From Snowmen to Daffodils, a winter summary and a spanish start to spring

The daffodils are out, spring is here. Hurrah, WELL DONE everyone, winter miles have been ticked off. Lets hope Sunday rides are less about surviving hours of head winds, freezing temperatures, chewing salt and grit and more about sunglasses, shorts, T-shirts and ice cream stops.

So a little winter summary. Winter, a time to get in the training for the summer triathlon races. It appears everyone has an opinion on what training is best, what you should do, when and how much of it. What is the correct answer? Is there a correct answer? I doubt it. That is the great thing about sport; you can have several athletes, preparing for the same event, going about their preparation in different ways, to suit their needs, because as we know everyone is different. I have just finished reading "The Perfect Distance:Ovett and Coe:The Record Breaking Rivalry" and this exemplified the stark differences between the two in their approaches to their quest for the same goal.It's well worth a read.

During the winter, I have been asked, “So what training are you doing? What’s the secret?” I thought I would share my winter training with you using a little analogy.

Lets compare training with fancy dress making. I do love a bit of fancy dress. Recently I attended a friends 30th Birthday party, the fancy dress theme “London Tube stops” I decided on High Barnet.

Step 1: Careful consideration and research

The London tube has 270 stops, plenty of choice. Just like planning your race calendar. Do you go for something like Marylebone, not so straight forward, needs some thought, is it possible to combine Bob Marley and a bone? In a way, a bit like a challenging race like Slateman Triathlon in North Wales with the notorious run up the Slateman quarry tracks, or do you go for something more straight forward? Like Wimbledon, tennis whites or Baker Street, apron and rolling pin. A bit like your local pool based sprint triathlon.

Step 2: Sourcing the materials/ Skill acquisition

Having decided on the tube stop, High Barnet. The next step is sourcing the materials, I was thinking a Beehive wig, did Leeds market have one? No. So improvisation was key, some fabric and wire purchased from the market and I decided to make my own using existing household objects. Similar to skills acquisition in triathlon training. What skills do you need for your chosen race? What have you already got in your armory? What are your strengths and what are the weaknesses? What skills need sourcing? For me, I come from a running background, having been cross-country running since I was 13 years old; I have a fair few miles in my legs. Swimming is the skill I am attempting to acquire, as it’s the discipline I only started in 2012. I visited Coach Lou in Birmingham where we filmed and analysed my swim technique and have been using specific drills to improve throughout the winter.

Step 3: Laying the foundations.

Old bike helmet, layered up with plastic kitchen bowls and Tupperware were the foundations for my High Barnet fancy dress.  I needed it to be sturdy, so it would cope with the dance floor. Just like requiring a sturdy body to cope with the rigors of Triathlon. Injuries, something that can happen but we all try and avoid. Gym work, strength and conditioning, mobility work has played a big part of my winter program in laying the foundations. This winter I have started Yoga and working with Sarah at The Movement Therapy Centre in Leeds to increase my mobility and range of motion. This has been crucial in building a body that can not only withstand the rigors of hours and hours of training, but to carry out the training effectively.

 Step 4: Building the blocks a bit higher

I had the basics of the High Barnet established, it was sturdy and I had the initial layers, it was time to add some height, it’s not Low Barnet but High Barnet after all! How high should it be? It is a balancing act, just like training, attempting to get the desired result, with out causing too much chaos. Training is all about balance, and as everyone says, consistency.  Day after day, week after week, month after month, putting the work in, no heroics but following the plan, progressing step by step, making tweaks where necessary and focusing on making the end destination, that goal race in peak form.

