Aftermath to Kona 2009.

Well, its now 3 weeks after the race and what are my thoughts ?

Gutted !!! But still a happy man.

So, why am I gutted ? Its over, Kona is now a distant but utterly amazing memory.

If you have ever got married or planned a day for so long you may know the feeling, you put your entire effort into something for months, nay years, then in 10-17 hours its over. I know I always have this down feeling after every IM holiday but this one is different, a lot of effort went into this one, 3 years of IM efforts, family sacrifice, early mornings, disappointments, addition to the family - that was most certainly a highlight, I definately got my return out of it, I think you can tell that, but I still feel like I am hanging onto something, maybe its because I have decided not to do IM next year, 18 months until summer of 2011 sounds a long time.

I will concentrate my efforts again but from a greater height and distance, well actually the same 3 years it took last time, from now til 2012 hopefully, until then nothing in triathlon terms will replace the feeling I had the first 2 seconds of that race, and certainly nothing in a race will compare to the last mile. Life, however moves on and there will for me hopefully, be another Kona, it will just have to wait til 2012.

So, to the memories.

Race day, what a day !!! Seeing all of the athletes all day on the course, for me, bobbing around waiting for the cannon to go off was just breathtaking and awe inspiring yet scary and exciting. The Queen K, the media caravan following the pro's all day, the desolate lava fields versus the mass of spectators on Ali'i Drive, all brilliant.

You are not supposed to have regrets about racing, or at least make them positive, I have spun this into a positive but I still only have one regret around the whole race, and this happened in the last minute, you can see in the finisher video I have put up that Mark is right in front of me, he is the one that looks like he is trying to throw up and struggling to get to the line, you can also see his slow response to turn round when he hears my name, disbelief that we were that close all the way round myself. If you read my race report you know what I was feeling at the time. We discussed it afterwards, all I had to do was call out his name in the last 50 yards and we could have crossed the line together, it would have been a great end to his race and mine, travelling all that way to finish together after all the racing hours done over the years and on that day, not to be, but we are still talking about the finish line so its left an imprint, magic.



Support, to have people supporting you half way round the world is an amazing feeling, quite surreal hearing your name shouted as you come out of transition 8000 miles from home, friends appearing when you least expect them, Andy and Jeff on the Queen K, Sian out as far as the Energy Lab (how the hell she got there I still don't know - if she walked, good effort !!) All my family and friends at various points in town on the bike and run course. And lastly the online support, RW pirates, family that couldn't go and various forums following the GB athletes, thanks. As an aside to the race, the support I had from Kelly all year and my mum and Roger while we were there means I could do what I did, it wouldn't have happened without them so thanks to them as well.

New friends, we made many, it was great having other Brits around to chat to, Glyn and Vicki who we met at IMUK and then spent time with in Kona, Liam Dolan who we met thru Mark, Bevan and John from IMTalk, infectious enthusiasm, although I didn't really need any myself, the parade of nations brought a few of us together but it was more international than that, many people are there for the same reason so conversations just grow out of brief eye contact, the odd wry smile here when you pass past another athlete, trying not to be too obvious when you are stood behind Timo Bracht in the Walmart queue on Sunday after he has just had a top ten finish in the World Champs lol !!

The holiday, well at the end of the day we were in Hawaii, it would be rude not to have a look around ;-), a beautiful place even if the race wasn't on, we are after all there to enjoy ourselves as a family.
As Kelly doesn't race she puts up with a lot before and its only right to correct that afterwards, she is the best sherpa ever but still has requirements out of our travels.


The island is amazing and I am glad we got to see a lot of it the week after the race. Speaking to the local islanders its very quickly obvious they are so welcoming of tourists in more than a cash cow way - well thats how it seems, I am sure Kona relies on the revenue of those 2 weeks for most of its year but I loved the friendly people and we weren't just in Kona, the whole island is lovely. Travelling around the island in one day was a great adventure with my family and the lads, 220 miles in one day, fuelled by intrigue and caffeine lol !
The helicopter ride and helping Kelly fulfil one of her lifes ambitions to fly in one, seeing her nervous for the first 5 mins and then relaxing into a great 45 minute voyage.

