It was 4 to a lane and i was wave 2 in my lane, i caught the guy infront at the end of the 1st length and he let my by, after that i had a clear run in and caught the same fellow again on length 12, but luckily i was then in front of the pack and had the length to myself was very pleased with my swim, 8.36 is very good for me.

This was a pool swin upstairs so we had to run down a fire escape and through the gravel car park to transition, about 200m run, so i put some shoes outside the fire exit, slip ons, so i was overtaking people on route to transition.



press lap on my watch as soon as i got out the pool next time

having got back to T1 i was not quite sure what i was meant to do, and bumbled about for a bit, then luckily the guy next to me came in and then my brain clicked into gear, helmet on glasses on socks on shoes onm, run !! it was a good 2 min run out of transition and to the bike mounting area, i did not mind this and over took some guys.

act quicker ! all my kit wasd there ready, i was just unsure what to do for some odd reason !

i set off hard on the bike with 2 gels, 2 drinks bottles and a cereal bar, it was all up hill for the 1st 2 miles then up and down for the rest of the route, i got into my pace quickly and really enjoyed the ride, before the race it was the ride i was dreading but turns out it was the most enjoyable, it was satisfying to overtake people as i have never ridden in a bike race before so its good to see i have some pace, going up 1 hill i overtook 3 people but on a down shift my chain came off so i stopped threw it back on and caught them back up, my top speed was 32mph on some of the down hills, that was fun. I had a massive grin on my face all the way !!

At the turnaround point due to an accident last year we had to dismount walk across the road and remount, this was fine though as i overtook someone here too !

I took a gel on a 5 miles and 15 miles, these things give me a huge boost, i only used then twice now and both times i am flying afterwards.

I was riding hard uptil the 18th mile then took it a bit easy stretching my legs and taking on fluids, on a corner turn i forgot to stop peddling and my peddle scraped the road, the marshall jumped out of his socks in panic ! in hindsight that could have been bad !

try get my chain fixed, its been to the bike shop 3 times already and still comes off. opther than that, cant think of anything

bike up, shoes off, trainers on, helmet and glasses off and out i went, well not quite, a friend i train with was in the 7.10 wave and he was back in transition having finished his race, so we had a quick chat wghile i put my shoes on, i could not understand how he could have finished already, he must have stormed round

not talk to my mate too much n ext time as he had already finished being in the 7.10 wave

The marshalling was not too good and a lot of people were turning at the wrong corner, me included but luckily the marshalls sent us back to the route.

The route was meant to be 6 miles but i could not underrstand how my mate who started 40 mins before me had finished when i was in T2, i now know why, the run was only 5.1 miles, not the 6 miles expected, not thart i am complaining though!

It was up hill for the 1st mile and my legs were not good, felt that i had 2 steel bars down the side of my legs to my knee, knew i had to manage this and not over stride or something was going to give, Caught up 4 people, each time i slowed down and had a chat with them, stuff like how is it going, u ok, keept it up etc etc, maybe i am too friendly i dont know. Anyway i moved on and ran the last 2.5 miles alone.

I managed my legs so i did not get any onset of cramp, just had to keep my strides shorter than normal.

I was knackered so was not going to do a sprint finish but then when i could see the finish line, i checked my watch it said 1 hr 59 mins 20 seconds, so i though Wow !! under 2 hours and sprinted home to my wife and my friend cheering me on !

maybe keep my pace going and not slow down to talk to others

none, stood talking for 30 mins then got my stuff together an went home (oops )


need to get a bike fit done i think, then maybe get more out of the bike, and get the chain fixed again, plus do more practice races / trainign sessions with more than 1 sport at a time, also sort out my mind in transition as i spent way too much there.


My friend James did it in 5 seconds quicker than me, but i was faster on the swim by 20 seconds and the run by 2 minutes, he was 10 seconds quicker on the bike, i lost it in transition, it is so ggod we are so even, especially as he has already done 1 race, been training since october and me just since january. I have 90% decided to enter a 70.3 in october now, this was so much fun !!

there were no water stations at all on the route,
there was no medal or t shirt at all, just a mug at the end
but i loved this event, i had a great time, my 1st race so i dont know what to really expect but this was just brilliant !