Step 5: Getting more specific

With the High Barnet, as high as dance floor appropriate, I added the fabric. I am not sure how to compare this to one section in triathlon so I will share some of my Bike training with you. Coach Louise Barron is the brain behind my training. She thinks it up, explains it and I do it. This year my training started in October, following an end of season breather with a few weeks of mountain biking and casual riding. We started on the rollers, for pedal technique alongside big gear long hill reps out on the road, we then progress to shorter sharper hill efforts. Its tough getting warmed up in winter weather with traffic lights to contend with so I often warm up on the turbo, getting my heart rate in the right place, then pull leggings and winter jersey on, jump on the road bike and hit the hills reps outside. Now we are onto 2 turbo workouts a week, one consisting of short reps, one longer sweet spot efforts.  That’s where we are now, last year; the more specific stage went onto doing TT work on a local 12mile road loop and weekly chain gang with the local Leeds cyclists/triathletes. So training follows a progressive pattern in blocks, getting more race specific as the season progresses. Refueling on OTE protein, post turbo workout, is just the ticket, especially when you have a train to catch shortly after the session that requires energy to dash across the train station.

Step 6: Trimming the edges

The fabric was on, now I just needed to trim the fabric so i could actually see! Hey presto the High Barnet was complete. In Triathlon, this is the final stage, race prep, or “the taper” as some call it. I personal prefer “race prep” as when I look at the training Coach Lou gives me, the diary is still pretty full. Less volume but still getting out in open water to do a few pre race day efforts, a few short sharp running efforts to keep the legs bouncy. Race prep is a very individual. For me it has been trial and error. I experimented with getting a quick swim or run in on race morning, as I find I need a fair bit of warming up to feel race ready. I personally prefer resting at the start of the week and then building into a race. It’s a very individual trimming process.

Some of the girls in their fancy dress outfits. Top efforts by everyone, achieved in very individual ways, just like training and race preparation.

That's it, winter is done, a lot of training is ticked off, a lot more to do but spring is here, and that meant last week was spent cycling with Alba Rosa cycle club, in Spain. A week with 24 guys who have smoother legs than me! I wrote an article titled "Fueling a days training in Spain" for OTE, which can be found on their website here. It gives an insight into the fun I had sea swimming, cycling in the mountains and finishing the day with a run and how I fuel all this fun!

Which leads to me introduce you to the BigSuz Team. Over the winter i have been working hard in creating a team to help me accomplish my triathlon goals. 

OTE: Are a nutrition company, based in Leeds and are providing me with race and training nutrition. I was introduced as an OTE fueled athlete on their website a few weeks ago, you can read it here.

Race Skin: Provide costum triathlon and cycle kit to clubs and individuals. Based in Yorkshire Raceskin are my Kit sponsors.Thanks Colin for getting me some new kit in time for the many miles we cycled in Spain.

The Movement Therapy: Set up by Sarah Pitts. The movement therapy centre is helping me with weekly mobility sessions run by Sarah, who has magic hands and is fast becoming known as the movement guru!

Always Aim High Events: Are supporting me with shoes and specific pieces of gear.

Team BigSuz is growing and it's great to have you all on board. I will be writing articles for OTE and Raceskin so keep an eye on their websites. If you want to join the team, get in touch as I am still looking for people to help fund the triathlon dreams.

Winter Wonders and Woes

Winter, a time to wrap up warm, tick off the training, plan the race diary for the upcoming season and stay fit and healthy. Straight forward. Well, it's not been quite that straight forward for me lately.
As the title suggests, so far Winter has been one of Ups and Downs or as I like to say Wonders and Woes!
Here are my top Winter Wonders and Woes!

Winter Wonder: Hot Homemade food

"You are what you eat" apparently! With many hours of winter training, comes much eating. The best way to keep training in winter is to fill the belly with warmth and great food! The slow cooker has been getting a good work out in our house. Now I am no Nigella, but my philosophy is: 1) you can never have too many eggs in a quiche 2) You can never have too many bananas in a smoothie 3) Home made rice pudding is great fuel pre and post swimming (Nice one Adam!) 4) Heaps of greens a day keep the doctor away.