The wedding, Paul and Jans wedding day on the Friday before we came home, we were lucky enough to still be on the island and to be invited to spend their superb day with them, the ceremony was lovely, the priest (i think) was so into the whole thing he really made it. I have put a picture of the happy couple, we loved being part of the day and wished we were staying afterwards for a few more days as we were just getting used to relaxing lol !


Seeing Teya grow over 2 weeks, she was amazing over the holiday, still the princess we took away, only complaining when we get feed time wrong but smiling forever, everywhere we went and winning over hearts of strangers and friends alike.



Finally, as always, my love and thanks to Kelly, for putting up with the endless training, the ruined weekends, the travelling and supporting me, the endless triathlon sh*te that I talk (secretly she loves to talk tri sh*te as well), my triathlon mates - of which they are all her mates now and for just being ace xx


Sitting here now its all good, I am setting out onto a challenge for November which I will post about later but for now IM will take a few weeks out.

Til next time.

Ironman World Championships 2009 - Race Report

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The day before tomorrow - 1 day to go !!

Friday 9th October

Its the day before and its just dawned on me that tomorrow is the race I have dreamt about for 3 years. Some people don't know that I started in 1999 (Lewis has pointed that out in the comments on yesterdays blog) doing a sprint, I had given up smoking that year, its taken a while but triathlon has changed that life 360 degs. It has never been a real dream to get to Kona until 2006/2007 when I started seriously but its still been a passion to follow for many years, tomorrow it hopefully will all come together - (so Kelly can get her bathroom at last !!)

So this morning, I didn't have the real sleep I needed the day before the day before but for me its about staying fit as well. We went down to the swim, 8.30 this morning, a bit more of a lie in but I was tired. Faris Al Sultan was getting out, said hi lol. He looks good too but hoping to do top 10 this year apparently.

On the way to Lava Java I stopped off and bought a couple of pairs of Newtons, one for me and one for Fegan. More IM porn yay !



Today is racking day too, after building the bike and setting all of the bags up with essentials it was time to go to transition. Check out the bike decals and what I will be wearing in the race, have decided to revert back to my old bike shoes however as the new ones are custom fit and I have no idea how much my feet are going to swell so I can't take the chance. The pirate purchase has already been worn out here so that will have to do for now, sorry guys.





Racking was about as painless as it gets, no queue, no waiting, personal helper to walk you round the whole transition explaining everything, man you have to run a long, long way to get to the bike and out, I'll be knackered !!!

My helper took this piccy too



Then out and off to relax in Lava Java and write this for you lovely people lol !

By the way, this is how the finish straight looks the night before, not many people and a wonderful view.


Race stuff ...

I suppose now is the time for thoughts about tomorrow, I am never shy to say what times I am looking for and I will by the end of this ramble have given some idea of what I hope for but heres the rub, its an unpredictable place. The forecast for wind tomorrow is now 10mph+ but calmer early on and then by the time we get to Hawi it could be a little hairy.

Also the run heat has been oppressive, its only 90 degrees but it feels like 110. I did Germany in 40 degs and Nice was 40 degs but this feels hotter, I know that sounds bonkers but I suppose it must be the humidity too as I have never really run in it before. The heat off the tarmac will be tough as I find out every time I stop at lights on the bike.

Swim

So, to the swim. Its supposed to be the toughest there is, with most people in the 55 to 65 min range that’s going to be true but I will be staying out left at the beginning and then move across by the 1000m mark, I breathe to the left so the clockwise circuit would normally be an issue but the water is so clear that when I have my head straight I will be able to see for 20 metres in front of me if its clear, it won’t be but visibility will be good. For those uninitiated, there is no wetsuits here either, this normally helps me as my body position isn’t that good in the water, I have a skinsuit (thanks Gavin) for this one so it will be a help, these are made of the same sort of material but as thin as a tri suit but faster in the water than bare skin.

Goal time is Gold = 60 mins, Silver = 65, Bronze = 70.

