The Newbury Tri is a short sprint event, and ideal for first timers. It doesn't have the rigour of other BTF events that most of us are used to participating in, but that doesn't detract from what is a very accommodating and welcoming event for all abilities. It was the first Tri I competed in 3 years ago, and I feel a certain warmth towards it. The swim is held in an outdoor (thankfully heated) 75 yard long pool, of which you are required to only do 4 lengths. The ride is an undulating 22k, with the final 7k being rode on freshly tarmac'd and therefore very fast roads. It was the first Tri I've used my super-light tri bars on, and boy, what a difference they made. Why I haven't bought a pair earlier, goodness only knows (no comments about skinflint please). The run is just shy of 5k and once you are past the A34, is very picturesque running alongside the Kennet and Avon Canal.

I managed an overall time of 1hr 13mins which is faster than my two previous attempts so something seems to be working with the training. Jane finished a credible 13th in her age group and is now set up nicely for an attempt at the Standard distance this weekend.

Bala here we come!

Good luck to everyone in Budapest next week. 

This weekend Kevin Harding, Nick Austin and I, made the trip up to Rutland water for the 2010 Vitruvian.

The distances were just under half IM distance:

• 1.9km Swim
• 85km Cycle
• 22.5km Run

The photo here was taken after the race and gives a clue as to who finished first.

It was an early start at 4am to get ready and head over to the start of the race. I prepared with my usual chunk of "magic cake" and Kevin scoffed down a few boxes of cereral.

The race started on time with multiple waves over the lake course. It was foggy which made the navigation interesting. Kevin and Nick both had good swims and I felt pretty good, starting at the front of my wave and more of less finishing in the front group.

The roads on this course were really excellent. I took a gamble racing with my disk wheel on a course that is usually very windy - however right choice was made, and over the distance felt comfortable and passed a large number of cyclists in earlier waves. Kev and Nick both felt same way. Certainly its a fast course with only a couple of hills to slow you down.

I hit the run in second place for my age group which was great. I passed Kevin and Nick almost finishing their first lap.

I guess we all do triathlons where you dont feel great. Going out was hampered with major cramps in the shins which required me to stop a few times, and I also suffered with a dodgy stomach that meant I had to walk at a number of times on the run. It made the run a real test just to keep going - the second lap being particularly hard. Still I did not want to DNF so kept going.

Kev in particularly seems to have got his running together and actually looked like he was trying for once in a race. Kev and Nick opted for the romantic "lets finish together" - so while there is a timing difference, I believe they tied.

With both of them beating me today, I think putting up with them both enjoying every minute of the post race discussion and how I should now consider retiring from racing, was actually worse than the run I endured. Still credit to them both for a great race.

On the less good news front the committee works hard to try and keep the club running smoothly. You turn up, the pools are booked, we have a regular Saturday ride and I try to get a weekly news out every week.  Almost invariably this gets ZERO response.  In addition to mentioning it in the weekly news, I also sent out at least two emails about the Tim Wilks memorial day (one of which was direct I think) and so far have got replies from about 42 people out of 125. And 4 of the 38 confirmed attendees are not even STC members.  Let's be charitable and assume 30 people never saw the email (due to spam filter, email changed etc).  That still leaves under 50% of you who have quite probably seen the email and just not bothered to reply. Interestingly the number of people who have replied is almost the same as the number on the current merit table (have not cross checked the names).  Which makes it one third Southampton Triathlon Club, and two thirds a swimming club with swimmers who even if offered a chance to do a short simple event with hours of rest between each one (in memory of a great guy) don't reply to numerous emails and quite possibly have never done a triathlon and don't plan to. Which is odd for someone in a triathlon club.

Sorry for the negative tone, but as you can see I am feeling pretty frustrated about the apathy that seems to prevail. Constructive comments about how we can improve YOUR club are very welcome. Feel free to comment or to email me direct.  Or come and help the committee if you want to improve things.

Julian

The people I have confirmed for the Tim Wilks day are listed here.  4 others replied but cannot make it



365 days ago I did my very first triathlon at Thames Turbo.

But I would not be the Germanator if I would not have said: I'll be back!

And so I was back in Hampton near Kingston-upon-Thames on August Bank holiday Monday at 5.45am.

Just in time for 6am registration and racking the bike. The forecast for the day was sunny and windy but nobody told me how cold it would be! 9 celsious!!!