This time of year is all about cups of tea and homemade soups to keep you warm. Even better with home grown leek thrown in. Leeks are super hardy vegetable, this fella, has been surviving the winter chill outdoors in our garden before we remembered him and dug him up, if he is that hardy he has got to be packed full of goodness

                                                                   

Winter Woe: Grumbling Achilles

From July 2014 onwards I was suffering with a grumbling achilles, I made a decision to keep racing and training as much as I could, I knew it was risky. A holiday in the Caribbean and riding a crest of good form persuaded me it was worth going through the pain barrier for. I knew my battered achilles would need time to heal. Rest I gave it, 8 weeks from the last race on Oct 5th. 8 weeks, surely thats enough rest? No it grumbled on. Only now, Mid January, am I starting to run again, it's been frustrating, ive done exercises, seen physio's and stretched my way into oblivion. Ive swapped running for Aqua Jogging, been fed up and frustrated. But fingers crossed there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel as I saw the sunrise yesterday while running, pain free on the muddy trails. What a beautiful feeling. 

Winter Wonder: Body Knowledge 

The flip side to an injury is increased knowledge of my body, it's weaknesses, gaining patience (ok not much but a little) getting it wrong and learning from it. So from an injury woe, emerges a wonder. A new appreciation for my body, so much new knowledge of it's biomechanics and understanding of my strengths and weaknesses.

One top tip I have learnt; If it hurts, something is wrong, resting it won't fix it, you need to actively do something. If you don't know what, seek out the professionals who do. Sorting out tight hips, hip flexors and gluts has been my big learning from the last few months.

Winter Woe: Winter Weather. Punctures and Dirty Bikes

Saturday, 5am, I am cycling to the pool (swim gala means it's an early start for the Leeds Masters group, whom I regularly swim with) it's dark, it's cold, it's raining. I get a puncture. Turn around, I push,run,freewheel back home, change bikes, try again. No mud guard on the new bike. Bugger, wet trousers. Wet trousers are not nice to put back on again post swim.

Mud guards are essential winter gear, on all bikes! Adam extended our mudguards with home made flaps, aka converted pound store place mats to prevent us eating too much grit that flies up from each others rear wheels. Washing bikes is a constant activity in our house, demoralising when you know It will just get dirty the next day. At least it looks sparkly for the first few km of each ride!

After yet another puncture, I purchased some robust winter tyres from the mid ride cafe/bike shop. Kept me warm for the final 20mile ride home. 

Winter Wonder: Cold but Beautiful out there. 

Winter can produce some stunning scenery. In Yorkshire and further afield. We decided to test out what the Peak District had to offer. With tooth brushes and a spare pair of knickers in the cycle jersey back pocket, we jumped on the train form Leeds to Edale, checked into Edale Youth Hostel, feasted on a 3 course evening meal and bedded down in the bunks for the night. Sunday morning, fuelled by a cooked breakfast, we left Edale and cycled back to Leeds. Looked at the map, only 60miles, wind direction was a south westerly, perfect, tailwind all the way home! One error was not looking at the contours closely enough, hilly, understatement!       

Edale to Leeds, not too far, just a few hills. Well,1932meters worth, thats one and a quarter times up Ben Nevis. One way to keep warm!

Out riding with Tor, Aaron and Adam during the festive break, time off work means more time to enjoy the winter wonderland. You can watch a short video of our ride here

Winter Woe and a Wonder!

Winter means training, a fair bit of it! Sometimes it is a woe, sometimes a wonder. Often type 2 fun, fun you only realise you have had, after it has been done, once you are warm, fed and recovering on the sofa! Recently training has been hurting my head more than my body. Trying to improve my swim technique in the pool, has me doing doggy paddle up and down the pool at the speed of a snail. Technique on the rollers has me pedalling one legged and trying to stay upright and technique on the run has seen me being overtaken by a dad pushing a double buggy! Rollers, what are they? I hear you cry.Think of it as cycling on ice, ice that moves! OK, so actually its cylinders that rotate as you cycle, its good for pedal stroke technique and working on cadence, otherwise known as spinning your legs so fast, you think they will fly off! Our landlord obviously knew I would be using the kitchen for roller training so he designed the lighting to creating a awesome roller disco effect! Just one way I spice up my training!