Bike

The bike, lol, such a fast course apparently that without the wind and heat it would probably be one of the fastest on the IM circuit, unfortunately Madame Pele may have other ideas on race day. The roads are like glass but with the lava rock shards blowing across the roads the chance of punctures is slightly greater. I will be aiming to get out onto the course in a good group of pace line riders which won’t necessarily help (this is a non drafting race after all) but will be good for pacing, I have my own pace to go but we have been warned by the officials how far the zones are for drafting and this is the cats eyes markers in the road, like our UK motorway chevrons, leave a full gap and you will be safe. The course is an out and back with a little loop in town first to warm the legs. I really want to see the pros coming the other way on the Queen K with the full camera entourage, that’s the dream I have seen and I want to see it in full flow.

Goal time is Gold = 5:15, Silver = 5:30, Bronze = Sub 6 hours

Run

Now the run, this one is hard, I am sitting here in the apartment with the aircon off and still struggling to breathe properly, laboured and short, it has been for 2 days, maybe I will be clear tomorrow but for now I can only use this to guage how my breathing will be on the run. Its gonna be a hot one, whatever way you look at it, its very hot all day, about 90 degs and the humidity is about 60% but if it rains the temp drops and the humidity goes up, you can’t win, the lads have been running today, Jase made me laugh, they did 6 miles and he reckons he couldn’t get his HR below 160 the whole way. Its also the lumpiest flat first half of a course I have seen for a while, rolling lumps all down Ali’i drive, same for everyone so just deal with it. I have a good record for running in the heat so I am hoping for a reasonable go at this one.

Goal time is Gold = 3.45, Silver = 4:00, Bronze = 4:30

Conclusions and Wrap Up.

So, as you can see I don’t mind putting myself out there, at the end of the day we all have aims, the main one this time is to enjoy and finish but I am too competitive to do anything other than enjoy and compete lol !!
So best would be 10 hours + transitions and worst (this is my hopeful worst) might be 11:40. I know there is a lot of variation in there but this is not a course you can just say, I want a sub 10 or I want to do 10:xx. I will be fighting for every minute out there, tomorrow will tell.
I know want to say thanks to everyone that has either text me, twittered me or left messages on the blog, and the runners world guys on the forum as well, superb support and I will be thinking of all of it in the good moments and the bad, I hope there won’t be many bad as the idea is to enjoy but to be honest knowing you have virtual and on course support is a huge addition to the mental power it takes to get round these events.

The next time I blog I will hope to have heard for the 11th time Mike Reilly saying ‘Nick Rose, you ARE an Ironman’ bring it on, I love this game, can you tell ?? If anyone wants to say hi, please text my personal number as Twitter is too expensive to leave roaming on all day. If kelly gets wifi then she will tweet, otherwise, check out this 'PSOF Race Day' and you will have all the links you need.

Night night xx

p.s. I would like to thanks 'Rocky's Pizza and Family Dining' in Keauhou for the use of their wifi while I am sat in the car outside posting this tonight ;-)

Its getting busy - 5 days to go

Monday 5th October

Bit late for the swim at 7 so ended up my own for the 30 mins, out to have a chat with Kit Stokes who says 'hi' to the pirates from Switzerland, something about party and beer but he can’t remember much lol !

Met with Chester Trier's Jeff, Jill and Andy Wilkinson and had breakfast overlooking the bay, very nice, I could get used to this Kona Coffee, expensive to import for us but check out 'Coffees of Hawaii' having a free shipping month I think, worth it.

Next job was to sort out the car seat for Teya, work this out, $12 a day to hire for 14 days, plus taxes, works out at about $195. So we went to Walmart and purchased one, we could have got one for $60 but decided to go for one for $135 that doubles as the next one up when she is a toddler and then up to age 4, saves us paying at home for a £200 new car seat and we are still cheaper than renting one.


She is a very happy chappy now ;-)

Then a bit of relaxing with the munchkin in the pool, check out the new swimming kit !



After that I went for my first run of the week, 6 miles at about 6.30pm, it is still very warm and the sun goes down at about 6pm, the issue there is it takes about 10 mins to go from light to dark, I hope I am finished before 6 as its going to be VERY dark and lonely with just a glow stick for company lol !!

Running down Ali’i drive with bikes on the hard shoulder with no lights on and cars blinding you is not fun but I needed to get out, 6 miles in 45 mins and it felt OK, HR was about 145 and pace was about 7.40, the best bit about training down the end of the drive I am at is the 2 feed stations they have set up. One Gatorade and one GU stand, out on the road, always ice cold energy drink and free, just left there for the whole week for the athletes in training, orsum effort by the organisors, during the day the GU one is manned with people giving out free gels and bars as well.
This place still isn’t letting the side down.