It looked like that the race with 395 competitors was sold out.

In the brief at 6.45am we got told there is anothere race on our route, so please follow the yellow/ red signs - not yellow/black, that there are road works in Sunbury, a car boot sale in Chertsey and a wasps nest in Bushy Park.

But otherwise no other problems!

At 7am the first swimmers were on their way. 12 laps in the heated outdoor pool of Hampton. Yes, 12 - not 16. That is because their pool is longer than others. The warm water was most welcome but it was so warm that it actually slowed me down.

T1 was quite long for me due to my race number but it meant that T2 would be much shorter. I put an extra shirt on as the strong north wind started to pick up and made it even colder. Out of the gate and onto the road towards Hampton Court Palace. Shame that I had no time for sightseeing - after all I was in a race. Back down the road which I just came from and I was in the unlucky situation that the only traffic lights changed to red. I managed to slow down but I didn't have to unclip which gave me an advantage to the competitors who had to do so. I simply went pass them when the lights changed back to green!

Over Shepperton roundabout and down to Chertsey. Around the roundabout and back the same road.

Thames Turbo Sprints are in one speciffic case different than other sprints. They have a non competing zone!

Just before I got back to the traffic lights at the Water Works I got stopped by marshals who took my number and time. From there all competitors have 7 min to cycle leisurely back to Hampton Court Pool. It is a great time as it gives you the chance to refuel

Back at the pool my time started again. Quick run to rack my bike, change of shoes, chewing gum and sunglasses and off I went. Out of the gate and down the road into Bushy Park. The course is flat and mainly on the road. It goes cross country for about 500 yards but the chance to see deers and enjoy the cheer of the supporters makes up for it. After nearly 4km I picked up the pace. So far I had passed 4 people but nobody had passed me. I was determind that it would stay like that. But I had to work hard because I could hear a man heavily breathing close by. But I did not see the woman in the white shirt coming. So I had no othere choice to run even faster! I did pass anothere man and crossed the finish line before the othere two could catch up with me.

Verdict: If you have never done a triathlon, bored on a Bank holiday Monday or simply would like to use it as a training session, go for this one! Warm pool, flat course, 7min non competing zone, safe run course, great support and very well organised! Thames Turbo does four sprints every year (all on Bank holiday Mondays) and they are all booked out each time. And for £35 it is well worth it to travel the 60 miles up the M3.

To Thames Turbo: I'll be back!

Andrea

Weather here has been as bad as at home, so glad to see some sun this morning, slight delay to start as tide not high enough to swim round first buoy. Ran down beach a couple hundred meters & then into the surf, steady swim (as my first Olympic distance) out & back up slipway to T1 in 37mins, bike course was testing and very windy but with some stunning views along the coast, back in 1.37 and then found that not much left in the tank for the 2 lap run, plodded back in 1.06 for a total of 3.20. Looking forward to finding my land legs again!!

As this was the 25th Anniversary there was a special lunch & presentation and much to my surprise my name was read out for a prize, but to my disappointment is was for Women's supt Vet over 55 & said I was from Guernsey, gratefully owned up that it wasn't me after all, much laughter & promise of drinks for the rest of the afternoon, I should think so too!

If anyone wants to join me email me stc@jmhr.com

Julian

Good News and Bad News.  The good news is that we now have about 30 club members who have replied to my posting about the Tim Wilks Fun Day.  However I find it really depressing that around 100 club members have not replied. This is a chance for some club social activity and for those who do not race actively, an opportunity to try out all three events.  Let me know.... see here for details http://tinyurl.com/33yz2et

Calshot Swimming:  Sun 29^th August at 1300, Mon 30^th August at 1400 Located here http://tinyurl.com/calshot-swimming - General rules etc here http://tinyurl.com/3xroepb

Saturday bike ride – Poppy's cycle training session will be starting from Eling as usual at 1045. see here http://tinyurl.com/m84t4c for map. 

TRAINING

Friday 27th swim 2000 at Applemore coached by Kathy

Saturday 28th swim 0900 at the Quays coached by Kathy

Monday 30th swimming is CANCELLED due to Bank Holiday

Wednesday 1st swim 2030-2130 at Oaklands coached by Mike Ballard

name                  swim               bike           run           total       age group posn.