Winter training, presents a few obstacles, British weather, road blocks, flooding and if you draw your route on a piece of paper and stuff it in your leggings, it will probably blow away at some point!

As I enjoy the Winter weather my attention is turning to racing in 2015. 2014 was a decent year for me, 5 race wins, a World Age Group Championship title. So what to target in 2015? 

My main target is Ironman UK, July 19th followed by heading back to North Wales to defend my Slateman, Sandman and Snowman titles. 

Ironman UK 

 3.86km swim, 180.25km biking and 42.2km running

 A challenge that makes heading out in the British winter weather seem worth while! Yes it's a big gamble with my recent achilles woes, yes I should probably start with a half iron distance race first, yes it probably isn't sensible. But. Yes it excites me, it inspires me and yes I believe I can do well, if my body stays in one shape. Lets begin the journey...

Happy winter training and enjoy the journey towards your own goals in 2015.

Caribbean Chilling, now that's a race prize!

30 km of trail running, including 3764ft ascent up welsh mountains
180 km of cycling with 5641ft of ascent
2750m of swimming in Snowdonia mountain lakes and the Irish Sea.

It was well worth it....

Chilling out on the Island of Nevis in the Caribbean, the 1st place prize for Ewan Brown and myself for winning the Always Aim High Series. Encompassing the Slateman, Sandman and Snowman Triathlons in North Wales. Can you win a better prize in UK triathlon races? You can read my previous reports on the three races by clicking on the links above. If you fancy you can sit back and watch the races on Channel 4 / 4od (Snowman Sat 29th 6.15am Channel4)

Nevis, 36 square miles in area, apparently more monkeys inhabit the island than people, average daily temperature of 82 degrees, operating on two currencies; the US dollar and East Caribbean dollar, which is fixed at 2.7% of the US $. 409 Hotel rooms are available across the island, many luxurious and more use to the grey haired wealthy brigade than triathlon prize winners. You can find out more about Nevis on the island website here.

Nevis is truly a tropical island paradise. How was the trip? I have been asked by family and friends in the last few days, since returning to the UK. So here are some of my answers to the questions I have been asked recently. 

Did you have to wear an anti- shark wetsuit when swimming in the sea?
Does an anti shark wetsuit even exist?
The sea was bath temperature and because I was doing serious swimming I wore my bikkini, it's more areo than a swim costume. There are sharks around, but according to the locals only little ones, if you see one we were advised just to wave and smile at it and it wouldn't bother us. Thankfully I never had to put that advice into action. Ewan did scare the living daylights out of me, by popping up out of no where on one swim, thankfully he sent me this shark article once we were home.

What is not to like about swimming here?

Did you get pricked by sea urchins? Like that time you went skinny dipping in Greece?

Hey, I was 18 then, and yes I know skinny dipping after a few cocktails is never a good idea, I have learnt my lesson!
Ewan managed to get some sea spike type things in his foot during one swim. Though it didn't put him off swimming. He was back in the sea later that day after some tweezers sorted out the spikes. Like most days, we took advantage of the bath temperature waters; clear views down to the sea bed, admired sting rays, brightly coloured fish and sea turtles. We got in plenty of open water swim practice. It was good to meet someone else who also translates "little swim with sea turtles" as "several kilometers around the headland in choppy waters"! 

Perfect bay for swim practice and no Sea Urchins or Sharks (that we saw!)

Did you swing on large vines in the jungle, like in the jungle book?
Nevis is covered in dense jungle like vegetation. The island is volcanic and is dominated by Nevis Peak, a 985m high Volcano in the middle of the island. We hiked up to the summit on Sunday morning before breakfast. Scrambling up steep muddy trails with the help of ropes, roots and vines, I did feel quite Mowgli like! 

