Harlech Triathlon 2005.

  On Saturday whilst driving through Snowdonia, seeing the coating of snow on the mountains and hills, one starts to question the sanity of competing in a triathlon in April. However upon arriving in Barmouth about 3pm the sun was shining and you began to believe that this year might be different; a warm sunny Sunday in Harlech .

 Opening the curtains Sunday morning to be greeted by dark grey clouds, brass monkey temperatures, tree bending winds and rain just waiting for you to venture outside, all was as it should be in Harlech.

 So why do we keep returning year after year to this event; quite simply it’s a great course. Harlech triathlon is never boring. For those of us who love a challenge Harlech is supreme. An undulating bike course winding in and out of villages, 2 or 3 challenging hills, dodge the sightseer or 2 in Barmouth, ignoring the man waving the red flag because you are exceeding the speed limit for cars coming into Harlech, running through the dunes in a channel one foot deep and six inches wide, running on the beach to the frozen man at the turnaround point, along the surf-line to that “wonderful” ankle deep soft sand exit back into the dunes , all to be finished off with the 1in 4 climb up to the castle and the finish.

 Did we break our record times from last year? Hardly; a 30 mph head wind all the way to Barmouth on the bike put paid to any chance of that.

Did we moan and groan all the way round? Of course we did; it’s all that keeps you going after all.

Will we be going back next year ?  Damn right we will.

4 entered, 4 survived, 1 won an award . What more could you ask for.

Simon Clapham

Trentham Half Ironman 2005

Got up at 4am (yes 4AM!! on a Sunday too!!), thinking what am I doing? I should be nursing a hangover not trying to get a large breakfast down me, which is quite hard at that time in the morning. Anyway, got to Trentham at about 5:30 feeling a little apprehensive about what I was about to put my body through, but managed to get in a positive frame of mind since I had done the necessary training and was starting to get the pre-race buzz as the transition area started to fill up. I was happy to see athletes of all shapes and sizes and not the pro-athlete physic I was expecting from all but me. (This sport really does appeal to all which makes it so great!)

7am arrives and about 300 madmen and women get into the lake and the hooter goes, and we are off!! Managed to get into a nice smooth rhythm and avoid too many kicks and punches and before you know it we are around the first buoy. I felt great and my nerves started to disappear with each stroke as we complete the first lap and then I started to push a little harder. The way I look at it is that it doesn't matter if my arms feel like they are about to fall off and they are not needed again so its just a matter of keeping the legs as fresh as possible. I turn the final buoy and can see the shore fast approaching when OUCH I manage to slice my finger open on the bottom of the lake, as it is quite shallow, and as I exit the lake blood is pouring from my finger (it didn't stop until about 30K in on the Bike).

As I run up from the lake to T1 pulling off my wetsuit I remember thinking how kind of the race organisers to put in this little hill just for their own amusement no doubt! I look at my watch and am about 2 mins up on my expected swim time so things are going well and I exit T1 and out embark on the 3 lap 90K course. The bike was fairly flat with a few undulations which made for a fast time. The first lap seemed to fly by as I made sure I munched on my carefully prepared 1/4 Powerbars every 20 mins. The second lap seemed a little longer although I was still inside my target time of 1 hour laps and the third lap did seem to drag a little as my arse was getting very sore (hurting more than my legs which was weird). T2 came on the horizon like an Oasis in the desert as I dumped my bike, pulled on my running shoes and started the run. My euphoria of getting of the bike was short lived as the reality of trying to run on legs that no longer felt like my own hit home. Experience has taught me that the 'jelly leg' feeling only lasts for the first mile so I was very happy when I started to get into my rhythm. Looking at my watch I could see that if only I could get round the run course in under 2 hours then my race target of 5:30 could be achieved - fingers crossed!! The run was a 4 lap course described as flat in the race notes, again a little joke by the race organiser as it was anything but flat!! OK so it had flat bits but the 4 steep hills where not mentioned and did bring a smile to my face, but I am just glad I live on a hill so all my run training involves such inclines. One lap down and I collect my elastic band to prove it and set off for lap 2, I am feeling remarkably good but also am expecting that will change by the end of the lap. Lap 2 finishes I get my 2nd band and am still feeling great. There are now a few people finishing and the crowds are cheering everybody on as they pass which really helps. Towards the end of lap 3 BANG there it goes I feel like someone has just filled my shoes with Lead and my strides get shorter and shorter as the pain increases. The crowd keeps my going to collect my third and final band as I turn to start the final lap. Now by this time my legs are screaming STOP and for me this is where the race really starts as it becomes a mental test as well as a physical one. That final lap can only be described as extremely painful but as I hit the finishing straight I somehow manage to put on a sprint as I see my wife and baby son cheering me one. I finally cross the line with a feeling of utter elation, nausea and exhaustion all mixed into one!! I look down at my watch 5:12 I couldn't believe it I smashed my 5:30 target and I was still walking.:-)

 The problem I have is that I now want to go the full distance and complete the full IronMan although the time required to train effectively is the real issue with a baby son, so I have set myself this challenge. I will be 33 in October so therefore in the summer of 2012 I will be 39, so I intend to complete a full IronMan in under 12 hours before I am 40 and in London Olympic year too!!!