More tomorrow. …..

My race number is ......

1245

I am not a number lol, well actually I am, '1245'. I have been allocated my number for Hawaii, bit of a relief really, if you knew the process for registering for the race you would understand, by qualifying and paying for your entry you aren't actually 'in' until you complete an online entry on a date specified by them using a specific code etc etc and if its not done right you could forfeit your place. So a relief.

My week of training

I had another week off to train, bit of a confidence week again really, get some bike mileage in and not have to worry about work etc. The same thing happened as last time though, I did my training, still checked my emails 10 times a day, worked most days to clear little things I didn't want to see when I got back and I didn't get the rest I really needed. Not to worry.

I actually managed 15.5 hours training from Monday to Sunday with 2 days off. I had a rest day on the Friday as I was due to do a 50 mile TT in Yorkshire on the Saturday. I actually didn't know up until the Friday night at 9.30pm that I had a place as I was on the reserve list.
So I used the Friday as a take it easy day, we went to the cinema for the first night out in 5 months together without Teya, before the cinema, had a couple of pints and Mexican meal, very nice. During the film I got a text from the organisors of the TT saying I had a place at 14.08 the next day. Regretting the 2 pints I texted back to say thanks, see you there.
I woke up the next morning with a horrendous sore throat, running nose and headache, not a good sign, spoke to Lawrence and we decided to leave the TT and have a day off. Good decision I think, I still got a 4 hour ride in Sunday but at a leisurely pace and managed to take in 2 triathlons in Cheshire as a spectator.

How do I feel

To be honest, right this minute, like shit, but thats the cold talking, I still struggle later at night and early in the morning, all 3 of us have it and until we break the cycle its going to linger, so plenty of Vit C, plenty of water and eating sensibly, oh and keeping off the alcohol obviously.

I think so far I have had a few thought provoking moments with the training I am doing in the lead up to the race, I follow a lot of the pro's on Twitter and a couple of the AG'ers that are going as well. For anyone that knows me, really knows me, I don't do more than say 10-12 hours a week training, I may get set more by Lawrence but work or family get in the way and I survive on the good sets.

Everyone is doing loads in the build up, don't misunderstand, I don't look at Macca and think, god I must do what he is doing, but its an eye opener, and I am sure on the day when I see him go back past me on the Queen K highway at his speed I will understand why, so I have had to reel in the mental images of massive sessions over good sets and recovery.

Back to me, to be doing more than my normal 10-12 hours in between the 2 IM's I have this year is a bit alien to me, I know its an important race but I have to take a step back and say, why should I do anything different to what I normally do. Taking time off to relax before the most important race of your life is good but not to kill yourself getting in hours of training, the 2 weeks off have been beneficial.

Thoughts on the pro's

I can almost see how it would be to be a top pro with a full time job of training and recovery, but man, it must be tough most days when you know you have to go out and smack yourself to stay competitive, I can now also see the benefit of the teams that are springing up all over the pro ranks now, Team BB, ActivInstinct, etc, because to do this day in and day out on your own must be mind blowing.

Would love to see Gravesy and Chrissie paint Kona with the Union Flag (actually any Brit to be honest) but its a hard race to comprehend winning, I know Chrissie is expected to win but that must be as hard as Philip going over there as a young contender wanting to do his best with the expectation of the exceptional cyclist he is. We shall see. I have followed some of his training online and looks like he is really putting the work in, best of luck to all of our pro's.

What now ...

Well, I am back at work for the next 7 days and we are flying out on 3rd October, my mum and Roger are flying on from Spain on the Friday to join us in London and we then leave together Saturday. Its a long flight to be taking a 6 month old but we think a great experience and one which I am so glad we are doing together now. My aim is to acclimatise for a week, we have AC but I will be sleeping in the living room to make sure I get the benefit of none and Kelly and Teya have the AC to themselves, top tip apparently lol. The lads, now there are 3, will be out on Wednesday, and then Paul and Jan will be coming out on Thursday.

I hope to update my blog regularly when we are out there on a daily basis, as honestly as I can, try to give some feel for it. We will have a lot of friends who can update on the progress but now you have my mumber it will be easy.