Happy Hikers at the top of Nevis Peak and GI Jane Hansom using the ropes and vines.

What was the other prize winner like, were you guys out triathlon training dawn till dusk?

"Thanks guys for not being weird and odd balls"

Ta lizzie, same to you guys!

Ewan Brown won the men's series and he was joined by Lizzie, his girlfriend. Adam my boyfriend joined us and the four of us lived here for the week (Oualie Beach resort). I think the prize was just as much a reward for Lizzie and Adam as you can't win races alone. The people behind the scenes are very much key to the success.

Munching on Pineapple outside the Oualie Beach Resort Bungalows.

Training dawn till dusk? Well Lizzie, Ewan and myself took a Hobi catamaran out for a spin while Adam cruised around windsurfing. And if one of us spotted a sea turtle or sting ray we would all hurtle in and splash around it. It was pretty hot and humid, surprising really for a tropical island at 17.10N longitude and 62.35 W latitude! So while we did hire bikes, rides around the island were morning affairs or just transport from one beach to the next, with plenty of sight seeing stops.

Thanks for being awesome holiday buddies guys!

What did you eat? Can you now eat spicy jerk chicken or do you still have embarrassingly mild taste buds and sweat when you eat spicy food?
Hang on, that incident was due to a very hot spicy curry, about 7 years ago! 
Anyway, yes I did have Jerk Chicken, once, the final night buffet at our host Oualie resort. Other than that, the four of us, shared cooking duties. Being in adjourning bungalows we stocked the fridge full on day one at the local super market, not so easy gettting the shopping back in the local Reggae Reggae mini bus, a different story.
Between Ewan, Lizzie, Adam and Myself, we cooked up a piece de resistance each night. The speciality was the final days lunch extraordinaire, aka use everything up. Rolls filled with peanut butter, scrambled egg and split peas, washed down with red cabbage salad. Apparently according to Chain Reactions Grant, we were breaking all the pre flight dietary rules! 

Cooking the final days lunch special!

Sounds like you laid about in hammocks and on the beach all day, were you not meant to do a Triathlon?
Ah yes another element of the prize was free entry into the Nevis Triathlon. Which we were in top form for. After our end of season break, of doing bugger all, eating and drinking aplenty, we were in fine form! That didn't matter, this was a more laid back, fun race. The sea swim was just as much about spotting a sea turtle and the ride about avoiding monkeys than PBs. Recovering from an Achilles injury I took part in the relay, doing the swim leg, passing onto Adam who rode the bike so hard it punctured so he ran it down the road and passed the baton to Always Aim High boss Tim Llyod who put his competitive spirit into action as he sprinted for the line in an epic sprint finish. Ewan won the standard distance men's race, with tri247.com Paul Shanley in second, while Jane Hansom, who was ultimately responsible for us being in Nevis in the first place, won the ladies event. A top effort by all in the heat, I was pretty happy to be only involved in the swim.

Ewan and Jane won the Olympic Distance race, while I was joined in the relay by Adam and Tim. Good to see Tim put in some effort! 

If you win the prize again next year, can you take me? 
I think you should enter the Slateman, Sandman and Snowman triathlons and try and bag that holiday yourself! You can enter them here.

All in all it was a fantastic week away. I can not thank Jane Hansom, Greg from @NevisNaturally and the Always Aim High team enough for such an incredible prize. 

The week in Nevis brings the end of season break to a close. Training will resume, it has been great having a rest since Snowman at the start of October. It has been nice spending time with friends and family, celebrating weddings, congratulations Nikki and Alex. Taking my role as chief clown at the hen do seriously and abandoning the structured swim, bike, run training for a few weeks. 
This time of year is great, the training instructions from coach Lou were "do what you feel like" so the mountain bikes got muddy, the cafe stops got longer and generally nothing has been too serious. I think that may all change though...

