of the trails into lakes and navigating your way around without getting soaked was a real challenge. Thankfully though the rain stopped and for the session itself the weather was gorgeous, if a bit on the chilly side.

The big night itself was soon upon us and 56 triathletes & significant others piled into Cedars to fill our faces, dance and find out whos strict training regime affected their drinking ability the most. Of course there was also the all important presentation along with a fine raffle with many prizes sourced by James, Alan and Michelle.

So to the winners :-

Most improved Swimmer - Steve Ditchburn
What can we say about Steve. This time last year he did a damn good impression of a brick when he swam. Now the brick goes across the water rather than heading straight to the bottom.

Most improved Cyclist - Sally Pope (who hid from the camera)
For constantly improving her performances and showing the rest of the club that there's no excuse for not getting out on your bike.
Most improved Runner - Phill Miles
Mostly awarded because Mark made him look good by failing miserably to run him down at Dorney Lake Relays this year. Ok ok, so he's worked (quite) hard at improving this year too.

Male Triathlete of the year - James Marshall
Surely there hasn't been a more blatent results fiddle since Blue Peter named their cat 'Socks'

Female Triathlete of the year - Helen Banbury
In her first full season of Tri she's taken the South West by storm and things can only get better in 2009 Performance of the year - Paul Bitmead
For a storming performance at his first open water event (Bude Tri) when he was out there so long that the timekeepers had gone home. How they failed to notice him when he got by far the biggest cheer of the day is still a mystery. The Infamous Chicken Helmet - Paul Bitmead
Where do we start.............. Well I'll keep it clean and just mention his walking the dogs over Braunton Burrows at 7pm one evening and not finding his car again until 11:30pm. I'll leave the tale about him trapping his testes in his trisuit for your imagination. His performance later at the party has already made him a front runner for next years award.

There were further suprise presentations for various random reasons (ego massage) to Alan Ward, Peggy Crome, Iain Hindes and Michelle Williams.

After the presentation Club Chairman James announced to the club that the lovely Stephanie who puts up with him and all his rubbish was expecting their first child.

There's obviously been something in the Devon water during 2008 because joining in the clubs baby boom are Nicky and Gary (left) along with Jo and Damian (right).

Congratulations to James, Nicky and Damian. We all look forward to the new arrivals in 2009.

After the awards everybody partied away as if there was no tomorrow. There was certainly no training tomorrow for most of them.

The Krazy Kristmas Kaper.

The North Devon Tri Kristmas Kaper has a reputation for being a truly FUN event. Sure you get prizes if you win, but who came where is never the real talking point of the race it's more about who wore what. This year was to be the Kraziest yet.

Look through the photo's from previous events and most of the Fancy Dress costumes will be familiar faces, people from the club or people who've done the race many times before. This year however there were far more costumes and tinsel decked folks than ever before, far outnumbering those who 'raced' properly. There was also just as many women racing as men partly due to the group of ladies from Salisbury Tri who almost fit in perfectly with their green kit. I'm not sure how much of a swim aid their fishnet tights were though.
Thankfully the race's casual midday start time gave 'some' of the overnight frost a chance to thaw. Conditions were still treacherous underfoot though with several very icy patches out on the course. Thankfully though other than the 'brass monkey' temperatures it was a beautiful day out there and everybody made it round in one piece and hopefully enjoyed themselves.
In the mens race local boy Ross MacDonald took time out in Transition to don his Santa beard, jacket and hat but was still unstoppable, posting the 3rd fastest swim and 2nd fastest run on the day to finish the 600m/5k event in 24:12. Rich Brady improved on last years 3rd place finish to finish 2nd in 24:56. Barrie Huxtable finished a fine 3rd place overall in 26:40 and will surely remind Iain of the fact at every swim session they do together from this day on.
The womens race was an extremely close faught battle with Ellie Parker, Eva Murphy and Helen Banbury all finishing within 20seconds of each other. Ellie took 1st place in 28:35, Eva was 2nd in 28:51 and Helen was just 3secs further back in 28:54. There times were all good enough to place them in the top 10 finishers overall and with Ellie and Eva actually racing the Female Youth category (14-16yrs) they are names to look forward to in the future.
Results for the days racing are here and pictures are available here . There will also be a video appearing at some stage, but that depends on how much domestic bliss out Glorious Leader has to dish out first to compensate for todays racing.
Many thanks to Southfork, Saltrock and Andy Buller for race day prizes.
Congratulations to all competitors and thanks for making it a great event. Thanks to all the folks who turned out to help out and marshall in the f-f-f-freezing conditions.
Congratulations to all the race and age group winners and to Carolyne Edwards and Stuart White for their prize winning costume efforts.
Our official race referee did manage to DQ a couple of folks, mostly for running around in sub zero temperatures without a top on, but you'll still find them in the results as it was all done with the spirit of the event.
Finally a huge thank you to Michelle for organising the event - and spending hours cooking those damned mince pies yesterday. Normality is now resumed (almost).

Christmas is coming. Triathletes are getting fat.

Well it’s been a few weeks since the blog has been updated because the author has been over in America trying and failing once again to put a decent Ironman together. Yet again he promised so much and delivered so little, you’d think he’d have got the hint by now (idiot!). There’s far too much been written about that experience already so I’ll save you from the torment. If you really need to see you don’t have to look to far.

After many of the clubs members had stayed up far to late watching Iains diabolical performance across the pond they settled into their beds for a few hours sleep before being woken by their alarm clocks and setting off in the wind and rain to compete in the Exmoor Beast. 12 hardcore members/lunatics/idiots had decided to cycle the Cycle Sportive event that covers either 100 kilometres or 100 miles of Exmoor’s best terrain. It’s not the sort of ride you’d do for fun in the middle of Summer so why a dozen of NDTC biggest nutcases and many other folks seem to think it’s a good idea on a cold, wet and windy Sunday morning in November is beyond most sane people who’d rather stay at home in the warm. Still a good time seemed to be had by all including Joe, Marc and Nathan who were all mad enough to do the 100mile event.

The biggest upcoming event on the Triathlon calander if the Krazy Kristmas Kaper a 600m/5k Aquathlon where the main prizes are not so much who comes in the top places, but who can turn up in the daftest costume. With the club chairman setting the standard over the last few years with his Christmas Present design last year and his sparkly thong in 2006 (yes, it was damn cold that day) the standards are high and we're looking for someone to stop him making it 3 years in a row. Who's up to the challenge?


With short days and miserable weather on the way (not that it has left us this year) the long crazy races are pretty much finished for the season and it’s time for folks to let their hair down a little with the impending Christmas Party on the way. The talk has deferred from Triathlon onto the subject of who’s going to make the biggest fool of themselves. It’s amazing how quickly the most serious Triathlete can turn into a jibbering wreck after a few beers ………… any comments coach?