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.

IMOO Countdown - 4 days to go ...

So sitting here at about 7pm, just finished up work and ready to start packing lol !!

Dropped bike off at Phils earlier and its all built and working as it should ready for me to dismantle and pack.



Got legs waxed as well, I am sure anyone from work reading that now will have a different view on me totally, never mind.

I have checked the weather for the area and its like this at the moment ...

Saturday - Partly sunny with a 20 percent chance of rain showers. Highs in the lower 70s.
Sunday - Partly sunny with a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms. Highs in the lower 70s.

Nothing will ever compete with Roth so I am not overly concerned but only taking one set of wheels means if its windy, its gonna be a bit hairy ;-)

Also my plan while I am over there is to stay on UK time, basically going to bed at 8pm local time and getting up at 3am. As I don't have time to adjust to the jetlag I am not going to bother, just stay on UK time and on race day when I have to get up at 3am to eat it won't be any different, once the race is over we can adjust for the trip to Chicago for a few days.

I just want to say thanks for all the good wishes from everyone on text, email and on the forums, I know there are a lot of other races going on this wekend, I have mates at Helvellyn, IM UK and Vitruvian, so all race well, good luck and have a good drink afterwards, I know I will. I really appreciate the support too, I think there may be a few people in Mongolia who don't know I am racing so if anyone sees them I don't think the me, me, me thread has reached far enough to cover the globe lol !!

I have put on a couple of other links on the right hand side,

The runners world one will have a few people updating from the IM site so if you can't track me, just link to that.
The live tracker will be on the Ironman Live site, commonly known as 'ironman dead', I have linked it straight to Wisconsin in case you want to follow the site. My number is 848.

I should be starting around 1pm UK time and hope to be finished by around 11pm UK time, or thereabouts.

Right, gonna go and pack, will update tomorrow when we get there, sad I know but I am looking forward to the hire car, its a Jeep Jubilee ;-) boys and toys eh ?

IMOO Countdown - 5 days to go ...

Days are getting less and less, throat is getting worse, which before I get shite for going on about it, could be a good thing, had a massage earlier tonight and this will undoubtedly push the toxins out of the body and start to shift fluids around, possibly speeding up the cold and sore throat, hopefully by the weekend it will be gone, positive thoughts, no point in dwelling on it, but if I don't complain about something I wouldn't be me !

Louise, my massage lady kindly supplied me with some Echinacea tincture as she didn't think the tablets would work quick enough, worth a try.

So currently I am overdosing on Echinacea, Vitamin C and drinking 10 litres of water a day lol !! I have a headache from thinking about it. And a full bladder.

Hour turbo this morning, which always blows away the cobwebs, a short run tomorrow and that will be it before I fly out, feel a bit sluggish but that is normal in the week before, it wil be up to me to wake myself up on the Friday and Saturday before the race just to get it right for Sunday.

Have just got back from picking the disc wheel up from Slummo, cheers again mate, we had a good chat about his and Jans race in Almere, sounds like a tough day at the office, imagine having to swim 4km and getting out after doing 4.7km (reported by a number of people as about the average) and looking at your watch, it would be like WTF !!! Where did I lose 25 mins !! Needless to say it doesn't set you up for the day ahead. I have seen what the water in Lake Monona can be like so I will just take it as the day unfolds.

Also got to thinking earlier, this is the first IM race I have done since 2003 on my own, I mean literally no-one there that I know, I know Kelly is there and she is a star but she doesn't want to hear tri shite all day, I have no-one to bounce off and it felt a little lonely earlier, this year was great at Roth, even if you didn't want to contribute at breakfast it was lovely having friends there to listen to and laugh with, and last year at Lanza, we were there for a week before with some really good guys, top holiday, never mind, I will just have to find some random and force a pirate top on them whether they like it or not ;-)

I think though having the support on the forum at home and friends who know (that I haven't bored to tears already) about what I am doing, they'll be watching and this is enough to spur me on, plus at 30k I will just imagine Jeff chasing me down again and kick for home, cold or no cold, I have nothing to lose. Plus, with a number of close friends aiming at qualifying next year I don't want to be the one not there.

IMOO Countdown - 6 days to go ...

Shorter swim today, about 2km and then a steamroom to try to sweat this cold out. Amazing really that we are as unorganised going to the US for 10 days as ewe are going to Slovenia for 3.

The race pack arrived by online link today, I am race number 848. Had a quick look through the list of M35-39 to see how many there were, about 381 and I need top 10. Not too bad when you look at the professions of some,

Bionic Man - I could be in trouble there
Blimp Pilot - well he can't have much time for training surely
Goat herder - gonna be a good runner
Jigsaw puzzler
Fluffer - well thats a 4th discipline
And finally the body double for the Rock

Good sense of humour, but lets hope they can't cycle eh ?

Picked up the 808 wheels from Jeff which look great and are very light, even lighter than my 404's which are a few years older so thats always a good thing. they also run well as the hubs are so smooth. Still thinking of taking 2 sets of wheels to give me the option but now I have to find a double wheel bag !! Why do I leae it all to the last minute, I suppose if you don'thave it you can't take it which means the options are limited.

Was mentioned as well at work today that my normal miserablitis on a Monday isn't present, must be cos I am going on holiday, either that or I am saving it ;-)