A big thanks to my sponsors Raceskin and Always Aim High. It is great to be working with you guys. I look forward to keeping toasty wearing your kit during winter training. I know the school kids at Lingfield Notre Dame School appreciated the buffs, water bottles and swim caps  supplied by Always Aim High. Having quiz prizes definitely made the talk I did for them way more fun. So thanks guys.

A final big thank you to Sarah J Pitts, Chris Kitson and Danica Bonello Spiteri for all their help, magic hands and knowledge in their ongoing help with fixing my dodgy achilles. 

Good luck with your own winter training and hope you all have your thermals ready!

Season Finale at Snowman

"Moel Siabod? You are going up Moel Siabod? The 872m high mountain?"

"Ummm yup, should I be nervous about this?"

"I have been up there once, it was a days hike"

"Oh, we can't be going all the way to the top if it's part of a triathlon, its only slightly longer than a standard Olympic distance triathlon"

Ignorance is bliss!!

Snowman Triathlon, 750m lake swim, 69km undulating bike and 9km run up and down Moel Siabod (872m high). The final race of the 2014 season, race number 11 and I'm glad I had stuck to my normal pre race routine of being totally naive & clueless for what this triathlon had in store.

"Due to conditions on the top of the mountain all competitors are required to take hat, gloves, legging and waterproof top on the run" 

A new experience placing a woolly hat in T2.

"It can't be that mountainous surely?" I'm thinking.

North Wales. The perfect outdoor playground. Always Aim High, the company behind the Slateman, Sandman, Snowman Triathlon series had utilised the stunning Snowdonia scenery to perfection. My original plan at the beginning of the season had been to enjoy Slateman as a scenic/different race. Then crack on with the 'normal' races. Slateman blew my mind, the sound of cowbells rang in my ears for days after, alongside the memory of running up the Dinorwig slate quarry zig zags. Most of all, it was the friendliness of the staff, volunteers, supporters and fellow competitors that made the weekend so memorable. After hearing that the male and female with the lowest cumulative time would win a weeks holiday to the Caribbean Island of Nevis, I committed to returning in a bid to win the prize and experience the North Wales magic twice more.

   North Wales; an outdoor paradise, designed to be played in.

Saturday afternoon, I stood outside on the wooden balcony of Plas y Brenin National mountain centre, Capel Curig. The Snowman race HQ, being interviewed by Arwyn & his pretty intimidating TV camera.
"How do you feel about the race?"
I'm pretty nervous I say, looking up at the mountain tops draped in cloud.
I think back to earlier in the day, swimming in the lake with Adam and Chris, the water temperature,surprisingly OK, it was the shivering and degree of coldness I felt once out and stood in my wet triathlon suit that concerned me. The prospect of jumping on my bike and cycling 69km in a wet cold triathlon suit, was not an appealing one. T1 would be spent pulling on warm layers I decided. Arm warmers, a dry T-shirt and socks I hoped, would hold off hypothermia. I don't mention this, I rattle something off, tried to crack a joke or two (very badly, I'm no comedian, though I often forget this)

Nervous about getting a puncture I attached the spare inner tube, pump and tyre levers to my bike along with a chocolate bar, 2 gels and coke. The chocolate bar fell off, I managed 2 swigs of coke and thankfully i didn't succumb to any punctures.

"You won the Slateman, you won the Sandman, can you win the Snowman & that Caribbean holiday?" 
The Caribbean holiday, something I had been trying not to think about, yet the topic all my friends and family asked me about. Yes I had a good time buffer over Dorothy the second place female in the series but I knew anything could happen, a puncture or two? A twisted ankle on the mountain. I tried to fob the question off, trying to convince myself I was only focussing on the race. A harder task than I thought.

So yes I came out of the dark, cold lake still in one piece, I hadn't turned into an ice block. Yes I stuck to my plan of putting my arm warmers and T-Shirt on. Though I forgot the socks. The bike had it all. Long gradual ascents, long sweeping descents, short steep climbs, tight turns, dramatic mountain scenery, rain and sunshine. 69km of challenging riding. 