Interesting blogs

Another couple of guys that might interest you in blog land are linked below, the first 2 are both competing at Hawaii and actually have a much more scientific basis around training, Steves blog is very interesting as he is a very good triathlete who trains some bonkers hours but has some incredible results from it, Russell I have started following recently has a very structured approach to training and results feedback and when he isn't training he is analysing a lot of info.

And last blog, a friend and Kona finisher, Rich Melik did a blog along with partner Jenny in 2006 that has helped me visualise a lot of what to expect and it worth a read. Cheers Rich

PSOF Website

JD has been working tirelessly on this for a few weeks now and has links to my blog and also a followers thread in the RW forum so a link to that is here as well for those that want to follow virtually on the day. Its here.

Right, thats it for now, back to work, well actually to sleep and then back to it tomorrow, thanks for the good wishes so far, if you want more immediate updates follow me on Twitter.

Less than 4 weeks to go .....

Just looked at the countdown ticker which says 23 days to go, its getting very real, very quickly.

Training Update.

So, last weeks training catchup, I was working again so during the week managed around 9 hours with focus around the last 2 hour run on Friday. I decided as I was going to be missing the rest of the weekend due to travel and work I would hit it reasonably hard, 1 hour out, 1 hour back, negative split and see how it looked. Well I don't think it was that impressive, covered the 8.3 miles out and negative split on the way back by 30 secs but HR out was 156, HR back was 165. No real drama but just shows I have plenty to work on in the next year, Kona is too close to be worried about HR's now.

This week I am working Monday and Tuesday and then off for the next 7 days, 22-25 hours planned this week to Sunday for last push including a 50 mile TT in Yorkshire, I am still on the reserve list so might get in yet, if I don't I will have to do my own up and down the A49 lol !!

Fame, but still no fortune ...

I have had a piece published in the Chester Chronicle from the 3rd September, one of the guys from Chester Triathlon (Dave Taylor) is always helping to get us publicity in the local press. Still haven't got the paper copy to keep but the online link is here and apart from my crap statement about things being really 'good' its not a bad piece, I really must get my agent to quote better lines lol.

Race wheel bling.

I have been toying with what wheels to use for the race, a good friend of mine has offered to lend me his 808's but that would only be for the rear and I would use my 404 for the front. In the end I have decided to go with a 404 set up front and rear and get my own wheels blinged up with the pirate colours, they are 2004 Zipps and the stickers are looking a bit worn so emailed Tai at TaiGraphx to see what he could do, and this is the result.
They are now ordered and awaiting delivery., :-)



And finally ...

I have added my company iPSL to my short list of sponsors, this weekend iPSL put on a complete family day in Northampton with 'Its a Knockout' (to keep the adults entertained lol), kids entertainment, dodgems, food and drinks and as part of the day held a raffle. Phil at D&M Cycles put up 2 mountain bikes and alongside the many other prizes organised by iPSL, the company have offered me a portion of the raffle profit, I have no idea what this will eventually equate to but I appreciate any help in softening the blow to my credit cards for the Kona trip, so many thanks to the organising committee at iPSL and the many people who made the day a success. Myself, Kelly and Teya all travelled down on the day and by the look of the number of people involved and the many staff at the day it was a huge success.

Kona Countdown - 5 weeks

Well this week was the 'pro' week, take the week off work and train as much as I could without trying to get injured. The idea is really to get a few more bike miles in, having the baby has really put paid to good long 4-5 hour rides that I can recover from and this has been the payoff, so a few more miles now in the run up won't do me any harm and I won't be breaking any records but its good solid endurance with some speed thrown in.

So this week has been

Monday - 4 hour bike, 70 miles inc Cat and Fiddle climb
3000m swim set
Tuesday - 2 hour rollers set working on cadence and form
3000m base build swim
Wednesday - 4 hour rolling bike, 75 miles around IMUK course, 20min brick run
3000m swim speed set
Thursday - 2 hour flat run, steady 8's offroad, keeping form
Friday - Rest Day
Saturday - 1900m swim in 30.30 - 52 mile bike in 2.20
Sunday - Work !! boo

So only about 18 hours but most of them on the bike and I also got to spend a bit more time at home with Kelly and Teya which at this time is important as she is really growing up fast.
What was a little frustrating for me was the time I wasted, finding I had more time at home meant I didn't plan effectively enough to go out and get the sessions done so I could relax and stay at home a bit more, we would get up, mess around, answer a few mails, have breakfast, then think, right must do this or that, then train. I am taking another week off in 2 weeks time and I will be more focused on that week for time and making sure I put aside specific periods of the day to train and rest.