Nick Lamidey

Trentham Sprint Triathlon 2005

The day was glorious. The venue was lovely; a nice Italian-style garden with a big ornamental lake, that looked fantastic as the sun was rising over it at 7AM. However, the lake was only 4 foot deep and 2 foot of that was mud!     

Swim: All in all, I didn't enjoy the open water swim all that much. For a start I couldn't believe how far away the buoy was (more like a mile, I'm sure, than 375m). The first 375m went badly: for a start I went off far to fast, and kept having to stop to catch my breath. I found the muddy water very uncomfortable; not being able to see in it made me feel very claustrophobic; and being so shallow was weird too; I kept dredging up handfuls of mud with my hands. I also realised that I swim with a port list; I kept thinking that people on my left hand side were swimming into me, until I realised that it was the other way round; I would probably have swam in complete circles, if I hadn't stopped to take bearings. However, after the turnaround point things got much better; I began to appreciate the buoyancy effect of a wetsuit; I managed to get a good (slow and steady) rhythm going; I swam parallel to a guy to my left who was breathing to the right, and between us, we headed in more or less the same direction; I managed to swim virtually to the end without stopping. Amazingly, after all that, I came out of the water in about 16 1/2 minutes, which is about my time for a pool 750m swim, although I was a bit tired after the swim! I think I'm going to need to practise open water swimming before I get comfortable with it. I'm not sure if it was a blessing or not that the water was so shallow; it did help me out in the first half of the swim, but the mud "got right up my nose" (literally)!

 T1: this was a bit slow (not helped by the very long run from the lake to the transition area; seemed to take me ages). 

 Bike: The bike route was two laps of a section of dual carriageway; this was pretty flat, and nice'n fast!  The bike went really really well; I pushed it very hard (overtook a number of people, and re-passed most people foolish enough to go past me!). I'm not sure what my time was for the bike, but averaged over 32kph; with which I was well chuffed. I also enjoyed the real "race" feel, where you were actually racing other cyclists, unlike the "time trial" of previous tri's.

 T2 went okay, apart from trying to leave the transition area from the wrong corner!

 Run: the run was a nice course; not too hilly, and quite a lot in the shade, but I suffered a bit from having pushed the bike section so hard. I had a stitch/ stomach cramp for most of the first lap; this eased, however in the second half. Although I didn't think I ran very fast my run split was quicker than I thought. I also passed a few people, and didn't get passed by many.

 Overall: My finish time was about 92 minutes - two minutes outside my target. However, there were a refreshingly significant number of people finishing behind me, so I was contented. I also felt (unlike the previous two tri's) that I had given it absolutely everything, and could not have pushed harder. I felt that I had balanced it right; the only way to have run faster would be to have cycled slower, and that would not have given me a better time. The venue was good and very picturesque (apart from the muddy water, and the fact that they tried to make me pay to re-enter the gardens); the routes were good (particularly the bike route); marshalling/signing was much better than Burntwood; the weather was perfect (sunny, not too warm, no/very little wind). All in all a great way to spend one's 40th Birthday!  

                                                                                                                                                     Ralph Sibley

Boundary Breeze 2005

I was quite nervous as I prepared to get in the lake as this was my first adult triathlon and I had only swam in open water in a practice session 2 days before. I was in the Youth wave and there were 4 boys and 1 other girl competing. I had a wetsuit but as the water was warm and taking off the wetsuit was proving quite difficult for me I opted not to wear it.

I swam slowly and couldn’t seem to get into any kind of rhythm as I continuously looked for the buoy and was very aware of how far in front of me everyone else was. Finally the swim was over and I ran over to the transition area.

Supporters lined up along the edge of the lake and it was very comforting when they clapped as I struggled on. I took time to sort myself out ready for the bike whilst the commentator told everyone the benefits of wearing a wetsuit and how I hadn’t. The bike seemed fine although I have found a new meaning to the phrase, ‘its not far now’.

Changing to the run was painful and running isn’t my strong point at the best of times. By this time it was nearing midday and the sun was blazing down. I found it hard to get rhythm but was given a new lease of life when I at least saw one person in my group on the run.

I managed to keep going until the end and collapsed over the finish line. After a few minutes and when I was refreshed I was really pleased with myself for finishing and I waited by the finish line for the rest of the team. I managed to get myself an award and am trying to learn from this experience so next season  I can perform better

Jess Knott

Manchester 100 Bike ride

Duncan, Vikki and I managed to cycle 104 miles through the Cheshire countryside in 6 hours 1 minute (shame about the minute). We started at 7.30 and headed off to Tatton at high speed, Vikki, seeing sense, slowed us down to a more reasonable pace (approx 18 mph). We struggled through the rolling hills of the Delamere forest, before a brief lunch stop. The hills (slopes!) of Cheshire plain now seemed quite hard as we tired. We also found that the wind always seemed to be in our faces slowing us down further. Wilmslow was a welcome sight, just two small hills then a great downhill roll back to Wythenshawe Park.

Ian Smallwood