I entered T2 as first female having dug my teeth into the hills. Socks and new trail shoes on. Moel Siabod, lets be hav'in ya! Ahh so we are going all the way to the top, I realised as I clambered over one of the styles and looked up. Lesson learnt, do not look up.

"Do not look up, just keep putting one foot infront of the other" 
"This is flipping ridiculous!"
(Just two of the less explicit thoughts whirling round my head)
I touched the cairn that marked the top of Moel Siabod and turned ready for the descent. Wow! The clouds had cleared and a 360 degree vista appeared, including Snowdon and the surrounding mountains. The torture of ascending was quickly forgotten I was like a kid in a candy shop, or more accurately a Geography graduate in Geography heaven! Quickly realising I was not out for a days geography field trip. I slipped, slid, fell and trundled back down. My descending skills being far worse than my ascending. 

3hours 40minutes of fun in the mountains and I felt that sweet sensation of breaking the tape. A new course record was a bonus alongside the knowledge I had won the series and booked my seat to Nevis. Chris made a great race video that you can enjoy here and there is a race report here 

Good to christen the new RaceSkin Kit with a win. Thanks RaceSkin

Once more the supporters with their cowbells, fellow competitors, race volunteers and staff made this a truly spectacular race. For me the weekend had been made by staying with fellow competitor Stell and her two sons Mabon and Merin who generously hosted Adam, his Dad Chris and Myself in their incredible house in Dinorwig perched on the side of the mountain. We let off Chinese lanterns on the Saturday night, feasted on incredible food and were been made so very welcome. Lots of laughter, stories and adventures were shared so Thank You Stell, Mabon, Meryln, Adam and Chris for a fantastic weekend.
Not only Thank You but Well Done Stell on winning your age category, and your swim events in the Gala the day before!

 Thanks Stell for being such a fantastic host.

Well Done Ewan for winning the series on the male side. Looking forward to our trip to Nevis!

Finito. For me the 2014 triathlon season is done. My training diary for the next 2 weeks is completely empty. Thanks Lou! My body very much looking forward to being given a breather.

"Are you seriously going to do that? I'm not sure that's realistic!" Is my mums response to hearing my plans for the next week.
"Realistic" it's a good job I have always had my own interpretation of this.

Maybe in the next blog post I will tell you whether or not it was "realistic" and how it went....!

A huge Thank You to Always Aim High. The Slateman, Sandman and Snowman have been  a blast. I could now go into the roofing tiling business!

Riding the Roller Coaster

"Next adventure is Austria, for the European Duathlon Championships on 24th August. I have been selected for my first elite Great Britain vest. A complete honour."

That was how the last blog ended. And so this post should, in theory be about Alpine adventures, Bavarian dancing, feasting on Schnitzel, rehydrating on beer and the famous Lederhose garments! 
Unfortunately not. My elite GB kit remains in it's packaging at the bottom of the wardrobe, untouched. 
On the Thursday, 6 days before my scheduled flight to Austria I took at tumble on Chain Gang (for the non cyclists this is a fast group ride, where your heart and lungs explode!) What happened? I'm not too sure, I woke up in an ambulance, my tyre leavers, spare inner tube and pump still in my jersey pocket and digging into me. The paramedic's were fantastic and provided first class treatment, though obviously not a cyclist as thought i was bonkers when mentioning this to them. Apparently I had gone straight over the handlebars, perils of pot holes. A huge Thank you to the Alba Rosa guys who sorted me out that day. A night in Harrogate hospital with a few broken fingers and a suspected fractured elbow and wrist. Bugger!

This wasn't part of the plan!

The cast was cut off the next morning as the doctor didn't think it was fractured. Torn tissue on the elbow and a sprained wrist with a few broken fingers and a nice black eye and bruised face. Brilliant I will be able to race in Austria after all.