This picture was taken by Carl Barthorpe, full credit for a superb piccie, taken just as the sun was rising over Rutland Water.
This was the triathlon highlight of the week, The Vitruvian, I was only doing the swim and bike in a relay team for Team PSOF but it was a chance to see a few old faces and some new ones as well. Myself and Debbo came 2nd team which was good in itself but it also gave me a chance to test out a 50-odd mile TT before I do one in Thirsk in a few weeks.



 
On a more family orientated high this week, I managed to get time to take my daughter Teya swimming for the first time, I know BAD daddy, I swim all week long and it takes me 4 months to take my own daughter !!! ;-( She absolutely loved it and it was superb to be there.

So for the rest of the this week the plan is to get back to work, train like a muggle and hit the end of the week hard, a 3 hour and a 4 hour ride on consecutive days should sort me out lol ! I have 17 hours planned, in fact the same as last week but I took 2 days off last week, no such pleasures this week, just the one day in Northampton, then back to it.

10 weeks training to Hawaii

From IMUK to Kona its 10 weeks, the plan is to do it this way,

1 week total rest - stock up lager levels and generally eat well
3 weeks of build back to a level where I can function at the right HR's again.
3 weeks of moderate volume with a bit of speed and intensity.
3 weeks normal taper.

Week 1 - well that is going to go well all day long, never got a problem drinking and eating, job well done

Week 2 - 6 hours
Week 3 - 9.5 hours
Week 4 - 8 hours

This was a bit like starting again after Xmas and New Year, sluggish and with mixed emotion, I know I have to get fit again as I have one final goal this year but I would normally have gone into post season meltdown. I enjoyed the riding but with the foot injury the rest off running is making it worse each time I go back to it as I want to run faster but have to resist.

In amongst all of this was work which entailed a major project on week 3 and working away each week for 2 days. Normally I would run while I am away but thats hard to do when you are trying to build one day and recover the next.

Week 4 had no Saturday training as we were at Wembley all day watching Warrington Wolves win the Carnegie Cup, however getting up on the Sunday after for a 3 hour ride just goes to prove how evil beer is lol !!

So we are now up to date and the next 6 weeks will be updated on a more regular basis with better info on training. I have decided to take 2 weeks off work over a 3 week period to train and recover full time, its more about getting the confidence in the longer rides than trying to gain much in this short space of time. We'll see how it goes.

Hawaii Roll Down - The aftermath

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Ironman UK 2009

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The Cheshire Triathlon 2009

Another sprint, this time to get one in the bag for the Chester Tri summer league, its one of the downsides of being a long distance athlete that in our summer league you need 3 events to count as an average percentage for the year, each 1/2 IM counts as only one (your best) and the IM is the same. But thrown in the pot is a number of sprints and Olympics, so pick one and theres the 3.

Another well run event, this time the swim another 500m effort was outside in a brine pool, not too bad, 16 lengths of the 33m pool. The bike course is well known to me and fairly mundane with a good blast on the home stretch, the run again was off road.
Great support by the pirates (after I had finished) they were all in bed lol, I had an early start ! Pleased with result as wanted Top 10.


Position First Name Last Name Sex swim split bike split run split total time
1 CHRIS JOYCE Male 23 00:06:06 00:34:03 00:17:55 00:58:04
2 Nick Riding Male 33 00:06:49 00:32:44 00:18:31 00:58:04
3 Marc Laithwaite Male 37 00:07:45 00:32:51 00:17:31 00:58:07
4 Ian Roberts Male 29 00:07:23 00:33:29 00:17:39 00:58:31
5 Tim Johns Male 42 00:07:43 00:34:21 00:18:20 01:00:24
6 Andy Bentley Male 43 00:07:19 00:34:23 00:18:45 01:00:27
7 Anthony Hough Male 35 00:08:16 00:33:07 00:19:54 01:01:17
8 Dominic Sanderson Male 29 00:06:47 00:37:30 00:17:07 01:01:24
9 Nick Rose Male 38 00:08:07 00:34:05 00:19:19 01:01:31

Nice picture of me here but once again copyrighted so I won't infringe.