Daniel Laird        6.05                40.20         20.46       1.07 19        7th

Glen Hobbs         6.37                40.33         20.56       1.08.36        10th

Mark Porter         6.09                41.50         20.33       1.08.36        11th

Eamon Staunton 7.22                44.05         22.57        1.14.24        5th

Richard Alderson  6.57               45.00         22.32         1.14.29       16th

Tim Yeandle         7.53                45.05         21.57         1.14.55       2nd

Caroline Price       6.29                47.27        25.32         1.19.28      4th

Alex Price             6.45                47.40        25.12          1.19.37      20th

Brian Grierson      9.12                45.06        25.19          1.19.37       1st

Kate Mansfield     8.33                 48.04        23.25          1.20.02       7th

Subject: British Paratriathlon Championships, Sprint distance at Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham, 22 August 2010

After losing my European Champion title this year by only 38 seconds to an excellent performance by Iain Dawson at Athlone in July I was doubly keen to retain my British Champion title at a rematch at the National Water Sport Centre at Nottingham.  The venue seemed ideal to me as the cycle and run around the edge of the 2km boating lake is totally flat and allows good views of anyone you are pursuing.

Setting up was a little hasty as Alex, my guide, had been delayed on his journey but it is good to know that setting up is possible in a split T1 and T2 in less  than forty minutes.  The paratri wave was due to set off a few minutes after the female wave of the Nottingham triathlon and as we swam the hundred yards or  so to the start line the women's wave started unnoticed by myself.  What I did notice was weed.  Big clumps of it were floating in the water and it didn't  take long for a small clump to get caught in the tether strung between Alex's and my knee.  I cleared this weed as we waited for the off.

My tactic for the race was, unsurprisingly, to try and draft Iain and his guide in the swim hopefully removing the 1 minute gain he took on me at Athlone. Right from the start I swam hard and hoped that Alex was going to be able to get us into position. I have no idea if this tactic was successful.  Clumps of weed were everywhere and were so thick at times it felt like I was pulling myself over the weed rather than swimming.  Inevitably, more weed caught on the swim tether.  I did a few funny leg kicks to try and remove it and I thought I had been successful.  What actually happened was it simply slid down to Alex's end of the tether.  Having said that, I had decided that it was probably better to haul a bit of weed around rather than stop frequently to clear the line and Alex seems to have made the same decision. 

The swim seemed to take a long time.  A 750m swim should have  taken us around 13 minutes or so, but in the end it was nearly 18 minutes.  When we came to the exit ramp we pulled out a lump of weed the size of a large medicine ball.  We had been swimming with a parachute behind us nearly all the way around. Undeterred and unaware that this swim time was dramatically slower than for others, we carried on into T1 and we were soon off around the lake.

For the most part the bike stage was uneventful.  We steadily overtook some of the women athletes and on the side of the lake with a following wind managed to maintain 30mph.  My heart sank though when the cry came from behind of "On your right" and Iain and his guide overtook us at some speed.  It didn't seem possible that we'd done a faster swim than them, and this was confirmed shortly when they slid into T2 when we had another lap to go.  I was something like 7min30s behind them - an unbeatable lead.

I have to say at this point the fire slackened a little inside me.  I was far from giving up but perhaps I went at 99% effort, not 100%.  When we did get to T2 my troubles were compounded with the insoles of my "go faster" racing flats scrunching up when I put my damp foot in.  Once running though I felt pretty good.  The following wind made the outward journey feel easy and by the time we came to the turning point after 2.5km I had found my running legs.

We crossed the finishing line to great cheers from the many supporters at the grandstand.  I was disappointed though, particularly as my wife and two young children had come to support me and I hadn't given them anything to cheer about.  I had trained long and hard over the last year and this was one of the a list races on my calendar.  I had looked forward with excitement and nervousness at the prospect of a close race for first.  All thwarted by lake weed.  In the end I came in third in the male visually impaired (TRI6) category about 6 minutes off the lead and also behind Haseeb Ahmed who had an excellent race.

The brightest part of the weekend had come the day before spectating the National Relay Championships.  This was great to watch and must be the best way for anyone to start in triathlon.  It looked immense fun and carried out in a very friendly atmosphere.  Breaststrokers mingled with the best and it must be great to have a cup of tea between disciplines.  So don't just train, do a relay triathlon.  It will be a day you never forget.

Next is the Paratriathlon World Championships in Budapest on 11 September where I am looking forward to a male TRI6 category race with athletes from across the world.