Wednesday 20th August, bike box packed in the middle of living room, taxi about to arrive in 45minutes, I was off to Austria to make my GB elite debut. I looked at the bike box, how was I even going to carry it around the train station and airport? I couldn't even pick up a saucepan with my right hand, it was still so bruised and sore. I knew in my heart, this wasn't going to work, despite having been sat on the turbo in the last few days in a valiant attempt to convince myself i would be OK, I still couldn't put any weight on my handlebars. A big Thank You Dave Newport for being such an understanding GB team manager, one of the hardest phone calls I have had to make.

When the dream of competing for your country at the top level disappears what do you do? Go to your mum's, curl up in a ball on the sofa and drink copious amounts of tea! The perfect way to heal the body and soul. Thanks Mum and thank you to everyone for the cake,rocky road (Jo), jokes, phone calls, messages, they made me smile.

What next? I could call a day on my season? It had been good, I had achieved some decent results. Yes it would end on a low, but my body was battered. I couldn't even touch my head, my elbow wouldn't bend, my fingers were broken, my face was a mess. But I still had two races on my radar, the Sandman and Snowman Triathlons, part of the three race series in North Wales, organised by Always Aim High. I had won the first race in the series, The Slateman and the lure of returning to the magnificent North Wales scenary and the small issue of an awesome series prize played on my mind. 
So with the help of my coach, Lou, some innovative adaptions to training, one armed swimming, turbo training and some strong bandages and a lot of Ibuprofen, I got back to business, preparing for Sandman Triathlon in Anglesey on Sunday 21st September. 

Wrist in a splint and a few broken fingers requires some different training.

Me "I'm not designed for the turbo, i'm meant to be out in t'dales"

Coach lou "Yes and your designed to have two working wrists"

Long turbo sessions into the dark it was, good job my neighbours already thought I was crackers!

Anglesey, you were so worth it. Newborough forest and Llanddwyn beach, what a stunning venue for a race. Thanks Always Aim High for such a high quality event.

 Thank you to Rohan for putting Adam and myself up on your lounge sofa's and making us feel at home. Obviously it was all plain sailing. We arrived on Friday evening, would chill out and recce the bike course on Saturday, have a dip in the sea and be ready for race day on Sunday. The bike recce went well. Adam even made a a little video of it, which you can enjoy here. Unfortunately bank cards are not widely accepted at cafes in this part of the world, so lunch was put on hold. "It's not too far, just a short walk" I tried to convince Adam. It was MILES! from the registration to the beach. Keen not to have the long walk back up after having a dip in the sea, we hitched a lift from Jay and Nikki in their super cool red van, back up to our car. Feeling very chuffed with ourselves for avoiding the long slog back up from the beach, we headed off for a very late 4pm pub lunch. On returning to Rohan's house in Bangor I realised I had left my wetsuit in Nikki and Jays red van! All I knew was that Nikki and Jay were staying at a campsite and vaguely recalled them talking about some vineyard. Leaving Adam to cook dinner, I headed back to Anglesey to search of a red van in one of the many campsites. After some searching and asking a few locals I pulled into a field. There were Nikki, Jay the red van and my wetsuit drying in the sun. Relief! 
I had heard, like the Slateman, the Sandman would be tough. A sea swim, a longer than normal bike at 63km and a 10km run on sandy trails, sand dunes and the beach. It was Brutal with a capital B. The run was probably the toughest 10km run i have ever done, flipping heck, it was tough. However the sun shone, I swam and rode hard and survived the run to break the tape first and keep myself in the hunt for the series prize. 

The smile says it all!

 A stunning race venue, but some serious pain. Brutal and Beautiful! 

You can catch the action and my post race ramblings on Channel 4 and Eurosport in the near future!

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has helped me survive the roller coaster last few weeks. 

And hot off the press, exciting development is i have my first ever sponsor....drum roll...I am proud to say I will be racing and training in RaceSkin kit, so a huge thank you to Colin at RaceSkin (www.raceskin.co.uk) for this opportunity, more on this in the next blog post.