Event is well supported and one of the biggest in the area, Vic Bickertons lot do run races well and have done for a few years now, if you can get your head round the brine pool its a good beginner event as well as a good blast for the faster guys.

Anfield B.C. 100 mile TT

Well, what can I say about time trials, before this nothing as I had never done one, so 100 miles for the first, tough, mentally tough, took a lot to keep my form on the aero bars, still didn't manage it but after 3 hours straight I wasn't really used to it and started to fidget, arms ached, back ached, pointless wearing an earo helmet if you are going to keep looking down at your Garmin as well !!

My best piccie for this is here and even though I am not publishing it I will give credit to Kimroy for the picture, may even buy it myself lol !

My Garmin output is here, pretty even race, did the 50 in 2.17 and finished in 4hours 33mins on my clock. Would have liked faster but a few more 50;s and I might stand a better chance of pacing it harder and smarter.

Lymm Sprint Triathlon 2009

The first tri of the year for me and as it was close decided to do Lymm as a warm up. Can't stand pool swims but needs must this early in the season, not being the best swimmer when I haven't got a wetsuit on does make a difference !! As proved by Chris taking 2 minutes out of me in 500 metres !!

Results are here

Result for me was 6th.

Pos Forename Surname Gender Swim Bike Run Total Time
1 Chris Standidge Male 0:06:40 0:41:52 0:17:17 1:07:39
2 RogerWitz Barnes Male 0:06:27 0:42:27 0:17:47 1:08:35
3 Alan Copland Male 0:06:55 0:43:22 0:17:31 1:09:28
4 Beau Smith Male 0:06:07 0:43:52 0:17:46 1:10:16
5 Christian Preece Male 0:07:42 0:46:35 0:17:14 1:13:14
6 Nick Rose Male 0:08:34 0:44:42 0:19:37 1:14:41

Overall I thought the event was well run, its a small town/village and there seemed to be a good amount of advertising on the web from the local community, the marshalls were very helpful, if sometimes a little preoccupied lol !! huddled down out of the wind on one of the junctions made me laugh. Results out pretty quickly and the attitude of the organisors very good for a beginners triathlon, very friendly, would recommend.

Back again !!

Right back to the land of the blog, will be updating this again with various exploits over the next few months, have been busy with training and the baby is almost here, due tomorrow to I am assuming like all good first children it won't be on time.
More to follow.

Four Villages Half Marathon 2009- Helsby.

Great weather, good turnout from Chester Tri and loads of good support, thanks. pic courtesy of A.White.

Well done to the D&M Cycles runners as well, everyone put in a solid run and beat their targets.

Time : 1.37.03, bit down on last year but OK for this time of year.

Pregnant ? Yep, 3 month scan.

Apologies to those that have RSS feeds to this and expect triathlon chat all the time. This ones off topic.

This is the 3 month scan, everything healthy, fingers crossed, and yes, there is only one for those hoping for our lives to be even more turned upside down than they already will be.


No idea on sex or names but just checking all is OK. Mum is doing fine and not moaning too much yet but I am sure thats to come. ;-)

IMOO Race Day. Race report.

I have been moved to here http://ironrosey.com/?p=109

IMOO Countdown - 1 days to go ...

OK, last post before the race, checked in the bike and one of the bags but we got there at 3.01pm and they locked us out of the bike to run check in, funny really, it did say 10am - 3pm for check in but there were loads of people still milling around so I didn't rush, anyway they told us to come back in the morning, I think I might rebel and just not bother lol !

Transition area is a BIG one ......

This is from one end



and then this is the other end from the bridge over the middle



So we drove the monster today and to be honest, its tough but there are no real tough hills, there are just loads of them and they will be leg sapping after a while, Kelly decided to do the David Bailey bit while I drove.







There are 2 main areas of climbing, on the way out and on the way back ;-) ahh, whatever, its the same for everyone. I have nailed it down, get back before 371 guys in my age group and I will be fine.

