London Duathlon (Elite Race) YEAAAAAAHHHH!!

OK, lets not beat around the bush. I'll come straight to the point. THIS WAS THE BEST RESULT OF MY DUATHLON CAREER TO DATE. I was so happy crossing the line that I checked about 3 times to ensure a podium spot was safe and then walked through it savouring every last breath before collapsing to the ground and stomping it in joy. (no moles were harmed......probably).

What is the moral of this story? If at first you don't make the podium (2005:18th), Try (2007:11th), Try (2008:6th), Try (2009:4th) and TRY AGAIN (2010:3RD).

Having just done the most physically demanding duathlon of my career the week before I was determined to take the week in between easy and did only enough training to keep my legs moving. The elite field included 3 Kiwis yet to travel home from the Worlds in Edinburgh including Andrew Milne who did the U23 Elite race, last years number 2 (Julien Lhomme), Carl Ferri (ranked 3rd nationally) and various other big names from the world of both duathlon and triathlon.

Out onto the first run and Julien led the field for the first kilometre or so and then I decided to take this lead and push it out as hard as possible to whittle down the field as much as possible before coming into T1. I felt fantastic up until about 7k and even put in 2 or 3 surges and had to back off to re-group at one stage (no point coming into T1 by yourself in a draft legal duathlon.....doh!). This early pace worked and by the time T1 arrived our field had gone from 14 to 4! A podium spot seemed up for grabs....if only I could hold on for the 22k bike.

The bike was a strategic duel for me. This was definitely my weakest link against the supreme bike talent of Julien and Carl so I sat back and tried to focus on hanging on. Andy Milne made a decisive solo attack about half way through the 2nd lap and hung onto this to take the victory. Leaving T2 after a so so transition I had chronic cramp in my lower legs but thankfully this subsided and I managed to move into 3rd before the first kilometre came. It was then simply a matter of hanging on until the end.

I wasn't sure which was greater at the end, the feeling of exhaustion or elation. Not a bad combination!

Race wise, I had a caffeine gel just before T1 and one more at the start of the 2nd bike lap all swept away with almost a whole bottle of Torq Energy. My new Lake triathlon shoes also performed fantastically and were especially easy to get into and out of!

Many thanks to all our sponsors who have made everything this year possible:Bikes: Quintana Roo http://www.quintanarootri.com/ Wheels: Fast Forward http://www.ffwdwheels.com/ Power: Saris http://www.saris.com/Cycle shoes: Lake http://www.lakecycling.co.uk/Delicious, natural and healthy nutrition: http://www.torqfitness.co.uk/

Me and Carl Ferri slowly walking our bikes through transition!





















I start every day feeling this good

London Duathlon 2010 Elite podium

World Duathlon Championships, Edinburgh

The anticipation that this would be the most gruelling Olympic distance duathlon in history proved quite accurate in the end. On the Facebook blog many were fearful of having to tackle Arthur's Seat 7 times and climb around 700 metres of ascent.

So what was it actually like? It was fantastic, painful and exhilirating, though probably not in that particular order. I decided pre-race that the only way to approach this beast was head on and to put in a mighty first run which I managed. At around the 5k mark I was around 3rd or 4th and only drifted back to 7th by the time T1 arrived some 33 minutes later. Initially the fatigue of the run overcame me and I took the first lap on the bike very steady but gradually found that my confidence grew with every passing lap. Out onto the final run and it really was a case of get round and survive as it appeared to be with almost all the competitors. At this stage and after 2 hours of pain I was just hoping to not get overcome by cramp or fatigue. Somehow I managed to make it through and finished 18th in age group from around 60 recording the 7th fastest 1st and 2nd runs.

I ended up using two Torq caffeine gels (Forest Fruits and Banoffee) and a Black Cherry one. The first just before coming into T1 and the 2nd and 3rd out on the bike. All washed down with Torq Energy (natural flavour).

Many thanks to all our sponsors who have made everything this year possible:Bikes: Quintana Roo http://www.quintanarootri.com/ Wheels: Fast Forward http://www.ffwdwheels.com/ Power: Saris http://www.saris.com/Cycle shoes: Lake http://www.lakecycling.co.uk/Delicious, natural and healthy nutrition: http://www.torqfitness.co.uk/

All smiles before the pain.....

























Taking out the first run at a furious 33min 10k pace