Then we went for a quick stroll round, this place is seriously lovely, Wisconsin is one of the nicest places I have been to in the States and Madison has loads going on, today was the College football game with the 'Badgers', (yep, thats the Badgers !) hosting the game, at least 60,000 at a college game, the town was buzzing after they won 51-14. And there is a SoCo concert across the road for free tonight, then a small event tomorrow to wake the whole town.

And this is the state capitol.



Anyway, tomorrow is creeping up, just to say thanks for the support and I hope tomorrow brings me what I am aiming for. If I am finished by about 5pm local time you never know.

IMOO Countdown - 2 days to go ...

Well the rain didn't last long, today it started a bit rubbish and by 11am the sun was burning down.

Got out for a run around 7am for 30 mins, legs feel OK, just trying to stay loose.

After breakfast we did the official stuff. Registration was a bit of a chore but still well organised, then we hit the shops lol, its like Ironman porn !! cups, dog leads, badges to hang on your towbar, there is nothing these guys haven't thought of.

After picking up a load of gear, we turned round to see the queue to pay and then decided it was all tat and left it haha.

In between going back every 2 hours to fill the meter on the car I did get a swim out to the 800 m mark and back again to do some sighting, talked to a number of guys out on the swim, one of them set off so fast I thought my stroke has turned to shit overnight but it turns out after the chat he was due out in around 51 mins and I didn't feel quite so bad. We talked a bit about the bike and how tough it was, I have no illusions but I will still drive it tomorrow.

Kelly was getting a bit tired at this point so we headed off for food, State street at the top of town where the University grounds are is cool, and I found a shop that sells caps, visors etc and will also embroider my own, will get that done for tomorrow.

Then she dragged me back to the shops to re purchase everything we left, it was all still there ;-(

I dropped her off for bed, at 7pm, yep, she is that bad with jetlag and headed off to the race briefing, now back, finished building bike and ready to test it tomorrow.

Thoughts, well everyone I speak to has a view on the course and how tough it is, swim should be straight forward but the bike is either a bitch, son of a bitch or 'man, its the worse course I ever rode', I did ask why he was back but he mumbled something about not finishing the bike ... The run, well everyone who qualifies gets a 3.30 or better so I don't really have an option.

On an lighter note, the pirate story is reaching many corners of this quaint town, well I can't have strangers shouting 'come on skull man' I need pirate shouts, get it right or not at all lol !

Update tomorrow.

IMOO Countdown - 3 days to go ...

Stateside, woohoo, safe and in one piece.

Just got to the hotel, currently 18:36 and Kelly has just gone to bed, well it is half past midnight at home and we have been up since 6am. This staying on UK time won't be as hard as I thought but having to go to the race briefing at 19:30 could be pushing the boat out tomorrow ;-)

Flight was painless, got searched a few times but what do you expect with Dhekelia in your passport as your birthplace as you check in for an American flight, it was mentioned at least twice, I think the Americans think Cyprus is in the Middle East, still it was all very pleasant and the 8 hours went by quickly enough, and the bonus ....kit arrived OK,
Car is great and fits everything. Hotel, very convenient and as usual the locals are very nice and extremely helpful + free t'internet which is always nice.

Only one real talking point, and believe it or not its not the cold or sore throat (they still linger but getting better I think).

Nope, its the weather, its like doing Roth all over again, its pissing down, this was on the way here ...



I have no problem with the weather as the race in July will serve as a good benchmark for any race to come, however the water here will be affected alot more than the Roth canal and they are expecting a weather warning for the weekend, that'll sort out the wheat from the chaff hehe.

So thoughts, drinking plenty, need to find a decent place to eat tomorrow for main meals as I can't handle barbecue meatballs in the hotel even if they are free. Build bike in the morning, if I get to bed in the next hour I should be up by 4am, build bike, then out for a run for 30 mins or so to flex the legs a bit and then find somewhere for breakfast, Denny's will have to wait til after the weekend.
Probably then do my planned 45 mins to check out bike and the drive the course after lunch.

Madison looks quiet, even for an IM town, I am sure if it wasn't raining and we were closer to the centre of town it would be buzzing but we will find that out tomorrow.

Off to bed, update tomorrow.